100 Mile Dinner: Winter on the Lake

On a mild winter evening in January, I paused to take in the scenery of the picturesque Lake Avondale. The night was calm and quiet and I kind of let the stillness set in.  I thought of the recipient of the evening’s ticket proceeds, Ryan Hidinger, a beloved chef fighting a devastating diagnosis. Before I reveled in the food and fellowship that 100 Mile dinners always bring, I wanted to consciously dwell and hope. I saw another person standing on the porch and wondered if they too were caught up in emotion.

The hosts of The Avondale Community Club greeted me with such southern charm and the band Tonestar was already harmonizing in the foyer. Arianne Fielder’s welcome drink, Musk-u-dine-local, was in my hand- sorghum infused Muscadine wine from Chateau Elan with rosemary, soda, and pickled blueberries from Phickles Pickles out of Athens. Just a few seconds in the door, I encountered people I had met at another 100 Mile dinner. Loved this

The tables were set . Tiny vases of flowers and pretty menus awaited diners.  I chose a seat at random and wondered who would be next to me when I returned.

Forced meat stuffed trotter with sausage and bacon pate. I would have been happy sampling here all night.
Rusty Bowers really is a "meat magician.'

The set up for the Southern Smorgasbord was pretty perfect- a stone patio surrounded by pines, next to the glimmering lake. I am not just throwing our adjectives here. The lake was sparkling in the moonlight. It was cool enough to feel like “Winter on the Lake,” but mild enough to not need a jacket. Very  nice for mingling and sampling. So many things to nibble on. There was even a selection of Nick Melvin's homemade pickles. His pickled carrots are the best pickles I have ever had. I didn't have any this evening. I just remember from the last time I tasted them. That good. Wish I had taken photos and had descriptions of all of the offerings. One spoon was topped with crispy chicken skin. One was a play on a reuben. They were going fast.

A fellow diner said “If I could eat salad like this, I would eat it every day.”

People began wandering inside and taking their seats. This is always the fun part, getting to know your table mates. “So what brings you to a dinner like this?’ and “Have you been to a 100 Mile Dinner before?” My seat mates were enchanting. We only stopped talking to listen to the chefs and mixologists describe their offerings. I wanted to put them in my pocket and take them with me.

Rusty Bowers of Pine Street Market and Nick Melvin of Garden District welcomed us with excitement and joy and Nick spoke about how the dinners are to showcase seasonal, local food and “in a way, educate people that this is the way it should be done.”  He quickly brought the tone down to purpose. Nick spoke eloquently and purely from his heart about his dear friend (and a friend to many in house), Ryan. We were dining to celebrate eating locally and appreciating our food’s sources but also to uplift Ryan.

The first course arrives along with a colorful cocktail. Daniel Chance of Campagnolo introduced Duck Two Ways: “roll mop” pickled duck breast and duck sausage accompanied by an herb salad, truffle honey mustard, and bacon marmalade. I used different herbs from the salad with each bite of the sausage which had pine nuts, juniper, pepper, and fennel included. I especially loved it with celery leaves. The Darby Farms duck breast was brined, seared, and pickled similar to a pickled herring preparation. It was insanely good.

Pairing so perfectly with the juniper in the sausage was our cocktail from Arianne Fielder of Seven Lamps: 13^th Colony gin, Sweetwater IPA reduction, Savannah Bee Company Tupelo honey, ruby red grapefruit soda, and blackberries.

Jason Kemp of The Family Dog described our next sip, a 2009 Voignier from Tiger Mountain Vineyards as having “a little bit of funk.” I completely agreed. I also tasted a minerality I could only believe comes from the granite outcrops of the north Georgia Mountains. Voigniers are great food wines, especially with root vegetables .

Enter Rusty and Nick’s Celeriac Buttermilk Soup. The Blue Ridge trout were cured 24 hours then cold smoked and flaked into a celery leaf salad. Also in the luscious bowl of celery root soup were smoked trout roe in mustard oil. This dish could go on my last meal wish list. The flavor combinations and textures were powerful and really played off one another. I want this to be on a menu somewhere.

Our third course presented by the effervescent Terry Koval of Wrecking Bar Brew Pub was beautiful Scotch ale braised beef cheeks with root veggies and parsnip puree.  I heard so many diners say “what’s a cheek? Where is it from?” A cheek is well, a cheek; or more specifically, the fine grained facial muscle of a cow. The cheeks were super tender ( no small feat when you think of how strong a cow’s facial muscles must be from chewing all day) with a hint of the braising liquid flavor. I loved knowing the cheeks were from Moonshine Meats in Athens, a farm that uses this statement:  Moonshine Meats is just meat the way it should be: raised on pasture by producers who have a deep sense of humility, humanity and awe for both animal and land. I loved the baby carrots, turnips, and rutabagas- soft but not too soft, and left in their natural state as opposed to cubed. I could have eaten a bowl of the parsnip puree.

The dish paired so nicely with the Colin’s Wee Heavy Scotch Ale from Wrecking Bar and Brewery. The beer, named for Bob the brewmaster’s son, Colin, is a malty, rich, warming with chocolate undertones ale that was aged in bourbon barrels. It’s a masterpiece and such a wonderful brew for a cold winter’s night. Bob Sandage, founder of Wrecking Bar, was even in the house.

The final dish of the evening came with an introduction from delightful Layne Lee of Sweet N Sinful Bakery. She said it had always been a mission of hers to get her equally delightful sister to try squash. Who would have thought to put butternut squash in a cobbler? Sweet, light and warm, the cobbler sat on top of sage ice cream. I watched her sister eat it and watched Layne beam.

Jason Kemp ended our night with the perfect nightcap: Ivy Mountain apple brandy with warm Mercier Orchards apple cider and allspice dram. So good. It could only have been better if were were outside next to a campfire.

The band came from the foyer to wish happy birthday to a guest, play, and sing amongst us. It was a really fun moment. They encouraged us to dance. I was sad the night had to end. I was satiated but wanted the conversation to continue. My table mates were interesting, fun, and thrilled for this sort of dining experience. Each course we tasted together brought forth lively conversations, anecdotes, and funny stories. We laughed. We even shed tears over a shared experience.

We tasted the seasons and the local offerings of Gum Creek Farms in Roopville, Flat Creek Lodge in Swainsboro, BesMaid Garden in Decatur, Serenbe Farms in Chattahoochee Hills, and Moonshine Meats in Athens. We didn't start a revolution or change the world but we ate a delicious five course meal sourced from 100 miles and further discussed a better worldview on sourcing food. We didn't just eat, we conscientiously placed value on our foodstuffs and how they arrived at our table. For this conversation, I am grateful to The 100 Mile Dinner and the chefs and farmers who provided a forum.

I left with hugs for my new friends and for the chefs and servers who put on such a great night. My anticipation for the next 100 Mile Dinner in March along with Nick’s restaurant, Garden District, is already beginning. I walked gently into the night. Seeing the lake and moon again made me take pause and send good thoughts out to Ryan.

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100 Mile Dinner Garden Party

Even if only symbolically and in the form of a pop-up dinner, there is a need to reexamine the way we are sourcing our food in America.  Our global food system diminishes our sense of connection to our food, our landscape, and our food culture. 1500 miles is the figure often thrown around in the media to describe the average distance food travels to reach our plate in the U.S. Numerous research studies can be found to substantiate as well as discredit the number of “food miles” products have attached to them, but what holds true is our food generally travels far and with this comes consequences. Food grown closer to home tastes fresher, is more nutritious, and supports local growers. As the distance decreases, so does the need for preservation and processing not to mention fewer transportation emissions associated with it. We can add to this the bidirectional connection between consumer and producer that is created when we know the source of the product we seek. A trip to a farmers’ market can bridge the gap between rural and urban locales. Besides strengthening the regional economy, it can make a small town out of a big one. The simple act of picking fresh, local, and seasonal food stuffs from the producers is an act of reconnection to the land, to community, and to traditions of the past. 

Nick Melvin and Rusty Bowers greeting guests

Labeling food as “local” seems to coalesce around the 100 mile limit. Enter Rusty Bowers of Pine Street Market and Nick Melvin of the upcoming Garden District. Together they created The 100 Mile Dinner, a series of pop-up dinners in Avondale Estates where partnering with chefs, farmers, and friends from the local community, they collaborate on a menu utilizing ingredients farmed entirely within 100 miles of the neighborhood. Some featured items may even be grown or raised exclusively for the events.

151 Locust in Avondale Estates

 I attended the 100 Mile Dinner Garden Party on a stormy September night at one of Avondale's oldest buildings, 151 Locust. The rain was not a factor; in fact, it seemed to bring us together. We huddled as a mass of like minded diners under twinkling lights that occasionally went out with the storm.  The background bluegrass enriched the stories being told of the tent we sat underneath and its most recent journey from Burning Man. We ate, talked, shared twitter accounts, and discussed our relationships with the dinner. I sat near a woman who is a vegetarian, unless the meat is locally sourced from a butcher she knows, like Pine Street Market. I also had the pleasure of Alicia Searcy’s company. She and her husband Tommy run Gum Creek Farms, the source of our lamb for this dinner (as well as the source of Pine Street's award winning Coppa). We left full of food as well as the notion of how we could carry this meal into the rest of our lives. At least I did.

Rustic yet elegant. Silver meets burlap.

 

The evening began with passed tastes and cocktails inside the house. This deviled "potato salad" was completely enchanting and unexpected. I loved the smoked Blue Ridge trout roe as a topper.

 

Another taste, Pine Street Market applewood bacon on Heirloom Garden's greens and preserved cherry tomato with cracked pepper aioli. This smoky-sweet bacon is always in my fridge and should be in yours. The greens were good too but I was really making the bacon face while I ate this dish. Oh my goodness, this bacon.

High Strung String Band were the the perfect musical accompaniment to this meal- a taste of traditional bluegrass mixed with a bit of folk but played with an edge. The music was much like the food: comfort laden with one foot in the past and a modern twist.

 

From the top, clockwise: North Georgia apples with Pine Street lardo, young arugula, & candied local nuts, roasted pumpkin, apple, and Flat Creek Lodge Natural Cheddar soup with creme fraiche & spicy pumpkin cheese straw, Deviled potato salad, Local cheese & honey. Along with these "Crostini ala Cachinni," a mini meat ball with sweet pimiento jelly. Jason Kemp of The Family Dog served a Flor Rose Brut with fresh grapefruit, thyme, and rosemary. It was a lovely beginning.

 

Appetizer from Terry Koval of Wrecking Bar Brew Pub and Rusty Bowers of Pine Street Market: Darby Farm's duck rillette with pickled peppers and chopped salad with Green Goddess dressing. The level of delicious was high and this plate was empty in a few seconds. Such great textures together, the smooth, luscious duck with the brightness of the dressed greens.



Duck Rillette pairing

 

Braised Gum Creek Farm's Lamb Farotto with grilled lamb sausage, mushroom conserva, and roasted local pumpkin. All I can say is suddenly I knew it was fall. This dish by Kyle Griffith of Pine Street Market and Andy Gonzales of Steinbeck's Pub was rich and hearty, yet the lamb was delicate. The  lamb was clean and herbaceous tasting, indicative of grass pasturing.  Pairing the lamb with a Highland Oatmeal Porter was perfect.

 

Serious fun while the rain was spilling through the branches of the surrounding trees.

 

"Derby Cocktail" from Jason Kemp of The Family Dog: 4 Roses bourbon and a champagne shrub.

Even before dessert arrived, I was sweetly enchanted with this drink and this evening.







Spiced Pecan Panna Cotta with mulled cranberry, preserved peaches, and pralines from Nick Melvin of Garden District and Layne Lee of Sweet N' Sinful Bakery. First there was a sound of spoons clinking on porcelain, then silence as fellow diners disappeared into this dessert. I took delicate, tiny bites of each flavor then bigger bites with one or two. The panna cotta appeared simple, but was anything but with the emanations within the bowl. First, a forward sweetness then smoky-spiced mulled cranberry arose from the depths to mingle with the tangy Georgia peaches canned at the peak of ripeness. The peaches managed to place both summer and autumn on my palate.

Rusty and Nick thank their guests.

Left to right: Jason Kemp, Kyle Griffith, Andy Gonzales, Nick Melvin, and Rusty Bowers

Far right: Terry Koval

 

It was at this moment I remembered a passage from Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums, which I had recently re-read: "...and he's going into the city to get drunk with the butchers, enlightened." I was full, a little tipsy, hanging with the butchers, and enlightened.

 

The next 100 Mile Dinner is in November I won't hesitate to purchase a seat. I cannot wait for Nick Melvin's Garden District. Follow his progress to the restaurant here.