Well, we had been invited to celebrate our friend's birthday at the Refectory Monday night. I had to work, but at the last minute an alternative came through and I was free! Free to eat Foie Gras! I was really excited to go to the Refectory, as it is one of my favorite restaurants, and with a large group of people I was sure to get some great pictures. Alas, my camera did not come through for me. The pictures with a flash are washed-out white, and pictures with no flash are a nice orangey hue (which you can see in the picture of creme brulee, on the left). You will be happy to know that I have almost saved up enough for my new camera! And, if anyone would like to offer an opinion on the best small digital camera that takes good pictures in low light with no flash, please leave comments. Okay, here's the thing: the pictures are really so bad that I have decided to place them in my photo album, so that you may choose to see them if you'd like, but they won't be inflicted upon every innocent viewer. (Click to the right for the photo album)
But let's get on with dinner first, shall we? The Refectory is constantly on everyone's list for Number 1 romantic and/or special occasion restaurant, and it is romantic, but I think people erroneously think it is far out of their price range, when it is on par with most other "nice" restaurants in town, or maybe just a few dollars over (but always worth it). Of course, their wine list is massive, and you can definitely choose something to shoot your bill way up, but that's your choice. Our host chose a few reasonable bottles in the $30 - $50 range.
Dinner continues...
It's time for appetizers! I love foie gras. And the reason I love foie gras is because of Refectory chef Richard Blondin’s flawless preparation. It is difficult and time-consuming to prepare foie gras properly. It must be meticulously deveined, then soaked to mellow the flavor, cured in sea salt, and poached briefly to re-solidify the fat. Here it is presented chilled, in thin slices that are sprinkled with fresh cracked pepper and fleur de sel, and completed with an appropriately acidic salad to cleanse the fat from the palate. Our server even brought us a small glass of Sauternes - a sweet white dessert wine from Bordeaux that is the traditional accompaniment.
Next on the appetizer list was a grouse terrine en croute, served with cornichons (tiny french pickles), whole grained mustard, onion relish, toast points, and brandy-soaked cherries. Another diner had a small fillet of white salmon, poached in white wine and served in a lemon caper broth - a deceptively simple dish that left my co-diner looking around to see if anyone would mind terribly if he licked his plate. I chose the roasted goat cheese, served on crostini with a duet of sauces - tomato coulis and basil pesto.
One thing I enjoy about eating at the Refectory is there is never the standard meat, starch, potato dish; there is always an assortment of sides with the protein. My dinner was spiced duck breast, perfectly rendered with crispy skin and sliced into 13 medallions. I had to count because far too many chefs slice their duck breasts into only a few medallions; no matter how perfectly one cooks their duck breast, if the slices are too big, you will be left with too much fatty skin, difficult to cut through and unpleasant in the mouth. The large number of slices allows you to savor a perfect skin/fat/meat balance in one bite. Along with the duck was a foie gras ravioli (yea! more foie gras!), a small pile of aromatic rice, and a scattering of leaf-shaped zucchini and carrots, all in a Banyuls sauce.
Husband, as always, took the opportunity to have pheasant, one of his favorite things that is nearly impossible to find in Columbus. The half bird was partially de-boned and well seasoned before being roasted, and sported, once again, perfectly crisped skin. Husband had similar vegetables and some wonderfully truffled whipped potatoes. Here again, Chef Blondin has a subtle hand with truffle oil, something many other chefs use with reckless abandon, leading to a chokingly cloying flavor (adverbs, again, how fun you can be).
Another diner also chose to go the game route with elk, of which I managed to snag only one tiny bite. It was spiced with juniper and similar spices; a great combination because the elk’s diet consists largely of juniper and other berries.
Dessert was rather traditional, but again - flawlessly prepared classics such as basic vanilla bean creme brulee with almond tuiles, and a chocolate bombe (rather like a dense mousse), placed atop a chocolate cookie and served with chocolate cigarettes that everyone kept taking out of my hand as I was eating them. The chocolate in this dish was really fragrant; we could all smell the chocolate coming before it was placed in front of me. The rich chocolate was nicely offset by a crisp langues de chat (cats' tongue cookie), something I have been meaning to learn of late.
The Refectory is every foodie’s dream, especially a picky foodie in Columbus, Ohio. Everything is excellently prepared. You will never find a scary bit in your foie gras or sweetbreads, meats will always be cooked perfectly, vegetables will be fussily turned into perfect 7-sided footballs. It is really worth the price tag, and deserves every mention as the top restaurant in the city. While some might regard it as a plodding dinosaur of an era of dining long-since past, that is what gives the restaurant its intimate, romantic atmosphere. While some restaurateurs are placing their focus on being a place to see-and-be-seen, the Refectory places their focus on the quality and care they put into their food preparation, and it shows, time after time.
Info: The Refectory Restaurant 1092 Bethel Road, Columbus, OH 614.451.9774
