Adega in Denver-What do you think?

[rlm]

Per an e-mail I received, this Sunday evening the 19th, Adega is featuring a Prix Fixe Menu of:

Artichoke Puree with Champagne Braised Rabbit, Lemon Crackers

2001 Domaine Ostertag, Pinot Gris, Alsace, France

Pecan Marinated Pork Loin with Golden Raisin Jus, Grilled Fingerlings

2003 Torbreck, Woodcutters Red, Shiraz, Australia

Butternut Squash Creme Brulee, Maple Sugar Burn

N.V. Old Codger, Tawny Port, Australia

Menu $26

Wine Pairings $13

So if you've wanted to try the tasting menu, but the prices have given you pause, this would be an excellent opportunity to sample a smaller menu at a very reasonable price.

[Chezhoff]

Butternut Squash Creme Brulee, Maple Sugar Burn

I just love it how it is somehow de rigeur for restaurants to turn verbs like 'burn' and 'mash' into nouns to describe their dishes!

[rlm]

We had the Chef's Tasting Menu again at Adega and noticed it is now $75 instead of $69 for the menu (wine pairings are still $45). We really enjoyed the food, but four of the six wine pairings had a decent amount of residual sugar in them. Since there was sweetness/richness in the dishes as well (such as the cinnamon added to the Apple Confit in the Roast Breast of Squab--course #3), my tummy was doing flip-flops by the end of the meal.

I'd prefer to start out with a Brut Champagne rather than the Demi-Sec Laurent-Perrier we were served, for example. The second wine was listed as a 2000 Ernest Burn Pinot Blanc from Alsace, though I wasn't paying attention when it was poured. We drank a very heavy, rich, sweet concoction that didn't seem like an Alsatian Pinot Blanc to me, although I've never had one from Ernest Burn before. It really seemed like a late-harvest Riesling to me. (Perhaps someone who's had this wine before could comment.) There were two reds wedged in the middle of Sugar Fest 2004 (an Australian Shiraz and a 2000 Bordeaux, which the young sommelier on duty referred to as a "rock star vintage."). The last two wines were a sweet Italian wine and a Moscato d'Asti (we were actually poured the La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti, not the La Morandina listed on the menu). Way too much sticky sweetness for me overall.

There was only one course we did not care for--the "Ham and Cheese Sandwich" (course #5). The Smithfield Ham was incredibly salty. Mr. Rlm's tongue-in-cheek comment for this course was, "The key to enjoying a bad wine is to serve it with food that is even worse."

Our favorite courses were the Toasted Almond Bisque (course #1) and the Maple Braised Short Rib (course #4). I am not a big fan of almonds (especially when they end up in rice), but we were both startled by how good the bisque was and how the warm, smooth puree contrasted nicely with the cool Acorn Squash "Ice Cream" and the crunchy Sage Crackers (they were actually grissini instead of round crackers as you might picture from the name). The Maple Braised Short Rib was so tender you could cut it with your fork. It was served with a Shallot Puree (which had the consistency of paste), Seared Grits, and Sweet Potato Bread.

Two courses that were middle-of-the-road were the Seared Diver Scallop (#2) with Truffled Sausage and the Fall Tangerine Curd (#6). I would have enjoyed the dessert more if I had not ingested so much overpowering sweet wine earlier in the evening. I could not finish this dish or the accompanying Moscato D'Asti either.