A beer dinner that could have been great!

Well we are fans of the guys at Sardine so when the chance to attend their first beer harvest dinner was presented we jumped at the chance. We love to sit at the bar and have dinner often because the gang at the bar deliver some of the best service in Madison. When Nate suggested that we sign up for what was going to be an evening of great Belgian Beer and hearty fare we thought what a great way to spend a Monday evening.

So we rolled in on Monday October 27th to enjoy some hors d'oeuvre and ale, sadly the snacks were some cheese and crackers not very exciting for a bar area full of folks really quaffing the brew. So we chalked it up to just a small miss. They promptly seated everyone at 7:15 to serve a family style meal. We sat with a lovely couple who enjoyed dining and travel and seemed quite pleased with the evenings fare. We started out with a bang - some wonderful roasted mussels on the half shell with a herb crumb mixture with butter - quite tasty with a hint of tarragon that paired the dish well with the Leffe Blonde. The beer was a Belgian ale with just a hint of anise on the finish this was a great pairing with the mussels. The other first course was a salad of frisee with shaved fennel, apple, blue cheese and walnuts lightly dressed - it was light, crispy and tart which also went nicely with the Leffe Blonde. It was at this point in the meal that we had expected either John or Phillip to greet the crowd and share their insights for the evening meal, however they remained in the kitchen. It was a huge miss that no one discussed the beer or the food as we have experienced at wine dinners around town.

Instead the next two beers were served in preparation for the entree courses being served, these were the Spaten Oktoberfest and the Kasteel Brune. Both heavier beers designed to go with the braised chicken, roasted fall vegetables, and a platter of various sausages. The food was ok - tepid - the sausage platter with fresh sauerkraut was just that - not interesting again no really explanation or guidance from our hosts. The beers were great with these items so a lot of thought was put into the pairing but no one shared the thinking or insights - a huge miss for a number of foodies in attendance. The Spaten had nice caramel notes with a light hoppy finish - pleasing to drink, the Kasteel Brune was rich, dark and coffee, like it held up to the boldness of the roasted squash and brussel sprouts with out over powering their flavors. All in all the second course was disappointing on many levels. So we hoped that the dessert course would pull the evening out of the sub par experience but it failed to do so.

What arrived for dessert was an apple strudel that was ok but tended to have a gummy crust and it did not pair well with the Floris Framboise. Which was a light and bubbly lambic with a lovely raspberry nose it would have been better with something chocolate that would have provided a contrast to the beer. Ok now is someone going to come out and talk to the crowd, maybe say a few words and thank everyone (all very regular guests) for coming tonight. Nope the next thing that shows up is the check. So we cash out say goodbye to the couple we sat with and the gang behind the bar. What we hoped to be a stellar evening turns our to be a B- at best.

Part of what makes Sardine and Marigold Kitchen special is the hospitality and the people who have passion to serve. We go to Sardine as I said for the excellent service at the bar from Gabe, Nate and Bobbi it is too bad that hospitality was lacking on what could have been a great evening. I think maybe John and Phillip should attend a wine dinner at Harvest to see how gracious Tammi and her team execute what is a lovely evening of food, wine and knowledge with their guests. We will give the gang at Sardine another try on a paired dinner - we hope this first outing provided some good feedback for the team and will help them raise the bar. We know that a number of folks dinning at the harvest dinner were interested in more than just chowing down, they came thirsty for knowledge with a willingness to learn and grow.

Friday night dinner at Lombardino's 11/21

We love having dinner at Lombardino's the chef/ owner Patrick is by far one of the most consistent and innovative chefs in Madison. He really creates a wonderful menu and specials sheet using local and seasonal ingredients that really tempt the taste buds.

As with most trips to Lombardino's we like to sit at the bar - the service is always excellent with personal attention from Micheal Banos the GM of the restaurant. This evening we had to sit at one of the high top tables at the end of the bar. - A great spot to watch people and enjoy the energy of the dining room near by. As usual we ordered off the specials sheet - not that the main menu items are not great - we just love the items that are featured - this evening we shared three of the antipasti items - the Beet Salad, the Duo of Scallops, Sausage & Peppers - all three really fun and delicious. While dining we each had a glass of the Zenato Ripassa - one of our favorites - rich fruit, with a little raisin and dried currants and Amarone at half the price.

The beet salad was a classic with roasted beets, greens, Gorgonzola, nuts and lightly dressed greens. It was great way to start the evening it really was nice since we had happy hour downtown at Broccah but that is another story. The nice thing about splitting items at Lombardino's is that they split them in the kitchen when the dish allows, we love this extra little special attention. Next up the duo of scallops which combined a chilled slice of salmon and scallop mousse over baby arugula on one end of the plate with a hot offering of a seared scallop with truffle and brown butter crumbs pasta. The cold half of the duo the mousse was not very pleasing a slight miss in our opinion. The salmon in the mousse was to over powering for the scallop and made the entire item taste really fishy. On the other end of the plate the hot half of the duo really delivered a nice punch. The scallop was perfectly cooked the black truffle with the brown butter crumb was just rich and luxurious on the palate. We quickly noshed on the scallop and sopped up every last crumb with their wonderful bread. The flavors of the earthy truffle with the scallop's freshness of the sea taste all tied together with the light caramel notes of the brown butter make this dish a must repeat, yum!

We rounded out the meal with the final course, a classic sausage and peppers. Patrick puts a nice spin on this favorite by first using a wonderful piece of Frabonis coiled Italian sausage. The sausage it self had been grilled which added a nice smoky note to the dish, He then combined peppers and onions that are almost caramelized, but he used poblano peppers instead of just bell peppers. The poblano provided a wonderful glow of heat to the dish that separated it from being ordinary.

We enjoyed the rest of our wine and then headed back to the eastside since we could not find any music we were interested in this evening. We always look forward to the great food from Patrick and the awesome service from Micheal and his team. Thanks for making our Friday night a tasty one!