What Summer Evenings Should Be

This weekend brought this month's edition of my Wine Club. Destination: Piccolo. The summer sessions of wine club tend to be smaller, with Minnesotans attending to their cabins, weddings and other activities filling up the calendar. So for this month, it was just three of us gathering. The three of us all had dined at Piccolo previously, so we knew what to expect: divinity in the form of food.

When Anthony Bordain touts something as one of the best restaurants in the Midwest, you know there's something there. After a raining day of running errands, helping K pick out a father's day gift for D, I was looking forward to relaxing with some good food and great company (and a nice glass of wine.)

Piccolo doesn't disappoint. Let's start with the wine. I love how they offer a carafe option - it's perfect when two people want the same wine, you get about a glass and a half worth of wine a piece for less than a dollar more than the glass. Now that its summer, I'm all about whites (but I have to admit, I've made a foray into roses, and they are not too shabby - definitely nothing like white Zinfandel). I selected the La Cana Albariño, 2010 from Rias Baixas, Spain. This has become one of my favorite summer wines. It's just at the cusp of where it's starting to appear on most wine lists (but not quite as prominent as Viognier) so it tends to be a little pricier, but for me it's worth it.

First course was burrata with compressed oranges, celery, wild fennel pollen and chili oil:

The burrata was creamy, and reminded me of a very fresh cottage cheese, I was hesitant about the fennel pollen, but didn't really notice any overly strong anise flavors and the chili oil was so subtle that there was not really heat to the dish. I wish the oranges had been a tiny bit more compressed or maybe slightly candied. It was a light, refreshing starter for a warm summer evening. Not the best thing I've ever eaten, but good enough to start.

Next I enjoyed white shrimp and razor clams with cucumber, fava beans and sweet potato:

This dish was bursting with flavor, but is not for those who don't wish to get their hands a little dirty. As one of my companions said, "there is just no graceful way to eat this." The shrimp were smothered in a delicious sauce (could have licked my fingers if I wasn't in a fine dining establishment.) The clams and cucumber were refreshing and a great palette cleanser after the flavorful shrimp. The sweet potato and carrot sauce (the dots) were lost side notes in the mountain of flavor, but I think that was how they were meant to be on the plate.

I was most excited about my third course, quail and pork belly with sweet pea falafel, watercress and yogurt:

I cannot refuse pork belly. When I see it on a menu, my mouth salivates. The fact that this plate also arrived with asparagus was like icing on the cake. The quail was tender and melted in my mouth, the pork belly was perfection. I could have dined on this plate over and over again, if I wouldn't have looked like a supreme glutton. There was nothing I would have changed about this dish, it delivered on being the best possible dish I could have imagined.

I finished up my meal with the duck egg pot de crème with chicory sugar and pistachios:

Granted this was the only dessert available gluten-free, it was the one I would have chosen anyway. I am not sure of the point of the micro greens on top, if just for color, and I wish it would have set just a little bit more, but the flavor was smooth and creamy and provided me the right sweet ending to a meal well-done.

It really was a nice ending to a summer day that started out with a delicious breakfast with my oldest son at the cafe in our local co-op (breakfast was amazing!) that ended with great conversation with some lovely ladies. Here's to a great summer ahead.