Last night I had dinner with a friend at Fleur de Sel, a French restaurant in the Flatiron District of NYC. It's a charming, well-designed space with just a few tables. We went for an early dinner so the crowd was sparse, which is how I generally prefer to dine.
In the evening chef Cyril Renaud offers up a three-course prix-fixe dinner with an abundance of innovative dishes to choose from. I went with the waitress's recommendation and started with the Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Rose Water, Exotic Fruit Purée and Red Wine Sauce. One bite into the Foie Gras had me praying that New York City never follows Chicago's example of banning Foie Gras. I don't know how Chicagoans can stand it. I always know when it's time for me to find a restaurant and order Foie Gras because I start dreaming about eating it. It's a staple of my diet.
For my entrée I ordered the Colorado Lamb Rack with Lamb Sausage Crêpes, Baby Vegetables, and Whole Grain Mustard Sauce. I could have eaten a whole plate of just the Sausage Crêpes. Luckily the portions in the restaurant were very French, which some might call small. I'd say they were perfect. After finishing the appetizer and entrée I had plenty of room for dessert, Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Spiced Bread and Rum Raisin Ice Cream. The cake had the circumference of silver dollar and was maybe just a couple of inches tall, the perfect size for enjoying the gooey dark chocolate, but not enough to be overwhelmed.
We finished the meal with coffee and a plate of cookies, which were once again the perfect size, so we left the restaurant entirely satisfied, but not painfully full or guilty of gluttony. On our way out the door we were each handed two beautifully wrapped individual coffee cakes to take home for breakfast. If I had held any doubts about this restaurant, it would have been this final touch that would have won me over. As it was, the entire evening was wonderful, and the coffee cakes just made it more so.
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