Summerlicious July 17: Aria

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This aria is grandiose with 35 foot floor-to-ceiling windows and exquisitely ornamentedwith orb chandeliers in meandering dark-wood strips. A small carafe of olive oil adorns the white tables with a speck of sunny yellow. The ternary form begins with a vivace salad, anchored by a velvety anchovy mayonnaise and sprinkled with sweet, crispy potatoes that look almost like croutons but opens up a sweet, warm and chewy core. This motifcarries over to the grave second course, where real croutons appear as gargantuan playthings that crunch raucously between the steak and the salad. What a shame the chef in haste forgot to season the ribeye (we asked begrudging waitresses to get out by 1:00m but only left at 1:20pm). Or perhaps the chef was prescient as for the first time (in my dining experience), pungent olives served a purpose, salting the rib-eye on their own! And finally we return to a lively finish with the best dessert of Summerlicious, a dark chocolate “polenta” cake, slightly chilled, never sweet, rich and soft plays counterparty to a buttery-sweet hazelnut ice cream with melt-in-mouth toffee sprinkled atop. But most memorable is the coda, a beet curd coloured in Victoria Secret pink, a seductive melisma to round out the piece.