Friday, November 9, 2012.
Checking The New Menu At Sara's.
I was expecting the cold to be a lot better today, but I woke up miserable. However, by the time I needed to get rolling to the South Shore, I felt a lot better. Still, I hope nobody needs me to record a commercial today.
Dinner at Sara's. It's a bistro that charms its regular customers. It seems to be particularly appealing to couples out on an early-in-the-relationship date When someone calls on the air about it, I know the report will be glowing, followed by a musing as to why the place is rarely busy. I think I can answer that. While I always feel very comfortable here--the service is accommodating, and the menu presents a fascinating mix--I never leave here thinking about the next time. It has always been thus, from its earliest days as Old Calcutta.
I started with a Negroni, which I had to explain--but that was hardly the first time that happened. Then an appetizer of smoked trout paté, piled high on not enough toasted French bread ovals. The flavor was good, but the texture was dry, perhaps even a little heavy. It could have benefited from the lightest drizzle of. . . well, let's see: herbal olive oil, aioli, white remoulade sauce, whipped cream with dill, to name the first few things that popped into my mind.
A seared duck breast appealed to me, because the duck came from Tanglewood Farms, the new protein arm of Covey Run Farms on the North Shore. The chefs have been very excited by the prospect of using a locally-grown duck. (The guys who shoot wild ducks can cook them, but it's illegal for a restaurant to serve anything but farm-raised birds.)
The duck Sara's served me was generous and had an interesting, lightly gamy taste, which is what I was hoping for. If I had had a better appetite, I would have sent it back to the kitchen for a little more cooking. The imperative that chefs have to cook everything rare is a drawback when applied to duck, I think. A rare duck is a tough duck, and my teeth couldn't handle this very well. I brought most of it home. (Or tried to. As I always do, I forgot that it was in the trunk until a few days later.)
That left room for dessert, a white chocolate cheesecake with orbs of mango. Very sweet, but otherwise enjoyable with my coffee.
Whenever I am in a restaurant where many other tables are occupied by daters, I reminisce about the eighteen or so years I spent in their shoes. And then I remember how glad I am that chapter is long gone.
Sara's. Riverbend: 724 Dublin. 504-861-0565.
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