Back for More of The Bigger and Badder Wolvesden Underground Dining Experience

Last year, I was able to join one of Chef Craig Thornton's public Wolvesden Dinners and enjoyed it so much that for my next go round, I set up a private dinner so that I could introduce my friends to his food.  Click here to read about that first experience. For this second time at bat, it was an epic meal of 13 courses (bigger) that started with a crash course in humane prawn slaughter (badder), as well as my request for one dish that was Filipino-inspired. Then you throw in dining with an alligator head and it was quite an evening.

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When everyone arrived, Chef Thornton invited us to help prep the fresh Santa Barbara shrimp that would be part of our first course. So first we watched him pierce the shrimp through the brains and then cut down the length of the body. One thing that wasn't quite clear to all was that when he said fresh shrimp, he really meant fresh shrimp.  In fact, those crustaceans were still alive and some were even moving their tiny little legs in protest on the tray they were sitting on.

So the key to make sure that they don't suffer any further pain is to pierce the brain first before cutting into the rest of the body.  Now how is bad is that (but in a good way) for someone to really be in touch with the animal that will soon be on their dinner plate. I almost felt like I should be saying a prayer to the nature gods before the kill just like the Na'vi race from the movie, Avatar.

After all the shrimps were prepped, we sat down for our first course which was live shrimp.chicarron.lime. It was definitely a beautiful presentation and I loved the fresh, sweetness of the shrimp when eaten with the salty, crunchy chicarron.

Our second course was also a seafood dish and it was scallop.cornbread pudding.apple cider.apple.green tomato jam. The scallop had a nice sear to it and I enjoyed the fresh little bite of apple. Although I liked the cornbread pudding, I did find it a little too sweet for my palate but appreciated that the green tomato jam did cut into that a bit.

The third dish to arrive was striped sea bass.parsnip puree.sword lettuce. Crispy fish skin is always appreciated so I was very happy with that and this was my first time having sword lettuce. On its own, it's quite bitter but I like the way it balanced the richness of the parsnip puree.

Chef Thornton mentioned that at the time, he was really into eating Spanish food and that was the inspiration for the cuttlefish.piquillo.smoked almonds.chorizo that was our fourth course. I have to say that for me, the spicy chorizo was the star and I only wish I had more.

For our fifth course, we were served cauliflower puree.meyer lemon.crouton.romesco.sorrel leaf. Unfortunately, this dish didn't do much for me. I liked the creaminess of the cauliflower puree, but the ingredient flavors really didn't seem to come together.

Five courses in already and now it's time for our sixth.  One thing to mention is that guests are allowed to walk over to the kitchen area to see what Chef Thornton and his Sous Chefs are doing as well as ask questions.  What's fun is to see the prep work that goes into each dish as it's prepared. For example, I saw the beautiful red color of the yellowtail tuna in our next dish even before it was seared on the pan. As you know now, our sixth course was yellowtail tuna.yuzu koshe-apricot.radish sprouts.  I thought the tart-fruity sauce and the tangy sprouts went perfectly with the tender fish.

Yes, it's time for dish number seven and it was rabbit.pasta.chive.hazelnut.parmesan. Of everything that evening, this was my least favorite dish. I absolutely loved the homemade pasta and how it was cooked al dente, but I didn't care for the stringy texture of the rabbit and there was something too sweet about the sauce that didn't thrill my palate.

Our eighth course was my absolute favorite of the entire meal, probably because it was the Filipino-inspired dish that I requested.  By the way, I didn't ask for any specific dish. I left that decision to Chef Thornton and wouldn't you know, he chose my favorite comfort food.  To Filipinos, it's a dish known as Kare Kare, which is basically a peanut-based stew with oxtails and vegetables.  Chef Thornton's version is simply called oxtail.peanut sauce.eggplant.rice paper.banana blossoms.mint.onion.long beans.garlic peanuts. His version was definitely not a stew, but he did a fantastic job interpreting the flavors; yet, adding his own twist.

Presentation-wise, the oxtail meat was taken off the bone and cooked with the peanut sauce (made from ground peanuts) and onions and were placed in the bottom of the bowl.  My Mom, like most Filipino Moms, use their favorite brand of peanut butter to create the sauce, so the use of freshly ground peanuts instead added a more intense peanut flavor.

Instead of rice, which is what is usually eaten with Kare Kare, the meat was topped with a rice paper. On top of the rice paper were the rest of the ingredients, with some of them being traditional and others not so much.  For example, I was surprised at the banana blossoms. I don't think it added or took away from the dish, but it was something different.  The addition of the mint added a nice freshness and cut into what is normally a very rich dish.  My favorite add ons; however, were the garlic cracker nuts. The garlic cracker nuts are one of my favorite snacks and I loved the garlic crunch it gave to the dish. Overall, it was a Filipino dish definitely taken into a different; yet, absolutely delicious direction.

Our ninth course was a palate cleanser that came in the form of a fruit soup, strawberry.guava.banana pop rocks. This was such a refreshing a lover. Points were definitely made because of the guava since it's one of my favorite fruits and the addition of the banana pop rocks just blew me away.

Next up was our tenth dish which was lamb.yogurt.pita.meyer lemon.arugula.potato.mint and chive sauce.  I was actually getting quite full by now, but watching and smelling the lamb being cooked gave me a boost of eating energy.  Although the lamb seemed just a tad too rare for my taste, I loved its pairing with the arugula and the chive sauce.

Regarding our eleventh dish which was squab.roasted carrot.beet.shallot jam.horseradish.trumpet mushroom, this is the first time that I actually ever liked the way that squab was prepared or maybe, it was just the ingredients that it came with. The horseradish was a wonderful condiment and I loved the addition of the mild, sweet beets.

With eleven courses behind us, it's now time for our last two which were dessert courses. First, it was my favorite of the two and it was tofu.white chocolate vanilla soup with vanilla bean.white chocolate powder.green tea shortbread.vanilla and yuzu shortbread.citrus. I just really enjoyed the interplay of the various flavors from sweet (but not too sweet) and grassy to citrusy and tart.

Our final and thirteenth course was French toast.salted maple ice cream.banana.bacon.nutella and coffee powder. It was definitely breakfast for dessert and other than the nutella and coffee powder which I found to be too bitter, it a nice way to end this stellar meal.

Overall, this was a wonderful meal, made even more so by spending it with good friends and a Chef and a Crew who truly are passionate about their food.

Click here to see all the photos of my Wolvesden Dinner!

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The Big Bad Wolvesden Underground Dining Experience aka Little Red Riding Hood Should Be So Lucky!

For awhile now, I had been reading about Wolvesmouth aka Chef Craig Thornton and his Wolvesden Underground Dinners from some of my fellow bloggers. These dinners consist of 10 to 15 courses for up to 12 guests at a secret location and are cooked solely by Chef Thornton himself. Diners have no advance warning of what the meal will entail since the actual menu isn't created until the day of the dinner. From what I could tell, the food itself seemed quite eclectic with a modern global spin on it and his use of a lot of different cooking techniques and the artistry in his plating was really intriguing.

Something else that was interesting had to do with Chef Thornton's philosophy of Pay What You Can Afford. Simply, at the end of the meal, diners are given envelopes that allows them to quietly pay what they think the meal is worth to them and/or what fits in their budget. To learn more about this Pay What You Can Afford take on dining, check out Chef Craig Thornton below on Last Call with Carson Daly. You can also read Parts 1 and 2 of a Squid Ink interview here and here.

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With all this buzz, I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about so I signed up for the Wolvesmouth Mailing List and eagerly waited for an email to hit my inbox. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long and soon I was joined by friends and met up with other diners at a secret location in Los Angeles. Walking into space, we were immediately faced with Chef Craig Thornton hard at work.

....even as the wolves were circling.... :)

To the left of the kitchen area was a long table for 12 diners with a hanging antler that presided over our entire meal.

Soon it was time to sit and enjoy what turned out to be an 11 course dinner, starting with tahitian squash. sweetbread. blis. Suffice to say, the names of Chef Thornton's dishes are to the point. Most tasting menus start with foods that tend to be more mild in flavor and as the menu progresses, the foods gets heartier and full-bodied. That wasn't the case here. This course was definitely on the sweet side, especially with the addition of BLis maple syrup to the squash. While the richness of the sweetbreads helped to balance the flavors, the overall dish still packed a punch.

Our second course was the crab. jerusalem artichoke puree. watermelon radish. pickled persimmon. I really enjoyed the pairing of the sweet-oceany crab with the fruity, yet slightly tart persimmon.

Next up was the scallop. potato. chive. chanterelle. The scallop was perfectly seared and tender and its mildness went well with the earthy chanterelle mushroom. I also enjoyed the potato and chives, which were first riced and then sauteed in brown butter.

The fourth course was tomato. olive oil. saba. This was a simple, but beautiful presentation of 4 different colored tomatoes dressed only with olive oil and saba, which is similar to a balsamic vinegar. Sometimes food doesn't need much adornment to be delicious and this dish proved that without a doubt.

What came next was ocean trout. pumpernickel. lingonberry. creme fraiche. I loved how the ocean trout was browned to perfection and yet, the fish was still moist. The lingonberry's fresh tartness and the pumpkernickel's slight tangy-crunch also added punches of flavor to the mild fish.

Sixth on the menu was rabbit. bacon n onion muffin. swiss fondue. green apple. mustard greens. This was one of those dishes where you wanted to take a fork and get a little bit of everything in one bite and what you'd get is a harmony of flavors and textures. One bite would get you the creamy-tang of the cheese, the pepperiness of the greens, a hit of saltiness from the muffin, the sweet-juiciness of the green apples, all together with the tender, slightly gamy rabbit.

Our next course was the pork cheek bao. This was a fun presentation. First, each diner had a rectangular-shaped parchment paper placed in front of them followed by the bao itself. As bao eaters know, usually there is a square paper at the bottom of one's bao, which should be removed before taking that first bite.

As for Chef Thornton's bao, it wasn't the fluffy, bread-like version that I was used to. Instead, it felt more like a dumpling wrapper and it definitely had more of a chew to it. The filling was an inspiration that was taken from the chef's grandmother's recipe for pulled pork, but with the addition of star anise and Chinese wine to give it an Asian flair. That pork filling was absolutely delicious, moist and one of my favorites of the night.

For our palate cleanser, we all got to try buddhas hand sorbet. Buddah's Hand is a citrus that I've never had before, so Chef Thornton brought one out for us to take a look. It's actually reminded me of a squid. Take a look here and you'll know what I mean. Apparently, the zest is usually the only thing used from this fruit since it doesn't yield a lot of pulp. Other ingredients for this sorbet included gin, sugar, and salt. The sorbet was definitely refreshing and had a sweet and slightly sour tang that was appealing.

Our ninth course was the squab. roveja. prune leather. squab skin. sauce. tokyo turnip. In truth, I've never been much of a squab fan. I've tried many different variations of it, but just can't get into it, which is interesting because I usually don't have an issue with similar strong tasting meats. This squab didn't rock my world either although I know that a lot of my fellow diners enjoyed it. I'm always a sucker for fried skin, so that worked for me and I liked the prune leather, but that was about it for this dish.

Both tenth and eleventh courses were desserts starting with ube "mochi". coconut milk powder. palm sugar coconut shortbread. avocado ice cream. lime styrofoam. I thought it was cool to see the addition of ube, which is a traditional ingredient used for Filipino dessert. Overall, this dessert had a lot of interesting textures. You had the chewy consistency of the steamed ube, the melt in your mouth lime styrofoam, the crunch of the shortbread and the creaminess of the avocado ice cream. The myriad of flavors included sweet, salty, tart and sour.

The finale of our meal was s'mores. toasted marshmallow ice cream. graham cracker pudding. salted chocolate. smoked pop rocks. As you can tell from the ingredients, they weren't typical to what is normally used to create everyone's favorite campfire treat, but when put together, the essence of the s'more is definitely what I tasted.

Separately, each ingredient had a unique texture that mimicked a flavor component. For example, the salted chocolate was made with agar, which gave it a jello-like consistency while the smoked pop rocks reminded you of the campfire itself, especially when its "crackling embers" were popping in your mouth. This was absolutely a fun dessert to end the meal.

To end, this was a wonderful meal created by an extremely talented, out-of-the-box thinking chef. It was very clear while talking to him after we devoured all 11 courses that he's very passionate about what he does. This passion can be seen in many ways.

For example, he'll actually go through piles of produce just so he can pick out the perfect fruit and/or vegetables to be part of his culinary vision for the meal he's prepping for. He also actually forgoes eating the day before or the day off because he wants a clean palate when tasting the foods he's preparing for the meal. There's decidedly something special about Chef Craig Thornton and I'm looking forward to many more meals by him.

Click here to see all the photos of my Wolvesmouth Dinner!

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