The Omaha
Event Report: Dinner and Pontoon at West Shores, a Stag Event at Salted Edge
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The Restaurant August is located across the street from our Windsor Court Hotel. August is a Contemporary Creole restaurant located in a historic 19th-century FrenchCreole building in New Orleans’ Central Business District. The interior is rich with original architectural details, gleaming hardwood floors, soaring columns, mahogany paneling, and antique mirrors. We had a large room on the second floor all to ourselves. The two major cuisines in New Orleans are Creole and Cajun. A very general way to distinguish the two is to say Creole is city food (French and Spanish upper classes from New Orleans) while Cajun (displaced French Canada immigrants which eventually included slaves as well) is country food from the area surrounding the city. Creole uses tomatoes and more ingredients while Cajun generally does not. Cajun includes hotter spices and typically has more pork and crawfish, but fewer ingredients overall than Creole. Cajuns were poor, and typically had meals that required only one pot to cook.
Cheers!
Tom Murnan JULY
The wine theme was eclectic, as is New Orleans itself, a mélange of different races and cuisines. Jackson Family Wines (JFW) sourced wine from California as well as South America, reflecting the melting pot theme. Randy Ullom, longtime JFW winemaker who was charged with establishing a JFW presence in Chile, provided wine commentary. Chef Corey Thomas was an expert at selecting intriguing ingredients and culinary combinations. I was blown away by the First Course, an Amberjack Crudo with Passion Fruit, Mirliton, and Texas Olive Oil. What is Mirliton, you might ask? It is a variety of bland squash akin to yellow squash or zucchini. The raw fish was matched perfectly with a Zeitlos Sauvignon Blanc 2021 from the Alexander Valley. I asked for, and received the recipe. But Crawfish Orecchiette (ear shaped pasta) and Nduja, a spreadable pork sausage from Calabria, Red Snapper, and Scallops with Morels, all followed. With a nice Chocolate Caramel Tart, this turned out to be the best dinner of the Great Weekend.
LtoR Elyse Kudo, Larry O’Brien and Randy Ullom awarded the IWFS Certificate of Appreciation. IWFS host Charles Schurhammer (without award)
A man has to live with himself; he should always see that he always has good company.
Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry B. Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974
Event Report: Dinner and Pontoon at West Shores, a Stag Event at Salted Edge
Written by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan
The Salted Edge is a venue new to IWFS Omaha, but it has made a big splash for restaurant goers. Owned in partnership with Gregg & Ashley Young and Chef Joel Hassanali, the venture is something completely different for Young who has the eponymous car dealership. Originally from Haiti, Hassanali, it turns out is an incredibly gifted chef whose family moved to New York when he was 11. The facility, which sits lakeside, is stunning, with a patio, fireplace, inside and outside bars, and private rooms.
After quaffing outside, we moved into our long, private dining room for a blind tasting of a First Growth Bordeaux and a Napa Valley cab. Château Lafite Rothschild 2004 was compared to a Blankiet Estate Paradise Hills 2005, a Bordeaux blend of grapes. Our job was to identify the two. I found one wine was browning, earthy, with dull flavors, showing its age. The other had good color, was harmonious, and elegant. A celebrated First Growth, touted for its longevity, surely had to be the second description, one would think. Based on this prejudice, I was chagrined to discover that the virtually unheard of Blankiet was the livelier of the two, and the celebrated Lafite was, in my opinion, aging rapidly and getting tired. Yes, I got it wrong. but I am telling you my reasoning. Many times, a 1er Cru is the elegant wine in a blind tasting. My prejudices that a 20 year old Lafite should not be on the decline, but rather should just be getting started, mislead me. 2004 was a 4/7 on the IWFS vintage chart, not the best year. Perhaps there were storage issues before we bought them?
I was consoled by an absolutely outstanding meal. The Edge Chopped Salad was a great salad, with wine friendly dressing and notable Crispy Shallots that added crunch. The J. de Villebois Sancerre 2022 was a spot on white wine match. The Second Course was Glazed Pork Belly. It had a fantastic charred exterior and a moist interior. Sprinkled with Chicarron Dust, the dried skin of pork belly, provided a gestalt of flavors. Black garlic and sweet chili was also used. The earthy Château Beaucastel 2006 was a flawless vinous match. The Third Course was a wonder. Red Wine Aged New York Strip with Garlic Potato Purée, Smoky Mushrooms, Asparagus and Bone Marrow Bordelaise Sauce. The sauce provided an extraordinarily deep, earthy and penetrating culinary accompaniment to the steak. The Freemark Abbey Sycamore 2016 was deep, complex and balanced, while the Leoville Barton 2014 provided a lighter (higher percentage of Merlot) but penetrating contrast. Dessert found us with a superlative Kentucky Brown Bourbon Butter Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. So buttery and intensely vanilla flavored. We washed this down with Eagle Rare Bourbon.
Many thanks to Dan Thrasher for introducing us to this new culinary icon. Thanks as well to Chef Hassanali and his precise team of chefs and wait staff. We will have to return to Salted Edge. I’ll be the first one to sign up!
Red Wine Aged New York Strip with bone marrow Bordelaise sauce
2024 UPCOMING OMAHA BRANCH EVENTS
JUL 25
THE NEW MAHOGANY
Napa Cabernet vs. Bordeaux
Producers: Mark Stokes & Mike Wilke