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dreamsharkPrevious outings include:
Cafe Maude - thumbs up
Cafe Agri - thumbs down
Gigi's - thumbs up
It's not the Blackbird Cafe or Cafe Blackbird or even Blackbird's. It's just Blackbird. It's less than 2 miles from our house, and we'd been meaning to try it out for quite a while. But sadly it is not open for dinner on Sunday, our favorite day for eating out. Boo. Also, inexplicably, they don't have bike racks out front.
However, other than those little complaints, it gets a rave review from both of us. I actually had lunch there last September and like it a lot, but this is the dinner review. Yum. That's the verdict. The decor is still charming, sunny and airy in the front, dark and intimate in the back. The menu has the same pleasantly schizy quality; you have a choice of familiar beef-based meals served with big plates of home-cut fries or subtle and inventive combinations of fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats. Naturally, we went for the subtle and inventive side of the menu.
Because I'd been biking and swimming for much of the day and was ravenous, we ordered appetizers right away, and were very glad we did. We had the Crispy Duck Rolls and Chevre with Almond Crust, Fried Shallot and Apricot Chutney. Both were exquisite. And despite being described in the menu as "tidbits," they were perfectly normal appetizer size servings. The "almond crust" turned out to be a cross of 4 crispy little flatbread crackers with a mound of chevre (soft goat cheese) perched on the cracker crossroads. What made this dish shine was the smaller mound of apricot chutney under the chevre. If you like fruit and spices with meat or cheese (which we do), this is a heavenly combination. The duck rolls were the best deep-fried spring rolls I have ever tasted, nicely presented with tiny quantities of two different sauces right on the plate. The sweet and piquant red chili pepper sauce turned a very good spring roll into something really special.
We were tempted by the Thai Rabbit Salad, but settled on the Sweet Pea Ravioli (With sauteed pea shoots, black trumpet mushroom custard and ricotta) and Griddled Walleye (Walnut crusted, with organic baby spinach, basil curry, pickled pepper relish). Both were very very good, with light sauces and just enough piquant ingredients to keep the side dishes interesting. The "black trumpet mushroom custard" (in case you were wondering) was a little mound of dark creamy stuff with a very intriguing musky flavor, paired with a similiar size white creamy mound that must have been the ricotta. It was a nice presentation that made the oddly colored mushroom mousse a lot more appealing.
We shared a creme brulee for dessert, which didn't really live up to the quality of the rest of the meal. The dessert chef had gone a little nuts with the brulee iron, and overcooked the sugar crust. It looked beautiful, but the crust was so hard that you had to strike it sharply with an implement to break through it. Not too surprisingly, it tasted a little burnt, which made the overly delicate custard underneath just seem tasteless. On the other hand, the 2 almond biscotti that came with it were delicious. The waitress had recommended the bread pudding, and we probably should have listened to her. Oh well, maybe next time.
The prices are not at all unreasonable, but things add up quickly, especially if you order drinks. With wine, fancy lemonade, appetizers, entrees and dessert, it came to about $60 (before tip). Lunch is much more affordable.
Cafe Maude - thumbs up
Cafe Agri - thumbs down
Gigi's - thumbs up
It's not the Blackbird Cafe or Cafe Blackbird or even Blackbird's. It's just Blackbird. It's less than 2 miles from our house, and we'd been meaning to try it out for quite a while. But sadly it is not open for dinner on Sunday, our favorite day for eating out. Boo. Also, inexplicably, they don't have bike racks out front.
However, other than those little complaints, it gets a rave review from both of us. I actually had lunch there last September and like it a lot, but this is the dinner review. Yum. That's the verdict. The decor is still charming, sunny and airy in the front, dark and intimate in the back. The menu has the same pleasantly schizy quality; you have a choice of familiar beef-based meals served with big plates of home-cut fries or subtle and inventive combinations of fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats. Naturally, we went for the subtle and inventive side of the menu.
Because I'd been biking and swimming for much of the day and was ravenous, we ordered appetizers right away, and were very glad we did. We had the Crispy Duck Rolls and Chevre with Almond Crust, Fried Shallot and Apricot Chutney. Both were exquisite. And despite being described in the menu as "tidbits," they were perfectly normal appetizer size servings. The "almond crust" turned out to be a cross of 4 crispy little flatbread crackers with a mound of chevre (soft goat cheese) perched on the cracker crossroads. What made this dish shine was the smaller mound of apricot chutney under the chevre. If you like fruit and spices with meat or cheese (which we do), this is a heavenly combination. The duck rolls were the best deep-fried spring rolls I have ever tasted, nicely presented with tiny quantities of two different sauces right on the plate. The sweet and piquant red chili pepper sauce turned a very good spring roll into something really special.
We were tempted by the Thai Rabbit Salad, but settled on the Sweet Pea Ravioli (With sauteed pea shoots, black trumpet mushroom custard and ricotta) and Griddled Walleye (Walnut crusted, with organic baby spinach, basil curry, pickled pepper relish). Both were very very good, with light sauces and just enough piquant ingredients to keep the side dishes interesting. The "black trumpet mushroom custard" (in case you were wondering) was a little mound of dark creamy stuff with a very intriguing musky flavor, paired with a similiar size white creamy mound that must have been the ricotta. It was a nice presentation that made the oddly colored mushroom mousse a lot more appealing.
We shared a creme brulee for dessert, which didn't really live up to the quality of the rest of the meal. The dessert chef had gone a little nuts with the brulee iron, and overcooked the sugar crust. It looked beautiful, but the crust was so hard that you had to strike it sharply with an implement to break through it. Not too surprisingly, it tasted a little burnt, which made the overly delicate custard underneath just seem tasteless. On the other hand, the 2 almond biscotti that came with it were delicious. The waitress had recommended the bread pudding, and we probably should have listened to her. Oh well, maybe next time.
The prices are not at all unreasonable, but things add up quickly, especially if you order drinks. With wine, fancy lemonade, appetizers, entrees and dessert, it came to about $60 (before tip). Lunch is much more affordable.
