Lamb brain &c.

November 14

I was at Bloomingdale Road to check out chef Ed Witt’s new chef’s table — a long 10-seat communal table close to the open kitchen, where Ed serves a six-course tasting menu for $55. Wine pairings start at $40.
Ed, whom you might remember as the executive chef at Varietal, likes playing with unusual ingredients, particularly weird cuts of meat, like lamb brain and pork neck. Actually, he said the bit of pork he cooked last night was a well-marbled cut between the shoulder and the neck. The way he described it, it sounded like the pig equivalent of beef’s top blade, also known as the flatiron.

What I ate and drank:

Raw Tasmanian salmon with porcini purée, pickled apple and fried rosemary
2005 Leopardi Cava Brut Rose

Concord grape-braised lamb cheeks with arugula, sunchokes, peeled grapes, braised lamb tongue and crispy lamb brain
2006 Domaine Lafond Lirac Blanc

Mackerel poached in duck fat and served on celery root purée with tarragon and macerated red onions
2006 Murphy Goode Chardonnay

Gray Horse Farm laying hen braised in red wine and served with pumpkin farfale and baby Brussels sprouts
2006 Estancia Pinot Noir

Spice-rubbed, slow roasted Clinton Corner Farm pork neck (or shoulder — in between, really), with chestnut, quince and escarole
2006 Argiolas Costera

Olive oil pound cake with cranberry ice cream and country ham (very small flecks of it).
2004 Arrowood Late Harvest Reisling