Dining in the dark: Jadis

Sometimes I hate it when the lights are too low in restaurants, but at Jadis, not being able to see my meal in full brightness didn't detract from my enjoyment of the food at all.

TC and I had tried to have dinner at Freemans, but on a Friday night at 8 pm, even a table for two meant an hour-long wait. Unwilling to stand around and without enough time anyway before the 10 pm screening of Planet B-Boy at the Sunshine, we headed to nearby Jadis instead, a charming, mellow wine bar that I been to once before.

We started with two appetizers, the mini crab cakes and the mixed quiches. The crab cakes, which came with some kind of mustard aioli, were meaty and greaseless, and the dipping sauce was good enough that we were dipping our forks into it and eating it plain even after the crab cakes were gone. The quiches (both Lorraine and Savoyarde varieties) were good too, though they would have benefited from a real pastry crust rather than the phyllo cups they were prepared with. Both appetizers, at six and five dollars respectively, were bargains.

My salad seemed to be a bargain as well, at twelve dollars for the huge pile of duck confit over spinach, dried plums, and sautéed shallots that you see above. Unfortunately I found the confit to be a little dried out. Actually, every time I've had duck confit shredded like this it's been dried out, so either this is how it's meant to be or I've been getting shoddy duck.

We ended with two desserts, the crème brulée and the chocolate fondant, which boasted a molten, liquid center. Both were well-done versions of classics, and we finished most of each even though we were pretty full. After a mug of good coffee, it was just about time for us to head to the theater.

Jadis is a great option for dates or catching up with friends, as its peaceful, welcoming atmosphere and good selection of inexpensive food and wine make it easy to linger. Deep couches in the back and a bar at the front are conducive to orchestrating a change in scenery from the table, too. If I ever find myself in the area with a good book to read, I just might settle myself down for a while.