A dining adventure

Betty and I had a real adventure tonight. We went to Dallas to the Hotel St. Germain. I had included the chef, a young man named Chad Martin, in my recently released book, Great Texas Chefs, and he invited me to come for dinner with a guest when the book was published. So tonight I took him two books and was rewarded with an amazing meal. Betty and I had looked at the menu online and decided we'd either have an appetizer and dessert, or split an entree. Chad had a different plan: when he came out to greet us he explained it was a menu fixe with five courses. Could we split, I asked? He shrugged and said they're small portions, so there we went for the whole thing.
First came an amuse bouche--a tiny square of smoked salmon on a small cornmeal like pancake and topped with caviar; then butternut squash soup with cinnamon apple and ancho creme fraiche (sorry, I don't know how to do accents on blogger). I'm not much of a soup eater and would have declined this in other circumstances, but it was wonderful--thick and buttery, with the chopped apples adding the perfect contrast and crunchiness. A taste of fall. Then came an appetizer of foie gras ravioli with smoked duck in truffle jus (I was beginning to be full by this time). I didn't get as much taste of the foie gras as I expected, but the delicately smoked duck was tantalizing--and I'd tell you I don't eat much duck. The maitre d' inquired how we wanted our tenderloins cooked--they were served on parsley beet puree with parmesan asparagus, a shallot compote, and red wine glace--the rich glace was a perfect compliment for the really good piece of meat. Dessert was an apple tart tatin with white chocolate praline mousse. I confess I didn't make it all the way through the tenderloin or the dessert. And the maitre d' kept filling our wine glasses so we had to be very careful. But the combinations of flavors, the imaginative mixing of foods, the attention to detail--it was all perfection and wonderful. Chad is a young chef, and I can see him going great places. The maitre d' wore white gloves and presented each course with a description, efficiently took away plates when we finished, and spoke with just enough of an old world accent that Betty sometimes had to repeat for me. There were only two other tables occupied, and the room was quiet, the mood subdued. After all the noisy restaurants we eat in, it was a real treat.
The hotel is European style in what once was someone's grand old house in Dallas' Oak Lawn area. It has seven "luxury" suites--we were curous about the cost but didn't ask--and the furnishings are old-world Victorian--heavy drapes, distressed woodwork, huge mirror in the entry hall, furniture that reminded me of the Victorian couch my mom had when I was a child.
Of course, we got lost trying to get out of Dallas, but we made it.
And tomorrow the dentist--what a letdown.