Wednesday April 22, 2015
Vixen Vittles ~ Dawn Ranch Lodge/Agriculture
Recently we had the great pleasure of an overnight stay at beautiful Dawn Ranch Lodge. To check out the Feature Review we wrote on this property, click here. However, this blog post is to get your taste buds excited by looking at the fantastic photos of the dinner we enjoyed at Agriculture Public House right there at Dawn Ranch (the amazing chef and team creates for the restaurant as well as for the events held on the grounds). It was a wonder Rebecca with Ford Family Photography, our Vixen photographer, was able to eat with capturing all this “food porn.” Thanks Rebecca!
Michael Clark, owner of Dawn Ranch Lodge along with fun and very informative Jack, our server and the sommelier, took excellent care of us throughout the entire meal. We were able to share many different plates of which there were no “misses” – only “hits!!” We started off with First Courses of Arugula and Radicchio Salad with pickled tart cherries, hazelnuts, grapefruit and caraway dressing. Unique and yummy. The Grilled Delta Asparagus was beautifully presented with a sunny side up quail egg, proscuitto and drizzled with truffle oil. And our fav was the super creamy Burrato Cheese with EVOO, strawberry balsamic, sea salt and served with grilled rustic baguette.
Moving into sharing some sides, the crispy fried Brussel Sprouts with toasted chili and lemon was delicious, as was the side of Roasted Romanesco and Cauliflower Mirepoix. We agreed that all the vegetables were fabulous. But we apparently really loved the multi-layed Potato Gratin with leeks and parmesan cheese because we never took a picture!!
We selected the Pan Roasted Local Cod with wilted spinach and caper beurre blanc for an entree as well as the delicious Bershire Park Tenderloin served with those delicious crispy Brussel Spouts and Marsala mushroom sauce. Soooo good. Another wonderful entree was the Pulled Pork Ravioli with diced Granny Smith apples, slivered almonds and brown butter sauce. For a vegetarian option, we selected the Green Farro with cauliflower puree, arugula, roasted beets and Delta asparagus. Innovative and delicious!
Now remember, we were sharing all these many dishes, and we absolutely were stuffed with yumminess, but there is always room for dessert. And we enjoyed THREE selections (we had to!). We selected the vegan and gluten free Pecan Walnut Cream Pie, the Lemon Ricotta Cake with fresh strawberries, and the trio For Chocolate Lovers which had a warm flourless dark chocolate cake, an orange chocolate panna cotta topped with hazelnut brittle and a demitasse Mexican hot chocolate with cayenne!!! HEAVEN.
You know that we had to take an evening stroll after dinner… then then said goodnight as we each slipped away to our individual charming cottages and slept soundly in very comforable beds.
Thanks Michael for entertaining us so beautifully. Dawn Ranch lodge is wonderful!