Alizee

I went to Alizee for dinner last night.

It is a gorgeous space and I was in a both next to some of the state's elite.  It was a stuffer crowd of people but the food is excellent. 

As our waiter went over the menu all I heard was crispy pork belly, bacon, more bacon and bacon.  It seemed like everything had bacon in it.  A great way to start the meal.

I had scotch and soda, shared a shrimp cocktail, cassoulet, pork shank, and donuts and coffee.

Scotch is a warming, it was Johnny Walker Black.  It helped to settle me.  But man its been a while since i've had scotch and it was like learning to enjoy it all over again.  The smell filled my nose and i seemed to relive every drop of scotch i've ever consumed.  The most vivid was talking it from dad.  I remember smelling the scotch and just wincing.

Our bread and butter come out with our drinks.  The bread was chewy with unsalted butter.  I prefer my butter salted but the bread was spot on good.  chewy inside, crusty outside.

The shrimp cocktail was gianormus.  6 massive shrimps, with a sweeter cocktail sauce.  the shrimp were cooked just right nice and firm but i was hoping for more zing in the sauce.

Cassoulet is the best thing when it gets colder.  Its even better when it has a piece of pork belly.  The beans were firm, the soup light and sweet, and it was offset with smoky bacon.  It was a normal portion but it really filled me up and hit the spot.

Pork shank was amazing, it sat atop sauerkraut and apple puree and it was, crunchy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside and oh so good that i was weeping.  It had a sweet bbq sauce on it which i could have done without or would rather have seen something more vinegar based.  It was a good size and I didn't come close to finishing it so i had it wrapped.

Finally we wrapped with coffee and cinnamon sugar donuts with pistachio ice cream.  I am not a fan of pistachio ice cream so it could possibly have been amazing and i wouldn't be able to tell you because i winced and pushed it off the plate.  the donuts were yummy and were kept in place with caramel.

I enjoyed my meal.  It was great simple french/american cooking that hit the spot.  see pictures below.