For my birthday, Andy and I headed to St. Louis to have a special dinner at Niche. This is our favorite restaurant and we go for our birthday's and anniversaries. Chef Gerard Craft is incredible talented and humble. We just love everything he makes. To make it extra special, Andy contacted the general manager and arranged for us to have special tasting menu. A tasting menu is where you don't order each course, you agree to the entire menu. We had a great table next to a couple that we have spoken to the last 2 times we have been there. They are delightful and love the Chef Craft's food as much as we do. After dinner, we headed to Craft's bar, Taste for some great creative cocktails by mixologist Ted Kilgore. They were yummy.
In 34 years, who would have guessed that the girl who hated all vegetables and was the pickiest person most of you knew, would be going to a fancy restaurant for a custom tasting menu, where I don't even get to pick what I eat and loving it. The menu had several of my favorite dishes from as well as some new ones that I loved. Here's a picture and short description of each course. It was all delicious. Thank you very much to some great friends and clients who gave the gift card that allowed us to splurge on the custom tasting menu and to the Lehmen's for the delightful beverages. It was a very special and memorable birthday dinner!
Our Menu was all typed up for us.
This was my favorite course of the evening and it's the second time I have had this particular dish. It's cooked in the eggshell. There is a warm maple, lemon custard in the bottom, then a layer of mushrooms, and it's topped with caviar.
This was our fall vegetable salad. This was my least favorite dish, because, I'm not a fan of raw vegetables, however there was a cucumber paste under it all that was delicious.
This is one of my favorite dishes from the restaurant. Although the menu always changes, I get the current variation of this every time. It's pasta dressed with something similar to BBQ pulled pork, cream cheese, and granny smith apples. It's the perfect combination of richness, tartness, and tangy!
This was the green apple and rosemary sorbet for cleansing our palates.
This fillet was excellent. It's served with caramelized onions, potato and leek puree (green mash potatoes), and a grape puree that was very sour. I loved the presentation of this course the best.
Dessert was squash bread pudding topped with maple ice cream and homemade marshmallows.
My cocktail was a milk and rum punch with cinnamon bitters on top.
Andy's cocktail was a version of a Manhattan.
Adam playing in the leaves
Lucas hiding under the tire swing
Lucas with the fall decor
Lucas and Landon on our hike
The boys enjoying their prize after the scavenger hunt
Adam with his walking stick on the hike
Fireman Adam getting ready to slide down the fire pole
Our Menu was all typed up for us.
This was my favorite course of the evening and it's the second time I have had this particular dish. It's cooked in the eggshell. There is a warm maple, lemon custard in the bottom, then a layer of mushrooms, and it's topped with caviar.
This was our fall vegetable salad. This was my least favorite dish, because, I'm not a fan of raw vegetables, however there was a cucumber paste under it all that was delicious.
This is one of my favorite dishes from the restaurant. Although the menu always changes, I get the current variation of this every time. It's pasta dressed with something similar to BBQ pulled pork, cream cheese, and granny smith apples. It's the perfect combination of richness, tartness, and tangy!
This was the green apple and rosemary sorbet for cleansing our palates.
This fillet was excellent. It's served with caramelized onions, potato and leek puree (green mash potatoes), and a grape puree that was very sour. I loved the presentation of this course the best.
Dessert was squash bread pudding topped with maple ice cream and homemade marshmallows.
My cocktail was a milk and rum punch with cinnamon bitters on top.
Andy's cocktail was a version of a Manhattan.
