Omnivore - Fat Friday: One Eared Stag

• James Camp
• Soft shell crab at One Eared Stag

My Fat Friday dinner friends and I visited the One Eared Stag last week. I liked the meal as much as those at my earlier visits.

A standout this time was a not-so-small plate of sliced burrata in creme fraiche, topped with pea tendrils. Actually eating the creamy, ultra-rich blend, punctuated with spikes of red pepper and lemon, was a bit confusing. It was too goopy for a fork and the restaurant doesn’t provide bread with it. We did ask for some toast, which made eating it simpler, although I’ve got to admit it was best straight-up.

Another standout was the roasted Vidalia onion with crumbled Cabrales cheese, an intense blue cheese from Spain, and pistachios. I think the Cabrales was a bit sharp for the sweet onion, but I love both of them.

I ordered the whole grilled sardines as my entree, rich and and sweetly piquant with Meyer lemon and black garlic, topped with arugula. I insisted that a sardine-hater at the table have a taste. He did, but his feelings about sardines remained unchanged. “Too fishy,” he said. Whatever.

My Friday lunchtime friends and I headed like Pavlov-trained diners to our usual spot: Eclipse di Luna. I had piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese and a sandwich stuffed with serrano ham and manchego cheese. Always reliable.