I have realized this now because this week has been filled with chances for my inner groupie to shine. Most times it was related to dance because Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has been in town and one of my best friends from high school has been dancing with them for the past 5 years, but...
My inner foodie came out on Friday night when I took my sister to Graham Elliot for her birthday dinner. It was only slightly selfish seeing as I have been dying to try GE since I read about Cheez-it Risotto. There is no way that is not delicious. We had a fantastic meal with great service all around. Our waitress was knowledgeable and not overbearing in anyway. We started with some cocktails while we decided on our dinner. Morgan started with the split pea bisque with a lavender marshmallow and I decided to try the crab risotto with spring onion, mascarpone cheese and fried basil. Morgan's bisque was great, the marshmallow gave it a great texture and the subtle lavender was refreshing. My risotto was really nice, I always love basil and mascarpone together, and the risotto was much lighter than I was expecting. We moved on to a bottle of Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley Oregon to go with our main courses. Morgan had the Colorado lamb, and I had the crispy sea bass. The pinot was fantastic, bright fruits and just enough acid to cut through Morgan's lamb. The lamb was served grilled on a bed of refried chickpeas with fava beans, dandelion greens and a pomegranate yogurt. My bass had fried pancetta, fidelhead ferns, braised artichoke and and orange puree. Super fresh and light and I always love fidelhead ferns. For desert we went with the deconstructed strawberry shortcake and the floral sorbet quartet (chamomile, jasmine, rose and hibiscus). The sorbet was AMAZING. I am still dreaming about the rose and Morg loved the chamomile.
The best part about the whole night was when my camera batteries died, for real. Our lovely waitress (whose name I either never got or the wine buzz erased ) sent someone over who offered to take our picture and give us a tour of the kitchen! It was crazy to have something like that happen completely unsolicited. It was exciting for me to see the inside of his kitchen, having worked in so many different styles of restaurant I like to compare and contrast. This kitchen reminded me of a combination of Barcelona restaurant in Columbus and L20. It was meticulous like Laurent Gras' kitchen, but there seemed to be more of a laid back kind of vibe. It was also cool that Graham Elliot introduced himself to us and asked how everything was and joked around for a bit. It is refreshing to see such a talented chef not taking himself too seriously. I wish I could afford to eat there more often, but it will be my go to special occasion spot from now on, I am definitely a Graham Elliot groupie.
It was a wonderful meal - highlighted by Ash's reaction to meeting her idol, Graham Elliot. He very nice and complimented Ash on her new boots! I dont think she will ever take them off! As a person who just likes food, but doesnt know a whole lot, I think the food, service and wine were FABULOUS! I would recommend this restaurant to my friends.
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