Tampa Foodie Adventure: Armani’s Wine Dinner Review

 

Thanks to Armani’s for inviting me to experience this meal in exchange for my honest opinions and coverage of this experience.

I love having new foodie adventures in my travels, but recently I had the opportunity to embark on a brand new foodie adventure right here in my own backyard at the iconic Armani’s on the 14th floor of the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay.

Armani’s is a Tampa Bay staple when it comes to fine dining choices, known for breathtaking views of the bay and fanciful Northern Italian cuisine. With a new general manager and a new rockstar executive chef, they are finding new and innovative ways to light a spark into the Tampa Bay area’s foodie scene.

Recently Armani’s held their first wine dinner.  We were taken on a virtual foodcation, expertly led through 7 courses by executive Chef Jonathan Wilson and our sommelier Maurilio Purpura, pairing delectable creations with a flavorful variety of Mastro Janni Italian wines.

 

 

While I’ve done countless wine tastings, this was my first wine pairing dinner.  Some of you may be wondering what’s the difference. A wine tasting typically features a variety of wines for you to sample, however the pairing experience takes it up a notch pairing a different wine with every course of the meal.

We began the evening with a surprise pre-course that wasn’t even on the menu.  Chef brought out ravioli with a butternut squash mousse and it was paired with the bubbly Le Cave Della Guardiuccia 2015.  It was a flavorful bite to get our palettes to start warming up.

First Course

The First Course was a deviled egg topped with sturgeon cavier. If that wasn’t rich enough, Chef went around the table topping off our deviled eggs with freshly shaved truffle. It was also paired with the Le Cave.  The deviled egg was tasty on its own but the added saltiness of the cavier and the earthy flavor of the truffle made for an explosion of flavors in my mouth.   I was this close to asking Chef for another one.  (don’t judge me)

 

 

Second Course

The Second Course was duck consomme, Hudson Valley confit duck, brunoise vegetables, gnocchi served French service. It was paired with Rosso di Montalcino 2015.

If you’re not a culinary aficionado the term French service may be foreign to you as it was to me. That means the final cooking of the meal is done at the table in front of the guests.   In this case all of the ingredients were brought out in a bowl and then the hot broth was poured over them to complete the process.  This unassuming dish was so full of flavor and the Chef brought out extra duck confit.

 

 

Next was an Intermezzo Break.  It wasn’t really a break!  It was lemon sorbet with goose berry and orange zest.  This was a refreshing treat meant to cleanse our palette before the heavier courses.

Third Course

Third Course was elk tartare, pickled fennel, scented truffle crostini, a quail egg and black sea salt paired with San Pio 2015.

In truth I have never been a fan of any type of tartare, afterall it’s raw meat and that’s normally not my thing.  You couldn’t even get me to order my steak cooked medium until I was in my 30s.

So this was truly stepping out of my comfort zone. I placed the elk tartare on the crostini with a sliver of the quail egg and topped it with a bit of pickled fennel and took a bite. To my surprise and joy it was magnificent. The elk was tender and not gamy at all.  The way it was prepared reminded me of civeche because of the citrus flavors.

This was such a complex dish because every component complimented each other.  The San Pio 2015 was the first red of the evening and complimented this dish perfectly.

I’m really glad I didn’t chicken out and that I gave this dish a try.

 

 

Fourth Course

Fourth Course was pan seared freshwater sturgeon flown in from Sacremento, CA, forbidden rice (black rice), wild mushrooms, sea urchin cream sauce, and crispy textures.  This was paired with Brunello di Montalcino 2011.

The sturgeon was mild and flaky. I enjoyed this meal immensely. I’m so picky about fish so I get excited when I come across a fish variety that I like.

For those of us feeling really daring, chef brought out pieces of uni (the sea urchin) to top off the fish.   That’s the yellow mass on top of the fish in the picture.

 

 

Fifth Course

Fifth Course was akaushi short rib, crisipy spatzle, cipollini onion, kale mint pistou paired with the Brunello di Montalcino 2012. Of all of the courses, I enjoyed this one the most. The 2012 was also my favorite wine of the evening.

 

 

Sixth Course

Sixth Course was kobe beef, black garlic potato puree, butter braised beets, and coco nib bordelaise paired with Brunello di Montalcino 2004.

 

 

Seventh Course

Seventh Course was textures of chocolate paired with Vigna Schienna di Asino 2012.   The platter consisted of 2 different types of chocolate sponge, one 36% chocolate and the other 60% dark chocolate on a bed of chocolate ganache.  There was also a white chocolate truffle infused with truffle oil and encrusted with roasted pistachios and a dark chocolate truffle with a bit of orange zest.  I think my favorite was the dark chocolate sponge and the dark chocolate truffle.

 

 

This was definitely a culinary adventure that taught me new foods and techniques as well as challenged some of my preconceived notions about food.   It was everything a great foodie adventure should be, tasty, transformative, and a bit of a challenge.  My foodie hero Andrew Zimmern would be proud.

The other dinner guests were great company and Maurilio was a wealth of knowledge and was happy to answer all of the guests’ questions.  Jay Wisler, the Armani’s general manager, was welcoming and engaging and really made us all feel right at home.

 

 

While I know for some an experience like this can be intimidating because you may be unfamiliar with some of the foods or preparations or you don’t know anything about the wines, but the beauty of it is the opportunity to learn something new and try foods you would ordinarily never order yourself.

In a way, a chef is an artist, so what better way to experience a meal than to be lead through a culinary journey by the master artist himself.  He enjoyed answering questions and explaining the techniques he used and details of the meal to us so there was no need to feel embarassed about not knowing something.

So the next time you’re in a mood to splurge, consider an over the top foodie adventure like a wine pairing meal.  I think it should be an adulting right of passage.

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own.  See full disclosure.

Love it? Pin It!