
Grange is well-known around Sacramento and the Northern California area for their farm-to-table inspired menus created by Chef Michael Tuohy (you may remember him as our great benefactor of olive oil knowledge during the Olive Oil Tasting at the Foodbuzz Festival). Using all regional ingredients, Chef Michael creates dishes that are inspired by the food, the geography and the seasons, resulting in menus as distinctive as California and its people. Grange’s wine selection comes also entirely from some of California’s best regional wineries, making this the perfect type of restaurant to make its home in the state capital.
As my friend Rich & I approached the restaurant, I mentally kicked myself for not noticing that all that "inconvenient construction" I'd griped about last year was actually meant to help design Grange and its parent hotel, The Citizen. As we were to find out later, this was a very big project that ended up taking over part of the sidewalk on 9th & J in Downtown Sac. I think the city of Sacramento must be quite happy that they did, as Grange has proven to be one of Downtown's prime dining spots, gaining great press and being voted as Best New Restaurant by Sacramento Magazine. We were greeted warmly and taken to one of the better tables in the restaurant, according to our hostess. Located on what was once the sidewalk, we had a great view of the original exterior of the building and all its historical, architectural beauty. After being introduced to our highly recommended server, Roger, we had a chance to look at the menu (well, I did; Rich was far more fascinated by his new Droid). So who won the duck-off? Chef Michael of Grange. But according to other reviews and his own account on his blog, Hank Shaw gave Chef Michael some very stiff competition. On the menu for the evening:

~ Local Farm Lettuces with Warm Confit, Pickled French Prunes and Duck Fat Vinaigrette
~ House Made Tagliatelle with Duck Sugo
~ Duck Cassoulet with Rancho Gordo Beans, Confit, Sausage and Pork Belly
~ Pear Tart with Huckleberry Compote and Orange Zabaglione (crust made with duck fat)
Right now I’m a little jealous of myself as I read over this menu. The entire meal was of such exquisite quality that I felt almost guilty for having it (an obvious sign that I’ve been working in a Catholic environment for awhile, lol). Our first course was a lovely introduction to the different flavors of wild duck, our favorite actually being Hank’s duck sausage.

The House Made Tagliatelle with Duck Sugo was by far our favorite dish of the evening, quite an accomplishment considering we were only on our third course (N.B.: this was another one of Hank’s creations! He is an imminently talented cook, so major kudos to him).

Now, it’s not every day you see a fruit tart on a menu whose crust is made with duck fat. Upon first reading this Rich made a strange face and immediately dismissed it as “too weird for [me]” but once again, he had to eat his words (and dessert). Made with local orchard pears, a huckleberry compote and orange scented crème fraiche, this dessert was a mid autumn dream to me. And the crust? Slightly flaky and rich with nary a duck in sight. Our final wine pairing for the evening was an orange muscat from Essensia, one of the few muscats that I’ve tried which I have actually enjoyed (to me, most muscats taste like Triaminic).
(Grange Restaurant is located at 926 J Street in Downtown Sacramento)
I'm so glad you enjoyed the pear tart ... I had a lot of fun creating it for this special menu. In addition to using duck fat in the crust, I also sauteed the pears in hot duck fat and sugar and napped them with a pear brandy sabayon. Thank you so much for your kind words and I hope you visit us again soon! Elaine Baker, Pastry Chef
ReplyDeleteHow the heck does a "poor girl" get invites to places like the Grange? There are so many places here in Sac I'd love to try, but I have a beer budget. How do I get a job like yours? :)
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