We had a wonderful pop-up Supper Club at the Pharmacy the other evening. I’d say that I wish you had been there but I don’t know where we would have put you — there wasn’t a seat available at the table.
I probably should have capitalized The Table, because that’s the space where the dinner was held. It wasn’t the same big table from the old venue but rather an expandable version that allowed us to invite more people.
While we waited for everyone to arrive, we sipped on Lucien Albrecht Crémant d’Alsace brut rosé and nibbled on canapés of smoked salmon with caviar and an herbed cream cheese in flaky little cups. I would have been happy just popping those into my mouth all night. The wine was delightfully dry and crisp and had delicate notes of strawberries and cherries. I made sure to get a photo of the label so I can find it at my wine shop.
After we all took a seat at the table, chef Loren Falsone greeted us and explained the menu, followed by beverage director Dominick Tartugno with some words about the pairings.
Our first course was Roasted Cape Canaveral Sheepshead, with hand-rolled porcini cavatelli and escargot in smooth beurre blanc. It was paired with Rocca del Dragone’s 2016 Falanghina from Campania, Italy. Wonderful floral notes and a smooth finish.
Quail followed, or Caramelized Peach Lacquered Regal Farms Roasted Quails, to be precise. They were seated atop wonderful corn grits and were decorated by fried pig ears with some house-cured bourbon pork belly, to boot. A 2016 Imagery Estate Pinot Noir accompanied, its strawberry jam flavor playing nicely with the peach. Very smooth finish. And yes, most of it just dove in and ripped the quail apart with our fingers, the only efficient way to eat it.
Cherry Coke cocktails were part of the dessert course, which also included Smoky Sous Vide Cherry Pavlova with Coffee Custard.
The Pharmacy staff kept everything moving and everyone happy.
If you haven’t been to Pharmacy in a while, you really should pay another visit. Maybe I can help you out with that. I’ve got a whole batch of restaurant gift card giveaways coming up, and the first one will be for $50 at Pharmacy. As always, the winner will be chosen from among the list of my weekly e-letter recipients. If you’re already getting the e-letter, you’re already entered to win in this and all future drawings.
If you’re not signed up, it’s really easy. You can either click this link or simply send a text to 66866 with SJO in the message field (if you go the text route you won’t have to put up with the captcha code, which I admit can be difficult to read sometimes). The first winner will be announced on Friday, March 23, so watch your inbox with for a message from me with “A Note from Scott” in the subject field.
Pharmacy is at 8060 Via Dellagio Way, Orlando. It’s open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. The phone number is 407-985-2972.
