Haute Dish

Rating:

The first time I dined at HauteDish, I nearly had to be carried out on a stretcher.

"They ought to call this place RichDish," said my friend. No kidding. After a single bite of chef Landon Schoenefeld's insanely fatty -- and insanely delicious -- mortadella, one of five glorious entries on his charcuterie platter, I probably should have programmed my cardiologist's number into my cell phone, just as a precaution.

That charcuterie! Jalapeño- and tequila-kissed head cheese. The creamiest chicken liver pâté imaginable, with a hint of Madeira. A rustic ham-chicken terrine topped with snappy, cinnamon-laced pickled watermelon. Each element radiated an impressive amount of legwork and imagination, and served as a precursor for the technical fireworks that were headed our way. And, although we didn't realize it at the time, they signaled Schoenefeld's passionate love affair with rich foods.

With the benefit of hindsight, I now know how to order right, emphasizing a few lighter dishes before going in for one of the cholesterol-killing courses. One potential problem is the menu, which is purposefully less than descriptive.

"Writing a menu is like writing a poem," Schoenefeld told me. "The words you use are very important. I like to keep it vague, to set low expectations and then wow someone when the food arrives." Though I like that idea too, it can make ordering challenging. Not that Schoenefeld doesn't know how to cook with a light touch. He can, beautifully.

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