1856 Menu Tasting Experience
1856 is a fine dining restaurant located in the culinary arts building on campus! Its mission is to provide educational dining experiences.
With each course, a description of the dishes’ ingredients, preparations, and flavors are given. Chef Joel Antunes builds a new menu each month to take advantage of the produce in season. His creations take inspiration from his experience in Bangkok and France, making for a unique blend of flavors. Overall, I had an amazing experience with 1856 and loved tasting/learning about each dish!
Experience
The atmosphere inside 1856 was beautiful! The room was filled with natural light and had a great view of Samford. The florals and personalized note cards made the night feel so special. 1856 prides themselves on having exceptional customer service, and they delivered. Every worker was extremely kind, attentive, and helpful. There were 8 tasting items, but I am going to share my top four favorites!
Candied Beetroot
This dish was SO good! The beets were marinated in soy sauce and topped with jam and caviar. This may sound like an odd combination, but everything blended very nicely. The flower on top was edible and grown on top of the culinary building by Auburn’s very own horticulture department!
Beef Oxtail Pho
Another amazing dish. The Pho had mini mushrooms, cilantro, leeks, and oxtail. The base was gingery and salty, while the fresh lime wedge gave the pho a fresh, citrusy kick.
Taleggio
Surprisingly, this piece of cheese may have been my favorite thing we had all night! The cheese was decadent and soft, with the most flavor in the rind. It was great by itself, but when paired with the fruity, gelatin-like side, it was seriously amazing. The little dots of balsamic, olive oil, and paprika dust enhanced the flavors without being too overwhelming.
Dark Chocolate Cremieux
As a chocolate lover, this dessert was everything I could wish for. It included a crispy chocolate base, chocolate mousse, whipped vanilla bean ganache, and a super sweet honeycomb lacing! I’ll definitely be thinking about this dessert for a long time.
All in all, 1856 was a one-of-a-kind dinner experience, and I would go back for many reasons. Not to mention the best thing about it: supporting Auburn! I hope you try out this amazing culinary experience to support Auburn’s hospitality school, student employees, and local horticulture!
Be well, Auburn.
Crystal is a junior majoring in marketing and double minoring in Italian and sales. She spent her freshman year of college at Baylor University (Sic ‘em) before transferring to Auburn where she found her home!
Born and raised in Montana, Crystal’s passion for the outdoors started at a young age. You can often find her hiking, floating in the river, or just sitting in the sun. When she’s not out enjoying nature, Crystal loves to read, travel anywhere new, listen to the oldies, and spend quality time with family and friends. After graduation, she aspires to travel as much as possible, pursue a career in real estate or social media marketing, and eventually find her way back to the Rockies.
