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I always do two rounds of menu-checking when Restaurant Week comes around, first to see what has vegetarian options for the first two courses, and second to see what actually looks imaginative. This time around I opted for Aquitaine and Harvest, as I’d never seen either offer both vegetarian appetizer and main dish options (as far as I’ve noticed), and both looked worth trying.

Our first excursion was to Aquitaine:

• South End Manhattan (Jim Beam Black, quince & tangerine, cardamon, vanilla bean, egg white)
• A glass of some kind of organic sauvignon blanc (label and vintage sadly forgotten)
• Roasted tomato bisque en croute with herbed chevre and extra virgin olive oil
• Tagliatelle with mushrooms, baby spinach, shallot, thyme, and madeira cream
• Spiced rum, banana, and brioche bread pudding with dark rum caramel

Our table was not quite ready upon our arrival, so Santiago bought me a cocktail, the South End Manhattan. This was amazing, with the fruit juices and spices enhancing the fruitiness of the bourbon. I’d been skeptical of egg whites in cocktails, too, but the vigorous shaking built up a nice, frothy body. I’ll order that one again for sure. Maybe I’ll even try replicating it at home.

My meal was not necessarily adventurous, but it was classically well-prepared and delicious. I very much enjoyed the rich, fresh flavor of the roasted tomatoes — to think that I was once afraid of tomato soup! — and the earthy mushrooms paired with the slightly sweet madeira cream sauce. The real standout for something interesting and different was the dessert, though. My two dinner companions ordered the other two dessert options between them, but the dense, moist banana brioche pudding with deep, rummy caramel sauce definitely made my tongue happiest.

The savory courses at Harvest were a little more unusual (I got the half-glass wine pairing, too):

• Market green panzanella, mozzarella di bufala, crispy artichokes, and aged balsamic vinegar (wine pairing: Burgáns, Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain 2007)
• Forbidden black rice tart with baby carrots, baby turnips, bok choy and hen of the woods mushrooms (wine pairing: First Drop Wines, First Love, Shiraz Blend, South Eastern Australia 2006)
• Roasted apple pain de gênes with vanilla ice cream, apple compote, and apple chip (wine pairing: the online menu I just found listed it as La Face Cachée de la Pomme, Neige, Apple Ice Wine, Québec, Canada 2006, but was actually a semi-sweet Riesling on the day I went there)

The market green panzanella was quite good (I especially enjoyed the tangy-sweet balsamic vinegar dressing it). However, my favorite part of the meal was the forbidden black rice tart, garnished with a bit of slightly spicy, slightly cuminy oil; I found this dish lovely and savory and a little different from the other offerings I’d seen for this season. The apple pain de gênes was not as fabulous a dessert as the banana brioche pudding — it seemed a bit like a moister, glorified muffin — but the accompanying apple compote was rich and sweet, and the paper-thin, freeze-dried apple chip garnish fairly burst with apple flavor.

Forbidden black rice tart

Apple pain de gênes

All in all, a great experience this time around. I just wish I could have afforded to try another one or two new restaurants. Next time I may want to try T.W. Food, Clink, Asana, and/or Rocca.