Cookouts are meant to be simple, right? Don’t tell that to Ben Moore, who took time out from his post at Harper’s Garden to share some summer decadence with us. And what would summer eating be without some summer drinking? Boring is what, and that’s why Harper Garden’s Beverage Director Matt Deutch tagged along to provide the booze. Ready to indulge?

Kicking off our night was an introduction to the cocktail. Legend has it that the original cocktail was the Sazerac and was conceived in New Orleans. Being the original, Sazerac is the grandfather to other whiskey- and brandy-based drinks. So Matt treated guests to the OG as well as a taste of a proper Old Fashioned. In the meantime, Ben and his sous chef Tom were busy preparing the first food course: seared foie gras. The thing about foie gras is that it is very rich and it needs something to balance things out. So providing some earthiness and sweetness (passion fruit macerated beets) and nuttiness with acid (a spread with pistachio and lemon) was perfect. Bonus: a steamed bun seared in foie gras fat!Next up from Matt’s shaker was a hybrid drink, combining elements from an Aviation and the classic French 75. Starting with a base of tea-infused gin, lemon and Crème de Violette are shaken with triple sec and topped with brut bubbly. In the glass, you get this pretty purple with contrasting yellow from the lemon peel garnish. The follow-up was in a similar vein as it looks to another classic for inspiration. The Rusty Nail traditionally uses scotch and Drambuie. In this instance, Matt substitutes cognac and lends an herbaceous note with thyme-infused simple syrup. While not your typical cookout fare, potato gnocchi with roasted apricots certainly fits the bill of summery seasonality. After making some fresh dough with riced potato, Ben rolled it out and cut tiny pillows. He suggests to not just boil the pasta until it floats but also get a little color in the pan before adding in the final components. Some pancetta and brown butter served as the Ben’s final touches.When you think about your favorite fish to cook, monkfish is probably not the first one on your mind. It most likely is not even fourth or fifth. However, this lightly flavored but hearty choice holds up well to a variety of cooking methods. Add in the fact that it leaves the “fishy fish” flavor out, you should follow Ben’s lead and reach for this fillet next you’re shopping. Here, we have it pan roasted and served with red Thai curry, coconut milk, forbidden rice and grilled broccoli. You can very easily opt to grill the monkfish as well.

Matt claims to change the drink menu every three months. Although if you ask Ben, he’d contest that notion. His challenge comes from the fact that the next drink we were presented with has been on the menu for a couple of cycles due to popular demand. Utilizing the restaurant’s juicer, Matt juiced carrots and reduced the juice with honey. This mixture is shaken along with lemon, ginger, vodka, Aperol and dry vermouth to be served over ice and garnished with basil. Sounds healthy, right? Speaking of healthy, how about some beets? The second to last cocktail incorporated brandied beets with Bluecoat gin, citric acid and club soda. Supplementing these flavors was charred rosemary.

The savory portion of our night was capped off with lamb saddle. Grilled with a sprinkle of sumac, this bite of heaven was served a shade past rare – just as it should be. Charred baby eggplant and horseradish pommes frites were the accompaniments along with a lamb jus.

Bringing a conclusion to our evening was an ode to local produce. Touted as the first harvest of the season, strawberries were center stage for dessert. Along with macerated rhubarb and lavender poppy olive oil cake, you couldn’t ask for a better final note. Not to be outdone by his counterpart, Matt conjured up a Fernet Branca and Godiva cocktail that might remind your palate of a Grasshopper, especially since there was a splash of Crème de Menthe in there, too. 

Be sure to visit Ben, Matt and Tom at Harper’s Garden. Open for lunch during the week, brunch on the weekends and until late into the evening, you have plenty of opportunities to experience what those in attendance did. Also of note, the new drink menu will be live on July 15th!