quite succulent. But, despite several other components, including a lobster roe cream poured on at tableside, it failed to equal, let alone exceed, the sum of its many parts. This proved to be a theme. The Duck, Duck, Goose consisted of seared breast, confit leg and whipped pâté, respectively, plus challah crostini, huckleberry duck jus, polenta and kale. Even when it was possible to assemble a bite including each of these ingredients at once, the combination failed to sing. It seemed the faintly gamy leg was supposed to contrast with the sweet huckleberry jus, but with so many other components, the effect was muddled.
On the RoCKs
{BY CELINE ROBERTS}
DIGITAL BARTENDING Two apps make your home cocktail night more fun
Pear, walnut and gorgonzola ravioli, topped with balsamic cream, Swiss chard, wild mushrooms and diced butternut squash had a more uniform autumnal theme that enabled the ingredients to work together, rather than compete, to build a woodsy flavor profile. The salmon was the most straightforward dish we ordered, and possibly the most successful. The seeds and salt of the “everything bagel” crust added depth and savor to the rosy, juicy salmon, and fluffy Carolina gold rice was a satisfying accompaniment. A fennel-and-orange salad brightened the plate with its citrus sweetness, and sundried-tomato cream added further notes of both richness and acidity. Altius has reached for the sky with some of the most complex and original recipes we’ve seen. But while individual components of our dishes could be exquisite, they tended to confound as they compounded. We expected “elevated cuisine,” at corresponding prices, to be closer to sublime.
Drinking? There’s more than a few apps for that. As one of those people who (annoyingly) waxes poetic about the aesthetic experience of using actual books, I admit that even this Luddite has begun embracing the magic that a smartphone drink Rolodex can offer. Here are two examples sure to make your next cocktail night at home a little more fun. Mixology, for Android and iPhone, is currently the most downloaded cocktail-recipe app out there; it’s also free (you can upgrade to the ad-free Mixologist for 99 cents). Mixology is easy to navigate and offers features like interactive maps to the nearest bars and liquor stores, bartending tips and “Liquor Cabinet.” Liquor Cabinet is exactly what you need when you have a house full of people and a finite number of ingredients in your real liquor cabinet. The interface allows you to select all of the liquors and mixers you have lying around, and then spits back recipes of all possible and bar-vetted combinations. Its database boasts thousands of recipes, also searchable by categories covering everything from classic cocktails to serve your in-laws to Jell-O shots for your friends. If something strikes your fancy, add it to your “Favorites” folder for repeat drinking at a later date. Now that you’re ready to play bartender, you’ll want a drink to fit the mood. Created in 2011 and a bit of a dinosaur, Drinkify is a web app with simple interface based on a silly idea. Type in a music artist and Drinkify gives you a drink recipe, which is often half-joke, half-truth, to go with your jams. The program uses last.fm and The Echo Nest to pull artists’ data and stream a song from their repertoires. It’s an insane amount of data for such a simple purpose, and it can be a little glitch-y, but its utter frivolity makes it good for a few laughs. An updated version would have my vote.
INFO@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M
CELINE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
The Frick cocktail
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