Posts Tagged ‘Mayfair & Pine’
6 Courses of Pleasure Champagne and Sparkling Wine Dinner – A Celebration with Mayfair & Pine and Thibaut-Janisson
This dinner showcased how sparkling wines make flavors shine..
Top Chef Emily Sprissler
The meal began with an aperitif which was the sparkling wine served also with the first course – Virginia Fizz. It’s a good starter wine which is light, crisp and not too minerally and with a touch of sweetness to get your taste buds going! The first course was a delicious slightly sweet pumpkin soup that Chef Sprissler said was “like pumpkin pie in a bowl”..it also had a nice aromatic touch of truffle oil, this was a very nice starting dish. Afterward we had the goat cheese which were little balls (I thought they were quail eggs!) like Mozzarella bocconcini with a spicy tomato almost salsa which contrasted nicely – creamy/sweet to spicy/savory..and of course those little toast squares! The third course was Chef Emily Sprissler’s own take on the bar food she ate when she worked as a chef in London and had little money for food – The samosas had handmade puff pastry (once a rarity, but great chefs like Sprissler are really starting to raise their game – one of the things Foodies can credit to both the TV show Top Chef and the fact that chefs travel the world to perfect their craft). The first 3 courses were paired with Virginia Sparkling Wines by Thibaut-Janisson – the speaker for the first 3 VA wines was owner Claude Thibaut who explained about the challenges of growing grapes and making wine in Virginia’s climate vs. in the Champagne region of France.
The last three dishes were paired my Manuel Janisson who is the Champagne side of this wine producer – as you may or may not know, Champagne is actually a region and unlike American wines, the French tend to label according to region/appellation (like Bordeaux and Burgundy). Interestingly, it was difficult to tell the wines were French vs. Virginian – although acidity levels and minerality tend to be higher in the cooler region French Champagnes, these winemakers are so expert that they know how to make great wines from their respective vineyards.
6-Course Champagne Dinner Menu
*1ST COURSE*
Pumpkin Bisque
Thibaut-Janisson Virginia Fizz Blanc de Blancs NV, Virginia
*2ND COURSE*
Tomato Goat Cheese Napoleon
Thibaut-Janisson Cuvee d’etat 2008, Virginia
*3RD COURSE*
Samosa Pie with Date Sauce
Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay NV, Virginia
*4TH COURSE*
Lobster Béarnaise
Janisson et Fils Tradition Brut NV, Champagne
*5TH COURSE*
Braised Short Ribs
Francois de Rozay Brut NV, Champagne
*6TH COURSE*
Chocolate Pear Tart
Janisson et Fils Brut Rose NV, Champagne
A Multi-Chef Event with Star Power in DC
Great Shindig at the Ron Reagan Building!
Capital Food Fight on Monday, October 8th, 2012 was a culinary party for DC’s Foodie Elite! This impressive event had a Sold-Out Turnout of around 1,500 people tasting, imbibing and nibbling on 2 Levels of the Ronald Reagan Building. What makes this event so different from many multi-chef events in DC was the Star Power draw of some big name Chefs and Foodie Stars: Anthony Bourdain, Padma Lakshmi, Carla Hall (DC’s own!), Andrew Zimmern and of course DC’s own infamous Jose Andres put on a show for the crowd around the cooking competition between 4 Battling DC Chefs:
Chef Jeffrey Buben -Vidalia, Bistro Bis
Chef Enzo Fargione – Elisir
Chef Guillermo – Pernot – Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar
Chef Adam Sobel – Bourbon Steak
And the Winner is..
Chef Buben!
I have to admit – I was so focused on tasting many of the 60 Restaurant’s dishes at the event, that I barely paid attention to the cooking competition – I’m a professional taster, and that’s what I do at these events – Taste! the list of restaurants was quite impressive, here’s the list of about 60 – Capital Food Fight Restaurants .
Ohh, and here are the dishes served:
1789 • House-made ricotta with fresh figs & Wildflower Honey
Adour • Lobster salad with cauliflower & céleri rémoulade, assorted macaroons & al tiramisu
American Tap Room • Bourbon barrel stout braised wild boar with pumpkin butter & pickled vegetables
Argia’s Italian • Duck confit, bean ragout with crostini
Art and Soul • Louisiana crawfish étouffée, preserved lemon, brown jasmine rice & scallions
Bandolero • Red snapper tostada – really woke up my tastebuds and refreshing with a good dose of salt to bring out the fish and other flavors!
Bar Pilar/Café St. Ex • Wagyu brisket chili with farmhouse cheddar cheese & scallions – Wagyu is so wonderfully soft fat on the palate and really made this comfort food dish work.
Belga • Celery waffle with orange duck in cotton candy – I didn’t feel like waiting in line – the cotton candy just got so much attention – food as entertainment I guess!
BLT Steak • Tuna tartar
Blue Duck Tavern • Mushroom tart
Boqueria • Roasted market carrots with yogurt, marcona almonds, citrus vinaigrette & cilantro
Boundary Road • House-made sausage & pretzel rolls
Carmine’s • Meatballs & eggplant parmigiana – funny how the most basic foods get oohs and aahs at this event.
Cava Mezze • Short rib stifado with roasted pearl onions & sunchoke puree
Central Michel Richard • Salmon croquet monsieur
Cuba Libre • Scallop tiradito with compressed strawberry, roasted corn, salpicon/sweet potate & micro celery – interesting how a fruit like strawberry brings out other flavors so well – this worked.
Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato • Lemon ricotta cardamom & cementine sorbetto
Elisir • Gorgonzola panna cotta eggshells with candied celery – great presentation and creamy, delicious dish.
Equinox • Truffled fontina & slow cooked cabbage with roasted chanterelles
Et Voila • Endive soup with hazelnut oil & roasted hazelnuts
Evening Star • Pumpkin soup
Good Stuff Eatery • Toasted marshmallow shake
Graffiato • Cured sardines & broccolini with preserved lemon & aged balsamic – sardines definitely wake up the senses at a crowded event like this.
iCi Urban Bistro • Rosemary duck confit rillettes with pickles on toasted baguettes
Indique • Crab papad roll
Jackson 20 • South Texas antelope carpaccio, mole de Colorado, local radishes & pickled tomatoes
Kaz Sushi Bistro • Mini temaki (sushi hand rolls)
Lebanese Taverna • Sliced lamb loin with pastry & lebneh
Lincoln • Braised short rib with bone marrow jam, pickled shallots & black pepper truffle biscuits
Masa 14 • Fried steam buns with Korean lamb barbeque
Mie N Yu • House-made pho with duck breast
Oyamel • Salpicon de reshilled, shredded beef, pickled onions, tomatoes & chipotle chiles
PJ Clarke’s • P.J’s mini burgers
Policy • Brisket sliders with oven roasted tomatoes, sunny side up quail egg, caramelized onions & black truffle mayo
Rappahannock River Oysters • Rappahannock River oysters & Olde Salt oysters
Ripple • House-made Lamb mortadella, squash mustard & beet juice – yep, it looked like mortadella!
Santa Lucia Coffee • Coffee
Taberna del Alabardero • Tomato surprise stuffed with anchovies
Taco Bamba • Pork tenderloin burrito, grilled avocado, white beans & picked jalapeno pistachio vinaigrette
The Federalist Duck • Sausage with mustard pickled cabbage
The Majestic • Sashimi, rockfish with soy-yuzu vinaigrette, daikon, ginger, cilantro & sesame seeds
Westend Bistro • Fennel smoked trout with apple cranberry chutney, saffron aioli & angel hair potato crisps
Hank’s Oyster • Oysters on the half shell with saki ginger mignonette
Gristmill • Shrimp & grits
Jackie’s • Local lamb stuffed nora pepper with smoked tomato
Shake Shack • Frozen custard
Taylor Gourmet • Hoagies & salads
And of Course lot’s of Media Coverage:
Article by Washington Business Journal’s Miss Frederick
Jessica Sidman for City Paper – 4 Memorable Moments from Capital Food Fight (Note: she mentions the man who paid $1,000 to eat Iberico ham off Padma Lakshmi’s collar bone!)
“Where Did That Iguana Come From?” in the City Paper
