Woodfire Grill - Taste of Spain

Recently Woodfire Grill, one of our favorite restaurants, celebrated its 5 year anniversary with 5 nights of special Prix Fixe menus. We went on the night highlighting the cuisine of Spain. We brought along one of our favorite partners in crime who we knew would appreciate the meal. Two of us elected to do the wine pairings with the meal and frankly, this was the only part of this meal I was unhappy with. The wines chosen, while highlighting the food, were boring on their own. I wouldn’t buy a bottle of any of these, except for the port which was exceptional. However, I don’t think this was a failure in wine selection, rather this was the intent to highlight the food as much as possible. Here is the menu:

Amuse Bouche – Jamon Serrano & Gala Apple
While waiting for the first course we were treated to a wafer thin slice of Serrano ham wrapped around a freshly sliced gala apple ‘toothpick’. The saltiness of the ham is paired perfectly with the sweetness of the apple and serves as a hint of the good food to come. This sort of simplicity is really the heart and soul of Woodfire Grill…Keep it Simple. Keep it Fresh. Keep it Good.

First – Late Season Gazpacho: Tomatoes, marcona almonds, and sourdough bread
The thick puree arrived and we could smell the smokiness from the tomatoes, roasted in house of course. Some roasted peppers added a hint of sweetness to the soup. Sourdough bread was apparently added to the soup to thicken it up but I missed it. More importantly were the finely chopped marcona almonds which provided a bit of crunch and nuttiness to the meal. This smoky, slightly sweet, nutty soup was made for the end of summer and was simply perfect.

Second – Wood grilled octopus with spiced chickpea and basque tuna salad
Overcooked octopus is an all too familiar problem and I was concerned when I saw it on the menu. I should know better. This was by far my favorite course of the evening.
Each of us were served a small roasted octopus (baby size) that was tender and delicious with a hint of olive oil. The chickpea salad was perfect for cleansing the palate so each bite of octopus was made brand new. The tuna salad was a nice accompaniment. But that octopus was just amazing.

Main- Paella: calaspara rice, saffron, shrimp, mussels, clams, chorizo, peppers
We discussed this quite a bit over dinner. Paella is not really a hard dish to make and there was no twist to this one, so was this just a phone-in course? I really don’t think so. When one thinks of dishes which define Spain, Paella is within the top 5 of almost everyone’s list. Here again we see Woodfire doing what it does best: simple foods prepared to perfection. The Georgia shrimp were plump and perfectly cooked as was the rest of the seafood. The star here was the chorizo of which I am not normally a fan. This chorizo was the best I have ever had, not too spicy, not too fatty…just right. This dish was really a no-brainer for a Spanish menu and I am almost surprised this hasn’t made it to the regular menu.

Cheese Course - Spanish cheese
The cheese course was nice. There was a blue cheese variant that was particularly strong and tasty. There was nothing in this course that I felt the need to run out and buy. It was a perfect way to start the wrap-up of the meal.


Dessert - Churros and Chocolate (port Hidalgo- La Triana-Viejo)
Mexican donuts. That is how churros have always been described to me. So I was a little dismayed when I saw this. So I must ask myself: When will I stop doubting this place? Light fritters dusted with sugar show up the table with a warm sauce of slightly bitter chocolate. The mixture was so good we almost asked for more churros to finish the chocolate. Most importantly, we end how we began with two contrasting flavors. I am certain this was not by accident… so little in this restaurant is.