So yesterday was Shannon and mine 1 year anniversary. I got a happy phone call from Shannon when she came home for lunch because of the flowers that I had sent to her office. I'm glad they arrived while she was actually there, cause they could've showed up when she was at lunch. So that worked out.
After I was done for work, for the day I came home and waited for Shannon to get done. She got home at around 6:20 and went and got ready for our 7:30 reservation.
So over the night we talked about things going on in the next couple of weeks and then started to talk about our past year together. It was nice.
We were immediately seated and they took our coats and hung them up for us. The atmosphere was nice, some world beat or techno music playing above, but not in an obnoxious manner. We noticed the cool pattern of what looked like tiles on the floor and how old the building was (electrical conduits visible on the walls). It had pleasing colors and dark wood chairs and tables.
It certainly had wonderful smells and I was looking forward to the food.
We studied the leather bound and embossed wine list (which was enormous) and menus.
Our waiter came over and took our drink order. Shannon had a coke and I had a glass of Zinfandel, Cline, Ancient Vines. I don't remember the year. But it was good, mellow and not too overwhelming. Shannon wasn't a fan, but she usually isn't.
We studied the menu and everything really sounded good.
So we ordered and started off with a small plate of frog legs in a interesting sauce. Neither of us has had frog legs before and they were pretty good. The meat was not as tender as the tenderest of chicken, but sort of the same consistency. I think the flavor of the frog was over whelmed by the flavor of the sauce, which was quite tasty. It was a rich mix of flavors so much so that I really couldn't identify any one sort of flavor...it was kind of odd for me.
Second we each had a Salad. I had a Spinach salad which Sage's website describes as:
baby spinach, red onion, candied walnuts & red grapes tossed in a sherry vinaigrette topped with schwarz & maytag blue cheese
Shannon had a goat cheese salad, with a vinaigrette. My salad was quite good. A very good combination of flavors and the vinaigrette was really danced across the tongue. the combination of the flavors were very balanced and just made it a very over all enjoyable experience...and the bleu cheese was quite good...but then again, I'm a huge fan of bleu cheese.
On to the main course. I had the Pork which Sage's website describes as:
grilled niman ranch double chop with a watercress, fingerling potato, crisp apple 'salad' tossed in a blue cheese vinaigrette & a cider reduction
And Shannon had the Chicken which Sage's website describes as:
free range & herb roasted served with whipped potatoes, roasted mushrooms and green beans with pan juices
The pork was baked and just fell right off the bone and was very tender with light tastes, but the pork flavor glowing right through. The sides were quite good, with a interesting mix of flavors and textures that was quite good.
I ordered a second glass of wine and had a Firestone Riesling.
My little taste of Shannon's Chicken and the chicken flavor really stood out above anything more. The whipped potatoes that I also tried were very good too.
Then came dessert. Shannon had a Chocolate Mousse Cake and I had the chocolate Trio. Shannon's mousse cake was quite good. It was a layer of mouse on a soft cake and it combined really well. The Chocolate Trio was quite good. First they had a triple layer chocolate mousse with white, milk and dark chocolate layers. This was very good. The flavors were there with each layer and they were soft and fluffy. Quite enjoyable. Next in the trio was a small scoop of chocolate bourbon ice cream. For Shannon, it started off good, but then when the flavor of the Bourbon came forward, she made the "I don't like that" face. I think it was interesting. It wasn't a full blast of bourbon but a light push of it. It was pretty good. Certainly something that only a small scoop would be quite enough. Next up was the valrhona napoleon:
jivara peanut crunch. layers of dark and milk chocolate, fresh raspberries and caramelized peanuts
This was very good. The dark chocolate was very rich and the fresh raspberries brought out quite the flavor in both themselves and the chocolate. Shannon's bite left her with a big smile. I was quite happy too.
The presentation over the night was really good, and quite amazing with the desserts. Things carefully put together to be pleasing to the eye.
Overall it was quite an enjoyable experience. I would certainly go again. How does it compare with places like Mojo's, La Mie and my one experience with a guest Chef at Mosaix? I'm still mixed. I certainly didn't feel like I had been cheated on the price (without tip it was a shade over 100$).