Bin 77 Bistro and Wine

I visited Bin 77 for Restaurant Week last night, and had a good--not great-- experience.

Firstly, I still did a high-ish rating because I don't know that I can fairly judge a restaurant during something like Restaurant Week. They are receiving a much higher volume than usual, and I've heard that the kitchen at this particular restaurant is quite small-- i.e. Not made for large influxes of customers at a time.

The menu was a fixed menu with options for each course. There was a $15 wine pairing option, which I opted for as well. The average glass of wine here is $11, so might as well pay $3 more and get three different wines. I had the duck beignets for the first course, which tasted great, but I honestly did not pick up on a lot of duck. It was more like a really good hushpuppy. This course was supposed to be paired with a vouvrey, but since I wanted the wine before ordering food, the helpful waitress selected a wine that she explained pairs well with every first course offering. It was a pinot noir. It was good, but I do wish I had let her know which first course I was going to choose, because the 2nd course that I chose was also paired with a pinot noir. Oh well.. no biggie. The wine with my first course was in a smaller glass and wasn't a full pour, but again, it was expected considering the low price.

For the second course, I selected the foie gras stuffed Mississippi quail. Outstanding. They really knocked it out of the park with this dish. The flavors were fantastic, and the portion was generous. It was paired with a pinot noir that was even better than the first one I had. It was also served in a large glass AND was filled to the correct spot in the glass.
My guests all got the beef tenderloin as their main course. One ordered medium.. one ordered med-rare.. and one ordered rare. They all came out medium. Everyone enjoyed the flavor (including myself when I tasted), but failing at desired temperature can be disappointing to the diner.

For dessert, I had the brulee cheesecake. I didn't really pick up any caramelized sugar that would make it brulee, but the cheesecake itself was very delicious. It was paired with a rose`, which to me, was a perfect pairing.

Overall, I think the place probably puts out better quality meals when they are not experiencing such a high numbers of customers, and I have to give them props for an original menu. It's hard to find places in BR that branch out of the norm.

This is by far one of my favorite places in town.  I was a little worried when Chef Blake left but the new menu/chef seem to be working out really well.  They kept most of the best items like the hummus w/pepperdews, meat & cheese w/feta cream cheese, steak & gruyere flatbread.  But there are a few new items that I really enjoyed...the fried oysters and okra with the most wonderful sauce ever...hint, it tastes like crawfish boil.  I also enjoyed the duck confit beignets...delicious!!  There were also a few misses...the beef carpaccio wasn't sliced thin at all and the pork belly wasn't cooked down as much as I would like so it was slightly fatty.  I still think everyone should try this place out.  If you like wine, they have a great selection and the food is good if you know what to order.

I love this place!  Thursday nights they have a 3 course tasting menu for $35 and that includes the wine pairing.  Also they change the menu each week.  This chef is amazing! For those who are foodies and/or wino's...this place is perfect for you.  The chef used to work at Charlie Trotters in Chicago and Per Se in New York.