Sometimes it just all comes together. And I couldn’t be more thrilled. Two of my favorite things, in one place.
Where to begin? With the food, of course.
Chefs Alida Saxon and Paul Mitchell are one of the region’s best kept culinary secrets. They first came to my attention when we dined at the Pass, the extraordinary restaurant by Chef Matt Ridgeway in Rosemont, NJ, which closed in 2015. Paul had worked with Matt at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse in Philadelphia. Alida applied her talents to creating incredible pastries.
Together, Paul and Alida have nearly 40 years of experience in professional kitchens. After working all over America — at 5-star resorts as well as neighborhood bars — their paths crossed in 2012 in the kitchen of an acclaimed Portland, Oregon restaurant.
Paul and Alida’s friendly demeanor belies their unyielding principles and standards when it comes to food, cooking, and the entire dining experience. [To learn more about Alida and Paul, click here.]
Their focus on sourcing ingredients from local farms combined with exceptional culinary creativity and technique results in outstanding dining.
Last October we were fortunate to be at a pop-up dinner they hosted in Rosemont, NJ, overlooking fields and a harvest moon. The food was innovative and delicious, the company pleasant and the weather – perfect.
And now to my next favorite thing.
1821 Steaks & Cocktails was one of our special hang-outs until owners Kate Barker and Louis Gilberti decided to scale back to only hosting private events. Kate and Louis had created an intimate dining experience at 1821, serving superb steaks and fine spirits.
Over lunch recently, Kate and I mused about the great meals we enjoyed at the Pass. I thought of Alida and Paul. What a perfect place 1821 would be for them to guest chef a Bucks County Taste Dinner Club event!
I hope you can join us for this wonderful evening. Paul and Alida have created a special menu, with ingredients sourced from their own garden as well as area farms.
And…this is a BYOB event! So feel free to bring your own wine, spirits and beer.
The Details
Saturday, October 21, 2017
6 – 9 pm
$65 per person
[INCLUDES tax and gratuity]
Deadline to register is October 16
The Menu
Hors d’oeuvres
Milk House Merguez Sausage
Cured Tenderloin
Bobolink Dairy Cheeses
Lavash Crackers
Pickled Garden Veggies
Crab and Shrimp Salad
Pickled Green Lip Mussels
2nd course
Purely Farms Fromage de Tete
with Pickled Fairytale Eggplant & Tomato Jam
3rd course
Atlantic Cod
with Roasted Fennel, Potato and Caper Pierogi, Bouillabaisse Jus
Dessert
Foraged Black Walnut and Chai Cinnamon Bun
with Apple Butter Swirl Ice Cream & Candied Pumpkin
