Pleasures of the Flesh

Chefs Wes Johnson and Brendan Noonan, and bartender Patrick Thomas created Carnivorale, their celebration of meat, with two ideas in mind. The first: The three of them have experienced the challenges of opening a new restaurant, but they've never done all the work for a restaurant that was designed to open and close in one night. The second: Meat has taken a bit of a beating over the past decade or so for its perceived health risks — and yet almost every diner (yes, vegans/vegetarians excepted) loves meat. So, why not go all out and design a menu that was impossibly and lavishly meat-centric, knowing they'd only have to sustain it for one evening? Challenge met; actually, challenge crushed. Carnivorale features seven courses that each feature meat, from the opening salvo of poached quail eggs and sliced truffle and bacon-fat layered petit croissant to the closing round of chevre and black-cherry ice cream with seasoned beignet and duck-fat caramel sauce. Let us not forget the gluttonous good humor of Three Cheeks to the Wind Napoleon (course four), combining white Port-braised veal, halibut and cider pork cheeks. Decadent? Yes. But it's one night only, with seatings available from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Sol Lounge (4239 Lindell Boulevard). Tickets are $125 per diner (including service and valet) or $165 for dinner, service, valet and wine and beer with each course. Reservations and tickets are available through www.makeminemeat.com.
Mon., Nov. 9, 2009