Thursday, September 30, 2010

Annual Chile & Beer Dinner at Millennium

Who: VN Editorial Assistants Brooke Still and Gabrielle Pope and VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig
What: Millennium's Annual Chile and Beer Dinner
Where: Millennium Restaurant, San Francisco, Calif.
When: September 29, 2010
Why: To spice up our Wednesday night ... literally.

The Scoop: When VN asked Gabrielle and me if we would be interested in going to Millennium for their chile and beer themed dinner, I don't think either of us ever responded to an email faster. That is until VN asked us if we would like to try the beer pairings that came with the meal—I emphatically typed YES. So we prepared ourselves for a delicious late-night dinner at San Francisco's classiest vegan eatery. And of course, our beloved office manager and friend Lyndsay Orwig just had to come along for the ride.

  • VN Editorial Assistant Brooke Still and VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig.

Up until the day of, Gabrielle and I had planned on sitting down to a full night of chili, as in bean-and-tomato-filled stew. Clearly we did not do our homework, because we were treated with instead was a five-course meal based on the multi-faceted tastes of chilies, as in the peppers, from northern California farm Tierra Vegetables, and handpicked by the Millennium staff.
Was there salsa you ask? Oh yes, there was salsa. That and so much more. Our meal began with Seared Chillies and Grilled Flatbread, filled with a white-bean spread and paired with a white beer. Next we had the most savory Blue Corn Mesa Crepe with roasted poblano and tomatillo pozole verde and cilantro salad, matched with a delicious wheat beer. Following that, we were served Steamed Bao, which was probably my favorite course—tea smoked tofu and glazed eggplant atop delicious bread and served with shiitake and mung bean salad.

Steamed Bao with Tea-Smoked Tofu and Anise Glazed Chinese Eggplant

We then had Seared Semolina Dumpling, filled with squash and pepper and paired with a porter. We topped off the whole meal with a decadent Chocolate Ganache Cake and Thai chile-Tom Kha ice cream. I think it's safe to say I'll never eat again.

Chocolate Ganache Cake

An amazing meal at a stellar restaurant was my perfect introduction to Millennium, where I plan to return for every special occasion. My birthday's coming up. Just saying.

1 comment:

FabRedhead said...

I was at this same dinner during my visit to SF last week. :) It really was amazing. I even went out of my comfort zone a bit and elected to try the ghost chile hot sauce from the special hot sauce bar. I'm not usually into the hot foods dicksizing, but I figured that I wouldn't necessarily have another chance at ghost chiles anytime soon. Super hot, with a serious build-up!

Everything tasted good, even the parts of the dishes containing foods I don't usually like, such as eggplant and pickled peppers. It's the mark of a really good restaurant when it can get you to enjoy foods you usually dislike, and I am more likely to extend that trust at a vegetarian place like Millennium. I just wish they'd open a restaurant in my city!