Looking out our patio doors at a Saturday morning blazing with sunlight and potential, regretfully I thought, “We should do our taxes. Or we could...”
Lunch at Jeeves and Company up in Scottsburg. Then ramble a short distance to Madison to visit a microbrewery and some wineries. After that, who knows? Yeah let's do that.
Scottsburg's old-time square is a short distance east off the interstate along SR56 and is dominated by the courthouse reigning in its center. Jeeves & Co is tucked into the southwest corner of the square which is lined all around with antique shops, eateries, and small businesses.
J&C has been the jewel here for some time and is lately under new management. The new owners are set on polishing it to greater luster by installing a period bar and upgrading the menu. I spoke with the new bar manager who said that he was excited to bring his previous experience from New Orleans and Chicago to the endeavor in the form of a full range of pre-prohibition cocktails.
Yawn..., yes I'm sure Sazeracs and re-imagined highballs of yesteryear will be “the berries” in Scottsburg but I need to know, “Will there be craft beer on tap?” Yes there will! This conversation unfortunately came after the meal as we were walking out. I tactfully suggested craft bottles until the taps could be installed. “Oh I have boxes of great craft beer in the back I haven't gotten around to putting on the menu yet.” he said. “Well, no hurry on that old boy!” thought no one.
Sam Adams Lager notwithstanding, the meal we'd just finished was very enjoyable. The extensive menu itself was quite impressive and the prices were so cheap they might be pre-prohibition.
The six of us started with cups of a spicy, rich, chicken and sausage gumbo so good we wished for bowls. This was followed up by a huge cobb salad and assorted sandwiches including a club, Rueben, and Cuban. We'd just finished the fresh, well-made, main event when we were offered dessert. We were inclined to decline any more food but when menus were placed in front of us we proved unable to resist. Brandied bread pudding, crème brulee, and oreo cheesecake proved the perfect encore to the performance.
Everyone's entree was under $10 and large portions of desserts were each under $4. As is typical, the largest margins were on the beer and booze with my bottles fetching four dollars fifty each. Two of our party had rum and cokes (tall) and complemented the ratio of Bacardi and Captain Morgans.
The new bar area looked terrific and it appeared that the very large back bar was an old one though that's hard to tell for sure these days. Authentic or not, it will complement the interior of the restaurant which is, without a doubt, old, charming, and tastefully dressed up in a mixture of original décor with modern accents. I will, without reservation, return here for a meal although reservations may soon be required. http://www.jeevesandcompany.net/grb.html
Four of our group went on to Madison, where we checked in with Scott Stoner, owner of the Mobreki microbrewery located in the Trolley Barn on Main street. His family also operates Saka Blue at the same location providing high quality sushi as well as freshly brewed beer to Madisonians.
We were still so stuffed from lunch we each could only nurse a single beer for half an hour before struggling back into the car for a leisurely drive through the old town, culminating along the most accessible river frontage imaginable. The Madison side is dotted with old restaurants and mansions while the Kentucky side is a soaring cliff with widely spaced homes perched atop it.
Our sojourn through the old river town over, we turned in at the Lanthier Winery on Mill St and parked on its spacious grounds. The air was chilly but didn't require a jacket. The red brick building housing the winery is circa 1800s and is a post card opportunity. The grounds are extensively landscaped and must be quite a sight when everything is in bloom. The inside, though less impressive architecturally, is chock full of wine with an art gallery on the second floor.
We eventually discovered entry through a side door painted bright red and were greeted with an offer to taste some wine. “Yes please!” We tasted most everything in the cooler and ended up purchasing some bottles. I usually prefer fairly dry wines and found the Rivertown White to be quite nice. I ended up purchasing a bottle of the Festival Cherry however, which surprisingly had a nice dry finish without an overpowering Cherry character. We also picked a bottle of Blackberry Social which was so sweet it'll want liberal mixing with soda to tame it. We were still too full to try the free Coyote soup on offer, though I had to inquire about its ingredients. Just a name, no canids harmed in its making they insisted. Sure!
Our next stop was the Thomas Family Winery. I'd visited last year to get some hard cider and I was anxious to return. This winery features a fairly nondescript facade but once inside it extends surprisingly deep beyond its tasting room. The tasting room is quite comfortable with its wood stove, eclectic furniture, and modern art. Kristen gave us an enthusiastic welcome and invited us to sample some very interesting and quite surprising vintages.
If Def Leppard's “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” was the theme at our last stop, here the vintage was as dry as America's “Horse With No Name.” None of the bottles Kristen tipped for us had much sugar left in them. Though she gave exacting descriptions of what we were about to sample, in one case this proved insufficient to prepare us. Zinfandel is a term, that in any previous context known to me, would include white wine and a box.
Here that was clearly not the case. The tasting notes for this “red” wine read: Intense, complex wine with blackberry jam, raspberry and boysenberry fruit, white peppercorn, red licorice on the nose, layers of cinnamon, toffee, roast coffee, toasty oak, wants blackened prime rib, chile colorado, buffalo pizzas!
Wow, this was wine aspiring to be tequila! The peppercorn ruled my initial impression and the finish was the most intense I've ever experienced from a wine. One of our party bought a bottle so I'm looking forward to trying it again, perhaps in a few years after we've all had a chance to mellow.
The Chambourcin proved to be everyone's favorite and we retired with full glasses to a table next to the woodstove to await a plate of cheeses. We asked Kristen to select whatever cheeses were best suited for our wine and did she ever deliver. The Caerphilly, a welsh cheddar cheese, hard and crumbly in nature was extraordinary! The Kentucky Blue was a sharp cheddar that was aged in a cave and it too was a splendid match. The third cheese was a jalapeno jack that oddly enough lacked enough character to compete with the others.
From the back corner, folk singing royalty including Simon, Taylor, and Chapin competed to ease our mood, and we were loath to leave this cozy place so we recharged our glasses and stayed a while longer. Our table was silent except for groans, moans and exaltations of deepest pleasure inspired by the exquisite combination of salty crackers, decadently flavored, languorously textured cheese, washed down with sanguine juice wracked from the suffering fruit. I do believe someone making a “French” movie could do worse than a foley track from our table during that hour. Well “French-Canadian” perhaps.
Encoring this symphonie de saveurs provençales was a steaming crock of “mock turtle” soup on a table if we'd a mind to stay through supper. I did ask and “mock” meant only what you think – fake. Sure!
We had other plans for supper so we paid our tab that included some wine and cheese to take with us. Alas, there was no more Caerphilly! We stood up to leave when G. Lightfoot began telling us about a ghost from a wishing well.
One of our party (I won't say which) froze and refused to move. I took the opportunity to entreat the owner Steve, to reveal his source for this Welsh marvel. He only grinned and helpfully offered to ship me some when he got more. Sure, add a brace of “mock” turtles as well. We'll try to source it locally if possible but know where we can get it when we need it!
On the drive home I pushed aside disturbing thoughts of the long hours we would be spending the next day doing taxes. This day was still young and full of potential. Now, where might we find some more Caerphilly cheese and perhaps a nice peregrine soup? Fake of course!