Dining Provencal at the Adora Inn, Mt Dora

We met Nancy and Dan of the Wine Cellar in Mt. Dora (a wine shop with a smaller store also in Apopka) over a year ago. They were the first to tell us of the themed wine dinners held at The Adora Inn in Mt. Dora once a month.

The Adora Inn is a Bed and Breakfast located in the Patterson-Hague House (named to honor its builder in 1916 and its longest resident respectively).

I wanted to kick off Ken's birthday week so I made reservations to eat there this past Sunday. The theme for that dinner was French Provincial. This was to be a 5-course gourmet dinner where each course was accompanied by the appropriate wine.


We got to Mt. Dora a little early, so we stopped off for a before dinner drink at The Viking Lounge where their motto is "Take a Liking to a Viking". This is a friendly little neighborhood pub in the heart of downtown Mt Dora. A nice little place to meet friends for a drink. We kept an eye on the time and left soon after arriving because of our previous commitment

We arrived at The Adora Inn and we were warmly welcomed by one of the two owners, John Cataldo.

We were the first to arrive but during the next 10 minutes the remaining guests (26 total) made their entrance.

We met several of the dinner guests including the owners of the Blue Heron Inn (Marge and Randy) and the Mt. Dora Historic Inn (Jim and Ana and his parents)

Of course Nancy from the Wine Cellar was there as the wine hostess. She was assisted by a wine vendor, born in France, who provided the wines named Pascal.

All of the persons we met were charming and delightful.

While we mingled they served a wonderful Pissaladiere ( an anchovy and onion tart) that was delicious. The tart was accompanied by Ramon Canals Canals Cava Brut Champagne. The champagne complimented the tart beautifully, although I prefer the drier brut imperial when available. Of course we had seconds of both.

We were seated promptly at 6:30 PM and Pascal introduced the wines we would be having and made us a little more knowledgeable of what was to come.

The first course was a Sweet Roasted Bell Peppers served with olives and chard. A simple but tasty dish accompanied by a Cotes du Provence Rose 2007 which was perfect for the delicate tastes of the roasted peppers.

The fish course was Salt Cod and Cream Pie. This was an unusual pairing of fish and cream but it worked very well. I think it would have been tastier had the pie been warmer but having to serve 26 people at the same time creates some logistic restrictions and we had to sacrifice the temperature of the dish. It was very good nevertheless.
This was surprisingly served with a Cabernet Sauvignon by Valvitis. The paring was excellent since the fish was so strong that the red wine complimented it beautifully. Delicious combination.

The beef course was the Baked Lamb Shank with New Potatoes and Ratatouille. The lamb was falling-of-the-bone tender. It was delicious although it could have been a little more savory. This was paired by a Chateau Du Luc Corbieres. The wine was great with this dish and the dish better because of the wine.

Desert was a chocolate mouse with raspberries that was excellent. This was accompanied by the Cave de L'Etiole Banuyis Rimage. This was a perfect sweet wine for the desert. Almost like a Porto but not quite as sweet.

Overall, dinner, the wine, the service and the ambiance was very good. We enjoyed it so well that we look forward in attending their next Wine and Dine function on the 26th of October where the theme will be, "Wine Maker's Dinner"

We enjoyed the Adora Inn very much and we give it..............4-Stars.