Lunch at HOME

After offsites and mission trips, the majority of LTR was back together this week. (Evan, we missed you!) Al asked that we block off Tuesday lunch to celebrate spring birthdays and catch up as a team. Shara popped into my cube with a big smile on her face and told me she'd planned something special. But refused to tell me what. Closing out our morning meeting, Al announced 11:30am reservations at HOME - the new restaurant operated by Chef Richard Blais.

I immediately start laughing and cheering (meaning giggling and rambling)! As a big fan of Top Chef, I am beside myself. Al totally outdid himself on this surprise! This way makes up for being a month late, and even the Joe's Crab Shack fiasco from a few years ago. Shara had the idea and totally ran with it. (love her!) So, we pile in the cars and drive down to West Paces.

Our host seated us at a table in a nook with three porthole windows into the kitchen. When asked if Chef Blais was in today, he gave us a mysterious face and an evasive answer. Which I immediately took for a 'yes'! So, like the over-eager fan that I am, I took Mauro's cell phone & tried to discreetly snap some pictures of the kitchen. (I know... I'm such a dork!) But then our server, seeing my stalker actions, came over. She offered us drinks and informed us that Chef Blais was not in fact on the property.

Discouraged that we wouldn't see the chef, but excited to try his food, we turned to the menus. Shara and I couldn't make up our minds, but on the promise that we could share, here's where we landed: I ordered shrimp and grits. Shara and Chris got the fried duck w/truffled mac and cheese. Stuart ordered the arugula salad with sea bass. Al, Mauro and Melinda all got the pimento cheese burger.

While we waited, we enjoyed biscuits with pepper jelly. They went over great. I think Chris contemplated licking the jelly dish clean.

While we were waiting, Chef Blais arrived at the kitchen. Imagine me with a camera phone pressed up against our little window. So subtle, and yeah, Blais saw me. He came right to our table grinning. Dressed casually with his trademark faux-hawk, he welcomed us and started chatting. Someone mentioned it was my birthday, and he wished me the best while I grinned like an idiot -- totally starstruck. So much so that I forgot to ask for a picture! Anyway, he was super nice and friendly and humble. He also looked exhausted. But he moved on to another table where a twelve year boy was eating with his family. The kid looked even more awestruck than myself, and Chef Blais invited him back to the kitchen. That kid was over the moon.

My entree came with five enormous shrimp with a cajun rub, sitting in a bed of organic stone-ground grits, and sprinkled with andouille sausage, corn and scallions. The flavors were simple and straight-forward. I would have preferred a bit more heat or spice on the shrimp, but the most interesting flavor was the grits. They had a light sweetness to them. Our server said it was apricot. It was very good, but i was expecting a bit more punch. (Michael Ivan's recipe remains my favorite.)

Chris & Shara both had the duck. The plate surprisingly lacked any form of presentation. Both ate a bite of mac & cheese first, and were taken aback by the sharp flavor. It was shells flavored not only with cheese but also cauliflower mash and truffle oil. Extremely rich, strong flavors. However, by eating a bite of the mild, moist duck first, it provided a good counterpoint to the rich mac and cheese. But truth be told, I think they were a little underwhelmed.

When asked, Stuart said his fish and salad were good. Clearly, he wasn't blown away either. The burger was probably the biggest hit. Al said he would come back for the burger. Mauro & Melinda liked that the cheese added good flavor. Chris finished the second half of Melinda's burger & seemed to enjoy that more. It came with rather bland french fries. I would have thought to pair it with something more original -- even sweet potato fries would do. So, over-all, we were somewhat underwhelmed. It was a good meal. But not a great meal.

We ordered two desserts to share: red velvet cake with cream cheese ice cream and a moon pie with a cardamom ice cream float. Finally, a little of the willy wonka style we were expecting. The red velvet was fine, and I enjoyed the sour cream ice cream. The moon pie was unremarkable. I think Chris compared it to a 'little debbie'. Definitely the cardamom ice cream was the most interesting. We all enjoyed that. It's an unusual spice and certainly not something you would think to connect to ice cream. But it totally worked. Thank you, Chef Blais!

And a big thanks to Al and Shara for a surprise that made me feel celebrated. 'Cause even though this was technically also for Mauro and Stuart, it was really for me! Thanks for indulging me & trying something new. I love my job and the LTR team! And let me say, that I have eaten extraordinarily well in my 30's so far -- ya know, all six weeks!