Revisiting [ONE]

I've written before about Chapel Hill's [ONE] restaurant. At the time, local chef Shane Ingram was in charge, and I quite liked the place. Some time ago, though, I heard that Ingram was parting ways with [ONE] and returning to his Foursquare Restaurant exclusively. I immediately dropped [ONE] from my list of places to try.

I was wrong.

The other night, a group of us, enticed by a very interesting dinner menu, returned to [ONE]. After sampling a large portion of that menu, including all of the desserts, I'm pleased to report that [ONE] is now even better than before.

Thanks to the fine chef team, the food is inventive and modern and entirely delicious. Executive Chef Sean McCarthy is an active presence in the open kitchen, expediting one moment, doing final plating another, and preparing dishes at other times. The only misstep of the evening was the warm foie preparation, which was dry from over-cooking and which sat on an unfortunate cauliflower puree; the lack of acidity and sweetness from fruit definitely hurt the dish. The rest of the appetizers and main courses were uniformly delicious.

The desserts, which frequently in local places are weak endings to fine meals, were, if anything, a step up. Pastry Chef Deric McGuffey concocts wonderful sweets, which his team, notably a woman whose name I could not get, implements beautifully. Artful in presentation and superb in taste, these desserts are worth a trip in their own right.

As soon as the menu changes, I'll be heading back to [ONE]. If you live in or visit this area, I recommend you do the same.