Critique. The Rogue Gentleman.

The Roge Gentleman. Richmond. Virginia:

http://www.theroguegentlemen.com/

Good company usually predetermines a good dinner and it was the case yesterday. L always know how to make me smile, but I am afraid that the food of this little restaurant  downtown Richmond was not that good.

I started ordering a seasonal Caipirinha, which was pretty good, balanced and with spring flavors. With a strong presence of honey in  place of brown sugar. The bartender made a good use of citrus, resulting in a refreshing and a great reinterpretation of the classic Brazilian cocktail. L ordered a smoked bourbon based cocktail. I have to say that bourbon is not my thing, but L liked it. About the presentation of the bourbon drink, I would say that I like to keep things simple. An extremely fancy and small glass without any ice does not add anything to the cocktail.

Speaking about the food, we ordered some things to share. Before L arrived, I ordered the Parker house rolls. This little brioches were delicious and it made me remember the taste of a homemade croissant. In addition, the touch of the Maldon salt increased the flavor of it and gave it tastes of pretzel. When L arrived, we ordered the roasted artichokes with guanciale, anchovy butter, fava beans, black olive and hazelnuts. Despite the artichokes were a little bit uncooked the flavor was really good. They cook it with respect to the product and we noticed the taste of fresh seasonal artichokes. with a great and imaginative presentation. We kept going with the spring risotto with asparagus, English pea, fava bean, spring onion, leek top and Parmesan: what I would highlight about this course is the complete lack of flavor. The rice was insipid and the presentation of the dish needs some color. I have to say that to make a tasty risotto just using vegetables is hard but we had to eat individually the asparagus or the English pea to search some flavor in the dish. Finally we order the Beef tartar with preserved lemon relish, beet mustard and hazelnuts. I am sorry to say that the taste of the course was basically lemon relish it was so intense and present that I could not find the flavor of the meat. However, the homemade potato chips used to serve the tartar where really good and tasty. 70 $ dollars later we were full but with a desire for more.

In conclusion, the cocktail bar and the bartender are without any doubt the best thing about this little place. You can pick the flavor that you want to experience and the bartender will make a personal drink for you. L and I however, were not so lucky with the food. Maybe we should come back another day and try different things, but I think I will wait for the Fall menu!