Dozen Best NOW&FE Wine Dinners:
Domenica, Israeli Wines
Chef Alon Shaya has had such good luck referring to his Israeli roots in his Italian restaurant that he thought it might be an interesting approach to a NOW&FE wine dinner. So he partnered with Chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav ("gold" in Hebrew), an Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia and some Israeli wineries. Out of that came this dinner of three-mega-course, each with three dishes), served family-style. Israeli wine has been an interesting story in recent years. Wine grapes have been grown there since antiquity, and even kosher wines have more going on than you might imagine. This is certainly going to be the most unusual wine dinner in this year's NOW&FE.
Salatim With Hummus
Fresh fava bean with harissa and mint
Israeli Salad
Tabouleh with English peas and walnuts
Roasted Beets
With Labaneh and Dill
Wine: Barkan Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Hulda, Israel
Yemenite Soup
Chappapeela Farms duck and asparagus
Domenica Cauliflower
Goat Feta Tehina
Lamb Bolognese
Ramps, wood fired laffa flatbread
Wine: Dumaine du Castel 'C' Blanc 2010, Ramat Raziel, Israel
Redfish Chraime
Chilies and garlic, zucchini with hazelnuts, anchovies and Kashkaval cheese
Grilled Eggplant, Lentils, Tehina, and Fried Chickpeas
Seared Haloumi cheese, morels, and Louisiana blueberries
Wine: Syrah Reserve 2011, Eshtaol, Israel
The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, like all the other NOW&FE dinners. The price is $125 inclusive. Reservations are essential at the number below. I've selected twelve of the menus as the ones most likely to be the best, from the field of thirty-eight. They will appear in this space, in no particular order, every day until the big night. Left out: dinners that are already booked up (!), and those that didn't publish their menus on the NOW&FE website.
Domenica. CBD: 123 Baronne (Roosevelt Hotel). 504-648-6020. www.domenicarestaurant.com.
