Iron Chef, Paul Virant

Don't know if anyone else is planning on attending but we'll be there. We also made reservations for Wednesday night following the show so that we can taste what the team made.

IRON CHEF APPEARANCE

Don't miss Chef Virant competing on Iron Chef America on the Food Network, Sunday, November 1 at 9:00!

Chef Paul, his family, friends, and many of the Vie staff will be at Tap House Grill (6010 South Cass in Westmont) that evening

and everyone is invited to join us there for the viewing.

Thanks, Jean, for the heads up. It's unlikely that I'll make it to the viewing but I'll do my best.

We too will be at Vie on Wed 11/4 for the Iron Chef Menu. It should be a blast.

See you there!

=R=

Great! BTW, we have a party of four at 7:00 PM. Don't know how many there are joining you but if you'd like to see about joining us, I'd be happy to have your company. Either way, we'll look for you there.

Any reports back on the Iron Chef dinner from last night? We will be there tomorrow night. Looks great. Offhand anyone know what corkage is there? We will have champagne and pinot in tow.

mattshafferHP wrote:Any reports back on the Iron Chef dinner from last night? We will be there tomorrow night. Looks great. Offhand anyone know what corkage is there? We will have champagne and pinot in tow.

Corkage is $20/bottle, but is waived for any bottles over ten years old.

If you need a glass or two of white, I really like the Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling, which they offer both by the glass and by the bottle.

Looking forward to reports about the Iron Chef dinner,
Ronna

I forgot about the policy to waive the fee on bottles over 10 years old. I'm there tomorrow night also so I might just do that. Really looking forward to the meal. It looked fabulous!

Having seen the episode, I'm extremely excited about tomorrow night's dinner. As I was watching on Sunday, with each course I kept thinking to myself 'I can't wait to try that.' That was definitely a first with me and Iron Chef.

We'll be there at 5:30. It is a school night, after all.

=R=

Just got back from the 'Iron Chef Menu' dinner, which was really great . . .


House-smoked pheasant breast and almond cream tart with marcona almonds, blackberry vinaigrette, crispy skin and Thor's smoked crottin
07 Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy, Sancerre Rose, Verdigny-en-Sancerre, France
I loved every component here, especially the sweetly-smoked and moist pheasant breast.



Crispy Parisienne gnocchi with mustard-braised pheasant leg and thigh, roasted shallots, Grassfields creamery gouda and marinated porcinis
08 Saintsbury, Garnet, Pinot Noir, Carneros
Spectacular dish in just about every respect. The gnocchi were crispy and light, and the pheasant was tender and succulent.



Pheasant scotch egg: pheasant sausage wrapped around poached pheasant egg, breaded and fried, arugula and fried shoestring potatoes, pheasant aioli
Wells Bombardier English Premium Ale, Bedford, UK



Up close and personal with the scotch egg
Really, it doesn't get any better than this. Delicious decadance.



Roasted pheasant caillette with pickled fennel, and raw shaved apples and apple cider vinegar jus
06 Domaine La Garrigue, Vacqueyras, Vaucluse, France



Caillette interior
I really enjoyed the rich depth of flavors here but I'm not sure I really picked up the caul fat. Still, there was a complexity to the caillette that really struck me.



Pheasant consomme with watercress gremolata and micro spinach
08 Domaine Du Tariquet, Ugni Blanc-Colombard, Cotes De Gascogne
Rich, intense and slightly sticky on the lips. I appreciated the fact that there was very little salt here, so the flavors really continued to develop even in the aftertaste.



Intermezzo - Pear Cider Sorbet
Refreshing and very pear-y.



Warm gooey butter cake with preserved Wisconsin cranberries, candied pumpkin seeds, Tahitian vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce
Fantastic 'edition' of the classic Vie dessert. I was more than happy to eat the additional pumpkin seeds and cranberries left behind by my unappreciative son.



Fall Cranberry Cocktail: Marsalle VSOP brandy, fresh cranberry puree, Michigan apple cider, Mandarine napoleon and maraschino liqueur
This cocktail was appropriately paired with the warm gooey butter cake and I really loved it. It was balanced toward the sweet side with a floral note up front and lingering depth in the finish.

I really enjoyed this meal. Not only were the dishes delicious but the beverage pairings were excellent, as well. The Vie team really stayed true to themselves. I appreciated the opportunity to try dishes that were born out of a tv challenge and which still clearly carried the Vie aesthetic. Considering that they beat Morimoto in the category that matters the most (taste), I hope they get a rematch sometime in the future.

=R=

Thanks Ron for posting your beautiful pictures. As you know, I was also there last night but it's great to relive that perfect meal again. I've forwarded them on to all of my friends who haven't made it to Vie yet. I also had a cocktail from their special list that I would gladly have every night of my life. It was their version of a Makers Mark Manhattan and it was the best thing I've had to drink in a long while...maybe ever.

This episode will be replayed tonight at 7 according to my Comcast listings.