First, thank you to Eric for this phrase (“eating like a queen”), and thus the final inspiration to write this post 🙂 Second, I really did have a weekend with some absolutely delicious food. With great food comes great company, and I was honored with excellent company!
The first night, I joined my friends Eric and Mary for dinner at Odd Duck Restaurant in Bay View, Wis. Odd Duck is a unique little restaurant on South Kinnickinnic Ave whose menu changes daily, so customers never know what their options will be, simply that they’ll be delicious. The three of us enjoyed what was essentially a 7-course meal plus drinks. We had a small selection of meat and cheese for our appetizer, foie gras, palek paneer, seared scallops, grilled tenderloin, Korean pancake, and pear puff pastry and crème brûlé for dessert. Each course was brought out separately on a plate or serving board, so we could enjoy them family style or—a more technical term—service á la Russe.
Our grand meal started with Red Barn Raw Milk Cheddar, Goat Sec, and Red Wattle Culatello. The cheese, from a hormone-free Wisconsin family farm, was simply delicious and I could have eaten a wheel of it 🙂 It was soft, creamy, and had a flawless milky white color. The goat sec (‘sec’ meaning dried) is the small, circular, dark-colored meat. This meat didn’t taste like any other meat I’ve ever had. I’m not quite sure how to describe it, aside from I liked the taste and would eat it again. The other meat, Red Wattle Culatello, was a dry-cured ham similar to prosciutto from a Red Wattle pig. The taste was definitely ham but with a lighter flavor than deli ham or Christmas dinner ham. The appetizer was served with hamburger pickles, a raspberry, a blackberry, two blueberries, chutney, and bread.
First Course: Meats and Cheese (Photo taken by Eric)
Of our five main courses, the first served was Provençal Terrine, the foie gras (pronounced: fwa gra) served with artichoke hearts, black olive tapenade, shaved black truffles, a roasted cherry tomato salad, and crostini. In French ‘foie gras’ means ‘fat liver’ and its created by force feeding duck or goose corn; despite knowing what the animals endure, I couldn’t help liking the taste. It was quite soft and almost spread on the crostini (bruschetta or ciabatta like bread). Surprisingly, the foie gras didn’t have much of its own flavor. Although this could be because the artichoke hearts, black olive tapenade, and shaved black truffles were included in each bite. Since the artichoke hearts had a bold, dominant taste, I mostly tasted them, but the mixture of flavors was tasty and paired well with the crispy crunch of the crostini. The roasted cherry tomato salad was delish enough to be its own side; the tomatoes had a wonderful summery taste to them. Their roasting held in the natural tomato juices as well 🙂
Second Course: Provençal Terrine (Photo taken by Eric)
Next came the palek paneer, a creamy soup with cheese cubes and served with house naan bread, cilantro, and spicy tomato chutney. Originally from India, this soup has a sautéed spinach base with melting cubes of paneer cheese. I happen to love spicy food and spinach, but combining the two was heaven in my mouth! The thick soup was simply delectable and a close second for my second favorite entrée of the night. The cheese cubes were a melty, soft goodness that created a great balance with the spicy flavors; my mouth is watering and my stomach is growling. If that’s not an indication of how amazing this dish was, I like it so much that I want the recipe, so I can make it myself. I believe Mary and Eric would agree 🙂
Third Course: Palak Paneer (Photo taken by Eric)
The middle entrée was seared scallops with cider braised beluga lentils and mushrooms, bacon, mustard cream, and shaved brussel sprout salad. Since I’m not a fan of seafood, I only tried a bite of the scallops. Honestly, it didn’t taste as bad as I was expecting but mentally I prepared myself for the worst—as I joked about how the scallops didn’t want me to try them since the bite wouldn’t stay on my fork. I’m not sure if it was good enough to eat again; the scallops definitely weren’t good enough to order myself though. I forgot to try both the lentils and the brussel sprout salad because I decided to finish the tasty paneer instead.
Fourth Course: Seared Scallops (Photo taken by Eric)
As I ate the final bites of the palak paneer, the garlic grilled tenderloin arrived with its assortment of broccoli, cashews, and scallions with a Katsu demi-glace. This course was almost as delicious as the soup because it was so juicy and tender 🙂 Mary and I couldn’t overcome how perfectly tender the tenderloin was. This scrumptious meat was so tender Eric cut it with a butter knife! The garlic flavor wasn’t overwhelming, and the Katsu demi-glace (a Japanese glaze beneath the meat) paired so well with the meat I thought it was tenderloin juice.
Fifth Course: Garlic Grilled Tenderloin (Photo taken by Eric)
The last entrée before our dessert was my favorite: a Korean pancake. This tasty not-a-pancake-by-Western-standards had carrots and squash cooked into it and was drizzled with ginger chili sauce. The pancake was covered in scallions, wanton crisps, green chili peppers, and Sambal cucumbers. Its spicy deliciousness made my taste buds dance with joy; so much so that I’d eat at Odd Duck again if the only option was the Korean pancake. Mary and I agree that a second Korean pancake would have been an excellent decision and that it should be a permanent fixture on the menu 🙂 I loved everything about this course. I was slightly cautious about the cucumbers; however, this caution was completely unnecessary as the cucumbers added a softer crunch to the vegetable mixture. Now knowing that Sambal is a chili pepper sauce, I realize how delicious the cucumbers sounded.
Sixth Course: Korean Pancake (Photo taken by Eric)
Finally, dessert time 🙂 The first option our waiter mentioned was crème brûlé, and Mary didn’t need to hear the other options. She kept repeating, “crème brûlé” while Eric and I insisted on hearing the other options. Mary was right in wanting the gingerbread crème brûlé, but the other dessert we got was just as delicious. The other dessert was a pear puff pastry with raspberry sorbet, a blackberry, and two blueberries (left plate). The brown sugar sauce covering the pear was particularly tasty and transformed the pear into an ideal dessert. The pear itself was soft, although not quite soft enough to cut with a fork…as I learned while Eric accused me of not sharing. Mary didn’t seem to notice though because she was indulging in the crème brûlé (right plate), a dessert so delicious it doesn’t need any adjectives. A cookie came with the crème brûlé and added a wonderful crunch to an otherwise smooth, creamy dessert 🙂
Seventh Course: Pear Puff Pastry and Gingerbread Crème Brûlé (Photo taken by Eric)
These seven courses only took a couple hours to devour! The devouring occurred in and amongst the plethora of conversation we indulged in; which for those who know me and know I’m a talker, Eric and Mary talk just as much 😀 Despite the vast amounts of conversation, the food certainly retained our attention the longest.
The following afternoon, I enjoyed lunch at Le Rêve in Wauwautosa, WI with my friend Petey. This French meal continued my royal eating with pan-bagnat (a chicken sandwich), pommes frites (fries), and dark chocolate mousse.
This Pan-Bagnat, a Nice specialty, was packed with new and classic, favorite flavors. The sandwich contained grilled chicken, watercress, basil tapenade, tomatoes, and roasted capers aioli with a side of fries. Before the previous night’s dinner, I’d never had tapenade. This is one of those foods I wouldn’t have eaten or at least would have skeptical of eating if I knew what was in it. It tasted good though and I’ll eat it in the future. The chicken was surprisingly juicy for being grilled and tasted even better with a layer of aioli 🙂 The aioli had a different flavor than I was expecting; it was a good different though. It doubled as a tasty dip for the fries too. They were a bit soft, but the fries were still salty and delicious. The meal was so good, I ate every bite!
Pan-Bagnat, Pommes Frites, and Aioli
Then for dessert, I debated between le dessert de jour, a cheesecake with cherries flavored delish drizzled over it, and the chocolate mousse. Petey ordered first and chose the dessert of the day, so thankfully my decision was simplified. This “traditional Parisian mousse [is] made with Valrhona Caraibe chocolate.” This is rich chocolate that might just be a god among chocolates because it’s that good. The mousse itself was light, fluffy, and creamy with a summery raspberry on top and an edible, decorative chocolate. If I had to choose my last dessert to eat, this would easily be a top contender 🙂 My sweet tooth died and went to heaven while appreciating this mousse. Overall, a perfect ending for back-to-back royal meals that kept me unimaginably full.
Dark Chocolate Mousse
With the help of friends, I not only ate my way around the world but ate like a queen too. I eagerly await future meals and the new foods I’m sure to taste with these friends 🙂
Bethany Blount 