Barley Swine

BAM!

This beautiful cocktail set the tone for the meal: attention to detail. And potent, too! I had a bit of a buzz by the time our first plate came out.

I love the way this little guy was nestled on the plate. Seared pompana (fish) with radish, toasted spring onions, on a creamy base of something or other. Everything about it was tiny, so you had to squint with your mouth to appreciate all the textural surprises: very crunchy onions, slightly less crunchy radishes, creamy stuff, delicious seared fish -- all your favorite things. Can they keep up this level of cookery??

Seared pompana

This one was less interesting to look at. A few pasta pockets with some sliced shiitake on a bed of creamy egg. I was like 'meh'! but the waiter was all, 'definitely eat the pastas in one bite', so we did and WOAH. Explosion of rich, savory sauce! Very surprising. In a good way!

A party explosion in the mouth

What's next??

Some butter lettuce with dressing? whatever. But this lettuce was coated with perfectly balanced dressing - oil, sour, salt singing together in perfect harmony. seriously it was like the best dressing i've ever had and while your at it dip it in delicious melted manchego cheese sauce why not??

"Salad"

Another cocktail. I had two of these bourbon beauties.

Duck! with a perfect little soft yoke, shaved celery and pickled onion rounds. The duck was smoked to perfection, without being tough or over salted. and I think you know how I feel about pickled anything.

Smoked duck

And finally Wagyu rib steak on a bed of bean and mustard seed. Actually this was our least fav. The bean was slightly overpowering, and the wagyu was not quite hot enough so the extra fat felt a little excessive. That's Erin's face!

It wouldn't be Texas without Wagyu

And, despite the awesome little cup, this tea was served lukewarm. Booooooooo

For dessert: imagine a three dimensional creme brûlée rolled in edible leaves and rocks. That's what you're getting here. It's a peanut butter mousse with a satisfyingly crisp chocolate shell. It was like eating the egg of a choco bird.

Dessert?

4 out of 5 Aemon-stars! They dropped the ball a couple times, but overall it was awesome.