So we decided to go to La Mie for dinner, since we knew that it was open. So we headed down there, shortly after Shannon got home from work and got sat down in front of the restaurant to wait for a table in the back of the restaurant. They served us their nummy bread (hard crust on the outside, soft on the inside) with butter and I ordered a glass of wine (which was served to me by the chef for the evening).
I got a good view of how cooking in this fairly small place works. It was one guy working in their tiny kitchen (the bread baking happens in the basement). Everything within a short reach, so there's not a whole lot of running back and forth that is needed. Above the stove, there are heating shelves (I think) where they place pans that are done cooking while they finish another part of the meal. I was fascinated.
Shannon and I also discussed the possibility of me changing careers...although it's a fairly small possibility. Considering that I want to take care of her and maintain the lifestyle that we are accustomed to. But I think that I may want to head down a road to become a chef. I know I wanted to be one when I was a kid. There is even a magnet that is at my parent's house that has my name on this little chef. But the problem is that It would pay quite a bit less then what I'm making now...So maybe me doing work on weekends might work, but I know I'll start at the crappy part of cooking (prep). But it's a thought at least.
They gave us a menu to drool over while we were waiting for an actual table. So we were able to decide what we were going to have. The issue was that there was a table of 8 in a restaurant that has trouble having a table of more then 4. So there were 8 people that came in all at the same time...so it kind of pushed everyone else back...But we weren't in any real rush, so it was fine.
The white wine that I had was pretty good, very light at first with a long strong finish. For Shannon, initially she seems ok with it, but when the finish hit her, it was a bit too much for her. I believe it was a Louis Jadot Chardonnay. There was a wine on there where the description just sounded really good, but wasn't available by the glass, it was Bloom Signature Riesling. I'm going to have to find that somewhere.
After a while, we were moved to the back where we could order. We had talked about ordering a fromage (cheese) plate as an appetizer, but I think we were both afraid that we'd fill ourselves up on the cheese rather then the food that we wanted to order. They were out of the soup, and they were also out of their lamb to make dish that Shannon had planned on ordering. So Shannon ordered the steak, which was steak with potatoes and leeks. I had a sort of mini-meat loaf (even though they'd probably be offended by that terming of it that way) made of veal and pork.
Shannon, not a coffee drinker, ordered mocha to get some caffeine in her system to keep her awake (for bowling later). She didn't like it cause even with the steamed milk and chocolate and whipped cream, it was still far to bitter for her taste (So I drank it).
Our dinner salads came. Shannon had simple vinaigrette, and I had a red wine dressing and they were over a mix of lettuces. Certainly no iceberg here. One thing I did notice was that there was no salt or pepper on the tables anywhere...which I can understand, cause I know that I can get upset when people salt and pepper things I've made without even trying it. But the salad already had pepper in it and was also lightly sprinkled with a tasty white cheese. Shannon's vinaigrette dressing had a very light taste to it, but was still pretty good. My wine dressing was strong and delicious (although Shannon said that it was too strong for her). It was tart and really danced on my tongue as I ate the salad. I'm going to have to say that the salad was probably one of the best that I had. No croutons, no eggs or tomatoes, just a simple mix of various greens with wonderful dressings.
I ordered a second glass of wine...a red this time...and I'm not remembering what it was. It was good though...although Shannon didn't like it much either.
Then our Dinners came. La Mie didn't skip on the presentation and even though the picture is a bit dark (since I didn't want to use the flash), but I actually took a picture of my food:
For me, my experience was quite amazing, Shannon wasn't as pleased. Since she isn't a big fan of steak to begin with (she's more a chicken girl). Shannon's potatoes were thinly sliced and fried...they also had a little sour cream and chive next to them...I think. So if it sounds like potato chips to you, then that what they seemed like for me, but they were pan fried. I thought they were ok. Certainly nothing to yell to the mountain tops. I think we both thought they needed salt. Shannon's steak was done medium as asked, but it was probably somewhere between medium rare and medium, at least in my experience. I thought it was still good though. Not great mind you, but good. Her leeks were quite tasty, but Shannon didn't much like the texture of them.
So for mine, it was the mix of the veal and pork on a flakey crust in a sea of the carrot ginger sauce. The pastry parts were excellent, as one would expect from La Mie, and mixed with the carrot and ginger sauce was surprisingly good. I actually was fascinated with the taste of the carrot and ginger mix. The Pork and veal mix had been also spiced with ginger and was quite good. I was really happy with it. Shannon was also really impressed with it. So much so that she gave me a large chunk of her steak and I gave her large chunks of the veal and pork. Combined with the sauce it made for a interesting mix of textures and tastes. The mushrooms on the side, initially reminded me of bacon, or at least something had been fried in a pan that recently had been cooking bacon. The taste was very strong and rich, so much so that I could only eat about half of the ones on my plate. I was very happy with it.
We ordered dessert. Shannon had the Chocolate Mousse and I had a Carmel Butterscotch Crème Brule. Shannon like the Chocolate Mousse so much so, that she thought it really saved the meal for her. I had a taste or two, and it was really good too. Rich, yet fluffy and delicate. The Crème Brule I had, initially I was disappointed, the butterscotch pudding was good, better then probably any other butterscotch pudding I've had, but when I combined it with the caramel and sugar crust fired over the top of it, it suddenly made it amazing. The two flavors partied in my mouth as I added new mixed company. Shannon agreed that with the combination of the two, it was much better then just the pudding by itself.
They topped of the meal by giving us a box of pastries to take home (since they had quite a bit left from the day)...which was good, cause we were actually planning on buying some for breakfast today...
So we definitely will go back. We got out of there four around $80 for the two of us. We talked about how we need to visit the regular Mosaix fare, rather then the guest chef that we had at the time..and that we should do it with Chris and Holly too...so uh...yeah. But yes. Go to La Mie, eat their food, breakfast/brunch is wonderful and dinner is wonderful too.
