Best Thing We Ate Last Night: Selections From The Supper Bowl

George Mendes' pheasant 

By James Mulcahy

Last night Sean Brock came to NYC via the kitchen of Louro, where he was joined by David Santos and George Mendes for The Supper Bowl, a six-course guest chef dinner that was almost as epic as the Sunday football game that provided the namesake. While the lights didn't go off at halftime, a female diner did fall out of her chair around course number four (whether due to the Whistle Pig Rye or the generous pours of Portuguese wines, we could not tell).

The event was curated by Underground Eats, and though we couldn't imagine what these three chefs had in common, the menu had an excellent flow. Each toque prepared delicate dishes with complex, layered flavors. Brock's heritage pork was complemented by a unique (and very green) whey-poached celtuce, and David Santo's herb roasted monkfish was perfectly cooked.

Though it's hard to declare a winner, the event did take inspiration from the Super Bowl, so we'd feel remiss if we didn't award the Supper Bowl trophy to Mendes, who served charred octopus in a surprising roasted potato broth with squid ink and lime. Even better was his Scottish pheasant, a small and tender morsel of meat with lemon balm and coriander. Come to think of it, it was about the time that this dish was being served when the woman was knocked from her stool. Maybe it wasn't the hooch after all.