Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Gibbet Hill, Groton MA

Gibbet Hill Grill and The Barn at Gibbet Hill
6 Lowell Road, Groton MA 01450


This place is fantastic. When you drive up, it's a beautiful farm with rolling hills studded with cows. It almost looks too picturesque to be real.

There is the Grill, serving traditional New England fare (and their own beef) nightly for dinner. And there is the Barn which can be rented out for functions. You can also just go out for drinks and appetizers (or just drinks), if you don't want dinner. One thing I like about this place is that it's fancy, but not pretentious. You could go in jeans and have a wonderful time and no one would care. Or, you could dress up for a fancy night out. This place reminds me of eating out in Northern California. Lucky for me, it's just down the street, so I can save myself the plane fare. I've been here twice and everything has been spot-on. Besides, any place that includes beets on the menu, is all right with me.

One really cool random fact about this place is that the land was bought in 2000 and the owners worked to place a conservation restriction on it so that it can never be developed-ever. Nice going, Webber family!

The other day, I received an email from them announcing their annual Summer Farm-to-Fork Wine Dinner, which will be held on August 17th. I couldn't find anything on their website about it, so here's the information:

Please Join Us for Our Annual

Summer Farm-to-Fork Wine Dinner!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Our summer wine dinners always feature farm fresh ingredients sourced from local farms. This year, for the first time, we will be serving produce from our own Gibbet Hill Farm!

Dinner will begin at 6:30pm with passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by a four-course meal with wines paired from family-owned wineries from around the world. Guests are invited to show up at 5:30pm to take a tour of our farm before dinner. Please see below for this year's menu.

Seats are limited, so we encourage people to make their reservations soon. We look forward to seeing you!

The evening's price of $95 includes tax and gratuity. For more details and to make a reservation please call 978-448-2900.

Farm-to-Fork Dinner

Passed

GHG Potato Blini

Salmon roe and Stillman’s crème fraiche

Bolton Orchards Grilled Apricot

Goat cheese mousse

Duck Paté

Cherry mostarda

Compressed Macintosh Apples

Proscuitto di Parma

Island Creek Oysters

Escabèche

Iron Horse Brut, Russian River Valley, California 2004

First Course

Assiette of Summer Vegetables

River Rock Farms beef carpaccio, herbs and flowers

Groth Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California 2007

Second Course

Native Striped Bass

Morels, honey roasted heirloom tomatoes, aubergine

and sweet & hot pepper emulsion

Matua Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand 2008

Third Course

Long Island Duck

Butterball potato mille feuille, baby turnips, tatsoi and stewed mayflower plums

Hewitson “Miss Harry” GSM, Barossa Valley, Australia 2005

Dessert

“Raspberries and Beets”

Candied, parfait and textures with chocolate and Westfield Farms chèvre ice cream

Rutherglen Estates Muscat, Rutherglen, Australia NV

Ingredients subject to change due to availability