Heron's in Cary

For a night of celebration, Jessica and I decided to try Heron’s at the Umstead, last year’s best restaurant from the News and Observer.  We went once before and had their bar menu (which was excellent), but for this trip, we wanted to sample the menu at the actual restaurant.  Our plans were thwarted slightly by the hosting of a local wine dinner (which I won’t detail here since I don’t understand wine at all), but we decided to go with it anyway.

Before dinner, we were treated to a glass of wine and a small bite of crab salad, which was made of fresh crab, cucumber, avocado, and a spicy element.  The freshness of this one-bite appetizer was unbelievable, and while the flavors were mild, they set a good tone for the rest of the dinner.

Our meal began with an amuse bouche, a pea and mint panna cotta served with tangerine.  A single bite, this "dish" had far better flavor than I could have imagined for being made from peas.  The acid from the tangerine added to the overall taste as well, providing contract to an otherwise creamy texture.  Just as the small bite did ahead of dinner, this really brought a fresh, unique flavor to the table and continued on a good path for the starter course.

The menu

The first course was two large sea scallops served with a sunchoke puree, trout roe, and lemon peel.  First and foremost, the scallops were ENORMOUS, yet cooked perfectly just through and amazingly tender.  The natural sweetness of the scallops made them stand well on their own, yet the sweet, acidic addition from the lemon peel worked well, as did the creamy, savory puree.  The trout roe was better than I expected, but not something I felt was needed (maybe because I kept thinking what it was, and also that I dislike trout).  Together as a single taste combination, this first course was incredibly unique and flavorful.  Had this been the main course, I would have walked away entirely satisfied!

The second course was lamb ravioli; three ravioli filled with braised lamb and accompanied by a mint jus.  The presentation was an added bonus; the server poured the jus around the bowl after bringing it to the table.  The ravioli were strong in lamb flavor but may have lacked a bit of creativity to take the dish to another level.  Crispy sweetbread bites were also part of the dish; I'd never had them but was thoroughly impressed by the deep flavor.  I quickly ate this entire dish (which was again hearty) as it was delicious, but it didn't quite match the opening effort.

For the main course, we had 48 hour short rib with marrow potato custard.  The short rib was prepared two ways; the first was typical of what I expected (braised), while the other was almost a "steak" cooked sous vide to remove the toughness.  Taking the second first, I was impressed with the cooking technique and enjoyed the flavor when eaten with the sweet sauce on the plate.  The "steak" was more tender than normal for short rib, but still slightly tough.  As for the braised short rib, I loved it.  It was incredibly tender and the fat that was braised down melted perfectly with the beef flavor.  I would have liked more of the braised and less of the sous vide, but I was pleased with both efforts and felt they did a great service to beef short ribs.  The marrow potato custard was unique but quite tasty; it reminded me of a truffled potato croquette but was obviously creamy in texture (think a mix between potato puree and softened butter) and served cool.  I'd never had something like this, but really enjoyed it.

For dessert, I'll let Jessica take over...

To conclude the dinner, we were served dry (on purpose, I suppose) chocolate cake pieces with semi-confit strawberries, cheerwine jello and milk chocolate cubes with a whipped cream. I was honestly let down. After such an amazing meal I was expecting something really delicious. While I respect the various skills used to create such a dish, I didn't think this was the perfect dish to end such a delicious meal. I would have liked to have tried a variation of a molten chocolate cake, or an impressive slice of cheesecake.

Dessert sampler

Fortunately the dessert was able to redeem itself when the servers delivered an after the dessert course sample dessert plate which included a lemon macaroon, a mini bundt cake, a jellied fruit cube and a chocolate caramel bon bon. All of these little gems were delicious, but my favorite was the mini bundt cake. It appeared cake-like but was actually a custard consistency in the middle. Absolutely delicious!

Also I think the apricot scones are worth noting; I ate three with my meal and was able to snag two to take home with me for breakfast the following morning (Thanks to our server, Rich). The scones were fruity, but not too sweet. They weren't hard, either. Hands down these were the best scones I've ever had.

Heron's stands along with the Fearrington House as one of the two true top echelon restaurants in the Triangle area.  The service all night was impeccable, with the team always knowing when to converse and when to quietly fill a water glass.  Each dish was served with new silverware and plates suited for the particular course, a minor touch that is unfamiliar to all but the most high end diners.  And as good as the service was, the food was even better.  Each course had the finest ingredients, original ideas spun off of familiar classics, and fantastic flavors with each bite.  Heron's truly is world class in every sense and should be experienced by anyone wanting a truly special meal for a great celebration.