So what’s the first thing I did when I hit the city limits? Go to dinner, of course. Yeah baby, get into town at 4:15pm and dinner reservations at 5:00pm. This girl doesn’t play around when it comes to awesome food. Going to Travail is not just going for their food, though it’s awesome. I’m going for the experience. They (the chefs) make it interactive and entertaining. The food is pretty and the drinks are delicious. They even give you a treat to walk out the door with.
So let’s start with the menu (it was 28 courses and we were FULL at the end).
Drinks: Ron Burgundy & Corpse Reviver #12 (per the Rookery)
The meal:
Prosecco – lychee sorbet and globe basil
Cherry – filled with foie gras
Broccoli soup – rye croutons, parmesan
Beet sandwich – heirloom beets, goat cheese
Cornet filled with king crab – red bell mayo, fruit leather
Black garlic cracklin – chinese sausage, gochujang
INTERMEZZO – huckleberry sorbet, orange butter, mint
Summer salad – heirloom tomato, beet, orange, cucumber, zucchini, garlic dirt, ricotta, goat cheese, oxtails, nasturtium, pesto, breakfast radish, green tomato, gremolata, buttermilk crema, lobster mushroom, watermelon radish
INTERMEZZO – granny smith apple soda, lemon ice
Shrimp terrine – smoked tomato & shrimp vinaigrette, pickled onion, wasabi greens, horseradish, pea puree
Mussels – pork trotter terrine, mussels, mussel broth, cabbage
Arctic Char – sorrels, almond, haricot vert
Luxury corn dog – lobster, shrimp, old bay mustard, giardiniera
INTERMEZZO – anti-griddle lollipop, lemon curd, raspberry puree
Foie Gras – finger lime, coconut, jasmine, seed treat cracker
Posole (soup) – suckling pig, hominy, tomato, tortilla, cilantro, parsley, lime
Baby green salad – crunchy skin, crispy pork, horseradish, pickled celery
MEZZALUNA – corn pudding, chanterelle, honey, cherry, sunflower, garden herbs
Smoked Hanger Steak – chermoula sauce, smoked onion sauce, herbs, heirloom tomato
INTERMEZZO – flash-frozen passion fruit fluff
Pear Pot de Creme – creme fraiche
Caramel – coconut
Pate de Fruit – lychee mango
Profiterole – chocolate, strawberry mousse
Flambe Cake – tres leches, sweet lemon soak, pistachio butter, mint, stone fruit flambe, froyo dip & rip
Watermelon slurpee
Honestly, if you haven’t been here, I don’t know what you’re doing. The price is right. For Friday at 5pm, we paid $95 (yeah, yeah, yeah…there’s was a $26.50 service fee, but it was totally worth it).
You have to purchase tickets ahead of time though occasionally they’ll have walk-in seats available. They also now offer beverage pairing (be forewarned, I said beverage…not wine or cocktail pairing – it’s all encompassing).
