What I Ate: June 20, 2010 (Zoot)

Dinner: No time for lunch today, but we did make time to have a nice dinner at Zoot (11715 Bee Caves Road, Bee Cave, TX‎ - (512) 477-6535‎). I had the Chef's Tasting Menu ($55) while Tina ordered the Farmer's Tasting Menu (vegetarian, also $55). We shared both.

Amuse bouche - orange soup with rosemary and mint. The flavor combination was excellent. I enjoyed it as an amuse, but I thought it would also be awesome on chocolate cake.

Lemongrass boudin blanc with cucumber salad, basil and fried noodles. The boudin blanc had a super fine texture with a nice flavor. The salad was refeshing.

Fresh melon salad with goat cheese, almonds, mint and pomegranate vinaigrette

Beef tartare, spring onion soup, tomato aioli, and fennel-basil salad. A bit too spicy (a healthy serving of mustard seeds blended into the raw beef) for Tina, but I thought it was and excellent bold-flavored dish that worked will with the crispy toast and sweet, refreshing ramp soup.

Heirloom tomato salad with braised bacon, iceberg lettuce, pepitas and horseradish aioli. Excellent when each component is eaten together. Like a really high end BLT.

Chilled smoked corn soup with basil and peanuts.

Sautéed redfish with snap peas, boy choy, fennel salad, hazelnuts and 5 spice broth. The fish had a nice crispy exterior while still properly cooked throughout. The dish really grew on me as I ate, even though I was starting to get full I finished everything. The broth had a rich five spice smell, but was fairly subtly seasoned (which is good since too much five spice can break a dish).

Spring risotto with English peas, asparagus, dandelion greens and radish. Slightly acidic and slightly bitter - this risotto was so good Tina didn't let me taste more than a little bite from her fork for fear that I wouldn't be able to stop eating.

Grilled ribeye with warm German potato salad, mushroom puree and scallions.

Mushroom ravioli with fennel, summer squash, gremolata and Pecorino cream.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta - light and refreshing buttermilk custard served with fresh spring berries.

Flourless chocolate cake with toasted nut florentine, orange curd and fresh berries. No picture for this one because we were so full, we had to packed to go.