Gary Danko

My favorite haute-cuisine experience has been at Charlie Trotter, back when he had a restaurant at MGM Las Vegas. I had been told, by someone whose taste I trust, that the food at GD was even better than CT...however, I respectfully disagree with this assessment. While very good, the GD dinner was not quite as enjoyable as the one at CT, nor even as enjoyable as meals at Renoir (Las Vegas), Lumiere (Vancouver), and Herbfarm (near Seattle) and maybe even Aqua (in SF, of course). Sorry to drop names. But the moneygobs I spend at such places not only pays for food, but also for a registered license to grandstand like a big pompous ass.

Bread and Butter		+4
Salt Cod Brandade Crouton in Squid Ink Sauce		+2

Great presentation, though slightly difficult to eat and nothing new or interesting about the preparation.

Lobster and Mussel Bisque with Tarragon Creme Fraiche

+8

Very light compared to most bisques; more broth than cream, rather than the other way around. Some good-sized pieces of lobster and mussel, both tender and sweet.

Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Red Onions, Orange Segments, and Essencia Sauce

+7

Also came a good mache (I think) salad. The heap of caramelized onions was too large to be considered a condiment; I used most of it as a bread spread.

Asparagus Salad with Roasted Peppers, Red Onion-Caper vinaigrette

-6

Wow, what a huge disappointment. I guess I'm just not a big fan of white asparagus...bring on the chlorophyll, baby! I found nothing remarkable about the rest of the salad either: a standard assortment of greens with a reasonable but pedestrian red onion-caper vinaigrette.

Coriander, Black Pepper, and Rosemary Crusted Tuna

+9

Amazing. The crust looked too coarse to be edible, but its flavor and texture turned out to be both novel and perfect.

Roasted Lobster with Blood Oranges, Basil, Mashed Potatoes, Edamame

+5

I may be biased; any lobster than doesn't make me gag is better than my average lobster experience. In this case, it tasted only as good as, say, a meaty king crab leg, but that's good enough for me. Perfect tatermash, just rich enough to complement the lobster. Edamame also made an appearance in the asparagus salad. Poirier disapproved of this indiscriminate usage, and also thought it too humble for this particular dish.

Moroccan Spiced Squab with Chermoula, Orange-Cumin Carrot, Couscous

+3

Good, but not as good as squab I've had at Lalimes and Herbfarm. The couscous was not to my liking, on account of mushroom infestation.

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake

+1

I liked it as much as I am obligated to like chocolate, but no more.

Baked Non-cholesterol Strawberry Souffle with Rhubarb Sauce and Creme Anglaise

+3

Probably the lightest (and therefore, I conclude, the most artfully made) souffle I've ever had. Still, I wasn't thrilled. I asked for "a tiny bit" of sauce, and the amount I received would be considered overkill by any standard of measurement.

Rhubarb-Raspberry Tart with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

+8

Poirier and I both thought the ice cream tasted more like french vanilla than creme fraiche. The tart itself was flawless.

Petitfours

+3

I think I was too full to judge them fairly. They were very good, but definitely were not up to the quality of the petitfours at Renoir or Charlie Trotter's.

Wine Flight

+4

Solid selections, a couple of new and interesting flavors. Nowhere close to the amazing sampler we had at The Herbfarm.

Service

+6

The service was excellent, attentive but not overbearing or stuffy. One of the waitstaff bubbled over with dogged enthusiasm for digital cameras. Another addressed a yawning Poirier as "sleepybear."

No dinner is complete without eavesdropping. That portion of the evening's entertainment came from a couple at the next table for whom I had held open the restaurant door. They returned the favor by breezing past Poirier and checking in with the maitre d' before the door had even closed behind me.

Conversation topics included:

"You're, like, so drunk! And I'm totally not! And we drank the EXACT SAME AMOUNT!" "Wait, you had that glass of..." "NO! THE EXACT! SAME! AMOUNT!"

"Supposedly there's this prostitute in Arizona with her own web page who charges $15,000 a day. Crazy. I mean, I don't see the point in paying more than $375 an hour."

(to the waiter) "I wanted to do something really special for my girlfriend's graduation, right? So, I tried to make reservations at French Laundry this morning, but they're booked for, like, months. So, I just called here and got us a table. That was great. I mean, two months? Ridiculous. I refuse to go to any restaurant where you can't get in on a day's notice."

That's about it. Oh, the restaurant is beautiful, except for the art. Seriously, I'm as big a fan as any of paintings of turquoise vomit. Just not while I'm eating.