Blackbird

Etta, Andrea and I went just after noon: Blackbird’s lunch menu is a beaut. The only thing over twenty dollars is the prix fixe, and that’s 3 courses. The ladies went that way and I ordered 3 courses a la carte. Service was amazing, from the time our coats were taken at the door, to the warmest table in the restaurant beside the kitchen, to black napkin for Etta in black.

One standout was the squash soup, velvet and deep like a faux fur blanket on a seat warmer. I enjoyed the kick of spice in the boullabaisse, and using the table’s bread and molasses butter to supplement the rich rectangle of toast with saffron aioli. The textures and temperatures coming out of the kitchen were perfect and each ingredient shined across all the dishes. Dessert was killer, of course the cremeux was cremeux, but the sorbet with crumble was like a Lucky Charms marshmallow trifle.