Fifth Anniversary at the Frog Leg Inn

For various reasons we always celebrate our anniversary with dinner at the Frog Leg Inn in Erie, Michigan. Yesterday our fifth anniversary was no exception. However, exceptions were made in that the Inn had started an updated menu on Tuesday so we were able to try a couple new additions to the resaturant’s offerings …

Baked Brie (appetizer)
A small round brie stuffed with cranberry grape compote and wrapped in puff pastry and fired in our oven.

I’ve had Chef Tad’s baked brie dishes for a couple years now, so this addition to the menu wasn’t a big surprise. What was surprising to Mary and I was the creaminess of the cheese inside the puff pastry. In that filling, the cranberry grape compote added just the right amount of sweetness while the crunchiness of the baked puff pastry added a nice balance to the texture of the dish.

Magret de Canard
Tender duck breast pan seared and served in port wine demiglace and pan drippings. Garnished with sautéed spinach and parsnip-infused mashed potatoes.

Chef Tad really likes to play around with variations on duck and duckling. I’ve seen him and Jeremiah serve duck smoked in the restaurant’s own smoker to parties enjoying one of Tad’s Chef’s Tables, and the Secretary of the Interior on a visit to the La-Z-Boy Center in Monroe. In this dish, where the menu describes it as “tender” it’s more like “Melt-in-the-mouth”. The server had brought a steak knife with the dish (having not served it before) and I made sure to point out the knife was entirely unnecessary! Again, the sweetness of the port wine demiglace is a great contrast to the flavor of the duck. Swirling the potatoes in the sauce, then picking up a slice of duck breast … that’s the best way to enjoy this dish.

Pork Normandy
A hand-cut pork rib chop combined with sautéed apples and imported mushrooms. We then flambé it with brandy and finish with heavy cream and butter.

While not a new dish at the restaurant, Mary’s serving of Pork Normandy was something we hadn’t tried before. This massive pork rib chop was incredibly tender all the way to the bone, and quite flavorful. The combination of the sautéed apples and mushrooms in the cream sauce also made for a nice side dish on its own, one we couldn’t seem to stop snacking on!

Did we have a good time? You betcha!