9.06.2004
fin
Finally, the last restaurant week meal for the rest of the year. This one was good. Lumiere is a cute little restaurant operating out of what used to be a Brigham's ice cream parlor in West Newton. We went as a family and were able to order everything on the menu, sans wine. I had the wine tasting, which I have to say was sub-par. But I digress.
First course: local mesclun salad: my brother hated this. It was tasteless and exceedingly ordinary. Chilled Sweet Corn Soup: both of my parents ordered this and it was amazingly sweet and subtle, even with a sweet and hot pepper vinaigrette. I had the Maine mussels, which were cooked in a Smuttynose India Pale Ale. Not surprisingly, the wine pairing here was actually more of the IPA. Not bad.
Main course: my brother had the pan roasted chicken, which was outstanding: in each bite there was a burst of flavor followed by a juiciness one hardly ever associates with chicken. Mom ordered a hanger steak with french fries, which was good, but not outstanding. The fries, however, in true European fashion, were full of flavor and buttery goodness. My dad and I both ordered the Chatham hooked cod, servved on a sweet corn, potato, and applewood smoked bacon ragoût. This was, in my opinion (not shared by my family, I might add), the best dish of the night. The cod was pan seared and crispy on the outside; inside, the flesh was firm and moist, with just a bit of flakiness. Stealing the show, the ragout was heavenly: this was a creamy sauce: sweet from the corn and savory from the bacon, perfectly balancing each other and the potato. Honestly, this felt like a nice corn chowder. Unfortunately, the wine was far too acidic for this dish. I was disappointed with this wine, a 2003 Rueda Blanco from Las Brisas, Spain. The wine would have worked with something less sweet. Here, it was almost a chore to drink.
Finally, dessert: Dad had a watermelon sorbet with melon salad and lime-tequila syrup. The sorbet was delicious, but the syrup was far to sweet. Mom tried the Valrhona Manjari chocolate mousse with crème fraîche and candied hazelnuts. This was very good, but I hate hazelnuts with a passion. My brother and I both ordered the wild maine blueberry crisp with ginger ice cream. This was a tad blah. The ginger ice cream was good, not sticky sweet like many other ginger ice creams. However, the crisp itself was much too sugary: the blueberry flavor got lost. This was served with a Mas Amiel, Muscat 2003. I'm not much for dessert wine, so perhaps I just didn't get this. I might have liked the wine on its own, but it did nothing to enhance the dish in any way.
OK, that's it. I'm restauranted out. I long for a bowl of ramen noodles and a dr. pepper...
First course: local mesclun salad: my brother hated this. It was tasteless and exceedingly ordinary. Chilled Sweet Corn Soup: both of my parents ordered this and it was amazingly sweet and subtle, even with a sweet and hot pepper vinaigrette. I had the Maine mussels, which were cooked in a Smuttynose India Pale Ale. Not surprisingly, the wine pairing here was actually more of the IPA. Not bad.
Main course: my brother had the pan roasted chicken, which was outstanding: in each bite there was a burst of flavor followed by a juiciness one hardly ever associates with chicken. Mom ordered a hanger steak with french fries, which was good, but not outstanding. The fries, however, in true European fashion, were full of flavor and buttery goodness. My dad and I both ordered the Chatham hooked cod, servved on a sweet corn, potato, and applewood smoked bacon ragoût. This was, in my opinion (not shared by my family, I might add), the best dish of the night. The cod was pan seared and crispy on the outside; inside, the flesh was firm and moist, with just a bit of flakiness. Stealing the show, the ragout was heavenly: this was a creamy sauce: sweet from the corn and savory from the bacon, perfectly balancing each other and the potato. Honestly, this felt like a nice corn chowder. Unfortunately, the wine was far too acidic for this dish. I was disappointed with this wine, a 2003 Rueda Blanco from Las Brisas, Spain. The wine would have worked with something less sweet. Here, it was almost a chore to drink.
Finally, dessert: Dad had a watermelon sorbet with melon salad and lime-tequila syrup. The sorbet was delicious, but the syrup was far to sweet. Mom tried the Valrhona Manjari chocolate mousse with crème fraîche and candied hazelnuts. This was very good, but I hate hazelnuts with a passion. My brother and I both ordered the wild maine blueberry crisp with ginger ice cream. This was a tad blah. The ginger ice cream was good, not sticky sweet like many other ginger ice creams. However, the crisp itself was much too sugary: the blueberry flavor got lost. This was served with a Mas Amiel, Muscat 2003. I'm not much for dessert wine, so perhaps I just didn't get this. I might have liked the wine on its own, but it did nothing to enhance the dish in any way.
OK, that's it. I'm restauranted out. I long for a bowl of ramen noodles and a dr. pepper...
