I wanted to like Graham Elliot. I really did. Chef Elliot appeared on Top Chef Masters and he was nominated for a James Beard Award. Three times. I had promised to take my roommate Allison out for her birthday and she and I had put together a list- GE was on the top. So when one of our friends asked us if we wanted to go, we eagerly accepted.
Graham Elliot started strong. Truffle popcorn rather than humdrum bread! Seasoned with truffle butter, pepper, and parmesan, it was so delicious. And the waiter refilled it (but only when we asked).
Next, we opted for the deconstructed Cesar salads. We were excited because the menu boasted that the salad included a brioche twinkie and parmesan fluff. The lettuce was limp. The "twinkie" was definitely weird. It was hard, not spongy. And it was not filled with a parmesan fluff. The filling was bizarre. Rather, the "fluff" was a weak anchovy-tasting watery sauce.
I opted for the farm egg. And my friends went with the crab cake and the french onion soup. The farm egg and the onion soup were terrible. The egg was runny and cold, the salad lacked any flavor, it included this weird "soil" of graham cracker that made absolutely no sense. The french onion soup was nothing like the onion soups of anyone's French childhood. It was more of a consomme with these little floating onions bits. Again, no real flavor. The crab cake was better-- crispy and tangy. But good, not great.
Entrees, my friends opted for the foie gras and lamb. I sampled. The foie gras was very rich and included a strawberry compote. It was tasty but perhaps too rich: Allison proclaimed that she was convinced she'd get gout eating it. The lamb was better-- medium rare and Mediterranean, served with a lovely lentil salad.
The meal was disappointing, but I do have to recognize one standout. We all opted to try the foie gras lollipops, which is a Graham Elliot classic. Picture a circle of creamy foie gras mousse. It is rolled in strawberry pop rocks. Yes, you read it correctly. Pop rocks! I cannot even describe how good they were. The foie! The pop rocks! It was creamy. It was exciting. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.
Ultimately, the meal was not terribly memorable. Except that darn popcorn and the foie-pops. Go for those!
Expensive ($$$$). Foie-pops 5 out of 5 spoons. Overall, 2.5 out of 5 spoons!
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