So the annual treat of my birthday dinner - the time where I can pick where I want to go. Hooray me!! So I chose Poole's Diner - the old diner in downtown Raleigh that has been turned into a foodie mecca. Right in my wheel house. Chef Ashley Christensen's restaurant has received tons of praise and accolades, and she took on Bobby Flay on Iron Chef.
We show up at 7:30, and since they don't take reservations, we end up standing out front of the storefront on a beautiful fall evening in NC, since the waiting area is basically 4 seats. We grabbed drinks between the two lunch counters where you can sit to eat (packed, of course), and stood outside our table was ready. I had the Milan Mule - Tito's vodka muddled basil jalapeno/ginger sugar and lemon. The jalapeno came through a little more than I was expecting, but the basil and ginger gave this cocktail a definite different spin. MM had a dark and stormy goslings black seal rum line spicy Ginger syrup and soda.
There are no menus at Poole's - there are chalkboards along the walls with appetizers, main courses and desserts. Even the wine list and drink menus are on chalkboards. Wine prices seemed quite reasonable, and we order a bottle of Fontanafredda Barolo. Not my favorite Barolo of all time - the finish was quite harsh.
MM's appetizer was beef tartare w marinated chick peas and piquillo aioli. I'm still trying to figure out what the herb in the chick peas was, because it complimented the beef tartare so well. My guess was tarragon, but as soon as that taste hits my lips again.....I'll remember. My appetizer was a warm pistachio crusted goat cheese w roasted beets charred sweet onions Belgium endive and orange horseradish viniagrette. I love beets and don't get enough. And putting it with goat cheese and pistachios? Party in my mouth.
My entree was braised boarder leg of lamb w begula lentils roasted tomatoes and oyster mushrooms. By far the best lamb I've ever had. That is no easy task, since I had some fantastic lamb at The First Crush in San Francisco on our honeymoon. (HIGHLY recommended...) So tender, and the lentils brought a different texture to the meal. I wouldn't ever go out of my way to eat lentils, but this meal made reconsider that decision. MM had rosemary roasted chicken w mashed yukons and double chicken stock. Chicken was moist and flavorful, but after having the roast chicken at Bouchon, it's a tough, if not impossible, comparison.
Macaroni au gratin was our side, which is the house specialty. The crust on the mac and cheese was nice and crunchy and delicious, but the molten lava underneath was tough to enjoy at first. Once it finally came down to edible temperature, the wonderful crust flavor had lost its luster. It was good. Had they been able to put the warm crust with the edible heat of the pasta, it would have been perfect, but on each side something was lost.
For dessert, MM had hazelnut panna cotta with chocolate sauce toasted hazelnuts and meringues, and in my non-chocolate ways, had carrot cake w cream cheese mousse and ginger anglaise. The desserts, sadly, were disappointing. The anglaise just didn't seem to work well with the carrot cake in my opinion.
Dinner was delicious and I would say it makes my list of top 5 meals in Raleigh. However, sometimes the hype can leave you underwhelmed, which I think is the case here. I would be interested to go back to Poole's again, when my expectations were not as high. I'll have to bear that in mind when I check out Ms. Christensen's other recently-opened restaurants in the City of Oaks.
We show up at 7:30, and since they don't take reservations, we end up standing out front of the storefront on a beautiful fall evening in NC, since the waiting area is basically 4 seats. We grabbed drinks between the two lunch counters where you can sit to eat (packed, of course), and stood outside our table was ready. I had the Milan Mule - Tito's vodka muddled basil jalapeno/ginger sugar and lemon. The jalapeno came through a little more than I was expecting, but the basil and ginger gave this cocktail a definite different spin. MM had a dark and stormy goslings black seal rum line spicy Ginger syrup and soda.
There are no menus at Poole's - there are chalkboards along the walls with appetizers, main courses and desserts. Even the wine list and drink menus are on chalkboards. Wine prices seemed quite reasonable, and we order a bottle of Fontanafredda Barolo. Not my favorite Barolo of all time - the finish was quite harsh.
MM's appetizer was beef tartare w marinated chick peas and piquillo aioli. I'm still trying to figure out what the herb in the chick peas was, because it complimented the beef tartare so well. My guess was tarragon, but as soon as that taste hits my lips again.....I'll remember. My appetizer was a warm pistachio crusted goat cheese w roasted beets charred sweet onions Belgium endive and orange horseradish viniagrette. I love beets and don't get enough. And putting it with goat cheese and pistachios? Party in my mouth.
My entree was braised boarder leg of lamb w begula lentils roasted tomatoes and oyster mushrooms. By far the best lamb I've ever had. That is no easy task, since I had some fantastic lamb at The First Crush in San Francisco on our honeymoon. (HIGHLY recommended...) So tender, and the lentils brought a different texture to the meal. I wouldn't ever go out of my way to eat lentils, but this meal made reconsider that decision. MM had rosemary roasted chicken w mashed yukons and double chicken stock. Chicken was moist and flavorful, but after having the roast chicken at Bouchon, it's a tough, if not impossible, comparison.
Macaroni au gratin was our side, which is the house specialty. The crust on the mac and cheese was nice and crunchy and delicious, but the molten lava underneath was tough to enjoy at first. Once it finally came down to edible temperature, the wonderful crust flavor had lost its luster. It was good. Had they been able to put the warm crust with the edible heat of the pasta, it would have been perfect, but on each side something was lost.
For dessert, MM had hazelnut panna cotta with chocolate sauce toasted hazelnuts and meringues, and in my non-chocolate ways, had carrot cake w cream cheese mousse and ginger anglaise. The desserts, sadly, were disappointing. The anglaise just didn't seem to work well with the carrot cake in my opinion.
Dinner was delicious and I would say it makes my list of top 5 meals in Raleigh. However, sometimes the hype can leave you underwhelmed, which I think is the case here. I would be interested to go back to Poole's again, when my expectations were not as high. I'll have to bear that in mind when I check out Ms. Christensen's other recently-opened restaurants in the City of Oaks.
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