Figs were once deemed the most hated fruit in the U.S…. how could that be? Perhaps this was due to the lack of knowledge of figs in general. But I for one love figs and this year happens to be the Year of the Fig! It’s the Year of the Fig and the start of the California fresh fig season and to celebrate, I joined the California Fig Advisory to a special dinner at the ever popular, Girl & The Goat restaurant.
After going down some stairs, passing the restrooms, storage doors and even an exclusive staff only security door, we were brought to a dimly lit, secret room. It was beautiful, quiet and perfect for our dinner away from the loud, bustling main dining room upstairs.
And we were graced with Top Chef Stephanie Izard’s presence as well! Although she was to prepare our special dinner for the night, she was caught on a late flight from Vegas. So instead, her sous chef David Ochs prepared and presented our delicious meal.
But before I share our wonderful meal, let’s talk about figs! Did you know that although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself? The seeds inside are drupes or the real fruit. I learned so much about figs during the dinner including these fun fig facts:
- Figs made their first commercial product appearance in the 1892 introduction of Fig Newtons® Cookies. (See http://www.nabiscoworld.com/newtons/.)
- Figs provide more fiber than any other common fruit or vegetable. The fiber in figs is both soluble and insoluble. Both types of fiber are important for good health.
- California figs are the only fruit to fully ripen to complete sweetness and semi-dry right on the tree before falling to the ground to continue drying.
- Figs are harvested in the late summer and early fall, but because they are dried and conveniently packaged, they are available all year long.
So with all this talk of figs, let’s get into the meal we enjoyed. For each course, we were presented with figs prepared in various ways. Everything from a fig mostarda, fig & olive oil vinaigrette, sliced figs in salad, stuffed figs, cooked & spiced figs, fig sauce, and caramelized figs were represented. Each course was beautifully presented, as seen in the pictures below. I thought everything tasted wonderful, given the focus of incorporating figs.
Pretzel Ring Bread
whipped butter & fig mostarda
Goat Carpaccio
fig & olive oil vinaigrette ~ smoked whitefish roe
paired with ’08 Lemelson Six Vineyards Williamette Valley Pinot Noir
paired with ’08 Lemelson Six Vineyards Williamette Valley Pinot Noir
Kohlrabi Salad
mission figs ~ queso de mano ~ ginger maple dressing
mission figs ~ queso de mano ~ ginger maple dressing
paired with ’09 Graham Beck South Africa Chenin Blanc
Escargot Stuffed Figs
smoked tomato ~ bacon ~ mizuna
smoked tomato ~ bacon ~ mizuna
paired with ’07 Conde de San Cristobal
Grilled Baby Octopus
guanciale ~ wax beans ~ radish ~ favas ~ pistachio-lemon vinaigrette
guanciale ~ wax beans ~ radish ~ favas ~ pistachio-lemon vinaigrette
Green Beans
fish sauce vinaigrette ~ cashews
fish sauce vinaigrette ~ cashews
Seared Scallop
smoked goat ~ spiced figs ~ cucumber
paired with ’07 Larachette Manciat Les Vielles Vignes Pouilly-Fuisse
smoked goat ~ spiced figs ~ cucumber
paired with ’07 Larachette Manciat Les Vielles Vignes Pouilly-Fuisse
Rogue Smokey Blue Cheese
fig sauce ~ Marcona almond florentine
paired with ’08 Hedges Family Estate Mountain Cab-Merlot
fig sauce ~ Marcona almond florentine
paired with ’08 Hedges Family Estate Mountain Cab-Merlot
Pork Fat Donuts
caramelized figs ~ candied eggplant
paired with NY Louis Boillot Crement de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs
caramelized figs ~ candied eggplant
paired with NY Louis Boillot Crement de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs
The sous chef is David Ochs… David Gollan was the sous when the restaurant opened but no longer works with the company.
Ah, Thank you Anonymous for the correction! I've updated David's name in the post.
I love these dinners. We have an equivalent here in Kansas City, Jasper's does a theme night centered around a local provider of an organic item.
I've been to a strawberry night, Pears, peaches, apples, flour (yep, artisan flour maker) and a pig farmer brought some pork once.
I am constantly amazed how often these nights do not sell out. I think they are amazing
What an awesome experience, I loved Stephanie from Top Chef. So jealous that you ate here!! Everything looks absolutely fantastic, now I really want to grow my own figs, too.