Healthing It

Last night, my culinary tour of Amherst continued with a dinner at a small French restaurant.

One of my favorite professors invited me to join him and his girlfriend at Chez Albert, a small place with an intimate setting and an interesting menu. Like a kid in front of a toy store, I wishfully peered into the restaurant’s windows whenever I walked by it. It’s not exactly college-student-budget friendly, so you can imagine how excited I was to finally walk through its doors.

This professor discovered my blog when a Google alert informed him that I mentioned his name in a post a while back. So, my camera at dinner needed no explanation. In fact, his girlfriend used her Flashlight App on the iPhone to assist me with lighting!

The three of us split two appetizers, which were the “specials” for the night.

First, a plate of mussels in a wine sauce. These were perfectly cooked and soft. I love seafood, so I really enjoyed this one.

The second appetizer was much more intriguing: bone marrow:

The bone marrow was fried and served in little pieces. It tasted like rich fat. The texture is really smooth. If it wasn’t coated in flour and fried, it would just melt in your mouth. It’s like really good butter but without that “I might throw up” feeling afterward.

Bone marrow is actually a great source of protein and monounsaturated fat. Besides, if Bear Grylls can do it, why can’t I?

For my entree, I got the Basque Seafood Stew with Kale and Andouille Sausage.

The French waiter told me to “take a whiff” before I started eating the dish. It did smell amazing and it tasted even better. The sausage was spicy and rich and the tomato base wasn’t too watery or overwhelming.

My professor ordered the duck dish, which we agreed was very photogenic.

For dessert, we split a Flour-less Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce & Bourbon Parfait

I really liked this combination. By itself, the chocolate would be too much. I could definitely taste the bourbon but only enough for it to validate the dessert’s name. I’m glad we split this because it was intense!

It was a wonderful dinner with great company. I’m glad I got to experience Chez Albert before leaving Amherst. Is my professor awesome or is my professor awesome?

I’m going back to Brooklyn tomorrow afternoon, but only for a night. We got an early flight to the Dominican Republic on Monday!

But I’ll probably squeeze in another post before then. Hope your weekend’s going swell.