Last night we had the pleasure of joining the South Florida Chapter of the AIWF for dinner at Canyon Ranch Hotel. The meal was superb, as expected, and in this case, we found that Elizabeth Barlow's sous-chef had been a AIWF scholarship recipient. This was a wine dinner featuring Long Island's Mattebella's wines.
On the way to the private dining room where we were to dine, I got to admire the terrace, which the food & beverage manager assured us, was the closest to the beach of any establishment in the Miami area. I'm seeing lunch there in the not-too-distant future.
Each of us had a menu, and below each dish description was an intriguing set of numbers. Regrettably, they were not the phone number of the rather good-looking waiter, but horrible information such as calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber. To quote Sharon, a frequent accomplice in these food and wine forays: DON'T do the math!
It was the ultimate healthy menu, except for the amount of food. We started with the avocado tartare, a signature dish of the Canyon Ranch restaurant and beautifully paired with Mattebella's Chardonnay. This wine is crisp, citrusy, with really good butterscotch middle notes, and a tangy finish. Not a hint of that despicable buttery fatness so prevalent in California chardonnays. In conjunction with the avocado tartare, this was wine pairing heaven.
The next dish was not nearly as well matched. The sustainably caught Chilean bass was rich, buttery, served with a pineapple broth (not my favorite) and an inspired key lime cucumber relish topped with a fiery hot bird pepper. Unfortunately, this was paired with the Famiglia Red, and that was unfortunate. There apparently was a misunderstanding on what type of broth was served with the fish. The wine is lovely. The dish extraordinary. Together - not good. We asked the waiter to bring us some glasses of the chardonnay, and that went beautifully with the dish.
The next extravaganza was grass-fed tenderloin. Not entirely sure about the "truffle cheese crust" piece of that dish, but overall this was truly wonderful. I'm especially in awe of the grilled kale, and plan to try that at home. If anyone has a better recipe - send it on. The wine was wonderful, and a great match for the food. This was Mattebella's Vineyard's top-of-the-line Old World Blend. The wine is velvety, with just the right notes of dark fruit, ending with leather and coffee. Not much grip in there - so plan to drink this within five years, but what a pleasing wine. I'd compare this with a good, aged St. Emilion.
The desserts were a let-down, frankly. The combination of spiced zucchini cake, disguised as a dark chocolate truffle to fool unsuspecting diners, hibiscus creme brulee (just what flavor is "hibiscus" anyway?), and the fresh apple crumble topped with a sour ice cream of some sort (goat cheese?) totaled up to nasty. I clearly lack the sophistication to appreciate such (precious) creations.
When I go back, and I will, I will have their house-made soda as a dessert. The mango soda was wonderful.
So go to Canyon Ranch. Have lunch on the terrace. Or an early dinner. Have superb food, don't look at those numbers too closely, and enjoy.
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