Before I go into the recipe, I wanted to blog about my recent experience at Restaurant Eve. This past weekend Neil and I celebrated our wedding anniversary of 6 years!!! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. He took me to Restaurant Eve on Saturday night. It was my first time there and it was a very memorable 3 hour experience. The restaurant is a lot larger than I envisioned and very tastefully decorated with gorgeous paintings throughout. The decor very much reminded me of Bayona in New Orleans. It's very intimate and quaint. It definitely sets the mood and ambiance for a "special occasion".
We had a 9pm reservation but went early to try some drinks from the bar of famous, local mixologist Todd Thrasher. The drinks are phenomenal and by far the best I've ever had. He even makes his own tonic! There's a separate room for the bar that's very lively and staffed with friendly bartenders that will guide you through the difficult task of choosing a drink. A lite food menu is also served there. If you wish to have drinks alone, you can try Todd Thrasher's creations at the after hours "speak easy" PX in Old Town. I've been and it's a fun experience.
Chef Cathal Armstrong's restaurant has an Irish influence. By no means is this typical Irish fare, but you can see highlights. The tasting room offers a 5, 7 and 9 course tasting. You can choose your own courses, or allow the chef to surprise you. We opted for the 5 course "choose your own" tasting, but with several little additional surprise samplings from the chef, it's definitely more than 5 courses. They offer a wine pairing as well, but after already having a potent drink at the bar, I just got a couple glasses of wine. Portions of the courses were small, but by the end we were both happily stuffed. Everything we ate was delicious. But, I have to admit that nothing blew me away. I always look for that ‘wow’ factor when dining in a high end restaurant. That said, I just want to emphasize again that everything was consistently delicious, and maybe I set my expectations too high. I've been reading up on Chef Cathal Armstrong for years now, and God only knows what my mind conjured up. In any case, the overall experience was wonderful. We particularly enjoyed the butternut squash gnocchi and quail breast over a quail mousseline. Oh, and surprise courses from the chef of crab bisque and mini canapes were delectible. Service left a little to be desired. Our waiter was a little bland/rehearsed, but that's just the luck of the draw. He did everything right...just a little boring. They did acknowledge our anniversary by noting it on our menus and giving us a take home gift bag of Kerrygold butter, scone mix, and coffee beans. Btw, the butter is insanely good, and the waiter told us that it's sold at Whole Foods! This might become my new staple.
Btw, if you plan to venture to Restaurant Eve for the tasting room, try to make the reservation 2 months in advance. They were booked solid when Neil tried last month, and only a 9 pm was available. Restaurant Eve also has a "bistro" room which offers a more casual dining experience with an a la carte menu. If you work near Eve, then you must also try the Lickety-Split lunch special which offers two courses for only $13.50 during the week. Maybe I'll make my way there on a "sick day".
Now, on to the recipe. A while ago I blogged about a delicious pork dish that I tasted at Mourayo. It was pork loin medallions served with Greek cheese, fig sauce and honey. I did recreate this one at home and was very happy with the results. I used a pork tenderloin and cut it into 1 1/2 inch thick circles. I seasoned the medallions liberally with salt and pepper and seared them to medium rare temperature on a hot, greased iron skillet. I placed the pork on top of a honey almond sauce. I made this sauce by simmering and reducing 1/4 cup honey with equal part chicken stock. Add more/less honey and stock to suit your taste. Towards the end, I added slivered almonds to the sauce. I topped the pork with seared manouri cheese which can be found at your local greek market. Cut the slices thick because when you sear the cheese slices it will shrink in size. Sear them on a skillet until golden brown on both sides. Btw, Manouri cheese is a mild goat cheese and Neil didn't even notice!! Hopefully he doesn't read this blog too often :) Finally, I topped the seared cheese with a fresh fig sauce. It looks beautiful and the taste lives up to the presentation.
We had a 9pm reservation but went early to try some drinks from the bar of famous, local mixologist Todd Thrasher. The drinks are phenomenal and by far the best I've ever had. He even makes his own tonic! There's a separate room for the bar that's very lively and staffed with friendly bartenders that will guide you through the difficult task of choosing a drink. A lite food menu is also served there. If you wish to have drinks alone, you can try Todd Thrasher's creations at the after hours "speak easy" PX in Old Town. I've been and it's a fun experience.
Chef Cathal Armstrong's restaurant has an Irish influence. By no means is this typical Irish fare, but you can see highlights. The tasting room offers a 5, 7 and 9 course tasting. You can choose your own courses, or allow the chef to surprise you. We opted for the 5 course "choose your own" tasting, but with several little additional surprise samplings from the chef, it's definitely more than 5 courses. They offer a wine pairing as well, but after already having a potent drink at the bar, I just got a couple glasses of wine. Portions of the courses were small, but by the end we were both happily stuffed. Everything we ate was delicious. But, I have to admit that nothing blew me away. I always look for that ‘wow’ factor when dining in a high end restaurant. That said, I just want to emphasize again that everything was consistently delicious, and maybe I set my expectations too high. I've been reading up on Chef Cathal Armstrong for years now, and God only knows what my mind conjured up. In any case, the overall experience was wonderful. We particularly enjoyed the butternut squash gnocchi and quail breast over a quail mousseline. Oh, and surprise courses from the chef of crab bisque and mini canapes were delectible. Service left a little to be desired. Our waiter was a little bland/rehearsed, but that's just the luck of the draw. He did everything right...just a little boring. They did acknowledge our anniversary by noting it on our menus and giving us a take home gift bag of Kerrygold butter, scone mix, and coffee beans. Btw, the butter is insanely good, and the waiter told us that it's sold at Whole Foods! This might become my new staple.
Btw, if you plan to venture to Restaurant Eve for the tasting room, try to make the reservation 2 months in advance. They were booked solid when Neil tried last month, and only a 9 pm was available. Restaurant Eve also has a "bistro" room which offers a more casual dining experience with an a la carte menu. If you work near Eve, then you must also try the Lickety-Split lunch special which offers two courses for only $13.50 during the week. Maybe I'll make my way there on a "sick day".
Now, on to the recipe. A while ago I blogged about a delicious pork dish that I tasted at Mourayo. It was pork loin medallions served with Greek cheese, fig sauce and honey. I did recreate this one at home and was very happy with the results. I used a pork tenderloin and cut it into 1 1/2 inch thick circles. I seasoned the medallions liberally with salt and pepper and seared them to medium rare temperature on a hot, greased iron skillet. I placed the pork on top of a honey almond sauce. I made this sauce by simmering and reducing 1/4 cup honey with equal part chicken stock. Add more/less honey and stock to suit your taste. Towards the end, I added slivered almonds to the sauce. I topped the pork with seared manouri cheese which can be found at your local greek market. Cut the slices thick because when you sear the cheese slices it will shrink in size. Sear them on a skillet until golden brown on both sides. Btw, Manouri cheese is a mild goat cheese and Neil didn't even notice!! Hopefully he doesn't read this blog too often :) Finally, I topped the seared cheese with a fresh fig sauce. It looks beautiful and the taste lives up to the presentation.
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1 comment:
Sonal, I'm glad to see you've added the date to the top of your posts! It's a welcome change, and it puts your posts in context, which I really enjoy
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