nervous nelly becomes foodie. let me start out by saying that i am in no way a "foodie." new and "different" foods actually kind of scare me. if my momma didn't cook it at home, i generally assume it will be weird and taste bad. so, when my friend suggested going to sylvain, i checked out the menu and promptly broke into a cold sweat.
beef cheeks?
sweetbreads?
beet bruschetta?
my other concern going in was that i am currently eating paleo/gluten-free. the dishes seemed so "fancy" and "crafted", and each had some item that was a no-no for me, but i thought it might be offensive for me to ask the chef to change one of his dishes to suit me.
shortly after sitting down, my concerns began to diminish and, i'll cut to the chase here: i had a lovely experience and some of the best food i've ever eaten in my life.
before going to sylvain, i did what any nervous nelly would do, i got on line and spent 3 hours reading reviews. among the small amount of negative comments, there were a few common ones: too noisy. arrogant servers. reservation/waittimeissues. tasteless or dry food.
my experience was that the place was no noisier than most restaurants. the music was just loud enough to kind of hear over the conversations going on in the room. my friend and i were able to hear each other just fine and had a lovely conversation. though the room was packed, we really felt like we had our own little space, very intimate and lovely. we arrived early for our reservation but they sat us anyway and even moved us to a nicer table by the window. the server was very kind. we had lots of questions and he answered them all for us. he was not put off at all when i asked about possible gluten-free substitutions for potatoes/grits/rice. he talked to the chef and came back with a few suggestions.
we ordered the brussel sprout salad and the salad of the night: shaved squash, zucchini and red onion with feta in a red wine vinegar dressing. it was garnished with mint, which totally made the salad for me. my friend wanted that salad and i was leery about uncooked squash...but it was divine! the mint was so unexpected and wonderful and the flavors blended together in the most delicious way. the brussel sprout salad was also very good. there was a touch of lemon in the vinaigrette that was surprising and, again, made the salad.
for our main course, we ordered the beef cheeks and pork shoulder. the chef prepared a sautee of spinach, onion and blackeyed peas for me instead of potatoes. i am not exaggerating when i say that the beef cheeks were the best thing i've ever eaten in my life. from the moment i put my fork through the meat, i was in love. cutting the beef was like cutting a roasted marshmallow. it was unbelievably tender. by itself it was to die for, but with the spinach sautte...well, i just sat there and groaned in delight. didn't miss the potatoes at all.
my friend's pork shoulder was very good as well. but, my favorite thing on her plate were the greens. i don't eat greens. i've tried them a few times and they were always too bitter for me. these greens would convert a veggie hater. seriously, they are that good.
new and different food like this might just turn me into a foodie!
so, the upshot is, don't hesitate to try sylvain. forget the negative comments on here. if those issues did arise, they've clearly addressed them. everything was stellar and i'll definitely be back!!