#263: Q1227 Restaurant

5:30PM / 11/6/2021

https://www.q1227restaurant.com

Saturday evening I was joined by a friend and we headed over to Q1227, located in the Stone Point center on Eureka, for dinner. This newish restaurant opened just under 2 years ago on December 27th, which is the chef/owner’s birthday and where it gets it’s “1227” from. The Q comes from his name. We arrived at 5:30 with hopes for a walk-in, as reservations were booked out through Tuesday when I had looked a couple days previously. While I snapped a picture outside my friend whent in to get our name on the list. The wait time would be 45 min, so we walked next door to Brickyard for a drink to kill some time.

We made our way back over 35 minutes later. From this direction the warmly lit patio, closed off by red curtains from the front, was visible through the archway at the top of the stairs. It feels cozy and warm with the gas heaters. We popped inside to check on the wait. Unfortunately there had been a bit of a miscommunication earlier. From what I could tell the host thought we didn’t want to wait and left, and my friend thought they took our name and we were good to go. Anyway, long story short here they ended up getting us in right away to a 2-top just inside the patio doors, so it worked out well.

Looking back at my photos from the previous restaurant to reside here, Cibo7, the overall layout and feel to the dining room is pretty similar. Q1227 has brightened up the lighting a bit and changed some of the seating which makes it feels much less cramped than I recall in Cibo7. Like Cibo7, the menu is a really nice bound book. The covers on this one are wooden with the restaurants logo engraved into the front.

We settled in an our server came by to take drink orders and tell us about a couple specials. I ordered the What’s Up Bro Pale Ale from Loomis Basin (5.8%)[$8] and my friend ordered a glass of the Hanna Chardonnay [$13]. We also placed an order for the Chilled Oyster Platter (Fresh shucked oysters [6ea] / house cocktail sauce / mignonette / pickled shallots / lemon)[$20]

The drinks arrived quickly and the oysters followed in just under ten minutes. Served over ice and a bed of seaweed, these came with a few things to jazz up your oyster. The sauce 3rd from the left was not mentioned in the description but I believe it was just a straight up hot sauce. I thought the mignonette and cocktail sauces went together really nicely on these and it was a tasty appetizer to get us started.

We had ordered our entrees with everything else and they were delivered about ten minutes after the oysters. While I didn’t feel rushed, this was a quicker pacing than I expected.

My friend ordered the Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon (House Spices / Forbidden Black Rice / Garnet Yam Puree)[$32]. She loved this and specifically complimented the yam puree. I had a bite of the salmon which was nicely done with a thin, delicate crust to it and tender flesh.

I had a tough time deciding what to get, there were a bunch of inviting options. After bouncing around between the Branzini, Ribeye Cap and Jambalaya I ultimately went with my friend’s suggestion of the Berkshire “Kurobuta” Tomahawk Pork Chop (House Spices / Maple Glaze / Baked Apple / Sauteed Spinach)[$40].

This was a bone-in chop placed atop the spinach with the rib perched up on top of the baked apple. It was a sizeable chunk of meat. I was served a steak knife with this dish. The pork chop was tender enough that a butter knife might have done the job just fine. I was glad to have the steak knife, however, because this plate was incredibly slippery on the table for some reason. It was a bit of a challenge to keep it from sliding all over the place.

The apple was cored and the inside had a bit of cinnamon dusted on it. The maple glaze was the star here, just behind the pork itself. I drizzled/dipped some with almost every bite and had just enough to last through the whole chop. With the apple and maple glaze along side the juicy pork this plate was a nice balance of sweet and savory. The spinach had a heavy amount of garlic cooked with it, which was delicious. I cleaned this plate up, including the flower out of sheer curiosity. The flower didn’t really taste like anything but it was an interesting texture.

We decided we had room for dessert and our server was on the ball, pulling the menu out form behind her back as soon as we asked about it. She also told us about a dessert not on the menu, which after looking over everything we decided to get. We received a pair of copper colored spoons in advance. This was Q’s Peanut Butter Cups (Chocolate Cookie Crust / Peanut Butter Mousse / Chocolate Ganache / Chopped Nuts)[$12]. It consisted of three cups, each about 50% larger in diameter than a Reese’s peanut butter cup across and about 2-3x thicker, but oh so much more decadent. They were incredible, a must-have if you love peanut butter & chocolate.

I didn’t really have any expectations going in here as I knew very little about the restaurant aside from what I could gather from the website. I have to say I was really impressed. I loved all the food and the service was on point. Chef Q stopped by during one of his rounds through the dining room to see how everything was tasting. We did some damage for two people with our bill nearing $150, yet I felt that the prices were fair for what we received. I look forward to returning to check out that whole fried fish and so many other tasty-sounding things.