This Entry Extraordinarily Filled to the Brim With Superlatives
Last night's dinner was exquisite.
Here is a rundown with pictures and descriptions. mmm...decadence...mmm
So let's set the scene...Dusty's has a main section, and the Tuscany Room where we had the Tapas and Tasting. And then they have another banquet room, where we gathered for the $100 a person dinner. Here's what it looked like before anybody showed up (we arrived about 20 minutes early and were the first ones there):
There were three tables like that. It was a very nice setup. Here's the wall across from where I was sitting:
Which is really just a fancy server's station. Claire's boss and her husband were there and we had great times chatting it up with them.
OK. On to the food! and wine! and superlatives!
Menu & Wine Pairings
FIRST COURSE
Dungeness Crab Salad on Toasted Baguette Croute
with Arugula Microgreens, Meyer Lemon Mousse and Pesto Oil
The crab salad was a great start to the evening. It was very light, didn't taste too crabby and had nice texture. The toasted baguette was a nice part of the dish for a little crunch.
Mayacamas Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2005:
A note about the wines...we got about 1/4 to a 1/3 of a glass of each, which was a little disappointing, actually. They did tiny refills on a couple of the selections but not on the Pinot Noir. There was a representative from the Winery at the dinner, and frankly I could have done without her. She was long-winded, told dumb jokes, and was generally intolerable. Everything else about the evening was fantastic, right up until the very end where Wine Rep. Melissa plays the part of "spoiler." More on that in a moment. Another disclaimer, I am not an official wine taster. I like wine. I have consumed a fair share of wine in my life but my palatte is not incredibly sophisticated, nor are the terms that I will use to describe the wines I've tasted. LAY ON.
The sauvignon blanc was a good start to the evening. It was very light, almost clear, and it was very easy on the mouth. Possibly the best part about it was the gentle aftertaste. That's really where started to notice the hand-craftedness of these wines. We all enjoyed drinking it, but then we all commented that it wasn't the taste that separated it, but the aftertaste that was left lingering. I wrote down "very light, very smooth, great aftertaste."
SECOND COURSE
Butter Poached Filet of Alaskan Halibut over
Toasted Giant Couscous Salad with Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette
Halibut is probably my favorite fish, and this was unbelievably good. It arrived yesterday morning and Chef Kevin said he just poached it with butter and sprinkled a little vinaigrette on it for a hint of bite. It was so delicious. Again, not very fishy, perfectly complimented with the mustard vinaigrette and the couscous was a great touch for texture.
Mayacamas Vineyard Chardonnay 2000
The chardonnay was my 2nd favorite wine of the night and I don't generally like chardonnay. It was stone cold buttery. It was a light yellow, not quite sweet but sweeter than the blanc. We bought a bottle. Much was made about how this was a 2000 vintage that was brought out of the "library" as a limited release just to prove a point that Mayacamas wines really stand up over time and that whites can carry age in a similar fashion as reds.
THIRD COURSE
Sliced Magret Duck Breast
on Creamy Polenta with Roasted Morels and Pomegranate Reduction
The duck was my favorite course of the dinner, partially because I'm allergic to poultry and I love living on the edge, and partially because it was so unbelievably tasty I wished that I had a few additional servings of it. I also think it benefitted from the best wine pairing of the evening. Turns out that I didn't have a reaction to the duck, bringing the score to Processed Poultry: eleventy billion; Organic Chicken: 0; Free-range Turkey: 0; Duck of unknown origin: 0; My body: 3
Everyone commented on how good the polenta was and I loved the pomegranate reduction. I have to learn how to do that because I'd love to serve up some morels and some pork tenderloin with an amazing reduction.
Mayacamas Vineyard Pinot Noir 2004
This was the best wine of the night. It was a very limited supply, and they didn't even do refills. There was a disease that swept through the vineyard the season after this pinot was harvested, so it is the last pinot that Mayacamas has had for about another 6 years. It is, therefore, in high demand, and very limited supply. And it deserves the high demand. It was perfection. Gorgeous texture, a full, rich bouquet, had great legs, a very smooth drinking experience with a brilliant aftertaste. Said a member of our party, "This is maybe the best wine I've ever tasted."
FOURTH COURSE (intermezzo)
(I forgot to take a picture, but if you've ever seen sorbet in a martini glass, well then, you've seen this.)
Pineapple and Rosemary Sorbet
The sorbet was delicious and it really was a perfect break between the duck and the tenderloin. I don't want to go on and on about this, but Chef Kevin really knows what he's doing. And he said later that he just took some fresh pineapple, infused the simple syrup with some rosemary, put it in the machine and that was that. I need one of those machines.
Here's Chef Kevin:
FIFTH COURSE
Coffee and Sea Salt Dusted Roasted Tenderloin of Beef
over Truffled Potato Mash with jus lié
We started the evening with a conversation about what "jus lie" meant, and I was close but not exactly spot on with my explanation. So, for the record, "Jus lie" is a French term referring to meat juice that has been lightly thickened with a either arrowroot or cornstarch. A number of people in our group were a little disappointed in the tenderloin. It's a fairly "plain" serving after the duck, halibut, and crab and if it had been served all by itself I think we would have marveled at its deliciousness. I thought it was particularly tasty, especially with the sea salt / coffee rub. The mashed potatos were great.
Also, the squash used to prop up the cherry and rosemary garnish had been grilled and was maybe the tastiest thing of this dish.
Mayacamas Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
The cabernet was a few people's favorite of the evening. It was delicious. I didn't take good notes on it, but from memory, it was very rich, had a great smoky / oakey flavor, great legs, a full bodied flavor and it really settled well. I thought it was a great wine, but the pinot edged it out for the night's overall winner. We didn't buy any because it was "on sale" for $102 a bottle.
SIXTH COURSE
Fresh Fruit Tartlet filled
with Pastry Cream and Hawaiian Chocolate
Umm...yeah. This thing was delicious. It was a little bit difficult to break through the bottom of the tartlet, but it was well worth the effort. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and kiwi.
Mayacamas Vineyard Merlot 2001
The merlot disappointed. It was a bad way to finish the evening, although it drank well with the tartlet, so I understand why they were paired together.
So everything up until that point was fantastic. We started at 7:00, and the last course was placed before us just before 9:00. Then Ms. Wine Rep. got up and talked. A lot. And then it took a long time to get the bills for the bottles of wine, and all of this time we're ready for at least another glass of wine, and the time just kept ticking away...tick tick tick tick, lots of ticks. Finally, it's after 10:00 and we finally get over into the main section of Dusty's for a post-dinner beverage, all of us tired, full, but not ready to call it quits for the night. But that hour in between getting the last served glass of wine (that was probably the worst of the five wines we had--disappointing!) and getting the next drink was too long. Not because we wanted to drink a lot more, but because it was just dead time. But we didn't let that dead time ruin a great evening. Goodness and light prevailed!
So that is the story of our amazing dinner experience last night. The four other people sitting at our table were horrible. One of the dudes had a purple jacket on with his shirt unbuttoned too far and a big gold chain and a sweet 70's porn 'stache. And he moaned loudly with each new wine and dish. They were horrible for many other reasons which I will not delve into here. We tried to ignore them as much as possible.
Here is a rundown with pictures and descriptions. mmm...decadence...mmm
So let's set the scene...Dusty's has a main section, and the Tuscany Room where we had the Tapas and Tasting. And then they have another banquet room, where we gathered for the $100 a person dinner. Here's what it looked like before anybody showed up (we arrived about 20 minutes early and were the first ones there):
There were three tables like that. It was a very nice setup. Here's the wall across from where I was sitting:
Which is really just a fancy server's station. Claire's boss and her husband were there and we had great times chatting it up with them.
OK. On to the food! and wine! and superlatives!
Menu & Wine Pairings
FIRST COURSE
Dungeness Crab Salad on Toasted Baguette Croute
with Arugula Microgreens, Meyer Lemon Mousse and Pesto Oil
The crab salad was a great start to the evening. It was very light, didn't taste too crabby and had nice texture. The toasted baguette was a nice part of the dish for a little crunch.
Mayacamas Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2005:
A note about the wines...we got about 1/4 to a 1/3 of a glass of each, which was a little disappointing, actually. They did tiny refills on a couple of the selections but not on the Pinot Noir. There was a representative from the Winery at the dinner, and frankly I could have done without her. She was long-winded, told dumb jokes, and was generally intolerable. Everything else about the evening was fantastic, right up until the very end where Wine Rep. Melissa plays the part of "spoiler." More on that in a moment. Another disclaimer, I am not an official wine taster. I like wine. I have consumed a fair share of wine in my life but my palatte is not incredibly sophisticated, nor are the terms that I will use to describe the wines I've tasted. LAY ON.
The sauvignon blanc was a good start to the evening. It was very light, almost clear, and it was very easy on the mouth. Possibly the best part about it was the gentle aftertaste. That's really where started to notice the hand-craftedness of these wines. We all enjoyed drinking it, but then we all commented that it wasn't the taste that separated it, but the aftertaste that was left lingering. I wrote down "very light, very smooth, great aftertaste."
SECOND COURSE
Butter Poached Filet of Alaskan Halibut over
Toasted Giant Couscous Salad with Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette
Halibut is probably my favorite fish, and this was unbelievably good. It arrived yesterday morning and Chef Kevin said he just poached it with butter and sprinkled a little vinaigrette on it for a hint of bite. It was so delicious. Again, not very fishy, perfectly complimented with the mustard vinaigrette and the couscous was a great touch for texture.
Mayacamas Vineyard Chardonnay 2000
The chardonnay was my 2nd favorite wine of the night and I don't generally like chardonnay. It was stone cold buttery. It was a light yellow, not quite sweet but sweeter than the blanc. We bought a bottle. Much was made about how this was a 2000 vintage that was brought out of the "library" as a limited release just to prove a point that Mayacamas wines really stand up over time and that whites can carry age in a similar fashion as reds.
THIRD COURSE
Sliced Magret Duck Breast
on Creamy Polenta with Roasted Morels and Pomegranate Reduction
The duck was my favorite course of the dinner, partially because I'm allergic to poultry and I love living on the edge, and partially because it was so unbelievably tasty I wished that I had a few additional servings of it. I also think it benefitted from the best wine pairing of the evening. Turns out that I didn't have a reaction to the duck, bringing the score to Processed Poultry: eleventy billion; Organic Chicken: 0; Free-range Turkey: 0; Duck of unknown origin: 0; My body: 3
Everyone commented on how good the polenta was and I loved the pomegranate reduction. I have to learn how to do that because I'd love to serve up some morels and some pork tenderloin with an amazing reduction.
Mayacamas Vineyard Pinot Noir 2004
This was the best wine of the night. It was a very limited supply, and they didn't even do refills. There was a disease that swept through the vineyard the season after this pinot was harvested, so it is the last pinot that Mayacamas has had for about another 6 years. It is, therefore, in high demand, and very limited supply. And it deserves the high demand. It was perfection. Gorgeous texture, a full, rich bouquet, had great legs, a very smooth drinking experience with a brilliant aftertaste. Said a member of our party, "This is maybe the best wine I've ever tasted."
FOURTH COURSE (intermezzo)
(I forgot to take a picture, but if you've ever seen sorbet in a martini glass, well then, you've seen this.)
Pineapple and Rosemary Sorbet
The sorbet was delicious and it really was a perfect break between the duck and the tenderloin. I don't want to go on and on about this, but Chef Kevin really knows what he's doing. And he said later that he just took some fresh pineapple, infused the simple syrup with some rosemary, put it in the machine and that was that. I need one of those machines.
Here's Chef Kevin:
FIFTH COURSE
Coffee and Sea Salt Dusted Roasted Tenderloin of Beef
over Truffled Potato Mash with jus lié
We started the evening with a conversation about what "jus lie" meant, and I was close but not exactly spot on with my explanation. So, for the record, "Jus lie" is a French term referring to meat juice that has been lightly thickened with a either arrowroot or cornstarch. A number of people in our group were a little disappointed in the tenderloin. It's a fairly "plain" serving after the duck, halibut, and crab and if it had been served all by itself I think we would have marveled at its deliciousness. I thought it was particularly tasty, especially with the sea salt / coffee rub. The mashed potatos were great.
Also, the squash used to prop up the cherry and rosemary garnish had been grilled and was maybe the tastiest thing of this dish.
Mayacamas Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
The cabernet was a few people's favorite of the evening. It was delicious. I didn't take good notes on it, but from memory, it was very rich, had a great smoky / oakey flavor, great legs, a full bodied flavor and it really settled well. I thought it was a great wine, but the pinot edged it out for the night's overall winner. We didn't buy any because it was "on sale" for $102 a bottle.
SIXTH COURSE
Fresh Fruit Tartlet filled
with Pastry Cream and Hawaiian Chocolate
Umm...yeah. This thing was delicious. It was a little bit difficult to break through the bottom of the tartlet, but it was well worth the effort. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and kiwi.
Mayacamas Vineyard Merlot 2001
The merlot disappointed. It was a bad way to finish the evening, although it drank well with the tartlet, so I understand why they were paired together.
So everything up until that point was fantastic. We started at 7:00, and the last course was placed before us just before 9:00. Then Ms. Wine Rep. got up and talked. A lot. And then it took a long time to get the bills for the bottles of wine, and all of this time we're ready for at least another glass of wine, and the time just kept ticking away...tick tick tick tick, lots of ticks. Finally, it's after 10:00 and we finally get over into the main section of Dusty's for a post-dinner beverage, all of us tired, full, but not ready to call it quits for the night. But that hour in between getting the last served glass of wine (that was probably the worst of the five wines we had--disappointing!) and getting the next drink was too long. Not because we wanted to drink a lot more, but because it was just dead time. But we didn't let that dead time ruin a great evening. Goodness and light prevailed!
So that is the story of our amazing dinner experience last night. The four other people sitting at our table were horrible. One of the dudes had a purple jacket on with his shirt unbuttoned too far and a big gold chain and a sweet 70's porn 'stache. And he moaned loudly with each new wine and dish. They were horrible for many other reasons which I will not delve into here. We tried to ignore them as much as possible.