Our Chef's Table Dinner

During our vacation one of the things I was looking forward to the most was our dinner at "Eleven" in Pittsburgh, because we got eat at the Chef's Table.
The Executive Chef, Derek Stevens, prepared a personal menu just for us, and served us and answered all of our questions. Because of a 24 hour stomach virus, I was not able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked, but I still got to taste each course.
Each course was a surprise, Andrew remarked that it was like Christmas morning, not knowing what to expect.
In all of my "food reading" I have heard people describe food as playful, but before that night I had never really experienced that. But our fifth course was a perfectly cooked scallop paired with Anson Mills grits, Surryano ham and a red bean relish. To me that was playful! I would have never thought to pair a delicate scallop with grits and ham, but the flavors mixed perfectly and made perfect sense.
I found this dish especially interesting because right before this course Andrew had asked the chef what his influences were, and one of the cuisine's he mentioned was Southern.....and that dish really showcased that.
I was excited to get to try a quail's egg. This was paired with white asparagus, a duck hollandaise and truffle vinaigrette. It was a perfect little bit!
I also got to try foie gras for the first time. It really does melt in your mouth like butter. The chef paired it with gooseberries and grapefruit and the acidity cut the fattiness of the foie gras perfectly.
One of Andrew's favorite things was lamb bacon. My husband loves anything lamb, and anything bacon (except for jellybeans, but that is another story). The taste was fatty, gamey and contrasted the kale and cous cous it was served with very well.
For my poor recovering stomach, the Gooseberry Soup with the pineapple-lemon verbena sorbet was heaven! Delicate slices of blood orange floated in the soup along with toasted black sesame seeds which provided a lovely texture contrast.
To finish the meal, the pastry chef brought out a Chocolate and Peanut Crunch Cake. It tasted the way a Whatchmacallit should taste. There was a small scoop of the darkest, smoothest chocolate icecream that I have ever tasted!
The other courses included a Smoked Artic Char with pecans, granny smith apples and a horseradish vinaigrette. I was afraid the horseradish would overwhelm the fish, but it really made the flavors dance across my tongue. We also enjoyed a raw tuna with citrus, cucumber, edamame and sesame broth. The edamame was a surprising crunch, and really rounded out the dish. Andrew and I had never had Golden Tilefish before that night. That was paired with perfectly cooked clams and a lobster broth.
Reading about the food we ate makes me want to go back. It really was a wonderful experience, and one I hope to repeat.....this time without a stomach bug!