Sunday, January 23, 2011

Congress

The Austonian's slogan is, "A higher level of living, " and Chef David Bull's new restaurant, Congress, is  definitely a higher level of dining.  Sitting at the bottom of the tallest building in Austin, Congress is a modern fine dining restaurant unlike any other in the city.  The dining room is fairly small, but elegant.  Lush white booths outline two of the walls; tables with big comfortable chairs are in the middle.  Beautiful crystal chandeliers hang overhead.  This is definitely a place for special occasions.  This occasion is my birthday.


Photo: Casey Dunn Photography

Congress features a prix-fixe dinner menu.  Diners have the option of a three-course meal, or seven-course tasting menu.  We went with the three courses as that is the more affordable of the two options.  It would have to be an occasion that's even more special than my 27th birthday to order the seven course menu.  My husband and I decided to order different items for each course, so essentially we got to taste six courses.

For the first course I went with the bone marrow brulee.  If you haven't had bone marrow, it may not sound very appetizing, but it has a very rich salty and buttery flavor.  It's prepared like a spread and is served with little toasts.  The saltiness is offest by honey crisp apples.  It's creamy and savory.

My husband ordered the beef tartare with black truffle, topped with fried oysters.  The dish has beef, truffle and oysters...how could it not be amazing?

For our second courses we ordered the potato gnocchi with braised oxtail, and the rabbit leg.  I love gnocchi and pairing it with a bit of tender oxtail was the perfect bite.  The rabbit leg was crispy and topped with provencal sauce.  As much as I love tomatoes, I'm not a huge fan of tomato sauces, but the dish is still very tasty.

I debated about whether I would include my third course in this post because it does always makes me feel a bit guilty, but it was just way too delicious to leave out...so here it is: the veal tenderloin and cheek.  Both parts of the dish were incredibly flavorful.  The tenderloin was cooked perfectly.  It was made with black truffle, so enough said there.

To top off this wonderful meal, our waitress brought us a surprise dessert: a mini hot pocket filled with melted blue cheese and topped with honey.  What have I said about cheese as dessert?  Yes, please!  It was amazing.

The final topper of the night: getting to meet Chef Bull and thank him for creating this incredible meal.  The restaurant is beautiful and the food is excellent.  For this special occasion, Congress was perfect. 

*Note:  Congress has a sister restaurant, 2nd Bar & Kitchen, that is more casual.  I have yet to try it, but I will definitely update once I do!

Congress
2nd & Congress
http://www.congressaustin.com/

1 comment:

  1. Lauren, Joseph McMahan from SherpaLux here, hope you are well. I donated the Most Amazing Date Ever package to the Big Bro/Big Sis Fundraiser this past fall and your hubby won it. I am a VIP concierge service and have fun ideas for Valentine's Day. Would love an opportunity to get the word out to your viewers if you see fit. I appreciate your time!

    ReplyDelete