Canteen - BBE strikes again. As a food nerd, not only did I love the food at Canteen but I found it very exciting to watch chef Dennis Leary in action. Canteen is a pleasantly intimate restaurant, boasting a total of 19 seats. We sat at the counter and I happily peered over into the kitchen and watched Leary and his two sous chefs concoct our dishes. The menu changes each week and consists of 4 first courses, 4 entrees, and 4 desserts. They also have a succinct and quite reasonably priced wine list from which I enjoyed a citrus-y chenin blanc (Vinum Cellars "White Elephant").
We ate:
Sweetbreads succotash - the sweetbreads were lightly breaded and fried and served with a buttery sweet corn succotash accented by an elevated version of bacon bits. The sweetbreads were by far the best I've ever tasted, light and flavorful and perfectly complemented by the corn and bacon.
Wiener schnitzel (think breaded pork not dodgy fast food hot dogs) with horseradish and cabbage salad served with a chopped egg. This dish seemed very traditional and straightforward, executed perfectly. The schnitzel was crunchy, light and moist , while the horseradish provided a nice bite cushioned by the creaminess of the sauce.
Summer Beans Cassoulet with chanterelles and goat cheese - a tasty dish but not exactly what one expects when ordering a cassoulet. I expect a hearty french dish that has been simmering for approximately 3.5 weeks but this was a light salad-like dish of fresh beans sprinkled with a little goat cheese. Good but didn't really constitute a meal.
Dessert - normally I have the willpower to say no to desserts but I saw butterscotch pudding and my knees buckled. I will never be able to eat a jell-o butterscotch pudding again. Perfectly creamy accompanied by a generous dollop of thick whipped cream - the perfect dessert for a canteen.
