Better Late Than Never

With the exorbitant amount of school work that I’ve been forced to prioritize lately, it’s been nearly impossible for me to have a moment to myself where I can actually find the time to blog! Luckily, though, I got the bulk of my work over with so I can now share with you photos from my wonderful birthday dinner this past Wednesday at none other than my absolute favorite restaurant, yes you’ve guess it, Pure Food and Wine.

For starters, once my mom and I arrived to the restaurant and were seated, I was handed a gift bag from Sarma! She went out of her way to think of me, and gave me one of the new, amazingly soft and cozy, One Lucky Duck t-shirts! I felt so loved! Sarma is the absolute sweetest person, and her unnecessary, but much appreciated gesture really made my night even more special that it already was.

Speaking of special, our meals were nothing short! I started off with the Butter Lettuce Caesar Salad served with a lemon caesar dressing, sliced avocado, pignoli parmesan, and a chocolate balsamic reduction. Needless to say, it was absolute perfection! I especially love the creative use of the chocolate drizzle which sets this salad apart, and gives it a rich and decadent feel.

My mom went with the special Fig and Walnut Tart served with ‘caramelized’ leeks and fennel, fresh fig, and dollops of a sweet beet cream. Of course, I had to take a bite; believe me when I say it was every bit as divine as it sounds. The combination of sweet and savory flavors made for such a unique, yet cohesive dish. Delicious!

We were also served a complementary order of the new Hazelnut Crostini served with a dollop of cashew cheese, and drizzled with a local apple cider reduction. Seriously, they tasted like little bites of heaven. The crostini was packed with flavor, and it’s sweet components made for an effortless pairing for the savory cashew cheese.

Onto the main course! I went with a tried-and-true favorite of mine, the Saffron Pickled Golden Beet Ravioli filled with a currant and shallot cashew cheese, and served on a bed of harissa spiced heirloom tomato ragout and garnished with marinated fresh market greens. In short, if I could eat one dish for the rest of my life, it would most definitely be this! Everything about the dish is absolute perfection; all of the different flavors come together seamlessly, and leave the palate craving more and more! I absolutely love how the hot and spicy harissa ragout pairs with the sweet flavors of the cheese filling, and the beet ‘wrapper’ itself.

My mom chose Pure’s signature dish, the Zucchini and Heirloom Tomato Lasagna, served with layers of sundried-tomato sauce, basil-pistachio pesto, and pignoli ricotta. I don’t think it’s humanely possible to not love this dish- it’s insanely delicious and rich, and yet it doesn’t leave you with that heavy feeling that typical cooked lasagna would. I’d recommend this dish to anyone new to raw food- it’s sure to make a convert out of even the most picky of eaters!

Onto my favorite part of the night- DESSERT! You all know that no matter how full I may or may not feel, dessert is something I could never turn down. With that being said, my mom and I decided to celebrate to the fullest extent, and ordered three desserts to share.

We started with the Chocolate Passion Fruit Tart, which consists of a passion fruit curd with fresh raspberries, framboise pearls, vanilla cream and chocolate cacao ice cream. I’ve had this dessert plenty of times in the past, and it was an instant favorite of mine from the moment I had my first bite. The bold flavor of the passion fruit is surprisingly the perfect complement to the chocolate, and doesn’t overpower it in the slightest. I absolutely love it!

Next on the list was the new Roasted Plums and Pistachio Cake served in a sweet red wine sauce with cinnamon cream, plum sorbet, and ginger-cinnamon cookies. I couldn’t believe how incredible this dessert was; I think it was my favorite of the night! The best part of it was that the pistachio cake was nice and warm, which made it all the more amazing. Once again, the flavors in this dessert were ones that I never would have imagined to commingle with such an effortless union. The warming flavors of the ginger and cinnamon were lovely complements to the gently heated pistachio cake. I can’t rave enough about it! Stop me before I don’t shut up!

Lastly, we ordered the infamous Mint Sundae which is packed with chocolate, fresh mint, and mint chip ice cream, with mint chocolate cookies and vanilla cream. One thing you should know about me is that I’m mint-phobic; yes, I absolutely DESPISE mint with a passion. So much so that one measly taste of it will make me cringe. My close friend Liz (aka VeggieGirl) has been hounding me for forever, trying to convince me that the sundae tasted like “a chocolate sundae with a hint of mint.” I took her word for it, and dug in. The verdict? One bite, and my mouth was tainted with an explosion of mintiness. I let my mom polish the rest of it off by herself, and she was crazy in love with it. It’s not that I didn’t like the dessert- it’s just that I have an intolerance to anything with mint in it! But so many people are huge fans of the Mint Sundae, so please don’t let me and my mint bias persuade you from trying it. If you don’t mind mint, or like mint for that matter, this dessert is definitely for you!

As you can probably tell, we both had a fantastic time, and I couldn’t have had a better meal! Well, maybe I could have- after we finished our dinner, I headed around the corner to One Lucky Duck, and brought home a mallomar and a gingersnap and lemon sandwich cookie for the road. Believe me, they didn’t last very long!

Alright guys, I’m off to do some last-minute studying- story of my life, lately! I’m in need of a well-deserved break. Or at least another mallomar. ;)

Have a great week!

October 21, 2009. Uncategorized.