Oui, Vino

This weekend once again brought wine club ... our adventure took place at Meritage, a little French restaurant in St. Paul. The restaurant, owned and operated by the Chef Russell Klein and his wife is situated in a beautiful section of St. Paul. (Then again, I love St. Paul ... there's something about the city that makes me long to live there ... it's quiet, quaint and peaceful ... the roadway/street system needs some work, but that's okay, nobody's perfect.)

The ambiance was nice, the way the tables were situated, where we sat seemed intimate, as though we were transported to our own private restaurant. Our waiter was pleasant ... vaguely familiar feeling ... but attentive in a French way ... in no desire to rush our dining experience and leaving us alone for most of the evening. (In fact, the entire wait staff was truly excellent, explaining each dish as they brought it to our table with flourish.) I'm sort of a pain where I often ask my server recommendations, and the man who assisted us tonight was clearly up to the challenge.

I started my dinner with a lovely white asparagus soup topped with house made pancetta, asparagus salad and almonds. It was a very smooth soup that slid down my throat and warmed my stomach. It was welcoming to a dining experience and warning me to enjoy every bite. No need to gulp down my food. (And seriously topping soup with pancetta ... I think it would be hard to go wrong with such a delightful move.) The flavor of the asparagus was delicate ... not overpowering (probably because this was made from white asparagus ... but in this instance ... subtlety was good thing.

After a lovely foundation, I decided to sample the plat du jour. Which was a beautiful duck from the Wild Acres Farm. It was done to perfection (I hate to admit it, but I do like my meat with a little red juice coming from it.) It was accompanied by a lovely quinoa in duck jus and what I think the server said was a scallion puree. It all came together very nicely on my plate. The layer of flavors complementing each other elegantly, as if saying to each other that they could take turns taking center stage. There was no competition here ... everything melted in your mouth like a sweet symphony.

Evidence of the perfectly done-ness of the duck. The fat on the meat was done to such a perfect crispness. I don't know if I've actually had duck before tonight ... but if I have, I don't think it would have compared to this plate of divinity.

I ended the evening with a strawberry souffle glace which was atop a dark chocolate cookie with rhubarb marmalade and a hazelnut biscotti:

As you can see ... it was a very nice way to end the meal. It was like capturing the first days of summer in your spoon. Of course, the only bad thing was that I could only eat about half of it. Ever since I cut back on sugar, I've learned my tolerance is very low before I start to feel sick. So, while I envied my companions who enjoyed all of their desserts to the last bite ... I knew leaving half of mine still at the table was the best choice for me in the end. But it was the perfect bookend to the evening.

Once again, a new restaurant a new adventure. The company was amazing, the conversation always intriguing and I felt like I had a mini vacation for a few hours. I always enjoy these monthly ventures ... and I'm super excited for next month as we dip our toes at a Latin American restaurant.