DINNER: Mulvaney's at the B&L

Mulvaney's Web site

Perfect. That summarizes Mulvaney's in one word. The decor is rustic but nice. The bathrooms are another story but you don't care about that do you? To start, we were presented with an amuse bouche of crostini topped with pistachio paste, citrus and a dot of brie with a ribbon of bleu cheese running through it. I spread the topping over my crostini before I ate it. Not everyone was a fan of the citrus but I loved it. It was a perfect flavor combo, salty, creamy yet clean from the citrus. Bread was served aside polished seashells filled with butter topped with crunchy brown Hawaiian sea salt naturally colored by clay. The bread was slightly disappointing, chewy and generic not rustic and fresh. The beet salad got thumbs up from Monica. It was a 3 beet salad dressed in oil over arugula, just how I like it. Rachel raved about the celery and potato soup. The scallops were devoured quickly. I tried someone else's fettuccini with seafood and bok choy or some such green. I thought it was ok, nothing more. My entrée however still has my mouth watering. Snapper over sticky rice and sautéed spinach in a shallow bowl of broth. I don't recall the specific ingredients but if I recall correctly the broth was tofu based (as in miso soup) with fish sauce. The dish included mushrooms, sautéed spinach and shredded carrots. It was delicate, well balanced, a tinge smoky and ever so slightly sweet. It was to die for!!! I do have to point out the rice was not true Thai sticky rice. All is forgiven since I don't think true sticky rice could have made the dish more perfect. Dessert was a Valrhona ding dong cake of chocolate mousse and ganache made to look like a hostess ding dong. We couldn't resist the port or a cheese plate. Delicious!!! The service was absolutely flawless. Our server was helpful, unassuming and explained the ingredients I was unfamiliar with without a hint of snootiness. The quiet but attentive servers were the utmost professionals, always present to fill a water glass and fold a napkin when someone got up. I love that they were always present when needed but you hardly noticed them and they certainly didn't make a fuss. I cannot wait to return to Mulvaney's.