No Menu Monday

As a follow up to the recent post on great food, I realize that I've been remiss in not sharing the story of my delightful experience at No Menu Monday, the now-famous brainchild of the good folks at Home Wine Kitchen.

I went with a big group, and we had to split up and sit at tables of no more than four.  The waitress came to greet us and explained how things worked.  She would ask us the same questions that are on the website, take copious notes, and food would appear later.  (It takes a while for the first course to come out, because the chef is busy getting her ideas together.  So have a snack before you go and enjoy a glass of wine.)

I am a fairly adventurous eater, so there were very few limitations on what the chef could do.  But the "magic genie" question is chef's favorite, and I said to go heavy on the veggies, with an eye towards generally healthy cuisines like Mediterranean, north African, or Indian cuisine.

And voila!  The food appears!

My first course was a plate of little masa cakes with beans and roasted red peppers on top, sort of a variation on bruschetta.  How were they?  I have no idea.

One of the girls at my table was served cauliflower which had been poached in milk, then mashed into balls and fried.  Except it turns out that she didn't like cauliflower, so we swapped.  Too bad she wasn't a fan, because they were pretty tasty, very crispy on the outside, with only a mild cauliflower flavor.  I think that's because of the milk.  I was also having the wine pairings, and my first glass was a Sauvignon Blanc, but I don't know the details of any of the wines.  (If I had gotten the wine that went with the cauliflower, it would have been a chardonnay.  I'm okay with having a mis-matched wine, because I am generally not a fan of chards.)

My main was quite interesting.  It was a Mediterranean cheese a bit like feta (I can't remember the name of it), that is firm enough that you can treat it like you might a block of firm tofu.  I got two slices about 3/4-inch thick each, which had been seasoned and grilled.  It was served hot with zucchini spaghetti and a light mint pesto.  That's lightly cooked zucchini that's shredded to look like spaghetti, not flavored pasta.  And that was all over a cold leek and lentil salad.  A fascinating mix of flavors and textures (and temperatures!) that was delightful.  Wine: a dry Riesling.

Shockingly, dessert was my least favorite of all the courses.  It was a strawberry rhubarb sorbet with lavender almonds on top.  Not much of a fan of lavender, as it turns out, or rhubarb!  But my pairing was a strawberry-orange mimosa that could have been a dessert all on its own.

As you could probably guess, I'm going to caution you that this meal will work much better if you're either an adventurous eater already, or at least have an open mind about trying things that don't seem to be up your alley.  For me, it was a blast!