Woodfire Grill

Last night our friend Jimmy (the half-Chinese, half-Korean dude with the snowman from the previous post) took Pink and me out to dinner at Woodfire Grill as a belated wedding gift. In short, it was amazing. We expected nothing less and were not disappointed.

We all opted for the 5-course Chef's Tasting Menu and I'll do my best to reconstruct the meal here. But we had a lot of wine and neglected to take pictures or write anything down for fear of looking like losers so I know I am missing critical pieces of each dish.

Amuse-bouche: Roasted(?) pink lady apple with a sliver of marinated celery (this part was sweet and juicy). It was really light and crisp, perfect way to start.

1st course: Tempura fried chanterelle and oyster mushrooms over a chevre sauce. Super rich and delicious. And this was only the beginning.

2nd course: Salmon, seared on one side and raw on the other served over a red salsa and capped with a green olive tapenade (they called it a salsa but we all disagreed, it was a tapenade). This was the most melt-in-your mouth, perfectly cooked piece of salmon I have ever eaten. The salsa was a little too acidic for Pink but Chino and I loved it.

Intermezzo (?): Ever-so-slightly roasted oyster (just enough to open up the shell) served with some kind of light sauce, topped with small bits of sauteed bacon. We all agreed we could eat a hundred of these and nothing else. This was when the meal started to crescendo.

3rd course: Barbecue roasted bob white quail, pork belly, and roasted root vegetables including carrots, turnips, and parsnips (I think). Unanimously this was our favorite course. While Pink and Chino salivated over the pork belly I loved my perfect little bird the best.

Intermezzo (?): A melon-ball sized scoop of apple sorbet which tasted like cool crisp apple cider shaved ice.

4th course: Sous vide antelope served over a cranberry reduction smear and a drizzle of coffee syrup, with farro and shaved Brussels sprouts. The meat was totally tender and cooked just right, but because of the method there's no roasted flavor on the skin, but it was so good anyway. The coffee syrup was the piece that made this dish for me.

5th course: This was the dessert course. Chino and I both were served chocolate-lava crepes with chocolate sauce and a dollop of cacao whipped cream. Pink was served a pink lady apple bread pudding with a meringue cap. All of it was great. Personally, I could have done without a sweet dessert course and had another savory course or cheese course.

In the end, it was a phenomenal meal where every plate came out perfectly cooked. It was so great that we all had the same dishes because we shared our own personal experience with each course. It wouldn't have been as great an experience otherwise so I'm now convinced that if you're going to blow it out, a Chef's tasting menu is the only way to go for the whole table.

In keeping with the Top Chef theme, we're going to hit Eli's place, Eno, some time in January. This is actually where Pink and I had our rehearsal dinner (5 years ago) but with a different chef. I don't think we've been there since so it should be great.