Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, USA

We tried the Friulano menu at Frasca in Boulder recently. The atmosphere was quiet, somewhat formal but not quite stuffy. There was a table at the center of the restaurant where the sommelier tasted wines (adjacent to the bar, but oddly not at the bar). Here's what we had:

1. Farinata with Squash + Oyster in Saor, Pine Nut, Smoke & Tomato Vinegar + Polenta Puff on Lamb Tartare topped with Cheese: The 3 bites were a fun way to start the meal. We love oysters but the Polenta Puff was the best bite here. A little gritty (in a good way), crunchy, cheesy, savory & meaty.
2. Buckwheat Bomboloni Stuffed with Ricotta Cheese + Ossetra Caviar on Creamed Corn: The bomboloni was essentially a warm savory donut that stole the show. The fragrance made our mouths water while our server described the food.
3. Same thing, with the caviar spooned in it. The caviar was honestly unnecessary here, but fun.
4. Tuna, Cucumber, Pickled Watermelon Granita: Cold, refreshing & herby. This was good.
5. Sourdough with Hand Churned Butter: Tasty & they offered us multiple servings. We weren't wowed by it though; we'd had better sourdough that day from a grocery store.
6. Risotto with Cheese Foam, Corn Grits & a Black Truffle Bubble: The bubble was fun to pop – black truffle sauce came bursting out. The textures were fun, but the dish was not overly flavorful.
7. Potato Gnocchi with Venison Ragu, Cherry & Yarrow: This dish was disappointing. The gnocchi was large & dry. The venison was barely discernable. I guess it was pretty though.
8. Duck with Ajvar, Green Strawberry "Olive" & Olive "Caviar": The green strawberry "olive" was pickled & savory and fun to compare with the olive "caviar" bubbles. Duck was decent – the skin wasn't crispy but the meat was juicy.
9. Ribeye with Squash, Cherry Tomatoes & Blossoms: Meat tasted great. Squash had very little flavor. I don't remember what that sauce was.
10. Peach Sorbet or Ice Cream on Meringue with Sliced Peaches & Lemon Verbena: This was flavorful & the lemon verbena packed a citrus-herby punch. The meringue was a fun texture too. We loved this.
11. Strawberry "Tomato" with Soursop, Buffalo Yogurt & Purple Basil: The plating looked a little sloppy to me but boy did this taste good! The strawberry basil flavor was sharp & sweet. The stem was an actual tomato stem so we didn't eat it.
12. Same thing, after the first bite.

For $215/person at 1 Michelin Star restaurant, we weren't disappointed but not wowed either. The dishes were small – we barely got full from 2 servings of bread. Some dishes tasted great but didn't look as refined. Some dishes looked great but lacked flavor. The service & ambiance was good, but not amazing. Our servers weren't in a rush but there were many of them & they would serve the dish, give the description & leave. It was good service, but a little cold & impersonal. Overall, we gave it a B-.