I wonder how many people tried to start food blogs after watching this movie?  How could you not pray for your own cooking breakdown, followed by an amazing book deal after seeing Amy do it so gracefully?  Well it certainly motivated me to really get this blog going!  I think that  if I ever start falling behind on blogging, I will pop that movie in, and let Meryl’s strange accent and infectious laugh force me back to the computer.

We arrived around 815 without reservations and were told that there would be about a 25 minute wait, but we were pleasantly surprised with a call after 10 minutes to tell us that our table was ready.  Since we were in a detox mood we didn’t bring any alcohol, but the restaurant is BYOB and nearly every table had a bottle of red or white.

The inside of the restaurant is very cozy.  The lights are dim and it is sparsely but smartly decorated.  It almost looks and feels like a Parisian cafe in the evening sans the smoke.  There are about 12 tables or so, and we got nice window table tucked away in a little nook.

Our waiter greeted us awkwardly, on par with the rest of his service throughout the evening.  The menu changes nightly so we weren’t sure what to expect.  We were presented with about five different options each for appetizers, main course, and dessert.  And then of course the vegetarian tasting menu which I immediately decided on.  I perused the rest of the menu and nothing seemed too exciting to me other than Scallops in citrus risotto.  My dinnermate suggested that we share the prix fixed meal and the scallops; on top of that she ordered the Rutabegga Pear Soup.

After a short wait my first course and my friend’s soup came out.  My first course was sliced cauliflower with olives and sherry vinaigrette.

As you can see the presentation could be better.  The cauliflower was thinly sliced and fresh but was overpowered by the vinagrette and sliced Parmesan which accompanied it.

My friend said that the soup had a very mild taste, and was nothing spectacular.

My next dish was a goat cheese tart with leeks. This course was a bit better.  The goat cheese was mild which matched well with the mild taste of the leeks.  There were also some room temperature lentils served on the side which were a nice accompaniment to the tart.  The crust was soft and flowed nicely with the texture of the tart.  Once again however, the presentation was nothing special.

While my friend and I enjoyed this dish the waiter poked his head into the nook and asked if we were done….we weren’t! We still had our forks in our tart.  He sheepishly scampered away.

After this course, there was a long wait before our main course.  Good thing we had a lot to talk about or else there may have been a lot of isolated chatter about our hunger and how long it was taking for our dishes to come out.

Finally our food arrived!  First,  the scallops.  They were presented nicely with some orange flowers on top to match the citrus theme of the dish.  They were very moist and thick with a nice soft but firm texture.  The taste was mildly citrus-y.  There was some rissoto underneath the scallops which I did not try but my friend said was OK.

Unfortunately, my dish was not OK.  The spaghetti and broccoli seemed to be made with some kind of white wine sauce.  There was very little salt, and I had to ask for them to bring out fresh, crushed black pepper (which was very necessary to bring any flavor to this dish).  Yes, the broccoli was fresh, but really, is that so impressive.  This dish was not bad, but was not better than anything that could be made with minimal thought at home.

There were some appetizing desserts on the menu, but we decided to pass.  My prix-fixed meal was $25 and so were the scallops, the soup was another $8.

As we left we saw that many people were taking their time and lingering, polishing off their bottle of wine, or enjoying some french-pressed coffee.  With the nice calm atmosphere, who could blame them.  As long as they had moved past the food, it seems like quite a nice place to enjoy your last glass of wine.

My friend saw some one later that night who had also dined at Legume at the same time as us.  He approached her and they talked about their meal.  Before my friend said anything he said “I dine there all the time and love it, but tonight, didn’t it seem like something was off.”  Something did seem off, after all of the positive reviews we had read.  Hopefully that is the case and this deviation from the norm does not become the norm.

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Ann’s “Mash-Up” Mashed Taters

Being the clever little teenager she is, Ann decided she wanted to mash more than just potatoes.  To this end, she found three recipes on Epicurious and mixed and matched the ingredients and procedures to her liking.  The result?  Simple, no-nonsense mashed potatoes enhanced with a splash of roasted garlic.

Ingredients
2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
5 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
additional salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take the head of garlic, cut it crosswise so that the tips come off, break it into cloves, and arrange them on one layer of foil. Wrap them up, wrap yet again with a second layer of foil. When the oven is ready, put the garlic bundle in for 45 minutes. This should be enough time to peel, boil, and mash the potatoes.

Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters.  Place quarters into a pot with 5 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt.  Cook on high heat until boiling, then reduce to a simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender (approx 10 to 15 minutes).

Drain potatoes in a colander, then transfer to a large bowl and keep hot, covered.  Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan over moderate heat until the butter is melted. Slowly mix the liquid in with the mashed potatoes, mashing with a slotted spoon, spatula, or fork (whatever is available).

Take the garlic out of the oven when ready, unwrap the cloves, and let cool for a few minutes. When you can safely touch the cloves without burning yourself, gently squeeze the interiors (should be very soft) out into the bowl of mashed potatoes. Mash the garlic in, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Garlic, salt, and pepper quantities can be increased for greater flavor in mashed potatoes that are meant to be eaten alone, without gravy.

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Ran’s Scallion & Garlic Herb Mashed Taters

As a former vegetarian and still mostly-vegetarian, I like it when mashed potatoes are as tasty as possible without gravy. So, I set out to create my own recipe maximizing flavor by adding scallion, scallion-infused butter, and garlic herb butter.

Ingredients
3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 bunches scallions (about 2 cups chopped)
1/4 cup (half stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup garlic herb butter (you can get this at Whole Foods, or make your own by sautéeing minced garlic and herbs of your choice in regular unsalted butter)
Half-n-half, to taste
Salt & pepper, to taste

First, peel the potatoes and quarter them. Place potatoes in a large pot, and fill with enough water to cover potatoes by about 1 inch. Add a dash of salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender (check with the fork), almost falling apart.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop scallions. Heat 1/2 stick butter in a large, nonstick skillet and sautée scallions until just tender (about 6 minutes).

When potatoes are finished cooking, drain in colander and return back to pot, setting the heat to low. Mix in 1/4 cup garlic herb butter, and add half and half in small portions while mixing with and mashing potatoes, stopping when the desired consistency is achieved.

Pour scallions (and the butter they cooked in) into the mashed potatoes and mix thoroughly. Add generous amounts of salt and pepper to taste. Voila!

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The verdict? Ann liked hers better, I liked mine better (no biases here, of course). Our mom said each was good in its own way (very helpful, mom). I can, however, confirm that I’ve since made the scallion garlic herb potatoes on multiple occasions, and it always receives compliments.