Half empty

About a month ago, ILoveLubutin decided to book a table at Caprice for a gathering.  The Fat One was gonna be in town for an event, and a few of us worshippers were gonna meet up for it.  It made sense for us to have a nice little meal together before going.

The trouble with booking meals so far ahead is that plans often fall apart.  People get distracted, often by work, or even travel out of town.  The table went from 8 to 6, and down to a lonely threesome.  As the cancellations were last-minute - and this includes ILoveLubutin having to travel out of town for business - the three of us found ourselves sitting at a table meant for six…

I realized halfway through lunch that I had sat in the wrong seat.  There were two seats at the table which afforded their occupants with a view of the giant rubber duckie - or at least of the duckie's ass, but I chose to park myself somewhere else.  Oh well…

Our amuse bouche was a cube of deep-fried pork knuckle with sea urchin and lentils, sitting on a bed of lentil mousse and topped with fresh sea urchin.  The lentil mousse was incredibly smooth, and had a smoky flavor along with a sprinkle of piment d'espelette powder.  The pork knuckle was lightly flavored with some curry powder.

Challans duck leg ravioli, eggplant and piquillo in fresh garlic sauce - these were not bad, but I kinda expected a little more.  The duck filling was tasty, but a little drier than I had expected.  The eggplant and piquillo in the middle was really tasty.  I wish there was a little more of the garlic sauce.

Guinea fowl breast stuffed with young herbs, black olive, polenta and fondant tomato - a layer of herb butter (tarragon) was stuffed under the skin, and the skin was nice and crispy.  The black olive polenta was really fragrant and delicious.

Calamansi puff with green tea marshmallow - for some reason I found the cream inside the puff a little savory instead of acidic, as it should have been with calamansi.  Fortunately the layer of chocolate and marshmallow both tasted of green tea.
Apricot macaron - this was OK.
Chocolate with orange ganache - this was OK.

We were a little pressed for time, so we skipped dessert, coffee and uncharacteristically ran out the door… but not before having a quick chat with Chef Vincent.