Duck Duet at Gallerie
A few weeks after my excellent lobster roll lunch at Gallerie, the new restaurant at the Downtown Hilton, I made it back for dinner and continued to be impressed by the quality of food. Two dishes stood out in particular--this fantastic Duck Duet and the Bistro Salad, one of the best house salads in town.
So, the duck. Duck is featured on many an upscale menu, but generally it's a roasted breast sliced into little ovals, drizzled in some sort of sauce. Decent but underwhelming. Chef Bill Glover takes a different approach here, pairing a few pieces of juicy seared breast with an amazingly tender confit leg/thigh. The crackly-skinned leg is far and away the best duck preparation I've had in Columbus. And that glistening red tangle on top? That's red cabbage marmalade--and it'll change the way you think about cabbage forever. It's so sticky-sweet I kept forgetting I was eating something that started its life as a vegetable.
Also, you must order the Bistro Salad before any meal. I'm somewhat of a salad fanatic; my boyfriend not so much. I've never seen him get this excited about vegetables. It probably helps that it's a classic frisee salad, which means it's topped with bacony lardons and a poached egg.
Gallerie at the Hilton
401 N. High St., Short North
614-384-8600