Flint Creek Cattle Co.

Our original plan was to make our reservation at Flint Creek Cattle Co. at around 7:00pm.  However, we were doing a wine tasting at Percipio Wines in Bellevue.  We were enjoying ourselves so much (possibly due to the wine?), we didn't rush and ended up changing the rez to a later time.   We were rather famished by the time we got there at around 8:30pm.  Luckily, it wasn't too busy for a Sunday night.  Last time I was in Greenwood, I had a great tasting menu at Opus Co and since the area is known for many great restaurants, I was excited to try Flint Creek.

We started with the Anderson Ranch Lamb Tartare with cured lemon, rose petal harissa, radish, herbs, flat bread and dukkah spice. Normally, I find lamb tartare to be rather gamy (and I don't mind this), but this was seasoned so beautifully, the lamb was there, but not the only star.  There was a good balance of acidity, zestiness and spice.  As for the texture, the lamb was fairly tender with an appealing meatiness.  Surrounded by a bevy of Prosciutto San Daniel, we found nectarines, pistachio oil, saba, arugula and salt complimenting the buffalo milk burrata.  Even without the other ingredients, it was enjoyable to eat the prosciutto and fresh burrata on their own.  With that being said, the nuttiness of the pistachios and sweetness of the nectarines were good too.

Behold.  The piece de resistance was no doubt the 48 oz. Prime-Niman Ranch Porterhouse for $125.00  We asked for it to be prepared medium-rare and it was fairly inconsistently cooked.  Now, to be fair, this cut is difficult to nail due to the combination of both striploin and tenderloin steaks.  With that being said, you will notice that the tip of the steak was woefully overdone.  That part was not enjoyable to eat.  If we overlook that, the rest of the steak was superb being tender and full-flavored.  We decided to get one vegetarian side in the McEwen & Sons Heirloom Grits with maitake mushrooms, sherry jus and shaved grana padano. This was super tasty featuring creamy grits that were privy to the saltiness of the cheese and umaminess of the caramelized mushrooms.  Let's not forget about the sherry jus as it added some body.

We also got a pasta in the Wild Mushroom Bolognese with fresh radiatori, garlic, sage, nutmeg, liaison, parsley, pine nuts and parmesan.  This was surprisingly meaty despite the lack of meat.  The way they prepared the "bolognese" gave the dish body and umaminess.  I found the radiatori to be al dente and great for retaining the creamy sauce in its little crevices.  The next dish was not a pasta per se, but it did have a gnocchi component.  The Fennel Braised Wild Boar Shoulder was accompanied by garlic, sage, fennel sugo and the aforementioned parmesan potato gnocchi.  This was really good due to the appetizing richness of the boar as well as the gnocchi.  Normally, it is difficult to eat more than a few bites of a heavy dish, but this was not the case here as the umaminess was intoxicating.

For sweets, we didn't do much other than order the Molten Chocolate Cake with warm ganache, peanut ice cream and candied pecans.  Not a whole lot to say about the cake itself as it was pretty typical being moist with a creamy chocolaty center.  However, the peanut ice cream was so aromatic and purposefully sweet that it was good on its own.  Now that wasn't really true as the crunch from the pecans on top added both the necessary texture and extra sweetness.  Overall, I thought there were some real highlights including the boar and mushroom pasta.  However, the porterhouse was not prepared properly enough which was a downer.

The Good:
- Excellent service
- Some good dishes
- Nice vibe

The Bad:
- Porterhouse was very inconsistently prepared