When I walked around the corner into a semi-private seating area and saw a long table with rows of wine glasses and stacks of plates, I thought, aw, yeah. This is gonna be good.
Indeed, one of the highlights of the Glacier Country Press Trip to Montana was the six-course wine and food tasting dinner at the chef’s table of the Blue Canyon restaurant. For me, anyway, the consummate food-geek.
Blue Canyon has locations in Montana, Ohio, and Texas, and their menu is crafted by Executive Chef Brandt Evans, who hosted our dinner. Chef Brandt is a pretty cool dude – he travels the world mixing his own table wines for Blue Canyon, is a great speaker, and is currently in the process of auditioning for Top Chef, which of course is my favorite show of all time, and makes the signed menu I received from Chef Brandt all the more squeal-worthy. This, btw, is Chef Brandt and Chef Lawrence Coffner of the Montana Blue Canyon:
Here’s the run-down:
Yellow Fin Tuna Crudo with olive, fennel, lemon zest, and EVO; WhiteHaven Sauvignon Blanc, NZ 06
Toasted Coriander Sea Scallops with thai chili sweet soy pickled ginger emulsion; Blue Canyon Reisling, Mosel, GR 07 (this wine was my favorite, and as a Cape Cod girl in Montana, I was amazed by how good these scallops were. They were cooked perfectly, but the sauce was also responsible for a lot.)
Roasted Duck Breast and Smoked Tomato Corn Spoon Bread; La Posta, Malbec, ARG 05 (This was another favorite. The duck was tender and the spoon bread was a new taste for me; I was intrigued after one bite, sold after two, and in love after three. What an adventure – ya, I know. Food geek.)
Bison Strip Loin with Brussels Sprouts leaves, coconut curry, red onion marmalade; CG Di Arie, Zinfandel, CA 07 (The bison was surprisingly tender and the curry was a really cool touch. The wine was a red, and my favorite red of the night. Cool factor – it was developed by winemaker Chaim Gur-Arieh, who also invented Cap’n Crunch, Jello Puddin Pops, and a slew of other products as a food engineer.)
Three Acts of Chocolate: White Chocolate Bavarois, Mik Chocolate Pot de Creme, Dark Chocolate rench Macaroons; Blue Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, CA 04 (This was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. the bavarois had an orange zest, and the macaroons were just as good as those I had in Lyon, made by Seve.)
In addition to developing some of the wines that were served along with the dishes (which were prepared by the restaurant’s lead chef and pastry chef), Chef Brandt also developed a set of spices for rubs, marinades, and dips. We got to walk away with a set each plus recipe cards, very cool:
I’m looking forward to making the neighbors jealous.
