Definitely should have posted this long ago (the meal happened a month ago!) but I think I still remember enough to post a good review. We went to Elements and had their December tasting menu—five courses of wintry goodness, capped with dessert.
One of the amuses-bouche (amuses-bouches? I’ll never get that one right…) was this grapefruit barley salad. I wish they had actually offered it on the menu as an appetizer, because it would have made a great full-sized dish!
Another view. So simple, but really good.
Another one of the amuses-bouche, a thin slice of radish and some kind of horseradish spread. I remember the spread having a nice heat to it, but the radish should’ve been bigger because it just got lost.
Venison heart tartare with barberry and sorrel, served at 64.5 degrees: the whole molecular gastronomy obsession with temperatures still escapes me, but Elements apparently cared enough that it’s listed at this temperature on the menu. I actually really liked this—it was a twist on traditional beef tartare, topped with a sorbet that added a tart kick.
We were also served a sunchoke soup, with apple and truffle. I don’t have a photo of it, but it was a good winter soup—thick, creamy, yet had some texture with the apple bits. I wish I had a recipe for it, because it seemed like it’d be a great soup to have on a cold night.
Sablefish (black cod) with green peppercorn, turnip, fennel, black rice, and jamon: I loved this! The fish had such a good texture—not mushy or soft in the least, more like meat than fish, but not oily like salmon tends to be.
Cavatelli with pinenuts, maitake, pecorino cheese, and kale: the pasta was good, as expected. Pinenuts were a nice touch, though I’m not sure I liked the pecorino cheese—not because of my personal aversion to cheeses, but because it just didn’t seem to “go” with the rest of the dish. The flavor seemed too strong in such a subtle dish.
Colorado lamb with mole verde, aligot bread, and broccoli rabe: definitely very tender lamb served rare, perhaps a touch too rare and therefore difficult to cut/chew at points. Other than that, I thought it was a clever idea to begin and end with venison and lamb, both decisively “winter” meats.
DESSERT TIME! Please excuse the blurry photos—by this time, they’d turn down the lights considerably and it was getting difficult to hold my camera still while I photographed.
On the top is a chocolate mousse, served with vanilla ice cream, anise hyssop and fennel. I found it lighter than expected (usually chocolate mousse is just too rich/heavy). The bottom photo is Elements’ take on funnel cake. Yummm.
