First dinner out at one of our regular spots (sort of). There’s definitely a lot of continuity with Flora’s style. Layout is fundamentally unchanged, except for the temporarily reduced capacity. Space is brighter. Service was solid and very friendly.
Shrimp cocktail with tomatillo sauce ($16): very nice, though if you’re craving a traditional shrimp cocktail like Flora used to make, this isn’t it.
Buggy new phone somehow lost the photo of the mussels with chorizo and cream sauce ($19 (online menu has a typo)), surprisingly spicy. Mexican twist on the French classic Moules Poulette.
12-oz. ribeye with ancho chile sauce, fried shallots, grilled new onions, beef fat fries, and aioli ($42). Best fries I’ve had in years. Damn. Steak was really good, medium-rare as ordered, again a Mexican twist on a French classic, steak-frites. The sauce was subtle.
Beef tartare was very good. The Vietnamese-ish pile of mint, cilantro, and chives was a great touch. I think they said the taro chips are house-made, but they were very similar to Terra’s (which I love).
Steak was again really good. Fries were not as perfect as last time, maybe because we went near the end of service rather than the beginning and they were busier.
Blueberry-magnolia ice cream was delicious, but I didn’t taste the blueberry, and I have no idea what magnolia tastes like. It wasn’t very fruity and the floral notes were very delicate, nothing remotely like the assertiveness of rose or lavender. If I’d been tasting it without knowing what it was I might have guessed rhubarb? sorghum?
Ate here in late May. Have great memories of Flora for brunch and dinner. We ate early at 5:30 and everything was delicious. I lost the menu but wish I could remember some of the specifics, Wayback Machine won’t load the menu properly.
Never thought I’d say this but the Brussels sprouts was one of my favorite dishes. salty and savory. I loved the fries and aioli. Maybe the aioli had just been whipped because it was crazy fluffy and my favorite part of the night.
Also had the bamboo cocktail - fino sherry, drapo dry vermouth, pineau de Charentes - and a glass of the 4 monos garnacha
Had yet another excellent meal the other night. As usual dessert was a highlight, this time it was a “sticky toffee cake” with caramel sauce and cranberry compote? Not sure and the menu has changed already. Reminded me of a steamed Christmas pudding. Huge portion, two of us couldn’t finish it even though we’d tried to save room for dessert.
New menu, no longer any separation between starters and mains… New dishes include chicken fat fries, tempura corn on the cob, cast iron cornbread with lardo, masa fried oysters, whole grilled trout with cilantro pesto and peas.
