The Blue Door Kitchen & Inn has been the collaboration of Chef Andrea Pace in the kitchen and his partner Reem Arbid directing the front of the house for almost 3 years. Located in a 100 year old schoolhouse, now the dining rooms take 2 downstairs rooms and 4 suites accommodate guests upstairs. Their refurbished large patio out back would make a lovely place to eat or read. The place gets its name from the highly polished blue front door and an additional blue one decorates one of the dining rooms. Lots of parking is available out front and clear plastic partitions divide the various tables. Polished wood tables, lots of mirrors, large cloth napkins and decorations of building materials make up the dining areas which are separated by the bar/reception area. Service was well masked, helpful, well paced and super friendly. The food is in generous portions that you won’t want to leave any of on the plate.
We started with a well made Negroni cocktail.
Speck Tyrolese, marinated wild mushrooms, organic arugula and Pecorino cheese made up the salad we split as a first course. Everything was sliced thin and blended well. The ham was excellent as was the cheese with the mild mushrooms adding a touch of texture. Tasty fresh arugula rounded out this great combination of well dressed ingredients.
One of Chef Pace’s regular dishes is the Foie gras and duck ravioli with sage butter sauce. When you have it you can see why. Luckily we also split this ultra-rich lovely dish. The pasta was a perfect thickness and cooked flawlessly. Fried bits of Jerusalem artichoke topped the dish and added a crunch and a nuttiness. The fresh pasta’s filling of tasty liver and duck was wonderful, especially when drenched in the sauce.
The Beef tenderloin was served with celery root puree, chive potato cake and a huckleberry red wine sauce. The meat was nicely cooked with an amazing sauce to dip it in. Some artichoke chips topped it along with a sprig of green. The celery root puree was creamy and good and the potato cake exhibited a good bit of chive with a fun crispy exterior. The sauce with berries and red wine was the star of the plate and tied it all together.
Rack of Lamb with herb pecorino crust, melanzane puree (eggplant), porcini spaetzle and lamb jus was a huge plate of food. The tender, juicy lamb was cooked just as ordered with a lovely cheese topping. The melanzane or eggplant puree was an amazing round of creamy eggplant flavor. The intense sauce enhanced everything, especially the delicate mushroomy spaetzle. A great plate that I was embarrassed not finish.
We almost didn’t have room for dessert but Reem suggested we walk out and see the new patio/deck area and take a moment to relax. It was just what was needed. Dessert was apple strudel with caramel rum gelée and sour cream ice cream. The crispy, layered and flakey pastry wrapped around well seasoned apple bits. Alongside was a large scoop of ice cream and a streak of caramel rum. It all had a wonderfully strong taste of apple and was a great combination of crispy and creamy. A terrific dessert and perfect ending for a lovely meal.
