Idyll Awhile hosts Full Moon Dinners

By Melissa Diaz Hernandez

If you want to dine under the full moon with live music and in the company of others, you might want to check out the Full Moon Dinners at Leanna’s Idyll Awhile. Dinners are held the Monday around the full moon.

Leanna Lee, owner of Leanna’s Idyll Awhile, told the newspaper she started these dinner events a year ago, but with the COVID-restrictions, she pulled back. She will host the fourth dinner, the Sturgeon Moon, Monday, Aug. 23. Dinners start at 5:30 p.m. weather permitting. Live music accompanies the dinners.

Eighteen people attended the last dinner, the Buck Moon Dinner, which included venison bruschetta; bacon wrapped venison with poblano chili, blue cheese and a balsamic reduction; a venison medallion with a blackberry compote, roasted corn salsa and Broccolini. The final course was a chocolate torte with venison caramel sauce and macerated berries.

The Strawberry Moon included a strawberry bruschetta with goat cheese and basil; a strawberry spinach salad with avocado, feta, purple onion and mint; a grilled filet mignon with whipped blue cheese potato, strawberry relish in a port wine reduction and a strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

Lee cooks all of the dinners. The kitchen at Idyll Awhile will be revamped and expanded beginning January. She remodeled the main area of the venue during the lockdown.

Local Donna Elliot designs the menus after Lee puts together a four-course meal incorporating the theme into each course. Wine is paired with each course.

“It gives locals something to do in town when it is quiet,” Lee explained.

The Sturgeon Moon Dinner, named after the time of year sturgeon were caught by Native American tribes around the Great Lakes, will also incorporate caviar and Champagne.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 909-714-0945. The dinners range between $69 and $99 per person depending on what is being incorporated into the dinner.