We visited Homewood again and had different things as much of the menu had changed.  The menu this time was for summer rather than spring.  It was still really busy but with a reservation we had a table waiting for us.   Walk-ins were waiting for a seat and the noise level is a struggle.    It is a lively, varied aged crowd.  Chef Matt McCallister was in the kitchen and out visiting with his guests.

 

We started with 2 Negronis and an order of the Frittered Squash Blossoms with pecan aillade (thick sauce based on a purée of garlic), mozzarella and anchovy.  There were 3 to an order and they were a tad greasy, but really tasty.  The bit of anchovy made a good contrast with the cheese stuffing.

 

The Ham Hock and Creamer Peas was on grilled Pullman bread with chilies and lime basil.  A sauce was on it made from the boil off the ham juice with butter added.  The really tender, fresh peas were tasty on the toasted bread.  This was a really good one.

 

Ricotta Gnocchi was plated with chanterelles, schmaltz, kale and charred onion vinaigrette.  The gnocchi were tender and nice with a great sauce over them and the other ingredients.  This was an excellent combination of flavors and textures yielding a wonderful dish.

The Casoncelli (pasta) were filled with eggplant and ricotta and mixed with a sungold tomato conserva.  The dumplings were a little thick on the fold but the yellow tomatoes were great and added a lot of flavor to the dish.  However of the two pasta dishes the gnocchi were the better.

 

Embered Pork Loin and Kimchee Terrine were served with farro verde, corn pudding and green tomato chutney.  The pork loin was dry where the melded portions of the dark meat were nicely moist.  The corn mash was good but the dish didn’t work as well as I’d hope it would.  It was just okay.

 

The Halibut en Papillote was with porcini mushrooms and lemon verbena butter.  The halibut was baked in paper and was quite good.  The mild mushrooms were great but I would have liked a stronger sauce  to accent the mild fish.  Overall this was the better of the two main dishes we tried.

We added a side of Wilted Farm Greens with tons of garlic.  The greens were nicely fresh and fairly lemony, actually more so than garlicky.  They were good and a wonderful accompaniment to the main plates.

 

For dessert we tried the Warm Lemon and creme fraiche pound cake with blueberries and lemon verbena.  The blueberries were big and flavorful with a sweet creamy ice cream to accent them.  A crumble on top added texture to the lovely pound cake that was soaked with juice.  It was a perfect sweet fix.

 

The Butterscotch Peaches were served with a brown butter financier and basil ice cream.  The peaches still had their skin on and were not as flavorful as some.  They did work well with the basil ice cream and the sweet crisp crumbles that topped the dish.  It was good.