Thursday, January 25, 2007

Clove: a little goes a long way

Tonight I went to Piedmont for dinner w/ my friend Kevin. First I would like to say how delighted I am that Piedmont has opened! Between Piedmont and Rue Cler, downtown Durham is really becoming the happening place.

My general observation has been that the owner/chef at Piedmont is exceptionally skilled at all preparations involving pork. Every time I go and don't order something with pork, I somewhat regret it. I totally coveted Kevin's risotto with pork shank in a red wine sauce. Not feeling very hungry, I ordered a stew of tomotoes and chick peas with chard and polenta cakes. This was almost a perfect dish for a cold night except for the fact that it was spiced with clove. I'm all in favor of experimenting w/ flavors and trying the unexpected. For people who like cloves, this might have been a welcomed surprise. Try as I might, I fail to like cloves especially an immoderate use of clove. Kevin's pork also had some clove in it. It must be a theme going on at Piedmont this week. For me, dishes are fine w/ barely a hint of clove. Of course my idea of a hint of clove is to whisper "clove" over a casserole and call it a day.

For dessert, Kevin shared his apple tart with creme fraiche. It was delicious and definitely worth ordering. I am often underwhelmed by the things people do w/ apples. Piedmont got the apple tart right. The creme fraiche accompanied it perfectly.

You can always expect to find something interesting on the menu at Piedmont.

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