Wine Dinner at Terrace Restaurant

Anyone who knows us knows that we love fine dining experiences.  We had the opportunity to go to The Terrace Restaurant here on St. John in Cruz Bay for their Summer Wine Dinner.  We had never been to the restaurant before, but we had always heard great things about it.  When I called to make reservations, they had just announced that they were having a tasting dinner on July 17^th, but did not disclose the menu.  As is typical with us, we certainly enjoy our red wines, but don’t really care for the white wines.  Being a summer wine dinner though you would expect white wines, especially with seafood – typical of an island restaurant.  When I spoke with the person in charge of the reservations, I wanted to make sure that we would have a few red wines on the list.  I really don’t know why I bothered asking, because we would have gone if it was ALL white wine.  The dinner started about 6:30.  We arrived at six so that we could relax at the bar with a drink.  They had some Bay Rum leaf infused rum that was made on island that was very good. 

Bay Rum Leaves

Around 6:30 as more people were arriving, we headed over so the maître de could seat us.  We sat at a table with a lovely view of the water with a nice couple about our age.  These events are for anyone that would like to come, but mostly islanders – people who live and work on the island – are in attendance.  This makes it really nice when you want to meet new friends!  We enjoyed sitting with Bob and Nancy Wetherille.  They own a villa called “Treetops” on Bordeaux Mountain.

We brought my iPhone so that we could take pictures of each course.  But as is so very typical with us, we get so excited about the food that we forget to take a picture of what we are eating.  UGH!!  So there are no pictures of the first two courses.  L  L 

 All the food was totally amazing!!!  At the end of the meal we honestly could not pick one course we liked better than any other course because they were ALL that scrumptious!!

The 1^st course was a raw oyster on the half shell along with a baked oyster Rockefeller.  Well, I have always heard that you do NOT eat oysters in months without an “r” in them.  Ok, so July……………no “r”.  Not really sure I wanted to try this course, but you know I did.  It was delicious and beautiful as well.  They served a 2013 sparkling white from California and it paired very well with the oysters. 

The 2^nd course was delightful!!  It was a yellowfin tuna with lump crab meat rolled up and then sitting on golden beets sliced very thinly with Josephine’s microgreens.  Drizzled over it was a marvelously bright tasting citronette made of toasted coriander seed, tiny orange pieces and a hint of mint.  It left me wanting more, it was that good.  They served this with a 2012 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley and it was a nice pairing.  The acidity from the wine melded nicely with the beets and citronette. 

The 3^rd course was fabulous.  It took us right back to Italy.  It was chevre (goat cheese) stuffed zucchini blossom.  It included a shrimp and baby heirloom tomato salad with a garlic-herb vinaigrette.  Yes, please, I will take a dozen to go!  The first time we had ever eaten zucchini blossoms, we were in Florence, Italy in 2005.  I will never forget how delicious those were and these brought me right back to that special time.  They served the zucchini with a 2012 Gewurztraminer that was delicious and a wonderful pairing.  When paired with the correct foods, white wine can be very good! 

Our 4^th course was crispy veal sweetbreads (pancreas).  Oh, my, they were delectable!  Around the sweetbreads they had tiny bits of applewood smoked bacon, small pieces of asparagus and shiitake mushrooms with a truffle oil drizzled over them.  This was served with a 2009 chardonnay.  Fabulous!

The 5^th course was duck confit en croute.  This was a small puff pastry with Bing cherries that had been soaked in burgundy, with brie and thyme.  This dish was melt in your mouth delicious.  They paired this with a 2008 Burgundy from France.  This, our first red was a little off and was somewhat of a disappointment.

Our 6^th course was red wine marinated beef tenderloin brochette which is a skewer with bits of tenderloin attached that is grilled.  On the plate were also roasted fingerling potatoes, Josephine’s baby arugula, and tiny chunks of Maytag blue cheese!  They paired this with a 2004 Washington state red wine that was glorious! 

Our 7^th and last course was dessert.  It was a bittersweet chocolate caramel tart served with a ten year old tawny port.  This pairing was incredible!                        

All in all, this was a memorable evening spent with new friends.  The food was simply amazing.  We will definitely return to this restaurant to try more of their incredible food.