This past Sunday I went to the first of the Sunday Suppers series at Johnny Church’s MTO Café. WHAT FUN! Hubby John and I were seated at the bar, and while most people might be annoyed by that, I wasn’t at all. Yes, our backs were to the rest of the room, but we had a bird’s eye view of what was going on in the kitchen! Johnny, joined by Tim Doolittle, Vincent Pouessel, Marty Lopez and Michael Van Staden and Heidi Koval on desserts put out a fun dining experience. Pair it with beers from downtown denizens Banger Brewing, and you have a winner! Each Chef created an appetizer and a main course. You chose one app and one main and one dessert and there were 4 different styles of beer to choose from, try all or just one! Of course, John and I chose differently so we could try as many dishes as possible. My only complaint was that I couldn’t try all of them.
Chef Johnny Church
When I first read about it, I thought it would be sampling menu of all, not a true supper theme. Once I wrapped my head around the fact that it was intended to be a supper like you would get at Grandma’s house (not MY Gram’s house – she was a terrible cook.) I was hooked. I really wanted sample sized portions of everything because the whole menu looked great, but still, I loved it! The biggest problem was making decisions. BTW – they offered a supplement if you wanted to try more than one, but with Restaurant Week going on (it ends today), I knew the leftovers wouldn’t get eaten. A huge Bonus for Hubby was that it started at 5:30 so he wasn’t out too late on a “School Night”. What was really interesting to me is that I knew almost NO ONE there. Because I go to a lot of foodie events, I usually run into someone I know, but the only person there I knew at all was Jim Begley.
White oak grilled delta asparagus, poached Pahrump egg, frisee and Parmesan from Chef Johnny Church
The “Covergirl” to quote Bacchanal Chef Michael Van Staden and Assoc. Beet & radish salad with hazelnut bacon vinaigrette
BBQ braised beef cheeks with polenta from Chef Marty Lopez
Grilled Open Blue Cobia, Rustic Ratatouille, Confit Lemon & Capers Gremolata from Chef Vincent Pouessel
Plum Butter Almond Cake with Roasted Plums – from Chef Michael Van Staden
Berry Cobbler from Heidi Koval
The next one is scheduled for Sunday 27 April and I suggest you make a reservation and get there early – the place was PACKED! Johnny assures me the events will continue and change and the participating Chefs with be different each time. Rumor has it that Naked City’s Chris Palmeri and Desnudo’s Christian Dolias are on tap for the next one. I can’t wait!
FYI – I have been attending a LOT of beer-centric events lately and since Joseph James will be featured in two of them, I will write about those together, even though the first one was last month.
