Local favorite's new partner is a stunner

By ANA M. WAGNER
News Special Writer

Nobody likes being upstaged by their little sister. Usually precocious and adorable, she has no trouble charming guests with her cuteness. Cuteness, however, is not a term one would associate with The Earle Uptown. Indeed, this newborn sibling to longtime Ann Arbor favorite The Earle is a sophisticated lady, easily outdoing her big brother in elegance and offering guests plenty to adore.

Forget the red-brick walls and wine-cellar coziness of Washington Street - The Earle Uptown, inside the tony Bell Tower Hotel, is a study in splendor, its peach and ivory interior the ideal backdrop for the crystal chandeliers and exquisite orchids accentuating the dining area. Soft jazz adds to the intimate ambiance, and the natty staffers greet and treat guests as though they were nobility.

The wine list features an extensive selection of imported and domestic vintages assembled by award-winning sommelier Steve Goldberg. Grouped by color, region, and variety, the list can be overwhelming, especially when the Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1983 Paulliac catches the eye at $350 per bottle. Fortunately, the wait staff can make excellent recommendations for bottle or glass.

The restaurant's menu can also seem daunting, for most of the offerings and all of the categories are in French. English descriptions accompany each listing, though, so that guests understand what the ris de veau is before a plate of sweetbreads in puff pastry is placed before them.

Developed by Executive Chef Shelley Caughey Adams, the menu changes seasonally but always focuses on traditional and modern French cuisine. The summer menu, for example, has featured such standards as pate, bouillabaisse and coquilles St. Jacques, as well as Adams' own creations.

We began our meal with Adams' champignon grille, a grilled portabella mushroom unlike any I've ever sampled. Thinly sliced and lightly dressed with a roasted pepper-rosemary vinaigrette, the delectable portabella seemed more London broil than mushroom.

More mushrooms followed in the champignons sauvages salad: mixed greens accompanied by a wondrous melange of wild mushrooms, sauteed and served warm with balsamic dressing. I've never had a mushroom melt in my mouth until I tried these. We also ordered the salade vert au celeri-rave, more tossed greens but this time topped with julienned celery root tossed in a Dijon vinaigrette. Light and crunchy, the celery root salad left us eager for more.

We were disheartened to learn that both soups - a shrimp bisque and an asparagus puree - had already run out, but the entrees were all available. The Earle Uptown offers three cuts of steak - a 20-ounce Porterhouse, a 14-ounce New York Strip, and a 14-ounce Delmonico - cooked to order, with a choice of Roquefort, soubise (onion), or horseradish cream sauces. The restaurant also offers such side dishes as pommes Dauphines (a fancy potato puff), sauteed asparagus, and sauteed wild mushrooms. Reminiscing about my childhood in France, I ordered the pommes frites but, rather than being the flavorful potatoes of my youth, these were sad, expensive excuses for French fries. The leeks with cardamom and cream, however, were divine, on their own and accompanying the tournedos au cognac poivre, a heavenly slice of beef tenderloin served with cracked pepper, mushrooms, and a cognac sauce.

Surprisingly, for such a veggie-friendly community as Ann Arbor, The Earle Uptown offers only one vegetarian entree - stuffed artichoke with grilled vegetables. The artichoke itself was nondescript, but the thin slices of grilled eggplant, carrot, and squash were out of this world.

For dessert, the seven sweets offered were the stars of the entire menu. All of the desserts, down to the sorbets and ice creams, are made from scratch. Despite a trio of tempting chocolate concoctions, we ordered the warm apple tart and the frozen hazelnut souffle. Deceptively small, the apple tart was packed with juicy flavor. The accompanying clove ice cream complemented the fruit perfectly, although the caramel sauce clung too fiercely to the plate to enjoy. The frozen souffle, however, took center stage. Subtly flavored and topped with a sprinkle of crunchy praline, it towered over the ramekin that contained it. Light, sweet, and utterly sophisticated, it - and The Earle Uptown - would make any big brother proud.