Le Pigeon again..

Finally took bf to Le Pigeon last night. We showed up at 6:45pm and were told there was a short wait. No problem, we'll leave our cell number and head over to Doug Fir. Oops, before we could order a drink at Doug Fir, Le Pigeon called back! That was fast. So this was my first time sitting at the bar. This is the way to go, folks. Talk about an open kitchen; at this bar, you're right on top of them. We ordered:

• Beets, cucumbers, lemon creme fraiche
• Foie terrine, brioche, truffled apricots
• Beef Cheek Bourguignon
• Flat Iron, tomato, leek, anchovy

I like how simple the menu is. It doesn't mess around with wordy descriptions. Of course, you have to ask how the pork is prepared, but that doesn't bother me.

Beet salad rocked, but I can't think of a better combination than beets, cucumbers and lemon creme fraiche. I hogged this to myself. The foie terrine was interesting. I'm not to sure about foie yet - it's the texture. Anyway, it came as a big slice layered with fat with a spoonful of truffle apricot jam on the side, and a plate of brioche. Bf ate almost all of this. It was really rich, with a hard butter texture, and I liked it with the brioche. I actually would prefer a crostini with it, something crunchy.

The beef cheeks were served with a couple slices of potato, a bunch of carrots, and some onions or fennel. It all blended so it was hard to tell. The cheeks are huge, though, and with your fork you can pull off a bite of thready, juicy, beefy goodness, spear a carrot and a bite of potato, swirl it around in the burgundy reduction and try to make it to your mouth before it drips on your new blouse. Ahh, bliss. Bf's flat iron came a very red medium-rare (all the better) sliced and stacked on a pile of sliced tomatoes, leeks and anchovy. It was very good, but I liked mine better.

That we were going to order the apricot-bacon cornbread with maple ice cream was a given. It was the whole reason I brought bf there! It was just as good as last time. I am quite enthralled with the flavor of the maple ice cream. Maybe next summer I will buy an ice cream maker.

Our dinner, including one beer and one glass of pinot noir, came to $87, and I took home more than half of my beef cheeks. Also, the cook burnt our cornbread and had to remake it, unbeknowst to us, so they comped it! Totally unnecessary, but a nice gesture.

We look forward to visiting Le Pigeon often. The menu changes all the time, and you are guaranteed to find something that you've never had (pigeon cherry tart, anyone?), or something put together in a way you never would have done.