Dinners from Everyday Wines

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One week’s fare in November was based on the spice trail meandering from Asia to the Mediterranean. “It’s a coherent menu without being thematic, like all French or all Italian,” says McCall. I took home some of that spice-route menu, and it was phenomenal. A delicate trout mousse, spiced with Thai chilies and fresh mint, was paired with a tomato-and-red-onion salad. A fork-tender pork shoulder got its flavor cue from smoky pimentón and Amontillado sherry. Their Moorish chickpea stew topped with Swiss chard managed to be both vegan and exotically delicious, a rare feat that involved garlic, cumin, and more smoked paprika. Entrees are priced at $10–$14; sides are $6–$8.

This is a Kerrytown collaboration: T. R. Durham, of Durham’s Tracklements, allows the young caterers to use his commercial kitchen facilities in off-hours. Much of the meat comes from Sparrow Meat Market. And the food, boxed up in environmentally friendly containers, is sold at Everyday Wines, where Mary Campbell and Giri Iyengar help find the right wine pairing for each dish.   

[Originally published in December, 2008.]