AWWW!
Ok, now that we have that out of the way, let's get to the food.
We started with the carpaccio, a starter we enjoyed last year in DC. This is really one of the most delicious appetizers I've had anywhere. You can taste every flavor clearly: the delicate Waygu beef, the tart lemon vinaigrette, and the spicy arugula salad. The best thing about this carpaccio is that it tasted EXACTLY like the one we had a year ago, so that brought back some great memories. And it's pretty too!
I tried something new for dinner this year: bone-in Kona crusted sirloin with a caramelized shallot butter. The waited recommended it because it is very popular, and the dehydrated shallots in the butter remind him of McDonald's burgers (um...OK.). I didn't let that dissuade me, and I actually really enjoyed this steak.
The meat was cooked PERFECTLY and the Kona crust added a nice smoky flavor and slightly crispy finish. The sauce tasted nothing like a McDonald's burger, but was salty, savory and just a little bit sweet. My only complaint was that the meat had a bit more gristle than I like. Oh, and my husband's order (the porcini rubbed Delmonico) was better. But he ALWAYS orders something better than me, so I wasn't surprised.
We had two side dishes (mashed potatoes and creamed spinach) and a bottle of wine (a 2007 Spanish red, I believe), all of which were predictably wonderful. We also had the berries and cream for dessert, which was a light, fresh, perfect-for-summer finish to our delightful meal.
As for service: our waiter was friendly and accommodating, but he was a large step down from the server we worked with last year in DC. Part of it may just be that we were on our honeymoon last year, and there are lots of good feelings associated with that. Another part of it is that we asked our waiter to check on something for us (whether they had a particular side-dish that we really enjoyed in DC) and he failed to follow through. It may be because we looked pretty young compared to other patrons that night; I feel like servers sometime think younger people can't or won't tip well, or don't know the difference between good service and bad. That may be true of many young people, but it's not true of my husband and I. We were there on a special night, we spent a lot of money, and we expected really good service. That we didn't quite get that is the only (minor) complaint I have about an otherwise really good meal.
Oh, and by the way, hi Davis.
