Hill has not happened anymore: “I organized my awards; if others can, so can I.”

In fact, I rewarded myself (and my family members: a friend and two puppies) by setting the table with treats from the restaurant. There was not only red carpet (we have parquet), but photography (behold, you can find the entire gallery next to this article) and there was luxury and good humor.

Because, you know, weekly restaurant inspections are one of the few joys besides walking through the woods and taping shows.

Those who read the reviews of my restaurants here on the portal DelphiEvery Sunday, you’ve probably noticed that I usually order food with home delivery, but in this case I went to the MEAT restaurant (although they also deliver via Bolt) and brought the food as a courier. Messengers are a profession that we don’t even think about necessitating, but some of them have become almost personal friends when life goes on remotely. And the mail now sends me like a house of prayer: you come, say the password, you get a blessing. Or you scan the tag, the door opens, you put on the victim. Here for you: reflection on the changed functions and rituals of our social life.

So to the restaurant. I wrote about MEAT a long time ago, five wonderfully long years have passed. I have been there many times, most of the picnics were very successful, I still miss the weekend breakfast with almost tears in my eyes. MEAT is a more traditional work, or, as they say in trendy, mainstream and old-fashioned chef Liutauras Čeprackas (the gastronomy tasting is in his “Gastronomy”, which awaits the end of the quarantine “).

I ordered a lot of everything, and I will say it right away, according to the recommendation of Liutauras Čeprackas (no, he did not eat, I paid myself). Why do I ask the owner what he can recommend? Is it because I know Čeprack and can? Not at all. I always ask anyway (when I don’t know the boss, I ask through the waitress). You can always do the same. And each chef will advise you.

I always want the restaurant to show itself at its best, and I never go with the intention of consuming, working and making fun. If I could, I would always write only about those restaurants that are great, safe, and successful. Unfortunately, sometimes I also flirt with others.

Often the problem is that not all restaurants have a good side, and some don’t know which one is good, and it’s starting to fade that here, you know, everyone can have something different based on taste. If the restaurant itself doesn’t know which side of them is strong and which side is weak, it is a sign that it will probably not be very good there.

Do you know how to test a good boss? Ask him that his menu is the weakest dish that he plans to change or wants to fix. Every good chef has a dish like that, and when he corrects it, there is another that needs to be corrected or replaced because a good chef is constantly in the process of improvement. Only losers are happy with everything.

If you were to ask me what is my weakest book and what are my ten worst articles, I would tell you right away.

Of what Liutauras recommended, the only dish I couldn’t agree with was a entrecote (€ 19). Yes, the price is very low, and in many restaurants it would be great, but in Čeprack’s world of strong and expressive tastes, the environment dwarfed it; or even steaks are not very good dishes for travel. Or maybe I’m spoiled by those steaks that go straight out of the pan, rested for a minute, and just filled with red beef steam and bright juice.

That the restrictions end sooner, and if we are already writing about the restrictions, that someone finally understands in the Government that restaurants are the places where the risk is lower, where it is more controlled, where hygiene requirements are better known and where the human flows are precisely controlled,

And yet, I tell you, restaurants are a sign and guarantor of our civilization, of our social life, of our Western orientation; set requirements, set distances if you want, enter tests, but finally let people work and enjoy life. Because otherwise you will get massive disobedience campaigns and illegal restaurants.

Let’s go back to our luxurious lunch. I will pay attention to exceptionally good and proper packaging: not cheap plastic boxes (plastic, if any, must be suitable, strong and with good thermal insulation properties), everything is very clearly marked, not even marked, but written, and especially the fun jars that contain both tartare and foie gras and desserts. Take it in your hands and you know there will be one thing and one thing here, everything is serious here.

The nail of the party was, without a doubt, a tartar (also called hood), 8 euros. Here was a Mexican variant: pleasantly spicy, with pico de gallo (like Mexican sauce, also called fresh sauce or raw sauce, that is, fresh sauce with finely chopped tomatoes and onions, and also bell pepper, “pico de gallo” in Spanish means pico de gallo) and chipotle sauce (smoked pepper) and yet with corn chips, which have an abundance of flavor similar to the store chips you know multiplied by five. This abundance of oil gives it a lot of flavor. My friend said that sometime she would want to order some of those tartars and eat only with those tartars, they are so wonderful to her. I admit it, and I say it sometimes about the dishes, and for me, that’s the best rating. He is one of the best Tatars in the world, I say with my hand on my heart, well, or where the heart should be.

The foie gras, pate (9.50 EUR) was also in that glass jar, it was with black currant jelly on top (and those black currants reminded me of my childhood in Kaunas, my grandmother always had black currant bushes, boiled from they (and cherries too) jams, and I had dinner with white cottage cheese), and with mustard grains, and that pate was creamy and very tender, and there was still bread to spread. Anyway, simple and expensive food, such a modest luxury and nothing accidental, which is very important to me. One thing that is characteristic of the Čeprack kitchen: nothing is added to you anyway, nothing is without reason. Every ingredient strives to have some flavor. And no embellishments are added just for the sake of the image – everything should have a flavor function.

The veal burger with bacon, cheese and arugula jam (11 EUR) was as good as a homemade burger (I have already written, and in some detail why the burger is not suitable for transport: the contrast in temperature and consistency disappears : https: / /www.delfi.lt/maistas/laukines-zasys/uzkalnis-ragavo-brangius-burgerius-kurie-isiutino-lietuva.d?id=86369457). And, I have to say, the arugula (don’t call it gingerbread, that word can’t be pronounced) insulated the top bun well and didn’t let it get too wet. Another burger won because it was not loose but solid, with solid structures and kept in shape. And the meat was very high quality and would get the same intense flavor that I was missing from the entrecote.

The Stewed Shrimp with Butter (€ 11.80) was a triumph of French cuisine: yes, much of the legend of French cuisine is the abundance of butter, but isn’t that so bad? Butter gives a lot of flavor. If you think you can fry with a little cheap oil too, try the butter next time and you will see how it replaces the dishes. And the shrimp themselves were exemplary, drut, as from the show.

Mashed potatoes with truffle oil (3 EUR) – and I already ordered this dish myself, not according to Liutauras advice, but just because in our family we have almost everything with mashed potatoes or mashed potatoes – it was good, but I was probably not surprised by the abundance of flavor; although I am tremendously addicted to this dish, pampered at home, and still in “Vasos”, where this mashed potato is made according to a recipe by Joël Robuchon, the best chef of the 20th century. One of the secrets is the inhuman amount of butter.

The colorful fried carrots with honey and fennel seed glaze (4 EUR) was another proof for me that carrots can be delicious. Multicolored carrots are all the rage in great western kitchens for the last decade. Since I was little I hated carrots, it was a boring and tough vegetable for me, and I only liked carrot juice. Here Čeprack shows what a luxury dish can be like.

And I also ordered Portobello mushrooms fried in garlic butter (4 EUR) – they have been in the MEAT restaurant since the restaurant opened. The butter starts and wins, the garlic adds even more flavor, and while I admit that the fried mushrooms don’t benefit from the trip, I’ll order them again.
The desserts (vanilla creme brulee and coconut pancake with morengi chips on top, both at € 4.90 each) were fantastic, so great that I also liked the desserts because they met the two most important criteria for me: not too sweet and cool enough. How do desserts suit Užkalnis? Like British architects they once built a seven star hotel in Dubai. The interior had a task: as much luxury as possible. The architects tried to look like they had let go of all the reins and made an exploding fairytale palace with waterfalls and ornaments on the project. Customers looked around, said everything was fine, just triple the luxury, and we did.

Me too with the recipes. Make it as cool as you can and then multiply the freshness by three to whisk with acid and cold. That is what has been achieved here.

Lunch costs € 83.10. Since I was carrying myself, there was no need for tips.

Five out of five geese, and I repeat, may the quarantine end soon.

MEAT, Juozapavičiaus st. 13, Vilnius. Tel. +370 612 35200.

Website and orders: https://eshop.meat.lt/

Thursday from 11:00 to 19:30. Friday from 11:00 to 20:00. Saturdays from 12 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays from 12:00 to 18:00.