September 14, 2017 Lunch – East Ocean. Dinner – Frenchish
I ate a whitefish on goat cheese open faced sandwich around 9:30.
Then at noon I picked up Peter Eller and drove us to East Ocean for lunch. Peter asked my opinion about what he should order and I suggested he order BBQ pork with Lo Mein noodles and fried shrimp, which he loved. I ordered my new usual, Moo Goo Gai Pan and sweet and sour chicken without any rice East Ocean serves a wonderful egg drop soup and hot tea with lunch. Moo Goo Gai Pan has the most vegetables; bok Choy, onion, baby corn chunks, water chestnut slices, sliced bamboo shoots, mushroom slices (my favorite), celery, broccoli flowerets, fresh snow peas, and chicken. It is decidedly not on the diet, but I have never stopped loving sweet and sour chicken; usually chicken supremes chopped and battered and deep fried and then sauced with that awful red dye sweet and sour sauce. I can’t resist it. If it shortens my life, so be it. There were five pieces of chicken on today’s plate.
After lunch we drove to Sprouts and bought blueberries on sale for $.98for a 6 oz. plastic container and I bought four lb. of sweet onions for $.50/lb.
I felt great after my lunch and when the sky became overcast, it sprinkled a bit, and the temperature dropped around 4:00, I decided to ride to Montano and back.
Shortly after I returned home at 5:00 and lay down to watch the NBR Business show on PBS, Suzette arrived.
I took a shower and got dressed in my black on black Chinese silk shirt that I had found on the discount rack at the silk factory and museum in Suzhou, China for $20.00, probably because it was a XXXL Chinese size that fit my XL sized American body perfectly but probably fit very few Chinese, and black jeans while Suzette searched the internet to find a restaurant for dinner. Barry and Dave with Southwest Productions and their crew are coming tomorrow to shoot a My Chart commercial in the house, so we decided to go out on a dinner date rather than mess up the kitchen by cooking at home after Loyda had cleaned it spotlessly today.
After my shower we considered the options. Suzette wanted to go to a restaurant on the Central core. By 5:45 we settled on Jennifer James’ new restaurant “Frenchish”. I had tried her earlier restaurants,
but not since she was awarded semi finalist recognition by the James Beard Foundation and had not
tried her new restaurant. We found a parking spot 1/2 block away beside Mariposa Gallery and walked across Central to Frenchish at 3509 Central (the old Ella Rose store that was and may still be owned by the folks from whom I bought the property at 3213 Central in 1985).
Frenchish
We were immediately impressed by the modern design and open layout of Frenchish when we walked in. We were seated at a two top banquette with a view of the entire restaurant, including the open hot line and cold line. Jennifer James stood at the end of the hot line and oversaw everything, which I found interesting.
There was a happy hour menu with a few lighter appetizers and drinks that was served until 6:30. We started our meal with a Salad de Jour from the Happy Hour menu, which was locally sourced romaine lettuce, bits of Toulouse sausage, red onion, radish, cooked corn kernels, and thin slices of red Thai (prik) chilis ($6.00). The small salad produced a powerful punch of flavor that woke up the taste buds in our mouths.
Our waiter was wonderful. He was knowledgeable about the preparation and ingredients in every dish and very agreeable with our desire to share dishes. He mentioned a number of specials including a Sauternes poached foie gras served with toast points and red currant preserves substitution for the foie gras treatment mentioned on the menu, which I immediately ordered ($18).
Then he mentioned fresh steamed mussels. Since we had decided to add the salad, we chose ½ lb. of mussels for $7.50 rather than 1 lb. for $15.00 and we agreed on the Parmesan Crusted Veal Paillard with roasted potatoes and a tomato and arugula salad ($22) for a simple four course meal that gave us a chance to share four different dishes in the American French style of dining that puts the salad course first, instead of after the entrée, and then reverts to the French order of appetizer, fish course, and then entrée. Since we had cherry Clafoutis and cognac awaiting us at home we did not need the palate cleansing effect of a salad between out entrée and our dessert, but, if we return for a full six course meal, we may eat the salad after the entrée and before the dessert. As we were eating, I noticed that the couple next to us ate a lovely plate of Morbier cheese garnished with fresh mission figs as an appetizer that would be a lovely choice for a light cheese and dessert course ($12).
After we and the waiter worked out our selection of dishes he excused himself to place our order, leaving us to peruse the extensive wine list. We immediately were drawn to the section labeled “$25.00 bottles” and immediately saw a bottle of 2015 La Petite Perriere Rose’ of Pinot Noir from France that turned out to be a Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc blend from Appellation Controlee Aix en Provence that had more acid backbone than fruitiness, perhaps because of the addition of Sauvignon Blanc and also because it was one year old and had lost some of its fruitiness. Suzette liked it a lot and as I sipped it and we added ice cubes to it, I did also. It was a good neutral choice for the wide array of foods we chose.
The wine was served first, soon followed by the salad. Soon after the salad the foie gras was served, three small slices of chunks of foie gras cooked into a terrine. Our waiter explained that the thick layer of fat on the top of the slice of terrine wax the result of the poaching process in which the
Sauternes exchanges place with the fat in the foie gras and the fat floats to the top of the terrine. I was impressed that there was someone in the kitchen who had made a study of poaching foie gras and by the delicate flavor of the sauternes flavored goose fat.
After the meal I told Jennifer how much we enjoyed the meal and she introduced the lady who made the foie gras dish. I told her, “Good fat” and we shared a collective foodie smile and moment together.
I prefer the softness of baguette and butter to toast points with foie gras, so I ordered bread service for $3.00, a warmed super crusty Sage Bakery mini baguette that was super soft on the inside served with a small ramekin of delicious butter. I recommend the bread service.
Having forsaken my diet, I cut the baguette in half and slathered both insides of the warm roll with butter and placed a piece of foie gras on one piece of bread and garnished it with some red currant preserves and a few sprigs of baby arugula and took a little trip to food heaven and France in the same moment.
We noticed several other couples ordering foie gras and a rabbit terrine, which gives me great satisfaction in the level of sophistication of the dining public in Albuquerque and the prospects for Frenshish’s continued success.. In fact, I predict that if Frenchish continues this level of Cuisine, Jennifer will be cooking a meal at the James Beard Foundation within two years. She is as good as any of the new American chefs I have recently encountered and Frenchish is good enough to attract quite a buzz.
Soon after we finished our foie gras we were served the steamed mussels and the veal paillard dishes, which worked great because we dipped pieces of roasted potato into the white wine, garlic, mirepoix flavored sauce in the bowl in which the mussels were served. The mussels had been steamed to perfection; plump and juicy, making me grok that September was an “r” month. The mussels were served with large spoons that were perfect for lifting a spoonful of strips of the thinly julienned leeks and carrots and broth to one’s mouth. We loved the succulent mussels.
We were getting full but not so full as to prevent us from making short work of the pounded and tender slab of veal encrusted with bits of Parmesan cheese. I must admit to being too sated to carefully analyze the light sauce on the veal, but I guess it was a light butter and Marsala sauce, perhaps made in the sauté pan with the dish. The veal was served with lightly baked cherry tomatoes and more fresh baby arugula, which must be the favored green by fine dining restaurants this year because I am seeing it a lot.
The final surprise was the bill, which was only slightly over $87.00 for the four courses, bread service, and a bottle of good wine. I had that momentary French Bistro feeling as we ran across Central in the cool damp “after it rains” air to our car and drove home.
This was such a special night that I fetched the bottle of Otard XO I had bought in the duty free shop in China seven or eight years ago to pour shots for us to sip with the cherry Clafoutis garnished with whipped cream. I also had a cup of Earl Grey tea with my dessert and cognac.
A great evening of food.
Bon Appetit
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