…. I mean, who would have thunk?!!!

That was precisely the thought that came to my mind as the courses started to arrive during a special dinner at Saugatuck Craft Butchery. The theme was a celebration of National Pi Day (March 14th)! 3.14159, the value if Pi , is just a bunch of numbers most of us came across in high school and were more than happy to forget once out of the classroom. But when a team of surprisingly talented chefs put a tasty, witty and creative spin on it - well! it turns into something you want to remember for ever! There was a wonderful play on history of mathamatics, mathamatical concepts as well as just literal play on mathamatical values. Each course put a huge smile on every diner’s face and in some case we all could not help but laugh out loud.

I signed up for this dinner as soon as the email hit my inbox. Why? Because I was intrigued with the theme. And I wanted to please my “math and numbers” guy - my honey…. who also likes meat! Ha! Ha!

I had no idea what to expect. All I knew going in, was that folks at Craft Butchery are super knowledgeable about meat and that my friends have been raving about their newly opened cafe. That’s it!

Simply put, I was blown away by what I experienced that evening. The talented team of chefs Heppermann, Mingrone and Egan choreographed an enticing evening of delicious food with witty and artful presentations while they managed to tantalize my taste buds as well as my brain. There was a deep understanding of balance of flavors, textures and ingredients on each plate. During the meal, I could not help but tell the owner, Ryan Fibiger, that this meal was parallel to most fine dining restaurants I have been to. Yeah! that good. The superior eight course dinner was paired with wines by Saugatuck Grain & Grape while the cheeses for the cheese course were provided by Fairfield Cheese Company.

I loved the intimacy of this dinner with no more than 15-20 people in a cosy space. We were totally pampered by Ryan and his staff and loved all the impromptu conversations that spawned because of the proximity.

So you all can live vicariously through my experience, here are some pictures of what I ate:

First course: Greek

Cucumber jelly and Greek yogurt topped with caviar and zest of lemon. Cool, clean and fresh. The diced cucumber pieces in the jelly were enticingly crunchy. Chef heppermann compressed them to make them crisp.

Second course: Circles

Raw scallops served with beet puree and pickled candy cane beets finished with rainbow mix of sorrel that was a beautiful sour contrast to the natural sweetness of the scallops and the beets

Third course: Radius

Lamb tartar delicately seasoned with cumin and harissa spice. Roasted red peppers were used for sweetness. A raw quail egg yolk made for a perfect sauce to bring it all together. I loved the witty presentation of the tartar to look like the radius of a circle. Ha! Ha!

Fourth course: Irrational

What could be more irrational than eating bacon and eggs for dinner? Well! that is exactly what we got. It was served on a reduction of bacon stock and a side of … get this … brioche foam! Chef Mingone - you are a genius!

Fifth course: Pi

Umm … yes, we got a pie. A whoopie pie. Except this pie was not of the dessert variety. It was polenta cakes flavored and colored by pork blood, filled with ever so delicate and sweet parsnip puree and garnished with pickled onion puree for a phenomenal flavor contrast! Did I already say “genius”?!!!

Sixth course: Infinite

40 day ribeye and root vegetables. The unbelievable flavor in the ribeye was treated with great respect so one could take it all in without any dilution. The vegetables were all “root” vegetables also diced into little squares. Cute!

Seventh course: 3.14

A cheese course where all the cheeses were from Vermont. A tongue-in-cheek presentation of three cheeses, one teeny tiny black currant for a “point”, one apricot and 4 figs!!! LOL!

Eight course: Pi(e)

You guessed it… we got pie. Not one, but three different kinds. A meyer lemon pie, a tart cherry pie and a chocolate pie made with my latest passion (Mast Brother’s chocolate - out of Brooklyn).

Saugatuck Craft Butchery has these special themed 8-course dinners every month or so. If interested, sign up for their emails.

Saugatuck Craft Butchery, Westport | https://craftbutchery.com