Tonight’s dinner was at Ernest. They opened in the middle of the pandemic so I had missed hearing about them. Chef Brandon Rice is the chef/owner and formerly worked at Rich Table (this was the last restaurant we ate at right before pandemic lockdown in March 2020. They lost their Michelin star in the latest guide last September), Coi (recently closed permanently), some very notable restaurants in Europe (e.g. Noma). So we were excited to try this place. Nice open, airy space.

We were the first diners seated and we ordered straight away – cocktails (both tasty) and the “Let the kitchen cook for you” tasting menu and wine pairing. Pacing at the start was a bit rushed…first course came out even before we had our cocktails. Wines were generous, although nothing special.

First “course” generously included 6 tastes from the menu – sweetwater oyster, Hiramasa, Smoked Salmon dip, Mexican Shrimp Coctel, Tempura Maitake, sushi rice with raw beef). All were decent for the money, but nothing outstanding (the dishes were really wanted to try on the menu (kaluga caviar on tater tots, uni toast) were not part of the tasting…next time….

Second course (after a fairly long wait) was the grilled avocado with trout roe and the sea urchin carbonara. Both decent as well. One of the wines in this pairing, the orange wine, was a miss since it was so bland, but the idea was good for a pairing with the uni.

The meat course (Also after a bit of a wait…nearby tables that were seated after us who just did 3 regular dishes off the menu were already done) was parker house rolls, duck, duck confit fried rice, and dumplings. I thought the duck and the sauce were the best dish all evening.

For dessert, it was an ice cream with their version of chocolate “magic shell” which was also decent. Overall a “decent” meal, esp. for the money and we’re enjoyed it enough that we’d come back to try some of the dishes off the menu that we didn’t have a chance to try with the tasting.