Tell Her What She's Won...

Let no one ever say that the "young Turks" of Blackened Out are not men of our word. In celebration of our 5000th visitor, we (actually it was Rene, without my knowledge or consent, mind you) offered to take the lucky winner to lunch. Who would have thought our winner would have actually taken us up on our offer? (Not us.) But we are glad she did.

So off we went to MiLa for a late lunch with our winner St. James Girl (SJG) and her main squeeze Mike. We had toyed with the idea of going to Nine Roses or some other hidden gem off the beaten path; but we thought that if we told her to meet us under the interstate on the Westbank, then she would probably come down with a sudden case of the flu and we would likely be facing an attempted kidnapping charge.

SJG is a serious foodie - so much so that I would have to say that she is much more knowledgeable about food than myself and could probably give Rene a run for his money. So we ate, and drank, and talked about food, and laughed about food, and generally entertained SJG and Mike with tales of our past shenanigans. They both seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

The food was awesome. After we finished, I was amazed as to why the dining room had been half empty when we arrived. The 3 course lunch prix fix is an absolute steal of a deal at $20, though I admit that the portions are small. Of course we ordered 3 additional appetizers and 2 bottles of wine, but if you exercise self control, you can enjoy one hell of a meal for less than $30 inclusive.

Before the prix fix began, we decided to start with a few passed appetizers. The terrine of pork was some of the best charcouterie that I have had, but the homemade pickles and mustard might have been even better than the head cheese itself. Next, we sampled the tian of crab which was a simple dish of jumbo lump crabmeat topped with a slightly acidic tomato concassee - basically a saute of finely chopped tomato. Then we asked our waiter if we could order the pan roasted sweetbreads with black truffle grits and bacon jus (which is only on the dinner menu), and the chef kindly obliged. All I can really say about that dish is it was so fantastic that SJG scraped the bowl of the last bit of grits and made no qualms about it.

On to the prix fix. The first course was a choice between a curried squash soup with lobster knuckles or a summer squash salad. The soup was smooth and rich, flavored with saffron and just a hint of spice from the curry. The salad had thinly sliced squash with some sort of vinaigrette. Winner: the soup.

The entree choices were phyllo crusted redfish or a filet with pureed fingerling potatoes. The quality of the fish was a testament to MiLa's focus on finding the freshest seafood. But the filet was hands-down the best dish of the meal. The beef was incredibly tender, yet flavorful (which is usually the knock on filet) and sauced with a serious demi glace. I was really pissed off that I had not ordered the filet, but c'est la vie.

I finished with rice pudding and strawberries, and the others had sorbet of a flavor which I cannot recall. Simple, nothing exciting, yet delicious.

The only "problem" that I have with MiLa is the white bean (or lima bean) puree that is served with the cornbread. Every time I try it, I wonder why I did because I never like it. Next time (and there will most certainly be a next time) I eat at MiLa, I will just ask for more butter instead. Not sure if that should even be considered a "flaw," but I wonder if I'm the only one who does not care for that stuff.

MiLa - Eagle