On July 20, the second Dorm Room Dinner was held at 33 Wine Shop and Tasting Bar and I was lucky enough to be in attendance. Since I've seen no blogposts or recaps, I volunteer to step to the front of the class...
The parameters of the Dorm Room Dinner are that a chef produce a 5-course meal ($35-40 range, no advance menu) using only equipment found in the standard dorm room...hot plate, microwave, toaster oven, and so on. At the inaugural dinner, held in late June, Chef Josh Galliano of Monarch impressed two seatings of our city's chefs and foodies. Chef Galliano's comprehensive recap is posted here and the RFT's Ian Froeb weighed in here.
The chef for DRD # 2 was Kevin Willmann of Erato on Main. His menu? He kept it in his wheelhouse...all seafood. I won't give a course by course, blow by blow description but suffice it to say that the offerings ranged from very good to excellent, the lone clinker being the not-even-amuse-size trout which was just too damn small to even evaluate. (The full menu follows this post.) Props to Willmann for personally catching the trout, though, and his self-deprecating self-defense: "Obviously, I didn't catch very many."
These dinners are as much about the experience (or is that experiment?) as the food, plus there's the opportunity to pair the goodies with something from 33's extensive wine cellar. On this night, though, I wish all those in attendance could have observed Willmann's "cooking line," set up in the side room...a series of crock pots, microwave ovens, single-burner hot plates and the piece de resistance, a rectangular electric fry pan, vintage: Grandma. You remember... the one with the Bakelite handles and the pictures of pork chops and vegetables scribbled onto that scratched-up, avocado-green lid.
That this meal was prepared using that slapdash collection of hackneyed cookery was nothing short of amazing. And when Willmann later deadpanned "yeah, that triggerfish took 2 minutes in the microwave," I could only smile and shake my head.
The bad news is that these dinners are so popular that guests want to return again and again. (Dorm Room Dinner # 3 will be held Monday, August 24, and there's already a waiting list.) The good news is that 33 will hold 10 seats for FEAST readers for the September 14 dinner, the one featuring Kirk Warner of Kirk's Traveling Kitchen (aka the chef who, years ago, transformed King Louie's into one of the city's top destination restaurants). Last November, SLM featured him in a Q&A here. It was Warner who was the impetus for this whole Dorm Room concept, commenting to Jeff Stettner (owner of 33) that he thought he could cook a dinner "using a hot plate and a blowtorch."
It's hard to believe, but reserving a seat for Dorm Room is akin to doing so at a tough-table restaurant...in this case, reservations are accepted exactly one month in advance of the next dinner. So, if you want a coveted seat at Kirk's dinner on September 14, mark your calendar to send Jeff Stettner an email (jeff@33wine.com) on August 14. Reference this blog and you might just get a seat...I just hope it's not mine. -- George Mahe
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Kevin Willmann's menu from Dorm Room Dinner # 2:
First Course: Beet- and Anise-Cured Huzzah Valley Rainbow Trout, Pickles, and Mustard Noodles
Second: Corn-Lobster Consume, Butter-Poached Lobster, Corn and Crab Salad
Third: Pacific Blue Prawns, Creamed Fournie Farms Corn, Prairie Farms Lamb Tasso
Fourth: Triggerfish in Papillote, Oregon Winter White Truffle, Local Shiitakes, and Farm Butter
Fifth: Framboise Rice Crispy, Local Goat's Milk, Grandpa's Berry Farm Blackberries
