Aside from being generally awesome, my best friend is also an ATK employee and a freelance restaurant reviewer. When she asked me to accompany her to Deuxave to review a chef's tasting - FOR FREE - I nearly died. Perks!
The restaurant is beautiful and comfortably spacious, all of the wait staff are friendly and accommodating, and, most importantly, the food and drink are excellent.
Side note: we asked about the restaurant's pronunciation and the hostess told us that as it is not a real French word - it's a combo of "deux" and "ave" because the restaurant is on the corner of Mass Ave and Comm Ave - it's pronounced "doo-ahve."
Our server (whose name I have already forgotten - Don, maybe?) was excellent. We told him that we'd heard great things about the duo of tartare and carpaccio and he said that he'd ask the chef to work it into our tasting. And so, the progression went as follows:
Cocktails - I got the pinot noir / champagne concoction which was very nice but sort of a glorified carbonated sangria, and B got a whiskey (or bourbon?) drink with dark chocolate and orange bitters. I preferred hers but mine was good as well.
Tartare and carpaccio - ours came without the quail egg since we had small individual portions. The carpaccio was amazing, but the tartare lacked some zip. It tasted better in a bite with the cornichon. It also was a bit sinewy in parts and had more of a roast beef sandwich flavor than I would've liked. Overall, though, the dish was nice.
Lobster and gnocchi - everything on the plate was fantastic except for the gnocchi which had a lovely taste but was missing some of that trademark chewy bite. However, the citrus fricasee with the lobster and walnuts was absolutely mouthwatering.
Wine - I had the toro and B had the pinot. Both were lovely.
Fois and ginger cake - this was a new dish that the assistant manager delivered to us personally because he was so pleased with it. It was beautiful - seared fois on a ginger cake over orange marmalade with a squash puree shmear and scattered pomegranate and micro basil (which I think was on every single plate we got ...). Our waiter also brought us a French white as a pairing. All of the flavors complemented each other beautifully. B loved it but I could've done without it, only because I'm not really into fois. There was a nice palate cleanser of grapefruit and daikon on the side.
Duck with lentils - this was my favorite dish of the night, edging slightly above the lobster and gnocchi only because of the gnocchi's texture. The duck was beautifully spiced and seared and was the perfect doneness. I love lentils and these were gorgeous. The garnish was turnip (which I unfortunately don't like) and fois-stuffed prune (again, not a huge fois fan) and, of course, micro basil! I could've eaten three plates of the duck and lentils alone.
Palate cleanser - elderflower sorbet with kiwi and blood orange gelee. This. Was. Delicious. The sorbet was to die for, and the kiwi and blood orange were perfect complements.
Dessert - we were brought two dishes. One was a pumpkin souffle with a ginger (?) creme anglaise which was lovely and spicy but very rich. Also, B choked on the powdered sugar and spat on my hand so, if you're on a date, proceed with caution. The other had many components: chocolate mousse with glazed Rice Krispies (delicious) over a dehydrated chocolate mousse (kinda gross, tasted almost meaty), grand marnier ice cream (pretty good) over powdered chocolate (lame, tasted like hot chocolate mix), a dark chocolate shmear (AMAZING), salted caramel (yummy), blood orange gelee (been there, done that), and micro basil (ENOUGH ALREADY). We could only have tastes of each because we were so full.
End-of-meal treat - almond macaron (which B loved but I couldn't eat because I'm allergic) and a brownie bite (fudgey and delicious). B ordered a fernet and I had a Glenlivet. It was a perfect ending.
This review was way too long but there was just so much to cover. I will definitely go back, though it will be tough to have to actually pay next time. :) Thank you, Deuxave and B, for an evening to remember! read more