American Seasons: reliable quality dining

facadeThis is Neil Ferguson’s second year helming American Seasons and things are going fairly well. The menu is somewhat smaller than under prior management, but covers a broad range of well prepared dishes.

However, when we arrived, they had clearly lost our reservation despite the fact that they had called the day before to confirm it.The hostess had just a handwritten scrap of paper with names on it, and ran back to allegedly consult a master list. She immediately offered us a table in the patio area right by the door and behind the hostess station which we declined. They eventually found us a table inside.

The starters last night included farfale pasta with confit chicken, beet salad,  rabbit terrine, heirloom tomatoes and melons, sea scallops, roast carrots and puree and hamachi and grapefruit.

The entrees included pork chop, cod filet, ribeye of beef, lobster salad, roast chicken breast, summer squash casserole and halibut filet.

For our appetizer we chose the beet salad with gem hearts, candied walnuts and homemade yoghurt dressing  ($16), which was one of the better ones we’ve been served recently, and Rabbit and Foie Gras Terrine ($20) with spiced pickled plum and hazelnut pesto. This was excellent and the spiced plum made an excellent accompaniment.

For entrees, we pulled a switcheroo and ordered the scallops appetizer, Roast Sea Scallops ($!8) with field greens and Vinaigrette Antiboise. This turned out to be a real bargain, since we were served 3 scallops, which is a full meal by most measures. They were tender and perfectly prepared.

And, for our second entrée, we had Cod Filet ($36), with Roast Lemon Puree and a fennel bulb, and a brown butter whey dressing. The waiter delivered the perfectly prepared cod and poured a little pitcher of the brown butter dressing over top. While it was excellent, the portion seemed a bit skimpy, especially compared to those scallops, but it was absolutely delicious.

dessertFinally, we sprung for one dessert to split: Chocolate custard, caramelized banana and chocolate bouchon (basically a cylindrical brownie) for $15. This was a lot of dessert, and we each got a share.

For a Thursday evening, American Seasons was very busy. By the time we left every table was taken and the staff was running to keep up. This may be because it was right before Labor Day,  but it is certainly an endorsement of the quality of Ferguson’s cooking and the staff’s service, both of which were excellent. The sudden influx resulted in some delay before out dessert arrived, and the waiter was most apologetic.  The bill, with 2 glasses of wine and tip as $144.50 and a far better bargain than many island restaurants. Oh, and bread was provided for free, and without asking.

table setting

 

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