Last night Gayle and I enjoyed a wonderful night of fine cuisine, cocktail and company. Here's the play by play...
We began by visiting Jared Schubert at Basa. He was kind enough to give us a sneak peak of the style of cocktails that Louisville can expect from the upcoming opening of 732 Social in late February. Dating from the golden age of the cocktail, the Sazerac was assembled in two glasses after one glass was allowed to frappe'. Ice was allowed to melt a bit in the glass, chilling it and providing just the correct portion of water to cling to the side of the glass. The Corpse Reviver, was a combination of London Dry Gin, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau and lemon juice. Both were exceptionally well balanced, a heterogeneous dance of flavors. He aptly chose to pair them with Basa's imperial rolls. The fried rolls wrapped in lettuce and mint leaves and then dipped in the Vietnamese four flavor sauce. The price: $25, as we just had to splurge on the extra cocktail!
Next, we stopped by L and N for half glasses of wine and some of Rick Adam's escargot, broiled with Benton country ham and a bourbon thyme butter. Always the hosts, we had a great conversation with the chef, our friendly barkeep and FOH manager, Ricky Woods. Always a learning experience for me, we tried a Pierre Sparr Pinot Noir 'Silk' 07 and a lesser known Greco di Tufo DOCG 06. The pairings were perfect, but then again Pabst would seem like nectar next to those escargots! The price: $20, for escargots and two half-glasses.
Off to my old stomping grounds for a salad course. Varanese had a warm spinach salad special with granny smith apples, toasted pumpkin seeds and a peppered parmesan crisp. Nice, if not just a tad wet. We paired it with a personal favorite red, the Banfi Chianti. It was flambe' night, which is one of the coolest deals going in my opinion. If you order an entree, you get a complimentary flambe', with three to choose from: apple brandy, bananas foster, or pineapple rum. The sous chef, Hollis Barnett, was kind enough to stop by and chat and we had a great conversation with Jeff Sherman, the bandleader. Good times. The price: $20, quite affordable considering the creativity.
You know we had to go get some Red Pepper! I thought this would make for a good main course after the alcohol consumption up to this point. The chef was kind enough to send out a complimentary appetizer of dragon wontons, sweet and spicy in their Sichuan sauce. Delicious. Whole leaf Chinese Oolong tea brought in just for Red Pepper proved to be a soothing accompaniment to the fiery, tongue numbing Sichuan clay hot pot of lamb and flounder. We decided to take some home as to save our appetite for dessert. Yuan Hua was the quintessential hostess providing hospitality that is hard to find anywhere. The price $21, but I would have been happy paying $35.
Finally, dessert and a nightcap at Volare. The setting is perfect with dim lights and an old-world feel. Gayle raved about the panna cotta and she was right. It was fantastic in all it's creamy glory, draped with fresh berries. Christina, who in addition to being a bartender is also a barista and Sullivan graduate, designed a coffee drink for us. The setting seemed perfect for Drambuie in a snifter, so that was my nightcap. Terrick, the FOH manager was a pleasure, kindly taking time from server checkouts for the last two guests of the night. I have to admit, I forgot to write down the cost of this meal. I was simply too distracted by contentment. I am going to guess $25 as Drambuie isn't cheap.
All in all, I would say that both Gayle and myself had a dining experience rarely experienced. At $55.50 each it was a steal. We learned a great deal about food, wine and cocktails along the way. We visited some old friends and made some new ones. I am looking forward to doing this again, very soon.