Hamersley's Bistro

Last night, we went to Hamersley's Bistro to celebrate our 1st anniversary. We'd always wanted to go, and thought this was the perfect opportunity. On the whole, our meal was delicious. For appetizers, P had the soupe au pistou, and I had the selection of pâtés. They were both impeccably good. P's soup was full of fresh veggies (from a local farm, supposedly!) with a croûton "gingerly placed on top"--as he says. The croûton was topped with a delicious pesto whence this Provençal specialty gets its name. My pâtés were extremely good too. There was a nice chicken liver mousse pâté, a pork & pistachio pâté de compagne, and duck rillettes (I think with a hint of nutmeg, which worked nicely). These were served with toasts and garnished with a small salad of greens tossed in a light vinaigrette.

For our main course, P chose the roasted chicken, which is reportedly a house specialty. I ordered their pork tenderloin stuffed with asparagus and Morbier cheese with a creamy mustard and morel sauce.

The roasted chicken was amazing (and at least twice the amount food when compared to the pork). It was moist, deliciously seasoned, and served with its onions, some potatoes, and roasted garlic cloves. I hate to say it, but I preferred the chicken to my pork! The pork was delicious, don't get me wrong. The meat was moist and tender. I did think the sauce was delicious, creamy, and had nice acidity to it, but that it was a tad bit too salty. Also, I missed the Morbier: it was not stuffed inside with the asparagus but sparsely sprinkled on top of the sliced medallions--although at the same time, I feel as though the sauce would have overpowered the flavor of the cheese anyway. All that aside, it was delicious.

For dessert, we got a strawberry & rhubarb napoléon with meringue and a ginger cream. It was light, refreshing, and delicious. A great end to a delicious meal!