Hot In Little Rock

The snow in New York City forced a change in plans over the weekend.  So, instead of the Metropolitan Opera and the Grand Tier Restaurant, we headed south…all the way to Hot Springs.  On two occasions we had dinner at Central Station, a fusion restaurant that could easily become a destination dining favorite.

When we got home we decided to experiment with a dish we particularly liked and here is our version.  Start with goat cheese thinned with a bit of cream.  Add some mashed garlic and some fresh, finely chopped tarragon and mix.  Set that aside.

We had some beautiful, hand-ground, yellow grits, which we added to boiling water, along with some salt.  We wanted them to be more “runny” than usual, because they were going to pool on the plate under a lovely, small beef tenderloin fillet.  We seasoned the grits with a splash of truffle oil and a bit of butter.  When the fillet was just under medium, we took it off the grill, spread it with the cheese mixture, and placed it on a pool of grits.

We had a bottle of Sterling Vintner’s Collection 2005 Merlot from the Central Coast in the cellar.  Oh my.  The color was the deepest ruby you can imagine, and as it opened there were aromas of dark red berries as well as oak.  On the palate, those berries were turned into a generous pie flavor (but not sweetish), and as a friend noted, some “cherry-cola”.  The mouthfeel was round and the tannins were smooth.  We loved it!

This Merlot made a great partner for the beef, which we followed by a salad of baby arugula and dried cranberries.  A flourless chocolate cake finished the meal.

We missed the opera in NYC, but think we could not have enjoyed our meals in Hot Springs (or at home) any more if they had been prepared by New York’s finest chefs.  OK, maybe, but that final judgment will just have to wait until the snow melts and we get up our nerve to try the New York trip again.