Le Foret

Last night, my darling fiance surprised me by making reservations at Le Foret, which is a new restaurant downtown. I'd heard wonderful things about Le Foret and had been eager to try it. I am happy to say that Le Foret lived up to all of it's good press! One thing that really stands out is all the little extras they give you. To start, we were given three different amuse bouche. The first was a cheese and truffle gougère. The second was a savory panna cotta with crab meat, chive, and caviar. The final amuse bouche consisted of three different bites. The first was a tuna and onion tar tare tucked into a cucumber shell. The second part was a rabbit rillette tucked between two rabbit shaped crackers. The final part was a small cup of a creamy onion soup with a piece of shrimp. I could have eaten an entire bowl of that soup! It was rich and creamy, with slight sweetness that matched the sweetness of the shrimp.
I decided to have the chef's tasting menu, which was wonderful. My first course was sweetbreads with puff pastry in brown gravy. The buttery pastry paired well with the lightness of the sweetbreads and the sauce was dark and rich, which added a nice depth to the dish. My second course was chilled tureen of venison and foie gras. The venison was cooked rare, which I really enjoyed. It also had a nice smokiness that paired well with the foie gras. It was garnished with carrots in a vinaigrette, which added a nice brightness to the dish.
My third course was lobster with gnocchi, caviar, and Brussels sprouts. I never would have thought to pair Brussels sprouts with seafood, especially lobster, but it was an amazing combination. The sweet lobster and creamy gnocchi would have been too rich on their own but the Brussels sprouts managed to add both a freshness and an earthiness that really made the dish.
Between my third and fourth course, we were given a palate cleanser. It was spiced apples with a red wine gelee.
My fourth course was a truffled brie croquet served with lady finger apple slices and a walnut vinaigrette. This was absolutely decadent. The brie was coated in breadcrumbs and when I cut into it, it was warm and gooey. The apples were the perfect accompaniment to the cheese.
My final course was a caramelized milk souffle with chocolate sauce. The souffle was delicious and light and the sauce was rich dark chocolate. Perfect.
My darling fiance opted to start with foie gras which I think was served with beets and spinach. For his main course, he had the rabbit trio, which he raved about. He had the cheese plate for dessert.
We also shared a delicious bottle of Sancerre.
Finally, as we were leaving, we were given two lemon madelines for us to have with breakfast today. I had mine this morning and it was buttery and lemony and wonderful.
I loved my dinner at Le Foret. They absolutely spoil you and the food was perfectly prepared. I also really enjoyed dining with my darling fiance. It was such a pleasant surprise to be taken out to such a nice dinner for no reason. After dinner we had a nightcap at The Delachaise (I had a glass of Viogner), then came home. It was a wonderful night.