Last week I had the privilege of enjoying an amazing five course Gluten Free meal at 18 Seaboard in Raleigh, NC. This is a contemporary American grill owned by Chef Jason Smith. Chef Jason uses local famers and resources for his restaurant. He even explained what farms provided elements for each course, which was really special since the other attendees at the dinner where NC Soybean Farmers. Soybeans where also incorporated into each course.
I had notified the event host about my need for a Gluten Free meal prior to the dinner and was told it would not be a problem. When I arrived I also introdcued myslef to Chef Jason and let him know I was looking forward to my GF dinner. He said he has made special arrangements for me.
They had a set menu we could order off of and Chef Jason created two surprise dishes for us.
First course – Crispy Oysters coated with soy flour served over fresh collard slaw and picked onions. The collard slaw was thinly cut collards with sour cream vinegar dressing with pickled carrots. Talk about fancy Southern food! Normally collards are boiled and covered with vinager. Guys, I don’t like oysters, however I inhaled this little gem. I could have had about 12 more.
Second course – Curried Pumpkin Bisque with rillette and soy oil. This soup was one of the best soups I’ve ever had, it not in the top five! To be honest I had to goggle what rillette was and found it is basically bacon – this girl was sold. I cleaned the bowl and would have licked it if that were acceptable in our culture.
Third course – Pasta Duck Dumpling served over watermelon radish. Mine was served without the pasta so I was able to enjoy all the yumminess. First, I’d never seen a watermelon radish – super pretty. Second, the duck melted in your mouth.
Fourth course – Cracklin’ Pork Shank served over bleu cheese grits , spinach and green tomato relish. This was a pork lovers dream! The inside was so tender and juicy while the outside was just like crispy bacon.
Fifth course – Flourless Chocolate Cake with a dulce de leche caramel sauce. I could have taken a bath in the caramel sauce, it was decadent! The cake was great because it was not a thick piece of fudge like many flourless cakes. It actually had a texture of a cake.
To say this was high class Southern food would be an understatement.
Things to note: there is no Gluten menu but the staff is able to alter dishes as needed. The menu is based on what is in season, so check back often to see what they have available. 18 Seaboard is only one of Chef Jason’s three restaurants. The other two restaurants are Cantina 18 in Cameron Village and Harvest 18 in Durham.
Can’t wait to go back to try more of Chef Jason’s amazing creations.
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