We started off with a perfectly chilled gin martini and the “Ida del Diablo” margarita, which had a spiced sugar rim and was smooth and strong. With them, we enjoyed the appetizer special of a rock shrimp cake (think crab cake, but different), made with peppers and scallions, then panko dusted and pan fried. It was served with greens dressed with white balsamic vinaigrette and pomegranate seeds, all atop lemon aioli. The cakes had nice-sized chunks of shrimp and a building heat, with a perfectly crisp exterior and tender, hot interior.
The roasted pear and goat cheese salad came with fresh and perfect bibb (butter) lettuce, honey lavender almonds (candied with sugar, cinnamon and lavender flour that’s imparted into the almonds), earthy, melted goat cheese and a sweet huckleberry vinaigrette. It was paired well with the Iron Horse Lark Creek Cuvée (a custom blend), which had a beautiful salmon/topaz color with flavors of strawberries, pears and toast. The mildly flavored, smooth harvest squash bisque had pickled wild mushrooms that added a nice zing and a toasty, buttery flavored olive oil drizzle.
An Idaho rainbow trout was buttery and delicate, served skin-on with capers and hazelnuts that added a textural element, and a zucchini and yellow squash salad. A flavorful sauce gribiche (think tartar sauce—but better) was nice as an accent, but we thought the fresh fish stood alone just fine. It paired well with the 2008 MacRostie Sonoma County Chardonnay (silky, toast, nuts).
The rich, pumpkin-braised short rib was melt-in-your-mouth tender, served with sweet roasted vegetables, creamy polenta and brightly flavored greens. It went amazingly with the 2009 The Prisoner, a Napa Valley Zinfandel blend by Orin Swift (lush, dark fruit, cocoa and cedar with white pepper on the finish; its grapes are from the Tofanelli Vineyard in Calistoga). It was one of the best pairings I’ve had in a long while.
Our meal ended with better-than-homemade butterscotch pudding with fresh whipped cream and chocolate chip cookies—delicious and not too sweet—and a Sonoma apple and blackberry crisp (huge, whole berries) with rich vanilla bean ice cream. Thank you to Chef Aaron Wright and to Bradley Ogden (culinary advisor and principal) for an outstanding experience.
