Corduroy

We had a splendid meal at Chef Tom Powers' restaurant, splurging for a special occasion at what has become recognized as one of the best restaurants in town. I've been a fan of the chef since he sat at the bar at Vidalia one night when I was bartending and left me a very generous tip. We went to his place once before, when it was still located in a hotel. Now it is in a stylish row house, which, unfortunately for the ambiance, is across the street from the convention center.

In fact, the interior, though cozy and not too noisy, had a bland expense-account look to it, and most of our fellow diners appeared to be out-of-town men in business suits. Nonetheless, we were installed in an intimate sheltered 2-top and were perfectly happy. We opted for a la carte rather than the "surprise" tasting menu. I had a lobster carpaccio for starters, which was quite delicate -- perhaps a bit too delicate -- but exquisite. Andrea had a much heartier wild mushroom blintz, a special. The blintz was fried and more like a spring roll, but the mushrooms were perfectly cooked and seasoned. For the main course, I had the antelope, which was supremely tender and tasted like venison, not at all gamey (I presume these are farmed, not wild, antelope). Andrea had the guinea hen, which was strongly flavored with fennel. The breast was roasted, moist with crispy skin and the thigh was confit, with a rich dark-meat flavor. For dessert, Andrea got the baked chocolate sabayon, which was very chocolate-y but a little too baked for my taste. I got the bourbon and chocolate ice cream, which was fine, but nothing special.

We took advantage of the corkage fee, as is becoming our custom in expensive restaurants, by bringing our own bottle of Barolo. More about the wine at my wine blog. One of the reasons I rejoined Wines Til Sold Out was precisely to get these expensive wines at a discount, so this was a $90 wine at $40. So with the corkage fee of $25, we still saved a bundle on wine -- the Barolo and Corduroy's menu was $160. We had a cocktail beforehand and I had a Barolo grappa with coffee (I said we were splurging). The service was good, the waiter entertaining. Chef even sent out a little sample of his delicious cauliflower soup after I told the waiter about my Vidalia encounter. All in all, a delightful evening. There is a apparently a $30 menu available at the upstairs bar, so we may go back some weekday soon for that.