Mimosa menu: Journey of senses
Challenge for the mind, pleasure for the taste buds.
By Catherine Quillman
Inquirer Suburban Staff
Main
Line Restaurant Guide - Review
THE MAIN COURSE
By Mitch Davis
_____________________
Mimosa
2 Waterview Rd. & Rte. 3, East Goshen, 610-918-9715
Cuisine: Eclectic, upscale mix, incldg. Continental, American,
Spanish, Moroccan
Hours: Dinner, Tues. thru Sat. 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Brunch,
Sun. 10:30 a..m. to 2:30 p.m..
Prices: Soups, salads, tapas - $5 to $7; Apps. - $7 to $10;
Entrées - $15 to $25
Ambiance: Inviting dining room of persimmon walls, French
posters, white linens, crystal oil-lamp candles, sprays of golden
mimosa, and old Edith Piaf recordings.
Reservations: For sure on weekends.
Credit Cards: All major accepted
Alcoholic Bevs: BYOB
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Smoking/Non-smoking: All non-smoking
Here's the deal…. You'll want to drive out to Mimosa, an exceptionally
fine, new 58-seat BYOB, formerly La Encina, on Route 3 in East Goshen,
with two or three dining companions (especially your serious wine
collector friends, if you have any). That way - if you are into
sharing - you will be able to sample a great variety of chef-owner
Gilles Moret's (9 yrs. @ Duling-Kurtz House of Exton) hot &
cold tapas, appetizers, soups, and salads, not to mention entrées,
splendid enough to support the finest wines. His eclectic, interesting
menu simply begs you to create, in effect, your own chef's sampler
dinner.
That's just what my party of four did on our recent midweek visit,
sharing every dish around our smallish, but nicely dressed table.
Thus began, in combination with three very fine wines brought by
my wine connoisseur buddies, one of the more enjoyable dinners this
reviewer has had all year.
Moret's credo is, in a word, freshness, as symbolized, he said,
by the little pot of fresh lemon-thyme herbs he has placed on each
table. Indeed, everything was homemade with only the freshest ingredients.
Just as our dinner was concluding, a young woman entered carrying
a cooler, as though on a mission with an emergency organ implant.
It was the delivery of the next day's super-fresh goat cheese from
the local Shelbark Hollow Farm. Desserts are all made - even the
cappuccino sorbet and peanut butter mousse - by Moret's wife, Carla.
We four ordered three tapas - two cold and one hot, three appetizers,
and one salad, all to be shared. By the time these seven starters
were consumed, adjectives like "fantastic," "delicious,"
"superb," were heard around our table. Tender octopus,
so lightly grilled it was ceviche-like, was served with tiny, pungent
Spanish olives and delightful garlic bread toasts. Salmon tartar
in wasabi-soy dressing had the velvety smooth texture of a salmon
mousse, and was heavenly when spread on more of those garlic toasts.
This was my favorite of the three tapas. Last was the hot tapas
dish, two skewers of deeply flavorful beef tenderloin cubes and
saffron aoli dipping sauce.
The "Appetizer Sampler"($10), provided a taste of excellent
crabcake, bruschetta, and an intriguing duck confit quesadilla.
The mildly gamy taste the grilled quail appetizer ($10), was balanced
by the sweetness of golden raisins, the musk of portabellos, and
a rich, dark Jerez (sherry) vinaigrette, that was just a bit too
vinegary for my taste. Most unusual, and best too, was Moret's delicious
"Flammekueche," France's (Alsace region) answer to pizza,
a very tasty combination of cream, onion, bacon, and gruyere on
thin wedges of baked pizza dough, and the least expensive appetizer
at $7.
Our three entrées were very good to outstanding. Bouillabaisse
de Marseille ($25), bathed French red snapper, lobster, shrimp,
scallops, and agnoletti (mini-ravioli) in a tasteful light garlic
saffron broth was served in a traditional earthenware crock, along
with baby zucchini, asparagus tips, and garlic aoli. Taking an Asian
fusion turn, a fine Ahi tuna steak ($20), was dusted in zesty Chinese
5-spice and sweetened with a very sweet cucumber-mango salad, accompanied
appropriately by sticky rice dressed in ginger tamari. A special
treat for connoisseurs, and - I might add - a daring choice for
a suburban restaurant, Moret's exceptional veal cheeks with pappardelle
(wide noodles) ($17), in a deep brown, pungent wine reduction sauce,
with broccoli rabe, sundried tomatoes, and Romano shavings were
almost comparable to fois gras, though not quite as velvety smooth.
A dessert plate of assorted homemade pastries, and a second, of
assorted cheeses, were the genuine articles, and the perfect finish.
For my serious wine enthusiast readers who may be curious to know,
the three wines were: "Cloudy Bay", New Zealand's excellent
high-end sauvignon blanc, a superb '99 Chateauneuf du Pape, and
a majestic 2000 Corton-Charlemagne grand cru white Burgundy. Not
bad, eh?!
Overall Rating: mmmm 3/4 (out of 5 m's) Exceptional
To contact Mitch Davis, you can e-mail him at: MdavisMainCourse@aol.com
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