Sometimes, it’s well worth it to drive a few miles out of town for dinner. New Pi staffers Robert Morey, Sue Andrews, and I (along with our significant others) attended a stellar “French Country Dinner” at the Lincoln Café in Mt. Vernon this Sunday, and for a mere $35 (not including wine), we were treated to all of the excellence we’ve come to expect from Chef Matt Steigerwald, who was recently nominated as the James Beard Foundation's best chef in the Midwest.
Our meal opened with an unexpected surprise: Crostinis topped with Pork Roulade and Olive Tapenade. Look how happy they made Sue! We shared this wonderfully salty appetizer accompanied by Champagne Jean Laurent Blanc de Noirs. The Champagne, smelling of apricot pits and yeast, was an elegant compliment to the crostinis, and also to our next course, Poached Seafood with Saffron Broth and Rouille.
This extraordinary dish featured shrimps with eyes(!) and lumps of crab alongside a toasty slice of bread topped with a fancy orange sauce made of something delicious, but unidentifiable to me. The seafood was accompanied by a rich, briny fish broth that we each poured into our own bowls. Très elegant and very very tasty as well.
Our main course arrived family-style, Cassoulet with Tarbais Beans, Duck Confit, Sausage, and Walnut Salad. Robert informed me that when he was in Paris, he ate Cassoulet with the French in the area where it is considered the “regional dish.” Our Cassoulet contained creamy Tarbais Beans covered in a variety of melt-in-your-mouth duck legs and thighs and house-made sausages. Sue noted on the ride home that the sausage was "the best sausage I’ve ever had," and I can't say that anyone in the van disagreed.
Here's (from left) Shelly Morey (Robert's lovely wife), Robert Morey, and I enjoying Cassoulet, drinking beautiful wine, and generally loving life to the max.
Alongside our Cassoulet and Walnut Salad, we imbibed the 2006 Alain Jaume Côtes du Rhône Villages “Les Champauvins," a stunner of a Côtes du Rhône that held up wonderfully well to the richness of the food. I was particularly impressed with the mustard vinaigrette that dressed the salad; I often find vinaigrettes too sour, but this was mellow and creamy with the perfect amount of stone-ground mustard tanginess.
Once we’d made it through our “Les Champauvins,” we popped the cork on a 2005 Dom. Chante Cigale Châteauneuf du Pape Vielle Vignes. This was my first-ever experience with the famed Châteauneuf and it did not fail to impress. While I’m not the most eloquent of wine describers, I will say that the fruit was lovely and soft and berry-ful with a hint of funk and I’m sure Robert would do a much better job of saying why this wine was waaaaay delicious.
Our “French Country Dinner” was topped off with an apple tart, beautifully designed, with tender cinnamony apples and a buttery crust, with a bowl of whipped cream thrown in for good measure.
For $35 (this price does not include the wine), I cannot think of a better meal to be had, or better company to have shared it with.
The Lincoln Café accepts reservations for their Sunday Family Dinners in advance, with a 5:30 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. time slot available, and limited seating. There is a new theme each month. Due to scheduling conflicts, there will not be another dinner until May. Find out more by visiting their website: www.foodisimportant.com. Bon appetit!