Thursday, February 05, 2009

Restaurant Review: db bistro moderne

Last night, Pretty and I ventured to db bistro, the replacement restaurant where "Feenies" once stood.  We'd decided at the last minute to try it out, but had both forgotten that Dine Out is still running.  Luckily, packed though it was, they managed to seat us.

The room is quite nice; dark, sleek and modern with unobstrusive music playing in the background, and from what I can tell, conversation-friendly acoustics.  Service wasn't quite impeccable; it took a good five minutes before menus were delivered, and another 3 for water to be offered.  Thereafter it was spotless, however, so the delayed start can be forgiven.

The kitchen offered us some sort of cheese puff (um, it was far more refined than that, but frankly I was exhausted and hungry, so I don't remember what they called it) which was delicious, and then Pretty and I got down to the serious business of ordering, followed by the even more serious business of eating.

I had the moroccan tuna tartare, which was great.  I'm partial to Gyoza King's maguro yukke, followed closely by Boneta's tuna tartare, but db's was gunning for a different target, with a yogurt dressing and chickpeas to garnish.  The charcuterie platter was divine; I even liked the ham!  There was also a wonderful duck pate, an air-dried beef, a (I want to say French) prosciutto, and a pate en croute.  It was a smorgasbord of cured meats, in the best of ways.

For dessert, Pretty had the apple tart, which was perfect.  Everything i want an apple tart to be.  I ordered the Floating Lime Island.  I wish it'd been a bit more lime and a bit less floating; it was akin to eating a wet meringue, and held only the tiniest hint of lime.  It was the only real strike of the evening as far as I was concerned, but considering i like my citrus punch to be substantially more forceful than most people, that could be more my palate than their execution.

Next up: Salt Tasting Room, which will try to exceed db's performance with cured meats.