THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Taurus

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Taurus Restaurant Review:

Smart design with immediate eye-appeal yields a room banded in rich woods with a clerestory that captures the blue sky above. Seating arranged in pods offers upholstered banquettes and quite comfortable chairs. The noise level is tempered, yet the place doesn't feel like a tomb. Styled like a chophouse, Taurus presents fish, steaks and chops, and a daily changing special that sometimes offers grass-fed beef. Fish is beautifully prepared here, with a light hand on sauces and minimal cooking---just enough to bring its flavors to the forefront. At lunch, the "Three Martini" meal presents small portions of dishes in martini glasses. We're mad for the ten-vegetable salad, lightly glistening with walnut oil dressing. Crunchy, satisfying and fresh tasting, its specific contents will vary with the seasons. Barbecued duck on puréed sweet potato, one of Mennie's favorite veggies, or hanger steak with a tomato bread salad could be a second choice. For dessert, your martini glass could come filled with a roasted banana bread pudding perched atop a base of sweet milk chocolate or a simple panna cotta. At dinner, the sweet factor is accomplished by offering small morsels costing just $4, but more than adequate to finish the meal with a special touch. The wine list presents a wide variety of choices, from big bruising California wines with high alcohol to more interesting selections from Alsace and Austria. Some rosés would go with this food, but Mennie's audience may not agree---so that's why there's only one, and it's a sparkler.