Miller Union

A visit by my friend Eby gave us a chance to visit Miller Union. We had a wonderful meal. The setting, in a low-key building a block from Howell Mill, was modern but not overly sterile. The service, as one would expect in a restaurant of this caliber, was helpful but low-key.

We started off with a fennel soup, which was outstanding. The fennel flavor came through very nicely and was complemented by the cream.

Our scallops were extremely tender and very flavorful.

We also tried an egg cream as another appetizer. We scrambled the egg into the cream ourselves, then spread the mixture over bread. Eby and agreed that it was interesting but not compelling. The egg/cream mixture was very rich. The bread helped to balance the dish but the result was a little bready---it was hard to get much egg on a slice of bread that was pocked with airholes.

We both had duck and brussel sprouts for our main course. I ordered my duck medium rare. The duck breast was rich and succulent. The other parts of the duck went into the little sausages, which were very tasty and quite different from a pork sausage. The spaetzle was made with rye flour, an interesting twist. But the cabbage was the surprise stand-out of this plate---it was prepared with several different ingredients to give it an amazing flavor. The brussel sprouts were also outstanding. They had been roasted just a little for texture, color, and carmelization. I must say that brussel sprouts are popping up on menus all over town---I nominate them for Vegetable of the Year.

We each had a tart for dessert: chocolate for Eby, lemon curd for me. The lemon curd was a wonderful balance of tart and sweet. A meringue on top balanced out the strong tastes of the curd. The tart's crust and the ice cream were both outstanding.