Dan's Papers - August 8, 2008 - Stonewalls Restaurant

On a glorious summer evening, this restaurant is cool and really welcoming. Its views over flower beds, a large waterfall and the rolling fairways and greens of the Woods at Cherry Creek Golf Course are stunning. The decor is warm and inviting, without ever being stuffy, and the service, under Restaurant Manager, Tom Connor, is friendly and professional.

Executive Chef, Guy Peuch always selects the very best of fresh local produce to prepare dishes with his classic French flair and this was immediately obvious as we settled in with a glass of wine to examine the tasting menu he offered us.

Each course consisted of two plates having some similar and some dissimilar characteristics. The first paired deliciously tasty and salty Serrano ham with the sweetness of a perfectly ripe fig and slices of fragrant Crenshaw melon. This was very good in its own right but the Potage Pistou, a classic vegetable and basil soup with garlic and walnuts was superb. The incredible blend of tastes and texture once again made me realize the vast difference between those of us who like to cook as amateurs and the outstanding skill of a professional chef.

After this came seared dry sea scallops perfectly cooked and served with a red pepper oil with a little bite that mirrored the other dish of a jumbo lump crab cake accompanied by a red pepper coulis. Guy's crab cake dish has become famous ever since it was lauded in the New York Times as the 'best outside of Maryland'. Frankly I think that is an injustice, because I remain to be convinced that Maryland could offer anything to match Guy's creation, let alone beat it. If you enjoy crab cakes, try these but be warned the wonderful light crisp exterior and the inside just packed with great tasting crab, will spoil you for any others you subsequently eat.

For the meat course tasting, Guy offered two very different veal dishes. Veal escalopine forestiere comprised tender veal escaloes topped with a succulent sauce and the accompanying selection of vegetables were full of fresh tastes and a great complement to the veal. As a contrast in tastes and textures, osso bucco, that calassic dish from Milan, made with veal shanks that are slowly cooked with many vegetables, herbs and a wine based stock till the meat simply falls off the bone was another dish that should be a signature dish here. The key feature that made it so incredibly good was to serve it with a delicate, creamily decadent, saffron risotto. We both agreed that this was one of the best dishes we have ever been privileged to eat and it showed perfectly how food does not have to be fussy to be great, quite the reverse.

To finish our wonderful dining experience, we sampled a palate cleansing fresh plum tart made with melt in the mouth pastry that showed that Guy is also a great patissier. The cold raspberry souffle was good but did not quite measure up to the exceptional standard of the other dishes.

For food and ambience of this quality, you would be entitled to expect that the prices would be sky high but it is a tribute to all concerned at Stonewalls that, despite the escalating costs of almost everything today, the meals here still offer exceptional value. For example, every night, they have a three-course prix fixe for $25 with main courses that may include halibut, veal or duck. On Sunday the served brunch is a favorite with many regulars, which is easy to understand when you realize that you can have a three-course meal with a glass of wine or a Mimosa or Bloody Mary for just $24.95.

Stonewalls is open every day for lunch and dinner except on Tuesday when only opens for lunch. The wine list is very international in concept with bottles starting at $23.

This is a restaurant that simply gets better and better each year and it is doubtful if Guy Peuch's kitchen can be surpassed anywhere on Long Island.