With New Years eve approaching and my birthday shortly after Mark and I decided we would splurge and go out for New Years Eve. Something unusual as we normally stay home and make something we've been wanting to test out for a while. We first chose The Loft restaurant and made reservations. We then happened upon Chef Oakleys N.Y.E. menu and changed those reservations to Oakleys Bistro.
We have been to Oakleys twice before for special occasions and have always enjoyed it. Chef Steven Oakley seems to always have unusual flavor combinations that are not found on most typical restaurant menus. See Oakleys NYE menu below to see what I mean. Take note of the upcharge cost for the shaved truffels and the foie gras as they ended up being more then the online menu prices.
Oakleys Bistro New Years Eve Menu per their website
3 Course Price Fix Menu $75 per/person
Add Italian white shaved truffle to any dish $15.00
First course
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Butternut Squash Soup zucchini & yellow squash relish, green apples, truffle whipped crème fraiche
Lobster Champagne Bisque lobster fried rice, meyer lemon cream, chive oil
Baby Iceberg smoked caesar dressing, cucumbers, tomato bacon relish, mozzarella, avocado, radish, pickled jalapeños
Bibb & Endive warm brie dressing, honey croissant croutons, raisins, butternut, chestnuts, red wine gastrique
Lobster Dumplings cornbread streusel, lobster aioli, andouille sausage vinaigrette, spinach, micro arugula
Ahi Tuna chilled, peppercorn crusted, apricot pickled ginger relish, wontons, avocado mousse, napa cabbage sprout slaw
Suckling Pig 6 hour braised, rosemary crepe, spinach, leeks, poached pears, moroccan bbq glaze, grilled scallions
Crab Cake sundried tomato cheddar arancini, pickled red onion, lemon cream, spicy old bay bread crumbs
Pork Belly shrimp & grits, pickled grapes, maple caramel glaze, toasted pecans
Foie Gras orange ginger waffle, espelette pepper jelly, foie gras gravy, braised kale, 8 $ supplement
Second course
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Chicken & Lobster
roasted butternut squash purée, smoked fingerling potatoes, braised kale, baby carrots, brown butter vanilla vinaigrette, living watercress
Scallops & Pork Cheeks
roasted tomato & goat cheese pearl pasta ragout, toasted hazelnuts, crispy leeks, saffron aioli, red radish & arugula salad
Mesquite Smoked Filet Mignon
roasted garlic potato purée, broccolini, portobello mushroom artichoke relish, black truffle jus, mustard crème fraiche, potato hay
Sea Bass & Short Rib
olive oil poached, short rib potato hash, baby bok choy, pickled mustard seeds, tomato relish, date chipotle coulis
Duck Breast & Duck Confit
cauliflower thyme purée, acorn squash quinoa, smoked pineapple, duck fat almond relish, mango gel, polenta crisp, leek ash, chive oil
Seven Vegetable Wellington
ratatouille vegetables, butternut squash risotto, pickled cauliflower, roasted golden & red beets, house
Third course
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“A Study of Chocolate, Citrus, and other stuff”
“Boston Cream Pie”
cocoa cheesecake
white chocolate tuile
vanilla cake
*
Carrot Cake “S’more”
graham cracker streusel
carrot ginger coulis
*
Lemon Lime Bar
spiced krispies
raspberry pudding
pink peppercorn meringue
*
Double Chocolate Brownie
cookie crumbs
cracker jacks
peanut butter fudge
We arrived on time for our 7pm reservation as did about 4-5 other tables. Strangely all these tables were seated pretty much next to each other instead of being spread out around the room that had empty tables. Not certain why they wouldn't seat tables slightly away from each other for a little bit more privacy.
We were greeted in a timely manner by our waitress and asked about drinks. I asked if they had any wine pairings with the dinner and the answer was no, but she would be willing to offer any suggestions based upon our choices. Mark ordered a bottle of ST. Fancis Cabernet from Sonama Ca. that was on their clearance menu. It was OK but nothing to rave about.
While waiting for the wine to arrive they brought out an Amuse Bouche that was a sweet fritter that could have used a little spicy heat to offset the sweetness IMO. Also it was not very warm which would be a common theme of the evening.
Our bottle of wine arrived and we placed our orders. Our server really did not have much personality and just seemed like she was there to do a job, very little small talk or smiles. She also was unfamiliar with how to pore wine as each time she pored it she would end up dribbling it on the table, why she didn't just keep the towel rapped around it is beyond me. Guess it didn't matter as there were no tablecloth's on the table. Speaking of which reminds me that they didn't have any fresh flowers on the table the only decorations on the table was 6 corks strategically glued together with a slit cut out on the top and a bay leaf in said slit. Ours was so old and dried that there was only about 1/3 of a bay leaf in it. I hear myself saying this and think how irrelevant it is, however, when you are paying over $75 person these are the little things that add up in the guest overall opinion of their experience.
Mark chose Lobster Bisque for his first course and I chose the Foie Gras for an upcharge of 10$ not the 8$ listed on the online menu My Foie Gras was delicious but was a little cool and the Orange Ginger waffle was also delicious even if you couldn't taste the Orange or Ginger, I also really liked the pepper jelly. Marks bisque had the warm spicy flavor that you associate with a bisque but lacked much lobster. My tasting of his bisque was mainly that of white rice. Rice Really?
Our plates were removed and our entree's brought out shortly after. That was one positive, we didn't have to wait long for anything. My entree choice was the Sea Bass & Short Ribs. This dish had so many different flavors on it with most of them not working to enhance each other rather they seemed to be competing against each other. The Sea Bass and the date chipotle coulis on the bottom of the dish were great and paired wonderfully together but that is where it stopped. It was served on top a potato hash which did nothing for the fish but overpower it. The short ribs were succulent but with the richness of the fat of the meat it just did not pair well with the Sea Bass. Not saying there was fat on the Short Ribs that wasn't the case it's just that short ribs have a high fat content to begin with. If this dish had been all Sea Bass and no Short Ribs I would have enjoyed it more.
Mark had the Mesquite Filet med rare with the white shaved truffles for an extra 18$, not the 15$ listed on the online menu. It came out cooked perfectly but was very small maybe 4 oz and you couldn't even see the steak with all the fried shoestring potatoes on top of it. He was mystified to have 2 different types of potatoes on the plate. The garlic mashed potatoes had been placed into a round mold prior to being put on the plate and were cold. He enjoyed the taste of the steak but he was very disheartened with how little of the shaved truffles he got for the extra $. Not certain how they achieved the mesquite flavor but I don't believe it was grilled over mesquite. When I tasted the steak I felt it had too much mesquite flavoring and was glad that I had not chosen it for my entree as I had considered it. I could not get a drink of wine fast enough to get the flavor out of my mouth. Yes I have had Mesquite steaks in the past but nothing as strong as this was.
When we were finished with our entrees we decided against coffee with desert as at this point we weren't very confidant the extra cost would be worth it. With the deserts you didn't choose just one you received a sampling of all 4. The deserts were the final disappointment. It was obvious that they had been placed on the plate quite sometime prior to us receiving them as they were dry.
So there were things we did enjoy but our overall opinion was very low. We felt the value of what we received was not there. From the prices for the supplements/up-charge of foie gras and truffles being several dollars more then the online menu, to thinking our waitress could have cared more and barren tables (lack of fresh flowers at the minimum bouquet of herbs on the table). We left hungry and walked away feeling like we were taken advantage of because of how much money we spent. I laugh when I think about the stories I've heard about people talking about getting a fancy dinner that just ended up being 2 green beans artfully arranged. We have never felt that away anywhere before this dinner.
We are willing to pay $$$ for a great dining experience especially for special occasions, however, after last nights experience I don't believe we will be returning. It was such a poor value for our dollar.
I wish I could have posted a more positive review but am just unable to. So disappointing. Even today upon reflecting on the experience we are full of regret for our choice of Oakleys Bistro.
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