Not Your Typical Wine Dinner
Written By: Anonymous on Wed, Jun 25th 2008
Who isn't a fan of wine dinners -- food prepared by an executive chef, and wine selected especially for those dishes. Great pairings not only make for a great night; they also give you plenty of ideas to take home with you. There's just one thing: I don't want so much structure throughout the whole meal. I'd like the education, but I would also like to enjoy my food and my date. And last week at Marmont Steakhouse and Martini bar, I got to have my cake and eat it too. I had passed Marmont a few times, and had heard good things. But it wasn't until I was invited to their wine dinner by Nichelina Pino of Elite World Media that I ventured in. What a good decision. Marmont is a small, laid back spot in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia. There were delicious smells coming from the kitchen, and cool grooves coming from the DJ. With such a relaxed feel to the place, I wasn't sure what to expect. But what I got was the most laid-back wine dinner I've ever been to. The four-course menu listed between 2-4 options per course, and looked terrific. The only tough part was getting my date to share (it took a little wine, but she did). The wines that were paired were all Italian and poured by Rocco Cavuoti. Leading the tasting, Cavuoti had a style far different than the typical master of ceremonies at a wine dinner. Instead of deciding which wine to put with each dish, he had the guests do it instead. So for each course, we had two wines of the same varietal, but produced in opposite parts of Italy. Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio from the north with the sautéed mussles (the minerality in both blended perfectly) and the Arancio Pinot Grigio from Sicily with the mozzarella caprese. Even for the main course in which I had the lobster tail and filet (I do love wine dinners), and my date had the ahi tuna -- Rocco put two different Pinot Noirs in front of us and waited until we decided which we liked better with each dish. It was unlike anything I've seen. Who allows the guests to decide for themselves what wine they like with what foods? David Chiavaroli does. He owns Marmont, and lets Chef Jorge Pacheco have fun in the kitchen, while Rocco talks wine in the dining room. I enjoyed myself so much, I hope to see more wine dinners planned... although after this first dinner, I can only hope to be able to get a table next time.
