by Steven Doyle
Coopers Meat Market, located in the compound at Sylvan|30 near Oak Cliff, hosted a fabulous wine dinner featuring the Freemark Abbey collection of wines. This is their first of what we hope will be many dinners at the market as it is cozy and a perfect surrounding for such an event.
The night was pleasantly run by owner Michael Johnson (whose family runs the legendary Cooper’s in San Antonio), chef Kenny Mills and somm/manager Selena Dodge whose history includes more than a few restaurants including Bolsa and Bouchon 314. Ms. Dodge was tasked with the selection of the winery which remarkably in over a century old. On the converse, Coopers in Dallas is a mere handful of months old and making their way into the Dallas food scene hand-cutting slabs of beautifully marbled beef for take home and to dine in the rustic digs.
L to R: Chef Kenny Mills, Selena Dodge, Barry Dodds, Micheal Johnson
Estate Ambassador for Freemark Abbey Winery, Barry Dodds (pictured above bearded with Cooper’s owner and staff) brought a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion for our wine for this evening. Dodds serves as a spokesperson for the estate in cities all over the U.S. and abroad, sharing the long and storied history of the winery, its iconic vineyards and world-class wines. He has no problem playing host and enjoys storied tales of all aspects of wine tasting and pairing. Guests walked away with an enormous smile and an eagerness to purchase bottles for home consumption.
Our dinner went something like this:
Surf and Turf Lollipop with grilled ribeye and a jumbo shrimp served with an ancho cocktail sauce and paired with a 2016 Sauvignon Blanc.
Handcrafted cilantro, jalapeno and chicken sausage served on a bed of risotto and paired with a 2016 Chardonnay.
Mixed greens, craisins,candied pecans, grape tomatoes tossed with a cactus pear vinaigrette.
Smoked Berkshire pork with a plum-pear chutney on a creamed sweet potato puree and microgreens and paired with a 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, Knights Valley.
Dry aged ribeye with roasted wild mushrooms, sauteed garlic fingerling potatoes and lengua sauce paired with a 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford.
The finale was this beautiful port wine poached pear with caramel mascarpone paired with a 20164 Merlot (the ambassador’s favorite wine).
