Here are the photos of our dinner at Shola Olunolyo’s Studio Kitchen:

The soup was a great start.  The goose confit was perfect and the artichoke soup was creamy but light.  The bagel spice added a popcorn like flavor. Excellent.

On the left is the cauliflower flan with caviar.  An incredible juxtaposition of flavors and textures.  The fois gras bacon was my dish of the night.  Wonderful flavor and texture.  Completely different dish when combined with the cranberry vs. not.  Mind altering.

Two pictures of the lobster.  Having gone to college in Maine, I was very excited about this dish.  It was not what I was expecting, this was really an explosion of different flavors.  The lobster had a great texture and was succulent for sure, but the five spice and curry flavors dominated.

The poulard fell off the bone with only the slightest of coaxing.  Succulent and rich and perfectly complementary with the porcini and eggplant.  The ice cream and olive pairing was interesting and fantastic.

Even though the menu screamed for white wine from top to bottom, the crowd was much more of a Italian red crew.  In fact, there were 6 Barolos and 2 Brunellos.  There were a few whites early on, mostly richer German Rieslings.  The wines by themselves were very interesting and good, and the food was absolutely spectacular.  For most of the courses, however, the wine did not complement the food much at all.

Shola was absolutely fantastic and simply as gracious as could be.  Really a fabulous evening where his genius truly was on display.