The Admiral
Buttermilk Fried Quail – Purple Potato Salad, Compressed Watermelon, Texas Pete Syrup, Celery Salad
Roman Gnocchi – Grilled Octopus, Pecorino, Bagna Cauda, Kale Chips
Sweetbreads – Baked Juusto Cheese, Caramelized Peach, Honey-Sesame Gastrique, Smoked Almond
House Smoked Duck – Roasted Poblano Coulis, Smoked Fingerlings, Blackberry Marmalade, Salty Peanuts, Fennel Salad
Chocolate Semifreddo with Cocoa Chantilly, Peanut Butter Ganache, Peanuts, Maraschino Cherry Reduction / Seared Blueberries and Plums, Short Dough, Candied Pistachio, Basil Ice Cream, Sweet Egg Yolk / Coconut Brulee with Coconut Leche and Sea Salt
Located in an unassuming cinderblock building and every bit as divey as some of the bars in the small northwest Ohio town where I grew up one could say that the team at The Admiral achieved their goal of creating “an unexpected restaurant that thrived on its talent and creativity” simply by the fact that there were folks lined up to dine there the moment the doors opened at 5:00pm but emerging from the small restaurant after a five course meal approximately 90 minutes later I’ll also note that the line was far too short because in places like New York or San Francisco people would be arriving an hour early to experience Ivan Candido’s cuisine and the restaurant’s unexpectedly excellent service. Beginning with fried quail paired with a veritable summer cookout of sides and progressing through bits of gnocchi and pieces of octopus nearly equal in tenderness beneath a veil of briny bagna cauda the meal started off beautifully and remained on course through tender, creamy sweetbreads finding their foil in sweet peaches and honey before culminating in an immense leg of crispy duck standing erect alongside smoke and sweet, aromatic and salty – a progression of savories on par with some of the best I’ve had this year and a good sign of the trio of desserts that would follow, each impeccably balanced and even the brulee far more interesting than would be expected, a pure coconut flavor without pronounced sweetness punctuated by the salted caramelized coconut top.
