Piperade's braised rabbit...mmm...rabbit...

Another dinner at Piperade last night. I wasn't too happy the last time I was there with Malik, Dave, Allison, and a few others. I was in the mood for something French while shopping at the new SOMA REI, so I decided to give them another chance.

We had the sheep's milk cheese and ham terrine and Endive salad with seasonal fruit to start, and shared a braised rabbit "Irouleguy" with prunes for dinner.

The gratin was wonderful, much less salty than the last time, so it married even better to the tangy frisee and sun dried tomato salad. And I still loved the contrast between the crunch of the crispy ham and the sheep's milk cheese.

The endive salad was delightful, with perfect chunks of crunchy endives, gorgeous and paper-thin sliced blushing pink radishes, grapes, and citrus, in a light vinaigrette. Fantastic.

And then there was the braised rabbit in Irouléguy red wine. It was divine. I have a soft spot for braised dishes, and this one was just hit the mark. “Irouléguy” is the name of a town in the Basque country, which lends its name to a light and fruity red wine produced there. This rabbit dish is presumably braised in said wine, perfectly I might add. The sauce was dark and tasty, with a slight note of sweetness from the prunes. It also had plenty of delicious mushrooms. The dish is a special for Thursday. I am thinking of returning every Thursday just for it.

We had a glass of Irouléguy and St.Estephe from the by the glass list. There were also very nice, though I prefer the St.Estephe.