experiment #59 - Cobaya SoBeWFF 2016 with Chefs Alex Chang, Andrew Zimmern, Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo and Carlo Mirarchi

A year ago, we "took our talents to South Beach" for the first time, teaming up with the South Beach Wine and Food Festival to put on a dinner together. That one worked out pretty well, so we did it again this year. We were able to score another great lineup of chefs: Alex Chang of the Vagabond was our host, Andrew Zimmern made a repeat visit, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Animal, Son of a Gun and an ever-expanding list of new restaurants came over from Los Angeles, and Carlo Mirarchi of Blanca and Roberta's came down from Brooklyn.

It was a great night, in a great place, with some great food, and nice wines from the Bodegas Lustau portfolio. A big thank you Lee Schrager for his support, and for letting these dinners keep a little Cobaya edge to them; to all of his crew at SOBEWFF for the incredible amount of work that goes into putting on this and the million other events they have going on during the festival; to Dominique Shiekman at The Workshop Collective for being an invaluable liaison; to Alex Chang and the entire team at the Vagabond for everything they did to make this happen; to all of the chefs and their crews; and as always most of all, to the guinea pigs who come out and support these events.

(A side note: we have an upcoming event on March 8 which was originally posted as Experiment #59. We're not very good at counting. SOBEWFF was  #59, the upcoming event is actually #60. Sorry for any confusion).

Here's the night's menu:

RECEPTION

Shaved Ribeye, Black Sapote, Burnt Eggplant and Nasturtium

Snap Peas with Leek Oil and Goat's Milk

Alex Chang

Oyster Vichyssoise, Island Creek Oysters

Andrew Zimmern

Hamachi Taco, Fish Sauce Vinaigrette, Peanut and Avocado

Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook

Viña Herminia Viura 2014

Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos

Lustau Manzanilla Papirusa

Kissing the Gunners Daughter

Lustau Manzanilla Sherry, Pimm's No. 1, simple syrup, lemon juice, topped with grapefruit soda garnished with mint bouquet, cucumber, raspberry, blackberry and strawberry

DINNER

Cucumber Variation with Cherry Tomato, Za'atar and Pickled Ramp Ranch

Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook

Marquês de Irun Rueda 2014

Vitello Tonnato

Andrew Zimmern

Viña Herminia Rosado 2014

Suckling Pig marinated in Condensed Milk, Green Papaya and Preserved Marigold Salad

Alex Chang

Viña Herminia Rioja Reserva 2009

DESSERT

Coconut, Meyer Lemon, Poppy Seed and Celery

Carlo Mirarchi

Lustau Moscatel Emilin