Prune

In the past two years, I started a habit of writing down exactly what I eat at restaurants and what my thoughts were of my meals. It's working pretty well so far, given that I am extremely forgetful. If I were ever to return to any restaurants I've been to, I will be very well prepared on what to order and what to avoid.

Anyways, I went to Prune earlier this year for my belated birthday dinner. Usually, my fiance and I would pick very nice restaurants to go to for our birthdays, but given our current lack of income, we have gone a notch down to lessen the blow to our wallets. However, Prune wasn't as wallet friendly as I had expected, but it was very good (and satisfying too - portions were generous). What's more is that I'll always remember this restaurant as the place I fell in love with monkfish liver.

Prune is known for their brunch. We tried to get in for brunch once, but it was just impossible. So I was happy to get in for dinner. The restaurant had a French feel...casual and minimal decor with a mirror running through the room. The tables were elbow to elbow in Prune, but I didn't mind much because the food was good.

We had some complimentary fried chickpeas to start. I've never had that before, so it was very interesting. I got a glass of Riesling and it went perfectly with everything I had - monkfish liver, fried oysters and mussels. Below is a breakdown of what I had and my thoughts in detail:

• Monkfish Liver - I saw a review of this dish on Colameco's Food Show's (originally called The Food Dude) and just had to try it. Monkfish liver is also sometimes called "foie gras of the sea." I asked our server what it tastes like, and she said "fresh like the sea." It was served with toast on the side. While I liked the liver, which was sweet, creamy and fresh, the toast was a bit too oily and buttered for my taste.

• Fried Oysters - Flavorful and best I've had so far.
  

• Mussels in Almond Sauce - The meat was plump, and the sauce was rich. It was served with a slice of toasted bread, which was covered with a thick tasty layer of almond butter (but was too much butter for my taste).
  

Overall, Prune has a very inventive approach that obviously works. Although I was worried at first of their menu that was dominated by meat (I don't eat anything with four legs), the seafood I had from the restaurant well exceeded my expectations.