Heartland Private Event

Thursday night Mike and I were invited to a private event at Heartland in St. Paul by Delta. A 5 course tasting menu with wine pairings for $50 a person, there was no way we would miss out on an event like this!

We arrived about 5:50 and the cocktail and hors d’oeuvres was starting at 6. There was still enough daylight to check out the great space they have. Heartland moved a few months ago and we had visited in September shortly after they opened and were really excited to be back.

The menu options of either flora and fauna, we figured if we each got one it would be the best way to try everything.

Flora (Vegetarian):
1st Course – Pumpkin soup with hazelnuts and maple crème fraîche

2nd Course – Bibb lettuce with shaved fennel, preserved baby tomatoes and sunfower oil

3rd Course – Duck egg pasta ravioli with sheep milk ricotta cheese, wild mushrooms, beurre noisette and fried sage

4th Course – Midwestern artisan cheeses with pickled ground cherries and house baked croustades

5th Course – Late harvest fruit napoleon with candied walnuts and warm spice sabayon

Fauna (Animal):
1st Course – Pan fried brook trout with spicy cornmeal crust, fresh vegetable slaw and carrot broth

2nd Course – Roasted poussin with wild rice, preserved cranberries and poultry stock reduction

3rd Course – Smoked bison rib roast with sweet corn relish and preserved chanterelle mushroom sauce

4th Course – Midwestern artisan cheeses with autumn fruit chutney and house baked croustades

5th Course – Linzer-style torte with raspberry coulis, candied hazelnuts and nutmeg chantilly cream

We sat at a table with 3 other couple and it was a great night of conversation about travel, food, wine. All of those right up my ally Having the chance to try ten dishes we thought it would be fun to rank each course. Here are our winners-

1st Course- We couldn’t pick on this one, it was a tie between the Pumpkin Soup and the Trout

2nd Course- Poussin by a landslide

3rd Course- Ravioli

4th Course- The cheese plates were almost identical but the chutney was better on the Flora one.

5th Course- Linzer Style Torte

The wine pairings were quite lovely and paired well with both menus, something that can be quite hard to do.

Wine 1- 2008 St. Innocent Pinot Blanc

• This was light, crisp and had a nice acidity

Wine 2- 2007 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay

• I took one sip was done with this wine, much too buttery. But everyone else at the table seemed to enjoy

Wine 3- 2006 Patric Javillier Savigny-les-Beaune

• A medium bodied red with noticeable berry flavors

Wine 4- 2007 Barone Ricasoli Castello di Brolio

• Full bodied, ruby red and hints of blackberry

Wine 5- 2007 Mas Amiel Red Dessert Wine

• A dessert wine that reminded me a lot of port. I didn’t care for this one but Mike enjoyed it

This was a great event and a good value for the quality of the food and wine. If there is another event in the future we would gladly attend.