Sauvage is a 12 person counter tasting meal that opened a week ago by the team of Casey and Amy La Rue, who previously ran the now closed Carte Blanche on Greenville.  Located adjacent to the Statler Hotel the La Rue team has done much of the finish out work on their own.  The “L” shaped concrete counter surrounds the open kitchen including a wood fired grill.  A lounge like area is at the entry to accommodate those waiting for their seating, as the times are flexible for the 2 seatings.  Music is in the background and lighting is fairly bright which helps for photos.   It’s on a busy downtown street and you can get your ticket from the nextdoor hotel’s valet validated at the restaurant and then it’s costs just $10. The name translates to “wild” or refers to something uncultivated.  I have to say it didn’t feel wild to me rather more approachable and relaxed. At $245 for the tasting that may be the untamed part for some but if you can swing it it’s worth a try.  They are barely open and I hope as they progress the menu will evolve and change enough to entice people to come multiple times.  Let me know what you think when you visit.

Set-up

 

Food

Before the meal they brought a warm moist towel to clean and ready your hands which is always a nice touch.  The first four courses were brought together on a large tray with both of us having a separate serving.

Venison Bresaola was with rosemary and smoked tomato.  The cured meat was tender and tasty and mixed nicely with the tomatoes.   Manganji Peppers were seasonedd with Ethiopian koseret (herb in the verbena family), raspberry glaze and ricotta and served on a spoon.  It was a nice bite.

Charred beets were on a skewer and others mixed with Jujube (red) dates and horseradish in the form of beet soup. The dates may have been responsible for a slight citrus taste to the good soup.  It’s good texture and beautiful color made it a winner.

Kohlrabi buried in embers was mixed with pumpkin seed oil, verjus (acidic juice) and anise then topped with crushed pumpkin seed.   There was lots of texture here but it did not get the smokiness I expected.  The combination was nice.

 

Gulf Amberjack was plated with avocado, grapefruit, and dashi kakigori.  The kakigori, a traditional Japanese shaved ice dessert, was produced in a machine on the counter and mixed grapefruit juice with the dashi in the granité like result.  It was mildly flavored with fun temperature and textural contrasts.

 

Foie gras was made to look like a truffle and was sitting on charred onion jam with a house-made croissant alongside.  The dish was as dark as a piece of charcoal but instead inside it had a creamy foie gras mousse and underneath was the sweet onion jam.  It was  smooth and rich with a light flavor of liver.  The croissant was divine – crisp with buttery layers of goodness.  I wanted to eat them separately rather than together to better enjoy the taste of each.

 

Grouper was smoked in seaweed with dulse (red seaweed) then placed on chanterelle custard with a sherry and smoked bones sauce and topped with Kristal caviar.   You needed to dig down to get all the layers in one bite but they were also good on their own.  I love grouper and it’s texture and this one was nicely enhanced by a rich sauce and great caviar.

 

Asian pear sorbet was topped with aloe sabayon and ginger tapioca for a palate cleanser.  It was very good and the crisp flower decorations on top made it visually appealing too,

 

Gulf prawns were cooked jerk style and plated with cilantro, finger lime, kumquat, cucumber and fermented pineapple.  There was a nice bit of spice in the dish and the side of kumquat mix was to help cool the mouth.  I loved the spice and didn’t need a cool down but it was tasty too.  The dish left a warm glow on the palate.

 

Wild boar belly and antelope sausage were plated together.  The belly was beside a grilled okra and sitting on peas.  The sausage was dusted with pistachio and placed on a pea purée.  Fermented harissa was in the middle of the plate which is a spicy red pepper sauce.   Both meats had good flavor and the sausage was particularly juicy but neither seemed very smoky.  I liked the sauce but didn’t eat much of it as it tended to overwhelm the meat flavors.

 

Texas wagyu beef rib was in a bordelaise sauce with embered beets and topped with Baerii caviar.   The very fatty meat was super tender and rich.  It had a strongly flavored rub on the meat that out-paced this mild caviar.   Then add the sticky, rich sauce and you’ve got depth here.

 

Jasper Hill Willoughby cheese was with blackberry, mint, and roasted grapes.  The fudgy cow’s milk cheese had a washed rind and buttery interior.  The foam was called raspberry when they presented it and it sure tasted like that.  It went nicely with the mild cheese and the grapes were a treat all by themselves.  A good transition course.

 

The first dessert was chocolate sticky toffee pudding with smoked maple, banana powder and roasted bananas.   The caramel sauce around the moist cake was lick the plate good and the bananas went nicely with it.  A few buttery, crisp flowers added a textural contrast to the deeply flavored dessert.

 

Passionfruit Smore was on a graham tuile with passionfruit ganache under the ‘marshmallow’  top.  It was fine. Honeycomb coated in chocolate and topped with smoked salt was a bit chewy with great flavor.   This was a favorite. Strawberry Cone was filled with guava and goat cheese.  It ate like the cone was coated with chocolate and was a tasty bite.  With the desserts they served a small glass of Costa Rican coffee processed to balance the acidity.  It was mild and went well with the desserts.

 

As a parting gift they sent two warm chocolate chip cookies.  They were soft and topped with a bit of salt to nicely contrast with the sweetness.  They were good.