St. Patrick's Day Dinner at the Schoolhouse!

So last Wednesday Megan and I went to dinner at the Schoolhouse restaurant in Wilton, CT. Oh my god was this place amazing. This was a gift from my father and step-mother to Megan and I. It turns out that we were the only people to be signed up for the St. Patrick's Day special dinner and I am sure that it's because of the holiday and no fault of the restaurants.

Dinner was a five course meal that you had two options to decide between for each course. Chef Tim LaBant was super accommodating as far as handling Megan's food allergies and he was extremely nice to talk to when he came out to speak with us after the fourth course. For each course (aside from dessert) I had whichever option Megan did not choose. She decided to do the wine pairing with each course while I had the beers. Without further ado, here's the menu:

First Course

Lola duck hash with a sunny side egg (We skipped the egg, I think this was Megan's favorite)

Cauliflower and parmesan soup with a sea scallop, hazelnuts, and chives

Second Course

Beet ravioli with Prosciutto, watercress and pistachios (This may have been my favorite surprisingly!)

Ricotta gnocchi with jabugo ham, tomato jam, and scallion soubise

Third Course

Bronzini with broccoli rabe, potato rosti, and tomato onion jam (Other contender for my fav)

Chicken with rutabagas, kale, and maitake mushrooms

Fourth Course

Corned beef brisket with Brussel sprouts, apples, black trumpets and parsnip puree

Lamb filled Shepard's pie with a side of broccoli rabe

Fifth Course

Chocolate Guinnes cake with whiskey blood oranges, chocolate malt ice cream, and warm butterscotch cream (we both had this)

Earl grey panna cotta with chocolate sauce, caramel ice cream, and a Scottish shortbread cookie.

So a big surprise for me was the mushrooms in two of Megan's dishes... they were great! The maitake were especially good. I believe these are also known as Hen of the Woods mushrooms but I'm not entirely certain. If they are, I know they are particular favorites of my fathers.

The beet ravioli's were hands down the single best fresh ravioli's I've ever had. You could tell that they were made there and their texture was spot on perfect. I'm not sure, but I would swear I tasted white truffle oil on top and it combined very well with the watercress.

The bronzini and the chicken were both perfectly cooked. I sometimes get angry when a restaurant brings out as perfect a dish as both of these and I just want to stand up and yell "Why can't my chicken/fish come out like this?!?!?!?" Crisp on the outside and moist deliciousness on the inside.

The beers and wines were all delicious. I was excited to see each beer that came out as they were significantly better than I was expecting. The Captain Lawrence Imperial Pale Ale was a very special surprise as well since I've been wanting to try that beer for a bit now.

The pastry chef made Megan up a coconut sorbet from scratch during dinner to go with her dessert and it was really great. The only thing about the dessert I was not crazy about was the caramel popcorn that was between the ice cream and the guiness cake. It made for a very interesting texture but felt a little over the top.

I would recommend this restaurant to anybody. They source as much locally or wild as possible and everything felt hand selected by the chef himself. Megan and I are planning on trying to go down another time and Megan insists that we only go on a night when our waiter Larulo (guessing there) is there again. The service was extraordinary and I'm sure his brother Mario does a great job as well.

If you want to check out their website you can find it at http://www.schoolhouseatcannondale.com. Enjoy!