Coco Lounge

We decided to treat ourselves this weekend. This is hopefully the last restaurant review we'll be posting for a while, as we seem to be treating ourselves an awful lot lately. Additionally, I've decided to make a bit of a personal investment and buy myself a netbook. I'll post more on that decision later, when it arrives and I can take photos.

So, on Saturday night we went out for a nice dinner with friends. We decided to finally try Coco Lounge, a chocolate-themed French bistro that turns into three separate nightclubs after 10PM. Christine had been to the nightclub numerous times, but never to the restaurant.

 Checking out the menus.

The food was exquisite. Not everything on the menu has chocolate in it, but a lot of surprising items do. Let me start at the beginning of our meal:

The sharing appetizer.

Brandon ordered the Charcuterie to start. The meats were subtle, and a great combination with the sides: pickles, caramelized onions and a cheese that was similar to parmasean. 

Christine's appetizer.

Christine ordered pumpkin risotto with some apple-smoked pork shoulder. She let us each have a taste, the risotto was amazing. 

Being a chocolate-themed restaurant, they had a long list of chocolate martinis. I decided to order one called "The Sexual," at the recommendation of our waiter. He said it's both delicious, and super fun to describe. The description he gave had us all busting at the seams with laughter - it was slightly dirty, but still informative about the crafting of the drink, which of course was phenomenal. 

Delicious beverage.

We each decided, for our main courses, to be a little more adventurous than we normally would. When we first sat down, I was considering holding back and getting a light salad, but once I started to read the various chocolate-themed items on the menu, I couldn't pass up the experience. So, I'll take this moment to admit: we indulged. But I promise we're not going out to eat again for a looooong while!

My main course: the filet mignon.

I ordered the filet Mignon, and I ordered it rare.  It came with a bittersweet chocolate sauce, and two different types of pureed potatoes. It was... there are no words. It was quite possibly the best meal I've ever eaten. I expected the sauce to be punchy - I thought they were going to try to make a statement, but it was subtle. It worked with the natural flavor of the beef beautifully. And the steak itself was cooked to perfection. The outside was seared and peppery, the inside tender and ready to fall apart. Rory made an excellent point: when you order a steak rare, it really becomes a different dish altogether. And the potatoes were phenomenal! I don't normally worry about side dishes when reviewing a meal, but they were sweet and slightly garlicky, and not too buttery. The texture was perfect. 

Ok, I'll shut up about my meal now. I really, really enjoyed it.

Brandon's dinner: duck confit.

Brandon decided to go with the duck confit. He had already started dis-assembling his beautiful plate before I could get a photo, but all the elements are still there. Everything on the plate was seasoned lightly and simply cooked in the duck fat. With the exception of the sprig of frisee salad, which had a bacon-infused vinaigrette.  I only got a bite of his, but it was cooked perfectly: not too fatty, not too gamey, and definitely not dry. 

Christine's dinner: the lobster.

I told you were were stepping outside our comfort zones. Christine ordered the lobster, which was removed from its shell, cooked with Alaskan king crab in a dark chocolate sauce, then returned to its shell and served over pureed potatoes. I had a bite: again, the sauce was subtle, and the lobster wasn't too fishy. It was YUM. 

Rory's dinner: the chicken ballotine.

Rory opted for something simpler, yet it turned out to be remarkably well presented. The chicken was in a roulade, stuffed with autumn vegetables and seasoned simply with lemon and rosemary. I had a bite: it was moist and hearty.

Of course I can't tell you we went to a chocolate-themed restaurant and not talk about the dessert. Firstly, I want to say that we lucked out and had a phenomenal waiter. He was a huge food geek and an extremely attentive waiter. He gave recommendations only when asked, and encouraged us to explore our own pairings. He gave competent and colorful descriptions of everything served at the table, and was very fun and engaging. 

Sorry he got cut off- but the point was, he was super fun!

We ordered two desserts to share. I got the chocolate bento box (which I was immediately drawn to because I love everything bento!) which was a taster of miniaturized versions of all their best desserts.

The chocolate bento.

Clockwise from top left: A chocolate mousse cup with pieces of ginger and peppermint, A spoonful of chocolate gelato on a bed of crumbled chocolate cookie, A small piece of chocolate opera cake with real gold flakes, three perfectly sculpted little chocolate truffles with beautifully marbled designs and of course a miniature chocolate lava cake. 

I don't think I have to tell you that this was an assortment of the highest quality chocolate I've ever tasted. Brandon didn't realize at first that the truffles were edible, he thought they were decoration. I had the orange one, Rory had the mint and Brandon got the cherry. When he discovered it was edible, he was so excited, he filmed it:

Rory decided to also get the chocolate fondue for everyone to share. 

 

It came with strawberries, pineapple, little puff pasteries, house-made marshmallows and house-made mint marshmallows.

I don't know how many times I can say it: everything was awesome. It was a real treat, and it really helped us all to unwind amidst all the crazy pressure of schoolwork. We had a super fun time. Now it's time to get back to our normal schedule and buckle down.