Review of Five

It was two weeks after the actual date before we were able to have dinner at Five and celebrate Carol's birthday. While the restaurant is located on the Hill, it is not particularly Italian but a celebration of the five senses with a focus on local sustainable foods.
We chose to go with the four course prix-fixe menu. We ordered a nice Cabernet Franc from the Chinon winery in France. It was very affordable. I started wtih beef carpaccio from Fruitland Farm. It was so tender and succulent, topped with local black radish, sottocenere al tartufo and black truffle oil. Olives and fleur de sel garnished the dish. Carol had the housemade gnocchi, that was made from braised Benne Farm pork head ragout and Baetje Farm goat cheese.
The next course included a carrot soup with toasted walnuts and creme fraiche and a salade topped with toasted housemade brioche, almonds, roasted red onion, stilton blue cheese, olves and balsalmic vinaigrette. And while each item was quite tasty, it was the gnochi that really nailed the meal's first courses.
As we heard that they had butchered a lamb earlier in the day and the meat was quite fresh, we both went with the lamb shank. The lamb was raised at the Praire Grass Farm. It was fall of the bone tender and came with a rich creamy polenta with Ozark Forest oyster mushrooms, quark cheese, oregano, butter and white truffle oil. It was too much to finish so we came home with enought meat for a second meal.
We finished off with a chocolate sampling and the decadent bread pudding. They brought us two complimentary glasses of champagne and we toasted to a wonderful birthday for Carol and a great new restauarant that supports our ideal of trying to eat more local foods.