Success – Restaurant Week

I have conquered week one of RW with success! I am happy to say that Mistral was delicious. A beautiful restaurant with a sleek look that somehow still feels warm and inviting. The lounge style seating offers plush benches with pillows in the corners. Soft candle light fills the room, leaving a warm glow. The bar is separated from the main dining area by large, oversized dual view frames, suspended by ghost wire from the ceiling. A unique touch to separate the spaces without actually dividing the room, although it was not optimal for cutting down the noise from the bar. I often found myself having to lean in closer to my dinner guests or repeat myself because we failed to hear each other. Overall, the restaurant is beautiful and the wine room is not to be missed.

Now, down to what really matters: the food. Walking into the bustling restaurant at 7:20 for my 7:30 reservations, I was sure my party of four would have to wait, possibly have a cocktail although the bar looked just as busy and crowded as the restaurant itself. To my surprise and delight we were seated immediately. The menu, while slightly limited and uninventive in types of dishes – the entrees were the typical chicken, beef, salmon – was accentuated by unique glazes and sides. For my first course I began with the Beef Carpaccio, which was fantastic paper thin sliced beef with cracked black pepper, micro arugula, an herb cream drizzle and shaved parmesan. Other firsts I sampled were the truffled white bean soup which was rich and creamy, while the Caesar salad was uninspired. For my entrée I enjoyed the Salmon with a soft mustard glaze, but the real excitement of the dish was the black lentils with pieces of thick-cut bacon. The sirloin was equally as delicious with a port wine reduction and a subtle gorgonzola butter. Dessert was the only piece of the meal that I probably could have forgone. The menu online featured a carrot cake that I had my heart set on, however, the menu itself had a lemon chiffon which had a wonderful lemon curd base but the lemon cake was dry. The profiteroles were average, while the mousse was rich and creamy with a hint of espresso.

Overall, a wonderful meal and a nice added touch was the RW wine menu, offering affordable bottles without cutting back on taste.