Wow. This restaurant blew my mind and is definitely one of my top five favorites. Lantern was named by Gourmet as one of America's top 50 restaurants and has won many awards.
We made reservations for 8 p.m. in the main dining area, but we scored a table in the back bar so we were quite happy. The bar area is dark, lit by lanterns and has a very cool vibe.
We enjoyed delicious cocktails including Hibiscus Petal (hibiscus-infused vodka, fresh lime juice and Thai basil) and Junebug (Pimm's, fresh ginger & lemon soda and cucumber). As for appetizers, we had crispy local okra with Indian spices and hot tomato chutney along with a crab cake special.
The main event was fireworks. Hank had a barbecued local pork chop, and I had the sea scallop special. I was especially obsessed with my dish. The scallops were perfect, the leeks with ham were innovative and the jasmine rice was a great compliment to the amazing broth - just look at it! Then there was dessert... We indulged on a bruleed local fig sundae with creme fraiche ice cream, pistachio cream, spiced red wine caramel and toasted pistachios. There are no words. I feel lucky to have a restaurant the caliber of Lantern so close to home.
