Not feeling blue after eating at the Indigo Duck

I have wanted to try the Indigo Duck since it opened last winter. Right across from the court house in Franklin it is a very miniscule restaurant that, to my surprise, according to an article I found in the Metromix seats 60 people. With only one other good restaurant in Franklin, I felt like I was in a larger city. The atmosphere is handsome but not masculine and the entire time we sat at our table I coveted the copper pans hanging at the hostess counter. The menu is creative without being radical. The server brought an amuse bouche which, while I forget the ingredients, were a tiny scoops of potato salad and cole slaw, but to name them trivializes them. They were both delicious and interesting. The requisite bread was covered with a bit of rock salt and shallots. My dining companion generously gave me the “soft bottom” of the bread and took the “old hard crunchy” part. This ruse made me chuckle inside as she had the tastiest portion! To call the lettuce in the house salad, lettuce, seems too mundane. Crunchy, crenelated greens helped the orange basil dressing cling to the lettuce rather than swim in it. This delicious lettuce was accompanied in the bowl by sun flower seeds, grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, and large carrot shavings. My dining companion and I both felt that it might have been salted and possibly did not need that addition, the flavor could have stood alone. My opinion, though, is that it was well worth the $6.00 price tag. For my main I choose, of course, the Maple Spiced Duck Breast, which was priced at $20.00. I like my meat rare, but duck seems so poultry like. So, I ordered my mine medium rare, and it was perfect. Laying on a bed of Apricot Shallot marmalade, which had just a teensy bite to it, the duck breast made my tongue sing. Never a eggplant fan, I was delighted by the crisp delicate accompaniment of eggplant fries. A chard virgin, I was also enchanted by the Sauteed rainbow chard, which worked well with the delicate innocence of the eggplant. Since I was driving, I enjoyed this repast with a Malbec, priced at $7.00 a glass. The desert menu did not overpower the lure of a local Ritters, so we anted up and indulged in desert there.

I like to experience my food, not shovel it in, and my only grumble is that I felt rushed through my meal. In a meal that had so many flavors rolling across my tongue I wanted to take the time to thoroughly enjoy it. The Indigo Duck is a up for a rerun my my book and I give it a 8/10.