When I first arrived and got a look at the menu I was surprised by the distinct lack of any sort of offal. As much as I love lamb shanks and shoulder, I was here to taste all of my lamb. My darkest fears were averted when servers holding trays of kidney's, heart and testicles began to arrive. I was pleased to see the Chef's nod to St. John's with deviled kidney's served with little pieces of toast. The kidney's were especially delicious, although the hearts were tasty as well.
The courses were all lovingly prepared, but the one that I continue to think of the following day was the lamb breast au gratin. The meat was braised and pressed and ended up tender with a perfect amount of fat still clinging to the meat. The lamb breast was served with white beans and kale it was a dish I know I will be thinking about on my next crisp New England evening. Although the weather yesterday was warm and even balmy this dish was still the highlight of the evening.
The event has inspired me to get more involved with my local chapter of Slow Food. Beyond the food and setting the people Ross and I sat next to were lively and charming and made the evening even more memorable. The rest of the table were all from Allandale Farm and although I didn't get to chat with them as much as I would have liked the snippets of conversation we exchanged are still with me today (brief conversations about tattoos, and the sex appeal of male farmers). Hopefully I'll be able to get over to their farm this weekend with my Mum (who is visiting) and Ross.
It warms my heart to see people getting excited about nose to tail eating, I'm looking forward to more of these events in the future.
A great night all around.