French Wine Dinner at Aragosta

I love wine, but if there's something I love more than wine it's wine paired with complementary dishes and peoplewith which to share the experience. When Aragosta in Stonington emailed me on a Wednesday to ask if I'd host a French wine dinner on Friday: I said yes. I wasn't sure how I'd fit it into my schedule, but I knew it would be worth it.

Aragosta is in a beautiful little shingle building right on the water in Stonington and they actually have a deck built out into the harbor. Stonington is a bit of a unique place in that it's at the very southern tip of Deer Isle looking out towards Isle au Haut.  It's not on the way to anywhere else and the remoteness gives it a feel of the end of the earth.  Aragosta was created by Devin Finigan 2 years ago; this was their second season.  I'd heard high praise from people in the area, but I'd only eaten at Aragosta once earlier this summer and I hadn't met Devin prior to the dinner.

Getting to the restaurant in time for dinner was a bit of a mad rush, but Aragosta has such a calm feel that once I was there and setting up I immedeatly relaxed.  A lot of the credit for how freindly Aragosta feels goes to Claire, Devin's front of the house manager who is exceptionally out going and welcoming.  Claire has an rare gift for connecting and putting people at ease; it's invaluable in a host. 

A wine dinner is much like a theatrical play or musical performance: there's tension and worry before the thing gets under way.  staff is checking and re-checking, second guessing and fidgetting, waiting for the guests and audience to arrive so that the script can start moving.  A performance event with so many steps and people is like a ship: when not moving it has no power of it's own and all kinds of possiblilities threaten it.  Once it starts moving, though, it has momentum and steerage way.   As soon as the first glass of wine is poured there's a releif, the tension releases, and everyone has purpose.

The food was stunning beginning with the amuse that came out right at the start: sea urchin flavored egg custard served in the egg shell and presented in a classic French champagne glass with two oysters.  The oysters were flavored with a champagne sauce and while I usually poo poo adding anything to oysters as ruining their purity the flavors of these oysters were perfectly done.  The dishes were great.  The combinations of flavors were creative, artful, and most importantly delicious.  The food Devin made wasn't just delicious and satisfying though; there was a rare thoroughness and presicion in all the dishes and balances of flavors.  The food tasted like days of thought and work had been put into them, and in fact it had.  Sometimes there's just no substitute for hard work and time.  The food Devin made Friday night was pretty exceptional, showed seroius talent, and I count myself lucky to have experienced it all.  Below are pictures and quick descriptions:

Amuse Bouche
oysters with champagne sauce  
Sea Urchin infused egg custard, black truffle confit and nasturtium

 

I paired the egg custard and oysters with the Domaine Berriere Muscadet

 

Digging in 

Beet Tartare
quail egg, pickled shallot, creme fraiche and fennel frond

 

 

For the Beet Tartare I used the Famille Laurent Saint Pourcain Rouge


Shellfish Fricassee
butter poached lobster tail, cockles, mussels and tarragon  

 

 

Rich, but also elegant I went with a ripe yet still dancing white burgundy for the seafood: Domaine Chene Macon la Roche Vineuse

 

 

The broth of the shellfish fricasse was rich and delicious: far from an afterthought it was as big a part of the dish as that lobster tail.  I asked Devin and she said the broth had taken her three days to prepare.

Caramelized Foie Gras
apple compote, pea shoot salad and hazelnut crumb

 

 

This was a really fun and classic pairing: Domaine Laballe demi sec Gros Manseng with Foie Gras.

Filet Mignon
gratin dauphinois, red wine reduction, and cracked peppercorn  

 

 

I paired the 2011 Bel Air Bourgueil with the perfectly cooked and tender filet mignon

Gran Marnier Caneles
bittersweet chocolate, raspberry mousse and almond nougat 

 

 

Lastly I paired the Le Mazel Cuvee C'est Im-portant with the desert plate.  The chocolate, canales, mousse and all wasn't overpoweringly sweet so the rich, wild, juicy Portan paired pretty well.

 

It was a great night.  I think that the remoteness of Stonington and the Deer Isles creates a sort of self selection of the people living there.  That distance from everywhere else is limiting in some ways, but limits can force people to be creative in other ways.  That self selection means everyone there has chosen to live on the island and the remoteness creates room for people to create exciting and unique things that might not happen in higher traffic places.  There's a different mentality here in this place that by necessity is a destination.  Aragosta is an impressive example of what talent and determination can create.