Saturday, February 28, 2009

Fig Tree Restaurant

It doesn’t get much better than an excellent meal served in a meticulously restored and converted craftsman style home. The only way to top this is to enjoy all of this in the company of a beautiful woman.

The occasion was a celebration of Mrs. G’s birthday. She requested Fig Tree as she remembered the warmth and attention to detail that is reflected in the embracing atmosphere of this magnificently restored 1913 historic home called Lucas House.

After being ushered to a cozy corner table we were served a most memorable meal that exceeded our expectations.

Mrs. G. began with an appetizer of seared sea scallop with blood orange and wilted arugula. The scallops were perfectly seared and the freshness resulted in a lovely sweetness. I opted for the special stuffed tart of the evening. The flawless crust stuffed with a rich duck confit, Brie and caramelized sherried onion. What a luxurious way to begin a fine meal. The house includes a complementary choice of soup this evening it was vegan mushroom and barley or salad. Mrs. G had the house salad served with a delightful herb dressing while I went for the Caesar Salad both quite nice.

Entrees followed, Mrs. G. selected a special of the evening. Sautéed Halibut topped with lobster and rich lobster sauce and asparagus. All to often a dish described as topped with lobster means that the kitchen waved a lobster near the plate and a miniscule bit of lobster at best appears on the plate. Pleasantly this was not the case here. The expertly prepared portion of halibut was topped with an entire poached lobster claw. Well seasoned, well balanced, a delightful dish. I selected the grilled Filet Mignon topped with Stilton cheese and mushroom duxelles with fingerling potato’s a veal demi -glace and asparagus. Melted Stilton merging with demi glace created the ultimate steak dipping sauce for my duxelle and Stilton topped filet. This dish can best be described in a word. Decadent.

To cap off the meal Mrs. G. and I shared two deserts. Smores Bread Pudding served with vanilla bean ice cream was very tasty and the Cinnamon Sugar Beignets served with coffee ice cream were nothing short of magnificent.

The entire evening, ambiance, impeccable service and an exquisite meal will linger in both of our memories and we both look forward to returning soon.