AnnaLenna: Fourth Dineout is fancy!

I'd wanted to try Anna Lenna for a while and Adorables managed to book us a table for 9pm. This year for Dine Out, they offered a $40 3-course menu with optional starter add-ons and wine pairings for each course (various prices). We were seated promptly and the interior decor is so cute!

For my starter, I ordered the Fried Humboldt Squid with dill aioli, malt powder, and pickled cabbage. The plating was simple, cubed pieces of squid topped with blobs of dill aioli. The squid was tender, but rather bland. Not outstanding to me.

Adorables ordered the Ham Hock Terrine with horseradish, apple, celeriac, and thyme oil. This reminded me of spam. It was nice and satisfying though.

My main was Pan Seared Trout on a bed of roasted turnips, clams, caper butter sauce and pickled shallot. What a beautiful dish this was! The trout had crispy skin and perfectly cooked interior. The fish was flakey, moist, and delicious in the sauce. I counted four clams in my dish!

Most of my friends ordered Glazed Boneless Short Rib with mirepoix and buttermilk mash. The short rib was tender with a little bit of bite. I quite enjoyed the buttermilk mash as it was creamy and smooth.

Onto the desserts (which were presented to us on a separate menu by the way)!

I ordered the Chocolate Caramel Mousse with almond croquant and thyme anglais and was pleasantly surprised with the gold flakes on top! The "almond croquant" was more like a crunchy caramel piece which enhanced the overall texture of the dish. Thyme didn't do much for me, just decorated the dish atop the cream.

I kept eating the light, fluffy, and smooth mousse while wondering where the caramel was, then I found it! In the middle! What a beautifully crafted dessert!

Others ordered the Yogurt Vanilla Panna Cotta with granola, beet sorbet, and apple gel. Before I remembered it was a beet sorbet, my tastebuds were thoroughly confused by the earthy and sweet flavors of the sorbet. The panna cotta was smooth and jello-like, apple gel provided some tartness to the plate.

Some people ordered the Affogatto with house Irish ice cream and fernwood expresso ($8), they said the ice cream was very nice with the coffee-- quite strong! Almost overwhelming with the alcohol and caffeine combination for one person! All in all, it was an enjoyable evening with slow but friendly and patient service. They ended our night with some fudge when they brought the bill!