Cocktail, appetizer, salad--my Friday night at 3 Doors Down Cafe

Blackberry Daiquiri: blackberry puree, rum, orange liqueur and lime juice. Yummy summer libation.


Appetizer: Miticrema fresh sheep's milk cheese (Montesinos, Spain), grilled figs, 30-year-old balsamic vinegar, crackers. Cheese note on the menu: cream-cheese-like consistency, salty, acidic, creamy finish) Perfect combination, the cheese, as noted, and the lush, juicy fig bits, on top of a firm yet crispy cracker that held up well to having cheese spread on it before disappearing bite by bite. (I took this photo right at the bar where I sit on Friday after work, with my friend Richard holding up the huge white cloth napkin to my right as a reflector for the sunlight coming in through the windows from the left. I think it turned out just like I wanted it.)


Salad: duck confit, roasted beets, mache and creamy sheep's milk cheese. I had the same salad on Sunday, August 15, and well remembered the flavors and textures, the utter meatiness of the duck, my satisfaction doubled when my friend Danielle decided not to eat her duck confit, just her beets, mache and cheese. Yet, even though I only had the one duck leg Friday night, it's crispy skin and juicy meat demolished that memory, overtaking my senses. Who needs two duck legs when you've got one perfect leg to devour?