La Truffe Sauvage Dinner

I saved the best for the day of my birth. Last night I went to La Truffe for my birthday dinner. I ate light for lunch as I want to do the whole nine yards. I have been to Europe and both coasts of the United States and I would put Mohammed Chetto and Arthur Durham cooking against anyone. I have had some of the best meals of my life at this restaurant. I sometimes wonder why I go seeking fine food in New Orleans and Houston when this gem is in my backyard. It is not especially cheap but sometimes you do get what you pay for. Here you pay for the freshest ingredients possible put together in a thoughtful and professional manner. I have encountered few missteps and have enjoyed many wonderful dishes. To see what I ate here for lunch recently investigate the August posts. Below is my go to aperitif the Negroni. It consists of equal parts gin, campari, and vermouth. It not only stimulates the appetite but puts me the proper frame of mind to enjoy my repast.

Bread bowl with Arthur's fabulous sun dried tomato bread and Mo's olive oil dip with balsamic and herbs. A highlight of any meal here.

Lamb Shank-Kalamata Olive-Sundried Tomato Tortellini with black truffle cream sauce and Parmigiana Reggiano. Three pockets of perfection. The pasta al dente, the filling savory and hearty,and the sauce earthy. It make for a trifecta of taste and texture.

Louisiana Crab and Corn Chowder en Croute. A perfect soup. All the vegetables brunoised so they were the size of the corn kernels and cooked to perfection. A light cream broth full of corn and crab flavor and lumps of blue crab. Below is first a picture of when it came to the table with its puff pastry hat. Then the deconstruted on with the hat is the soup. Being in a ceramic ramekin it stayed warm to the last spoonful.

Chèvre Chaud over Spinach Salad Breadcrumb crusted goat cheese, lightly sautéed, and dried figs served with crostini & roasted shallot vinaigrette. You may have noticed I am not a big salad person. That does not apply here. The salads here are so inventive and tasty sounding that I usually get one and have never been disappointed. This one was no exception. I spread the goat cheese on the croutons and dove into the spinach. The shallot dressing and sliced figs gave a sweet backnote that went well against the crusty butter bread and sharpness of the cheese. Opposites do attract you know.

A complimentary lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate

The main entree. Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass. This was a stacked dish. It started with a thick slice of Yukon Gold potato (boiled then pan sauteed), a trimmed piece of Portabello mushroom (steamed), then a piece of roasted green pepper and red pepper, the sea bass and topped off with zucchini noodles light sauteed and Italian flat leaf parsley as garnish. Unfortunately the mushroom was a bit too firm to cut through to get a bit of everything. However each component was cooked to perfection and very tasty. The fish especially was absolutely great

White Chocolate Creme Brulee with berries. As you can see I let slip it was my birthday. Thank God they did not gather round and sing Happy Birthday. Plating the brulee in a shallow dish like this gave what I consider the perfect proportion of custard to crust. The berries were ripe and tasty for this time of year. All in all a perfect ending to a perfect meal

http://www.thewildtruffle.com/