The current owners have run the place for 6 years and offer 6 “seasons” of menu to span the year.  We were there for the ‘Stream’ season which features the many trout in the area.  We were fortunate to get the same wonderful server both nights and he really made the meal enjoyable.  Knowledge and friendliness are important in a great server and Giovanni Costantino has plenty of both.  The tasting is offered at 6:30 and 8:00 pm so it moves at a fairly rapid pace.  However, we had the later time and were there past 10, so the early seating moves more quickly.  Portions are well-modulated.  The beautiful landscape outside made a perfect backdrop for a meal of fish, that I didn’t have to catch or clean.   I imagine the other seasonal tastings are well-crafted too.  I recommend this place.

Set-Up

 

Food

Smoked trout consommé was a clear warm broth that was very savory.  A good depth of flavor was enhanced by a few drops of oil in the bowl. A nice start.

 

English Peas were with fresh wasabi and flowers.  The peas were freshly shucked and blanched then mixed with some creamed horseradish and some Johnny Jump-up flowers.  The flavor was exquisite, but know I adore fresh peas.

 

White asparagus was pureed and mixed with Kaluga caviar.  Some asparagus sabayon was mixed with the asparagus purée to give it richness and silky texture.  The caviar was the perfect punctuation for this dish.  Lovely.

 

Raw steelhead trout was decorated with broccoli rabe and radish blooms.  Some baby nasturtium leaves further decorated the crudo.  The broccoli was browned with a bit of crisp to the edges.  The fish was a mild flavor with a smooth silky texture.

 

Stuffed morels were plated with honeycomb tripe and sunchoke purée.  More mushrooms were used to stuff the morels and a bit of the jus was added to the dish to enhance the already savory flavor.  The tripe was boiled for 6 hours before being dropped in a fryer to finish it.  It was delightful and added a great crunchy texture to the dish.   This was a favorite.

 

Sourdough bread was topped with freshwater eel and ramps.  The woodfired pizza had a wonderful chewy bread and topped with smoked eel pieces, that were strongly flavored.  I liked the bread more than the eel on this one – it was so good.  If you are a fan of eel you would have liked that better.

 

Rainbow trout was topped with fiddlehead ferns and roe.  The excellently cooked fish went well with the smoked roe.  It had a nicely crisped skin and the flavor was perfect with the fresh little fiddleheads.  This plate was filled with nice flavors and textures.

 

Lime granita was topped with saffron and sumac strawberries.  The tart cold granita was matched in flavor by the sweet strawberries.  It was a good mix.

 

Fennel ice cream was under chocolate mousse.  The mousse was quite light with a strong essence of cocoa and a bit of salt.  The lightly sweet ice cream mixed nicely.  An example of the two parts being better as a whole than as separate components.