We had two meals here 5 weeks ago. First our review from the wedding reception in the private room and then our experience at the chef's table:
Dinner was in the Private Dining room at Victoria and Albert's (GF)
Amuse bouche of eggplant mousse in a cucumber sandwich with Fairy tale cuvee toast
Roasted Chioga Beet Salad with Walnuts, Cucumbers, and Mache, Sherry Cucumber Vinaigrette
Smoked Buffalo with Heirloom Tomatoes, Hearts of Palm and Balsamic
Yellowtail Snapper Almondine over French Beans and Yellow Wax Beans
Muscovy Duck Breast with Root Vegetables, Peaches, Foie Gras, and Applewood Bacon Vinaigrette
Free Range Chicken Consomme
Tomato Mascarpone Cream
Alaskan Sable over German Butterball Potatoes and Brentwood Corn
Poussin Oscar with Lump Crab, Italian Cous Cous, Red Rice and Sauce Bernaise
Grilled Prime Filet over Cauliflower-Potato Puree and Cabernet Jus
Jamison Farm Lamb with Wild Mushroom Cannelloni , Truffle Emulsion
Taleggio, Passendale and Great Hill Blue with Burgundy Poached Pear and glass of port
Terrine of Sorbet with Seasonal Fruits and glass of framboise
Pyramid of Tanzani Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries
Warm Pineapple in a Crepe Purse
Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle
Caramelized Banana Gateau
Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee
Grand Marnier Souffle
White wine was ZD Chardonnay
Red wine was a Pinot Noir from Joseph Brouhin
Wow, what can I say! The sensory overload makes for a very difficult recap. Unfortunately, the heat and excitement caught up with Heather and she had to excuse herself to change into less constricting clothes. In spite of this, the rest of the wedding party had just a fabulous meal. The only negative note for me was that I found the tomato mascarpone cream soup a bit too salty. Luckily, my side of the family consumes about a pound of salt a day so it was right on for them.
We LOVED having the private room at V&As. Besides being a beautiful space, it was nice being in our own room. Both our families were a little quiet at first, intimidated by the luxuriousness, but then really got into it. By the time dessert came around, people were walking around the table taking a taste from everyones plate, and I dont think we could have been that relaxed if wed been out in the main dining room. Our Victoria, Erma, was GREAT she was funny, and played along with my dad who has a very unusual sense of humor. Manuel, the maitre d that night, was great he took care of every little thing. And our guests all loved the coffee that brewed up instead of down.
All of our guests were absolutely blown away by the food, which is saying a lot, since my brother-in-law Lee has cooked in some really nice restaurants, and others have been in the restaurant industry, so theyre quite discerning when it comes to food. The desserts really floored them; they loved the design silkscreened onto the chocolate mousse pyramid, and Lee (the professional cook) couldnt stop raving about the crème brulee.
Each course seemed to surpass the previous with a very wide range of flavors. Some were light, such as the Alaskan Sable whereas others were much richer and complex, such as the duck breast w/ foie gras. Albert picked two excellent wines, as listed above which were serendipitously on the less expensive end paired very nicely with the range of foods everyone had ordered. Im not a fan of chardonnays, but the ZD was one of my favorite wines to date. All in all, a stunning repast that no one who attended will forget.
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Dinner at Victoria & Albert's Chef's Table (GF)
Amuse bouche of Iranian golden osetra caviar, crème fraiche and toast points with Fairy tale cuvee toast
Amuse bouche of eggplant mousse in a cucumber sandwich
Heather-Roasted Chioga Beet Salad with Walnuts, Cucumbers, and Mache, Sherry Cucumber Vinaigrette
Savennieres Clos Du Papillon Domaine des Boumard, Loire Valley 1997
Andrew- Smoked Buffalo with Heirloom Tomatoes, Hearts of Palm and Balsamic
Hirsci Kammerner Lamm Gruner Veltliner, Alte Reben Kamptal/Osterreich 1999
Muscovy Duck Breast with Root Vegetables, Peaches, Foie Gras, and Applewood Bacon Vinaigrette
Santenay 1er Cru La Maladiere Domaine Vincent Girardin, Burgundy 1999
Heather- Carrot-Ginger Cream
Andrew- Squab Consommé
Poussin Oscar with a Lump Crab Cake, Italian Cous Cous, Red Rice and Sauce Bernaise and a Poached Maine Lobster Tail
MacRostie Chardonnay, Carneros 2000
Terrine of Sorbet with Seasonal Fruits
Grilled Prime Filet over Cauliflower-Potato Puree and Cabernet Jus
Jamison Farm Lamb with Wild Mushroom Cannelloni, Truffle Emulsion
Chateau Ste Michelle Merlot Reserve, Columbia Valley 1997
Taleggio, Passendale and Great Hill Blue with Burgundy Poached Pear
Brachetto dAcqui Rosa Regale Banfi, Piedmont 2001
Warm Pineapple in a crepe Purse
Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Soufflé
Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee
Bonny Doon Vineyard Framboise, Santa Cruz
Coffee, Friandises
Again, there are no English words to describe this meal. Since the Chef de Cuisine, Scott Hunnel, was on vacation, we were treated to the culinary prowess of the sous chef, Jason Lanza. He had also been in charge the night of our wedding reception, and asked us what we had selected that night. Thus, he was able to change things around and make sure we didnt have too much duplicated. He even changed the standard Poussin and Filet/Lamb courses to make them different from any other plates going out that evening.
The caviar was superb, and Im not a great fan of the stuff. It was small and only slightly briny. I spoke with a few of the cooks about cheese and other errata. The maitre d came back to check on us several times, but he had no fear that there were any problems. We really love sitting in the kitchen, even though you dont get the warm glow and harp music from the front of the house. I enjoy watching their fluid motions and having a kitchen staff who seem to enjoy talking with you makes it that much more enjoyable.
At the end of the meal, we had a good 10-15 minute talk with sous chef Jason. We discussed marriage, culinary training, certain aspects of the meal and many other things. I mentioned that the last time we visited the Chefs Table, there was an excellent butternut squash cream soup and he quickly went off and printed out three recipes for me. He wanted to go get a recipe that my father requested, but I suggested that perhaps my dad would enjoy the formal recipe in the mail just as much. Heather asked him about a passion fruit mousse in an orange-scented chocolate purse that we had also had the previous time. According to Jason, it was not a big seller, which completely shocked us. It was a fantastic creation! But Jason suggested that next time we dine there, we could let them know wed like it a few days in advance and they could accommodate us. Just about anything in the world could be handled, as long as they have enough lead time.
To close, this was simply a beautiful experience from the food, to the ambiance to the wonderful attention given by the kitchen staff, our Victoria and Albert, Manuel the maitre d and of course the sous chef Jason.
-Andrew
