Plymouth California in Amador County has more than gold to attract visitors, it has a thriving wine industry clustered in and around Shenandoah Road. But it also has a diamond in its midst, Taste Restaurant. The owners were brilliant in locating their restaurant in this town, because most people who love excellent wine also love exceptional food. I don't know if the restaurant has an interest, but there is also a gourmet market across the street, so I envision more fine dining in the future of this small town. Still, as it stands, Taste Restaurant is a destination in and of itself.
To start, a bread basket with olive oil and balsamic vinegar is placed on each table. The staff was kind enough to replace our dipping "sauce" with just the olive oil. The bread, from a bakery in Amador City that will be relocating to Sutter Creek, was incredibly good with a perfect crumb and crust. We ordered another basket of bread and although were charged for it, thought it was worth every penny (all 400 of them). One starter we had to order was seared foie gras served with a pineapple chutney, hazelnut, black pepper crisp, and rosemary grilled brioche.
Our second starter was a smoked duck, maitake mushroom, mixed greens, shaved asparagus salad, topped with a lemon and truffle vinaigrette, and a poached egg, apparently fresh from the chicken...look at that yolk! Both starters were excellent. The salad had a green that I couldn't identify but was similar to Mizuna. The lemon and truffle oil worked so well with the asparagus, that I'm inspired to use them together in the near future. The smoked duck must have been prepared in house as it was so succulent, not like commercially prepared smoked duck I've eaten before.
On to the larger plates, menu items were divided into small plates and large plates. The photo above is of the NY steak smothered in mixed mushrooms, accompanied by a delicious potato gnocchi and organic Swiss chard, which looks like broccoli rabe in this photo. Perhaps they made a substitution.
The Colorado rack of lamb was superb and a perfect medium rare, as ordered. It came with baby carrots and a Spring pea "cake" that was coarsely mashed peas, onions and perhaps a small amount of mint. It was a grand idea and excellent partner to the lamb. The lemon gremolata was perfect with the lamb, but I failed to taste the lavender sauce that was mentioned on the menu, one of the reasons I chose this entree.
Even though we were full, not that that has ever stopped us, we ordered desserts. The puff pastry in the first photo was filled with a light pastry cream and fresh fruits, surrounded by a barely perceptible clear, banana flavored sauce (click on the photo to enlarge, maybe you can see it then).
The second photo shows a lime coconut panna cotta with toasted coconut on top and a cashew candy side on a thick, dark chocolate sauce. It was fine panna cotta, but the dark chocolate did not enhance anything but the cashew brittle, and that it did well.
One has to wonder how a fine restaurant like this will manage during months when the tourists are not plentiful. The management team is very smart in that respect, they offer a three course fixed price dinner for $30.00 and that should keep the locals coming back.
Open Thursday - Monday
209.245.DINE
9402 Main Street
Plymouth, California 95669
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