Blacksmith's Bistro & Bar

We have held off on making a recommendation on this place which has been open about a year now because of some initial concerns about the service on our first 3 visits. However, the food has always been solid and last night's dinner puts it on the short list of must do Chattanooga restaurants.

Casual, service the last 3 visits has been fine, and they seem to have settled on a $10 corkage fee.

The fall menu has kicked it up into the top echelon. Never before have we seen Roasted bone marrow (with parsley and shallots) on any menu in Chattanooga. The last time we had bone marrow, was at Rathbun's in Atlanta, and this easily surpassed Kevin Rathbun's delicious version. There were sweetbreads last night with perfectly done asparagus, and a sage brown butter sauce with balsamic. There was Quail with arugula pears and cherry sauce. There were black bean cakes with fried greeen tomatoes pimento cheese and booyah sauce. There were broiled oysters with blacksmith's butter. And this was just on the appetizer menu.

We tried a solid version of pasta with bolognese sauce. There was a bacon macaroni and cheese which had Alan Benton's superb Madisonville, TN bacon (which we had to travel to Momofuku in NYC to discover several years ago even though its made 1 hour from Chattanooga). On prior visits we've enjoyed the ravioli with sage brown butter sauce and a superb romesco sauce that last night was with salmon.

Highly Recommended.

Thi

Town House Redux: The Sweet and the Savory

We made the 8 hour round trip drive Saturday to Town House in Chilhowie, VA again to sample the now ten course(instead of a mere paltry 9 courses!) tasting menu at what we felt at our June initial visit was perhaps the best meal in the United States. The dining room this time was full, in contrast to our Saturday night in June. Word is out.

The surreal twilight zone feeling that we had at that first visit was gone...we settled into our seats knowing in advance that there was no way to do this restaurant than the full monte. But could lightning possibly strike twice and could the chefs deliver again? Or was the first visit some sort of hypnagogic fluke?

Of the 10 courses, 7 were new. The chilled vegetable minestrone remains as the opener (and should, as it is visually arresting and shows off knife skills). It will be a great cover for Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazine when they finally arrive here to do a feature. The chorizo bouillon with Spanish influences and the dessert of truffles with buttermilk, young pistachio, peppermint and red wine remain as well. The owners Tom and Kyra Bishop(who have been there both of our visits serving food and clearing dishes) have said that a restaurant that changes seasonally was a goal of theirs....we thought the 70% turnover of the tasting menu in less than 3 months meets that goal.

Caramelized salmon roe and crab was the second course. Served with smoked coconut, avocado and banana, parsnip and cilantro marmalade, we thought as it was placed before us that there might be too much going on on the plate...we had a flashback to a crab two ways that Grant Achatz served at Alinea earlier this year that was so busy as to be hallucinatory. This, however, turned out to be our favorite complete dish of the evening.

The Orange from Valencia arrived next and was also a knockout dish...even the breadcrumbs tucked inside with the shellfish were terrific. Check out the photo on the Town House blog.

Hamachi and Bev Eggleston's pig tail with a grilled oyster and a broth courtesy of Allen Benton was next. Squab and foie gras praline wih meyer lemon, cream of parsley grapes and sorrel followed and was also a hit. Following that, the chorizo bouillon that we also enjoyed back in June remains a wonderful interlude. Next, came a lightly pickled and tea smoked o toro.

Thorntree farms lamb cooked in ashes with what appears to be a thin shaving of wood was also one of our favorites of the new savory dishes.

Two desserts followed, but before those, a digression is necessary. What makes this restaurant stand above other molecular gastronomy restaurants like Alinea and WD 50 is the commitment to flavor. While a meal at a molecular gastronomy restaurant always involves a bit of theater(think Cirque de Soleil type not the Disney Broadway musical kind), Chefs John and Karen Shields combine sweet and savory in a way unlike anything we've ever experienced anywhere in the world. It is the combination of the sweet and savory that makes this food so special, and taste so good. It is the combination of these two unique talents that makes this place one of the best anywhere. Without both of them influencing and adding/tempering each dish, it would not be the same miraculous restaurant. That is why, when the inevitable James Beard award comes, it has to involve both of them.

Perhaps the single greatest memory of the meal was an olive oil cake/meringue component of the Gazpacho of fruits and vegetables dessert. It is perhaps the greatest baked sweet we have ever had. It brought back memories of a warm fresh baked croissant you might have from the neighborhood bakery if you are staying in France. It was that good. It was something you'd love to have each weekend curled up reading the Sunday paper. Some high end restaurants in New York will give you a little baked good to take home for breakfast the next morning...I might suggest that Town House do the same with these little treasures. The gazpacho also included something called an olive berry which we never had encountered before...available at the local farmers market...a consistency and tang a bit like a pomegranate seed.

Finishing up was the truffles with buttermilk, young pistachio, peppermint and red wine, which was as wonderful as the first time. No Benton's bacon ice cream this visit, but hopefully that will return at another visit.

Sommelier Charlie Berg has assembled a terrific fairly priced wine list combining old and new world. Here's the link: http://townhouseva.com/files/Town%20House%20Wine%20List.pdf . We had the 2006 Evesham Wood Le Puits Sec Pinot Noir, evoking a bit of burgundy with a bit of barnyard, and tart light red fruit such as sour cherry, raspberry and cranberry.

Although it is somewhat remote, it is well worth a trip to Chilhowie, VA. Here is a link to the menu: http://townhouseva.com/files/Town%20House%20Menu.pdf. Photos of some of the dishes are available here: http://townhouseblog.blogspot.com/ . We've had a camera both times but get so distracted with the presentation of each dish, we forget to snap a photo. In case you missed the New York Times article, here's a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/dining/17town.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=chilhowie&st=cse

St. John's July 11, 2009

Daniel Lindley with an assist from sous chef Josh Safford prepared the following tasting menu last night.

From top to bottom, left to right:

Chocolate terrine with chili and miso ice cream, chocolate ganache and brioche

Watermelon rind (two ways- pickled and crisped) with hazelnuts and coconut gelato

Dry aged Beef with wildwood farms kohlrabi kimchi, fried rice puree, lime powder and pea shoots (2 photos)

Grimaud Farm's Squab with thomas guatney's gooseberries, oyster mushroom, orange and cardamon foam

Niman Ranch Pig's Trotters with foie gras, mike burn's blackberries, summer savory and balsamic (2 photos)

Alaskan halibut with parsley flowers, carrot juice,onion, zucchini and jalapeno

Rhode Island squid(formed into a kind of tubular basket) with yuzu kosho, celery heart and somehow a miraculous meringue inside

Wildwood Farms Zucchini flower with opal basil gulf royal red shrimp and red curry

Dave Waters Farm Egg: sous vide yolk, baby garlic custard, pancette, and summer truffle puree

Wines: 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet and 2004 Aubert Lauren Chardonnay

My apologies for the variable quality of the photos...the artistry of the presentation still shines through my very amateur snapshots.

The range of style of food was amazing. The truffle puree was beyond belief and we loved the fried rice puree...it had a nut flavor underlying it that made me believe there was a cashew in the mix but apparently that flavor derived from the wild rice used in the dish.

The Aubert was the star last night...one of the best chardonnays we've ever had, with the oak splinters that were present on release integrated fully and less of that typical cloudiness sometimes found in Mark Aubert's chard's. Too bad it is our last bottle. The Quilceda Creek, even though Wine Advocate rated it a perfect 100 disappointed and not for any obvious flaw we could detect. We didn't decant, but it sat opened for an hour and a half at least and tannins were not an issue...it just didn't live up to the hype or even previous vintages of Q Creek we've had. Hopefully, just some bottle variation. And the wine service was great...nice stemware, small not overwhelmingly large pours, well worth the 30 dollar corkage fee.

Chef Lindley and his staff can cook on a level with anyone. Just a terrific experience.

Restaurant Eugene

I have delayed writing this review because I have respect for what Linton and Gina Hopkins are trying to do with a seasonal local menu. They even utilize some of our favorite suppliers such as Sequatchie Cove and Sweetgrass Dairy.

But our experience points how difficult it is to run a restaurant, or any small business for that matter. If you are not there to oversee, things can go so wrong and it is your reputation that gets maligned, not the employees. Our particular experience was horrific on the service side, and the food was uneven.

When a waitress brings a clean sharing plate that has crusted food on it and the brings another with the same issue and then another, something is terribly amiss. When she then brings 6 items at a time when you have asked to bring no more than 3, is reminded of the original request, then does it again on the next round, you start to get a little exasperated. When she drops food off the plate as she is bringing it to the table, then picks it up, places it back on the plate and serves it to you, can you still believe you are in one of Atlanta's top restaurants, and a James Beard nominee to boot? When you are served a sparkling wine (by the glass) that has clearly been open since the previous day and is nearly flat, do you not start to wonder if there is anyone in charge? When we were considering the Chef's tasting menu and asked if the Chef was there that evening we were told "I think I saw him across the street earlier today." Bingo. Therein may lay part of the problem. If you read the opentable reviews for the day we were there, we were not the only ones to have a poor experience.

On to the food and restaurant. Great valet parking. The restaurant is a little too formal for the current style of food. Here's the lineup where multiple small plates are encouraged.

Cherry Bell Radish, radish pistou, fleur de sel, butter

Crisp kale, pickled onions, bacon, buttermilk dressing

Roast fennel, shallot petals, gremolata

Summer squash, pea shoot puree, wild plum jam

sweet corn tortellini, shitakes, broccoli greens

Potato gnocchi, baby leeks, lemon cucumber

Vidalia, peach salad, candied country ham, citrus vin

Hen of the woods, green garlic, hollandaise

Warm vidalia onion tart, peat shoot and radish salad

Soft farm egg, skillet greens, peanuts, bacon

Crispy pork belly, artichokes, baby carrots, sorghum glaze

Pan fried chicken livers, soft grits, chow chow

Georgia Quail, smoked bacon, rice grits, honey

Veal sweetbreads, farm egg, bottarga, arugula pesto

Duck breast, fennel, maitake, onion relish

Favorites were the chicken livers and the peach/vidalia salad.

French Laundry Menu Circa 1997 (note the Price)

Random Notes

Inspired by a bounty of cherokee purple tomatoes and lettuce from our csa, Niedlovs sourdough, farm fresh eggs from Brock Creek farms on Signal Mountain, a bumper crop of basil in our garden(basil aoli), some previously opened goat cheese and a Benton's bacon ice cream Saturday night at Town House restaurant in Chilhowie, we threw down with some blt's tonight. Combined with a Grenache based blend from Pax called cuvee Moriah (the 2004), a chicken salad requested by the kids (leftover chicken from the grill with some grapes and a bit of curry), and some simply grilled okra (with olive oil, sea salt and pepper), we had a terrific simple summer meal. The Pax wines often evoke a bit of bacon fat for me, and this particular bottle was no exception. The downside of all this was this was the last of 10 pounds of Benton's heaven and another pork run to Bentonville (well, actually Madisonville, Tennessee) is imminent and necessary. Mail order is never as fun as seeing the masterful genius Allen Benton in person....darned if he doesn't remind me of Jimmy Carter. The Cuvee Moriah still has some years left as mouth drying tannins showed themselves still.

Caroline was reading an article(June 2009, Bon Appetit) to me on our drive back from Virginia this weekend about bacon drippings/fat being fairly equivalent as far as health goes as olive oil, etc. I can remember in our own family the can/jar of drippings kept close by in the kitchen. So tonight, we filled an old jar with the leavings from frying up the Bentons...a guilty pleasure for sure. Anybody else returning to this "old" practice?

Here's a puzzle. How will the James Beard Foundation handle Townhouse and its chefs? Joint award for best chef/best new chef(s)? Best new restaurant? Best dessert chef and best chef separately? How long will it take for them to find the place...we're certainly in the process of notifying/contacting them, but will it be too far from a major airport for them to easily send reviewers?

James Beard recognized Restaurant Eugene is on the agenda for this coming weekend.

Town House Chilhowie, VA...Best Meal in the USA?

Thanks to a New York Times article in this weeks food section, Caroline and I made the 4 hour trek up to Chilhowie to check this place out.

The background is a soon to be married couple of Chicago chefs (she the pastry chef at Charlie Trotters and he a sous chef at Alinea) were selected to open Charlie Trotters new restaurant in Las Vegas, but ultimately decided they wanted to do something a "little" different. Chosen by a local Virginia couple named Tom and Kyra Bishop who love to travel and great food to revamp their Chilhowie restaurant, they have brought molecular gastronomy to a part of the country unfamiliar with it.

This may be the best meal in the United States right now...John Shields and Karen Urie told the owners that the first goal was to be the best restaurant in Virginia, but after a year and a half, it has easily surpassed that. As we were 4 courses into 14 Saturday night, we realized we were onto something very very special. At that point, we felt it had surpassed our meal at Alinea just 3 weeks prior, and every NY restaurant including Per Se, Le Bernardin, and Jean George we'd ever been to. Comparisons to French Laundry, Arzak and Noma began to form in our minds. By about course 7, the Laundry (which admittedly we haven't been to in about 10 years) had been left in the rear view mirror.

The cooking involves molecular gastronomy techniques, but the flavors far surpass those of Alinea, WD 50 and even Mugaritz. Hence, the comparison to Arzak which uses molecular gastronomy to better result than either Mugaritz or Alinea. Karen is in charge of the sweet side of the menu, but her influence is felt in elements on the savory side as well. You can hardly wait for her desserts...we sampled 4 of them. The chefs forage for local ingredients in the local countryside ala Rene Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen (we had a lobster salad at Noma where he had foraged for "beach herbs" that was amazing).

There is a feeling of being in the twilight zone, as the restaurant is so unexpected in such a small out of the way corner of the US, but perhaps its a part of a trend to follow the European example of "destination" restaurants in small towns such as is seen in France and Spain. The feel of the place is definitely more Spain casual than French formal which is a good thing in our minds. The chefs make the rounds of the dining room just like Elena and Juan Mari at Arzak, stopping to chat and even introduce a dish here and there.

They told us they plate every dish themselves, unheard of at most restaurants of this caliber. The owners are present and involved and contribute to an unbelievably welcoming experience.

The wine list is evolving but is unbelievably fairly priced with many solid selections under 50 dollars. Accommodations are available at nearby Marion and Abingdon...we stayed at a recently opened B and B called Collins House in Marion...a car service is offered by the restaurant to nearby accommodations.

The website to check out the menu is townhouseva.com. A 4 and 9 course option are available, but they are extremely flexible about adding items from other parts of the menu as you desire. There is a maturity to the flavors, textures, artistry and sheer intellectuality of the cooking that is far beyond chefs of 31 and 32 years of age. Amazing. One of the great meals of our lives.