Out Last Dinner

Margot Cafe
1017 Woodland St
Nashville, TN
615-227-4668

Well, the Burghs visit had to come to an end at some point. Our last supper together was a nice dinner out. We went to Margot Cafe. We were all there, old friends and new friends together to break bread and talk about what is new and what is old. I was so psyched because I got to dine with 4 old friends and 3 new friends, and everyone seemed to get along so well. We got lucky, we got to sit at our table upstairs where it was warmer, as the downstairs is a bit drafty. It is an old building with no insulation, and it seemed that during the Burgh's visit, they brought down some of that Pennsylvania winter wind and chill with them.

Let me tell you what I got to eat. I started with the handmade potato chips, as always, with and extra aoli to dip my chips in. This bowl of chips is big enough for a lot of people, but if I had my way, I would eat an entire bowl by myself. My second dish was a monk fish chowder made with cream, thyme, big chunks of potatoes and monk fish. It tasted great, and it was really filling. There was no reason why I needed to go further with my meal, but I did. It seems like braised pork belly is all the rage in every restaurant in Nashville, so I ordered the pork belly with beans and greens. It is so funny how pork belly is the new prime rib. For so many years, I have not been able to find one pork belly on any menu, except for really authentic Chinese restaurants where it was made into a clay pot stew with lotus root. Since there is not one truly authentic Chinese restaurant in Nashville, I had not seen pork belly on any menu until now. The question I have is, where did all the pork bellies go in years gone by, and where are all the pork bellies coming from now? All I know is that I cannot get one cut of pork belly from my pork supplier because they are too busy selling the pork bellies to the restaurants. Isn't there an old joke about pork belly commodities?

One reason why I wanted to post about this Margot Cafe dinner is not about the food, rather, it is about the wine. I brought the wine instead of us buying bottles at 100%+ mark up on the Margot menu. I brought Buehler Zinfandel 2006, made from 36 year old grape vines. Back in 2005, as we toured the Buehler Vineyard, the Wine Spectator rated the Buehler Zin as the #1 Best Value of the Year. The only problem is that there was only 1200 cases out there, and and Royal Caribbean bought out a ton of those cases, and when the Wine Spectator hit the streets, the lucky few flocked to their wine shop and bought the rest. There was not one bottle left at the vineyard, and we were unable to try or buy this treat. Buehler grows these grapes in a true European old world way. He puts stumps or poles next to the vine. He does not tie them, he just lets the vines be free form around the stumps and poles. The yield is less than with tie method, but it makes for happier grapes and a plant that devotes its growing power to fewer grapes, and makes a fuller wine. For this family, it is not about making more volume of wine, it is about the natural process and care of making wine. Buehler also does no irrigate. It is completely up to the weather to make the vines work or not work. Thank goodness, 2006 was much like 2005 in weather and harvest time. Harvest was pushed late into the end of 2006.

Buehler's thoughts about selling his wine is that he believes that he is fortunate and a wealthy man already with a great wife, great kids, great dogs, great home, and great friends. He believes he is fortunate to have his farm in Napa. He wants to make a living at making wine, but he doesn't see the need to grossly over price his wines just to make crazy amounts of profits. He wants to make his wines accessible to as many people as he can, and not just the super wealthy. Even with all the flurry of attention to Buehler's wine in the past couple of years, his Zin is still less than $20.

So, a days before, my Burgh friend and I went to the Green Hills Wine Shoppe to look for wines for the week. The Burghs know about Italian and French wines, and in contrast, I know what is white, rose, and red. I know Boone's Farm isn't any of the three. But, I do know that the Buehler Zin is yummo, and a great value, and in full agreement with the Wine Spectator said. I was actually looking for the Buehler Russian River Chard, another great value at less than $15, when I came across 3 cases of the Buehler Zin, and right there and then, I had to get a case of Zin, and with a case I got a discount too! Whee!

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Margot Cafe

3rd B-day Dinner - Margot

Margot Cafe
1017 Woodland St
Nashville, TN
615-227-4668
reservations highly suggested

As some people know, as long as I am living in the Nashville Metro area, and there are the means to go, I have the standing order that one of my birthday dinners must be at Margot Cafe. As all good stand orders are, I did finally get to go to Margot's. I did not get to go to Margot's on my birthday because the place was closed for vacation, so I had to wait for a couple of weeks.

Some of you may notice that I have had quite a few celebrations for my birthday this month. Well, for about 15 years now, I have decided that celebrating my birthday month is way better than just one day, so every year since then, I have tried to keep celebrating my birthday for as long as I can! My life is funner and funnier that way.

It was a mandatory thing to start my 3rd birthday dinner at Margot Cafe with the fresh fried chips with aioli. I have been waiting a year, since my last birthday, for these sinful little treats. I nearly ate about 3/4 of the huge bowl by myself. I love these things. I have been saving up my fried potato calories for this one single event. I have not had one McD's French fry all year because I was thinking of these chips. These fresh chips are so darn good. I am banking on going to Margot Cafe next year for one of my birthday dinners, so I need to save more fried potato calories for that time.

We split a starter and it was an antipasto plate with shaved parm, prosciutto, mushrooms, and gigunda beans. It was an Italian influenced plate that was high on flavor. It was a nice solid presentation of food. It was a simple dish from the standpoint of the consumer (me), but it is possible that there was some complex figuring on the chef side, while she decided to use the gigunda beans for the first time. This dish is akin to the iPod in complexity. The iPod is so darn simple for the consumer to use, but all the hidden things like the designing, developing and manufacturing of the iPod are quite complicated.

For our entrees, I got a barramundi fillet with artichoke puree sauce, basmati rice and chick peas. Matt got a veal chop served with polenta croutons and ratatouille. I did not include a photo of the barramundi because everything on the plate was a bit beige to white, and it was a bit boring in the photo. Believe me, the fish and the rest of the dish was just fantastic and flavorful, and I did not want the glory of the dish to be eclipsed by a non-flattering photo. Matt's dinner was much prettier in the photograph. The ratatouille was delicious and the veal chop was straight forward and grilled quickly over a very hot flame. It is fun going into Margot Cafe to find out what is on the daily menu.

For dessert, because I had to get dessert from Margot Cafe, we opted for the homemade blueberry pie. The pie had a real homemade flaky crust with just the right snap between my teeth. The open faced blueberries were not overly sugared, so the real blueberry taste could come through. There is nothing worse that an icky sweet pie. This blueberry pie, was not sweet, it was perfect, and the base ingredients were allowed to be their beautiful selves. This pie reminded me of my Great Aunt Isabelle's pies she used to make when I was young. Matt and I agreed that this pie was rather well done, and quite possible the best blueberry pie that we have eaten since the passing of my Great Aunt Isabelle.

The last thing I want to say about Margot Cafe is that she has 2 of the best wait staff in Nashville, and they are Dana and Greg. There is an art to customer service, timing of dishes, watching for the clients needs, and being knowledgeable about the food and wine list. There is a skill and excellence that Greg and Dana provide that surpasses all others. The know the job, they are willing to do the job, they seem to want to do the job, and they have figured out the way to make the job profitable. They are pros and they do great job. We keep forgetting to request Greg or Dana to be out front line to customer service while making our reservations, but this time, because it was my birthday, Margot traded out tables for us so that we could have Greg. Thanks Margot! We like Greg, he is the best.

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Margot Cafe

Its My B-day and I Will Eat What I Want To

As I have said before, and always request, I want to go to Margot's for my birthday. Last year, I was conned into being taken to Another Restaurant for my b-day because I always want to go to Margot's and I should try something different. What happened at the Other Restaurant was that the food was not consistent, the 1st try was over-cooked, dried out, burnt, and arrived late to the table and cold, so I had to send it back. 2nd try was hot but had no seasoning (duh salt and pepper at minimum dudes), obviously missing ingredients, and bland. I was making me upset to see 3-digits of bills being bleed from the wallet for a seriously sub-par meal and dining experience. I actually cried over the loss of all that money that could have become part of a down-payment for house, car, or vacation. Matt then tried to take me to a few other places during the month of August 2005, but all I want is to go to Margot Cafe. Finally, after the 4th non-Margot try, I told Matt in clear language, "I want to have my birthday dinner at Margot's. You can keep depleting the retirement fund, but the drain can end by going to Margot's, or a place that is just as good as Margot's. The only place as good as Margot's is Margot's, so I want to go to Margot's."
Fast forward 1 year, Matt got smarter, and he actually heard me say (and type in my blog), The ONLY birthday dinner I want is at Margot's. The one and ONLY birthday dinner 2006 was at MARGOT'S! I am so happy!!!! WHEE!!!!! #&(@#*)%* Happy Happy Happy! I think that Margot's is the best prepared food of any restaurant anywhere. I have lived 3 of the top 5 dining cities in the USA, and I insist that Margot has better technique and consistency than any of the restaurants in those cities. I will say again, my standing order for my B-day dinner is Margot's! See you there in August 2007. About my Birthday Dinner 2006, the menu is Simply Delicious! We started with fresh sweet corn soup with a basil puree, and fresh sardine salad with arugula and EVOO. Both were made with best freshest ingredients, which translated to awesome 1st dishes. The corn soup had a lovely basil aroma, and the corn kernels had a fresh sweet crisp pop to them. The sardines were buttery, smooth, and perfectly matched with the arugula. I have never had fresh sardines, and these were exceptional. I can see why people would have orginally eaten a sardine, as these were magical. The sardines in a can... well, it is like fresh tuna sushi vs canned tuna.
For the main dish, I had the tender steak with chantrelle and baby shitake mushrooms over roasted asparagus. I asked for the steak to be cooked medium rare, and Margot's is the only restaurant in Nashville that actually delivers a medium rare steak. Fantastic! Wow! Make me happy! The portion size was perfect, where it left me feeling satisfied and wanting to visit Margot's again on some other day. Of course it was my birthday, and what would a birthday be without dessert? I am not a huge fan of cake, except for my neighbor's (2-doors down) cake, and she is the Tennessee State Fair Cake Making Blue Ribbon Champion. C'mon, how could her cake not be yummy? So at Margot's I opted for the cantelope sorbet with a pecan tuille. Oh, what a fresh, light and refreshing way to end my birthday dinner. All good meals have to come to an end, as this one did. This birthday dinner was so good! As I was leaving Margot's, I would have skipped happily to the car, but I just ate dinner.