[We're] So Fancy...

Finally trying out the "most" expensive restaurant in town - Chez Albert - for Shannon's birthday! Happy 21st again, Roomie! :)

Breakfast:

Peach cinnamon muffin (ate 1.5)

Spinach, chickpeas, cucumber slices, waffle fries, brown rice w/marinara sauce, French toast sticks

White bean soup

Dinner:

Grilled cheese & tomato sandwiches (ate open faced), tomato soup w/black pepper, cucumber slices, lettuce, baby carrots
(I love grilled cheese and tomato soup nights. And yes, I'm eating a lot even though I'm going to dinner soon because I'm not too fond of anything on the menu at Chez Albert. Life of a picky eater.)

Tomato soup w/black pepper, grilled cheese & tomato sandwich (ate open faced), cucumber slices

Shannon's Birthday Dinner at Chez Albert, Amherst, MA:

Shannon's pear, ginger & vodka cocktail
(I forgot the exact name of this cocktail, but the pear was very subtle and I think you had to know it was in here in order to detect it. The ginger was quite strong and both the pear and ginger flavours were overtaken by the vodka in the end. The super nice bartender, Mikayla (sp?), actually gave our table a second one on the house because it had been made incorrectly!) 

Complimentary bread & butter-based spread
(Adequate. I am not a fan of butter spreads, but everyone else at the table liked it!)

Shannon's frites and aioli
(I didn't try the aioli, but the one fry I had was so salty that I had to spit it out.)

Claire's raclette w/crispy onions and cornichons
(I hate onions and I am very particular about my cheese, so the only thing I liked about this dish were the green apples. Everyone else loved it, especially Claire, and it did taste alright with the complimentary bread. The cheese was really salty, but the apple slices balanced it out. I didn't try the onions and cornichons, aka are pickled gherkins, though.)

Shannon's pork belly w/parsnip & cafè
(Tried the coffee sauce, which was quite good. Strong salty coffee flavour. I didn't try the creamy part of the sauce or the pork belly.)

Caitlin and Emma's pumpkin gnocchi w/sage
(Had one gnocchi and some of the sauce with complimentary bread. The sauce was alright, but not something I'd eat much of, and I thought the gnocchi was way too heavy. I might have been able to eat five, but certainly not half of this dish. Then again, I'm not a big fan of gnocchi in general.)

Our dessert trio!
(My favourite part of any meal because I can usually eat a dessert.)

Caitlin's crème brulee
(Had a few spoonfuls. Loved the thin, crackling sugar at the top and its combination with the eggy custard. The custard wasn't ultra sweet, so the additonal sugar didn't overpower anything.)

Shannon's chocolate mousse
(Ultra thick, rich and chocolately. I love dark chocolate so this was fabulous. Might have had one too many spoonfuls with the banana whipped cream from the last dessert.)

Chocolate paté terrine w/crème anglaise & topped w/banana whipped cream (shared w/Emma)
(Emma and I shared this ultra dedadent chocolate dessert. I wasn't too fond of the cream at the bottom, and the banana whipped cream became a bit too overpowering at the end, but the chocolate terrine part was sinful. I've never had anything chocolately that was so dense and yet light at the same time.)