Saint Jacques in Raleigh

As a Valentine's Day tradition, Jessica and I have started going out for dinner the day after rather than the actual holiday  Most restaurants craft a special prix fixe menu to celebrate Valentine's Day, and in our experience, that menu is overpriced and lacking originality and variety.  We've found that by going on February 15th, we can access the entire menu and not deal with the cost and crowds, which can negatively impact service.



Blue Cheese and Pear Napolean



This year, we decided on Saint Jacques (http://www.saintjacquesfrenchcuisine.com/) for our special dinner.  In addition to being highly recommended by our friends, Saint Jacques also annually finds itself on the Top Restaurants list for the N&O.  Counting Saint Jacques, Jessica and I have now conquered 20 of the 26 top restaurants in the area!



The experience at Saint Jacques is a unique one from the start.  Located in an unassuming strip mall off Falls of the Neuse Road, the restaurant shares a wall with Jumbo China and a parking lot with Harris Teeter.  Stepping inside, however, you feel like you've instantly entered France itself.  The decor is simple but elegant, and the entire staff is helpful, respectful, but never overbearing.  The owner (I assume at least) meanders through the tables during dinner checking on everyone just enough that you feel taken care of, but not so much that you wish he'd stop.  Overall, the service is second only (and only by a slim margin at that) to the Fearrington House in Pittsboro.

Our meal started with an amuse bouche (an excellent tart bite) before Jessica and I ordered our salads.  Jessica chose the blue cheese and pear napolean while I went with what was a French spin on the standard caprese salad.  Both dishes were aesthetically stunning; Jessica's salad was stacked artfully with layers of puffed pastry, blue cheese mousse, and pear while the red tomatoes set off perfectly with the crispy basil and marinated mozzarella on in my bowl.  Jessica liked (but didn't love) her choice; she said it was a bit strong in blue cheese.  I, though, loved every aspect of mine.

TomoZarella

The tomatoes were fresh and absolutely delicious when eaten with the olive oil and white balsamic dressing.  The buttery croutons (some crisp, some a bit softer) added much needed crunch, especially when matched to the smooth, fresh, flavorful mozzarella.  The cheese was the star of the dish, as it was coated with herbs and the dressing to raise up its overall mild taste. 

After our salads, we were given a palate cleanser that, to me, would best be described as red wine sorbet.  It was refreshingly cold and extremely flavorful.  I am not sure whether it inherently "reset" our palates, but I certainly enjoyed the unique combination of texture and taste.

For dinner, Jessica went with fish while I chose duck (more and more becoming my favorite meal, maybe because I never make it so it's something "new" when I'm out).  The menu had a few other selections I'd like to try on another visit, most notably the scallops with lobster ravioli and the wild boar.

Jessica's meal (pictured at the top of this post) was again visually stunning, with height on the plate and contrasting colors and shapes.  The technical execution of the dish, and the resulting taste, was even that much better.  The fish (corvina in this dish) was light and flaky, with one crisp side to give crunch as a contrast.  The corvina was accented perfectly by the roasted tomato flavor, although in my taste I didn't much catch the champagne dill elements.  Maybe this was for the best, as Jessica isn't huge into dill, but overall, the flavor and the contrasting textures really made this a successful effort.

Duck Atumn

My duck, which was both crisped skin breast medallions and confit, hit on both preparations.  The medallions, probably my preferred style here, was a perfect medium with the crunchy fat perfectly executed.  The accompanying cherry sauce (common for duck) was great; my only recommendation would be to add more on the plate!  The confit was tender and rich in taste; other than the exquisite duck confit at Blue Ribbon Bakery in New York, this was the best I've had.  One minor modification would be slightly more focus on the skin of the confited leg; a bit more crunch would have vaulted this into the "best" discussion.  Underrated on my plate was the apple, turnip, and potato gratin.  It was a combination of those three flavors (with just enough crunch on the apple to avoid having a mushy consistency) with the taste of macaroni and cheese on top... utterly delightful.  I am not really sure there's any way that they could improve on this; it is one of the best side dishes I've ever tried.

If dinner wasn't quite enough, we finished our meal with dessert.  We went the route of the special and had a pastry ball filled with cooked-down apples, butter, and cinnamon along with ice cream.  A caramel sauce finished the plate.  I am almost never one to really like dessert, but I must say this was worth the space in my stomach.  The crunch, hot pastry with apples matched with a taste of the ice cream and a scraping of the caramel sauce was an unworldly experience.  I've never had something that was hot and cold, crunchy and smooth, and sweet and savory, but this bite hit all of those spots!

I'll be honest, I rarely write a bad review (maybe because I'm too nice but more likely because Jessica and I think long and hard about where we eat before spending the money!).  That said, I really believe that Saint Jacques is part of the top class of restaurants in the Triangle.  The whole experience is great, starting with the incredible staff and service, and continuing with unique menu selections that have familiar tastes combined in different (and French) ways.  It's easy to love the standard nice places (Second Empire, Nana's, Four Square to name three) but Saint Jacques really offers a different and equally great experience.  Saint Jacques, like J. Betski's, brings things to the table (both literally and figuratively) that other places cannot.  The best recommendation I can give to a place is that it makes me want to come back, and Saint Jacques is already on our radar for another dinner soon!