Zack Bruell announces the official start of the 2011 Tour de Bruell.  To take part in the Tour, diners should simply visit any Zack Bruell restaurant - Parallax, Table 45, L’Albatros or Chinato – between Memorial Day and Labor Day and ask for their Tour de Bruell ticket.   Each time a participant purchases dinner at one of the restaurants, they earn a stamp on their ticket.  In order to complete the Tour, participants will have to get one stamp at each Zack Bruell restaurant.

All fans that complete the Tour de Bruell will receive a commemorative t-shirt, featuring the 2011  theme:  “Get Your Zack On.”  From those individuals, 10 semi-finalists and their guests will be randomly selected to enjoy a complimentary wine tasting dinner at Table 45, featuring cuisine by Bruell and champagne offerings by Moët & Chandon.  In addition, one grand prize winner will receive the custom, in-home, four-course dinner for eight, prepared by Bruell.

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual Summer Solstice Party, now in its third year, is just around the corner – Saturday, June 25^th. The event will feature all-night music, food, drinks and dancing to celebrate the long days and hot nights of summer us Clevelanders have been so patiently awaiting.  But why wait until the 25^th to enjoy?

Starting next week, each Zack Bruell restaurant will offer its own unique multi-course, prix fixe Summer Solstice menu for one week, to promote the Summer Solstice party.  Chinato kicks it off next week followed by L’Albatros.  Here’s the official menu schedule:

• Week of May 31 (Tues-Sat):  Chinato
• Week of June 6 (Mon-Sat):  L’Albatros
• Week of June 13 (Mon-Sat):  Parallax
• Week of June 19 (Sun-Sat):  Table 45 (Table 45 will offer pre-party dining for Summer Solstice Party 2011)
• The cost for these Summer Solstice Menus are $35 per person

Chinato’s menu:

• 1^st Course: Lamb sweetbreads with roasted tomato aioli
• 2^nd course: Pappardelle with zucchini, chickpeas, arugula mint and pecorino cheese
• 3^rd course: Fennel-dusted cod with bell pepper and fennel risotto and basil butter
• 4^th course: Lemon cheesecake

L’Albatros’ menu:

• 1^st Course: Salad of Garden and Local Greens with Charred Tomato Vinaigrette
• 2^nd Course: Braised Pork Belly & Tiger Shrimp with Lavender Pork Jus
• 3^rd Course : Strawberry Clafoutis

The actual event takes place on 6/25 at the museum starting at 6 p.m. and lasting until 2 a.m. General admission tickets are $125 for CMA members and includes hors d’oeuvres plus open bar from 6-8 p.m. From 7:30 p.m. until 2 a.m., general admission is $60 per person, $40 for CMA members, and free admission for CMA members at the Fellow level or higher and includes appetizers and cash bar. And from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., advance tickets are $15 per person, $20 per person at the door and includes snacks and cash bar.

While I’m really hoping to attend this event, there’s a good chance I just may be in labor (though if I go, UH is just around the corner…). Unless you’re also nearing the end of your pregnancy and the notion of staying up until 10 p.m. is a foreign concept to you these days, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go. It has quite the reputation of being one of the best summer parties in town! And thanks to the CMA and Zack Bruell, I have two tickets up for grabs to attend from 10 p.m. on. To be entered into the random drawing, just leave a comment to this post (sorry – to be fair, Facebook doesn’t count, but I do appreciate the conversation there!) telling me your favorite thing about Cleveland summers.

Good luck and happy summer! You have until June 8^th to enter.

Here’s a recap of our recent Bruell eats:

On Saturday, I got together with my oldest and dearest friends to celebrate two birthdays at Chinato. Our husbands were there too, though you wouldn’t have known it until we left (boys on one side, girls on the other). For two of the couples, this was their first trip.

The night did start off a little shaky. There were 8 of us and they sat us in a table clearly meant for 6. Sure, we could have all fit, but we would have been packed like in sardines and no one wants to go through a meal without being able to lift your arms. That’s not conducive for an enjoyable night out (and knowing we were an 8 top is why I made rezzies nearly 6 weeks out).

The management quickly saw this was an issue and changed our table. Problem (easily and swiftly) solved. Unfortunately, the somewhat shaky service did continue throughout the night. I get it was crowded and I get it was a Saturday night. But I have to imagine we’d be a good table to have: fun group, lots of food, lots of alcohol and we weren’t in a hurry to get someplace. But there were small things throughout the night that made us all feel like it was a bother to wait on us and that our server had much better things to be doing with his time (forgetting to bring things out, rolling eyes when asking for oil for bread, rather condescending overall, etc.).

But on to what really matters – the food! And as all of our previous visits, the food was stellar. We started off with fried artichokes, mussels, involtini and ribollita for the table. For my dinner, I had my favorite fennel salad (seriously, I can’t go there without ordering this) and a half order of the pappardelle with creamed cauliflower, pecorino and peperoncini (love how there is zero cream in this velvety sauce).

Everything was top notch and happily devoured by all. If you haven’t been, I recommend going soon. And despite the off service this night, we have enjoyed wonderful service on past visits.

For our 4^th wedding anniversary, we went to Parallax. Now this has long been a favorite of ours since he first opened. We love sitting out front during the summer, cocktails at the bar, and the main dining room, too. And they have some of my favorite sushi in town. But I have to say, this was my first trip to Parallax were I didn’t leave wowed and completely content.

I started with the yellowtail, jalapeno, mango chirashi with avocado sushi rice, followed by the beet salad and finally the udon noodles with rock shrimp & pork belly (miso black cod – as always – for Jamie).

I stand corrected. I was quite content and overly smitten with my entrée. Plenty of pork belly and shrimp swimming in mounds of noodles. I was happy. But not so much with my two starters. The beets weren’t cooked enough and the chirashi was just bland (which was surprising given its accompaniments).

But everyplace has off days and perhaps this was one of them. Because like I said, we’ve been big fans for years now and one experience like this won’t change that.

Finally, dinner with friends at L’Albatros. My favorite outing of the three (meal wise) because of two things: Brandon and cheese. Zack is truly lucky to have found Brandon and us Clevelanders are lucky Brandon chooses to call Cleveland home (side note: read more about how Brandon Chrostowski ended up here in Fresh Water). Service was excellent as was the food. And if you’re a fan of cheese, you simply can’t leave until you have let Brandon share some of his favorites with you.

While the cheese is always my favorite part of my L’Albatros experience, I did also greatly enjoy my oysters and braised leg of lamb. And the overall atmosphere is my favorite of all three.

Bruell’s Seared Sea Scallops with Thai Curry

Add olive oil to sauté pan over high heat.  When smoking, place sea scallops in pan with butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook for 30-40 seconds on each side until golden brown and caramelized.  Remove from the pan.  In the same pan, add curry paste, brown sugar, coconut milk and fish sauce.  Whisk together over high heat.  Finish with chopped cilantro.

Roasted Eggplant with Fresh Tomatoes, Feta and Mozzarella Cheese Pomegranate Reduction (adapted from Table 45’s current winter menu)

Ingredients

Eggplant

Method: In a bowl, toss the slices in olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 degree oven until tender and cool in refrigerator. When ready to serve bring to temperature on the grill or oven.

Yogurt Sauce

Method: Add all the ingredients together and incorporate well; hold in refrigerator.

Pomegranate Reduction

Method: Place the pomegranate juice and vinegar in a small pot.  On medium to low heat reduce the mixture till little less than half.  Once reduce transfer reduction to another container and let cool.  The pomegranate Reduction should be thick where it can be slowly drizzled onto a plate.  If the mixture has been reduced too much you can always add more pomegranate juice until in thins up to where it can be drizzled.

Plating: Layer eggplant in the middle of the plate. Take sauce and drizzle along the outside of the eggplant. Garnish the top of the eggplant with feta cheese and tomato salad. Drizzle with pomegranate sauce.

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This post was sponsored by Heinen’s. When making these dishes at home, the wine experts have two recommendations:

• For the scallops: ZAZA, a  serious Rosé from Spain that could almost be called a light red.  Abundant berry flavors and surprisingly full body makes this a Rosé to get excited about.  ($9.99/bottle)
• For the eggplant: Alexander Valley New Gewurztraminer // Perhaps the best-value Gewurztraminer from CA. Perfumed aromas and pear and spice flavors make this organic-farmed wine great with Asian foods. ($8.99/bottle)

We went a few weeks ago on behalf of Metromix and I’m still thinking about my meal (you need to try the fennel salad). Here’s part of the review, or get the full skinny here.

Food: The menu focuses on simple Italian and does not concentrate on one region. And there are choices—a lot of choices. Bruell describes Chinato as the Italian version of L’Albatros with touches of Parallax. There isn’t parmesan of any kind, but all scratch cooking. To develop the menu, Bruell spent 12 days in Italy eating at least four meals a day. “On the trip, the dishes were very rich and heavy. I don’t want to do that here, so it’s my take on that,” he explains.

The menu is sectioned into crudo, or cold starters (think Italian sushi), antipasti, salads, pastas (all available as a half or full order), entrées, pizza and contorni, or sides.

On our visit, we started with the yellowtail over pesto with tomatoes ($9), tomato and bread soup ($6), fennel, orange, olive and tomato salad with ricotta ($8), a half order of the ravioli stuffed with pork, veal, zucchini and porcini with butter and parmesan ($10) and the zuppa de pesce ($21).

First, we should state just what a difficult decision this was. Everything on the menu was quite tempting. Nonetheless, we made the right decision because all our dishes delighted us. The star of the meal was surprisingly not a main dish, but the fennel salad. This dish exceeded expectations and has been on our mind since. You need to start your meal with this spectacular salad..

The soup was also a nice start to the dinner. Completely blended, it wasn’t as filling as we were anticipating. If you’re looking for an even lighter start to the meal, the beautifully-presented yellowtail is a good choice. It’s fresh, flavorful and incredibly light (though we would have liked a few more tomatoes).

Speaking of light, we were expecting the ravioli to be on the richer and slightly heavier side as compared to our other courses. But this dish was anything but. It was fresh and almost delicate. And size-wise, the half portion is plenty, especially when pairing it with other courses.

Our main entrée, the zuppa de pesce, featured a wonderful sampling of fresh seafood, like plump scallops, calamari, mussels (though the clams were almost non-existent) in a slightly spicy tomato sauce that was begging to be soaked up by the crostini (our favorite part).

For dessert, we tried the razor-thin pineapple slices in simple syrup with vanilla bean gelato. A bit on the small side, it was refreshing nonetheless, and coupled with cappuccino, made for a good ending to dinner.

Libations: Nineteen of the country’s 20 regions are represented on the 200 bottle wine list that’s 70 percent Italian and offers a handful of hard-to-get wines (a couple are actually exclusive to Chinato only). General Manager Rob Rasmussen spent an extensive amount of time planning the wine list and training the staff on each offering. His approach to the wine list was to course out the wine, much like you would the food while dining in Italy.

For example, he explained that you may start off the meal with a prosecco then work into a red. They want patrons to sample and enjoy several of the wines, which is why the menu is reasonably priced (numerous bottle options in the $20-$30 range with several pours $10 or less). It’s also worth noting that Rasmussen based much of the list on the Gambero Rosso wine list, which publishes a book on each of Italy’s regions and producers and rates them between 1-3 (with 3 being the best). Many of this magazine’s picks for best wines can be found on the list, including Les Cretes, a 2006 chardonnay for $150 a bottle that received a 3 and was named the best wine in all of Italy. For a little less (at $9 a glass), his pour of choice for guests is the Italian white Orvieto Barbi from Umbria. It’s one wine he feels all guests should sample.

There are also several specialty Italian-inspired cocktails, like the Tuscan per or Chinato Stiletto, as well as beer available in bottles and on tap. According to assistant GM Shannon Bizga, a happy hour is in the works to highlight some of the specialty drinks.

Décor: Italian yes. Checkered tablecloths, no. Bruell feels like you should walk into a restaurant and feel like you’re escaping. With Chinato, he’s taking you to Florence, or someplace in Italy, but keeping it modern. He feels his architect summed it up best when he described the finished space like walking into sepia photograph circa 1920s or ’30s (which is evident from the giant panoramic mural of Florence that stretches across one wall of the main dining room).

Like Parallax and L’Albatros, the space is smart and perfectly designed. The long bar encourages patrons to eat and drink. There are large white columns in the dining room, an open kitchen and a large, eclectic chandelier that serves as the focal point.

Service: Our visit took place on the eve of opening night, yet one would never know. The restaurant ran like it’s been open for years. The staff walked around with silverware caddies eager to replace utensils, glasses were promptly refilled, staff was quick to recite the menu and offer suggestions and meals were appropriately spaced.

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Speaking of Bruell, he’s catering the VIP portion of this year’s Jump Back Ball, which benefits Playhouse  Square on February 27. Do you want to go? A VIP ticket gets you early entrance to the black-tie  pre-party, open bar, live entertainment, and of course Bruell’s cooking (plus demos) from each of his four restaurants. The theme for this year’s event, now in its 19th year, is Carnaval. I’ve never attended, but have always heard nothing but high praise and good things about it. It must be fun, considering close to 1,000 people attend each year and they almost always sell out. Want to go? Grab your party dress (or tux) and let me know your favorite thing about Playhouse Square (or on the flip side, something you’d like to see improved upon, a play you hope makes its way here, etc.). Just leave a comment with your thoughts by Thursday, February 4 (by 5 p.m.) and I will randomly pick a winner for the pair of tickets courtesy of PlayhouseSquare Partners. Good luck!

Soon he’ll be lending his name, formidable imagination and precise execution to a fourth restaurant — this one planned for downtown Cleveland’s restaurant row on East Fourth Street. Look for Chinato to open this fall, at Fourth and Prospect Avenue.

“It will be an Italian restaurant — or, at least my take on Italian,” says Bruell.

By the way: If you’re curious about the name, chinato is an Italian wine that’s fortified with herbs, spices and various kinds of bark, producing a drink used as a digestif.

Food editor Joe Crea also included information on tomorrow’s opening of Bar Symon:

Casual is king on the menu, too. Grilled sausage platters, appetizers, a raw bar and bar snacks are major categories, with dishes as simple as feta- and oregano-laced popcorn ($3) or some really tasty Spicy Pork Cracklings ($4) to more upscale options like Duck Confit Sliders ($6 each) and Roasted Bone Marrow With Parsley and Chile ($8). I tore into a basket of really delicious Crispy Fried Organic Chicken lightly coated with fragrant truffle honey and strewn with crunchy rosemary sprigs ($15). Delicately sweet Bacon Creamed Corn ($4), its flavor intensified by simmering the kernels in a stock rendered from whole cobs, was a perfect side. But I loved what’s maybe the menu’s unlikeliest dish — Fried Brussels Sprouts ($5), an addictively tasty combination of quartered sprouts fried golden, then dressed with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, capers, Fresno chile, walnuts, parsley and anchovies.

Nothing on the menu exceeds $18, with the exception of the large-cut, spit-roasted prime rib ($24; the small portion is $17) served Friday nights only. Matthew Harlan is executive chef, Jason Bryson serves as sous chef, and pastry chef Cory Barrett will produce desserts for all of Symon’s local restaurants from the kitchen.

Good luck, Michael and Matt! We’ll be in soon for what will no doubt be the first of many visits (I have family in Avon so I’m excited for this location!).

This was our third visit to the restaurant. On prior visits, we sat in the same room, the one that’s to the right of the bar. This time we sat to the left of the bar in the cozy brick room with a fireplace and views of the patio.

We started off with a wonderful bottle of the Normon petite syrah, of which I think I enjoyed the majority. I passed on the cauliflower soup for fear of making the same mistake on previous visits (filling up on soup and not being able to fully enjoy anything else) and instead opted for the beat salad. I peaked at nearby diners’ tables and they all seemed to be oohing and ahhing over the soup. Chef Bruell’s creativity really shines, in my opinion, with soups. None the less I opted to pass on what I know would have been wonderfully tasty for something that was just okay (the beet salad actually only had a hint of beets). Regardless, it’s not the salads that draw one into L’Albtros or keep bringing us back.

For dinner, I ordered the braised leg of lamb over pasta risotto and rosemary jus while Jamie once again chose the Saturday night special: beef bourguignon with pearl onions, mushrooms and burgandy reduction. Our server shared with us that this continues to be one of the most popular items and they sell out each Saturday by 8 p.m.

Wow. There really isn’t a better way to describe our meals. Before we even took a bite, we knew we were in for a treat based on aromas alone. When you can smell your dish approaching, you know it’s going to impress you. Jamie’s dish was even better than we remembered from our first visit. And the lamb – that just might be the best lamb I’ve had out in a long time.

And to top it all off – and what made Jamie bring me here in the first place – five glorious cheeses handpicked from Brandon Chrostowski, manager/fromager. Honestly, I would love to share exactly what I had, but I was feeling too good from the wine to bother writing anything down, and the more and more I turn 29, the less and less I can remember. But it doesn’t matter – just tell Brandon what you like and he’ll happily set you up on a wonderful journey that will delight your palate.

It was a perfect evening and a delicious way to end an already good day that started off at the farmer’s market at Shaker Square (purchases at Ohio Honey and Tea Hill Farms) and breakfast at Vine & Bean (more on that later).

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Speaking of Zack Bruell, if you’re a fan, you might be interested to know he’s offering his version of cooking classes: Take 45 with Zack at Table 45.

The interactive cooking demonstrations and tastings will feature Bruell preparing his signature eclectic fare, providing techniques, tips and insight in Table 45’s state-of-the art open kitchen. Sessions will feature a different theme every month; the first is Tandoori oven cooking.

Take 45 will take place every other Tuesday at 6 p.m., beginning June 23, and accommodates up to eight participants. The demonstrations cost $55 per person, including chef-prepared cuisine. Optional wine pairings are available for $25 per person. Reservations are required. Call 216-707-4045.

Obviously, we go out to eat quite a bit. I was thinking about why we never made it to Table 45 previously and I think it comes down to its location. Being inside a hotel, it’s somewhat hidden from the outside world and therefore never top-of-mind. On the flip side, its proximity to the museums and orchestra is ideal, especially since there are only a handful of places I would recommend dining in that area before an event. For the most part, we like to go to places where we can walk around after, sit on a patio or sit back and enjoy the crowd and atmosphere. I suppose if I really think about it, being situated inside that hotel in particular is the reason why we’ve never gone until recently, when Bruell’s PR person invited us to have dinner, thus completing the tour de Bruell (if you’re a regular reader, then you know I’m a big fan of Parallax and L’Albatros).

Table 45, which is named after Bruell’s favorite table at Parallax, sits on the first floor of the hotel. And while there are a few negatives associated with its location, one big plus is complimentary valet parking (just be sure to have your server validate you ticket). Like Bruell’s food, I also appreciate his taste in décor and how he transformed L’Albatros and Parallax. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Table 45. The restaurant itself is big and super contemporary with lots of blond wood. It’s clean and simple, just not my taste. It reminded me of a giant, cold, sterile conference room. Perhaps that’s because it’s in a hotel and surrounded by the massive Clinic. Perhaps he didn’t have much of a say in the design and the restaurant had to fit within certain confines. I’m not sure. But we both definitely preferred the atmosphere of his other restaurants over this one. With that being said, there were a couple elements we both enjoyed, specifically the flatware and bread and appetizer plates as well as a few booths that are somewhat hidden – plus table 45 itself, which is a glass-enclosed table located inside the kitchen and provides guests with direct access to the chef (who cooks just for you). I haven’t seen anything like this in our area before; ideal if you have a special occasion.

Table 45’s menu is globally focused, with extra nods to Indian cuisine (a big plus for me). We started off with the homemade naan which featured four different spreads (the hummus and olive tapenade the clear winners). From our table we watched the one chef toss the dough into the 800 degree Tandoori oven and a minute later, carefully pull out some of the best naan we’ve ever sampled. After dinner, we got an even closer look into the oven and all that goes into naan.

For appetizers, I had the tuna carpaccio with cucumbers, tomato, Feta and mint oil; Jamie went with the black bean soup topped with generous amounts of goat cheese. For salads, I tried the Belgian endive with shaved prosciutto and Parmesan, citrus slices and olive oil while Jamie had the wedge with Maytag bleu, eggs, red onion and caramelized lardoons. For our dinner, I chose a new item: the poached halibut infused with olive oil and herbs served atop lentils, saffron aioli, roasted garlic and smoked paprika broth. Jamie ordered the fennel-crusted short ribs with red peppers, potatoes and roasted fennel.

The tuna was outstanding, both in taste and presentation. Fresh, flavorful and incredibly satisfying. I loved the mint oil and cucumbers paired with the tuna. Jamie was also equally impressed with his soup, and so was I after the few tastes I had. I loved the texture of this soup and the creamy goat cheese. The salads were just ok – nothing memorable here. In fact, my salad was missing the one ingredient I was most excited about – the prosciutto.

As for the dinners, it’s been two weeks since we dined there and are still telling friends just how good both dishes were. My halibut was absolutely wonderful. I savored each bite and was truly impressed with this dish, same for the short ribs. While the ribs didn’t have as much fennel taste as I would have hoped for, they were tender, cooked perfectly and left Jamie speechless during most of the meal. Both dishes were executed beautifully and left us smiling the whole ride home.

Zack Bruell continues to impress us with is culinary know-how and creativity in the kitchen. I am a bona-fide fan. We truly have so much talent in this city and while some of my favorite chefs are no longer technically cooking on a daily basis, they are educating, training and passing on their points of view to the next generation, like sous chef Tom Shrenk who was in the kitchen the night we were there.

So while I may not be wowed with the space itself, based on this visit, the food is truly wonderful and a good choice if you’re in the area. Again, aside from L’Albatros and Michaelangelo’s, there isn’t much else I’d recommend if you have plans within the vicinity.

Symon was in good company; Chef Zack Bruell was also nominated for Parallax. There was a total of 20 chefs vying for top honor, including a sizeable chunk from Chicago-area restaurants. Symon was nominated once before for this category in 2006.

According to the foundation, these awards are deemed “the Oscars of the food world,” by Time magazine. The James Beard Foundation Awards are the country’s most coveted honor for chefs; food and beverage professionals; broadcast media, journalists, and authors working on food; and restaurant architects and designers.

What an accomplishment for this incredibly talented chef (and all around good guy) who continues to make his city proud.

A few weeks ago, chef Zack Bruell’s PR person e-mailed me to extend an invite for dinner at Parallax on him as a way of saying thank you for the coverage and helping to drive traffic to his restaurants. This blog was started out of my passion for local food and Cleveland a few years ago. I don’t make any money on it and we always pay for our own meal. But on occasion, a chef will send something over to the table, or as the case last week, invite us to dinner. Although the gestures are greatly appreciated, it’s worth noting that I never let anything influence my posts. After all, if I’m not honest, I’ll lose credibility and people will stop reading.

I’ve written about Parallax a lot. It’s easily one of our favorite restaurants and on my short list of places I recommend when contacted for suggestions. The food and service are consistently good and there is always something new on the menu to try.

On our visit, we started off with two salads: seared scallop with tomatoes, bacon, arugula and white French dressing for me and warm goat cheese with endive and mustard vinaigrette for Jamie. For dinner, I went with the seared tuna with horseradish mashed potatoes and port wine sauce while Jamie had the popular Alaskan black cod with miso glaze. We also shared the unavo roll and each had a glass of the Woop Woop cab.

I’ve had the scallop salad before. I like the different textures and the scallops combined with the dressing. This time, however, the scallops were too salty. I ate them, and enjoyed the rest of the salad, but looking back I probably should have said something.

Our roll was really quite good. I’m not sure if people think of Parallax for sushi. I’ve gone several times for this alone. It’s always fresh, nicely prepared and really enjoyable.

My tuna was also quite good, especially the horseradish mashed potatoes. I was debating between that and the Thai seafood stew. Although the stew sounded rather tempting, in the end, I was very happy with my dish.

The black miso cod also delivered. This dish is a perfect example of how consistent the kitchen is. Jamie and I both have ordered the cod many times over the past few years and it’s always spot on.

While I’ve yet to try Table 45, between L’Albatros and Parallax, chef Bruell continues to earn high praises from us. And Natalie, too, considering she has already been to both at the ripe old age of 3 months.

L’Albatros is the newest restaurant endeavor from Zack Bruell (Parallax, Table 45) in the old That Place on Bellflower space. I absolutely love Parallax and have never had a bad experience there, so there was no doubt in my mind that this French brasserie was the right restaurant for such occasion.

I can’t even remember the last time I was at That Place, maybe 7 or 8 years ago, if not longer. Therefor, I can’t really recall what the space looked like. But from what I’ve read, Zack basically redid everything, from the decor to some structural work. Whatever he did, it worked because the space is quite beautiful. The styling is very clean and minimal overall. There are warmer colors on select walls to help soften the mostly stark white interior. It’s very well done overall.

Before we even looked at the menu, we ordered two glasses of champagne, which then turned into a glass of Woop Woop cab for me and a martini for Jamie. The server then started going over the few specials and we were quickly sold on basically everything, from specials to the entire menu.

Our server was so sweet and genuinely excited about the food. Her enthusiasm won me over and I decided to start off with the soup and salad specials (a lentil and lamb minestrone and a beet salad with goat cheese and candied pine nuts); Jamie had the onion soup. For dinner, I went with the veal short rib and Jamie chose the beef bourguignon.

The soup, which was topped with pesto, was ridiculously good. It had amazing layers of flavor and big chunks of lamb. The beet salad was also incredible, so good that there wasn’t a speck of evidence left on my plate. Jamie also really enjoyed his onion gratinee (that soup could almost be a meal). I enjoyed my few bites as well, but was surprised by how sweet it was, perhaps a little too sweet.

For my entree, my favorite part was the wild mushroom risotto – perfect texture and taste. I thought the short ribs were good, but not great. They were a little tougher than I anticipated and not as flavorful. I’m not sorry I got it, but think I will try something else next time. As for Jamie’s dish, he couldn’t have been happier. He called it sophisticated comfort food and enjoyed each bite (I agree – the few bites I snagged were really quite good).

As for dessert, Jamie was sold on the warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and I went for a selection of three cheeses. We are very predictable – if there is something warm and chocolate on the menu, Jamie will order it every time and I can never pass up cheese.

Up until Saturday night, I would have awarded Baricelli as offering the best cheese selection in town. That distinction now goes to L’Albatros and Brandon, the guru of all things cheese (look for a q & a with him soon).

If it’s cheese you want, it’s cheese you get. Brandon comes to your table with approximately 25 different types of cheese. The cheese board changes weekly and features selections from all over the world plus several local options. Tableside, Brandon will either describe each one in detail for you, or based on your likes and dislikes, make a recommendation. I went for option number two.

I’m sure I’m going to butcher the spellings, but I tried Langres from France, a very sexy cheese as he described it with black truffles and cow’s milk; Case Forest from Germany, stinky but pleasant on the palate; and ozze from Portugal (plus one bleu but I didn’t write down the name).

With each serving of cheese, Brandon relayed a story of its origin and some interesting fact. It was very informative and we were both impressed by his great knowledge.

From the first bite, we were sold. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up and enjoy cheese and wine on their patio. Of course, I’m sure we’ll be back long before it’s warm enough to eat outside – special occasion or not.