squash and marcona almonds brings an uncannily
light foie gras and pastry crust together with an au-
tumnal vegetable purée and crunchy accent of nuts.
Here the pairing took a sharp turn, being a horchata
milk punch made from Russell’s Reserve Fairmont Bar-
rel Bourbon, Desert Door Sotol (that’s from Driftwood
Texas y’all, made from West Texas sotol plants), mez-
cal, jägermeister, horchata, and lime. Consider this
a strong horchata that doesn’t know which spirit it
wants to go with. Certainly I would like to try some of
that Texas sotol on the rocks. Next time.
There is also an interesting Oregon wine with
the pasta dish. Evening Land Gamay from the Seven
Springs vineyard and 2018 vintage. Here is a case of
gamay making the jump out of its native Beaujolais
to a cru-quality wine five thousand miles away. Very
pleasant, complex, and authentic.
With the wagyu a 2015 Lafond Syrah from Cali-
fornia’s marvellous Santa Rita Hills AVA on the Central
Coast has backbone for the earthy, oleaginous fea-
tures, but also provides fruit to add another dimension
to the course.
Dessert is the lightest pineapple upside down
cake I have experienced, a tarte Tatin for the diet con-
scious, which paired gloriously with Warre’s Optima,
10 year old tawny port.
Even with petit fours, the menu startlingly leaves
one full, but not stuffed. The best balanced fine dining
menu of 2019. Indeed my best meal of 2019 over 5
countries which included a Michelin-starred establish-
ment in Italy and a “World’s Best” entry in Mexico.
In this league service factors highly, and at Gar-
rison our waiter was precise, right down to the place-
ment of the cutlery on the table. He knew the food in
detail, and was attentive without being overbearing.
If you asked a question he was cheerful and anxious
to help. When all is said and done, all of this has such a
profound effect on the vibe of a place.
Local reviews are already raving about Garrison.
Count me a fan as well.
50 ModernLifestyles.vip