We started with the soup of the day--cream of potato ($6)--and the beet carpacio ($8). The soup was pretty good--Sarah described it as a bit like "rich mashed potato" flavor--and the parsley oil was a nice touch. The beet carpacio was more interesting as the counterpoints were bacon, goat cheese and spinach. The combination of sweet, pungent, and meaty worked well.
For our entree we split the scallops with creamy leeks, mango coulis and roasted (pureed) red peppers ($18). The dish was good, but the flavors seemed somehow too clean and not very complex. Perhaps this is characteristic of rustic French dishes; I'm not sure. My favorite element was the creamy leeks, which I couldn't get enough of because of the sharp, crunchy onion flavor paired with cream. Sarah didn't like them, though.
Our dessert was the tarte tatin (an upside down apple tart) with creme fraiche sorbet ($7). The creamy and icy sorbet was another highlight of the meal for me, but Sarah was not a fan of the dessert.
I tend to put French cuisine on a bit of a pedestal, but the meal didn't quite live up to my hopes. Based on our experience and on the menu, Taste seems to feature earthy foods and flavors such as potatoes, beets, carrots, cumin and cinnamon. Most of what we had, though, could have used a spark of some kind--citrus, thyme, cayenne, etc.--to elevate the tasting experience and counterbalance the earthiness. That said, we didn't try the dishes most recommended by other reviewers, i.e. the chicken spring rolls, rack of lamb and pistachio ile flotante. Moreover, our experience of the hot food (including the tart) was somewhat hampered by even four minutes of transport through five degree weather.
While we weren't thrilled with our meal, it was definitely interesting and promising enough to merit another visit--or, perhaps, another pickup trip, hopefully through better weather.
3 comments:
We went there for the first time a week or so ago, and I got the scallops and leeks as well. I thought they were delicious but that something hadn't been washed entirely well as there was a hint of grittiness (sand?) in the dish. The caramel tart and Bailey's ice cream was wonderful for dessert but *huge* - definitely a dessert to split. My favorite part of the restaurant was that I adore their silverware pattern, but I'm strange like that.
Ben, thanks for linking to my Observer post! I've been following your blog. Like you, my first visit to Taste wasn't perfect, but I think it holds promise. Next time try the cumin carrots...very nice flavor.
Darx: The caramel tart sounds really good, and we'll definitely have to actually eat inside the restaurant sometime.
Christina: No problem. I enjoyed your review and wished I'd tried more of what you recommended. The speed of service seems to have improved since you were there: our order was ready 20 minutes after we'd placed it. We'll definitely try the cumin carrots next time we're there. Thanks for reading our blog!
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