Dinner at Fuentes: Mixologist vs. Sommelier Dinner

Saturday dinner was at Fuentes.  On most nights Fuentes has a chefs dinner that costs $10 and then you can add wine pairings for an additional charge.  On some nights, such as Saturday, there is a special dining event where wine pairings are included in the charge.  And Saturday's dinner had the added feature of both a mixologist and a sommelier. 

The concept is that the chefs prepare a five course meal and for the first four courses the mixologist and sommelier each pick a cocktail and wine respectively that will pair with the food. After the fourth course, the diner each vote on who had the best pairings. 

They start you with some potato chips (or crisps for any friends in the UK.  These were served with a slightly mustardy aioli.   This was a great palate cleanser.  

The first course was a hibiscus salad with crispy prosciutto. It was paired with an albarino white wine from Spain.  The cocktail was mezcal based. 

The cocktail won this round since the smokey mezcal paired so we'll with the crisp and salty prosciutto.

Next course was an onion soup paired with a Chablis from France.  The cocktail was very bitter - perhaps made with Campari.  They brought you a bowl with a crisp crustini with pamesy on top of sauteed onions.  Then they came and poured the broth.

It was a delicious onion soup that truly tater like onions.  Too often you get a broth that is more beefy.  Here I think the chef used a vegetable stock.  The parmesan crustini added a bit more saltiness.  Neither the wine or cocktail paired well so this round would not move the meter. 

Third round was a sous vide chicken breast along side a mushroom risotto. This was paired with a burgundy from France and another medical cocktail.   The chicken breast was moist due to the cooking method used which keeps meats at at a temperature the chef sets.  The real star of the dish was the savory mushroom risotto.  It was creamy from cheese and the starchy arborio rice that had been married with the rich stock. I would have liked an entire bowl of just the risotto. 

The cocktail paired slightly better than the wine which didn't go with the chicken at all. The wine was okay if you just were eating the risotto.   Close call, but I went with the cocktail this round.   Mixologist is up 2 to 1.

Fourth course was a beef filet mignon served with some Al dente carrots and zucchini.  The beef was cooked medium well which is not my preferred temperature for a filet but since they are serving over 100 guests, it is not possible to have them cooked to order.  The beef was topped with what they called bacon but was more like a crumbly, crispy chorizo.  The beef had a great flavor.  The hidden star of the late was a potato cake. I think they had taken think slices of potato and layered them in a casserole with cheese, butter, cream and salt and pepper then baked it.  The layers were almost like a lasagna. Still had a little bite to them with some great flavor. This was paired with a Pinot noir red blend and the cocktail was based on horchata.  Horchata is a Mexican beverage that has a vanilla and cinnamon flavor.  The cocktail was delicious and we asked for another.  I thought this round would certainly go-to the sommelier since a red wine is an easy pairing for beef.  But he wine disappointed. It was too thin to stand up to the beef.  In a huge surprise to me, the horchate cocktail was a great pairing. Something about the cinnamon and vanilla paired so we'll with the chorizo.  Mixologist is now in commanding 3 to 1 lead. Time to vote.  

And in a landslide my wife and I both voted for the mixologist.  Although the final tally across the dining room gave a slim ten vote victory to the sommelier.  

Dessert was a deconstructed red velvet cake with a blueberry compote and some delicious strawberry ice cream.  They also brought out some tequila cream and your final cocktail.  

Overall it was a fun experience.  I was hoping some of the food would have been more adventurous but I understand they have to make something that 100+ people will enjoy.   I imagine some of these dishes are in theme us they provide to brides and grroms as options for their special dinners. I also wish they would have provided you a menu to take home of all the dishes along with a listing of the parings and cocktail recipes.  It would be fun to try making these cocktails at home.