cravings

Wine & Dine: Vino Venue

When the menu is wine-friendly, I am THERE. And such is the case with Vino Venue in Dunwoody, GA—it’s a “wine and dine emporium” with all kinds of wine-inspired dishes on the menu and a fine collection of sips that would make any wine-lover “blush.” 😉 We’re talking 50-plus wines to choose from as well as bistro-style cuisine meant for sharing (hello, charcuterie!). They even offer cooking classes for aspiring chefs as well as wine classes for those wanting to step up their sommelier skills. If you’re wondering why I’m bubbling right now, it’s because I recently had the amazing opportunity to get wined AND dined myself at Vino Venue!

Thanks to fellow foodie blogger Chef Melissa (The Front Porch Gourmet), I was invited to a private tasting at Vino Venue along with a few foodie friends. Melissa is also a Chef Instructor at Vino, so we knew we’d obviously be in great hands during this experience. What I didn’t realize was how tasty each dish was going to be! Especially when paired with amazing wine. I definitely felt like I was transported to a dream world!

So, let’s get into the food featured at the private tasting. Executive Chef Patric Good and Sous Chef Will Hunt walked us through each dish and gave us some interesting info about how they developed them.

Vino Venue's Sous Chef Will Hunt and Executive Chef Patric Good

Vino Venue’s Sous Chef Will Hunt and Executive Chef Patric Good

A few sips in and we were all smiles

To Start

Appetizer samples were first to the tongue, and I knew right away if these were any indicator of the rest of the food, we were in for treat. We tried the colorful and crave-worthy Summer Salad and Heirloom Tomato & Burrata Salad, which had baby arugula, EVOO, balsamic pearls, mozzarella, sea salt, and cracked black pepper for a simple start.

Vino Venue Summer Salad

Summer Salad

Vino Venue Heirloom Tomato & Burrata Salad

Heirloom Tomato & Burrata Salad

Then we moved into Smoked Salmon Rillettes (ducktrap salmon, cucumber relish, and grilled sourdough) and special Deep Fried Chicharrones that aren’t on the menu; the chef made them just for our group!! I’m not going to lie, I really, really loved the Tomato & Burrata Salad and the Smoked Salmon Rillettes were bomb! Seriously soooo good.

Vino Venue Smoked Salmon Rillettes

Smoked Salmon Rillettes

Vino Venue Deep Fried Chicharrones

Deep Fried Chicharrones

To Share

Next up for this food adventure was the shared plates, and it’s a good thing sharing is encouraged, because these dishes were sinful! We had beer-battered Fried Green Beans complete with garlic aioli, Duck Confit Flatbread with blueberry mostarda, caramelized onions, and yummy fontina cheese, and an interesting but delicious Faux Poutine which featured steak fries covered in pulled beef short rib, demi-glace, and Irish cheddar cheese (this was my hubby’s favorite). I told you this stuff was sinful!

Vino Venue Fried Green Beans

Fried Green Beans

Vino Venue Duck Confit Flatbread

Duck Confit Flatbread

Vino Venue Faux Poutine

Faux Poutine

We also tried the Wild Mushroom Flatbread (fontina, parmigiano reggiano, shallots, and white truffle creme fraiche) and the Roasted Piquillo Peppers which had smoky shredded adobo chicken, cotija cheese, cilantro, and cilantro cream—a scrumptious southwestern delight.

Vino Venue Roasted Piquillo Peppers

Roasted Piquillo Peppers

To Savor

Just in case you were getting full just reading about all these Vino Venue samples, just wait ‘til you see what we had next. The third round of dishes was a bit heavier than the previous plates, so buckle up. These “to savor” items were every bit bold and flavorful.

There was the Vino Venue Burger, which had certified angus beef, comeback sauce, house pickles, LTO, and applewood smoked bacon (of course). Basically it was a yummy step up from a classic bacon burger. Then we had Knife & Fork Fried Egg Sandwich, which gave the phrase “breakfast for dinner” a whole new elegant meaning! This sandy featured over-medium eggs, pimento cheese, tomato jam, pecan wood bacon, red onion, and bibb lettuce on grilled sourdough bread. Can’t you just taste that right now?!

Vino Venue Burger

Vino Venue Burger

Vino Venue Knife & Fork Fried Egg Sandwich

Knife & Fork Fried Egg Sandwich

We also had the Ratatouille (pappardelle pasta, arugula pesto, and ricotta) as well as the Grilled Ribeye (horseradish mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and maître d’ butter). Hubby loved both the burger and the ribeye, probably because he’s a diehard carnivore, LOL. The
Trout served over succotash was another one of my favorites, but since it was specially crafted for the tasting and not on the menu I had to savor each-deelish-bite (as if that would be a problem). 😉

Vino Venue Ratatouille

Ratatouille

Vino Venue Grilled Ribeye

Grilled Ribeye

Vino Venue Trout

Trout

To Spoil Yourself

Ahh, yes, the desserts! You know I wouldn’t leave out the sweet treats in this recap. So, if you like fruit with your dessert, you’d love any of these options: Lavender Creme Brulee (roasted blueberries), Tres Leches Cake (fresh strawberries) or the Dark Chocolate Pot de Creme (raspberries). Don’t they all sound delicious?! I personally go coo-coo over Key Lime Pie, so VV’s with whipped mascarpone and a coconut graham crust was the ultimate end to an amazing sampling session.

Vino Venue Lavender Creme Brulee, Tres Leches Cake, Dark Chocolate Pot de Creme, Key Lime Pie

Lavender Creme Brulee, Tres Leches Cake, Dark Chocolate Pot de Creme, Key Lime Pie

To Sip

I just checked my watch and it’s definitely wine o’clock! Ha… and you thought I forgot to tell you about the wine. What kind of monster do you think I am?! 😀 As we tasted, VV Manager/Partner Rob Van Leer gave us an overview of the wines that we would be sampling/pairing with the dishes, so we had a good idea of what we were getting into. Here are the sips we sampled:

  • étoile Brut (Domaine Chandon)
  • Gloria Ferrer Carneros Chardonnay
  • Tavel Vidal-Fleury (Rosé)
  • Metz Road (Pinot Noir)
Vino Venue Manager Rob Van Leer

VV Manager Rob Van Leer gives us the juicy deets about each sip

étoile Brut (Domaine Chandon)

!Salut

Tavel Vidal-Fleury (Rosé)

Tavel Vidal-Fleury (Rosé)

When you love wine, you see the world through rosé-colored glasses and I just can’t get enough rosé lately. So I was all smiles when Rob brought the Tavel out! Needless to say, I had my fair share of the bubbly pink wine, and I’m not even the least bit sorry about it. 😛

Cheers to an uh-mazing ensemble of eats and drinks.

This entire experience at Vino Venue was absolutely wonderful. Indulging with these delicious dishes and sophisticated sips was right up my alley, and I have Chef M, Rob, and Chefs Patric and Will to thank for it. I plan on coming back very soon for a re-do, because everything was just that great! Thank you everyone again for having us and treating our palates to an uh-mazing adventure!

Be sure to visit www.vinovenue.com to preview their bistro-style menu and wine offerings or to schedule a class. Me, I’m heading back because no wine should be left behind, of course. 😉

Vino Venue is located at 4478 Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody, GA.

Nikka Shae The Undercover Socialite

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16 Comments

  • Reply Alli Smith August 10, 2017 at 7:57 am

    These photos are making my mouth water! I’d be all over the salmon and fried green beans and the desserts look divine. What a great evening!

  • Reply kage2015 August 10, 2017 at 8:20 am

    Wow, looks like all of you found a really great place to hang out, enjoy some awesome food and drinks. Always great to get together and have fun, relax and catch up.

  • Reply swood97 August 10, 2017 at 8:54 am

    First of all, you look gorgeous! Blue is your color! I am not sure I have the right words to describe the inspiration that food gives me. I want to go there! We live in middle Georgia so this is going on my list of places to eat in the Atlanta area!

  • Reply jmanandmillerbug August 10, 2017 at 10:11 am

    Oh my gosh that is such a good idea! I would totally be there if they had that restaurant closer to me. I’m thinking about taking a trip down to Georgia and if I do I will definitely check this place out.

  • Reply Sarah Bailey August 10, 2017 at 11:13 am

    Oh my goodness how good does this look, my mouth is watering just looking at the photos, if I was in the area I would most definitely pop in and try it out.

  • Reply Lisa (@blm03) August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    I love a good wine with my meal and these meals look fantastic. Every one of these dishes looks delicious!

  • Reply neuroticbaker August 10, 2017 at 2:31 pm

    What a fantastic evening and such a great menu! I need to get back to Atlanta more often. I don’t get to do it often, but I love splurging for a full course dinner 🙂

  • Reply Christy Maurer August 10, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    That food looks amazing! I would love to try that burger. It looks like it is cooked perfectly too!

  • Reply Miranda (Anosa) August 11, 2017 at 4:46 am

    Girl you had me at 50-plus wines choices and I am already adding to my bucketlist. I am also in love with the food, looks absolutely delicious

  • Reply Paula Bendfeldt August 11, 2017 at 9:08 am

    All those recipes look so amazing, it would be hard to choose just one. Those stuffed peppers would be first on my list. I love that they paired wine as well.

  • Reply adriana August 11, 2017 at 11:45 am

    Oh my goodness, you are making me so hungry haha!! This food all looks SO incredibly delicious. I haven’t heard of this place, but my best friend lives in Atlanta so I’ll ask her if she’s been to it. I think we need to go next time I go to visit her! 😉

  • Reply toastycritic August 11, 2017 at 12:51 pm

    All of these food treats are making me hungry. That’s so awesome you were able to get to this event. Between the great wine and the amazing food I am sure it was amazing.

  • Reply socialitebynite August 11, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    What an amazing recap of such a fun event! I can’t wait to go back to Vino Venue!

  • Reply Dogvills August 12, 2017 at 4:06 am

    I am reading this post at 4am and my tummy is grumbling looking at all those photos. I would love to have a chance to go to Vino Venue. Looks like a really exciting event to attend.

  • Reply Terri Ramsey Beavers August 14, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    Oh goodness, that food and those beverages are calling my name. I bet it was a memorable experience to be a part of this tasting at Vino Venu.

  • Reply Chanel | Cultural Xplorer August 25, 2017 at 11:10 am

    I love both food and wine so I would be in heaven at Vino Venue. It sounds like you guys had an awesome experience. I would love to get my hands on some of that trout and lavender creme brûlée!

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