So I already had an article put together about a Korean gem in Lafayette when I got the call from my editor about a wine dinner going on at The Country Club at Golden Nugget.<\/p>\n
This dinner was a wine pairing of Freemark Abbey\u2019s choice selections with the creations by the chef that he hoped would complement the wines.<\/p>\n
When we arrived, we were seated in the private room, which was already full. I\u2019m never really comfortable at food functions where we know no one. Bur we found our spot at the end of the table and settled in.<\/p>\n
As we waited, we realized the rest of the group were from Texas and were clearly wine drinkers in a serious way.<\/p>\n
To my surprise, just as we were about to get started, my friend Mike Bennet and his lovely wife Amber came in and sat down right next to us. Now I had a little bit more of a comfort level.<\/p>\n
Well, let\u2019s get to the meat and potatoes of the article, and for me, that\u2019s going to be the food.<\/p>\n
I found the ahi tuna very light and refreshing. The lemon aioli gave it a little bite, but nothing that took away from the flavor of the tuna.<\/p>\n
The pimento was something I could sit and eat with crackers until I got sick or ran out. The only way it could have been better would have been if there had been more of it.<\/p>\n
The crab remoulade was full of flavor; the crab tasted like it had just been caught and taken off the boat. A bite of the crab and fried tomato was the perfect combination. I enjoyed the wine served with this dish.<\/p>\n
The scallop was seared perfectly. If you took a bite that contained the scallop, bitter greens and caramelized pears, then you really tasted the chef\u2019s vision of the dish. I must say that I could have eaten an entire plate of the bitter greens; they were still vey green and hadn\u2019t been overcooked, which is the biggest mistake a chef can make with greens.<\/p>\n
Over the last few years, I\u2019ve really stepped up my game meat selections. But it\u2019s still a cautious move every time because not everyone cooks the same way. All it would take for me to not enjoy a game meat entree would be for it to have a gamey taste. This wasn\u2019t the case here. This duck was so tender and juicy that it melted in your mouth. The blueberries were just the right topper for me to add to each bite as they countered the seasoning of the duck with a subtle sweetness. This was my favorite dish of the night, and it gets the title of thebomb.com.<\/p>\n
The ribeye looked amazing, but was a little undercooked for me. I love there to be pink there, but I\u2019m not a huge fan of blood on my plate. But the meat was full of flavor. The cut was so generous I couldn\u2019t eat the entire piece.<\/p>\n
The oysters, mushrooms and truffled pear potatoes were screaming side dishes that I could have a lot more of.<\/p>\n
The peach upside down cake was a treat of treats. It was the only dish I didn\u2019t take a picture of. Even though it was a beautiful plate presentation, no photo of mine would ever have done the dish justice. I\u2019m not a peach fan in general. But I wolfed this down as soon as it hit the table. I love mascarpone cheese, and the flavor came through in the ice cream, as did the Riesling reduction. The Riesling wine they paired with this dish had an aroma that made me think I was about to start shooting hard liquor, but it tasted surprisingly good. I could only really enjoy one glass of it, but I did very much so enjoy that single glass.<\/p>\n
The chef did a great job with the meal. I again say this is the best restaurant Golden Nugget has here in Lake Charles. You can\u2019t beat the view at all.<\/p>\n
I will soon be sharing with you the Asian experience we had in Lafayette. You won\u2019t be disappointed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So I already had an article put together about a Korean gem in Lafayette when I got the call from my editor about a wine dinner going on at The Country Club at Golden Nugget. This dinner was a wine pairing of Freemark Abbey\u2019s choice selections with the creations by the chef that he hoped [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":1604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[261],"tags":[264,263],"yoast_head":"\n