Dinner: 622 North (Valentine's Dinner)

This past Valentine's day (technically night since it was for dinner), my boyfriend of three years took me to 622 North to celebrate with food and wine, both which are as close to my heart as he is. The food and wine were excellent and we had a great time.  It was my first time at 622 North and this occasion did not disappoint.  Though there was no particular theme to the fare, each wine and food pairing still complimented each other quite wonderfully. By the end of the night, I was feeling both stuffed and slightly drunk...in love (Beyonce reference...it's relevant to Valentine's day right??).  Overall, it was an awesome first experience at 622 and a magnificent wine-food pairing.

When we were seated, we were given a menu of items to choose from to compose our four course meal.  The appropriate wine to pair was listed underneath each menu item which I thought was pretty neat.  A single four course dinner cost approximately $45 with an added $20 if you chose to order the flight of wine to pair.

Menu for Valentine's Day dinner at 622 North.

Since our reservation was for 8 PM, they had already ran out of their first appetizer that was listed on the menu.  The Onion Soubise with fresh arugula and bacon jam crostini was replaced with a vegetable and barley soup and ravioli stuffed with butternut squash.  The bacon jam crostini was still a side item.  This soup was paired with a sparkling chardonnay (Simonet Blanc-deBlancs, France).  

Vegetable and barley soup with bacon jam
crostini and sparkling chardonnay.

As I put my nose to flute-like glass, scents of apples, pears, and flowers emerged.  The chardonnay was surprisingly sweeter than I was used to, although I have had very limited experiences with chardonnay (I'm more of a Sauvignon Blanc kind of girl).  It was pleasantly bubbly on the tongue and had strong apple flavors with the carbonation.  I experienced some acidity and minerals upon the finish.  The chardonnay reminded me a lot of a hard apple cider. When paired with the soup, the sweetness was dumbed down a little bit which made for a pleasant pairing.  Overall, the pair was very light and appropriate for an appetizer.  No flavors overwhelmed the other.  Sidenote: the bacon jam crostini was ON POINT.  I have to find the recipe.  It also paired well with the chardonnay.  The apple and bacon flavors intermingled in perfect harmony that reminded me of autumn in New England.

For my salad and second course, I ordered sea salt and potato fried oysters with pickled asparagus and bacon horseradish aioli.  This dish was paired with a white burgundy (Vergel Macon-Villages'n, France).

Sea salt and potato fried oysters with pickled
asparagus and bacon horseradish aioli
paired with white burgundy.

Zoomed in: Sea Salt and potato fried oysters.

Oh hey! That's me!

I have never had any experiences with white burgundy before.  In fact, I hardly knew it existed.  I only knew of red burgundy from class and in passing at wine stores, but I was completely unaware of the white variety.  As I held the glass up to my nose, it was unlike anything I had ever smelled before.  The wine had distinct aromas of asparagus and was very earthy in scent.  Memories of grass and herbs also came to mind as I continued to sniff and swirl.  This pairing was by far the most balanced and flawless as a match.  The white burgundy displayed distinct earthy, asparagus notes on the tongue which complimented the asparagus in the dish.  The wine's lightness and smoothness upon finish played a symphonic relationship with the seafood.  The white burgundy also had hints of citrus and acidity that added to its perfect pairing with the oysters.  I cannot reinforce enough how wonderful this pairing was... it was by far the best of the entire four-course meal and truly opened my eyes to the beauty of finding wines that compliment the flavors in the foods that we eat.

I was so absorbed in the second course that I was completely surprised when my main dish was brought out.  For my third course, I ordered striped bass with an asparagus, yukon potato and mushroom hash, roasted tomato, and sorrel cream sauce paired with a Verdelho wine (Molly Dooker 'The Violinist' 2010, Australia).

Striped bass with Verdelho wine.

Honestly, this pairing was the worst of the bunch which was such a shame because the dish was fantastic.  When I took a whiff of the Verdelho, the first thing that came to mind was paint thinner.  The alcohol was so strong that it took away from any other aromas that could have been found in that wine.  The only flavor profile I could discern other than "disgusting" was the oily, rich feeling upon swallowing.  Typically, I enjoy more white wines than I do red so I really tried to love this...but I just couldn't.  I couldn't discern any other flavors because the alcohol was just way too overbearing to enjoy with or without the food.  Good thing the bass and roasted vegetables of my main course made up for it because I would have been incredibly disappointed.  I would imagine that a white with citrus components and refreshing bite would go well with seafood, but those flavors did not come through with the Verdelho.  After conducting some research, I found out that this wine contains about ~16% alcohol per serving.  For a white wine especially, this was just too hot for my liking.  I didn't finish the glass and offered it to my boyfriend.

After gobbling up three courses, I still knew that I wanted to save room for dessert!  My fourth course consisted of lemon custard with fresh raspberries and blueberries, passion fruit sauce, and lemon crunch ice cream paired with a glass of Late Harvest Riesling (Sawtooth).

Basically the greatest thing ever. Lemon goodness
with berries and Late Harvest Riesling.

The disappointment that I had in the Verdelho was quickly forgotten with dessert.  The Late Harvest Riesling gave away scents of honey, peaches, and flowers on the nose.  It was so pleasant and sweet, perfect for the sweet and sour lemon custard and ice cream.  Sipped alone, I discerned flavors of pineapple, honey, and caramel.  The rich sweetness of the Riesling paired well with such a sweet dessert!  The lemons provided a great layer of flavor that complimented the caramel and honey flavor profile in the Riesling.

Although I had a small hiccup with the Verdelho wine, everything else about this experience was phenomenal.  622 North did a great job creating a romantic atmosphere with great food and wine options to make for a very memorable and sweet evening.

Me and my boyfriend and his huge hand.
Seriously look at the size of that thing.