If you need something to brighten up your winter and your fatigued taste buds, Castle Hill Inn may have just the thing. The iconic Relais & Chateaux property in Newport just announced the return of its seasonal Pop Up Supper Club dinner series and a special Valentine’s Day celebration.
Castle Hill Inn’s renowned culinary team, led by executive chef Andy Taur, will be sharing some of their favorite inspirations and passions to take guests on a unique culinary adventure, highlighting different cuisines and regions from around the world each week.
The Pop Up Supper Club series kicks off in February and will run through late March, featuring a new corresponding menu each week.
Starting things off Feb. 6 will be a Lunar New Year menu leading up to the Year of the Dragon, which on the calendar will occur on Feb. 10. One of the first courses is dumplings, which, as Taur points out, is usually served at Lunar New Year because they are shaped like little purses symbolic of wealth and prosperity for the new year. Other menu highlights include the exciting dan dan noodles and salt-and-pepper lobster. Dessert is always a showpiece during the series. For this menu, Taur will feature dragon’s beard candy as befits this year’s festival.
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POP-UP MENUS: Castle Hill Inn executive chef Andy Taur prepares a dish at the Newport restaurant.
COURTESY ALEX PAUL PHOTOGRAPHY[/caption]
“I remember visiting specifically Chinatown in Montreal. And there was one shop that specifically just made dragon’s beard candies and you can see them making it in the window,” Taur said.
As it turns out, the Dragon’s Beard Candy Shop is an attraction in that section of Montreal. The candymakers in the window turn a block of corn syrup and cornstarch into thousands of thin and delicate strands through stretching and doubling, similar to how cotton candy is made. Then a mixture of peanuts, coconut, sesame and a slight touch of chocolate are added within the wrapped sugar strands.
Italian American is the next menu from Feb. 20-21, featuring risotto Milanese, shrimp scampi and tiramisu for dessert.
Taur explained the thought process behind the varied menus.
“With the Supper Club series, generally we construct the menus so they’re a little bit more approachable and familiar with everyone,” he said. “So, these dishes stem from just us chefs brainstorming and just kind of coming up with what was Italian to us growing up.”
A German Biergarten menu from Feb. 27-28 will wrap up the first month, an Oktoberfest in late winter. Taur’s team had input from one member who spent time in a lot of German restaurants. So, there are a few of the chef’s favorite things such as schnitzel with noodles and warm apple strudel.
March 19-20 brings back last year’s most popular Castle Hill Supper Club item with steak frites.
“I think we were sold out on [those] nights,” Taur said. “So, we thought we would bring back those steak frites and just change up the starters a little bit.”
The courses include salade Nicoise with confit tuna, oysters Rockefeller, and cheesecake for dessert.
The mid-week series wraps up March 27-28 with a menu called Roma to distinguish from the earlier Italian American selection. Taur acknowledges he was the inspiration for this having had the opportunity to go to Italy for the first time. Included will be a different take on the traditional porchetta centered around pork belly and loin seasoned with fennel pollen and fennel honey glaze. This will be followed by hearty carbonara and a la matriciana, in which the chef encourages plate passing.
“When groups of people come, they always order one of each item,” he said.
The three-course prix fixe menus are $60 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required to attend and may be made at Castle Hill Inn’s website or through Open Table.
The Inn’s Valentine’s Day prix fixe menu is scheduled for Feb. 13-14 with a live jazz trio.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, is heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
