An Affair to Remember
by Jen and Jeff BanowetzSuppose you're lucky enough to have a friend who's a chef, a culinary master, and he's kind enough to invite you over for dinner-a sumptuous five-course experience. He obviously loves his craft and is happy to talk about ingredients and techniques, if you're interested, but you may as likely end up chatting happily about your kids. Or the impressive nearby shelves teeming with cookbooks. That's just the kind of epicurean evening in store when you set foot in Chef Amaury's.
The scene
The first thing you'll notice is that the chef himself or his wife are the ones who greet you at the door. There's also no waitstaff-it's the proprietors or the sous-chef who deliver and clear plates. And it's the chef who eagerly, and in great detail, explains the evening's cuisine. You can tell by the glint in his eye: This guy loves his job.
As you would expect from a place offering such personal attention (just the right amount), the dining room is small (about a half-dozen tables) but intimate. The space is conducive to conversation over a leisurely meal, yet the atmosphere manages to feel lively. It's a gourmet experience but far from uptight.
The food
We actually can't recommend anything specific on the menu, but that's only because the chef's menu changes weekly, keeping offerings, quite literally, very fresh. You can choose from a three-course or five-course prix fixe menu. There may be a few options, particularly on the three-course menu and with dessert, but for the most part you're leaving the culinary decisions to the chef.
For our visit, the five-course meal began with an arugula salad featuring a wonderfully tender slice of duck breast and dressed with a huckleberry vinaigrette. Some macadamia nuts and comte cheese finished off the salad nicely. The salad's bold but not overwhelming flavors give a good representation of everything that was delivered to our table that night. Chef Amaury showed fine attention to detail while highlighting unique flavors and providing a little bit of the unexpected. Yet his dishes were never overly complex or pretentious.
Next was a wild watercress soup with a blood orange reduction and red pepper vinegar. It also featured a perfectly seared sea scallop that added a welcome sweetness to the dish.
The next course, a wild striped sea bass, was served with an almond creme sauce and French black truffle polenta and a great medley of fresh wild mushrooms. The fresh, salty fish paired nicely with the rich sauce and earthy tones of the mushrooms.
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The fourth course featured meat and potatoes. Of course, here that means a strip-loin cut of Wagyu beef, a well-marbled treat from a Japanese breed farmed in the United States," offering a similar taste to the more famous Kobe beef. Served with a red-wine reduction and goat cheese and garlic potatoes, the dish was equal to anything at a high-end steakhouse.
Now all that sounds like a lot of food. But the portions are reasonable and pace of the meal relaxed, so we had room for dessert. And good thing: We had a choice of creme brulee and chocolate lava cake. They were both excellent and a superb way to end the meal.
To get a sense of Chef Amaury's style, visit his Web site (www.chefamaury.com) and look over some previous weekly menus. Costs vary depending on the meal, but on the night we visited, $68 covered the five-course meal, while the three-course was $42. There's also a very solid wine list (as well as beer). But all wine is by the bottle, with a few half- bottles available.
If you're daring: Don't let the fixed menu scare you-Chef Amaury will take excellent care of your palate.
Safe bet: While you may be tempted to go with the three-course dinner, opt for the five-course. Why cheat yourself out of two more dishes to savor? The portions are all very manageable.
Word of mouth: If you've ever wanted a private chef, this experience will give you a good glimpse.
Chef Amaury's Epicurean Affair | 481 N. Commons Dr. | Unit G | Aurora | 630.375.0426
