Town House

I took a trip to Chilhowie this Thursday to go eat at Town House, a restaurant that I've wanted to eat at ever since I heard about it this summer.  I've been following their blog, as have my restaurant colleagues, and we have all wanted to try this place out.  Luckily I made it first.  It's a destination restaurant, to say the least, as Chilhowie is a bit of a drive.  Chefs John Shields and Karen Urie offered to create a special 11 course menu for me and my mom.  It was an incredible experience, to say the least.  On to the food...

Amuse-Turkey Skin with Honey Bread and Orange Water

Apologies if I missed anything else that was in the dish, I can't fully remember.  This was a really nice bite of super crisp, heritage breed turkey skin that was wrapped in a thin layer of sweet bread and topped with a little bit of cilantro.  Town House was putting on a dinner for a grower of these turkeys that evening.  

Liquid Walnut, Gorgonzola, Passion Fruit, Celery Seed

Sorry for the bad picture, I was still trying to figure out the lighting of the room.  These bites were really nice, with a great transition from the cold sharpness of the gorgonzola to the sweetness of the walnut cookie and the passion fruit.  

Nantucket Bay Scallop Seasoned with Bottagara, Pineapple, Mace, Soy, Banana Poached in Olive Oil

The first dish of the evening that was more than a bite, it certainly came in with a punch.  A pineapple foam topped the scallops and small pieces of avocado and the banana with a soy foam and nori to the sides of the bowl.  This was nice, and I love dishes where you can't see all the elements at once, and it was fun digging through the foam to find new ingredients.  The banana had a really cool texture.

Peekytoe Crab, Tamarind, Curry, Muscavado, Kaffir Lime

Wow.  I hate tamarind and always have, but this was really good.  We were instructed to eat the two separate sides of the dish together, getting some of the muscavado sugar together with the acidity of the grapefruit on which the crab was sitting.  Amazingly good, and the crisp-Pure-Cote?-was perfect with everything.  The plate was very cool as well.

A Variation in Pine Nut

According to one of our servers, it seems as if Town House has been doing variations of this dish as of late.  The plate, although somewhat intimidating at first, was composed of flavors that are very familiar and harmonious with one another.  Lemon, parmesan, pine nuts, black olives, basil, etc.  The egg yolk ribbon was very nice, simply slow cooked eggs whisked, seasoned, and put into a piping bag.  A perfect palate cleanser, and as my mom said, "you just want to lick the plate".  

Candied Yam and Golden Char Roe

Unfortunately no picture, I was too excited about the cotton candy on the plate.  Here's a link to the picture, however.  This dish was very cool, and it smelled great as it came to the table.  It was paired with a bitter chocolate oatmeal stout from Stone Brewery, a nice complement to the saltiness of the roe.  The yam was really fresh and had a great texture to it, not too mushy and not hard.  The black sesame oil was great as well.

Pickled Oyster & Salmon With Touches of Smoke, Hungarian Cherry Pepper, Bacon, Bonito, Charcoal

Done.  CVap'ed salmon in a smoked lemon broth.  Perfect.  The oyster was wrapped in lardo.  Garnished with charcoal oil.  Umami-tastic.  Really, really good, that's all that needs to be said.

Chorizo Bouillon, Gnocchi in Various Flavors

I started eating this one too before I snapped a picture, hence the missing cuttlefish and egg yolk gnocchi, as well as the splashed sides of the bowl.  This was really good, and the gnocchi all worked well together, with the spiciness of the chorizo interacting well with the three flavors.  

Confit of Squab, Flavors of Root Beer, Golden Egg

I didn't think that the salmon dish could be topped, but this totally rocked it.  Sous-vide squab with the root beer consomme poured table side.  The "golden egg" is actually a foie gras jam made with trimoline topped with disks of foie gras sugar.  Thai basil and fresh coriander leaves topped the squab.  Awesome dish, and throughout eating it, little bits of foie gras kept popping up and mixing in with the consomme, which was great.  

Pork Shoulder Barbequed in Coals, Sour Prunes, Bread Ashes, Cabbage, Shallots Cooked in Black Butter

Apparently the inspiration for this dish was the mistake that cooks make from time to time of dropping meat into the fire of a grill or burner.  The shoulder looks completely burnt, almost like charcoal, but it indeed was not burnt at all and was incredibly tender and delicious.  It was cooked sous-vide and then covered with a barbecue sauce made with molasses and squid ink.  The sour prunes were really good with the pork, and the fig at the top of the plate had an incredible amount of flavor.  The bread ashes added an interesting texture.

Crab Apple, Caramelized Pudding, Caraway Seed Tempura, Oats

On to dessert.  Reading the menu description, one has to stop and think for a moment in order to figure out if the dish will taste good.  It's the Barry Bonds of apple crisps...on steroids and amazingly good, yet completely unapologetic for being the way that it is because it is so much better than anything else.  This dish was awesome.  So many times desserts are just piles of sweetness, but this had such a nice balance of tartness, sweetness, and richness that it really hit on every single note.  

Fallen Leaves, Hubbard Squash, Indian Curry, Chocolate Textures, Granola

I'll be honest, when I first saw this dish pictured and saw the components, I was a bit skeptical, as were most of my friends that saw it as well.  The flavors seemed like they would work...chocolate...curry...granola.  But we were all a little scared of the leaves on the plate, thinking that they were actual leaves.  But they're not at all.  Chef Urie molds white chocolate into leaves then I assume sprays them with a paint sprayer filled with chocolate to give them the look of, well, fallen leaves.  Really awesome.  This dish was, like the last one, amazing.  The curry ice cream was the perfect amount of spice to the different chocolates.  I could go on about this dish forever, just go there and eat it.  

And I forgot to take a picture of the mignardise, which was a "Taste of Thanksgiving".  It was a small shot of warm pumpkin pie broth, pumpkin oil which had a floating orb of cold cream in it.  A perfect way to end the meal.

So is Town House worth the drive to Chilhowie?  Absolutely, and then some.  The food, wine, service, and ambience was incredible and worthy of any "big city" restaurant.  Town House is nice in that it is small enough that the chefs are able to come out to the tables, deliver food, answer questions, et cetera, yet still big enough that dining there really feels like a composed experience with plenty of work going on behind the scenes.  As much as I love dining in (and working in) places with open kitchens, there is a lot to be said about listening to the brief interludes of the clinks and murmurs of the kitchen as the double doors fly open all night, placated by knowing that there is a staff back there trying to create an amazing experience for you.  

Town House recognizes this importance of establishing a whole dining experience and they excel at creating a perfect mix of cozy, laid-back Southern ambience with the hustle and bustle of a restaurant that really knows what it's doing.  It was indeed an amazing experience, and I hope to go experience their food again soon.  The whole staff is so passionate about what the restaurant is trying to accomplish, and it shows from the minute you sit down to enjoy your meal.  

Go to Town House.  It's incredible.  Chefs John and Karen are an amazing pair, and thank you so much for the great meal.  Thanks to Charlie, the rest of the staff, and the Bishop family, the service and hospitality was top-notch.