Enoteca

Being 1 in 2 call is tiring. To put things into context, 1 in 2 results in the resident (i.e. me) working ~26 hours straight from Day 1 to Day 2, then goes home to, mostly, sleep off the rest of Day 2 and then return to do the same thing on Day 3. Although mentally exhausting, the prospect of having a post-call day and a post-call meal always excites me. Thus I absolutely jumped at the opportunity to join a co-resident for their birthday at Enoteca.

Enoteca is a contemporary restaurant focused on tapas style dining. Opened by one of the owners of Deseo, a personal favourite, I was nothing short of deliriously excited to be dining here. Located on the west end of Corydon, I cannot help but be drawn to the large, bright and attractive sign beckoning me forward.

Enoteca has a limited menu and recommends that one shares food. Having a large group of 16 people, we ultimately gave the reigns to the chefs to bring out a selection of their best and favourite dishes. Skimming the menu, one gets the sense that the chefs are confident in their technique and bullish in their creativity. Boy was I excited.

Listed as Green Salad, this marvelous salad consisted of romaine, edemame, jacaima, creme fraiche and finished with wasabi peas and a lime vinaigrette. The cacophony of ingredients put the dish at risk of being too "busy", but I can happily report that all the elements played well with one another. The two key parts are the wasabi peas, which gave a tart and spicy kick, and the lime vinaigrette. Overall excellently executed and well dressed.

Roast Beets are paired with pancetta wrapped pears and finished with a buttermilk and goat cheese dressing accentuated by toasted almonds and basil. Although delicious it was difficult to tell what the star of the dish was. The beets were nicely roasted but overpowered by the crisp pear and salty pancetta. Alternatively the goat cheese dressing worked well with the warm beets but clashed with the pears.

Fresh Pasta is paired with lamb, chevre and topped with a gremolata. This was absolutely divine and the best dish of the night. Incredibly tender pasta soaked up the tomato based lamb sauce. The wonderfully tender and fatty pieces of lamb contrasted well with the chevre and the gremolata brought the entire dish together. Incredible!

Roast Brussel Sprouts are mixed expertly with chorizo, chestnuts, grapefruit and finished with creme fraiche. The addition of grapefruit here was a stroke of genius adding a tarty sweetness to the dish. Combining all the elements in one bite induced a moment of umami I routinely seek but rarely get.

Soft Shell Crab was the only pseudo-disappointment of the day. Served on a brioche bun with pickled slaw and sauce Americaine, the dish was overall too moist. The crab bordered on mushy and rendered a fatty oily flavour to the dish and while the pickled slaw and sauce were good elements the overall dish was not very palatable.

The Beef Tartar was incredible. Tender pieces of beef with spices mixed in with a quail egg, served with foie gras on top of a brioche bun, this was Enoteca at its finest. The addition of the foie gras was a curious choice but worked as an butter-like base for the tender and strong beef. The yogurt and mustard sauces were strong enough to interject and add their voices to this mix of delicious.

Wild Boar Belly was incredibly tender. Topped with a romesco and paired with a sherry based broth and white prawns, this dish made the meat lovers of the group happy. Ala a surf and turf, the prawns and pork belly worked well together, but the star is the melt in your mouth pork.

Last dish of the day was Hamachi cured with lemon and mixed with citrus, fennel and capers. We were mostly stuffed by now so most of us could only offer a small bite of this. The fish was nicely cured but too delicate to be paired with the strong citrus fruit. Overall this was an altogether average dish.

Enoteca was a joy and delight to dine at. The style, presentation and pagentry the chefs create with their food is something everyone should behold. Make sure to go with a group as they are geared towards shared small plate tapas style dining.