I approached Roy's last spring about having a dinner for our wine club. Sous-chef Matthew Ellis created a menu just for us - with dishes not on Roy's regular menu. The results were great. The meal comprised four courses, of which the first three were accompanied by a 4-oz. glass of wine. The cost for the meal including the wines, but excluding tax, tip, and an administrative fee, was $50 - which was very reasonable.
One creative feature of Matt's menu was that he also used the paired wines in cooking two of the first three courses.
The first course was Hawaiian Salt-Seared Nairagi fish with a fennel salad with lemon-tomato vinaigrette. It was accompanied by a Napa Valley Rutherford Ranch Chardonnay. The nairagi and salad were excellent. Although I normally do not care for Chardonnays because of their oakiness, this one was very pleasant.
The second course was Chicken Roulade with a shiitake and olive tapenade stuffing and a pinot noir poulet jus. It was accompanied by a Washington State 14 Hands Merlot. This course and its wine, like the first, were also very nice.
The third course was terrific - Tender Braised Barbecued Beef Ribs with a Port Wine Glaze, accompanied by roasted red pepper polenta with a butter sauce. The wine was a Rutherford Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.
The dessert course comprised small servings of two separate desserts:
- Warm chocolate torte
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Our server for the evening was excellent, and I enjoyed working with Managing Partner Andrew Mayer to make arrangements for our dinner.
I highly recommend Roy's - http://www.roysrestaurant.com/locations/FL/sarasota.asp
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