I just came back from Hook, and have to admit: I was impressed. J and I went for a RW lunch, seeing as working for non-profits isn't really bringing in the gold bricks, and I was really surprised at the care and thoughtful attention that the food received. I had a flight of crudo, including the yellow-fin tuna/lime salt, wahoo and an oyster with muscat jelly (sounds disgusting, but you would be wrong). The crudo pairings properly accented each piece of fish, and I swooned over the oyster a bit- fresh briny goodness just slightly altered by the presence of the muscat. I washed that down with a glass of cava (mmmm... decadence tastes good) and was approaching nirvana.
For the main course, I had the Artic Char, served over a delicious, caper-y caponata/ratatouille, served with a delicate bitter green salad. It all worked well together, the caponata being an excellent foil for the rich flavor of the char. J had the tuna, seared and served over polenta with a basil/fennel/red onion preparation, which combined the best of the seared flavor of the tuna and the creaminess of the polenta. Coffee and a tart and creamy buttermilk panna cotta, , covered in a blueberry sauce, finished out a fantastic meal.
The service was very attentive and gracious with out being saccharine- and it must be said, almost everyone who works here is very attractive. Maybe it's required. There was a delay in bringing our desserts (a confusing delay, considering panna cotta is just sort of dumped onto a plate and some blueberry sauce is spattered about), but it was a nice space to continue our conversation while we waited, and our server was apologetic.
I'm not the most critical of eaters, but I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade, and this meal was most definitely not a spade. It was fantastic. Highly recommended!
