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Review content:
My husband, mother, in-laws, and I decided to go to Saint-Jacques for my 22nd birthday. My mother and I, in particular, are self-proclaimed foodies. I had read all of these wonderful reviews and was concerned that perhaps it had been to hyped up and I wouldn't enjoy it as much. I was happily mistaken!
We were seated at a very spacious table for five, especially considering how small the restaurant is! Our white napkins were exchanged for black ones so as not to leave any lint on our dark clothes . My father-in-law discussed the wine list briefly with the gentleman there (I wish I knew who he was! I feel so ignorant!), and ordered a fabulous bottle of red wine, the Margaux. We had a very diverse dinner, and it was great with everything.
For starters, we ordered the sweetbreads, the goat cheese salad, and the french onion soup. The sweetbreads were out of this world. My mother and I shared it and it was entirely too much for two people considering how rich it is. My husband felt as though his french onion soup was a little on the sweet side, but I thought it was great.
By the time we finished our starter, we needed another bottle of wine. Again, the gentleman was there to help us and steered us toward ordering another bottle of the Margaux. I ordered the pork tenderloin; my mother, the family-recipe veal; my husband ordered the duck a l'orange, his mother ordered the sea-bass, and his father got the beef Normandie. Of everything, I liked my pork the best but all the other dishes were great. The veal was served on creamy polenta and mixed with the reduction sauce, it was delicious. The pork was moist and stuffed with squash and bacon that melted into the pork. It had a nice, crisp skin and sat on wilted greens and potato blini. I loved it.
Dessert was amazing. We had the clafoutis, the chocolate addiction, the cheese plate, their house made vanilla ice cream, and creme brulee bread pudding with biscotti, which was the special. Everything was, again, delicious. My mother in law had been to Saint-Jacques before and mentioned a poached pear with ginger ice cream to the gentleman. He said he didn't remember it but that it sounded good. A few minutes later, he brought her the dessert, having described it to the chef! We were so impressed.
The waitstaff was very attentive and had just the right blend of personable-ness (if that's a word) and the ability to disappear. Obviously, we were having a great time and joking around, and the waitresses would laugh and joke with us occasionally. I love that they felt comfortable enough to do so (besides, we're funny people).
We had a phenomenal time and I will always, always, always recommend Saint-Jacques.
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