Tuesday, June 26, 2012

tuesday tip (of the glass): a rosé dinner at lenoir

I had a really wonderful food and wine experience. One that I want to share.  It’s a Tuesday Tip of the Glass and it’s filled with a crisp lush Rosé.

Whenever I see or hear mention of a Rosé wine my heart starts to beat a little faster and my mouth starts to water. It’s one of those visceral reactions that still take me by surprise and I just go with it. So when I read that Lenoir was going to have a special Sunday Rosé dinner I was there. I sent out an e-mail to good friends, we purchased tickets and began counting the days. That day was this past Sunday, June 24, 2012 and it was one of the best dining experiences I’ve had of late. Let me pre-fix this by saying this post is not a review or a critique. It’s only a chronology of pictures and thoughts on why I enjoyed this dinner so much.

We were welcomed into the backyard with big Texas Oaks, swinging live music and iced water. With the first glass of cool Rosé  we were treated to a tapa of grilled leeks & Romesco. Chef Todd gave us a lesson on how to peel and eat the leeks. After we did the same, we wiped our ash flaked hands and mouths with cold rosemary scented toweling. And then ate some more.

All the while a super Argentinean style grill was going. From which came our tapa and most of our dinner including lamb and potatoes.

Before we went into dinner I was able to take a few shots of our table with our very own name. Not to mention the menu, cloth napkins and a carafe of iced water AND the beautiful salt (which we picked up & sprinkled with our fingers).

This was just a taste of dinner: grilled lamb/charred potatoes/brown trukey figs/pimentón aïoli/roasted squash/lamb sausage/black olives and pan-fried crab/watermelon curry/watercress (family style, flatware and platterware was replaced each course). A Rosé was served with each course: French, Italian and Austrian. All courses and wines were explained in detail.  Chefs Todd and Jessica had thier friend Mark Sayre, who is the sommelier for Trio at the Four Seasons, help out.

The staff was knowledgeable, unhurried and happy. Our friends Mike & Liz kept saying, “thank you Beth for inviting us, this is so special”. The thanks go to Owner/Chefs Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher for opening their restaurant on a Sunday evening in June. They were the consummate hosts; open, accommodating, conversational, fluid and happy. All the while gracefully orchestrating behind the scenes an exceptional food and wine experience. 

And in closing if we hadn’t been in public we would have most definately licked the plate!