nye 2008
amuse bouche
first…
american caviar
powdered egg yolk, crème fraiche, soft & crunchy potato
terrine of le belle farms foie gras
smoked brioche, blis maple syrup & candied bacon
assiette of east coast oysters
szechuan pepper mignonette, green apple & aromatic lemongrass
second…
breast of wisconson pheasant
black truffle, mushroom bouillon, pearl barley & garlic confit
caramelized berkshire pork belly
littleneck clams, potato cream & shaved pearl onions
3rd coast shellfish bisque
slow cooked farmhouse egg, gulf shrimp carpaccio, tomato compote & chive puree
third…
tasmanian sea trout
ricotta gnocchi, haricot vert, tomato confit & parmesan broth
pan roasted flounder
baby artichokes, andouille sausage, carrot confit & black olive
atlantic lobster
roasted fennel, hazelnut puree, cipollini & lobster glaze
fourth…
grilled loin of venison
roasted apple, blackberry mustard & butternut squash
tenderloin of hereford beef
caramelized red cabbage, foraged mushrooms & red wine bordelaise
maple leaf farm’s duck breast
sweet potato, braised endive & smoky honey
final…
chocolate ganache
milk jam, pistachios & vanilla
almond financier
creamy mascarpone, strawberry jam & fresh tarragon
eggnog panna cotta
whiskey & salted caramel popcorn
feeding curiosity 
menu looks lovely. tried coming in yesterday for lunch with misha, et al. but RL was only open for dinner. we’ll try to come bug you next week.
if i was in town for new year’s, i would set up a tent and camp out in that dining room. yum.
Sounds delicious. I need to visit again when I am back in town, as I miss your cooking.
That menu sounds pretty good Mr Rucker. I wish i could taste it. Happy new year!!
cheers
C
Chef, my husband and I attended the 7:30 seating, and each dish we had did a superb job of presenting interesting, complex flavors coherently. You especially hit it out of the park with the pork belly and the lobster (Hazelnut puree combined with the sweet, delicate shellfish was so good, I went away inside my head…). Exactly the kind of food we tend to seek out.
One critique: We’ll certainly be back, but will hope that the service has improved by then. We should not have had to ask for our cutlery to be replaced—twice—during a multicourse meal, nor should our water glasses have gone dry…again, twice! No acknowledgement of either lapse, just water spilled on the table and the bill unceremoniously slapped in front of my husband. We’re not unsympathetic: it was an encouragingly busy night! We just hope you did not lose any new diners through faults at the front of the house.
Congratulations, nevertheless, on creating such a truly memorable experience!
I’d like to echo FoodieFuturist’s comments. We attended the 10:00 seating and really loved the dishes we chose. I was especially fond of the venison and the pork belly. My lobster was a little overcooked, but the flavors were great.
We, unfortunately, also had an issue with the service. We waited 30-45 minutes to get both the 3rd and 4th courses. There were just two of us, and the table of 16 next to us (albeit with a different waiter) had already paid by the time we finished our 4th course. I’ve been in before since Randy took over, and the service has been great.
Still, we did enjoy the food and just hope that our server can get his performance on par with that of the kitchen.
Thanks for the great food. We’ll be back soon.
A pal encoraged me to read this post, great post, fascinating read… keep up the cool work!