Village Whiskey is Jose Garces' whiskey/cocktail concept bar, planted right next to Tinto, his Spanish inspired wine bar. This is an interesting departure from his previous Latin inspired restaurants so my curiosity was peaked. Let's see how it turned out.
This was served with Black Olive Tapenade, Whipped Ricotta & Toasted Sour Dough. Big fan of the ricotta and the tapenade but the picked green beans and shallots could have used some more time in the pickling jar. I like my picked veggies to be potent.
Romaine, avocado, blackened chicken, bacon, bleu cheese. This was ordered because of a review on Yelp singing it's praises but even though it wasn't as mind blowing as that reviewer suggested it was still pretty good. Chicken was nicely seasoned, the bleu cheese had a good bite to it with that distinctive apple taste of fine bleu cheese. Everything was fresh as to be expected.
Fontina, Mascarpone, bread crumbs and obviously lobster. Very creamy and the coverage was good. The lobster was cooked perfectly and there were enough chunks of it in my bowl for me not to feel silly for paying $18 for a bowl of mac and cheese.
Flashback review.. I went here opening week and had the Whiskey King - Maple bourbon glazed cipollini, rogue blue cheese, applewood bacon, foie gras.
My first experience with foie gras was on this burger. I was reluctant to order it at first. There is a growing awareness of the questionable ethics behind foie gras production but it's not something I see on a menu everyday so I decided to ignore my moral objections and enjoy some force fed duck liver. The burger that arrived, was thankfully not one of those pretentious(ignoring the foie gras), borderline slidder burgers you might expect from a high end restaurant. This was a serious patty of beef. The foie gras was perched right on the burger with the blue cheese topped with a perfectly formed sesame seed bun. I decided I should first try the fois gras by itself. It was rich and creamy, almost buttery but a distinctive flavor it did not have. I wondered how it would stand up to the strong flavors of the burger and blue cheese. Combined, the fois gras disappeared into the background. The burger itself was excellent but I think the fois gras was overkill and really only served to enrich an already rich burger.
Overall LTE score [8/10] Again, Village Whiskey is of those spots where if I could afford it I would lunch often. The burgers are top notch and some of their side items are excellent as well. Do yourself a favor and try the duck fat fries, they are very good. Even without enjoying a sip of whiskey or bourbon or any of the other fine liquors stacking the bar, Village Whiskey is a great dining establishment. The only issue I have is the limited seating, get here early because this place fills up fast and they don't take reservations.
http://villagewhiskey.com/
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