Thursday, February 14, 2008

review: Canoe

Canoe
date of visit: 2/13/08

kiwis:
taste - 5
service - 5
ambience - 5

My boyfriend took me here for Valentine's, and he could not have made a better choice. I think this has just become my favorite restaurant in Atlanta.

We arrived, valeted (complimentary) and entered the restaurant. The word "Canoe" is arched over the opening in lights, looks very cool. When you enter, the lobby is small, only one bench to sit on by the hostess stand. It opens into a cozy little bar area. There is a canoe hanging upside down from a recess in the ceiling, and a canoe standing upright with a mirror in it. Guess that's where the name comes from, huh? But it's very cozy, feels like a lakehouse or cabin. The wood & carpets are very warm and inviting.

Our reservation was for 8, and we were promptly seated. My boyfriend was addressed as "Mr. Duckworth" and the host offered to check my coat. Yay! Was not expecting that. We were seated in a back corner table along the window. Ryan got a black napkin for his pants, which he loved. I wish it had been light outside so we could have seen the Chattahoochee River. I have heard a lot about how beautiful the view is.

Our server got our drinks, recommended some wines. We settled on a Cab Sav, but then our server told us the specials. After she left to put the drink order in, we discussed how we were both leaning toward seafood. So when she returned, we asked if it was too late to change our wine order. She had already put it in but had no problems changing it for us. Phew! We settled on an Eyrie Pinot Gris from Oregon. Canoe is currently featuring the Eyrie wines, and their Pinot Gris is apparently America's first. We were not disappointed.

Before our appetizers came out, the bread basket came around. We tried the sourdough and the cheese focaccia. Sourdough was good, but the cheese focaccia was amazing. Very rich cheese crust on top. The bread was dense and buttery. Neither bread really needed butter.

Then our appetizers came out in split courses - nice touch! First, the mussels. We each had 6 on each plate, which was the perfect serving, and cooked perfectly. The sourdough bread was great for soaking up the exquisite broth (ginger, soya, and coconut-lemongrass). Our second course, the house smoked salmon. Canoe smokes it on site. And, they know how to pick good salmon. Delicious! Great mix of textures, the smooth salmon, goat cheese, and very crispy potato cakes. Sometimes the cheese could be a little overpowering though, and the cakes too thick. I would have liked to enjoy the salmon by itself. There was also a bleu cheese sauce on the plate that wasn't really necessary.

Ah, the entrees! Beautifully plated and larger portions than I was expecting! I decided to try one of the specials, seared arctic chard with asparagus and meyer lemon risotto. I have never tried arctic chard so I was being very adventurous! It was a lighter pink fish, comparable to salmon. So yummmmmy. The risotto was also cooked perfectly, Chef Ramsay would approve (he is always calling people donkeys for getting his risotto wrong on Hell's Kitchen). The meyer lemon was very faint. Ryan got some Chesapeake bass with creamed potatoes, black trumpet mushrooms, and truffle butter. His was also good, very suited to his palate as it was considerably more salty than my fish. Not oversalted at all, just more salty. And we all know how much Ryan LOVES salt. Also during our meal, we watched our server filet a whole snapper tableside. She was very skilled!

At this point in the meal, we were stuffed. But, we had to get dessert. Ryan had Guinness cake with mulled cider sorbet. I had 3 scoops of ice cream - mint, vanilla, and cinnamon. The mulled cider sorbet was awesome. I would love to have that as a frozen drink every day. The ice cream was also good, especially the mint. It tasted like someone just pureed mint sprigs and magically turned them into ice cream. So fresh & natural.

And thus ended our first visit to Canoe. I love this place. It's everything you want in fine dining, without feeling pretentious.

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