I have always wanted to go to Farm & Table. I just never got there. Then I read in Local Flavor Magazine, that Farm & Table was having a Vegan and Wine Pairing Dinner (70 per person). I had to go! I was so glad I did.
I have run into some controversy because vegan dinners are not supposed to be expensive( why??) because they are made of vegetables. I don’t understand this concept or stereotype. Excellent food is handled with great care and finesse. Excellent food usually contains excellent ingredients, which can be expensive. It is the preparation and ingredients that count, not the price. I don’t splurge very often but this dinner was a rare exception.
I always like it when I am greeted at the door with sparkling wine. How cool is that! What a way to start the evening. We had an amuse bouche of pickled potatoes and nuts.
Course one was a Fritto misto with artichoke, delicata, arborio, and tomato. Yum! It was an excellent start of an incredible evening. It was paired with a Argyle Brut. This was a wonderful pairing. The wine curator, James Krajewski, was spot on throughout the night with the wine and food pairings.
Course Two was a fantastic fennel salad. It was outstanding! It had fennel slices with ruby red grapefruit segments along with onion, jalapeño, olive oil and Maldon salt. This course was paired with a Pascal Jolivet Rose.
Course Three consisted of a lovely puttanesca that was made with hand made pasta, tagliatelle. This pasta rocked. The chef hit it out of the park with this one! Thank you Chef Rosa Zamora for giving me a little taste of heaven. There were peppers, castelvetrano olives, capers, tomato, and of course garlic on this heavenly puttanesca.
Course Four was a tasty farinata with garbanzo, onion, rosemary, mushroom, and sunchoke. Oh my, what can I say. This plate just blew me away! I think that I actually inhaled the farinata. It was paired with an earthy Pinot Noir, a Martin Woods from Oregon. Ok, I don’t usually like Pinot Noirs, most of them taste like dirt to me. I have eaten dirt but that was many, many years ago. Yes, terroir is the fancy French name for terrain. I really disliked Pinots since the movie, Sideways. Enough said. This Pinot was very enjoyable.
Course five was an unbelievable olive oil cake. This is not a cake I would have ordered off a menu, That would have been my loss. The cake was so delicious with hints of lemon, grapefruit, and rosemary. It was expertly paired with a Moscatel Dulce from Spain. Nicely done!
This was definitely a Holiday Splurge but well worth it! Just look at the food in these photos:
Santa Fe City Different Foodie 