Mattison's Forty One Knocks the Cover Off the Ball

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate of Sarasota sponsored a fund raiser billed as a Dinner Paw-ty for Southeastern Guide Dogs at Mattison's Forty One,

The Dinner Paw-ty was held here

My friend Marjorie Singer was representing Southeastern and asked that we attend with Kodi. I looked at the menu and it sounded interesting. A six course gourmet meal with a wine paired for each course. Mattison's calls it a wine-pairing dinner. The charge was $75 plus tax and tip.

Little did I know that I was about to have the a spectacular meal that I would categorize as one of the best ever. This proved to be an even bigger surprise since this was a meal catered for a group of 40 people. Meals served to large groups can be good but are rarely spectacular. This one was off-the-chart. A little background:

• Southeastern Guide Dogs (SEGD) is internationally accredited and one of the most respected guide dog schools in the United States. They provide guide dogs and veteran service dogs to recipients at no cost. They receive no government funding. All funds are raised privately, They are top rated 4 Star guide dog school on Charity Navigator earning 98.83 out of 100 possible points. We have been volunteering for Southeastern since 2012. Kodi is an official SEDG Ambassador Dog.

• Coldwell Banker is a major real estate broker in Sarasota with 70 agents in their Sarasota office.

• Mattison's Forty One is a restaurant and catering company located at 7275 S. Tamiami Trail. I've been to this restaurant several times including once for a cooking class conducted by the the restaurant's owner, Paul Mattison. Mattison's also has a fun casual outdoor restaurant on Main Street with entertainment at night.

The six course dinner was paired with wines from the Hahn Family Winery located in California's Santa Lucia Highlands. Hahn is ranked "One of the top 10 Wineries to Visit" by Wine Enthusiast magazine. I've never tried their wines before and was very pleasantly surprised. As a lover of chardonnay and Cabernet Savingnon I was especially impressed by their 2014 SLH Chardonnay and the 2013 Smith & Hook Cabernet.

What a pleasant evening. The event started at 6:30 PM with wine and a Golden Beet Brushetta hor d'oeuvre paired with 2014 Hahn Pinot Gris. A few very short speeches by each of the participants and we were off to leisurely delicious meal served with perfection. Dinner ended just short of 10 PM with a Chocolate Cherry Bomb served with a 2014 Boneshaker Zinfandel. Wow!

My only regret is that I did not bring my camera. I would have loved to photograph the food..

The four courses in between were each spectacular and very different experiences and, of course, perfectly paired with "perfect" wines. Check out the menu below.

Thanks to Southeastern Guide Dogs, Coldwell Banker, Hahn Familly Winesm Mattison's and especially Paul Mattison for a spectacular evening.

Written by Les