Review
by Lisa S. Lewis
January 5, 2002
If
you are planning to go to Elaine's on
Franklin in Chapel Hill, make reservations!
This hip, New York style restaurant
is packed with people most evenings,
in spite of a generous seating capacity.
High
ceilings with skylights, deep muted
colors and faux brick on the walls,
and a few carefully placed glass block
dividers give a very urban feel to Elaine's,
named after a friend of the owner. The
noise level is high when the restaurant
is full, but there is an intimate feeling
accentuated by the table spacing and
small candles at each place.
Wine
offerings at Elaine's span a huge range
in both price and quality, with numerous
selections offered by the glass. My
companion and I enjoyed a good quality,
moderately priced Renwood Zinfandel,
but could have chosen an Opus One Cabernet
blend for over $200.00, towards the
top end of the red wines. It's easy
to see why Wine Spectator magazine awarded
honors to this list in 2001.
The
menu at Elaine's changes daily and is
extensive, offering seafood, meat and
at least one vegetarian entrée.
The list of appetizers and salads is
as varied as the entrees, with many
unusual combinations. For starters,
my companion enjoyed a buttermilk ranch
iceberg lettuce with smoked bacon and
grilled red onion - an update on a comfort
food classic. My appetizer was an intriguing
grilled scallops dish, crispy with attractive
grill marks, served over a creamy parsnip-horseradish
puree with baby beets and fried leeks.
Presentation of the dishes is simple
and understated, letting the food speak
for itself.
Accompanying
the meals is bread baked on the premises;
this night the choices were a nice garlic-hinted
focaccia and a crispy-crusted, light
sourdough. Both breads had excellent
texture and taste, though they may have
been even better if they'd been served
warm.
I
tried the vegetarian entrée -
a red pepper risotto with grilled Portobello
mushroom. The risotto was more al dente
than creamy, though the roasted red
pepper flavor was noticeable and good.
My companion had the whole Maine lobster
served on Thai coconut rice with a delicious
and spicy panang curry emulsion. He
did feel that the lobster would have
been more impressive and enjoyable served
in the shell, though he said the dish
was perhaps the best lobster he had
ever tasted, and you can't beat out-of-the-shell
for ease of eating. Other entrees that
evening included a twist on fish and
chips, an aioli crusted yellowfin tuna
and fries; a strip steak au poivre;
and a duck leg confit. Entrees were
somewhat familiar combinations, in contrast
with the appetizers, which were a more
contemporary blend of ingredients (house
smoked oysters with apple-sausage ring
and pickled corn salad, for example).
Elaine's
on Franklin serves modest sized portions,
the better to allow you to enjoy several
courses. I am often too full for dessert
when eating out, but that was happily
not the case at Elaine's. I say "happily"
because the desserts, also made on premise,
were excellent. I had a crisp, thinly
crusted apple tart served with maple
ice cream (which tasted home-made).
My companion enjoyed pastry chef Michelle
Polzine's chocolate extravaganza - chocolate
cake with chocolate ice cream and chocolate
sauce, which he dubbed "the ultimate
brownie".
Chef-proprietor
Bret Jennings, who honed his culinary
skills in Mexico, France, D.C. and elsewhere,
has created an enjoyable city-style
dining experience in Elaine's on Franklin.
Winner of the Wine Spectator 2001
Award of Excellence!