Lunch and Learn, Lunch and Learn, Lunch and Learn... get my drift? In July & August at lunch on Saturdays with a couple for dinner. Today it was the "Arizona Iron Chef Competitors" with chef fun, live demos and excellent food & pairings.
The appetizers started small with ham & cheese pathivier by Chef Lee Hilson and asian beef tartare on spiced tarot root by Chef Beau MacMillan accompanied by lindauer brut new zealand n/v. A mouthful or two but quite tasty. Next came the chilled pea soup with lobster. Didn't taste at all like Pea Soup Anderson and in fact it was hard to distinguish the pea flavor accompanied by graffigina pinot grigio argentina 2007. The soup was an unexpected large portion with little shrimps and tasty lobster bits. The entree was braised kobe beef short rib with salsify & asparagus ragu. The kobe beef pairing was wyndham estate "show reserve" south east Australia 2004 with a 91 rating and under $15 at Cosco.
In watching the live kitchen demo I hadn't realized how much preparation played in the final taste for "short ribs". My mother fixed the traditional short ribs with carrots and potatoes but the brazing and marinade process with red wine and chicken broth by Chef Beau imparted a phenomenal taste. I didn't catch how long the marination process was but apparently today's chef's measure the process in 24, 48 and 72 hour increments. Today's portion was very ample and down right tasty.
After so much food at lunch one might expect a modest desert but not this time. The summer berry pudding with raspberry coulis was beyond modest. A genoise sponge shell was filled with a four berry pudding and covered with a raspberry coulis and caster sugar. The pairing here was a not so sweet but bubbly napa blanc de noirs.
The "at the views" room looked to be sold out and I suspect it will be when we return next week for a taste of southern hospitality...