Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

We are pleased to announce that the menu and costs for our annual BWE convention dinner are now finalized. As a reminder, we will be dining at the Metropolitan Club, located in the Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, and we should have a very scenic view of the city. Details for the evening will follow at a later date. The menu for dinner is below, so that you can consider your options. With a request in advance, we can also have a vegetarian entree prepared.

We are also happy to inform you that, in these recessionary times, the dinner cost will be only slightly higher than the very first BWE dinner held way back in 2001 in Chicago. The cost per person will be $120. So we hope that all who have indicated an interest, as well as those who have not yet done so, will decide to come help us celebrate the 10th annual dinner of BWE. It should be a very enjoyable evening of food, wine and comraderie.

I have agreed to serve as the Treasurer to collect payments from attendees. I will post a separate thread providing details for handling payments.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

For the dinner committee,
Jon

BWE 2010 Dinner Menu – Saturday, March 27


Passed Hors d’Oeuvres (with Champagnes)

• Smoked salmon and cream cheese lollipop with black sesames (cold)
• Ahi tuna on crisp taro chip and basil pineapple chutney (cold)
• Miniature beef and mushroom duxelles wellington (hot)
• Potato chive crepe with seared duck breast and pear compote (hot)

First Course (choose one)

• Maryland crab cake with a roasted red pepper rémoulade
• Woodland mushroom and roast shallot tart with sherry cream jus
• Baby spinach with mushrooms, bean sprouts, peppered strawberries and Bermuda onion with honey-mustard dressing

Main Course (choose one)

• Pistachio dusted lamb rack with Madeira reduction; served with Brussels sprouts with carmelized onions, and truffled potato hash
• Grilled Mahi Mahi with tomato lime vinaigrette; served with Baton carrots, and lime Basmati rice
• Char grilled filet mignon with Burgundy bordelaise; served with French green beans, and Russian fingerling potatoes

Cheese Course

• Club selection of cheeses

Dessert (choose one)

• Club-made cheesecake - traditional New York style, served with sauce and chantilly crème
• Sinfully rich flourless chocolate cake - drizzled with raspberry coulis and chantilly cream
• Strawberry coupe - served with vanilla bean crème anglaise and white and dark chocolate curls

Wow, that sounds like a fabulous menu, and at half the cost of some recent dinners! You guys did great!!!

I can attest that Jon and Rick have been doing yoeman work on this project behind the scenes.

Great work, Jon, it looks like it is shaping up really nicely and, as David says, the price is definitely very favorable.

As I've said before, it is pretty hard to beat these BWE mini-vacations, they are usually not more than a thousand dollars including airfare and, for about a third of what you might pay in the Caribbean or some such place, you get to drink the wines of a lifetime and get to hang out with the friends of a lifetime!

If you haven't booked already you'd better do it now before it's too late!

Jim

I don't know this for certain, but I am guessing that the dinner cost is more reasonable because we were able to arrange it at a private club. Since they have membership dues that help cover some of the operating costs, they may not need the same margins built into their food pricing as a regular restaurant. I do think we lucked on out on costs. My wine club organized a similar dinner last year at a restaurant, and the cost was over 50% more than this one. And I attended another wine dinner recently at a pretty nice restaurant that was $200 per person. Makes our event look like a bargain.

Jon

Everyone owes my partner Bob Dobis a thank you on this.....I had to tell him all kinds of nice stories about you guys:)

He is a California wine guy but says he has a few French in his cellar

with any luck the snow will be gone by the end of the month

rick

Sounds like a fantastic menu! Thank you Jon and Rick for all your work on organizing this! Can't wait!

Susan

Looks like a great menu. Thanks for all of the hard work guys. I haven't seen a posting where to send a check and how much etc. Did I miss it or has it not been posted. Don't want to let this one slide.

Danny

Danny,

I bumped the announcement on payment information.

Jon

Jon, thanks for your efforts on what is sure to be a memorable evening.

To clarify: on the courses where it says "choose one," I assume you mean choose one that evening when we sit down and not choose one ahead of time to let the restaurant know how many of each they need to prepare.

Stu

Stu,

You are correct. People will choose that evening.

Jon