I have been telling everyone that will listen (and maybe even some that won’t) to check out Patina Green Home & Market for almost a year now. I truly think it’s one of the best things I’ve found since Ronald and I moved from Austin to Frisco in 2010. This gem of a shop is part vintage home decor and accessories store, part farmers market, and part “kick-ass” lunch counter. Somehow, those words don’t even seem to capture all the magic that is Patina Green. Bonus- it’s nestled on the beloved historic square in McKinney, TX.
My initial pilgrimage to Patina was to check out Chef Robert Lyford’s (that would be Kaci’s hubby…love that family/locally owned) lunch counter. I was not disappointed. Lunch is served Tuesday-Saturday 11am-2pm and stuff sells out…so get there early. The menu is crafted daily and Chef Robert emphasizes locally sourced, seasonal, sustainable, delicious, creative (ok I’m getting carried away) REAL FOOD. Check out their web site for a sample menu. Some days…I believe there is nothing more desirable that one of Chef Robert’s hearty grilled veggie/cheese sandwiches and a cup of tomato bisque. If you “Like” Patina Green on Facebook, you will have unlocked access to the daily menu. A word of caution, when that lunch menu pops up in your Facebook feed- you may have an unexpected & uncontrollable urge to travel to PG for lunch. That has definitely been the case for me.
I was actually fortunate enough to attend a cooking class several months ago hosted by Luscombe Farm in Anna, TX where Robert razzle-dazzled us with his wit and culinary skill. (*There were WAY too many prepositions in that sentence…but I’m not fixing it.) The cooking class is a whole other topic – that I should’ve blogged about months ago…
I was elated (nope, not an exaggeration) when I came across PG’s announcement on Facebook that they would be hosting Market Dinner’s every month this fall. Chef Robert would serve a 5 course dinner on the patio featuring local and seasonal ingredients. Two seatings of 16 each night – 1st at 6pm and 2nd at 8:30pm. $75 per person + gratuity and BYOB. Upon reading the news, I immediately picked up the phone and reserved a spot for Ronald and I at 8:30pm on the first night (September 8, 2012).
Ok – now, that we’ve got the backstory settled…let me tell you about the fabulousness that was this market dinner.
Our reservation confirmation message lent us the handy tip that Chef Robert had selected some wines to compliment our dinner at the McKinney Wine Merchant. Of course, we were also welcome to bring anything else we liked. It just so happens that the lovely recommended shop is just off the main square and within walking distance of Patina Green. So, we came a bit early to pick up some vino. I will be back – the shop keeper had a very friendly/jovial way…and it seems he knows quite a bit about wine.
The food, setting, and service were AMAZING. We had SO much fun, and we overheard (to our dismay because we did not make reservations for Oct, Nov, & Dec) that all other nights for the rest of the year are already booked! They did say they were keeping a waiting list for cancellations…we can only hope that maybe other nights will be added…or that Winter & Spring will bring a new series of dinners. Pardon my amateur photography – but here is a host of photos I took at dinner. I’m totally infatuated with my new DSLR…I’m sure to the chagrin of the people seated next to us at dinner…
We started with some refreshing cucumber water, and then were served an amuse-bouche of local watermelon and cucumber foam. It was meant as a drink to initiate our appetite, and it was a very clean and tasty way to start the meal. Then, a baguette from Empire Baking Company along with house churned butter sprinkled with sea salt arrived. Probably my favorite picture of the night – this extreme butter close up.
Next up – a charcuterie plate. This had toast fingers, brie, a chicken galantine, port wine chicken liver paté, and house made fig preserves. The preserves were designed to go with the paté, and the combo was quite complex and delicious. The paté had a decidedly rich and savory almost smoky flavor…some might say “strong” (perhaps not for the weak of heart or palate). I’m not an expert in paté, but it seem like it would be hard to eat quite a lot of it. It’s very filling. It paired nicely with the preserves, but I rather enjoyed eating the preserves on slices of the brie – DIVINE. The chicken galantine was amazing. It was very light and clean speckled with bits of ham and pecan and topped with some micro greens. I kept trying to figure our why this chicken tasted so clean – almost green or citrusy. I decided it must be that the chickens were very happy pasture fed chickens. Wow, what a difference that can make.
Following charcuterie, we had what was probably my most favorite & memorable course. I have been craving this dynamic duo ALL day. We were served gaufrettes and a smoked redfish rillette. I suggested to Kaci they should have a midnight food truck that served these delicious lightly salty and perfectly crispy chips along with the creamy, basil-y, smoky, buttery fish spread. She wisely replied, “But that would mean we’d be working at midnight…” Maybe the idea can be outsourced?!
Then, a soup and salad course. There was a creamy potato soup topped with farmstead cheese, a little crispy jowl bacon (YUM) and crispy leeks. Fortunately, you don’t have to have a dinner reservation to taste the glory of Chef Robert’s soups. There is generally a soup option at lunch. The soup was rich, velvety, and addictive. The salad consisted of local greens (all from one garden). There was arugula, tomato, radish, cucumber, black eyed peas and an avocado vinaigrette. This course alone could be a satisfying meal, but there was much more to come.
Next a veggie course featuring a soft poached egg. There were roasted beets, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and kale topped off with a lovely wobbly egg…and then topped with a tomato hollandaise. You had me at poached egg, Chef Robert… This is probably a surefire way to get the younguns to eat their veggies. We were starting to feel quite full.
Previous plates and silverware were cleared away, our places were set afresh. The promise of something big loomed in the air as we gazed on these clean plates. Soon after, picture perfect trays of a duo of Waygu beef. Duo of beef? Yes, DUO of BEEF! Perfectly seared and medium rare strip loin (I think that was the cut) topped with a carrot top and pumpkin seed pesto lay on a bed of pot roast & 8 ball squash hash. Just throwing this out there – Chef Robert can come cook Sunday pot roast at my house ANY TIME! Not an afterthought- this plate included glazed carrots and (grilled?) okra. Weirdly enough…any day – I could go for a plate of just the carrots & okra. They were SO GOOD. We might have left a few bites of this plate behind…only for the fact that we were totally full. My second favorite photo is from this course.
The meal closed with some sweet truffle offerings, and some cute morning after chocolate chip scones. We loved this touch…as it had us talking about our two dinners at Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco. They also sent us home with a sweet treat for the next day – banana bread wrapped expertly in gold paper. I think the fact that I just referenced Restaurant Gary Danko in this summary of Patina Green’s Market Dinner says it all. It was VERY GOOD.
Bravo, Chef Robert! Your passion and dedication to real food is greatly appreciated. Look forward to many more happy meals at Patina Green.
