How do you eat 10 courses?
I'm visiting the Town House in Chilhowie, VA next week and am planning on doing their 10-course tasting.
As a newbie to something like this, I'm wondering if anybody has any recommendations...
Should I not eat all day? Should I plan on two hours? Three hours? How do you pick a wine to pair with a large number of courses (even two bottles, means five courses each)?
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Thanks.
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14 Comments:
Definitely don't starve yourself for the meal, and be moderate. Growing up with Chinese banquet dinners, I found myself gorging on the first few courses and being too stuffed for the rest. Then again, the portions might be less gluttonous at the Town House...
The menu looks fabulous. Enjoy! :D
avaryne at 9:49AM on 10/01/09
It's not like they're going to be 10 Cheesecake Factory sized plates. Chefs know better than to stuff you beyond reason. Anyway, food stops being good when you're too full. And tasting menus are long and drawn out, so you'll have time to digest. You don't set the pace at which you eat, the kitchen does. As for wine, if the place is worth its salt they will have wine by the glass and suggested wine pairings to go with the menu.
SqueezeBottle at 9:49AM on 10/01/09
i have trouble with five or more courses.
ko, in new york, has a ten course tasting menu. it was so good i puked (not on purpose) and rallied. that was a first.
kristin314 at 9:52AM on 10/01/09
That is awesome.
They should brand their tasting menu that way. "Ko -- Home of the 10-course Puke & Rally."
I'm hoping I can avoid that, but am getting increasingly excited about the experience as the day grows near. The two chefs have gotten some pretty incredible press of late.
Thanks!
andymcmorrow at 11:27AM on 10/01/09
tasting menus are usually proportionate--care has been taken to (hopefully) take you comfortably from course to course, both in timing and in flavor/portion development. as avaryne said, don't starve yourself all day; i find it wise to have a decent breakfast early in the day and keep filled up with liquids throughout till dinnertime. a ten course meal should take you at least 2 hours and maybe more. if there are no wine pairings offered (and i can't imagine such), it's always good to ask for recommendations. and when no one has a clue, you can't go wrong with a dryish sparkler.
while the portions won't be huge, wear comfortable clothes. and about halfway through, take a walk to the ladies/gents room. not to puke, just to stir the blood around a little. by the way, you can always do that to slow things down if a restaurant appears to rushing you through a little faster than you'd wish. not that they ever do that...
kikihellman at 11:35AM on 10/01/09
oo sounds like fun!
I've attended several 6-8 course dinner events over the years.
My hometown has an annual "chefs' dinner" of local ingredients, and the resturaunt I used to work at would have a wine dinner bi-monthly where they would select a country, create 7 courses and pair wines from the region with each course. best times ever!
Oh you should definitly eat your first two meals.
Skipping meals is never encouraged in life; plus you're a foodie right?
The courses themselves tend to be smaller "tasting" portions anyway. (my favourite course is DEFNITELY the cheese course!) it might include sorbets or shaved ices as a course too to cleanse palettes between two courses that can have contradictory flavours.
From my experience I never finish eating each dish...oh my I miss them.
In regards to wine: have staff/management/servers suggest something if you're not comfortable selecting on your own :)
Have a fab time :D
hungrychristel at 12:00PM on 10/01/09
I have had 6, 8, 10-course "tasting menus" where several of the courses were truly tiny--like a single shrimp or matchbox-sized cube of fish on a plate. I have never left one of these dinners hungry, but that's probably more due to these things indeed taking 2 or 3 hours, which allowed me to gradually feel full, than the total amount of food being large. I recommend not being concerned that the total amount of food will be too great for you. You will probably not feel stuffed at the end of your 2 or 3 hour adventure. Enjoy!
Lorenzo at 12:14PM on 10/01/09
This is the awesomest thread ever...
@kristen314 - I just laughed so hard, I almost puked!
Anyway, I did the pasta tasting menu at Babbo, the portion sizes were perfect, but I definitely ate an early lunch, and didn't munch on bread before the meal came. It was perfectly portioned, and, although I was really full, I wasn't any more full than any other big meal. Now, I'm kind of obsessed with tasting menus.
Don't worry...it will be fun!
KateRuby at 12:53PM on 10/01/09
I'm going to start a band for the sole purpose of naming it Puke and Rally.
funkopolis at 1:28PM on 10/01/09
Puke and Rally, tonight at the Astrodome!
KateRuby at 9:46PM on 10/01/09
You'll most likely feel as if you've had a really nice sized meal, but done at leisurely pace (usually 2 hours or more).
We have a roasted garlic and spinach grilled polenta on our menu that is about 2.5 inches square, topped with carmelized onion, asparagus, arrabiata and fesh mozz. That along with maybe a salad, an entree and dessert will fill you right up during the 1-2 hours you're visiting.
In the case of your 10-course tasting menu an item like that would be reduced down to a small cube, maybe a little larger than an amuse bouche in total on the plate.
If they're doing a tasting menu then someone there had better be prepared to have a recommended glass of wine for each course. Or just get one or two bottles of your favorite wine and enjoy that instead.
phenoderr at 1:49AM on 10/02/09
Usually 10 courses means the portions are on the smaller side so I wouldn't necessarily starve yourself in preparation. Just eat as you normally would. You're also not required to finish every last bite of each course either!
Chew on That at 5:21PM on 10/02/09
If 10 makes you nervous, come on up to DC for Minibar's 29 course tasting menu! Most of the courses are just a bite or two, but that's still a lot of courses. Damn good though.
YancyDC at 5:56PM on 10/02/09
One of the most fun and memorable meals I ever had was the dinner at a traditional Chinese wedding. I forget how many courses are served - well over 20, but all the portions were small, and some presented on the same plate - most were just a few bites. The constantly changing plates helped pace the meal appropriately. Particularly memorable was a dragon & phoenix crafted from multiple ingredients and dishes, but everything was delicious, and everyone had such a good time tasting and enjoying the constantly changing plates. At the end, I was certainly stuffed, but not at all unpleasantly so.
So enjoy the dinner! There's probably no need to starve yourself,
MMinNYC at 12:18PM on 10/03/09