Last week I attended Dishcrawl's "Duck Pork Foie" as part of their Bay Area "Foie Battle"; this one located at Myth Taverna & Lounge (and Greek restaurant) in Downtown San Jose.
For $90 (prices vary per event), hungry participants were treated to a five-course meal prepared by chef David Ramsey of Myth.
For those that enjoy foie gras* and are sad that they soon won't be able to order it in their favorite restaurants, this was quite the meal to enjoy and say farewell to the rich dish.
It has been awhile since I had foie gras, 2008 to be exact, while visiting friends living in Paris, France. What a place to have it, right? I remembered devouring it, along with the various yummy cheeses and other tasty treats our friends introduced us to.
That said... I was eager to taste these dishes! Keep in mind I am not a professional food critic; I like to think of myself as a general food enthusiast!
Course #1
Riesling Poached Foie & Cognac Tourchon with Mache, Brioche, & Marmalade Gastrique
(Paired with Chateau St. Michelle Riesling '10)
-- The marmalade made each bite really sweet with a little tart aftertaste. I'm not a huge fan of marmalade (usually because it's just too sweet); this dish was pretty much what we had in Paris so it brought back some fun memories. The pairing with the Riesling helped to mellow the sweetness of the marmalade.
Course #2
Crispy Fingerlings with Foie & Rosemary Cream Pudding and Fleur de Sel
(Paired with Elderflower & Rosemary Champagne Cocktail)
-- I wish the "pudding" had been a smidge thicker; the flavor, thanks to the rosemary, was pretty good. Kind of bummed the fingerlings were cold. I'm not sure if they were supposed to be or not. The cocktail paired with this course was interesting. I had to sip it slowly throughout the next course as well (I can't have carbonated drinks, but I can sip slowly.) It tasted fantastic however. And when you moved the sprig of rosemary around it'd cause more fizzies around the sprig.. I was amused OK?
Course #3
Pan Seared Foie & Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Bing Cherries, Frisee, & Pain au Lait
(Paired with Late Harvest Tokaji '09)
-- Favorite course! My mouth is watering just a little bit while I relive eating this dish. The mix of a little crispy bite of pork belly, bing cherries, and a bite of the pan seared foie, oh my. So delicious. More please!
Course #4
Duck 3 Ways: Leg Confit, Pan Seared Breast, & Foie Demi Glace with Potato Mousse & English Peas
(Paired with Echelon Pinot Noir '06)
-- This dish felt like homemade comfort food; you know with duck confit and foie gras - just how mom used to make! I have to admit, the presentation could have used a different flare to it - the squeezed-tube look of the potato mousse wasn't too appealing, but the taste was all that mattered (delicious!)
Course #5
"Ice Cream Cone" Blueberry Mousse with Brandied Foie Gras "Sprinkles"
(Paired with Heated Grand Marnier)
A tasty dessert - the "cone" was crispy and chewy (like a toffee) and the overall mix of flavors was great. The foie gras "sprinkles" were… eh? I tasted them by themselves before the rest of the dessert and couldn't taste anything. It didn't add to the dessert in my opinion.
Overall - TASTY DELICIOUS!
Want to join others before it's too late? Here's some upcoming Foie Battles:
(The list below has tickets available as of publishing of this blog post.)
Tues April 24th, 8:00pm: Proud to be An American… Foie Dinner (SF) // $110
Wed May 2nd, 6:30pm: Bataille de Chefs - Foie Gras (SF) // $180
Thurs May 10th, 7:00pm: For the Love of Foie (Saratoga) // $180
Mon May 14th, 7:00pm: Foie-some, Four-some (Downtown SJ) // $110
Thurs May 24th, 6:30pm: Filipino Foie-Down (San Mateo) // $180
(http://www.dishcrawl.com/foiebattle/ for more information and to buy tickets)
*For those that have other opinions about foie gras, please note that 5% of the proceeds will go to CHEFS, the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming.
Mmmmmm... looks amazing!
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