Birthday!

We went out to Craft last night to celebrate my birthday (which is today). I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when we made the reservation. I had watched Tom Colicchio this year on the TV show Top Chef, and he seemed to be a nice guy who knew what made a great restaurant experience. We decided to give it a try.
First, let me explain how Craft works (which we didn't know until we got there). The menu is all arranged a la carte, with First Courses, Second Courses and Sides. All the food is served family style, so that everyone can share with one another. I believe the idea is that your entire party can craft their own dining experience.
The restaurant recommends 1 first course, 1 second course and 1 side per person. We decided to forgo the first course so we could ensure room for dessert.
Before our food could come out, we were welcomed with a "free sample" from the chef. It was a tiny cup of medium-rare tuna with a cucumber gelatin on top with 2 small cucumber balls (dyed pink) on top of it all as a garnish. This was great. And since my wife cannot eat tuna at the moment, I had hers too. Then we were served our dinner. I ordered a pork roast, which was roasted with fresh rosemary and bacon pieces. Everything is better when you add bacon, especially pork with bacon. My wife had the roasted Maine Diver Scallops. These were terrific too. However, they were made even a little better with the addition of some pieces of bacon. For our sides, we went with the sautéed sugar snap peas and the roasted fingerling potatoes. The sugar snap peas were great (we thought we could taste a little fennel in there too). The potatoes, although cooked perfectly, were a little on the plain side, but that didn't stop us from just about finishing the huge plate they gave us. With this, I had a glass of Pinot Noir, Konigsschaffhausen Trocken 2003, Baden (Germany) on the recommendation of the sommelier. This did go very well with the dinner and I was extremely happy with it. It was a light wine, reddish in color, but not very deep. It had a slight pepper to it, with hints of fruit and a little minerality. Craft has a very nice wine list, which you can see here if you'd like. After dinner we shared a chocolate soufflé (with a warm glacé) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The dessert menu is also a la carte and you can create a dessert masterpiece if you are so inclined. Before our dessert came out we were given another free sample from the kitchen. This time it was a home-made strawberry ginger ale. This was a nice refreshing way to clear the palate. Then the dessert came out, which was amazing. I cannot say enough good things about this dessert. It was one of the best I've had. I loved it. Finally before we settled the check, we were given one more free sample from the kitchen - home made caramel popcorn with a variety of nuts. My wife loved this, as she really likes this sort of thing. It was good, but not my favorite type of sweet (I liked Cracker Jacks only for the prize inside). The only mistake made throughout the evening was that they forgot my coffee. Which, didn't really affect my experience because in the end, I didn't really want it anymore. But it would have been better if they didn't forget. Other than that, the service was great - very attentive and extremely nice and polite. The place is also very nice - I liked the decor.
The only aspect of the evening I found slightly annoying were the Japanese tourists sitting next to us. They felt the need to photograph each individual dish in each course as they were brought to them (with the flash) and the occassional picture of the dining room. I can only imagine that slide show when they get home. You have to appreciate their zeal for food and photography. However, there are only so many times you want to be photographed in the background of a portrait of potatoes au gratin chewing your pork.
Overall, Craft was great. I am looking forward to going back again.
Oh yeah - they even gave us 2 scones to take home for the next morning. Nice!

NP: If You Want Blood (You Got It), AC/DC