Apples and Oranges

Shall I wax poetic about a Fuji apple or a clementine? Maybe another day. I love fruit but that is not where I am headed.

Recently I had the pleasure of eating two expensive dinners. Each dinner cost $150 for two people. Not outrageous, but nothing to sneeze at. How did these meals fare when pitted against each other? Let's find out....

A good friend of mine has this thing about coupons. She cannot let one go to waste. She jokes that her grave marker will read, "I got this headstone with a coupon". I think that is true. Anyway, she received a coupon for Fleming's Steak House from American Express. The coupon was for $40 off the total bill. The coupon could not be used for the early dining special offer. We arrived at 5:30pm and the place was reasonably full. The crowd looked fairly young and we surmised these folks were here for the low priced special. The others diners may have been corporate, dining on the boss's dime. The dining room is large and  brightly lit. Many of the tables are round booths inviting you to have a romantic dinner with your honey. Despite the small crowd and lighting, the room was fairly quiet making you feel as if you were enjoying an intimate experience.

When we were first seated a young man came by and asked if we wanted to start with the "complimentary bread course". Since when has bread become a course? They wanted you to know how lucky you were to get free bread these days. We jumped on the offer knowing that this was the last complimentary thing to come our way. The bread was a crusty French bread and was really quite good. We each ordered a glass of wine.

Our waitress was new. She was friendly and helpful. It was clear she was practicing a specific patter she was to use when describing options and menu items. I ordered a wedge salad with blue cheese dressing and a petite fillet. My friend had mashed potatoes with Parmesan and peppercorn and the bone-in rib eye. Both of our steaks were prepared perfectly, medium- rare just as we had ordered. The meat was flavorful and tasted even better cold the next day. The serving size was reasonable. The mashed potatoes could have been shared with three people and the wedge salad was also a generous serving. The potatoes were "ok".  To put the costs in perspective, I will tell you that a baked potato is $9.50. Despite that fact, we shared a slice of cheesecake which I thought was "fine". I had coffee, she had tea. I kicked myself for not asking for a second cup but truthfully I was too full to swallow another thing.

In the middle of the meal the manager came by to see how things were going. His affect was so over-the-top we were speechless, a cross between Guy Smiley and The Joker. Made us want to cringe. The whole experience seemed staged... bright lights, pretty props and actors with a script. We had a good time (we generally have a good time no matter where we are) but it sure was clear who benefited from the coupon... Fleming's. $150, really?

Now on to dinner number two. Tariq promised me a special dinner a long time ago and finally came across... and boy did he! He surprised me by taking me to Sanford in Milwaukee. Sanford D'Amato is a CIA graduate and renown Midwestern chef. He has cooked, by request, for Julia Child and the Dalai Lama. His family owned a grocery store in Milwaukee for 80 years. When the store closed in 1989 he remodeled and opened his beautiful restaurant. In 2012 he sold his business to Chef De Cuisine Justin Aprahamian. Many of D'Amato's signature dishes remain on the menu.

The restaurant is small, elegant and intimate. Although you sit close to the table next to you, you do not hear the conversations of others. Everything appears to be muted by the excellent acoustics. The lighting is adequate but not harsh. The place has a modern, clean feel, with every detail adding to the ambiance. When we arrived for our 8:15 reservation we were cold and hungry. We were greeted warmly and provided with a little information about the restaurant and how our meal would proceed. On the table was the most lovely bread stick. It was so flavorful- not flavored but rather made with excellent flour and baked to perfection..

We were provided with an amuse-bouche, a tasting on a little china spoon. I cannot recall exactly what is was, but it included a trout foam and some other type of fish. That little morsel set the bar high for the rest of the meal. It was downright yummy.

I was shocked when I took my first look at the menu. There were some signature cocktails available for $7.50 and some wines for $8 per glass. They chose not to pad your bill by overcharging for your alcohol consumption. I was very impressed. Of course, there was an extensive wine list but I headed for the rye and ordered a Sazerac.  Tariq does not drink and often has to choose from a list that is mundane and without imagination. Here he ordered the most delicious ginger ale I have ever tasted. The bottle had bits of ginger at the bottom. Another check in the plus column.

The waiter then explained the menu. He asked us to first choose our dessert because each plate is prepared individually and will bake while you are eating. Oh my. We asked if we should share something, thinking this will be a small plate experience. He told us that most folks shared and were more than satisfied. After much discussion we ordered the Banana Butterscotch Toffee Tart with homemade Banana Rum ice cream.

Tariq started his meal with Slow Roasted Tomato Soup with Seared Shrimp and I had the Grilled Pear and Roquefort Tart with Caramelized Onions and Walnuts. Both dishes were bursting with flavor and screamed, "I am fresh, hot and made with love".

It took us a while to decide on the entrees because everything sounded wonderful. Salmon, sturgeon, duck breast, steak and elk were passed up for bass and scallops. The bass was caramelized served on a papaya salad with a green curry sauce. The scallops were seared with kale, wild mushrooms and poached apples in a chamomile broth. I moaned with every bite which for me is a sign that the food has exceeded my expectations. Tariq was thrilled with his meal as well. We both left some food on our plates and had a lovely treat to take home for another time.

The timing of the meal was impeccable. The service was fantastic and not over-bearing. Right on cue, came the long awaited dessert. Oh, yes, it was magnificent. The banana was the star but it magnanimously shared the spotlight with the butterscotch toffee and the rum flavored ice cream. Although we shared this incredible course we found the serving to be more than generous and the decision to share was certainly the right one.

So, this $150 felt like a bargain.

Like I said, apples and oranges.