Little Country Gentleman

Unfortunately, Little Country Gentleman has closed.

Due to my coming down with strep throat, it took a couple of attempts to set up my Dad’s birthday dinner at Little Country Gentleman. I had been wanting to go there for a while since I had heard so much about it. Although, I do admit that I actually hear more about Half & Half’s amazing brunch that causes an hour wait on the weekends, so I figured I was more likely to manage a dinner reservation.

The first thing my parents noticed was the decor…even though it wasn’t exactly fancy per se, they said it really did have a French countryside feel to it! Since we were there during the week, it was very calm and quiet with only a third of the restaurant filled.

My friend Tim had already explained to me that it’d be a prix fixe three course meal (the eight course dinner is twice as expensive), in which you can also add the wine flight. April was a good time of year to go since there were a lot of fresh spring vegetables on the menu. For each course you got the choice between two items so we all were able to find something we liked. (We all skipped the pork choice for the main entrée.) I tried to get my stepmom to try the opposite choice so that I could get a taste of everything!

Before we could even order, we were presented with a glass of rose and an amuse bouche for palate cleansing. Unfortunately, the amuse bouche was a bite of sweet and sour pork so I had to sacrifice and finish them off. I guess I forgot to mention no pork in our reservation so lesson learned.

My first course was an easy pick…chunks of lobster in a bernaise sauce. While I’m not a fan of beets typically, the beet root with smoked trout was actually very flavorful and was a good course to split.

Yet, on the second course, the halibut with gnocchi definitely stood out over the ramp with ono and smoked sablefish due to the richer flavors.

These first two courses were “smaller plates” and beautifully plated, so I am sorry I didn’t take any pictures. Still, I was happy for a “meatier” main course and we all finished with lamb, which was prepared in small chunks in different ways…each one tastier than the next. I finally felt full.

Since it was my Dad’s birthday, I let him pick the dessert and he chose well…a fresh peach cobbler that had been canned from last season. You can look up in the rafters and see the current batch of peaches stored away for a future cobbler! I also walked by the cheese cart (it IS a French-style restaurant after all) and could have eaten the whole tray as my dinner so it’s best I didn’t notice it until the end.

Last but not least, on our way out of the door, our server caught up with us to present us with cute little bags of snickerdoodles for the road. Adorable!

Definitely an elegant evening, which my parents adored, but pricy enough that I definitely would have to save it for special occasions. We all agreed we wish we could find the time to try Half & Half during the week for their famous brunch as well.

Resources:

Little Country Gentleman = http://littlecountrygentleman.com/