I offer you insight, but all you really want is porn!

[muckefuck]

Apologies for the lack of pictures, but here are the courses as I remember them. (Fellow geeks, help shore up an old man's failing memory.)

Appetizers

• Endive with chicken apricot filling.
• Melon wrapped with prosciutto.
• Pâté on rye toasts.
• Smoked salmon with crème fraiche. (The runaway winner in this category.)

Savouries

• Lobster rolls.
• Ratatouille in pastry cups.
• Kobe beef sliders with bleu cheese.
• Mushroom risotto in ramekins.

Tougher call here. The sliders are such a perennial favourite that the host ordered two or three times as much of them as of anything else. The first three or four platters sent downstairs were mobbed clean; I came inches from making a heroic dive to catch a lone burger that had miraculous been carried to the middle of the room. But the next platter made it clear to our table on the other side of the room. From that point, Mr Beef began to wear an expression of baffled rejection as he actually had to remind guests of the juicy treasures in his possession. (This was the genesis of comparisons to the chicken skewer guy at a churrasqueria.)

On the other hand, the risotto brought a collective air of approbation to the table unlike any thing else served that evening. To quote monshu "It still had bite, but it was rich, it was creamy, it was tasty." The size was perfect--much bigger and the richness would've been overwhelming, but also generous enough to satisfy. Which is good, because no second tray of these ever appeared (which I think speaks volumes about the uptake).

Desserts

• Bread pudding with caramel sauce.
• Key lime cream tarts.
• Flourless chocolate cake with raspberry glaze.
• Strawberries with cream.
• Birthday cake (lemon with fondant frosting).

Apparently the birthday cake had a second, strawberry layer, but by the time it was uncovered I had reached my fill for the night. I even had a nibble of the fondant just to confirm my memory of its nigh-inedibility. (How did mollpeartree describe it? "Like clay with sugar.") Personally I think the bread pudding takes this category, but I'm open to alternative views.

Drinks

I'm going to out myself as a complete barbarian by confessing that I didn't have any wine the whole night. I know! It's like going to Proof on Main and not sampling the bourbon. I don't really have any explanation for this perversity except that I think my costume made me do it.

Comments

[off_coloratura]

The mushroom risotto was seriously heavy on the truffle oil. So much so that I was tasting it for hours afterward. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

The strawberries had an interesting cream; it was sugary but also granular. And they were also drizzled with balsamic vinegar. They were my favorites of the desserts, but I didn't have the raspberry chocolate cakes.

The key lime tarts were in puff pastry cups. The bread pudding had caramel sauce.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

The sauce on the bread pudding didn't taste like straight caramel to me. I thought there was some fruit syrup involved, but I couldn't place exactly what.

Yeah, I couldn't quite figure out what was special about the whipped cream on the strawberries.

The chocolate cakes failed to thrill me, but I'm not your go-to man for chocolate desserts. We need to consult monshu on that one.