A little over a year ago, we had our most expensive dinner ever at Lautrec in Nemacolin Resort. You can read about our experience here. It was so good that when we found ourselves back at Nemacolin this year, we had to do it again. There are some notable changes to the experience this year. The “Leap of Faith” dinner is gone, instead, we were given a “tasting menu” that included 5 courses, some of the courses gave us a choice between 2 options. The price has also increased from $175 per person (plus tax and tip) to $225 per person (plus tax and tip). The chef has been changed too – it was no longer Chef Butterworth, but Chef Carletti-Silva. What didn’t change was the awesome waiter (we had the same waiter!) and service, the innovative food, and the wonderful overall experience.
The Menu
This was our menu. As you can see, there are some courses that gave us a choice between 2 items, and some courses that have only one item. For every course that had two items, we decided to get two different items so we could see what was all there.
What most people don’t know is that Lautrec is actually not an adult-only restaurant. They even have a kids menu, although the kids menu is a-la-carte. I don’t think I can justify the cost to bring my child here but I did take a look at the kids menu out of my curiosity.
The Meal
Amuse Bouche:
This was the amuse bouche. It was some kind of watermelon appetizer but I really can’t tell you much beyond that. It was tasty and small. Gone too fast.
Course 1: Steamed Sweet Corn Custard
Isn’t it interesting they didn’t mention octopus in the name of this course? This steamed sweet corn custard came with charred corn & octopus, chili kettle corn, pickled peppers & onion, and blue corn crumb. Do I need to mention it was really good?
Option 2: Tuna Tostada
This tuna tostada came with crispy heirloom corn tortillas, charred cucumber, avocado, ginger and lime. It was heavenly.
Course 2: Rye Pierogi
Rye Pierogi with summer squash & blossoms, melted red onion, fennel pollen cream, herb butter and smoked roe. I was afraid the pierogi would taste bitter like rye bread, but it wasn’t at all. I love salmon roe, so I was glad to see it incorporated here.
Course 3: Hokkaido Scallop
On the bottom, there’s sticky rice in the style of a paella. There’s sugar snap peas, radish, candied jalapeno and white soy. The jalapeno was not spicy so it didn’t cover any of the subtle flavors.
Course 4: Wood Oven-Roasted Wagyu
Perhaps the best item on the menu. Heirloom tomatoes, warmed duck egg, smoked tomato oil, truffle, truffle & more truffle. The wagyu was soft like butter. The duck egg was raw. I was instructed to dip the wagyu in the duck egg before tasting it. Honestly, I don’t think you can go wrong eating this in any way possible. I’m also absolutely in love with truffles, so my only wish was this plate was bigger.
Option 2: Footprints Farm Duck
The Footprints Farm Duck came with grilled plum, pickled blackberries, pistachio, and blackberry-plum mustard jus. I feel a little guilty that my husband opted for this one instead of the wagyu, but he was absolutely happy with it.
After a round of Intermezzo (of homemade kombucha), we are onto our final course, the dessert.
Course 5: Goat Rodeo Chevre Ice Cream
Fermented Lavender-clove honey with marcona almond, summer figs, and pickled sour cherries. This dish was very good – I would say it’s actually the better selection of the two desserts, BUT this was the only dish that I could have made a complaint on. Notice the figs? I grew up eating figs so I know exactly if a fig is a good fig. A good fig would not have those discolored dried bits in the center.
Option 2: Posset
This is certainly quite inventive for posset. Posset used to be the name of a British hot milk drink, later evolved into more of a cold, curdled, citrusy dessert. This posset has raspberry & champagne infused cream, chamomile compressed peach, tapioca and peach granita. It’s cold and interesting, in a good way.
After all was done, we were treated to the candy cart again just like last time. Except this time we didn’t take a picture. If you want to see what the candy cart looked like, go here.
Which experience was better?
Ah this is so difficult to say. Obviously the price was higher this time, but everything has gotten more expensive since last year. There’s less courses this year, but I don’t think it was any less food. We see items like scallops, wagyu, duck, salmon roe, etc. None of which are cheap. (Last year we had venison and duck, but no scallops or wagyu…) I think I like the food this year better but I loved the idea of the “Leap of Faith”. At the end of the day, I’m just so glad I got to enjoy both experiences. Would I do it again? Probably.