Christmas, movie premiers, birthdays before your 30th, are things we typically look forward to with anticipation. It's rare that we get excited for a new restaurant opening. Typically, it goes: critical acclaim, popular success, then we read/hear about it via various media outlets before we decide to eat somewhere. But when First and Hope came across our radar about a month ago, we by-passed the the usual assurances from third-parties before deciding to dine there.
First and Hope is tucked away in the back corner of a small shopping center behind the Disney Concert Hall. The restaurant interior is beautiful. The motif is somewhat of a modernized 1950's lounge. The wait staffs' attire also echos the same theme. Thumbs up to the designers and decorators.
Enomatic wine dispenser - this contraption lets you sample the wine by the sip, taste or glass, using a pre-paid money card to purchase the wine. It's like Dave & Busters. But instead of tickets, it dispenses wine. And everyone's a winner!
1. amuse bouche - little cold potato thingie. Nice way to start a meal. Just enough to whet the palate.
2. homemade saltines and pimento cheese - the cheese was delicious although the large salt grains on the crackers were a bit overwhelming. It was excessive and took away from what could have been a very nice dish.
3. BACK YARD GARDEN SALAD - Fiddlehead Ferns, Ramps, English Peas, Candied Cane Beets, Pea Tendrils, Upland Cress, Morels, Carrots, Fava Beans & Green Goddess Dressing - Simple, fresh and fun. Eating a salad with your hands is not usually encouraged. But this one almost necessitated that we do so. Cute presentation with the mini colander. The vegetables were fresh and the green goddess dressing was fantastic.
I was very excited to see fiddlehead on the menu. I first heard about it on NPR and how it was "in season" and very hard to find. This was the first time I've been to a restaurant that had this on the menu.
4. PRAISE THE LARD! Crispy Pigears over Heirloom Tomatoes, Bourbon-Braised Pork Cheeks with a Crisp Soft Egg, Kurobuta Pork Belly over Creamy Grits christened with warm Maple Dressing - The pig ear was a major disappointment. It was tough and chewy. Nearly inedible. A far, far contrast the the light and crispy preparation at Animal. The pork belly was decent. But no where near it's counterpart at Petrossian. The braised pork was simply "ok". The crisp egg was a nice touch, although unnecessary. Braised pork is rich enough on its own, and need not a soft boiled, crispy egg on top.
5. lincoln log sweet potatoes - Nice flavor but inconsistent in its preparation. Some "logs" were soft, some hard/crispy and some in between. We were excited about this dish until having tasted it. What could have been a nice side dish ended up being a disappointment.
6. DUCK-DUCK-GOOSE - Sugar & Spice Seared Duck Breast, Duck Leg Confit, Roasted Foie Gras, Spring Onion Hoe Cake & Wilted Baby Mustard Greens - The hoe cakes were the one positive thing about this dish. Duck was nicely prepared, seared on the outside and cooked through. However, the flavors were not entirely appealling. The small bit of foie was not good at all. Lacked the usual sweetness of seared foie and left a bitter aftertaste.
7. fried green tomatoes - Always get excited about dishes with movies named after them. That excitement was temperd after tasting this dish. Never having had fried green tomatoes before, it's hard to benchmark this dish. Tasted like unripe tomatoes with a cornmeal batter. Would have liked a lighter, crispiness to the coating.
8. CELEBRATION CAKE - Vanilla Cake with Marshmallow Ice Cream, Strawberry Cake with Strawberry, Black Pepper Ice Cream, Chocolate Cake with Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream, 7-Minute Marshmallow Cream - The strawberry on the right was yummy. The rest of this dessert was crummy. Not sure how you go wrong with ice cream cake, but there was little to celebrate wth this cake.
9. mignardises - homemade nutter butter cookies - A far cry from the version we had at Bouchon Bakery.