Ruffino’s on the River | 921 Camellia Blvd Lafayette, LA | Facebook: @RuffinosontheRiver | Instagram & Twitter: @Ruffinos
DECADENT. RICH. DREAMY.
Ruffino’s on the River was recommended by the local community as a great place to have a nice dinner. And as a visitor to this wonderful city, I will second that recommendation!
I am always in search of a unique dining experience. So for an appetizer, I ordered the 48-hour braised pork cheek, Benton’s bacon jam, pork jus, & butternut squash puree. For my entrée I ordered the Sweet Tea Duck Breast- Maple Leaf duck, sweet potato puree, Abita root beer glazed candied pecans. And for my dessert, I ordered the Ricotta cheesecake – I have honestly never seen this before so I had to try it.
So…how was everything?
Well, the 48-hour braised pork cheek, Benton’s bacon jam, pork jus, butternut squash puree was to slap yo’ mama good! Whoa! Talk about tender! Talk about flavor on flavor on flavor! One touch of the fork and it falls apart, as it should. This bite was so dreamy. The pork cheeks alone were amazing but that bacon jam. That bacon jam added another note of robust mouthwatering flavor. Paired with the smooth rich and delicate sweetness of the butternut squash puree. It was a perfect bite of sweet and salty. I ate the last one for breakfast with some eggs at the hotel I was staying at. Normally I would not eat leftovers on a trip…but I was not letting a single piece of that go to waste!
YUM!
Having cooked the Maple Leaf Duck Breast at home, I was looking forward to my entree. The duck was a perfect medium rare. Duck is great with sweet flavors and this dish was no different. The root beer glaze and candied pecans were a great pairing with that perfectly smooth, rich buttery sweet potato puree. The only thing I would add would be maybe some garlicky haricot verts to help to balance the sweetness and offer a place of rest on your palate. But overall this was delicious and I would definitely order it again! And again!
I have never heard of ricotta cheesecake. And now that I have, I can’t find it anywhere else. I love ricotta cheese. This cheesecake was so rich and delicately flavored. And after an already sweet meal overall – this was a pleasantly semi-sweet surprise. The chocolate ganache was a perfect accompaniment to the actual cheesecake. I could just place a call-in for the cheesecake. Yes, I would do that… pork cheeks and cheesecake please. Ha! Mmm.
As I raved about my love for desserts…they brought out their bread pudding – on the house. Honestly, I am not one for bread pudding. It’s one of those things that you either love or you don’t. But I tried it. It had a slightly lighter texture and was not as sweet and heavy as the others I had tried. This was light and airy and had the perfect texture to sop up the white chocolate sauce and raspberry coulis. I would eat this bread pudding before I eat another one, seriously.
To my surprise they brought out a complimentary cotton candy at the end of the night. While my co-worker finished their beverage, I nibbled with delight. I am not a cotton candy person but something about this little puff was quite enjoyable…even after that large meal.
Ruffino’s on the River…I raise my fork to you! YUM! I’ll be seeing you again!
…still dreaming of those pork cheeks…
kellyemarie.com 