I had an amazing dinner tonight at Quiessence.  When we made the reservation they asked if we were celebrating anything; we were, so when we sat down we were given 3 glasses of complimentary champagne.  

We started with a plate of three delicious cheeses.  They have a huge selection of cheeses, probably about 20, and we chose a goat, a smoked gouda and a jack.  All delicious and served with crostini, perfectly melt-in-your-mouth bartlett pears, pecans, honey and quince paste.  Great start.

Our next course we shared two salads - an octopus carpaccio and field green salad.  Both good.

My main course was AMAZING.  It was heritage turkey with mashed potatoes and carrots.  I ate every bite.  SO flavorful.  My dad had a beef sirloin that was perfectly cooked and delicious with a side of fingerling potatoes.  My mom got swordfish.  It was not cooked properly when it first came out, but they promptly corrected the problem, so i can't fault them for that.

The ambience was great including a live but not distracting singer and a warm crackling fireplace.  In addition, I want to give big props to the servers for knowing everything about the food they served.  She knew where the fish was caught, how the beef was raised, what certifications the turkey farm had achieved.  It is great to be able to get those kind of answers with zero attitude when you ask the question.

My only reservations would be 1) definitely is "slow" food, maybe a tad too slow but so delicious it was worth it and they said they were short staffed and 2) i'm not sure i buy that their seafood is sustainable.  They served atlantic cod and atlantic swordfish.  My understanding is that both of these fish stocks are pretty severely depleted.  I asked and was told that the fisherman they buy from are committed to sustainable methods, but I'm not sure (personally, for me, at least) that it is possible to sustainably fish a stock that is in danger.

All in all though, a fantastic night and i can't wait to return!