We rang in 2010 at The Frog and the Peach in New Brunswick! Love the little frog on top of the plate and the confetti on the table!
The 3-course Prix Fixe dinner started off with:
Chef's Amuse: Pickled Crimini Mushroom Skewer with Gribiche Sauce - The mushrooms and chick peas were slightly sour and salty. Can't remember how the Gribiche sauce tasted...it's been over 2 months...memory's getting fuzzy.
First Course: Black Truffle Ricotta Gnocchi Spicy Tomato Confit, Shaved Caciocavallo Provolone - the gnocchi were very soft! While I'm not a big fan of spicy food, but the spice level in the tomato confit was just right. For those who didn't know, confit (for meats at least) means the meat was cooked in its own fat, for tomatoes, pretty much means it's been preserved or cooked in a sauce. The strips of Provolone were delicious, not too cheesy, but just enough to taste the cheese.
First Course: Jumbo Lump Blue Crab Celery Root, Black Truffle, Parsley, Spicy Brown Butter Hollandaise - See the giant pieces of crab meat? Nothing else need be said! Juicy, plump, sweet crab meat.
First course: Braised Short Ribs Smoked Chili Glaze, Cipollini Onion, Shoe String Potatoes - Short ribs is usually a main entree, but this was a first course! The picture doesn't do the short ribs justice.
Main course: Long Island Duck Breast Mango, Scallion, French Red Rice, Spicy Duck Sausage, Dried Cherry Duck Jus - The duck may have been a bit too rare, but the mango and dried cherry duck jus was good! Funny thing, the sausage fell into my glass of water...that became duck jus too.
Main course: Classic Lobster Newburg Puff Pastry, Root Vegetables, Sherry Cream Sauce - The puff pastry was great! Root vegetables include carrots, turnip, potatoes. Sherry cream sauce was a bit heavy with pepper. I wonder if it'd be any better if they served the lobster/vegetables within the puff pastry, instead of just putting the pastry on the side like it's some sort of biscuit.
Main course: Braised Lamb Shank Goat Cheese Ravioli, Rosemary Lamb Jus - If you know me, you know I stay away from eating lamb or its cousins (aka goat), I can't really comment much on this entree, since I'm not a fan of lamb, goat cheese, or rosemary. But the verdict is that it's good.
Dessert: Molten Valrhona Chocolate Cake Frozen Vanilla Soufflé, Dried Cherry-Red Wine Reduction - Valrhona is a French chocolate manufacturer, supposedly one of the best in the world today! This cake definitely tasted amazing.
Dessert: Chocolate Praline Napoleon Chocolate Ganache, Praline Puffed Rice, Caramel Ice Cream - Caramel ice cream isn't something you can get everywhere, and pralines just go so well with chocolate. The napoleon looks kind of like a sandwich, not the napoleon I've been so used to from Taipan Bakery...expected to see more layers, but then again, it's not like it's a mille feuille.
Dessert: Blood Orange Semifreddo Coconut Chiffon Cake, White Chocolate Foam Mousse - Surprisingly, the "blood orange" didn't make the chiffon cake look "bloody"! The citrus taste was pretty strong in the syrup though, might've overpowered the coconut flavor just a bit. The white chocolate foam mousse was so light it was almost like eating air.
Not pictured: Caramel Apple cocktail - Calvados, Van Gogh Caramel Vodka, Lime, Champagne Float. We also got a glass of champagne, and the complimentary champagne toast. Even though I only finished the first 2 drinks, it still took me a while to become well enough to drive home. Lightweight? Maybe. But the Caramel Apple cocktail was strong!
One thing to note about The Frog and the Peach is its one of the first restaurants to install solar-energy panels where 25% of the energy is generated from the sun.
