Schnebly Redland's Winery & Brewery's lunch and dinner service gets into full swing starting next week, with weekend a la carte meals and special pop-up dinners planned throughout the season.
The dinners kick off on Friday, March 6 with a pop-up dinner on the winery's great lawn. Starting at 7:30 p.m., culinary director, Dewey LoSasso, will serve a four-course meal, paired with Schnebly's tropical fruit wines. The chef says the dinner is special, in part because of the setting. "The great lawn is really beautiful and very different." LoSasso also notes the dinner, priced at $106.25 per person (including tax, gratuity, and a wine glass to take home) is a particular value. "Not many dinners include everything from the food to the wine to the tip. You don't have to think about anything other than enjoying your evening."
See also: Dewey LoSasso on Schnebly's New Dining Concept: Like a Campus of Food, Wine, and Beer
Starting March 7, the winery's restaurant opens on weekends with a limited chalkboard menu, dictated by what the chef deems fresh for the day. In fact, this week was all about exploring menu options, after a hectic weekend at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. LoSasso explains, "Menu-wise, I've been trying Florida beef and local pork from Okeechobee and calling the many farmers I know to source the best ingredients. So far, I've played around with smoked tilefish and I bought a wok, so maybe I'll do a wok-charred snapper. This week, I'm taking a breath and thinking about food."
The restaurant will be open on weekends for lunch from noon to 5 p.m. and for dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. Lunch prices will average around $15 per person and dinner ceviches and tartares will cost about $10; entrees in the $17 range. LoSasso is also looking into adding sharable plates on the menu. "I always like the idea of sharing an entree. If I have a beautiful three pound snapper, that makes a great dinner for two."
The four-course pop-up menu includes local pulled pork and matzo ball soup with sauteed greens and mash tank grains for a first course, paired with AvoVino wine; second course are roasted calabaza blossoms filled with roasted farm vegetables, queso fresco, and smoked tilefish crostini, paired with mango wine; the entree is a grilled Florida grass-fed beef tenderloin with rosemary breadfruit puree and guava roasted beets, paired with Category 3 Hurricane vino; and dessert is upside-down carambola cake, paired with carambola wine.
Tickets for the Great Lawn pop-up can be purchased at schneblywinery.com.
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