When I first read that The Scarlet Knife was opening in the space formerly occupied by the Latham K-Mart, I didn’t have a clue how they were going to successfully manage it, but on a recent date night out with Andy, we happily had an amazing meal, with nary a memory of any blue-light specials.
Avoiding eating out on Valentine’s Day, Andy and I made dinner plans for a couple of days later. Last night we had our romantic evening, and as we talked over our next trip to Ogunquit, the universe confirmed our plans with a special appetizer of charred octopus – a dish we first tried many years ago at that Beautiful Place By the Sea.
For his entree, Andy chose a New York Strip steak, which arrived with a requisite scarlet knife – a rare and welcome case of a restaurant’s name in action.
Torn between the Duck Cassoulet and the Atlantic Halibut, I asked our server which she would recommend and she unequivocally advised I get the duck. It was a very good decision: this was one of the best dishes I’ve had in quite a while.
To extend the evening for as long as possible, we opted for dessert. Andy chose the ‘Violet B’ – an almond daquoise, wild blueberry jam filled cream cheese mousse, meringue, almond ice cream and candied almonds. It was absolutely as delicious as it looked, which is saying something when you consider how pretty this dessert was plated.
Taking this recent tea theme to heart, I went for the ‘That’s the Tea’ which was a chai creme brûlée, caramel sauce and milk chocolate sorbet. Divine tea decadence indeed.
The Scarlet Knife ended our beautiful evening with a pair of passion-fruit macarons. A happy ending for a romantic dinner out with Andy.
