There is a lot to be said about eating a “Farm to Fork” meal. It’s a different experience from stepping into a national chain restaurant. You immediately know the taste of freshness in each ingredient, the flavors of the region and changes of the season in every bite. Of course right now, I’m preaching to the choir, if you’re reading my blog you most likely know this. You have placed a fork full of goodness into your mouth and closed your eyes to savor every flavor. Maybe you have even shared a fork full of love with your dinning companion giving them the same sensory experience.
For me personally, I don’t get a lot of this feeling outside my own home. Mad Dog and I don’t go out to dinner often, but when we do, we try to make it an extraordinary experience. One of the things that makes it extraordinary is a babysitter for our children. Though I feel it’s important to introduce Lex and Loki to these amazing flavors, I also feel that not being rushed and chewing my food until I have fallen in love with every bite is kind of important too. Last night Mad Dog and I were given two hours of just that.
Last Christmas my brother Kevin and brother-in-law Brent gave Mad Dog and I a gift certificate to Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro. Tastings describes itself as “a local and independently-owned and operated casual yet upscale restaurant at the Patriot Place complex in Foxboro, MA.” Their focus is on fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers, ranchers and fisherman. Executive Chef Ben Lacy is intensely involved in all aspects of the Tastings dining experience, from preparation to presentation and of course in all the flavors of his dishes. Not only does he promote the use of locally grown farm fresh foods, he also “participates in Massachusetts and Rhode Island sustainable food co-ops and locally sources the restaurant’s organic produce, eggs and poultry.” Sounds like a place that I might like to visit, huh?
Our reservations for eight o’clock were slightly delayed, because of other diners enjoying their Tastings experience a little too long, but I wouldn’t begrudge them that. First and foremost, Tastings is a Wine Bar and because of this they have a large wine selection from around the world. I will say that I was slightly disappointed that though they boast local sourcing, they only feature two local vineyards on their wine list (Westport Rivers, Westpost, Massachusetts and Sakonnet Vineyards, Little Compton, Rhode Island). Of course I stayed local and had myself a glass of Westport Rivers Rkatsiteli, a white wine similar to a Riesling. I love Westport Rivers and have made several visits to the vineyard. (At this time I have a bottle of their sparkling wine in our wine-fridge waiting to celebrate Mad Dog’s and my 5 year wedding anniversary next August.)
Our waitress, Cassandra (who was great by the way!), introduced us to the Tastings Menu explaining to us that they try to source the best ingredients from 150 mile radius when possible. Unlike some “Farm to Table” restaurants, Tastings does not cite a lot of specific sources, which means for this blog post there won’t be a lot of additional sourcing information for you (sorry). Looking at their “Firsts” menu, we were both intrigued by the Native Rhode Island Popcorn, made with bone marrow and sage. Our curiosity was cut short when Cassandra came back with a complementary bowl to apologize for our wait. I felt that the bone marrow flavor which was infused with the popcorn was subtle enough as to not be overwhelming yet still prevalent throughout. Mad Dog fell in love with it, and I honestly think he will be experimenting to reproduce its flavor for himself.
To accompany our popcorn we ordered the Artisan Cheese Tasting plate. Rather than argue out between the two of us what cheese we would like to taste, we opted for the 5 cheese selection, which included a sampling of Gouda, Hartwell, Cheddar, Brie and Bijou cheese accompanied by crostini. We were again pleasantly surprised when Cassandra returned with a special Chef tasting for us. Placed on silver tasting spoons was a fig chutney with arugula and smoked ham. This morsel was absolutely delicious. The sweetness of the fig chutney was complemented by the smokiness of the ham and got our taste buds excited for more. This made selecting from the Entree menu even harder since I wanted to taste everything they had to offer. If you have this issue, you might take the choice out of your hands and opt for the Tastings’ Tasting Menu. “Experience the pleasure of a wide variety of tastes personally selected and hand-crafted by our chefs, using local ingredients from sustainable resources. Also, savor the best wines professionally paired to complement the dishes.” A reminder that this choice is only offered on selected days, you can ask your server for details or I would recommend calling ahead so you don’t get your hopes up.
There are just somethings people have a talent for ordering, Mad Dog personally has a talent (and takes that to the extreme) for selecting the best thing on the menu for his entree. I am not saying my selection wasn’t lovely, but Mad Dog’s was unbelievable. He selected the Skillet Roasted Muscovy Duck Breast, with pumpkin gnocchi, caramelized onion, roasted walnuts and a cranberry duck jus. Couldn’t you just die? I think the pumpkin gnoochi sealed the deal for him. I decided to try the Sweet Corn Risotto, with roasted husk cherries, pickled hot peppers, herb salad and Pimenton (Pimenton is spanish paprika – thank you Google).
To keep us from going hungry (which I didn’t think was possible) Cassandra brought us a complimentary tasting of the Roasted Pumpkin and Pear Soup. The bowl she placed between us had a black walnut and cranberry gremolata (described as a chopped herb condiment) and vin cotto (cooked wine) in the center, which she poured the carafe of Pumpkin and Pear Soup around. Both Mad Dog and I found that a combined bite of the soup accompanied by the gremolata and vin cotto was perfect, however a single taste of the soup alone lacked something.
With the arrival of our entrees, which we ended up sharing (since I found that I really wished I had ordered the duck too), we lost ourselves in the flavors of the season. Though I have had duck before, this perfectly cooked piece of meat blew me away. My first bite was not accompanied by the cranberry duck jus, but my second taste dragged through the dark sauce took me over the edge. The pumpkin gnocchi was lovely and light, not heavy like a lot of gnocchi. It had the taste of fall and a bowl of just the gnocchi would have made either of us just as happy. The risotto had a lovely texture contrast between the greens, the husk cherries and peppers. I found that the Pimenton had a strong kick which hit the back of the throat, but was balanced by the creaminess of the risotto.
We ended our meal at Tastings with the desert special of Cranberry bread pudding accompanied with cinnamon basil ice cream and sugared cranberries. Cinnamon basil ice cream? Yes, that is what we said and what drew us in to this dessert. Though both the bread pudding and ice cream were delectable combined they were extraordinary. It was so exciting, I forgot to take a photograph until we were almost finished with it (oops!). Sweet and savory all rolled into one and the perfect end to our luscious meal.
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