Big and rich is the best way to describe a recent dinner at this upscale but casual Ballston dining room. An appetizer of coquilles St. Jacques—meaty scallops and maitake mushrooms blanketed in a thick, Gouda-laden sauce—was fabulous but very filling. An apple salad would have been a nice counterpoint, except it was heavy on blue cheese. Then came a coconut-milk-based seafood stew, presented in a large pumpkin. It had a nice kick, but the portion seemed supersized for the dish’s creaminess. A delicious banana pudding and a sugary pineapple upside-down cake didn’t lighten things up. The lesson: You can eat really well here—as long as you pace yourself.
