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Wednesday night at last! Hump day has come and past.

I want to send a big thank you to those who attended our Fortaleza Tequila Dinner, I also would like to thank the fine people at Destileria La Fortaleza. Their hard work really made this dinner a success.

Fortaleza came to our restaurant not too long ago to share their story of how they make this tequila. Chef Patrick and I listened and tasted this wonderful Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo at 8:00 in the morning! Here is that story.
Fortaleza Tequila has been produced and bottled on a family owned estate in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico for more than 125 years. In Mexico, Fortaleza is known as Tequila Los Abuelos. The family has been using the traditional processes of 100% stone milled agave since the beginning. The family estate farms lay in a valley 4,000 feet above sea level, at the base of Volcan de Tequila. Here is where the blue agave grows for seven to eight years at a time.

After the long wait, the amazing eight-foot tall blue agave is harvested and cooked in the same brick oven the family used 125 years ago. The agave is stone-milled with the volcanic rock of Volcan de Tequila. The volcano stands at 9,560 feet tall. Each bottle is hand blown in Tonala, Jalisco and the corks are hand made by the same workers that harvest the agave. So each bottle has its own story and its own art work on each bottle.

Los Abuelos Blanco is distilled and stored in stainless steel tanks. For tequila drinkers Blancos tell you where the tequila is coming from. You can taste the earth, sweet agave and citrus. The bottle also has a drawing of the distillery.
The Reposado, YES, my personal favorite. The Reposado is aged in oak barrels for 6-9 months. They use recycled oak barrels from Jim Beam (which I thought was interesting). This is my favorite tequila because I enjoy the body the oak gives the tequila. It makes me think warm and toasty. This bottle has a drawing of Tahona (volcanic stone mill) with a horse pulling it, the way the family has been doing it for years.
The Añejo is aged in oak barrels for 2-3 years so it takes on a deeper oak color and rich flavor. This bottle has a drawing of the estate and fields of agave.

The food for this dinner was fun, I have been drinking different tequilas with my family for years. Tequila is nearly the only drink my father will ever order when dining out. I was excited to pair food and play with tequila for the first time in the kitchen.
We are now cooking rather than drinking.

I really like the drunken salmon crudo. The fattiness of the salmon and avocado is great with the tequila, the salmon was quickly crude in the Reposado tequila and paired with the blue corn tuile for some crunch to get your palate excited about Margarita Mimosa with orange and agave nectar a special drink made by Steve for the dinner.

Our first course was a Cilantro Crepe with squab. The idea was to look like and tasty little enchilada which would take us to Mexico. One of the things I do when I cook is look at the idea of something an enchilada and recreate it using my French technique. A cilantro crepe in place of a tortilla, squab or in French “pigeon” two ways braised leg meat and Spanish blue cheese in the crepe and the breast pan seared. The sauce was made from the squab stock and the braising jus from the legs.

For the second course, I was excited to work with Barracuda. Because of the devastating earthquake in Chile it prevented the delivery of Barracuda. (Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile.) The dish was still tasty however and paired well the Reposado. The Olivetti baked John Dory was nice with olive oil, citrus broth, and lite tooth the confit onion, peppers and orzo.

I was most impressed with the Broken Arrow Ranch Achiote Venison Saddle. The dish was melt-in-your-mouth tender. The crunch of pear and a well-balanced sauce blended of sweet and bitter followed with earthiness of the beet greens. But I must bring you back to the saddle it was the most tender peace of venison I have ever had and the Achiote really helped to bring out the dark red color of the meat. The Añejo was a perfect pick to pair the rich dish.

Ahhh, dessert. The Marjoleine dates and Heath Bar pear with pistachio. Well let’s just say I am a sucker for pistachio anything at dessert time. Then we added chocolate…voilà!

The dinner was excellent and the tasty tequila told us a story. To Fortaleza, thank you for a wonder evening that was full of knowledge. I hope to do this again. Please view the pictures of the dinner and leave any comments you wish.

Remember to check out to check the schedule for our next pairing dinner at Twenty/20/ Grill & Wine Bar. Merci and bonne soiree.

- Chef Haas

Food for me is a vehicle to tell a story about a culture, bring people together, learn, and experience life. You need all five of your senses when eating a great meal and that is what makes food unique, fun and in a class of its own.

As current Junior Sous Chef for the Twenty/20 Grill & Wine Bar. I try to keep food simple and speak to classical French technique with a chip on one shoulder. I try not to say I create anything new, but rather rearrange classical ideas and add my love into the food. Then see what happens. Sometimes I get the “throw backs” and other times a bit more adventurous…either way I enjoy the heat of a oven on my face, the smell of shallots and garlic and sound that meat makes when it put in smoking hot pan. For those who are wondering Mercredi nuit means Wednesday night in English, hump day, you know that day in the middle of the week that seems so hard to get through some times. Well lucky for you, Mercredi nuit is the night for good food, good company, and a good drink to help you push through the rest of the week. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy my food and thoughts.

I am happy to say another Wednesday bites the dust. We have had some great weather the past few days and going to the farmers markets has inspired me a great deal and I can’t wait for the spring.

Over the years, I have read tons of culinary books. Some of the chefs that I have had a big influence on me and how I cook are Marco Pierre White, Eric Ripert, and Thomas Keller. They are similar chefs but they have their distinct differences. Refinement, an alteration that improves something (food) to make it more sophisticated, depth of flavor, making every bite exploded in your month. A quote from an eighteenth-century food writer Brillat-Ssavarin, “To know how to eat well, one must first know how to wait”.