Central Michel Richard, Thursday January 6, 2011

Last Thursday was my second-ever visit to Central Michel Richard.   Earlier that morning, I'd made a reservation on OpenTable for 6:45pm that day.  Both my companion and I arrived at the same time, a little after 6:30, and we were seated immediately.  A server came by to take our drink orders and give us menus, but we didn't have another server pay attention to us for about 10 minutes.

Despite that early misstep, the meal went wonderfully and the service was wonderful as well.  My Cel-Ray Pimm's Cup was the first I'd ever had, and I was surprised that it was sweet, given that I was expecting to be knocked over with celery flavor.  It was pleasantly carbonated and refreshing, and I'll definitely get it again (I hear it's not actually on the menu, but just ask for it).  For a starter, we ordered the gougeres ($7), which are little cheese puffs, tasty and warm, not too cheesy, though we couldn't possibly finish them all given that I'd also ordered the faux gras terrine and country pate ($15) -- an appetizer which turned out to be enough for a meal.

I'd not had the faux gras before (faux due to it being chicken liver instead of duck or goose), but it was delicious, and the accompanying spicy mustard was surprisingly spicy -- a fact attested to by my companion's observation that my facial expressions every time I had the mustard were providing ample entertainment to go with his food.  There was a bread basket on the table, and that plus the bread with the faux gras is what made that appetizer so much to eat.  I knew I wanted to save room for the bacon cheeseburger I'd ordered, so I asked the friendly French waiter if I could have the faux gras wrapped up to go.  He graciously complied, with no hint of an attitude (my main complaint about my visit in 2008).