The Breakdown:
- Occasion: Fancy date night, anniversary dinner, etc.
- Attire/ambiance: Classy, elegant.
- What to order: Definitely the Anatra (duck) and Trofie Nero (squid ink pasta, quite unique). If you like rich desserts, then get the Tartaletta.
- Reservations? Yes. (Keep in mind: the 4-course prix fixe may take 3 hrs.)
I had my first Michelin Star experience at Ai Fiori - "Among the Flowers" in Italian, the epitome of fine Italian & French dining. I now have a much greater appreciation for the sheer level of dedication and detail that these places must maintain 24/7.
After we ordered, our
server brought over a complimentary appetite-awakener. The grape was a nice touch, and balanced out the savory panna cotta cheese.
Then they presented an assortment of freshly-made bread to choose from, including multi-grain
bread, sweet onion rolls (pictured), French baguettes, etc. I normally never use butter with bread, but their herbed butter was irresistibly light and fragrant.
Elegantly plated appetizer - Insalata di Astice: Nova
Scotia lobster, cipollini onions, celery, new potatoes, dill. There's so much going on here...Great balance of flavors.
My appetizer, the Vellutata: lobster soup, périgord black
truffles, tarragon. I thoroughly enjoyed the first few bites; however, it
quickly became too rich/heavy for my taste.
My next course was their famous Trofie Nero (squid
ink pasta): ligurian crustacean ragu, seppia (cuttlefish), scallops, spiced mollica (bread crumbs). The thick, crunchy, tightly-coiled pasta strands were fun to eat but over-hyped, in my opinion.
Another great pasta option is their Risotto: riso aquarello (Italian rice), duck confit, mushrooms, marsala (wine),
parmesan fonduta. They definitely didn't skimp on portion size!
The next meat dish, the Tagliata: prime dry aged strip loin,
endive, potato terrine, “cacio e pepe” (basically cheese and pepper),
balsamico, bordelaise. The meat was cooked perfectly, very tender and juicy, but lacked the wow factor for us.
On the other hand, we absolutely loved my meat
dish, the Anatra:
long island duck, apple mostarda (an Italian fruit and mustard condiment), tuscan kale, hazelnuts, cipollini onion. It was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and the fruity sauce,
nut-encrusted caramelized skin, and flavorful meat complemented each other beautifully. Best dish that night, hands-down.
Though I was much too full to even contemplate
dessert, I gave in anyway to the raspberry mousse paired with a tangy peach sorbet, fresh fruit, and white chocolate.
Also fantastic but very rich – the Tartaletta: Loma Sotavento 72% ganache (a smoky dark chocolate),
chocolate chiboust (pastry cream), tiramisu gelato.
Instead of mints, these delicious petit fours accompanied the check.
Thus concludes a
food coma-inducing but very memorable dinner. My only gripe would be toward the insanely slow service...We got there at around 8:30 pm
but left at almost 11:20. At least the numerous courses of the meal kept us
entertained.
