First Impression

John: The first thing I thought when I walked through the front door at Sip Wine was “Wow, I must have taken a wrong left turn somewhere in Milton and then driven 40 hours west because I’m in Napa Valley.” This place is a wine lover’s heaven. Sip is part restaurant, part wine shop and part amazing. If you’re a wine connoisseur, you’ll probably pass at least four bottles of wine you want to take home with you on the way to your table. If you’re not a wine connoisseur, don’t worry, that’s what your server is for. The servers are wine encyclopedias, except calling them that would be insulting to them because they’re better than encyclopedias. When describing wines to us, our server Deborah used words like, ‘earthy,’ ‘velvety’ and ‘tannic.’ I stopped listening after those three words because I got confused and I wasn’t drinking (someone has to make sure the Dining Duo doesn’t end up in the crime section). However, Copsey and our friend Melissa kept listening intently because their sole objective on the night was to sample as many wines as possible. Copsey, please tell the readers all about your wine tasting experience.

Copsey: My wine experience begins and ends with ‘I like wine, but not as much as beer.’ That might just change thanks to Sip. Imagine a restaurant that is based entirely around wine – not only suggesting what you should drink (like John said, the servers know their business), but also suggesting what you might like to eat based on that wine. Each dish is paired with something. It makes the evening into a learning affair as well as an eating one. I was surprised to see that Sip was located in the Crabapple part of Milton. I used to think that area was simply a crowded intersection; a place to pass on the way somewhere. Thankfully, the area is quickly becoming quite the place to be. So I really shouldn’t have been surprised.

John: A
Copsey: A

Appetizers

John: I forgot to mention one thing in the introduction, Sip is a tapas restaurant. Tapas, if done right, is like eating at a high class buffet. You’re not limited to one dish (we ordered six) and if you’re really hungry and you have seven other people with you, you could order one of everything on the menu (there are 26 items, not including dessert). To start things off, we ordered some Thai Green Curry Mussels and the Truffle Pommes Souflées. I’m usually not a big fan of mussels, but Sip did something that I wish I would have thought of before my sister’s wedding six years ago (The wedding meal was mussels, I told my sister it was the worst choice ever. Advice to all men: never tell a bride about bad decisions they may or may not have made on their wedding day), they steamed the mussels in a green Thai curry coconut sauce. The sauce had a distinct coconut flavor, but it wasn’t overwhelming. Copsey and I ate the mussels like they were the last ones on the planet. They were gone in an instant. The truffles were twice fried potatoes (kind of like French fries) that became much more enjoyable when I dipped them in a homemade spicy ketchup sauce.

Copsey: This is something we should probably mention: a lot of the dishes are a combination of ingredients that might not immediately sound appetizing. Mussels in Thai curry sauce? Who thought of that? But I’ll say it: the chef knows what he’s doing. According to our server, this guy is CIA trained (that’s Culinary Institute of America. Not the spies. Sadly), so he knows exactly what he’s making. What that means is that each dish is probably something you’ve never had before. 

John: A-
Copsey: A

Entrées

John:  For the main course, we ordered four dishes: Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Grilled Lamb, Pistachio Crusted Scallops and Tuna Tartare. In case you didn’t notice (and why would you?), I listed the dishes from my favorite to my least favorite. I’ve always had an affinity for bacon wrapped anything. Toss in the fact that the bacon was wrapped around the biggest piece of shrimp that I have ever seen means this dish had ‘John’s favorite’ written all over it. It didn’t hurt that it was stuffed with jalapeno cheddar. The lamb was served over a potato gratin and topped with blackberry au jus. I kept thinking the blackberry au jus wasn’t going to work on the lamb. I was wrong and for the ninth time in a week, I realized why I am not a chef. The au jus complimented the lamb wonderfully. Combined that with the tasty potatoes and the dish was a winner. By the way, when I say the tartare was my least favorite dish, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. It ranked number one on Melissa’s scale, however, I’m not sure where it was on Copsey’s scale because every time I looked at him he was drinking another glass of wine. Did you even taste the food Copsey?

Copsey: The Tuna could have been placed anywhere on the menu. Appetizer, entrée or even dessert, it would have fit perfectly. It’s light and tasty, crunchy and moist, smooth and spicy. It’s basically tuna cubes on wontons with avocados and wasabi aioli. Personally, I would have placed it higher on John’s list, but I guess something has to come last. For some reason, we are no longer capable of going somewhere without ordering scallops, and Sip was no different. With a nut crust on the top, the scallops were an interesting mix of crunchy and squishy, made more interesting by the orange sauce it came with. The baby zucchini they came with was mostly divided between Melissa and me (since John doesn’t eat his veggies).   

John: A-
Copsey: A

Desserts

John: I’ve probably said this 19 times over the past 20 months, so why not say it again: I love when I see original items on the dessert menu. Sip had an ice cream cookie sandwich. Boring right? Nope. They added some cayenne spice to the cookie batter and what they created is the most interesting tasting dessert I’ve had in quite some time. You’ll take a bite of the ice cream cookie sandwich and think, ‘um, John, this tastes exactly like an ice cream cookie sandwich.’ Four seconds later, you’ll be hit with a spicy aftertaste that will have you adding cayenne spice to all your cookie recipes in the future. We also sampled the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie, I’ll let Copsey talk about that because I know for a fact that he put down his wine for a second to try it.

Copsey: It wasn’t strictly wine I was having when I ate the Pecan Pie; it was the Choc-A-Bloc Port that was the paired drink with (coincidentally) both dishes we ordered. It was, by the way, delicious. I do like a glass of port. But to the pie! Chocolaty with a satisfying crunch of the pecans, half the pie dissolves immediately in your mouth, while the other half hangs around to be chewed. Somewhat like the cookie sandwich, the mix of flavors only highlighted the chef’s skills. And it went perfectly with the port. 

John: A
Copsey: A

Final Impression

John: Raise your hand if you know what an Enomatic is? If you do, you’re smarter than me. I had no clue. You know when you go into Burger King and see a fountain machine that has Sprite, Coke, Mr. Pibb and Diet Cherry 7-Up? Well, take that principle, but instead of the soda, pretend it’s wine. Also, unlike a normal soda fountain, the Enomatic is kept at a certain temperature so that it can keep an open bottle of wine fresh for three weeks. Even better, you can get a rechargeable card (it looks like a credit card) that you simply slide into the Enomatic. The machine then gives you a wine pour based on what type of wine you want and how much. I was so enamored with this machine that I wanted to buy one. However, a quick Google search showed that it would take about 11 months worth of paychecks to buy one, so unfortunately I had to nix the idea.

Copsey: For some reason, the idea of a wine vending machine appeals to me. And it should appeals to everyone else. This is a perfect place to come and expand your palette for wine and all things vino. Sip knows what it’s doing: it’s for wine lovers by wine lovers, and they’re not shy about helping the average Joes among us learn a thing or two about that ancient of drinks.

John: A-
Copsey: A