Green Gateau

So I've been hearing about this restaurant ever since I moved to Lincoln. Most people calling it 'my favorite restaurant' or 'the type of place I like to go for birthdays or a special occasions'. So I of coarse insisted that someone one take me there. My great friend Amanda was more than happy to accompany me to her favorite eatery and we both agreed we couldn't make the trip with out of favorite photographer, Theary. So the three of us set off on a Monday night for an amazing dinner at The Green Gateau. The restaurant describes its food as American Contemporary but they definitively have a French influence. The building itself is beautiful. Even if the food wasn't amazing I would still go back for the atmosphere. The outside was a distressed brick with climbing green vines and wrought iron gates. Once inside I felt like I stepped back into small town England. Wood floors, large wine cellars, ornate coffee machine, stained glass, low light and wood carvings in the ceiling and railings. The best thing about their menu was the dinner meal deal. A soup, salad, entree and dessert for $25. Even though we were all sure it would be more food than we could consume we couldn't pass the opportunity to try as many dishes as possible. I was really hoping that french onion soup would be on Monday's menu, sadly it wasn't. (the french onion soup is one of the selling points people used to convince me of how great this place was) Instead we were treated to a roasted red pepper with smoked Gouda, a Jamaican black bean and a classic lobster bisque. I ordered the bisque even though it is one of my least favorite soups. I was curious if it was prepared correctly and how much lobster it would actually have. I've seen this particular soup made incorrectly in so many different establishments I've made it a general rule to just not order it. Before you ask I will tell you this soup is made incorrectly so often because it is an expensive soup to make. More often than not it's just to easy to use a base, imitation meat or some other kind of filler or means of stretching the soup. I'm glad I went against my rule because this bisque was wonderfully prepared. If The Green Gateau is using a 'cheat method' with this bisque I wasn't able to detect it. HOWEVER, I'm still just not a fan of lobster bisque. Lucky for me Theary was so we switched soups. Which left me with the roasted red pepper and smoked gouda. Great flavor, beautiful color and very rich. It was a rather inspiring soup, I found myself thinking about all the different dishes I could make with that particular flavor profile. I was glad I had the small cup and not a large bowl because it would have been to much for one sitting. The third soup was my favorite. I would have traded for it if I could convince my vegetarian friend to give up her only option. The Jamaican black bean was full bodied, satisfying and had just the right kick of spice. Our Salads arrived next and wow, what a presentation. I sometimes forget the simple things that I was trained in culinary school are not common knowledge. I had to giggle to myself as everyone at my table (and the table behind us) marveled as to what 'the cool curved thing' was that the salad was plated on. A Parmesan crisp. Delicious and very delicate. It takes skill not only from the kitchen but from the wait staff to pull of a plated salad like that. On to our main coarse. Theary was hungry for seafood, first the lobster bisque and then the crab cakes, a dish she had never tried before. Feeling a bit risky from my rule breaking bisque I ordered a pork dish (something else I rarely do). Brandied peppercorn pork to be exact. My dinner came with a heaping mound of smashed potatoes and a small side of julienne zucchini and yellow squash. My only complaint was that the side of vegetables was so small compared to the serving of pork and potatoes. My pork medallions were pounded thin and breaded which made them perfectly suited to soak up the rich brandied peppercorn sauce. Overall a rich, hearty dish sure to satisfy the hungriest of bellies. The crab cake plate came off the lunch menu and looked like the perfect lunch time treat. At first sight the dish didn't appear to be much, pretty yes, but nothing spectacular. Until you took a closer look. On top of the cakes was a dabble of tomato in a fine brunoise (1/16 of an inch). Impressive. The sauce was a little heavy on the horseradish, to tangy for Theary. I found it to be a nice complement in a small dose. How do I know? Once again Theary and I switched dishes. It just goes to show, you should always stick with your first instincts. Neither dish was a disappointment by any stretch of the imagination, just a matter of following your personal preference. And Amanda did just that. She ordered the manicotti, a dish she's had and enjoyed several times. And the tastes she let Theary and I have didn't disappoint either. At this point in the night we felt as if we had ate all we possibly could.....then the dessert cart came by. As a part of our four course meal, we were entitled to a sweet treat at the end. Always watching our lady like figures, the three of us decided on sharing two desserts instead of one each. I couldn't pass up the traditional creme brulee. I was offered my choice of brown or white sugar and the dish was bruleed (sugar burned) table side. For those of you who have never had creme brulee before it is a custard dish that is capped with sugar and then the sugar is caramelized on top. When it cools you 'wack' it with the back of your spoon and the caramelized sugar cracks into a beautiful broken mirror effect. Our other dessert of choice was nicknamed 'death by chocolate'. The menu called it chocolate oblivion. Incredibly rich, it had the taste and texture of the inside of a truffle. YUM! It was a smart choice to split this one between the three of us. Well technically four. Up until this point I haven't mentioned the little gentlemen that was dinning with us. Theary's son Jackson. Who after taking one bite of Amanda's chocolate oblivion looked her strait in the eye and asked "you, me, dinner, ten thousand flying monkeys?" Little Jackson was in L.O.V.E. And I must say so am I. With The Green Gateau.
If you feel like trying it for yourself they can be found at 330 S. 10th street, Lincoln Ne. To make reservations please call 402-477-0330.