Comice is a one star Michelin restaurant appointed with nice linens, comfortable chairs, pretty flowers, wood floors and purse stools in a leather that matches the chairs. It is run by a couple with the wife, Etheliya Hananova serving as sommelier and front end manager and the husband, Chef Noam Gedalof running the kitchen. She is from Canada which may be why American music plays in the background. It is a lovely room that is nicely lit and noise level is not a problem as the tables are well spaced. It is a very comfortable atmosphere that offers a la carte options or a tasting menu of 5 courses (4 at lunch).
We started the meal with cocktails rather than champagne. The martini was prepared just as I specified and the negroni used nice large ice cubes so dilution was not a problem.
They brought warm comté cheese gougeres to snack on as we decided on our meal. They were delightful – strongly flavored and a perfect texture. Very good.
A carrot veloute with herbs arrived with some of their house made bread and house made butter. The bread was nicely crisp on the edge and dense in the middle. It was served at room temperature in a thick wedge. It was great. The veloute was seasoned with tarragon and was sweet and velvety. Nicely flavored, it was an excellent start for the meal.
Scallop carpaccio was presented with Buddha’s hand, radish and fennel. It was a very generous portion of scallops. The radish was so fresh there was no bitterness at all. Pieces of lime added a little pop to some bites. It was a nice combination of flavors and textures.
Cauliflower with pepper, roasted bread, almonds and lemon were dressed with a tart sauce with a hint of mustard. The almonds gave it a special crunch. This one was fun and tasty to eat.
Shellfish tagliatelle was served with roasted garlic butter. The velvety thin pasta was exquisite with the buttery sauce – this was heaven in a bowl. The variety of shellfish was good and all blended beautifully with the buttery sauce.
Butter poached lobster was served with sweet potato, spinach, shallot and bacon vinaigrette. The sweet potato was in a ravioli and the spinach was a purée that added a nice color contrast. Bits of bacon in the sauce went wonderfully with the caramelized onions. It was a totally savory course bursting with terrific flavors.
A sorbet of apple was served in a smooth mousse of spice and citrus. It was tart but still sweet. A good transitional course.
A citrus panna cotta with orange ice cream. It was a nice light dish with good flavors but not a blow-away like the savory courses.
A chocolate souffle and vanilla ice cream with a touch of lemon was the killer of the two desserts. It had a perfect molten center and the touch of lemon was just the right amount. It was served with a couple hazelnut pirouette cookies. A great chocolate and sweet fix.
We had an after dinner drink and it was good with the final treats of chocolate bonbon with hazelnuts, nougat and passion fruit macaroon.
