The Greenhouse Tavern opened in 2008, and is the first certificate green restaurant in Ohio!!!

Not only is the entire restaurant concept, decor, and food total amazing – but the owners are pretty awesome themselves. It’s owned by one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs (!!!) – Jonathon Sawyer, and his wife, (super cool Cleveland blogger who I adore) Amelia!

My blend Alexa (blogging friend ) was giving away tickets to a super sweet dinner – Au Bon Climat Wine Dinner – and my blend Carly won!    To make things even better (sorry Joe!) Carly’s husband had to work that night – so Heather and I got to go as her date!

While we were waiting for the night to get started  – I thought a Sauv Blanc was appropriate! (obviously!)

I love that their logo is on all of their glasses (although apparently, the logo is camera shy I could not get a good, focused picture of it, no matter how hard I tried!)

After getting seated and situated…

…Chef Sawyer and Winemaker Jim Clendenen talked to us about the evening, and all the food & wine we were going to taste.  While I might not understand it all, I could listen to people who really know their food and wine talk for HOURS!

1st Course:

Wine – Au Bon Climat Pinot Blanc

Food – Potato Roasted Monk Fish w/ Herb Salad

The Monk Fish was fantastic (I don’t believe I’ve ever tried Monk Fish before!), and I loved the flavor of the potato crust!  The Pinot Blanc was fantastic (and ended up being my favorite wine of the evening!)

Then we snuck a few garlic roasted peppers in between courses!

These were AWESOME!  I could have EASILY eaten the whole bowl myself!

2nd Course:

Wine – Sanford & Benedict Chardonnay

Food – Corn Roasted Pork w/ Spicy Soubise & Fresno Chilis

Wow!  The textures and the taste of this dish was fantastic, and I tried hominy for the first time ever!  I LOVED IT!  The Chardonnay was a perfect pairing!

3rd Course:

Wine – Santa Barbara Pinot Noir

Food – Ratatouille w/ zucchini flower, Chevre de Provencal, tomato broth & fresh herbs de Provence

I really enjoyed the Pinot Noir, it was nice and not TOO spicy, which is exactly the sort of red wine I got for!  I also liked the Ratatouille, the goat cheese in these was so delicious!!!  Compared to the first two dishes though, it was sort of tame.  But I think that has a lot to do with me, because I’ve killed all my tastes buds with lots of Frank’s, and jalapenos!

4th Course:

Wine – Isabelle Pinot Noir

Food – Fatted Calf w/ Poached Cherry, Proper Polenta & Filbert

When I read Carly’s review of the night – I knew I had to steal what she said about the 4th course, because she totally hit the nail on the head!

This Pinot Noir was great! It was slightly peppery and smoky and really complimented the beef. I also learned what “fatted calf” was. Since Greenhouse Tavern is a green restaurant the chef/owner really believes in humane treatment of animals – We all know that veal isn’t usually from a very well treated animal, so a fatted calf is older than a veal, but still not a fully matured cow. Either way, this dish was my absolute favorite of the night – and I’m not even a big beef eater. The cherry sauce, the toasted hazelnuts, and the wine just really complimented and accented the flavor of the beef.

5th Course:

Beer – Dogfish Head Red and White

Dessert – Pinot Noir Granita

The beer was AWESOME – and you know I’m a wine girl. Granted – it’s been a few years since I had one, but I feel like it tasted similar to Yuengling.  Does that sound right to anyone? The granita was fantastic as well – but you know me and sweets, I’m not crazy about ‘em.  So after a bite or two – I was done with the granita and focused on my adult beverages!

My two super lovely dates: Heather and Carly!

A very huge thank you to Carly for allowing me to invite myself as her date inviting me to come!

And a huge thank you to The Greenhouse Tavern (Jonathon & Amelia), and Au Bon Climat for putting on such a wonderful evening; and to Alexa for the tickets!!