Herons: The best local restaurant

A couple of nights ago, we headed out to Herons to see what Executive Chef Scott Crawford and Chef de Cuisine Steven Greene would do with the area's spring ingredients. I'd arranged for them to create a special tasting menu for us, one that would combine some things from the normal menu and some they would create for this meal. The result, as you can see below, looked awesome.

(As always, click on an image to see a bigger version.)
I'm happy to report that the dishes tasted even better than their descriptions made them sound. Each one combined flavors of spring in fun and amazingly delicious ways. As we finished each course, we remarked that surely they could not sustain this quality level in the next dish--and then they did.

I won't drown you in food porn, but I thought one shot would illustrate the complexity and beauty of the dishes. This course, the first after the amuse, featured peekytoe crab in between compressed pineapple and avocado. Each bite combined richness with sweetness and the fatty overtone that a little bit of avocado provides.



Only the final dessert disappointed us, but after a meal that good, we forgave it.

Another star of the evening was the apricot and goat cheese scone. Each small pastry melded the apricot and goat cheese with the scone in a warm, delicious, rich concoction that we all adored. I could easily have eaten those until I burst.

In past trips to Herons, the service has been unable to keep pace with the food. I'm happy to report that our service was excellent, with only a few very minor missteps. These folks were on the ball and far above all the previous wait staff we've had there.

All in all, I haven't had a meal this good locally since the two amazing tasting menus back at The Mint when Eric Foster and Jeremy Clayman were creating the food there. (They're long gone from that restaurant, and I most definitely no longer recommend The Mint.)

In both food quality and service, Herons now stands alone atop the Triangle food scene.

Another tasting menu at Herons

We enjoyed a wonderful tasting menu at Herons relatively recently, so normally I would not have gone back there so soon. When I learned, though, that the place was about to close for two months for remodeling, I knew we had to make one more visit. We did so tonight.

I'm very glad we did.

The food was even better than before.

Chef Scott Crawford and his Chef de Cuisine, whose name I am embarrassed to admit I did not catch when he came out to chat with us, created a delicious menu that blended items from their normal menus with some dishes they created for us that evening. Check it out (and sorry about the shadows; it's late, and I was in a hurry with the picture).



Every single dish was yummy. The worst was better than most food you'll get at most restaurants, and the best were top-drawer.

Stand-outs abounded. For example, the quail came in two small tender chunks that were so perfectly prepared that I thought the menu might have peaked then. The sous vide pork belly, though, topped it easily; flavorful and rich and perfectly crusted, it was a dream.

The short ribs were even better. I've never tasted short ribs as good. Period. They were rich but not overly so, flavorful, not chewy--simply amazing.

All three dessert courses--yeah, we went there--were wonderful.

I can't say enough good things about the food.

The service, though, is the gaping weakness in Herons' game. The front-of-house staff simply can't keep up with the food. A dozen or more restaurants in this area provide better service when Herons is on its game, and our service tonight was sub-par, to be kind. I sincerely hope that they use the next two months to train the staff in everything from basics--serving and removing sides, dark napkins for those with dark pants or skirts, getting the water right, silverware placement, and on and on--to those touches a great place must provide, such as knowing the menu items and not simply reading the menu text when presenting a dish.

That said, it was still a superb meal. When Herons reopens, save your money, call them, tell them I sent you, ask them to prepare a special tasting menu, and then enjoy a meal you won't forget. You'll pay a dear price, but it's worth it. These guys can cook.

Herons and Chef Scott Crawford hit a home run

(Sorry for two restaurant reviews in a row, but I'm a bit behind on them.)

A couple of weekends ago, we decided it was time to return to Herons to see what Chef Scott Crawford and his team were doing with the best of the local spring foods. This time, though, when I called for the reservation I showed off a few foodie credentials and then asked them to convey my simple message to the Chef: Please make the food you would most like to make, the menu you wish you could serve, really go crazy, and charge me whatever you need to do to make it work.


He did. You can see the menu here; click on it to view a larger, easier-to-read image.

I'm happy to report that the result was a top-drawer meal. With the exception of the desserts, which are frequently a problem at high-end restaurants, every dish was a winner.

Let's get those desserts out of the way. The strawberry shortcake was so-so, but the bubble gum ice cream was one of those noble efforts that simply should vanish into the don't-do-this-again bin. The chocolate mousse was good, but it wasn't great.

The other seven courses, though, were great, and because of them I'm already eager to see what Chef Crawford and his team will be doing when they switch to a summer menu.

I have to single out the poached lobster in pearl pasta with English peas and pistachios as a truly perfect taste of the season. All the textures and flavors blended perfectly. Crawford expertly uses nuts in many dishes, and they always work well. I won't say that I licked the bowl clean, but I might have swept the inside once or twice with my fingers.

If you live here and you're willing to spend a bit for an amazing dinner, call Herons, ask them to make you something special, and you will have a wonderful evening.

Don't forget to invite me.

The new best restaurant in the Triangle: Heron's

We'd eaten at Heron's not long after it opened, and we'd had a completely adequate meal--but at prices higher than the quality merited. When we learned that a new chef, Scott Crawford, was on the job, we tried it again, and the food was better but still not what we'd hoped. Our server explained, however, that Crawford had not yet fully redone the menu, and we should try again later.

A couple of weeks ago, the newspaper's food critic awarded Heron's his first five-star review, so we decided the time was right for that return visit.

When I made the reservation, I asked that the woman relay to Chef Crawford my desire to experience his very best and my willingness to pay whatever extra amount was appropriate. She said she would, but she was doubtful he would do anything different. That's fair enough; a restaurant in a hotel is not an easy place to concoct one-off tasting menus. Later, though, she called me back and said the chef might just do something special.

So, when we arrived tonight, we had no idea whether we'd be eating the normal five-course tasting menu or something Crawford had created for us. Our servers ushered us into a lovely partially open room, a space that made me happy all night, and asked if we wanted to see our menu at the beginning or the end of the meal. By quick consensus, we opted for the end; we would be surprised.

Crawford did indeed assemble a special menu for us, one with seven courses, and every bite was delicious. From start to finish, the food was outstanding. With the fall of The Mint and with this one meal, Heron's is, at least to my taste, the best restaurant in the area. Each dish merged three key elements--an emphasis on local ingredients, a bow to the season, and classic technique--with a restrained but always evident playfulness that made you pause and admire your plate before proceeding.

Consider this example, which was the fish course. Rather than go with a traditional fish, Crawford sent us vanilla poached lobster with parsnip, warm buttered tangerine, and almonds. The presentation made it easy to put all the tastes together while also obviously and humorously evoking the fish shape. Most importantly, it was delicious, the lobster cooked perfectly and the use of tangerine inspired.

The only flaw in the meal was the service, which though quite good was still not where it should be, with tiny missteps abounding. None of these issues, mind you, would be noticeable in a lesser establishment, but in a restaurant with a chef of this caliber and so gorgeous a setting and ambitions of earning three Michelin stars, the service should be flawless.

That truly is nit-picking, though, and if you live in this area, it should not slow you for one second from heading to Heron's, ordering the tasting menu, and letting the artful kitchen work.