On our extended weekend here in Cooperstown, NY for this year's
Glimmerglass Festival for operas and shows, we have dined at the theater most
often taking advantage of the patron gatherings there. Last night we took the
Young Artist we were sponsoring to dinner and the four of us had a grand time as
the storms had passed and the temps had dropped from 90 to 75. We dined on the
porch and it was one of the best meals we have ever had there.
Will started with a BOSSA-MINGO made from Absolut Peach, Cachaca Brazilian
Rum, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime and Fresh Local Mint. I tasted a NY State white
from Red Tail Ridge in the Finger Lakes called Good Karma which was a
Riesling/Chardonnay which was a bit too sweet for me, so we moved on to a bottle
of St. Supery Napa Sauvignon Blanc 2012 that is intense in citrus, especially
lemon and goes well with many of the starters as well.
A basket of hot Pecan Cinnamon Rolls arrived and they were gone almost
instantly!
Samuel ordered up the GOLDEN POTSTICKERS of chicken in a lemongrass and soy broth. Nobody else could get near this dish for a taste as it seemed to disappear before it even appeared.
Will had the CALAMARI and was a bit distraught when it came fried (the
preparation was not indicated and he did not ask) with Sea Salt, Red Pepper and
a tasty Garlic Lemon Pesto. It was crispy and tasty, though.
Both Andrew and I had the excellent French Country SALAD which was a huge
plate of superb baby greens withe of sour apples, candied walnuts, dried
cranberries, crumbly bleu cheese in a warm bacon vinaigrette.
An indulgence none of us needed, but we all partook of was a plate of the
famous housemade potato chip drizzled with gooey tasty balsamic and doused with
crumbly blue cheese....these are to die for.
The only thing we did not like was the silly round plates that were at our
places having oval appetizer plates placed on them that just wobbled to no
end.
Our server Kristi indulged me when we wanted to taste some red wines and I
first tried the Long Island (NY) BEDELL CELLARS First Crush Red 2009 made from
82% Merlot and 18% Cab Franc which was tasty, but not too big. We then tasted an
Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial which tasted totally off and then ended up
ordering the Primus Carmenere 200, which they were out of. After all that, we
ordered a bottle of the BEDELL which actually worked best with Will's PANANG
SHRIMP CURRY (he ordered it medium heat, but it comes, mild or hot as well). It
was aso a nice pairing with Andrew's half rack of MINGO BABY BACK RIBS which he
declared delicious with Pineapple Ginger BBQ sauce, Shoestring Fries &
Slaw.
After we had just finished our starters, we asked Kristi to hold the mains,
but alas, my fault, it was too late and out they came.
I stared at my excellent RACK OF LAMB for a while and just ate slowly
savoring every little double rack (there were FOUR double chops!) and the meat
in-between! The medium-rare lamb had a Moroccan rub, a moist tasty Tomato
Coucous and a divine Minted Yogurt Cheese with Cucumber and Vinegar that was
mild and a foil to the spices in the rub (that were not intense, just fully
rounded).
Samuel went for the simple kid's meal BOW TIES with Butter Sauce after
filling up o n those yummy potstickers.
None of us could face dessert, but Will ordered a slice of White Chocolate
Cheesecake to take home which he later declaimed to be "cheesecake."
We love the atmosphere at the Mingo and always return each year to superb
cuisine and excellently prepared meals.
