It has been two nights of not
cooking and the contrasts of eats could not be more. Monday night we went to the Wilson County
Fair. I wanted to go Monday as David
Frizzell was going to be performing. I
am not much of a country music fan, but I about drove off the road laughing the
first time I heard his song, “I’m going to hire a wino to decorate my home.” I truly understand as I live with a man who
where the wine will be stored, how it will be served and what to have so he can
serve a certain bottle is top priority. The gist of the song is taking out the dining room table to make room for a bar. Not too far fetched in Jim's mind. I
haven’t been to many fairs so I was looking forward to fair food. We got there and were driven around by the
ground’s manager’s wife, who happens to be our friend Pam to get the lay of the
land. We all had a corn dogs and they
were acceptable, but later Jim was still hungry. He decided on a burger and fries at the Lion’s
Club concession. I have never tasted
anything worse in my life. I than began
my search for something eatable. Chicken
on a stick sounded good, but it was deep fried on a stick. I then began to notice, everything was deep-fried
on a stick, except this plate of fried dough.
They had Oreo’s, snickers, chicken, foot longs, etc. There was homemade ice cream, I bought peach
and found it so sweet that I couldn’t finish mine. Luckily it melted fast so it went away. They also had walking tacos. As I understood it, they take a bag of Fritos
and throw everything in on top. Doesn’t
that sound appetizing? As you walked
around, about every other person had something they were munching on, but I
came home hungry.
We walked through the
exhibits and felt there might be enough categories to enter that every person
in Wilson Country could get a ribbon in something. They had a dog contest that night also, which
we missed as it was the same time as the concert. However, I doubt if they had a worst behaved category
so Max couldn’t have received a ribbon.
Tuesday was our 47th
wedding anniversary. We made dinner
reservations at the Watermark. I have wanted
to go there for as long as we have lived here, but Jim thought the wine list (told
you) was too expensive. Upon pursuing
the menu we found out they do wine parings by the glass and that was perfect. We could each do our own thing without the
bottle of wine dictating the evening.
To start, I had Roasted
summer beets, arugula and pressed cantaloupe over a Tennessee goat cheese
mousse in and orange and citron vinegar dressing. I was paired with a Schramsberg Brut Rose’. You put beets on a menu and I am all over
it. This was without a doubt the best
beet dish I have ever tasted. Jim had American
blue crab and wild shrimp galette with tomato confit and grilled asparagus in a
kaffir lime, tarragon and caper sauce. I
assume it was good, he did not share or even offer a bite. The waiter called it their signature dish.
For my main course I chose
Pan seared Islamorada yellowtail snapper and a half Maine lobster over
caramelized fennel, cherry tomatoes and orzo pasta, scented with lobster
bisque. It was paired with Domaine Bouchard
Pere & Fils, 1er Cru, Beaune du Chateau, 2008. You also get a choice of 3oz or 6 oz pours. Guess which size I chose?
Jim had a Berkshire pork duo:
slow roasted chop with a grilled peach, pearl onion and champagne vinegar
reduction; and bourbon maple syrup braised belly with whipped russets and
country cracklins. When it arrived at
the table, Jim said, for once I have ordered the larger dish. Quantity of food is very important to Jim. Again he ate it all. I heard a lot during the meal about his
Domaine Carneros, 2009 Pinot Noir. He
loves his Pinots and possibly chose the meal based on the wire paring.
We shared a dessert which was
the evening special. It was a cheese
cake made of goat cheese with blackberries.
It was a premier dessert. I had
announced that I was full and couldn’t eat another bite. I sure managed after one taste.
So if I was asked to make a
choice between dining at the Watermark and the fair, I think the Watermark
would win hands down.
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