Seasonally Delicious

The September outing for my Wine Club took us to a little hidden gem called In Season. Tucked away in a small strip mall on a busy street, I almost missed it when I first drove by. We'd been saving this restaurant for this time of year because a lot of us are huge fall fans. While there was a small bit of disappointment when we realized it was still very much the definition of summer and their summer menu, the actual fare did more than make up for it being the "wrong" season.

My first course was Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio with Pickled Trout, Sweet Corn. (For those who eat gluten, it is usually garnished with a rye crouton.)

There is nothing more lovely than a tomato at the peak of freshness - and the pickled trout added an extra layer of depth with the fresh sweet corn. It really did capture summer on a plate - light, refreshing and bright. It was like eating a a plate of sunshine. I paired this delightful plate with a picpoul de pinet- a bright, crisp white (yes, I know, I thought I had put away the whites for the year, but the weather was clinging on to summer, and sitting on the patio ... it just was the perfect crowning jewel.)

For my main course, I had duck breast with quince and balsamic sauce, over a sweet potato souffle with pears. I realize that I order duck a lot ... I guess I never realized how much I like until it started to become the thing I always order. I could have married this duck it was so delicious. Cooked to perfection ... yum. I had a medium-bodied Spanish red. Which is where I have to side bar with my only surprise of the evening. I asked the server what would pair with the duck. She said it was a brand new dish, so she'd have ask, as she hadn't had it yet. One of the other diners also asked what would go with their dish. The next thing we knew, she was bringing all of us wines to go with our meals. I liked it, but was also surprising (what if I hadn't liked the wine?) She did ask the person who'd ordered pork if they preferred white or red. But I guess it was just another way of adding a nice personal touch to this beautiful plate:

For dessert, my options were sorbet or cheese. I'm not a huge fan of sorbet, but I am definitely a fan of cheese, so I got to end my evening with four little beauties.

They paired well with the Spanish red as well, so it was a good way to finish the evening. I may have to make it a point to try In Season every season!