Every year, my wife and I try to get out an take advantage of the prix-fixe Valentine’s dinners available in Providence. Years ago, it seemed like only a handful of places did them, and now quite a few more restaurants offer the option. In years past we did Nick’s (when they were in their tiny storefront), Lois Fuller’s, Pot Au Feu, and the Red Fez. Now it was time to try Julian’s.
Julian’s is a restaurant that has undergone many changes over the years. I remember going there mainly for Sunday breakfasts when the owner Julian was working in the kitchen. His collection of CDs from his side job as a DJ were displayed on the wall after his binders were looted and all he had left were the covers. Giant artwork was on the walls and ceilings, and the space was divided into two areas. The line was always out the door. But it was also the kind of place were Julian may just want to close down in the middle of a busy Sunday for whatever reason, and you left without question when that happened. The food was also hit or miss, with things that sounded great on paper but arrived and failed to impress.
A few years ago, Julian’s underwent an interior transformation and a general manager assumed control of the business. Julian still pops in from time to time, but he is no longer the head chef. As a result, the menu has broadened its variety, the staff has become friendlier, the food more consistent, and the overall atmosphere more professional. The menu can really take some chances sometimes, but more often than not, it DOES impress. The interior is darker and moodier in a great way, with cozy tables of four and a curving bar overlooking the main kitchen area.The place can still get crazy on a Sunday late morning, with tons of hipster kids baring tattoos and the latest facial hair trend, so we stick to the weekdays for the most part.
The menu for Valentine’s Day was a five course extravaganza. The reception – an amusé bouche – was a roasted baby artichoke heart stuffed with blood orange and smoked almonds, sprouting from a confit tomato gélee with rosemary balsamic syrup. Fancy, and almost too pretty to eat. I’m only an aspiring foodie, so I haven’t had much experience with “gélee”, but here it seemed to be a jello-type consistency with much more savory flavor. The contrasting textures were interesting, and in the end, I like the artichoke and almonds quite a bit more than the jelly.
I apologize for the quality of the images… it was dark and romantic in there, so I did my best with the light and the camera I had.
The salad course was a medley of four radishes – dakon, black, lime and watermelon – in lemongrass basil vinaigrette with wakeme-coconut brunoise. The flavors there were more subtle than the reception, with tangy and sweet overtones from the coconut and vinaigrette. The radishes were thinly sliced and raw, so they were crisp. Their coloring was beautiful, especially the watermelon ones, which looked like what you would expect them to look like. Overall, the dish was enjoyable and a little adventurous without being risky. The flavors were simple and light.
For the appetizers we had choice between seviche of Ahi tuna & escolar with mandarinquat, bird’s eye chile pepper, microcilantro, & sweet soy sauce. I had this one. It was really amazing. The seviche was perfect, although I am no expert. The tuna was chopped into small pieces that supported the citrus well. The two little tortilla chips that came with it gave a nice salty texture break.
My wife got the golden beet-spring garlic pakora with fennel-cashew chutney, oven-dried mango, & madras curry sauce. The mango was more like fruit leather, and was balanced between the two mounds of pakora and chutney. It was the opposite of my selection – mine was cool, crisp and citrusy while hers was warm, dark and more complex. In both cases, we were pleased with the pacing of the meal and the portions. We’re little people, and did not want to get too full before the main.
Next came an intermezzo of a Mexican chocolate truffle with pickled pear, a grapefuit-tarragon jelly chew with candied ginger, & edible flowers. It was indeed a nice sweet break before the main course. The presentation was cute, on small plates with colorful flowers. I always eat the flowers when they say they’re edible.
Finally, the main course. There were three selections, but we chose the Tofu dish and the rabbit leg. The menu described them thusly: Crispy seared tofu roulade stuffed with macintosh apple-butternut squash, with truffle salted parsnip, & mushroom thyme velouté.
Cumin-mustard dusted rabbit leg with portabello-yukon gold potato gratan, garlic grilled collard greens, & pinenut-olive pesto. Both were very rich and very decadent with a myriad of flavors. My wife’s impressed her, but the smokiness of the dish overwhelmed her palette, which has been more sensitive due to her pregnancy. It was too much for her to handle, but she had it boxed up. Mine was delicious, and my first foray into rabbit. The meat was a cross between pork and chicken. Smoky and slightly gamey with the consistency of chicken. The potatoes were a great base, while the greens were a bit hard to cut and manage. The pesto was another flavor all together, and while I am not a fan of olives, I enjoyed their saltiness against the garlic in the greens and the gaminess of the meat.
After a breath or two, we happily decide that we could go for dessert – that we were not too full for it. I’m glad we did. She got the vanilla-infused Meyer lemon tart with an oatmeal shortbread crust, chocolate lavender sorbet, and pomegranate molasses. I can attest that it was amazing. The tartness of the lemon against the creamy chocolate was just perfect, with the crunch of the crust. All around a perfect pairing and execution. I had the fig and chestnut chiffon cake with spiced mascarpone cream, warm walnut butter, and pure maple syrup drizzle. Much more subtle in flavors compared to the tart – it impressed as well, but on a different level. The fluffiness of the textures blended well together and the parts were not overly sweet – instead, they were in the middle of sweet and savory, which I tend to think things like figs and dates typically are.
All together, it was a wonderful meal. A touch of adventure here and there, with elements that neither of us have tried, flavor combinations that were unexpected, and a nice slow pace to the entire evening. We ended being there for about three hours, and since the menu was set with only a few selections to make, the experience really centered on the food and the anticipation of what was coming next.
RI Foodies 