Get Down with Downey’s Chef’s Dinner

Each season Chef John Downey gives gourmands a reason to celebrate as he serves a four-course dinner with whatever’s at its peak. Of course peaks get peak-ier, as it were, in Downey’s kitchen, as anyone who attended his summer dinner August 6 can attest. That meal not only featured a vegetable soup that was the essence of vegetables laved in consomme, but also a duck dish that might be the best I’ve ever enjoyed. As Downey himself described it, “I am picturing slices of grilled duck served just warm with a mix of summer greens tossed in a light ginger-lime dressing and garnished with toasted almonds and slices of peach which have been half-dried. Drying the peaches this way intensifies the flavor and gives them a slightly chewy texture.” Forget about picturing it, nearly three months later I can still taste this brilliant dish. So let this be more than a suggestion-call the restaurant at once and book a table at the Fall Chef’s Dinner scheduled for Wednesday, November 5. Four courses, $50, not inclusive, but Liz Downey will pick perfect wines-by-the-glass matches that won’t break the bank, especially for a meal of this caliber. Downey’s is at 1305 State Street. Call 966-5006.