Erin and I had an amazing meal at Traif on Tuesday. The experience was fantastic from the gracious hostess to the accommodating servers to the imaginative food we sampled. Our original reservation was for six, but the staff did not even blink an eye when we informed them that we had dwindled down to a party of two.
We settled in after profusely apologizing for the last minute change and ordered a few glasses of wine. Erin had a light, crisp Rose and I had a Reisling, which was billed as dry, but was a bit on the sweet side.
We hungrily perused the menu and decided to really go for it. Amidst our frenzied ordering, the waiter actually suggested we have one short rib slider instead of an entire order. He wanted to make sure we would have enough appetite left to truly enjoy the sweetbread course. His thoughtful advise was one of the many examples of the phenomenal service we enjoyed throughout the night!
While we waited for our first course, we were presented with a Watermelon Gazpacho amuse buche. It was a lovely light and refreshing start to the meal, though the watermelon gazpacho I had a few weeks ago at Degustation was much more flavorful and pungent.
Our first course was a beautiful pink fig and lardon salad, dressed in a champagne vinaigrette. The beautiful chunks of bacon and the unbelievably sweet and delicate figs were joined by artichoke hearts and a light shaving of salty cheese. This sounds like a hodgepodge of ingredients, but somehow they all worked together effortlessly.
Shortly thereafter, the hamachi carpaccio over nectarines, with thai basil,lime, and black sesame arrived. The hamachi was fresh and succulent, though I felt the nectarines added little to the dish.
Our next course was one of my favorites: stuffed corn cakes topped with marinated rock shrimp, mango, and tomatillo. The cakes were light as air, surrounding a mild cheese and the shrimp slaw that covered them was sweet and savory and perfect!
The next course was the spicy, bigeye tuna tartare over tempura eggplant with kecap manis. The tartar was both sweet and spicy with curry heat and a drizzle of what tasted almost like eel sauce. The eggplant was lightly tempura fried with a crisp outer skin and a soft, moist flesh. Individually, they were fantastic, together they were fine, but I personally would have served them separately.
The next course was our most anticipated: crispy, braised pork belly over an avocado, corn, tomato salad. It was so good. The fried pork belly melted in your mouth, but still retained enough texture to allow you a few satisfying chews. The salad was again, savory with a hint of sweetness, a theme throughout the meal. We were sad to see the last morsels disappear.
Our single short rib slider came with the braised belly, and we turner our attention to the appetizing little sandwich next. It was truly anti-climactic after the other dishes we had enjoyed. It was a fine short rib slider, but it simply wasn't in the same league as the thoughtful, flavorful dishes that proceeded it. We were again grateful to our wise waiter who had suggested sharing one instead of a full order!
Our final course was sautéed sweetbreads with artichokes, asparagus and maitake’s. This was the culmination of the luxurious, over-the-top, glutenous feast that is tapas at Traif. The rich, luscious sweetbreads were delicately sauteed, cooked to tender perfection. The accompanying vegetables balanced the richness, soaking up the buttery sauce.
This was not a meal one could enjoy on a regular basis. The sheer indulgence of the quantity, quality and unapologetic use of fat made it a special meal to enjoy judiciously. Traif is a guilty pleasure I would recommend to anyone!
