Ate at Tatiana again Monday night (had eaten there once before without a reservation). This time it was five of us, and we ate most of the appetizers, four main courses (two of these were the snow crab), and all three desserts. We loved all of the appetizers except the crab dumplings (weird given my apparent crab fixation). They weren’t bad, just not as stellar as the rest of what we ate. And we did not have the green caesar.
Favorite appetizers: Curried Goat Patties, were sublime. Flaky, yummy outside and the braised (I think) meat was rich and deeply flavored; and the two accompaniments, “green season aioli” and mango chutney were also delish. One overall note: the sauces on everything were simply delicious. They were varied and we would have licked them up with our fingers, if we weren’t being fairly polite. Black Bean Hummus, with spiced lamb, was (again) deeply delicious. The lamb tasted like, well, lamb, and the lamby goodness with the hummus on M’semen (I looked it up, “Morrocon crepe”) was insanely good. Our lovely waitress told us this was her favorite app, and we could see why. Crispy okra was addictive, and this from someone who doesn’t usually like okra. “Crispy” seemed to be from roasting(?), as opposed to frying, and “crispy” also meant not slimy (this is what I usually run from). When I let the waitress know that I had really liked the sausage (andouille) appetizer I had eaten last time and was intending to come back so I could eat it again, she came back and said the chef was offering to make it for us! Wow! It’s just sausage with a mustard sauce, but again, just really yummy.
All three of the mains were superb. The aforementioned Curried Snow Crab is undoubtedly still my personal favorite dish on the menu. I think if any of us thought we would have had the stomach space for it, we probably would have ordered more of the roti to soak up all of the creamy, coconuty, curry sauce. That sauce would go fine with cardboard, IMO. We had a cod and cornbread dish in a white sauce (not sure what that was as it’s not on the online menu), but again this was a delicious dish. And we had the oxtails, this served with peas and rice, and maybe some other veggies too. The kitchen, as previously mentioned, has braising down, and though we had a lot to eat, we still “fought” over the bones of this dish. (Family meal!)
If we had to choose one dessert, we all agreed it would have been the “Bodega Special,” chocolate brownie and “white powdered donut” ice cream. Served with kiddie sprinkles, it was fun and delicious. My daughter and I split a glass of Banyuls with dessert, and it was the perfect accompaniment to the chocolate cake. A note about beverages, both times I have gone, we have stuck to cocktails (I’m looking at you @small_h ). We all managed to find ones that we wanted more of (as opposed to wine, or something like that), and agreed the bar is great too. My choice: the spicy margarita.
Sorry, no pictures, but I would say for a celebration, it’s on the expensive side (but not outrageous, for 5 of us before tip, it was $657), if you can get a reservation (it took me three tries!), and aren’t interested in white tablecloths and quiet (it’s not quiet), it’s super fun and delicious, IMO.
Maybe I can convince my brothers to take a bro only trip…