Ric Orlando has been a supporter of Slow Food in the Hudson Valley for some time. We were thrilled when he recently became the chef at New World Bistro & Bar next to the Spectrum Theater in Albany, bringing his Slow food friendly fare to our region. We were even more thrilled when he agreed to host one of our monthly dinners, this past Wednesday, August 5th. He did not disappoint, building a meal around a theme of new York State cheeses, with each dish featuring a significant contribution from a top NY cheese.
To pair with the dishes, the restaurant suggested wines from a NY State winery, Atwater Estates. To make choosing even easier and the evening even more pleasant, Atwater had a tasting station set up at the start of the evening allowing our members generous tastings of each of their gewurtztraminer, dry Riesling, pinot noir and sparkling wines, all quite tasty, with the Reisling, IMO, being the standout of the bunch.
While the attendees were gathering and conversing, waitstaff came around with Four Borthers’ Farmstead Feta, that had been fried and drizzled with Atwater Sweet Reisling Sauce. These were quite delightful and it would have been tempting to just keep eating them as they just kept coming out of the kitchen, but I had seen the rest of the menu and knew to hold back for other goodies.
The first formal course, was a Chile Relleno with Hawthorne Valley Raw Cheddar, local cranberry beans and corn and sauced with Meadowbrook creme fraiche-corn sauce. Not a traditional Mexican chile relleno,it was packed with flavor and style.
A salad of peaches, arugula, roasted beets and Berkshire Blue with truffle vinaigrette followed. The peppery arugula matched well with the controlled sweetness of the beets, the acidity of the peaches and the saltiness of the blue to provide a very satisfying salad
The main course, Fresh Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass on blue potato mash with Nettle Meadows Kunik, roasted garlic and marjoram proved a winner despite some doubts about pairing the fish with the cheese before I was served. The combination worked and worked well. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the fish was pristine and perfectly cooked.
Dessert consisted of a “Pair of Cheesy Sweeties.” These included Old Chatham Sheep’s Ricotta Fritter and Nettle Meadows Fromage Blanc Cheesecake with local honey and burnt plum. Every element of the dessert satisfied. Overall, the meal highlighted the use of cheese in such a way that had this been a contest of Iron Chef America with NY Cheese as the featured ingredient, Chef Orlando would have fared quite well.
Slow Food Saratoga Region monthly restaurant dinners are usually held on the second Wednesday of the month, however, the dates will occasionally vary for extenuating circumstances. Please keep an eye on this blog and your email for future announcements. If you are not on our email list please send your contact information to the contact address on this site. Better yet, join Slow Food USA and Slow Food Saratoga Region! There is a link on the site with which to do so.
Submitted by John M. Sconzo, M.D.,
Co-founder & President Emeritus of Slow Food Saratoga Region.
Photos courtesy of Docsconz the Blog.
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