1/10/10 Meritage Does It Again

If you want to enjoy delicious food and wine at ridiculously reasonable prices, I highly recommend checking out Meritage's Recession/Recovery Sunday 3-course prix fixe for a mere $24. This past weekend, Jeff and I celebrated (yet again) our anniversary at Meritage and the experience did not disappoint.

What I ate (1/10/10):

3-course prix fixe offering

• Carrot soup with spiced creme fraiche and short rib wonton amusements
• Lobster and crab risotto with truffle oil
• Flourless chocolate torte with blood orange and marcona almonds
• $3.50 glass of white wine (wine prices are ridiculously cheap on Sundays.)
  

The review:

Ambiance: I've already reviewed Meritage which has a great romantic atmosphere, so will only add that Sunday night was very slow which seems a shame.

Amusements: I loved the carrot soup which was warm and velvetty. The short rib wonton was tasty and the pickled cabbage slaw helped cut the richness of the ribs and carrot soup.




Entree: I've never ordered risotto at a restaurant before worried it would be too subtle and creamy for my flavor explosion loving taste buds. The risotto was flavorful with generous sweet lobster chunks. The bell peppers overwhelmed the risotto at first, but black pepper balanced the dish out to my liking. The truffle oil added a nice balance to the sweetness of the lobster and crab.



Dessert: The flourless chocolate cake was the size of a breakfast sausage and came garnished with orange zest, marcona almonds, chocolate sauce, and a delicious blood orange infused creme. A little more of that blood orange goodness and I would have made a fool of myself licking the plate.




Recommendation: Go to Meritage on Sunday and live dangerously by letting the chef determine your dinner choices. I cannot imagine an unsatisfying experience. If you can't give up that kind of control, Jeff adores the cassoulet. Also, indulge in very reasonable priced wine.