Tinhorn Creek Birthday Dinner

Last week was my husband’s birthday and I, along with a friend of ours, went to Tinhorn Creek to celebrate. They are now open for dinners and should be considered when wanting to dine out.

You guessed it….three people and three different orders taken. Our friend ordered the Winter green salad consisting of Alpindon cheese, apple, creamy anchovy dressing and fried olive bread crumbs.

Don ordered the honey grilled Quail.This was with hazelnuts, proscuitto and cabbage cappuccio.  He had never had this before but quite enjoyed it.

I, being the brave one of the group ordered the We Wai Kai scallops and cauliflower. This had shallots, caper raisin sauce (not at all sweet) and sunflower seeds. Delicious.

Now for the entree portion of our dinner. Our friend ordered the West Coast Seafood Garganellii Arrabiatta in tomato pomodoro sauce with pepperoncini oil, bread crumbs and parsley. Really liked this but it was a huge portion. More than she could eat.

Don ordered the Sloping Hill pork chop with popcorn polenta, carrots, brown butter and quince vinegar. Sorry Chef, he all but licked the plate.

I ordered the Beets and Farro. This was really awesome…Covert Farm Beets, farro risotto, house made yogurt and sprouted grains. This, my friends, was superb.

My friend and I enjoyed wine with our meal. The one nice thing about Tin Horn Creek is, for being a winery restaurant, they had non-alcoholic beer for my husband, designated driver for the evening.

Now, came the surprise of the evening. Our server brought out an artisanal cheese plate with stone fruit compote and red fife crackers. On the corner of the plate was a lit candle and she sang “Happy Birthday” to him. What a delight!

I ordered the chocolate bundino which was accompanied by the most delectable sponge toffee,  blackberry seeds, dulce de leche cream. OMG! This was heaven in a glass bowl. Coffee finished of the evening for the three of us.

Sometimes the cost of dining out can be scary BUT here, at Tinhorn Creek, they have a 3 course dinner for almost nothing, a large tasting menu with wine pairings or just off the menu.

They should be supported. It costs money for Chefs, servers, lights, and heating (when necessary) and when only a handful of patrons are sitting down for dinner, it is shameful. We would not want to see this restaurant or any of the other fabulous establishments in our valley close.