Last night, Andrew and I went to Dragonfly for their Aphrodisiac Night. Unfortunately, the dim lighting and general ambiance of the place makes it hard to take pictures of the food, so I have nothing to show of my night. I can, however, tell you about the amazing four courses we had along with their accompanying wines.
The amuse-bouche was, in simple terms that won't really do the chef justice, a yogurt with goji berries and ambrosia. It had a nutty after-taste, that I still can't figure out. Maybe it was the goji berries. I've never had them before, so who knows. Ambrosia is sort of an aphrodisiac in that the greek goddess Aphrodite once used it to assist her seducing someone.
The first course was a tomatoe bisque with hot oil, accompanied by a red wine. I don't know much about wines, but it was delicious and a great combination. Tomatoes, however, are not aphrodisiacs. This misunderstanding was brought about by lanuage barriers that created the french name pomme d'amour, or "love apple". Later, they brought out bread and some purple spread that tasted like garlic. I really have no idea what is was-- but it was tasty and garlic IS an aphrodisiac.
The second course was a sliced pear with micro greens on top with a side of chopped beets. The microgreens looked like three leaf clovers. Also on the plate, was a bite-sized, deep-fried piece of zuccini in a white sauce that tasted like garlic aioli. I didn't like this plate. The combination of a fatty, greasy bite with a refreshing plate of fruit and greens made no sense. This plate was also paired with a red wine. Peaches are considered to be an aphrodisiac as well-- so fortified with vitamins that it improves your sexual performance. The shape also nods a hat to a womanly shape.
The third course went off the deep end. It was delicious, but I have no idea how it came together with the other courses. We had three sharing plates of macaroni and cheese, some soupy rice, and a ratatouille. Then came a grilled tofu topped with poached french trumpets in a cherry sauce that was not sweet like we expected. This was paired with a white wine. Cherries are an aphrodisiac and, much like peaches, improve sexual performance.
We finished with a "devil dawg" -- chocoate, hand-held cakes reminiscent of a susie-q -- a chocolate fondue, and a passion fruit sorbet. All delicious and very chocolate-y. Maybe too much chocolate. I think fresh fruit with a chocolate fondue would have followed the other courses more cohesively. It was delicious still.
The usual dragonfly service really failed last night. Their awkward hostess was unable to clearly direct the swarm of 8 o'clock reservations that were deterred because earlier reservations were still eating. We waited a good 30 minutes. She never took anyone's name down and relied on her memory to seat us all in order of arrival. She failed to remember, and Andy and I were seated a lot earlier than we were supposed to, I'm sure. Our second interaction with the staff was a guy who gave us water and who felt the need to assure us that he was an engineer helping out some friends. Our server never told us about the menu, like the usual dragonfly protocol. So, we weren't really sure what we were eating. Our wine either came 10 minutes before a course or 10 minutes late. We never got napkins. It was all a bit of a disappointment.
I'm pretty sure these were all issues of a relatively young restaurant, struggling to handle full capacity for the first time. And although the food was good, a lot was lost with the poor service. It just wasn't the same.
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