Last night, I attended a veery interesting event at Joe Squared at Power Plant Live, the monthly Food = Art that used to be at the Creative Alliance at The Patterson. Each month, a chosen chef from the area cooks within a certain theme. The restaurant is closed to the public that night and attendees are limited to 30. It's very intimate. Joe Squared at Power Plant Live has a Baltimore row home feel with exposed brick and casual seating. It doesn't feel like a commercial entity at a tourist locale.
The guest chef of the evening was Chad Wells, from Alewife. It goes to show you how community-oriented Joe Squared is as an entity, hosting other chefs. They even provided a bluegrass/Americana Wiyos-type band, The Manly Deeds.
The theme of the evening was wild game and in tune with the theme, Joe Squared had 3 different redneck type of shows on the flat screen tv's. Well, then one was changed to show LSU getting the Tide rolled all over 'em.
Each item on the menu had a bit of the great outdoors/game in it.
Here was the menu: DRINK:
Hot Mulled Cider, Honey Comb Infused Bourbon
The mulling spices were presented in the cider, with the honey comb melted into the drink.
TROUT:
Hickory Smoked Trout, Pan Fried Wild Morels, Roasted Beets: Served Family Style
This was marvelous. It was lightly smoked, not having a fake smoke flavor and oh so tender. One of the guests at the dinner provided the wild morels.
WILD DUCK:
Cast Iron Mac and Cheese,
Gruyere, 2 year aged Grafton Cheddar, Grana Padano, Duck Confit: Served Family Style
This was so tasty -- the duck fat added extra creaminess to the mac and cheese. I was sad to see some leftovers at some tables. In an impolite but more perfect world, I'd have a big bucket of leftovers and a fork right now. The mac and cheese had a crispy Panko crumb crust.
QUAIL:
Fire Roasted Quail
Sweet Potato, Chorizo and Granny Smith Apple Stuffing, Smoked Pork Belly BBQ Baked Beans
It was tender, nicely cooked, with a good hit of spice from the chorizo. It was fun to have individual bird at each place setting and it's rare to see quail served in Baltimore.
VENISON:
Venison Stew
Dutch Oven Chipotle Corn Bread
One of the guests at dinner provided the deer. It was a rustic, spicy stew served on top of a very dense, rich spicy cornbread.
DESSERT:
Smore
Graham Cracker, Dark Chocolate, Marshmallow, Candied Bacon
If you've had Vosges Bacon Bar, you get this dessert, a modern melding of savory, rich and sweet.
