Teatro ZinZanni (food & theater) and Thanksgiving
Thu, Nov. 26th, 2009 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scarlettinaIf I count Thanksgiving from sunset to sunset as we do days on the Jewish calendar, then my Thanksgiving festivities began with last night's excursion with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
oldmangrumpus.
OMGrumpus invited me to be his guest for his company's holiday shindig. It's a small company, maybe 7 people, and so the boss treated the whole team to a night out at Teatro ZinZanni, the one true dinner theater venue in the Seattle area--but don't be put off by the phrase "dinner theater." This isn't community theater with a cafeteria. This is caberet, comedy, and circus arts accompanied by a five-course gourmet meal created by Tom Douglas, the chef behind some of Seattle's most remarkable restaurants.
For my foodie friends, here's the menu we enjoyed. I also ordered the wine flight, a half-glass to accompany each course:
Appetizer: Lightly whipped herbed Goat Cheese Mouse, smoked Black Cod offered with Toast, accompanied by Pickled Grapes and Marcona Almonds.
* Wine:Rive Della Chiesa Frizzante Prosecco, Colli Trevigiana, Italy
* Notes: I was a sucker for the goat cheese and the cod, but the big surprise for me here were the pickled grapes. I'd never had such a thing before. The pickling keeps the grapes firm but changes their color and adds a zing I totally didn't expect. The wine, unfortunately, was served some minutes after we'd finished eating the appetizer, so I lost the opportunity to get the complete flavor experience. Still, I'll never complain about a nice glass of Prosecco.
Soup: Creamy roasted Butternut Squash puree with carmelized onions, served with curry sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.
* Wine: O'Reilly's Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley, WA '07
* Notes: Almost a bisque, this thick soup was a seasonal pleasure, and the curry sour cream gave it a little hot tartiness that was delicious. The toasted pumpkin seeds, of which I found only one in my bowl, were really lost, and I'm not sure what their purpose was. I ate the soup slowly and savored it. The wine was a nice counterpoint, a sweetness that cut the ever-so-mild saltiness enough to create a lovely even-ing of flavor.
Salad: Frisee and Spinach, bacon, maple molasses pecans with a sherry vinaigrette and dried Bing cherries.
* Wine: P. Ferraud & Fils Beaujolais-Villages, Les Merrains, France '07
* Notes: If the meal could be said to have a weak link, the salad course was it. I just didn't find it terribly special--though those maple molasses pecans were to die for. The wine for this course was completely lost on me which, I'm sure, is a shame, but I think I was also, by this point, fairly engrossed in the show, too.
Entree: Beef Tenderloin slow roasted to medium rare served with Syrah Jam, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans. (The menu offered two other options--Artic Char or Mushroom Strata--but I was in the mood for beef).
* Wine: R Stuart Bi Fire Pinot Noir, Oregon '07
* Notes: The beef was possibly the tenderest I've ever had. Lukewarm, I would have preferred it a little warmer but no matter--it was remarkably good, especially with the Syrah Jam which offered a grapey sweetness that was a delightful surprise. I could have enjoyed a whole glass of the Pinot with this.
Dessert: Chocolate orange Creme Mousse with White Chocolate wand.
* Wine: Quinta de la Rosa Tonel No. 12
* Notes: First time in a long time I can say with complete candor that a dessert was too rich for me. It was a small cup-sized hill of mousse and I ate perhaps half. Especially with the wine, it was delicious but a little overwhelming for me. It's entirely possible that I was, at that point, just overwhelmed by the whole meal.
I would, however, do it all over again in a heartbeat.
The entertainment was a sort of revue called "Beaumount & Caswell--Together Forever...Again!" Centered around the tempestuous, on-again off-again relationship between the flamboyant Clifton and the diva Vivi--a passionate, gender-confused pair if there ever was one, the show follows their negotiations for remarriage between outrageously, bodaciously costumed skits. They used audience members liberally (I'll never look at a panini sandwich the same way again). And between their skits, the audience was treated to songs performed by the smoky-voiced Francine Reed, contortions performed by Vita Radionova, arial gymnastics by Erika & Andrew (she'd had a baby in July and looked as lean as if the entire thing had never happened), and comedy and acrobatics by Les Petits Frere.
Though I enjoyed the Beaumount and Caswell stuff well enough, I think I enjoyed the circus arts performances almost more. Some of the B&C stuff felt a little forced to me, though I'm not sure why. Francine Reed sang her guts out; she was marvelous. And Erika & Andrew and Vita were all captivating.
Today was Thanksgiving withjackwilliambell at DVE's place: turkey, two kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, peas, yams, cranberry sauce shaped like cans, gravy, two kinds of pie, dark chocolate pudding--all homemade. That girl can cook! Lovely evening--lots of food.
And now, I'm for bed. It promises to be a busy weekend, and I have miles to go....
oldmangrumpus.OMGrumpus invited me to be his guest for his company's holiday shindig. It's a small company, maybe 7 people, and so the boss treated the whole team to a night out at Teatro ZinZanni, the one true dinner theater venue in the Seattle area--but don't be put off by the phrase "dinner theater." This isn't community theater with a cafeteria. This is caberet, comedy, and circus arts accompanied by a five-course gourmet meal created by Tom Douglas, the chef behind some of Seattle's most remarkable restaurants.
For my foodie friends, here's the menu we enjoyed. I also ordered the wine flight, a half-glass to accompany each course:
Appetizer: Lightly whipped herbed Goat Cheese Mouse, smoked Black Cod offered with Toast, accompanied by Pickled Grapes and Marcona Almonds.
* Wine:Rive Della Chiesa Frizzante Prosecco, Colli Trevigiana, Italy
* Notes: I was a sucker for the goat cheese and the cod, but the big surprise for me here were the pickled grapes. I'd never had such a thing before. The pickling keeps the grapes firm but changes their color and adds a zing I totally didn't expect. The wine, unfortunately, was served some minutes after we'd finished eating the appetizer, so I lost the opportunity to get the complete flavor experience. Still, I'll never complain about a nice glass of Prosecco.
Soup: Creamy roasted Butternut Squash puree with carmelized onions, served with curry sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.
* Wine: O'Reilly's Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley, WA '07
* Notes: Almost a bisque, this thick soup was a seasonal pleasure, and the curry sour cream gave it a little hot tartiness that was delicious. The toasted pumpkin seeds, of which I found only one in my bowl, were really lost, and I'm not sure what their purpose was. I ate the soup slowly and savored it. The wine was a nice counterpoint, a sweetness that cut the ever-so-mild saltiness enough to create a lovely even-ing of flavor.
Salad: Frisee and Spinach, bacon, maple molasses pecans with a sherry vinaigrette and dried Bing cherries.
* Wine: P. Ferraud & Fils Beaujolais-Villages, Les Merrains, France '07
* Notes: If the meal could be said to have a weak link, the salad course was it. I just didn't find it terribly special--though those maple molasses pecans were to die for. The wine for this course was completely lost on me which, I'm sure, is a shame, but I think I was also, by this point, fairly engrossed in the show, too.
Entree: Beef Tenderloin slow roasted to medium rare served with Syrah Jam, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans. (The menu offered two other options--Artic Char or Mushroom Strata--but I was in the mood for beef).
* Wine: R Stuart Bi Fire Pinot Noir, Oregon '07
* Notes: The beef was possibly the tenderest I've ever had. Lukewarm, I would have preferred it a little warmer but no matter--it was remarkably good, especially with the Syrah Jam which offered a grapey sweetness that was a delightful surprise. I could have enjoyed a whole glass of the Pinot with this.
Dessert: Chocolate orange Creme Mousse with White Chocolate wand.
* Wine: Quinta de la Rosa Tonel No. 12
* Notes: First time in a long time I can say with complete candor that a dessert was too rich for me. It was a small cup-sized hill of mousse and I ate perhaps half. Especially with the wine, it was delicious but a little overwhelming for me. It's entirely possible that I was, at that point, just overwhelmed by the whole meal.
I would, however, do it all over again in a heartbeat.
The entertainment was a sort of revue called "Beaumount & Caswell--Together Forever...Again!" Centered around the tempestuous, on-again off-again relationship between the flamboyant Clifton and the diva Vivi--a passionate, gender-confused pair if there ever was one, the show follows their negotiations for remarriage between outrageously, bodaciously costumed skits. They used audience members liberally (I'll never look at a panini sandwich the same way again). And between their skits, the audience was treated to songs performed by the smoky-voiced Francine Reed, contortions performed by Vita Radionova, arial gymnastics by Erika & Andrew (she'd had a baby in July and looked as lean as if the entire thing had never happened), and comedy and acrobatics by Les Petits Frere.
Though I enjoyed the Beaumount and Caswell stuff well enough, I think I enjoyed the circus arts performances almost more. Some of the B&C stuff felt a little forced to me, though I'm not sure why. Francine Reed sang her guts out; she was marvelous. And Erika & Andrew and Vita were all captivating.
Today was Thanksgiving with
jackwilliambell at DVE's place: turkey, two kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, peas, yams, cranberry sauce shaped like cans, gravy, two kinds of pie, dark chocolate pudding--all homemade. That girl can cook! Lovely evening--lots of food.And now, I'm for bed. It promises to be a busy weekend, and I have miles to go....
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: Fri, Nov. 27th, 2009 07:58 am (UTC)Really, is there any other kind?
:>
no subject
Date: Fri, Nov. 27th, 2009 01:46 pm (UTC)We missed one of their star performers (Frank Ferrante) that night (sounds like you did too), but I got to see him perform recently as Groucho right here in Omaha.
no subject
Date: Fri, Nov. 27th, 2009 05:47 pm (UTC)Glad you enjoyed TZ. I agree with your analysis of the menu completely. I did the wine flight as well, and enjoyed it. B&C grew on me. Didn't care that much for them at first, but I got fonder as the night went on. Our pannini was a tattooed soldier on leave and fantastically good natured (and well built).
The cirque acts were a real hit. I thought each one more fabulous than the last. Les petits freres took my heart.
no subject
Date: Fri, Nov. 27th, 2009 05:54 pm (UTC)