This dining experience took place on August 14, 2014
Officially billed as “Scott Joseph Supper Club with Master Chef Kevin Dundon” – it was the American dinner and later, there was to be an Ireland dinner – these were in conjunction with a Florida college football team traveling to Dublin to play football with a Pennsylvania college football team… odd, yes. But still a good opportunity for some good food and fun… And, Amy Meddins was here (as usual for signature dining events at Raglan Road) to provide the wine and the information about same.
the decor of the Supper Club area (thankfully, we were slightly cordoned off from the rest of the pub… but the noise dampening didn’t really do enough) – very elegant and not very pub-like
most tables were set up for six to eight diners, we expected a bit of a “reception” with fizz or ales to get us started, that didn’t happen
this was our table for six, we were joined by Karen (who works in legal for Walt Disney World), Mimi & Jose (an older couple) – the three of them are somewhat regular attendees to Scott Joseph’s Supper Clubs but I don’t think any of them had been to Raglan Road Pub before
my lovely menu before I started scribbling on it
the floral arrangement was nicely sized and unobtrusive and I thought the candles were a very nice touch
this is Chef Kevin Dundon – he always makes us smile! He does three signature dinners each year at Raglan Road Pub, you may see him at other times depending on what’s going on
the full menu for dinner (with pairings – one of which is an IPA)
The first wine was a Vocoret Chablis:
- Nick’s impressions at first – “I think it smells horrible, I’ll probably like the way it tastes and it feels way too cold in my hand”, “I think it would go well with olive oil or cheese”
- Nora’s first impressions – grassy nose with a little bit of funk, flavor a bit sour and citrusy without food, I liked it well enough without food
Amy said that this was a chablis from very old vines in France, 1800 cases of this particular wine are imported to the U.S.
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Balsamic Drops, Bloody Mary Sorbet, and Basil Cream
This salad was nice and light, a good start to the meal – however, I must confess that I don’t like bloody mary cocktails and we didn’t really care for the bloody mary sorbet (one the flavor and two it was frozen in a crystalized ice shell and a bit difficult to get into) – Karen at our table didn’t care for the sorbet either. The tomato salad without the sorbet was very good.
Pale Ale Battered Atlantic Monkfish with Sea Salted Golden Chips and Raglan Tartar Sauce – paired with Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA
We’ve had the Hopsecutioner IPA before and like it well enough, it went very nicely with the fish and chips. Kevin told us that monkfish was close to his heart, when he was growing up, his Mum would go to the fish mongers and get it (it was known as “poor man’s shrimp”)… now, monkfish is very popular in Ireland. The chips are worth a second mention – they’re soaked with duck confit fat before frying to a golden crisp. When they first came out, I thought, “oh pooh, only four chips”… they were enough.
the presentation was very nice, a plate of glass on top of a wooden Cookes of Dublin box (we were told that we could have the boxes as souvenirs)
the boxes contained sand and seashells
we both enjoyed the flavors of the monkfish (even though haddock is our go to favorite)
Kevin laughing with Mimi and Jose… we had a good time teasing Jose with the old adage “those who can’t do teach, those who can’t teach become deans” … Jose is a dean at a local college
Kevin and another Raglan Road chef brought out two spit roasted lambs
Spit Roasted Baby Lamb with (Anchovy & Curry Marinade) Rosemary Salt Crust – ummm, we like lamb and lamb fat
the lamb was carved directly for us, and seconds were available as long as we wanted to keep eating
Carving and serving lamb
this was a nice bit of theater and it was also educational to listen to Kevin telling his chef how to do it properly
Spit Roasted Baby Lamb with Rosemary Salt Crust, Minted Pea Jelly (and minted peas) and Fondant Potatoes (more duck confit and glaze)
The lamb smelled delicious when it arrived at our table. The wine (Campo Alegre, Toro Spain 2010) didn’t have a lot of nose, good flavors, the tannins were slightly hard.
We both thought that the lamb was a bit tough and sinewy (probably the cut we received). Even so, we each had seconds and small thirds – the flavors were quite good, it was simply chewy. The fondant potatoes were good! But we liked the chips in the first course better.
As the lamb was carved, …
… it was immediately plated and served
Nick isn’t a huge fan of mintedpeas, these weren’t a huge hit to his tastes (and I had to agree)
I’d say that lamb was a favorite that evening – these bits were destined to become lamb pies overnight
Strawberry Fields Forever – paired with Chandon Rose
white chocolate mousse, chocolate cookie “soil” and strawberries – everything in the dessert came from Dunbrody House in Wexford Ireland (BTW, that’s Kevin’s hotel in Wexford)
If you’ve never been to Raglan Road Pub. the dancers perform every evening…
… clearly talented and pleasing to the eyes, just a bit loud for our tastes
a delightful evening was had by all
time to say good-night
Kevin sent us home with shortbread cookies and tea in milk cartons for our “afters”
the shortbread was delicious and buttery (can you say “Kerrygold butter”? I knew you could)
we liked this photo of Kevin tasting his cooking in progress – if you’ve ever seen him live or on his television shows, this is a common mannerism from him – very nice to see on the cookies & tea
small details build a brand…
as the evening wound down, Kevin came around and signed our menus…
We really enjoyed this event, probably more than we’ve enjoyed signature dinners in the past (in general). In fact, we’re going back to Raglan Road on Thursday night for the Food & Wine Festival Signature Dinner!