mmm.... dinner...

last night, we ate at mario's place for his company Christmas dinner. we did the chef's prix fixe menu... and ended up with a 7 course meal!

course 1
hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi, topped with bits of grapefruit and micro celery, in a ponzu sauce.

course 2
locally grown arugula on a bed of beets and truffle cheese, topped with hazelnuts

course 3, aka, what i was going to order for dinner before we decided on the prix fixe
yam and ricotta tortellini in a truffle butter sauce, topped with mitake mushrooms

course 4
ginger encrusted salmon served on top of the celery root puree. i wasn't too sure about the ginger part on my first bite - at first i thought it was too strong. but after that, each bite was wonderful!

course 5
maccheroncini latini, i believe it was named. which was basically a unique pasta noodle akin to macaroni, and the sauce was made from oxtail slow cooked in a red wine.

course 6
lamb chops drizzled with a three herb sauce - cilantro, mint, and something else green =) and served over ratatouille. it was my first time having ratatouille (at least named as such) and although i discovered it's just vegetables, it was really yummy!

course 7
dessert was a caramel thing whose consistency was somewhere inbetween pudding and creme brulee... and topped with creme fraiche

after it was all over we were sitting there enjoying the live music and the chef came out to our table and he had a glass of wine with us, and then he sent a cheese plate over as well.

i've never eaten that many courses in one meal, and each one was exquisite in it's own way, and i actually liked every single dish that came out. it was AMAZING!!

it's probably why mario's place consistently wins "best restaurant in the inland empire" year after year after year...