Marche Moderne

So hard to go back to reality...first Harry Potter, now this. The very thoughtful family of a spunky little boy I taught last year got us a got us a gift certificate to the Marche Moderne, a new French restaurant in Costa Mesa, and on Friday we were finally able to use it.

It was like heaven. The picture obviously doesn't do the dessert justice. Definitely the finest food P. and I have ever eaten and, let's face it, probably will eat. The pastries and bread: so light. The meat: so, so tender. The whole meal really made me realize that the creation of really wonderful food is as much of an art as any of the other humanities, and worth the price of opera tickets, even if we can only afford to go there as often as we go to the opera (never!!)! Here's what we ate (sounded much more tasty on the menu, but the menu isn't posted online):

Warm baguettes and olive bread

Oven tart with prosciutto, caramelized onions, and "cave-aged Gruyere" (cheese--it was like a pizza from heaven)

Salad composee

Brook trout with heirloom tomatoes

Braised short ribs with homemade gnocchi and mushrooms (amazing)

Cheese plate with more baguettes, honeycomb, and various grapes and currents in nectar

Homemade peach ice cream and raspberry sorbet with a peach macaron (?) and raspberry "Financiers"