Dinner event hosted by one of our VARs at Sorrel. We attended this same event 2 years ago and had definitely enjoyed both the food, the discussion by the panel, and talking to our fellow diners at the event. This time though, Andrea was sick so I ended up going solo. My account manager, reminded to register (I had missed it in my e-mail) and she said that registrations weren’t filling up. I was running late to get the the event and was surprised to see only 2 of the 4 tables full (each table seated 10). She ushered me over to a seat at one of the tables. I was the only customer at this table (it looked like they others were at the other table).
I was seated directly next to Johnathan who was one of the panelists. We had a fantastic conversation nerding out about so many different things – food, travel, truffles, restaurants, science fiction, the impact of AI on society, the nature of our perception being a mere construct in our minds detached from base reality. It was awesome to talk to someone with whom I had so many common interests.
Food overall was very good, but I didn’t place very close attention to all of it like I normally would because I was engaged in conversation most of the time. For amuse, we received the first two on the menu (strange that the third never appeared). One was a watermelon, (fried?) shiso, and bit of urfa chile. The other was a chia seed mini torilla shaped shell filled with smoked sturgeon and avocado. Both were very good and very different. The watermelon one was of course very fresh and fruity and the second was creamy and fishy. Both different, but enjoyable bites.
Then came the first course with Hokkaido scallop. This was served on a bed of wild rice, litlle bits of Asian pear and some bone marrow in some gelatinous cubes. When I saw this dish on the menu, I thought of a sort of surf-and-turf. The marrow flavor was very mild and I actually think I would have liked it stronger, but it was still a delicious dish with a beautiful sear on the scallop.
The next course was a bit of showpiece, the triple cream cheese. This was very soft and in the middle of the dish which was ringed by various little bits of basil, fig, cucumber, tomato, squash, orange that made for a striking dish. This was served with a side of tomato fry bread which was perfect for mopping up the cheese.
We were then served some house baked bread with several different sides. I forgot what two of them were, but I very much remembered the anchovy which was of course my favorite and since some of the others didn’t go for it, it just meant more for me, hehe.
Next came the buckwheat gnudi (ricotta gnocchi). This came with corn, including some popcorn, chanterelles and some microplaned truffle. The truffles seemed quite fresh and aromatic. I asked one of the waitstaff where the truffle was from and she said Tasmania.
Next dish was a king salmon (apparently I forgot to take a picture of this one). This was served with grilled cucumber and a buttermilk and brown butter broth.
Before dessert, we were served a little pallette cleanser. I don’t remember what the main flavor was, but I remember there being blueberries which they didn’t mention (and I love blueberries) and it was much nicer than a throwaway sorbet.
Lastly, for dessert, we were given an upscale version of s’mores. This had toasted marshmallow cream on top which kind of dominated the flavor (not that it was bad). There was a red miso caramel which I didn’t quite taste and dark chocolate as well. It was good, but again, the marshmallow seemed to dominate.
For parting gift, we were given a goodie bag with some kaya (coconut jam) and butterscotch chocolates as well as a bit of rigatoni and summer tomato sauce. Crowdstrike also through in some swag as well.
It was an enjoyable event. The waitstaff did an admirable job navigating around a more chaotic seating than a typical night (although the presumably only had half the diners). The food was more upscale than I remember from my two previous visits which is all the more impressive for essentially banquet dining. it did make me interested enough to revisit for a regular dinner. In any case, thanks Mandi and CDW!
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