Plates love a themed dinner.
A couple of weeks back, plates took a visit down the line for The Souk Dinner at Bank + Vine with a friend.
Guests were greeted with iced tea and were able to stroll through the marketplace that was set up in the establishments back room. The marketplace had an array of spices, wines, teas and Turkish coffees were on display and available for purchase.
Bank + Vine Executive Chef Gelso created Middle Eastern-inspired dishes for the dinner. The dinner featured five courses. The first course was all about the spreads and included fresh-made pita, hummus, labneh, tabouleh, muhumarra, baba ghanoush, kibbeh nayyeh. For the second course, Plates ate grape leaves, malfoud, kibbeh fried and dukkah egg. The third course was black bass steamed in a banana leaf and served with a side of cilantro saffron rice. The fourth course featured a pomegranate braised lamb shoulder and served with cucumber yogurt and fresh pita. Dessert was Kanefeh.
Everyone at the table also enjoyed a tableside fortune reading.
The Market was set up in the back room and attendees could purchase an array of spices, tea and more.
There were two kinds of grape leaves served.
Black Bass steamed in a banana leaf was served with a side of cilantro saffron rice.
Pictured is Kanefeh served with a dessert cocktail.
Laura Rysz is the features copy editor and calendar editor at The Times-Tribune and runs the Talk of the Times column, which focuses on local fundraisers and other events. She also writes Chef’s Table that profiles restaurants around the region. Additionally, Laura curates events online on AccessNEPA.com. Laura is involved in the special Mother’s Day edition and curates occasional features Marry Memories and Times Travelers. She is a graduate of Haddonfield Memorial High School, New Jersey, and earned an English professional writing degree with a minor in mass communications from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre. She also earned a certificate in Social Media Marketing from Rutgers Business School. Contact: lrysz@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5228.
