Snacks at Restaurant Eugene

One Sunday evening, Josh went to H&F for a cocktail class. I had originally planned to go separate ways, me ending up at Steamhouse Lounge for some raw oysters and clams and a nice bowl of bisque. I thought of it a lot and was quite looking forward to it. But the day of, I felt tired. So I went with Josh to H&F with a pile of work, looking to hang out and nosh while he took the class.

But I didn't know that H&F is closed on Sundays. Happily, Restaurant Eugene was open. With the early hour, the bar (and most of the restaurant) was empty, so I took a seat at the far end of the bar, made friends with the bar manager and set out to get some work done while I grazed.

Eugene now offers a tasting menu. Any of the items that have supplements can be ordered a la carte, but the other items are not meant to be served outside the tasting menu. Since I only expected Josh to be an hour and a half, I figured that would be enough for a few plates (and drinks). Happily, they were able to accommodate my special requests. Hooray!

I started off with this trout tartare which the bar manager highly recommended. It's hard for me to remember much about it except that I enjoyed it and though it was well-balanced, I'm not sure I would get it again. Those sesame benno wafers were pretty tasty though.

Moving on, I had this foie gras torchon. All the fixins seems a bit extreme for me (verjus sorbet, foie powder, sweet potato bread (very dense), pecan puree). I had a bit of everything and ate the foie first with a spoon and then, because it was too heavy, a knife. Quite delicious.

After that, I moved onto this oyster stew with a sunchoke puree and topped with caviar. It was pretty good, though pretty heavy and thick, not like a chowder, but more like a puree, heavy on the chicken. It was interesting.

While the hour got later, I chose to get a selection of cheeses and it was a good thing because Josh's class ran over. From left to right: brie de meaux, epoisses, roquefort. All three were good, but the brie de meaux was definitely my favorite.

I also got this bonus from the kitchen! A chocolate curry lollipop, very nice. Also a tangerine gelee (which I sadly dropped on the floor while I was trying to look at its bottom and they had to bring me another...) and cardamom financier. All were good and with good flavor, but the tangerine gelee was my favorite.

Did I have a good time? Certainly. Would I go back? I'm not sure. I'm used to the smaller plate mentality of H&F, not that I've been there in forever. I don't Eugene is the place to go to sit at the bar, but then again, I don't think that's their plan either.