Our first meal at Dale Miller
The entrance is off Beaver Street.
We've been curious about the new Dale Miller restaurant in downtown Albany since it was announced. We'd heard great things about what the chef had been doing at the Inn at Erlowest on Lake George. And he's "one of 61 U.S. Certified Master Chefs" -- so you gotta figure the guy knows what he's doing.
Well, we finally had a chance to check it out recently.
Curious? We thought so. Here's what we ate...
One note before we go any further: this is not a formal review. We're not awarding any stars or anything like that. Our dinner didn't span the entire the menu. And, hey, the place only recently opened -- so there are bound to be some things that need straightening out.
The game plan: Since this was our first time, we decided to try a bunch of small things. As a result, we didn't order any entrees. We were perfectly satisfied doing this. But, admittedly, it kept us from getting a sense of the whole menu. So it goes. That's why there's a second trip.
And about ordering just appetizers and small plates -- our server was totally cool with it. Not only that, he very helpfully staged all the plates into three rounds.
Round 1
Duck Confit Firecrackers
Spicy Hoisin Ginger Sauce, Pea Shoot Salad
These were really tasty. The spiciness of the sauce helped cut the fattiness of the duck confit. This was one of our favorite things. Our plate had arugula substituted for the pea shoots.
Crispy Calamari Fantasia
Dusted with Chick Pea Flour, Harissa Gastrique
Lemon Pepper Yogurt
We probably wouldn't have ordered this, but, well, it was named after a noted calamari critic. And this is the last time we'll order it. The squid was nicely cooked, but the chickpea flour wasn't crispy enough for us. And the yogurt was fine, but the harissa gastrique was strangely lacking oomph. It just wasn't our thing.
Round 2
Vegetable Series Two
Asian Vegetable Rolls, Ponzu Sauce
Tempura Haricot Vert
These were good in a mellow way. The veggies tasted really fresh and the sauce picked them up. The tempura green beans were very good -- delicately cripsy on the outside and all warm and bright green on the inside. We would have loved a whole plate of those.
Vegetables Series Three 5
Asparagus Francaise
White Truffle Aioli
We messed things up here. We intended to order "Vegetable Series One 5: Pressed Grilled Vegetable Tapestry, Smoked Mozzarella, Tapenade Vinaigrette," but something got mixed up and we ended up with the asparagus. We take total responsibility for it -- we probably weren't clear when ordering (it was a bunch of stuff). And even if we were clear, we didn't say "Oh, hey, that's asparagus, did we order asparagus?" when the plate came out. Our fault. And too bad. The asparagus was a little too limp for our liking. Not bad, just not for us.
Round 3
Spicy Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna
Pineapple Salsa, Tamarind BBQ Kimchee
This was good, but we couldn't help thinking it just missed, though. The tuna was great. The pineapple salsa was good (we would have liked a little more). But the kimchee was strangely mellow. And it didn't register as tamarind BBQ with us. One cool thing: the tuna was served on a slab of Himalayan salt.
Carpaccio of Beef
Balsamic Truffle Oil, Crispy Capers
Reggiano Shards, Baby Arugula
The beef was really nice -- it was sliced very thin and almost melted in your mouth. The cheese was extremely mellow -- we probably would have liked a bit more flavor from it. And our crispy capers kind of went missing.
Dessert
Strawberry Shortcake Roulade, Strawberry
Ice Cream, Macerated Strawberries
The good: it wasn't overly sweet -- heck it was barely sweet at all -- and the strawberries were allowed to be strawberries. The not-so-good: it was kind of bland.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Vanilla Bean
Rum Ice Cream, Dark Rum Caramel
This was great. The rum really played well with the pineapple and the cake was deliciously squishy. One of the best plates of the night.
Bonus
They sent us home with apricot tea cakes for the next day. They were delicious -- really moist with deep apricot flavor.
Atmosphere and Service
The dining room is upscale, but not stuffy. We sat in a booth, which was nice and cozy. The service was friendly, helpful, efficient and laidback.
Bottom line
We had a nice time. But many of the flavors were just a little too mellow for us. Admittedly, some of that had to do with our choices. On second consideration of the menu we would have ordered a few different things, probably swapping out the carpaccio for the foie gras and the calamari for the charcuterie. And, of course, we didn't order entrees. The appetizers and small plates might be mellow by design.
That said, we're happy Dale Miller -- both the chef and restaurant -- are in town. And we're looking forward to dining there again.
One other thing
As nice as this place is, it's not prohibitively expensive. We ordered six small plates, two desserts and one bar drink and the total was just $72.36 before tip. And we went away pleasantly full. That's really good for a restaurant like this.
Find It
Dale Miller
30 S. Pearl St
Albany, NY 12207
The entrance is off Beaver St
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Comments
This was the BEST dining experience I have ever had in Albany. period. My girlfriends and I did the same thing--ordering several appetizers and, yes, you should have had the foie gras. We were gushing over it all. Dale came out and hung with us for a bit making the whole evening memorable. It's unfortunate your experience wasn't as consistently good but it is so affordable (we even joked that the carpaccio was cheaper than wings at a sports bar), you can go back for more without breaking the bank. I love supporting Dale because it is so amazing to have a master chef in this area. He could've taken off but he's stayed loyal to Albany. Besides being an incredible chef, he's an amazing asset to downtown. That alone should keep people coming back.
... said CVonG on Jun 11, 2009 at 10:56 AM | link
Oooh, now I know where to go when I get a craving for carpaccio! And based on the above comment, I can afford it!
... said Jessica R on Jun 11, 2009 at 1:18 PM | link
We had a very similar take on Dale Miller. It was good, but it just didn't 'pop' the way we expected. It was like driving the base model of a really nice car... Just missing the little extras...
... said Sam on Jun 11, 2009 at 7:46 PM | link
I had pretty much the same experience... everything I ordered was bland. Not bad, just not enough flavor. I expected to be wowed. With the reputation Dale has, EVERYTHING on the menu should be incredible. You can't fault yourself for ordering the "wrong" item. That being said though, I'll give it another try.
... said cat on Jun 11, 2009 at 9:43 PM | link
I agree with the overall blandness of the items on the menu. After doing something similar and ordering 5 or 6 smaller dishes, with a dinner entree thrown in, nothing popped to me. I will probably not be back, I have my new favorite restaurant and I'm sticking with them!
... said Lola on Jun 12, 2009 at 9:41 AM | link
I've been twice and really enjoyed myself both times. The meat was cooked to perfection and the wine list has some great stuff on it. I also liked that you can order either a larger or small serving of any of their proteins. Leftovers are nice but I always feel silly taking more than half my plate home.
By the way Lola, what's your new favorite?
... said mirdreams on Jun 12, 2009 at 3:35 PM | link
@mirdreams: New World Bistro Bar on Delaware Av, next to Spectrum. Don't tell her I told you.
... said -S on Jun 12, 2009 at 5:13 PM | link
i agree. i found the menu to be kind of boring. just a copy from what he served at the Inn at Erlowest. what i did order was just okay, nothing spectacular. maybe thats why he got run out of the Inn at Erlowest. i'd give his new venture a B+.
... said michael davis on Jun 19, 2009 at 8:51 PM | link
We had my b-day dinner there last night. We had okay food. The appertizers were meh--we found that the oysters on 2/3 of the poached oyster appetizers were very tough and the appetizer itself, bland. Then, the maine lobster poached in butter was in a sauce that was overly sweet and spicy at the same time. At no point did they warn us that the lobster was going to be in that kind of sauce--a total crime against nature. The wine we ordered ($100.00 bottled) didn't arrive until after we had eaten appetizers, and that was only after we inquired about it (although the waiters were apologetic, the sommelier said nada...). And, the dessert, as I agree with what people said above, was just bland. Frankly, we were disappointed. We did have some hits--the steak, and banana dessert, but we won't be back.Wasn't worth the hype.
... said bdaygirl on Jul 12, 2009 at 10:45 AM | link
I went with a couple of friends from Boston the other evening and had their selections from The Discovery Menu.........LOVED everything except for the beet salad - but, that's only because I neither like beets nor brie.....in addition, the only real "negative" thing that I can say is that the dining room temperature is too warm.............
... said Wendy on Aug 16, 2009 at 11:46 PM | link