May 12th’s Ingredients: 6 of the Central Coast’s best Wines made by Anthony Yount of Denner Vineyards, 6 Courses of spring cuisine, a setting of timeless inspiration provided by Juxtaposition Home, and a sold out crowd of food and wine lovers.
“Where did all these rad pictures come from you ask?”
Ryan Garvin of course.
“And did he ask Juxtaposition Home to order his initials in antique walnut wood and display them in their space?”
Nope. That just happened.
We served Denner’s Grenache Rosé during the hors d’oeuvre reception. Think pink wines aren’t serious? Try this one.
That’s a lot of place settings. For those of you counting–that’s 80 seats. x 6 dishes per person, x 6 components per dish, that’s 2,880 prepared components out of a kitchen we built in an antique warehouse. The pictures on the right are what we’re all going to look like when we finish this career. GREY! (but smiling)
Part of the fun of seasonal menus is the seasonality of garnishes. Shown here, the color of spring: Chive Flowers, Micro Basil, Marigold, Pansy, Sage Flowers. Not shown here: The concentration on the server’s face as he navigates the 50 stairs from our satellite kitchen to the reception area. Pop Up phenomenon in full effect.
Home: where meals, stories and memories come together.
Spring Corn Bisque. Roasted Langoustines. Corn Shoots. Lace Crouton. Table Side Pour. Careful.
Historically, Denner has largely produced Rhone varietals. On May 12, Anthony unveiled his Bordeaux blend–The Mother of Exiles. The crowd lost it.
“Juxtaposition” was a theme throughout the evening. It was fun to juxtapose the backdrop of ancient texts with modern interpretations of classic dishes. Here, our fresh pasta raviolo of the evening was filled with stinging nettle pesto and finished with garlic powder and bread salad. As for the texts–we’ll leave that up interpretation.
The raviolo gets her close up.
2 Beliefs followed by a Warning:
Belief No. 1 : Whoever wrote the song “Happy Birthday” rolls in their grave at the continual obligatory dirge tone in which their song is sung.
Belief No. 2: Communal singing makes you feel good if you really go for it (for evidence see pub culture in the Irish Countryside).
Warning: Consequently, if you call us before a pop up, and tell us you’re celebrating the birthday of a loved one–we are going to sing “Happy Birthday” to you at the top of lungs like our lives depended on it. We’re serious.
What are we without team? Here’s to the best team in the business! On behalf of our whole team: thanks to Michele from Juxtaposition for opening up her space, to Anthony Yount of Denner for making killer wines, to those of you who spent the evening with us, and to all of you for making hospitable service a pleasure. To our next meal together!