Cuisine:

• American
• Contemporary

Custom House Description:
There's a warm, earthy vibe to this Printer's Row dining room, thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows hung with gauzy curtains, flagstone details and intimate booths and banquettes. Start in the lounge with Swan Creek deviled eggs made lively with house-pickled relish and Aleppo pepper or tasty beef tartare, which is a pleasant textural contrast to the melba toast on which it resides. To our dismay, impossibly fresh oysters, however, are overcome by acidic mignonette. When you're ready to retire to the dining room (chef Aaron Deal has departed the restaurant)---larger groups should ask for the secluded, semi-circular banquette---get the smoky escarole greens, a garlicky, modern take on the Caesar with winter radishes and a soft-boiled hen egg in anchovy dressing. Kingfish confit isn't to be missed: it's ethereal and light with shavings of baby fennel, olives and Cara Cara oranges. Duck rice goes all out when foie gras is folded into the mix. Boneless saddle of rabbit with rabbit sausage, bacon and Sea Island peas takes comfort to the extreme. Pastry chef Bryce Caron's compositions are no less intriguing. We especially enjoy the tender cube of brown butter cake with hazelnuts, a whirl of pine nut oil and huckleberry aigre-doux.