La Truffe Sauvage

It only seems right in my world that since I ended my birthday celebrations at La Truffe Sauvage last year I begin it here this year. So that's what I did. Below is the bread basket with cracker bread and whole wheat

Dry Cured Spanish Serrano Ham with Belgian endive, tomato & black olive tapenade. This combo may seem strange but it worked. The slightly bitter endive complemented the salty sweet ham with the tapenade adding an additional flavor note and salt.

Insalata Caprese ripe tomato, fresh buffalo mozzarella, toasted pine-nuts, extra virgin olive oil Parmigiana Reggiano. This worked everywhich way. Sweet and acid tomato, flavourful milky mozzarella, crunchy pine nut, basil pesto, salty cheese. It was great

Pot au Feu de Poisson et Fenouil braised seafood stew with fennel, Littleneck clams, Gulf shrimp, sea scallop, Maine Lobster & fresh fish, served with garlic croutons and red pepper aïoli
with a side of spinach & goat cheese polenta. Traditionally a pot au feu is a hearty beef stew. This was a hearty seafood stew. It had all the base ingredients of a bouillabaisse except the traditional fish. I feel that is why they did not call it that. The clams were a bit small and got lost in the broth. The scallops sitting on top of potatoes were delightful. The shrimp sitting over stewed sliced fennel were just over done but not too much. The fish under the lobster claw was a great piece of salmon. The broth was tomato heavy and heavily seasoned. I ate the seafood dipping it into the broth. The croutons with the rouille went into the broth, I smashed the potatoes and finished it with the polenta. All was made into a thick porridge like consistance which I ate with relish

Flourless Chocolate Cake three ingredients combined to create an incredible chocolate experience Excellent as usual and you can tell by the plate I let slip about my birthday.

I also got a lagniappe. A desert that Arthur Durham has been working on. It is a Baba au Rhum. A rich egg cake soaked in rum simple syrup set an a creme anglaise and topped with Tahitian vanilla whipped cream. I am a chocolate person but this was way better. Flavor burst out all over.

As usual you get a truffle as a farewell gesture. Exquisite

I am going to Houston for a couple of days for my actual birthday. However I still have several places I am hitting here.

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