For Valentine's Day, John and I went out to dinner at a place I had been absolutely dying to try for many moons. "Eleven" is one of the very elegant offerings from the Big Burrito Restaurant Group, of which we are big fans. Not only because their restaurants offer much in the way of veggie fare, but also because they are creative, fun, and delicious.
At the end of the dinner, I quickly determined that I had just eaten the best meal of my entire life. Here's the deal: John is a big carnivore and I am pretty close to being a complete vegetarian. But I do love good food. I'll indulge in the OCCASIONAL seafood, but really, not very often. BUT, whenever we go out to eat, John is typically ogling my dinner and not as pleased with his steak as he thought he would be. This is because chefs who take vegetarian cuisine seriously (and they are FEW - especially in Pittsburgh) really reach out and come up with new flavors. So, very often, I find John picking off of my plate and looking jealous. So on V-Day, he decided to order with me instead of against me, and we both had the "Chef's Vegetarian Tasting Dinner." I was SO pleased to find out this even existed. And we decided to have the wine pairings as well. So, six courses, five wines.
First Course: Puree of Yukon Gold potato with creme fraiche (I believe) paired with a Prosecco.
Second Course: Golden Beet Carpaccio with lentils, paired with the same Prosecco.
Third Course: Artichoke hearts stuffed with quinoa and provencale vegetables, paired with Conundrum, AKA my favorite white wine.
Fourth Course: Gratin of oyster mushrooms with a frisee salad, paired PERFECTLY with one of the finer Pinot Noirs I've ever tasted. This was John's favorite course.
Fifth Course: Chestnut fettucine over celery root puree and topped with shaved black truffles, paired with a good Merlot. I was suspicious of this, but the combination of flavors was incredible.
Sixth Course: Chocolate lover's fantasy - a homemade brownie covered with chocolate fondue sauce and a chocolate pot au creme, paired with a Banfi sparkling RED. Oh man, this was good.
There really are no words. I usually find myslef at a loss to order anything in most restaurants, and here I found myself in heaven. Top-notch vegetarian cuisine does not come around often, and certainly not around here. The service was impeccable and the atmosphere a delight. (Even the A-hole talking loudly on her cell phone right at the next table failed to bother me - much.) Big Burrito comes through again. This must be the best restaurant in the 'burgh.
But, there is a weird and kinda sad ending to this evening. As we left the restaurant, practically coked up from the sheer indulgence of this dinner, the street was lined with protesters holding signs calling for the boycott of foie gras. At this vegetarian nirvana! I was SO upset by this. These are my people, after all, and I agree with them. Probably not on much else, but on this, you BET! I didn't see foie gras on the menu. My euphoria was a little shattered because I felt like I had betrayed my OWN CAUSE, just a little, by eating there. I wanted to tell them that they should protest elsewhere because these were as close to being good guys as there are. Go protest Atria's! They don't even offer a meatless salad for crying out loud!
So, our heavenly date was slightly tainted for me. And that kinda sucks because we don't have evenings like that very often. But I highly recommend Eleven, anyway. I know I'll go back sooner rather than later.
