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November-December 2006
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Edible Flora (& Fauna) |
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| Flora's dining room décor includes some unusual touches, like an aquarium. |
| Photograph by Stu Rosner |
The fare is more elaborate than comfort food: call it comfortable food. Red-and-white gazpacho ($7) with a dollop of sour cream and minced cucumber in the center, had a crunchy texture and gained an herbal note of rosemary from its croutons. Fresh sardines ($10), an uncommon offering on restaurant menus, arrived grilled to delightful crispness and loaded with flavor, served on sautéed greens with bits of Andouille sausage crumbled in. A beet salad ($9) with bitter greens, grilled onions, blue cheese, and walnuts proved serviceable if not surprising. A glass of silky-smooth French Heron pinot noir ($9) and a pungently spicy Jim Jim Shiraz from Australia ($7) offered potable contrast.
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Next, we tucked into a corn and chanterelle strata ($22) in a ragout of squashes, tomatoes, and greens with a glass of an earthy red, Masia M ($11), from southern France. Strata, a cousin to the quiche, resembles a custardy bread pudding. This one was cheesy with a lovely browned crust on top and the heavenly, ineffable flavor of chanterelle mushrooms breathing its magic throughout. Pan-seared arctic char from Iceland ($25), served with succotash, was well-prepared but in no way startling. A civilized, full-bodied Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Blanca ($7) proved a worthy accompaniment. The agreeable vegetable lasagna ($21), prepared with black truffle, also had Fontina and ricotta cheeses and veggies like asparagus, spinach, and summer squash enlivening its creamy white sauce.
Dessert, a crisp of wine-poached peaches—seasonal and wonderful—with blueberry fool ($7), was a glorious fruity seduction. We went comfortable, sated, and, indeed, gentle into that good night, where we had parked nearby and easily on the street. It’s the suburbs, after all.
~C.L.
