For our first anniversary we decided to splurge and made a reservation for uber popular and critic darling Le Pigeon. It was a gorgeous summer evening so we decided to start things off at Noble Rot's 4th floor patio, with a hot breeze, that we just loved, a view to die for and delicious cocktails.
We had heard how difficult it was to get a table at the 30+ seats French restaurant, but we made reservations well in advance and once seated immediately started to drool and scheme whether we should do the 5- or 6-course tasting menu or go ala carte.
We decided to go ala carte and started with 3 starters.
Starter #1: Spicy Greens, chevre croquette, raspberry vinaigrette, basil. This was delicious, the panko fried goat cheese, crisp greens, raspberries and kiwi seeds was fantastic start.
The next two starters arrive shortly after we finished the salad. Octopus with nectarine, porcini mushrooms and palm hearts; and a Rabbit Spanakopita with peaches, prosciutto and black truffles.
Then our entrees arrived: Summer "Thanksgiving" which was duck stuffed with sausage served with green beans; and the fish of the day - Salmon poached in butter.
The food was well executed, and you know it's good when Mike says these are dishes he couldn't recreate at home. The sauces and all the preparation would take time and a professional understanding of the ingredients.
As far as an anniversary dinner went it was intimate, romantic and casually "Portland". We didn't enjoy the food as much as we had anticipated. It was, well - French. Very heavy and rich, not heavy in the belly, but heavy in the mouth. The first bite of every dish was terrific and by the 3 or 4 bite we were over it. Maybe it had something to do with us wanting lighter summer fare, we're not sure, but it did bum us out a little that we didn't enjoy Le Pigeon as much as we had hoped. Although the menu changes often to reflect the availability of seasonal ingredients, we just weren't into the sauces and the serious overload of flavors. However, it wasn't crazy overpriced either and the other dishes looked delicious so maybe in the fall or winter, and after a long hike or bike ride we may be up for Le Pigeon's food.
However, the desserts looked very interesting, unlike any other restaurant desserts we have ever seen. Foie gra profiteroles (seriously), apricot bread pudding with a sauce made from the seeds of the apricot pits (seriously), bacon cornbread with maple syrup ice cream (seriously?). But we had plans to hit up another dessert spot and asked for our bill, which came with the yummiest raspberry filled white chocolates adorably stamped with a pigeon.
We made our way home and walked up to the last service at Pix Patisserie on Williams Avenue. By the time we arrived the dessert case was pretty much emptied and all that was left was some ice cream and sorbet. We decided to get a mango and strawberry sorbet to cleanse the heavy dinner we just had. Bonus was we bargained down a jar of their homemade nutella chocolate spread.
We thoroughly enjoyed the sweet tart sorbets while walking home in sandals and summery clothes under a semi-full moon. It was pretty magical. When we got home we immediately opened our first anniversary note left by guests at our wedding. 1 year down and 50 more to go!
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