Like all the restaurants designed by the AvroKo Restaurant Group (to name a few Stanton Social, Quality Meats, Park Avenue and Double Crown), the design of Public is a very detailed, well thought out concept. The concept is supposed to remind you of public institutions, but think much hipper library that you'd want to hang out at because it has adult beverages and good food. I didn't get that public institution feel from the design, but I did really think the space was beautiful. And, as the night I dined at Public was one of those gorgeous spring nights, I adored the garage-like sliding doors that are open on such lovely nights.
Public has some interesting sounding cocktails and I was really excited to try the one with Ribena. But, after I ordered it, the waitress told me they were no longer making that cocktail. I was too disappointed to pick another one, so I settled for a very nice glass of cava. The bread basket had some interesting choices. My culinary school friend that I went with opted for the dried cherry and aleppo pepper roll and I had focaccia. Both of the breads were the sort that made you thankful that bread was ever created and we both quickly finished our pieces. The cherry aleppo bread didn't have a strong flavor of either pepper or cherries but still had a nice texture. It was a very nice way to start off the meal, but sadly these were one of the most memorable parts of our meal.
Public is a global fusion restaurant with a focus on New Zealand and Australian foods. To start, I ordered the special appetizer of lavender cured ham with a frisee salad, candied pecans, and truffle oil. Both my friend and I tried very hard to get any sort of lavender flavor from the ham but after many bites realized we weren't tasting it because it just wasn't there. The ham on its own was tasteless, and a bite of all the components together was only saved by the truffle oil. There was nothing remarkable about this plate. It wasn't bad but it wasn't something I would feel any pull to order again. My friend had the grilled kangaroo on a coriander falafel with lemon tahini sauce and green pepper relish. The kangaroo was cooked perfectly. It had a very tender texture and just melted in your mouth. But, the coriander falafel overwhelmed the flavor of everything on the plate. As my classmate said, it just tasted like she got a decent falafel from a cart for lunch. In other words, just another unremarkable appetizer.
For my main, I showed my true pork loving ways and followed my pork appetizer with a pork main consisting of confit pork belly and roasted pork tenderloin with salsify, apple puree, and a sage shortbread. The pork belly was a big disappointment. I like pork fat and all but my pork belly was almost entirely skin and fat with maybe only a thin slice of meat to speak of. The tenderloin was the perfect pink color and gorgeously tender but it lacked any significant flavor. I was really looking forward to the salsify, because I so rarely get to have this root that I love. The salsify had a really nice caramely sweet flavor to it, but I found it to be a bit undercooked for my tastes. When all hope was lost on my plate, I found the saving grace. Below my tenderloin, was this absolutely delightful sage shortbread that just popped with buttery sage goodness. It provided the tenderloin that missing flavor it needed. My classmate ordered the lamb with caper piquillo salsa and cauliflower puree and said it was good but not amazing. She offered me a bite with the warning that it was very lamby tasting. In other words, she knew I would try it, shrug my shoulders, and say the same thing I always do when I have a bite of lamb..."tastes like lamb and nope I still don't like lamb". I figured that I would save both of us from this deju vu and declined a taste of her dish knowing it would not be the one that would convert me to lamb lover.
For dessert we had the yuzu-lime tart with coconut meringue ice cream and lemongrass sauce. It was a refreshing fruit dessert that was very good but again failed to elicit a wow from either of us.
As we finised our meal, my classmate mentioned that she's had brunch at Public and it was much better than our dinner. I just don't know if I can get over the disappointment of the dinner to go back and try another meal here. The menu sounded so promising to me, with lots of different global flavors paired to make lovely sounding dishes, but the execution of the plates did not deliver what I believed was promised on the menu. Huh...perhaps the restaurant did remind me more of a public institution than I first realized.
No comments:
Post a Comment