UPDATE: TICKET HAS BEEN TAKEN. See you tonight!

D Magazine

The price is a bargain: $75 a person includes tax, gratuity, valet parking, a commemorative beer glass, and goodie bags!

CHECK OUT THE MENU BY CLICKING ON THE SIDEDISH SUPPER CLUB LOGO TO THE RIGHT. Hurry, seating is limited. 214-628-7900.

Thanks to Andrew Chalk for covering the event last night while I emceed with Willy Warner and Robert Chandler. Go, Andrew:

Sevy’s Grill was full last night as the fifth SideDish Supper Club rolled in and turned the place into Seafood Boot Camp. Interestingly titled “Mythbusters Seafood Dinner: You Be The Judge”  the courses of the meal contained three blind tastings of competing seafood ingredients where diners got to compare the taste and texture and guess which was which. This complemented the seafood story in the current issue of D Magazine. Expert commentary was provided by Willy Warner and Robert Chandler of Steve Connolly Seafood in Boston. At the front of the room they set up a display of some of the fish that currently appear on our plate. There was Pacific Halibut, Wild Sockeye Salmon, Bay of Fundy Atlantic Salmon, and a Monkfish. John Rector of Sigel’s provided commentary on the wines.

Jump for more and photos by Mathew Shelley.

The night began with a reception of Jonah Crab Crostini. Jonah crab is found on the Atlantic coast of the US and is a small but increasing part of the crab catch. This was served with a cocktail, pictured above, called a “Ketel One Oceantini”. Brad Allison, Sevy mixologist, explained to me that this is “Ketel One orange vodka, a splash of Grand Marnier, a splash of crème de cassis, a head of lime juice. Top it off with freshly squeezed orange juice. Shake very well with an orange twist as a garnish.”

The first contest of the night was Scallop Battle. Two identically seared scallops, one a true diver scallop, the other a dredged U-10 scallop (U-10 means 10 scallops per pound. ie. these were fairly large) arrived, but we had to taste and decipher which was which. One was marked with a cocktail stick. After chewing each I decided that they tasted totally different. The one without the toothpick was much mealier and earthy, and I suspected it was the diver scallop. I was wrong – and so was most of our table but we recognized that the two did taste very different. After making our decisions we tucked into the supporting pieces of the dish: a triangle of crispy polenta, lemon thyme sauce and tomato corn relish. The wine was 2008 Quinto do Feital, “Auratus”, Minho, Portugal a blend of two grapes Trajadura and Alvarinho.

Next was the Battle of The White Fish. Pacific Halibut  vs. Atlantic Cod. This one was much easier and most of our table scored their first points of the night. The cod was much flakier than the halibut (large finger-sized flakes) and the halibut had an earthiness that the cod did not. These samples were served with Roasted Artichokes, New Potatoes, Spring Onions, Red Peppers, Tiny Beans and a Saffron cream passed separately to drape on the fish after judging if that is how you liked your fish. With this dish the accompanying wine was 2008 Domaine Cordier, Macon Allier from Burgundy, France.

Robert Chandler and Willy Warner from Steve Connolly Seafood in Boston.

Next up was the latest round of the wild-caught vs. farmed salmon contest that hostess Nancy Nichols started at TJ’s Seafood Market a year ago. The contestants here were Bay of Fundy farm-raised versus wild King Salmon from the west coast. Both had been pan-seared. Once again they tasted very different. The farmed variety was moister but not less flavorful than the wild salmon. Most of the diners in the packed house picked the wild-caught over the farm raised.  These were served with creamy orzo, fresh peas, smoked bacon and red wine butter. The wine was 2008 Momo Pinot Noir, Seresin Estate, New Zealand. (That ugly fish below is a monkfish.)

Finally, not a contest but an old favorite. Surf and Turf in the form of Maine Lobster and Beef Tenderloin with Red Flannel Hash, Grilled Fresh Asparagus and Tarragon Shallot Hollandaise. The wine was the just released 2007 Robert Craig Vineyards, ‘Affinity’, Napa Valley. At a tasting last week we discovered that this 96/100 point is a bruiser of a Cabernet Sauvignon so it was opened several hours earlier. It had softened considerably and was a good match with the steak. However, the lobster had to be enjoyed separately to fully appreciate its delicate taste.

Dessert broke with the fish theme (ever had a good fish dessert?) in favor of Tangerine Crème Brulée. The evening had come full circle from Orange Vodka to orange-ish dessert.

I would like to thank our host Chef Jim “Sevy” Severson and his crew in the kitchen and on the floor. The service was perfect and the timing of each course was spot on. Also, a tip of the martini glass to Ketel One who poured their newest product, Ketel One Oranje vodka, for the first time at the Supper Club. Also making its debut was Robert Craig Vineyards’ much awaited Affinity 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon.

The real star of the evening was the crowd who came loaded with questions about seafood. Our hosts Willy Warner and Robert Chandler from Connolly Seafood in Boston answered them all. We also talked about putting together a Supper Club trip to Boston in July to take the Seafood School for Chefs at Steve Connolly Seafood. The Texas Rangers are playing the Boston Red Sox and the striped bass will be in season. If you are interested in going, drop me a line.

Our two seafood experts, Willy Warner and Robert Chandler, are in town for the event. During the meal we will conduct an extensive Q & A session. If you already have questions, drop me a quick e-mail so that we can incorporate the subject(s) into our program. For that matter, anybody with a question for our panel is welcome to send questions (or leave them below) and we’ll have the answers for you tomorrow.

We’ll also have a full wrap-up and photo gallery on SideDish tomorrow.

Anywhoo, Andrew Chalk files this report on our tasting along with witty and informative video interviews.

Elton Slone, General Manager of Robert Craig Winery, rolled through town this week and remarked how pleasant the balmy 70s weather was. With serious faces, we explained that it was pretty much like this everyday in Dallas, at least until November. We think he fell for it! However, while you can pull the wool over Elton’s eyes about Dallas weather, the same isn’t true when it comes to making wine. Elton and Robert Craig Winery have a very clear picture of what they are trying to do and where they want to go. And that is the pursuit of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines that compete with the best in the world. The path that they see to achieve this goal is to choose mountain vineyards, plant Cabernet Sauvignon and blending grapes (Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot) and then cultivate for very low yields so that the vines concentrate all their nutrients into comparatively few grapes. In this video, Elton explains the difference between mountain vineyards versus valley floor vineyards.

The harvested grapes are fermented and then aged in 100% French oak, most of which is new each year. The near total refreshment of the oak each vintage means that the wine possesses a new oak quality in the mouth feel and the bouquet. Total winery output is minuscule at 8,500 cases (you could fit them all inside just one of those mansions described on DallasDirt). We made a dent in the stockpile and tasted our way through his latest releases to see how the winery was doing.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Affinity, Napa Valley, CA.  This wine has a perfumy nose of black fruit, orange peel and hints of cedar. There is also a slightly plumy note, although it is not pronounced enough to be unpleasant. In the mouth, one’s first impression is how chewy, massive and ripe the wine is. The dark fruit present in the nose is evident in the taste as well. The tannins that contribute to the chewiness mean that this wine will be more elegant to drink several years out and will age at least a decade. ‘Affinity’ is Robert Craig’s Cabernet blend from the less renowned Napa region of Mt. George. It is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon with the rest a blend of the other four grapes mentioned above. 5700 cases were made. The world’s most influential wine critic, Robert Parker, just rated this wine 96/100. In street parlance, that means it is a classic. In his top 1%. It retails nationally for about $50, which is itself a relative bargain.  However, separately from this tasting, I received an e-mail from Sigel’s today that shows their regular price to be $45.99 and, from Thursday the 22nd through May 15th, their sale has the wine at $39.99. I cannot find anywhere in the country to match this price and I think it is likely that they will sell out. Some people who will be able to drink it are the attendees at next Wednesday’s SideDish Supper Club, where it will be paired with beef tenderloin and Maine lobster.   [ED. note: Sigel's Affinity has 07 1.5 liter bottles for $94.99. They are the only retailer in the country to get any of the magnums (only 4 cases)]

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley, CA. Some AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) are fake (the product of political lobbying). Mt. Veeder is not. The Cabernet Sauvignon wines really do have distinct characteristics of floral aromatics and open fruit flavors in the mouth. The nose of this wine had notes of blackberries and chocolate. In the mouth the fruit flavors are massive and the tannins soft and luxurious. A showy wine. The blend is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and the retail price is about $69.99.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, CA. A classic Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Closed in the nose. Chewy, oaky, tannic in the mouth. Massively fruity but leaving me with the impression that it was only yielding 1% of the fruit what it had. It will probably be the best wine of the bunch when it reaches full maturity in, say, 5000 years. Howell Mountain wines stand like the statues of a different era. Products of a time when one bought a Cabernet and cellared it for a decade before trying a bottle, only to discover it hadn’t even reached puberty. A decade later, it was glorious, or vinegar (the latter likely the result of a bad cork). As the national sales director of Robert Mondavi Winery told a conference I attended: “People expect to go to the store, buy their wine, drive home, and drink it. Except in Texas, where they expect to go to the store, buy their wine, drink it, and drive home”. Howell Mountain does not fit into either model. In this video Elton assures me that I am wrong, and that this wine will be good to drink next year.

This wine is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and retails for about $69.99. We also tasted some of Robert Craig’s non Cabernet wines.

2007 Zinfandel, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, CA. The nose is black pepper and ripe red fruit. The taste is massive but soft and supple. Despite the mesmerizing alcohol level (15.9%) the finish was not hot and the wine was not overly sweet. $44.99

2008 Chardonnay, Durrell Vineyard, Sonoma Valley, CA. Nose of Chardonnay fruit and oak. In the mouth this wine has a superb fruit/acid balance. Would be fantastic with lobster or crawfish. This wine is not typical of California chardonnay in that it did not go through a ‘malolactic fermentation’ (conversion of the malic acid to lactic acid) so it does not have the reference buttery taste. It was also fermented 65% in stainless steel. Only the other 35% was fermented in oak barrels, thereby reducing the toasty flavor common in California chardonnay. Despite being produced by a purported cabernet specialist this was one of the best chardonnays that I have had recently. Maybe it is because Robert Craig was born in Texas (Dickinson, to be precise)? Robert Craig Winery and Kistler Vineyards are unique among wineries getting fruit from the famous Durrell vineyard in that they get theirs from “Block R1” which is reported to be the best. Price approx. $39.99.

As I mentioned the other day in a post about the upcoming SideDish Supper Club, I went to Boston with the Severson (Sevy’s Grill) family to learn about seafood. One of our classes was held on a boat, the Hannah Mary. Our professor and lobster fisherman, Captain Bruce Deltorchio, conducted a demonstration on how lobsters mate. Amy Severson has produced a G-rated version of this “affair” and offers it here. Warning, strong language: “soft, hard, and bulbous,” “Jell-o,” “they’re so big,”and “smell the bait,” to follow.

Lobster sex is a hot topic.

The idea behind the upcoming SideDish Supper Club began last May after a discussion on SideDish about Copper River salmon turned into a blind tasting of salmon event at TJs Seafood Market.  The evening provoked a spirited conversation that spilled over on SideDish for a couple of days. From that point forward, I asked every server and chef I encountered about seafood. What I found was this: Most professionals don’t know much about sustainable seafood. Or any kind of seafood. They just order and cook what is available.

Last summer, I decided to learn about seafood. I went to Boston with Jim “Sevy” Severson. Together we attended the Seafood School for Chefs program run by Steve Connolly Seafood, a huge wholesale seafood company. We spent two long days studying the intricacies of the business—we pulled up lobster traps, toured packing and processing plants, took marine biology and cooking classes, and followed a wolffish from the water off the coast of Gloucester to a plate back at Sevy’s Grill in Dallas. More importantly, we spent many hours discussing the complicated issues swirling around seafood today.

The May issue of D Magazine (on newsstands April 22) will feature a 15-page package on the seafood business in Dallas. We address issues such as how to buy seafood, what to ask a server or chef about the seafood you order, and how to tell fact from fiction when it comes to seafood myths.

Striped bass class.

One component of the feature is a story about our trip to the seafood school in Boston.  Sevy, wife Amy, their two kids, and I not only had a great time, we came back with useful knowledge. The experience not only deepened Sevy’s dedication to serving the freshest fish available, it inspired him, and me, to learn even more about how food gets safely to a plate.

The upcoming SideDish Supper Club at Sevy’s Grill is a perfect fit. The evening will be a mini-version of our time in Boston. We have invited two of our “professors” from Steve Connolly Seafood in Boston, Willy Warner and Robert Chandler, to speak. The menu will feature three blind-tasting entrees that will enable all of us to sample two types of seafood side-by-side and compare taste and texture and how they relate to price.

Ketel One is stirring up a signature cocktail for the night. John Rector from Sigel’s has paired the courses with some spectacular wine, including the first release of the Affinity 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Craig Vineyards in Napa Valley. Goody bags are filling fast.

Sevy and Willy “Fish” Warner–a little dab will do ya!

The evening will be fun and fascinating. The all-inclusive price of $95 is a bargain. I promise you will leave with enough knowledge to play stump-the-chef. It’s one of my favorite pastimes.

D Magazine’s SideDish Supper Club

Mythbusters Seafood Dinner: You Be The Judge
A unique, interactive culinary experience on sustainable seafood

CHECK OUT THE MENU BY CLICKING ON THE SIDEDISH SUPPER CLUB LOGO TO THE RIGHT. Hurry, seating is limited. 214-265-7389. Operators standing by.

UPDATE: If you enter your e-mail under the SDSC logo to the right, you will get advanced notice of the dinner.