But our waitress, who is perhaps a local college girl, is so inexperienced that everything, including the wine, appears only after a long wait. The bread doesn't come till we're well into our appetizers. Hannah makes do with some of my Caesar salad, and some of another companion's. This all comes in an adorable basket made from the same preparation as the tuile, and its crisp saltiness plays well against the sweetness of the pears and balsamic, and the bitter cress. We eat every bite.
Entrees come after another wait, with our poor waitress extremely apologetic.
Hannah is so filled up on bread that she can barely manage some fusilli in butter, but we had been more prudent and are eager to taste the attractively presented dishes. Potatoes on the side are more smashed than mashed and just too dry, but the sauce helps, as it does when they come with my salmon. I thought to be a good fish for red wine, except that I discounted the sauce of lemon confit cream and tarragon that napped it. Delicious and tart with the fish, lemon is not kind to red wine, and anise-y, assertive tarragon could handle it alone but not in tandem with the lemon. I drink water.