The first truffle

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Tonight I had to once again play ambassador to one of my favorite restaurants.  Mr and Mrs Birdiegolf have been asking me to take them to Neighborhood for ages.  Nevermind that they themselves have been there. For many of my friends, they firmly believe in the existence of a "Peter menu" at a handful of restaurants around town.  So inevitably I am obliged from time to time to fulfill my duties as a good friend...

There were only 4 of us tonight, so the number of dishes we could try - especially the larger offerings - would be limited.  But we would still be able to have a few off-menu daily specials...

Pancetta - never a bad thing to start with this from the boss...

Culatello di zibello "Massimo Spigaroli" - and of course he wouldn't send us pancetta without this little gem... always the tastiest little morsel.

Gooseneck barnacles - it's been a while since I last really enjoyed percebes, especially when they often come with sand and shit.  The ones tonight were the best I've had in a while, but I don't think anyone was really a fan...

Cancale oysters - a little briny and not too creamy.

Smoked eel potato salad / white truffle - I do like this a lot, and tonight the big chunks of potatoes and bits of dried eel were accompanied by a little more than the beautiful soft-boiled egg on top... The truffle shavings definitely didn't hurt.

Sucrine lettuce / pickled musseron mushroom / chorizo - I love it when the Man in White T-shirt serves up halves of sucrine lettuce.  Tonight I think there may have been a hint of horseradish in the dressing.  The pickled musserons were kinda interesting, but those chorizo chips were definitely the highlights. 

Buffalo chicken wings / Roquefort - always tasty.

Bouchot mussels "Mt St Michel" - still comes with that curry-flavored sauce, with lots of fennel.

Mr Birdiegolf had made one request - for beef tartare - but this was overruled by the Man in White T-shirt.  He said he had something better for us...

Aubrac beef hanger steak - I take it this was the better option... the slices of Aubrac onglet were pretty decent.  Definitely a nice, tasty cut.

And this came with a "side dish" of roasted bone marrow topped with caviar. 

So what was one to do, other than putting this all on the sourdough toast? Very, very sinful. 

Lobster saffron rice - I guess there isn't an endless supply of 100-catty giant groupers around, but I was really happy to see these lobsters come with the saffron seafood rice, which is nice and a little spicy..

To be honest, I was kinda surprised that the lobsters came a little overcooked.  But their flavors were absolutely amazing.  These came with some matsutake (松茸) mushrooms and Cantonese roast pork.  I love that the crackling was still crunchy. 

Comté, aged 24 months

Tarte tatin - always a treat here, but tonight Shirley came with truffle in hand... Yum.

Canelés

We brought a few bottles with us...

Jacques Selosse Rosé, dégorgée le 20 Julliet 2015 - lovely and oxidized nose as expected, with marmalade and toasty notes.  Ripe and mature on the palate.

2004 Didier Dagueneau Silex, en magnum - green apple notes.  Very ripe and rounded on the palate.

2008 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon - oxidized nose, with ripe and buttery notes.

2013 Szent Tamás Szamorodni - not as sweet as what I'm used to, but good sugar levels with some acidity.  Lychee and marmalade notes.

This was actually a bottle that a visiting foodie friend gave to The Man in White T-shirt and I, and this got jazzed up by - you guess it - some truffle shavings.  I always believed that you only need a slice or two in the glass, but I was overruled...

I hope my friends are happy with the "Peter menu" tonight... even though there wasn't any beef tartare.