The evening we visited Rico’s, a 2 star Michelin restaurant, a sign on the front door indicated that they were seating people on the patio rather than the inside dining area. It is a heavily decorated place with lots of quirky objects both inside and out. The small tables are set closely on the patio that was covered with a straw/wood roof. Lots of plants surround the cloth covered tables that sit on a stone floor. The servers are dressed in casual black clothing and wear red spiked sneakers on their feet. There is soft music in the background and lighting is natural then gradually blends into candle light. They offer an a la carte menu as well as a 3 – 7 course tasting menu. We chose the 7 course menu and while service was friendly the pacing of the courses was off. It slowed to a crawl at one point, however the portion size was well done. The chef was in house and came out to visit with some friends but did not make it around the room.
While enjoying a glass of champagne they brought out some amuse bouche. Yellow fin tuna tartar was on top of artichoke cream. It was nicely chunked tuna and very tasty.
A doughy set of rolls was served with a cream cheese and green asparagus spread as well as a beet root and horseradish spread. Both were mildly flavored but the rolls were nice.
A veal meatball with spinach was served with a warm, creamy sauce made with horseradish and topped with popcorn.
Goose liver was in several forms and served with peppered strawberries, peas and basil. The liver was sautéed, made into ice cream and in a creamy torchon. The ice cream was particularly yummy and the torchon nicely smooth. All parts of this were great.
Skrei (cod fish) with a sesame honey glaze was plated with wok vegetables and lemongrass nage (broth). A sabayon like sauce was rich and made the most of the ingredients. Peas, mushrooms, beans, and carrots were some of the vegetables included. The fish was moist and cooked perfectly for a large flake fish. But the thing that made this course great was the sauce.
Asparagus morel cassoulet with Onsen egg topped with potato foam and chervil was another rich luscious dish. The mushroom flavor was nicely strong but they were the only thing that added any texture to this creamy dish. Who cares when it’s this good, though.
Duo of spring chicken and Bresse pigeon was served with two sauces, one Albufera, and a bit of cornbread, shallot confit. There was a piece of caramel corn which added a nice crisp bit to the plate that featured another 2 excellent sauces. The chicken was cooked to a tender and moist consistency and the pigeon was equally nicely prepared. Both being very tender made it another good course.
A goat cheese cannelloni was surrounded by olive pesto, tomberries (that tasted like the smallest tomatoes ever) and sour clover. The cannelloni shell was very thin and crispy but the olive relish was too strong – it overpowered the other components. Mostly this one didn’t gel for me – I’d call it okay.
A chocolate tart with salted caramel and cranberries was served with tonka bean ice cream. The berries were lost in this one but the chocolate had a good amount of sweetness to make it much better than the cannelloni. The tonka beans gave the ice cream a vanilla essence that went well with the chocolate.
Rhubarb was plated with a caramelized puff pastry waffle alongside lemon cream and lychee-rose sorbet. There were some green dots that were very tart and didn’t work with the other parts of this dish. But just move them aside and this dish was fine. The rhubarb was sweetened enough and it was great with the sweet, crispy pastry.
