Ethersnap

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.

Elements has been running a couple of interesting promotions this year. First the 2 for $22 lunch deal, now Foodie Fridays, a special five course tasting menu available only on Fridays! Elements prints their menus daily, because their dishes frequently feature local and seasonal ingredients. We happened to go on a day when the “special” ingredient was chicken of the woods mushroom. I’m not the biggest fan of mushrooms, but Elements always does a good job. After the chef’s tasting menu a couple months ago, all I can say is—tasting is believing.

I love me some amuse-bouches! From right to left: radish salad, carrot gelee, and an apple sausage with mustard. There was also a spoonful of a great mushroom soup that was uniformly even. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me (since the gelee looks so much like an egg yolk), but it really did taste a bit like an egg yolk—creamy and a little bit salty. Amuse-bouches might actually be my favorite part of these meals because of the teeny portions, adorable presentation, and diversity of taste.

Now onto the courses!

1. Shima aji tartare, tempura chicken of the woods, shiso, dashi veil

Shima aji is a fish that isn’t too common in the US—Elements made a fantastic tartare. I thought the dashi veil was cute but didn’t add much to the taste. Tempura wasn’t oily or soggy, though the mushroom seemed unevenly salty.

2. Mushroom “risotto,” poached pheasant egg, pea foam

The “risotto” is actually the mushroom cooked as if it were a true risotto. Really rich and heavy, which made for a huge contrast with the fresh, springy pea foam.

Taking a break from the courses: a little snack of scrambled eggs and a mussel.

3. Cabbage and mushroom consomme, brassicas, potato, radish

I love light, clear soups and this one was a job well done. 

4. Mangalitsa pork neck, peanut, foie gras puree, swiss chard, and panko

Didn’t like this so much—the foie gras puree was fine, but the pork was tough and gristly. Mangalitsa is a rarer variety of pig and the pork was quite fatty. Unfortunately it was also just hard to chew. A let-down, for sure. 

5. Terrine with fleur de vert and chicken of the woods, garden herbs, au poivre

Fleur de vert is a fantastic goat cheese that tastes a lot like cream cheese. I actually don’t like cheese, but this one was palatable—light and soft! The mushroom is coarsely chopped and integrated into the cheese. This really showcased the true taste of the mushroom, which I guess is maybe similar to that of chicken? Unclear. I did enjoy this final course though! 

Verdict: more hits than misses, great service, looking forward to what else they can do.

I’d been to Elements previously for dinner, but we dropped by for lunch the other day to check out their offerings. The restaurant is pretty hyped online by foodies—tables fill up quickly for dinner, though lunch was serenely quiet. I’d say less than 30% of the tables were full when we went, and that was at peak lunch hours.

As expected, the breads were spectacular. We also sprang for a charcuterie platter with three (or four?) cheeses, coupled with four meats, including a pate. It was pretty substantial, even split between four people. 

I got the barley avocado salad. The name of this dish is misleading—the chicken-to-vegetable ratio was unexpectedly high! The three big pieces of Griggstown chicken were really well-flavored, the skin just the slightest touch of crispy. Elements is big on slow, local food, so it’s no surprise they would have this chicken. I think the barley, apples, and walnuts rolled in avocado slices was the best part, though. Awesome texture party!

Coconut ice cream for desert! The bits of toasted coconut in the ice cream were a cute, tasty surprise. Awesome day, awesome lunch.