Simpatica

To celebrate the first anniversary of our ordination, Jim Gallagher and I were joined by Josh and Stacey Noem for dinner at Simpatica Dining Hall this past Friday.  USA Today's Food and Wine Review called Simpatica the "surprise of the year," and Bon Apetit Magazine describes it as "one of the ten hottest restaurants in the country."  For a more detailed explanation of this trendy supper club see this review.

Simpatica has only one seating per night for about 50 people, and only serves dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings.  The fixed-price menu of four or five courses is, in my opinion, fabulously reasonable at $35-$40 a person.

Here was the menu for Friday, April 11, 2008:

Marinated Prawns with Garden Mizuna, Breakfast Radishes, Crostini and Herbs

Cardoon Fritters with Black Olive Aioli

Bacon-Wrapped Sea Scallops with Avocado Risotto

Lemon Curd Tart with Chocolate Gelato

After our thoroughly edifying table conversation, Josh, Stacey, Jim and I compared notes on the meal.  We all enjoyed the hints of citrus in the prawn marinade, but agreed the crostini were a little too hard.  We all found the cardoon fritters to be a pleasant surprise.  And the scallops were cooked to absolute perfection - personally, I've never had better. 

Only a few of you will appreciate how perfectly Providential it was that the desert for the evening was Lemon Curd Tart . . . an inside joke that had the four of us dying with laughter.  It too was delicious, but the heavy coffee taste of the gelato seemed an odd pairing to us.

As you can see in the pictures above, the setting is simple but fun - perfect for a lively urban dinner-party experience.  And of course the company couldn't be beat - truly simpatico!  So from start to finish the evening was wonderful and I look forward to another reason to celebrate!