Food For The Night

I think these were served in the order starting with the caviar and then going clockwise from there, but who remembers? A couple of details stand out – the Pommery mustard sauce was an inspiration from a meal at Charlie Trotter’s, where I’d gone for an interview to be his head sommelier at his soon to be opening Las Vegas restaurant – I spent a day between the kitchen and dining room, then sat down to a full tasting menu, spent the night at his home, and then flew back to NYC. I didn’t get the job, which turned out to be a blessing as I doubt I’d have liked Las Vegas as a place to live, and the restaurant didn’t last long. The scallops with the sherry bacon vinaigrette was a riff on an amuse bouche we served at Mondrian restaurant when I interned under Tom Colicchio after having gone back to school to hone some skills.