Farm-to-Table Meets Southern California Wine in Julian, California

[Karsten Boone]

Five decades ago, my Louisiana grandmother traveled to Wynola, minutes from Julian, to find one of her favorite, and rare, treats: pickled pig’s feet.  Now, we can go to Jeremy’s on the Hill for gourmet, farm to table, house made pork sausage, pancetta, and other delectable meals.

 

Le Cordon Bleu

Cordon Bleu dining is heralded by the crest on the sign at Jeremy's on the Hill (www.jeremysonthehill.com), on Hwy 78 in Wynola, 4 miles north of Julian, California.  Chef Jeremy Manly brings gourmet farm to table dining to this small, former gold mining town.                                                                                                    Chef Jeremy Manly 

 

Slow Food

Building on lifetime relationships, Jeremy, the youngest chef to graduate from Le Cordon Bleu, has, at the ripe age of 25, established his restaurant as the place to go for inventive, fresh cuisine from local farms.   He even has his own charcuterie, where he prepares sausage, pancetta, and all manner of pork creations from heritage pigs raised by Cook Pigs (www.cookpigs.com); pigs who dine on apples, macadamia nuts, acorns, and avocados. 

 

Jeremy's on the Hill is unassuming on the roadside, but intimate with personalized service on the inside.  Jeremy and his mother welcomed the Occasional Wine Council.  Jeremy taps local farmers, like Down the Road Farms, which is, actually, down the road.   He selects local wines to compliment his dishes; Julian, Ramona and Warner Springs are producing some world class vintages.   

 

Wine Pairing Votes

Our group was joined by Big Blend Radio’s (www.bigblendradio.com) Nancy Reid and Lisa Smith, a mother-daughter team currently traveling the country visiting all 401 National Parks and their communities.  Rooted in Julian, they brought local lore to life, with only a few tales of Jeremy’s younger years.  We always vote on our favorite pairings, and we did so again.  Nancy, however, was right when she wanted to give every pairing a top vote.  The ranking was like ranking one’s children or favorite sunrises; each dish, each wine, each pairing, had its own stand out character.

 

Jeremy's attention to detail showed in each dish we tried, from flash fried brussel sprouts soaked in citrus based ponzu sauce, to a strawberry shortcake with peach preserves flavored with oregano atop a few, all important, slices of apple mint.  Every dish, every pairing, excited our senses, with unusual combinations creating exceptionally enjoyable bites and sips.

 Smoky Eggplant for a Smoky Syrah

 

To complement Warner Springs’ Hawk Watch Winery's superb Syrah, with smoky notes, Jeremy created a smoked, grilled eggplant and heirloom tomato salad with red wine sage vinaigrette.  The smoky eggplant combined with the just ripe fruit of the tomatoes to accentuate the Syrah’s smoke and black raspberry palate. 

 

Citrus Wine & Peppery Radishes

A Turtle Rock Ridge Grenache Blanc from Ramona, silkily smooth with citrus and vanilla notes, served just under room temperature, was a perfect accompaniment to a salad of blistered jalapeño stuffed with Hunter’s sausage from Jeremy’s charcuterie, pears, and radishes three ways, including peppery, spicy radish leaves.  If you haven’t tried radish leaves, they are a treat—I’d say reminiscent of mustard greens crossed with arugula—but really, they are uniquely tasty.  The citrus of the wine, pepper of the radish, and meltingly fresh sausage was our favorite pairing.    

Farm Fresh Vegies, Sage & Earthy Cabernet Franc

 

House made sage fettuccine with Jeremy’s own pancetta from local pigs and summer vegetable ratatouille, each component would be a great meal in itself, is a great companion for Warner Springs’ La Serenissima Winery’s full, earthy, Cabernet Franc.  Indeed, we found this to be the second favorite pairing. 

 

Sweet Wine & Sweet Fruit with Mint

For desert, strawberry shortcake with peach preserves, oregano, and a few shreds of apple mint brightening the dish, was ideal with Julian’s Menghini Winery’s Julian Gold Muscat Canelli. Forced to choose, we placed this pairing third.  

Brussel Sprouts Go With?   

Jeremy has recently taken over the local school nutrition program, and is planning to transform it to farm to table meals as well.    And, if you visit one of the local wineries, and are very lucky, you may well find Jeremy's dishes there as well--on a limited basis.  My recommendation, come to Julian for the shopping, the wines, the orchards.  Do not miss the exceptional, inventive and ever changing meals at Jeremy's on the Hill.  The brussel sprouts, by the way, go with every wine.