Craftsman

Reservations for One and I recently visited Craftsman.  I had been there a few times before, but it was RFO's first visit.  We were the second reservation to arrive and so we had an opportunity to look around the restaurant without "staring" at people.  The restaurant is nicely appointed with light wood flooring, arts and crafts style chairs and tables, and soft lighting.  A great atmosphere for any occasion.  They have an outdoor patio, but that evening was slightly chilly so we stayed inside.  We may go back this summer as the patio looks very cozy - trellis overhangs, stone pavers, lots of greenery.

We started out by ordering a glass of red wine (pretty typical of a dining occasion for RFO and myself).  We then ordered an appetizer of beet and chevre terrine with micro arugula and corn meal crackers.  This was a nice way to start the meal - we used it as a spread with the crisp crackers.

For a main entree I went with the potato gnocchi with ramps and creme fraiche. Anything with ramps tends to draw my attention to them.  The gnocchi was very good and the creme fraiche added a lightness to the entree to balance out the potatoey gnocchi.  I of course am not saying the dish was "light" - anything with the word creme cannot be by definition "light."  I was happy with my choice.

RFO asked our server questions regarding a few of the items on the menu.  After almost selling her on the trout, another server mentioned it was 86'd.  In the restaurant business this means they no longer have it that night.  We were amused at that since we were the second table to order.  Did the first table order the trout and they really only had one?  Maybe they just didn't have it at all that day and our server didn't know until the other server overheard him.  Anyway, kind of funny!  RFO ended up going with the grilled lamb leg with chickpea stew.  She seemed to enjoy the dish for the most part.

The best part of the meal in my opinion were the desserts.  RFO had some sort of fruit crisp with a scoop of Izzy's Ice Cream.  I had 3 scoops of Izzy's Ice Cream as my dessert.  Unfortunately I can't find descriptions of the ice cream on their website and can't remember exactly what I had.  I know one of them was the salted caramel - this came with RFO's dessert as well.  It was very good!  I also had one that had oreos and mocha flavoring.

I think Craftsman is always worth a try.  I think after this experience I might save the money and go with their sandwiches instead of entrees.  I've had their burgers before and they are extremely good.  I almost got one that evening, but decided to do the entree instead.

Happy Eating!