Amuse Bouche: A very earthy quinoa and cold gazpacho with a savory whipped cream topping.
Nothing spectacular here, but an OK start to the meal. I could have done without the heavy cream on top of the gazpacho, but the gazpacho itself was very smooth and flavorful. Certainly nothing I haven't had before but it started the meal off nicely.
Course #1: Vegetable Ragout w/ egg, truffles and port wine sauce.
Out of the 8 different appetizer options I picked this off the menu to start because as Anthony Bourdain would say "I'm a total egg slut." It may be tough to tell in the picture but that's a perfectly poached egg nestled into the debris of legumes. I split the sum bitch open and let the runny yolk wrestle the nicely cooked vegetables into submission. Overall this dish left me wanting more, more egg, more salt, more egg. Although the veggies were cooked expertly I felt this dish fell a little flat, especially once the delicious yellowy goodness of the yolk had been sopped up. A few pinches of sea salt were provided separately on a butter dish but at $80/meal I felt I shouldn't have to re-season my food.
Course #2: Wild Jumbo Prawn w/ Brioche Crust.
Those big wads of deliciousness sitting ever so innocently next to that big ol' shrimp is pork mother-fucking belly. There are basically 4 ingredients in this dish, butter, shrimp, beans, and pork belly. You could add fatty bacon (and butter!) to a shoe and I would shovel it down the gullet, smile and beg for seconds. The only thing wrong with this dish is that it wasn't part of some wonderful "all you can eat buffet in heaven." Whomever said "you should always leave them wanting more" is an asshole, I needed about 50 of these.
Course #3: Roasted Venison Chop with chorizo, bok choy in a red wine reduction.
Hailing from Maine, I felt it was my obligation to pass on the more glamourous lamb, duck and filet mignon options in favor of a little Bambi for my meat course. Although the chorizo tried valiantly to elevate this dish into something special, the cut of meat itself suffered from a lack of basic salt and pepper. The chop was cooked appropriately, a nice medium rare, but I find that venison is such a lean meat that it needs to be seasoned more vigorously to make up for the lack of fat(flavor.) This course was OK but not exactly what I was expecting from a restaurant of this stature.
Dessert Course: Dark Chocolate Espresso Mousse.
After a disappointing meat course I was completely blown away by finish of the meal. 3 different components, the mousse, a truffle with fried coconut on the outside and chocolate meringue provided a deliciously sweet end to what I felt was ultimately a disappointing experience. The truffle melted in my mouth and the mousse was balanced nicely by the white chocolate pieces that adorned the top.
Beyond the food I was also disappointed in the atmosphere created at Fleur de Lys. I found it almost oppressively dark and heavy with the walls and ceiling all covered with heavy drapery. One large chandelier in the middle of the small and full dining room provided the majority of the light. Although I was left non-plussed by the food the wife and I both found the service to be attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. We encountered no snobbish curtness that one could imagine at a joint this classy and no one seemed to mind the idiot(me,) sitting in the back taking pictures of his food on his iphone. Instead we were impressed by the relaxed tone and quick drink/bread refills from the entire staff. On a different night with some different menu choices I could imagine the experience living up to the expensive price tag and staggering reputation of it's head chef. But overall my experience left me hungrier and poorer than I really had a right to be. I don't suffer delicate food well and the calories consumed Fleur De Lys were quickly burned off with the 2 blocks of the vertical climb back to my hotel room.
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