Corks:

It's not everyday that you get to go out to a nice restaurant. Thursday night I went to probably one of the nicest places I've ever been. Mr. Raine and I enjoyed a deightful meal in which I could simply summarize as exquisite. However, a summary would not do it justice.

The first thing we saw as we entered the restaurant was the kitchen. Right there we could see the work of the chef and his two sou chefs as they cooked and plated the food.

The meal started with wine. The place, as evident by its name, puts a strong emphasis on wine and how it can be complimented by food. I ordered a 2004 chardonnay since I was going to be having fish and Raine got an 2002 Shiraz to go with his beef. Both were excellent wines.

Raine's starter was a Yukon Gold potato soup. Yukon Gold potatos are a medium starch potato that are typically used for more tender potato preparation, but I guess it can be used for upscale soups.

I started with a grilled sweet onion salad. The grilled onion was truly the star of the dish, and I thought it should have been presented in a more prominent manner. The vinaegrette was quite good with a slight hint of salty parmesan. I wouldn't rank this as an extremely delicate starter, in terms of flavor, but I think it served pace the rest of the meal.

Raine's beef burgoisnon (sp?) over mashed potatos and field carrots. He said it melted in your mouth.

My pan seared escolar (snake mackeral) over a white truffle panacotta with baby colliflower. First the presentation is excellent. The car and precision put into making the little tadpoles and even foaming the sauce slightly to add texture to the plate just made this dish fun to eat. The escolar might have been the best fish I have ever tasted. It didn't flake in the same way as talapia or bass do. Instead it was just tender. The savoriness of the pan sear complimented the panacotta really well. I could tell the ingredients were well thought out and the concept in the chef's head was executed perfectly.

Raine finished with a traditional vanilla creme brulee. Absolutely smooth.

I finished with a ricotta pear cheesecake. I've never had a ricotta cheesecake before. It's an entirely different approach to cheesecake. Instead of the creamy, sit-in-your-mouth richness that typical cheesecakes have, this one instantly melted in your mouth because of the lightness and fluffiness of the cheese preparation. Delicious choice of pear, caramel, and walnut.

This all leaves me to wonder, will I ever eat any better than this in my life?