It started in the way all good things begin: Someone drops a fork, then swears, slowly, with a still-full mouth that they have never tasted anything so good in their entire life. They’re almost crying.
Morel mushrooms have this effect on many people. It’s why morels are the most popular wild mushrooms in Illinois.
One night at Tom’s Place Restaurant, just north of the university town of Carbondale in DeSoto, Illinois, Executive Chef Lasse Sorensen had a sudden, lifetime morel obligation thrust upon him: What if every
single course of an entire
morel mushroom wine
dinner contained morels?
Even dessert?
Eleven years later, it’s now
Chef Sorensen’s highly
anticipated civic duty and
pleasure to give regional
morel lovers exactly what
they want every last Wednes-
day of April.
It’s a wine dinner where each
course of his elegant, five-
course dinner contains morel mushrooms.
You’ll want to make your reservations yesterday for this always-sold-out morel event. Everybody who knows about it always tries. The wines are consistently excellent and wisely matched with the sometimes-unbelievable morel creations. Called one: “Morel Hand Grenades in a Black Forest Veal Stock.” The crowd gets understandably excited.
It really is a blast. Loud and festive.
If you’re a wine and morel mushroom lover, don’t hold back. You’ll never find one better way to spend $100.
Sous chef Nick firing pans of morels.
De Soto, Illinois, USA
