Snout to Tail Wine Dinner!

I treated Kade to a wonderful evening last night. Read the article below and see the video I made to get a "taste" of what we experienced. What was most remarkable is that by mere chance the couple sitting at our table knew my brother! In fact, they are neighbors! This connection was not learned until more than an hour into our dinner, and after spending lots of time talking about international travel, life in Asheville, Alabama, etc. Another facet we had in common was they were from L.A. (the real one!) and I am from L.A. (lower Alabama!). Life is good!

Small Bites
Pig snouts, tea house and a teeny-tiny sandwich shop
by Mackensy Lunsford in Vol. 17 / Iss. 14 on 10/26/2010

Heads or tails

The Admiral hosts a five-course wine dinner with the Appalachian Vintner on Sunday, Nov. 7. Chef Drew Maykuth (half of the Admiral's exec-chef duo that also includes Elliott Moss) not-so-jokingly dubbed the event "a snout-to-tail pig dinner with good wine" when Xpress spoke with him over the phone.

"We've never really done any sort of special dinner before," he says. After a conversation with Mike Tiano of the Haw River Wine Man, however, the two chefs put their heads together and decided that a fun way to break into wine-dinner territory would be to order an entire pig from Hickory Nut Gap.

"We want to do as many courses as we can from the same pig," says Maykuth. To facilitate this goal, he says, a 200-pound animal has been selected for a feast that will serve up to 65 people. "We're going to butcher it, which is something I've never done, so I'm excited about it," says Maykuth. On the phone he mused over which tool to use for the task, speculating that a skill-saw would probably make more sense than a hacksaw or chainsaw. (Come on, it's almost Halloween, people.)

Maykuth says that the chefs intend to cull as many pork preparations as possible from the one animal. To that end, they intend to present a charcuterie course, which will include some cured meats and likely a head cheese. And yes, there will be sausage. Another course will feature pork-belly, another a slow-braised, hearty preparation and another will include a basic grill technique.

Also in the works? A bacon dessert. Maykuth says that he may try to repeat the home-run dish that had everyone in hog heaven at the WNC Magazine Chefs Challenge, battle bacon, this summer: a bacon-chocolate bar sprinkled with sea salt and smoked paprika, finished with a bacon creme anglais and a bacon powder. "People seemed to like it. I think bacon lends itself to sweet things, especially chocolate," he says.

Jamie Ager, the Hickory Nut Gap farmer who raised the pig, will be present at the dinner to talk about the farm. Tiano will also be available to talk about his wines, which will mostly come from France and Italy. "There will probably be a big Italian red that we serve with some tomato-y pork-butt braise with gnocchi or housemade pasta," says Maykuth. Even though he concedes that the food they'll turn out will be based on old-world cooking techniques, the flavors will be "all over the place." Sounds like the Admiral's food to me.

This 5-course event (with a couple of goodies thrown in for fun, adds Maykuth) will cost $85, which does not include tax and gratuity. Dinner starts at 7 p.m. The Admiral is located at 400 Haywood Road in West Asheville. For more information, visit theadmiralnc.com. To make reservations, call the Appalachian Vintner at 505-7500.

Here's the actual link to the article. Another great writeup is here. Also, click here for a couple of websites that feature The Admiral.