55 Degrees of Delight

As the title of this blog may give you a hint, we loved the restaurant we visited last night! The service was a bit slow, but it was supposed to be a relaxed atmosphere. We probably wouldn't have noticed if we weren't dying to get home to see Lost and our DVR isn't working!

Before we ordered, they brought us a pinapple and shrimp salad on puff pastry. Normally, I would find that combination horrifying, but it was delightful. For the first course, I ordered a baby greens salad, and Darcy ordered a cauliflower bisque. My salad was fine, but the bisque was enchanting! I tried the tiniest bite (because hello, it's a bisque!), and it was so interesting the way their chef coaxed out the most amazing flavors from a simple dish.

I ordered beef tenderloin with horseradish crusted mashed potatoes and baby carrots. The beef was a high quality cut, aged to perfection, served with a dramatic reduction infused with peppercorn that set off sparks in my mouth. The potatoes were good, but I do think on a less busy night they would have been better. Not every effort was made to make each bite count, as was the case with every other piece of the meal.

Darcy ordered seared sea scallops over a creamy lemon orzo with spinach and porcini mushrooms. I am not a seafood fan, but I tried the scallops and they were sensational. I am still trying to determine what spicey mixture lead to the flavors I tasted that were seared into the plump scallops. The lemon orzo was electric. I did not anticipate that blend of flavors to satisfy me, but it did, and then some! I am not one to like crude mixtures of fruit or sweet flavors with inherently salty flavors, but there was nothing crude about this flavor blend.

The chef at 55 degrees creates a magical experience, and my entire meal was only 350 calories. I did not eat many of the potatoes, and the beef was a very small cut, which is precisely why I picked this restaurant in the first place.

I will definitely visit this restaurant again. I am amazed to find this type of cuisine in New Hampshire.