What to Expect From a Michelin-starred Dinner at L'Ecrivain

We're making a tradition of something we started last year...Michelin-starred dining to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  Last year we had an amazing meal at Thornton's in Dublin so this year we decided to commemorate 18 years of marriage with an 8 course tasting menu with wine pairings at L'Ecrivain.  

Here's a recap of the meal starting with our favorite dishes and working our way down the list.

1. Dark Chocolate Fondant with Salted Caramel, Chocolate Tuile, and Vanilla Ice Cream

This tiny dessert packed a punch and I'd personally rate it as the best flourless chocolate cake I've had in my life.  I've sampled quite a few of these over the years so that's saying a lot!

SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: Great food is a key part of our huge list of one day Dublin City itineraries.

2. Amuse Bouche with Hazelnut Macaron

The meal was kicked off with a delicious mousse containing hazelnuts and crispy leeks (among other things).  The hazelnut macaron on the side was perfectly prepared and melted in our mouths.  Yum!

3. Sea Trout with Walnut Gel, Pickled Apple, and Citrus Fennel Salad

This dish totally exceeded our expectations with the wide-ranging flavors (i.e. tart apple and smore-like smokiness of the walnut, with fragrant fennel salad) pairing perfectly with the trout.

4. Anniversary Desserts, Petit Fours, and Tea

It's always a nice touch when a restaurant does something to comemmorate a special occasion.  We were treated to an extra selection of desserts plus petit fours and tea for our anniversary.

5. Refreshing Ginger Sorbet Palate Cleanser

What a refreshing dish to help us transition from our main course to cheese and dessert.

6. Foie Gras with Cured Torchon, Mulled Wine, Plums, and Brioche

This was some of the creamiest foie gras I've tasted.  The brioche was essential to balance out the texture.  The mulled wine added a seasonal flair.

7. Wild Wicklow Venison

This dish was served with a small sprinkle of oats and pumpkin puree.  It was very tasty but we were hoping for more pumpkin to go along with the venison.

8. St. Tola Goat Cheese Mousse

The cheese course was served on a rye crostini with fig, candied macadamia nuts, and a vinegar and honey dressing.  The flavors were divine but it was a bit challenging to eat gracefully.  I'm sad to report that a small piece of my crostini shot across the room when I tried to break off a piece.  I soon learned that the trick was to spread the cheese over the cracker liberally to hold it all together.

Homemade Bread and Wine Pairings

Of course, no fine dining experience is complete without slices of homemade bread hand-delivered a slice at a time.

We also love a tasting menu with wine pairings as the choices are specially selected to bring out the flavors in each dish.  Of course, this amount of wine has the potential to leave me a little tipsy by the end of the night.  In fact, I'm pretty sure we were sitting next to an Irish celebrity during dinner (the host of The Voice of Ireland) and I was almost tipsy enough to spin around in my chair and ask if it was indeed her :-)

Overall, hat tip to L'Ecrivain for helping to make our anniversary extra special.