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Archive for November 2013

2009 Bordeaux Doesn’t Blow

Nov29

Location: Hollywood Hills

Date: November 24, 2013

Cuisine: Molecular American

Rating: Amazing night!

_

My friend Stewart had this idea to host a dinner featuring the wealth of 99 and 100 point 2009 Bordeaux. I have to admit, their youth made me skeptical, but he assured me they were drinking great — plus, my vocation as a priest of Dionysus wouldn’t allow me to pass up on 15-20 100 point wines!

To sweeten the pot, he promised a first rate molecular dinner from celebrity chef, Marcel Vigneron (great name!) and co-chef  Haru Kishi. Marcel was the original Executive Sous Chef at The Bazaar too, and also cooked at Joel Robuchon. Haru was at Chaya Brasserie. Those pedigrees most certainly do not suck.


Stewart really knows how to organize a wine dinner — and I should know given how many I attend. This event was expertly planned from start to finish. One of the attendees generously donated her lovely Hollywood Hills home (off a narrow hill street) as the venue.


Stewart rented Riedel stems, and even more importantly, took on the services of two fantastic Sommeliers. All of us split the cost plus brought 2-3 bottles of the good stuff.


The view on this crystal clear November day was stunning.


In the foreground is Max Coane, one of our two awesome somms. I can’t tell you how much more relaxed having these two professionals made the event. Most of my zany (and awesome) wine dinners are free-for-alls. That can be okay up to about twelve people, but even so, I end up doing (really half-assing) the job of somm myself: opening the bottles, doing pours, etc. It becomes hard to get all the wines and you really have to worry about it (if you’re anal like me). These guys were pro (and super nice and enthusiastic as well).


1993 Moet Chandon Dom Perignon. Parker 93. Medium lemon-straw colour. Moderately intense nose of lemon curd, kaffir lime leaf, plenty of hot buttered toast and vague hints of chalk and crushed stone. The bubbles are calming a little in the mouth and the very crisp acidity is taking centre stage, yet this wine is drinking beautifully now, providing plenty of yeast and citrus flavour with a generous sprinkling of minerality. Long finish.


1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame. Parker 95. I highly recommend the Veuve Clicquot 1990 La Grande Dame. It is exquisitely rich and accessible, yet bursting with potential.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2WwE3plcE&feature=youtu.be]

To make this bottle even more exciting, it was opened with a sword!


2002 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses. Parker 96. The flagship 2002 Brut Clos des Goisses is simply stunning in this vintage. Seamless, ripe and beguiling, the 2002 is pure harmony in the glass. Dried pears, apricots, flowers, red berries and spices are some of the many notes that inform this towering, aristocratic wine. At once vertical yet endowed with serious length, the 2002 stands out for its breathtaking balance and overall sense of harmony. Layers of fruit built to the huge, creamy finish. This is a great showing from Philipponnat.


We retired downstairs to the garden for appetizers. These included fresh pizzas whipped up by Marcel here. Yum. These reminded me of my Ultimate Pizza. And he got his dough balls from Terroni.

Our host, Rachel, had an amazing (and gorgeous) wood fired pizza oven. Awesome!


Look at those coals!


And her view.


2009 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 96. Here too there are residual sulfur notes that are only background nuances to the otherwise very fresh and dense green fruit and stone aromas that introduce intensely mineral-driven, firm, rich and enveloping flavors that display a taut muscularity on the strikingly powerful, focused and bone dry finish that is really quite explosive. Like the Montrachet, this should reward at least a decade of long-term cellaring. A brilliant example of the appellation.


From my cellar, 1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 93 points. this wine shows sweet cherries, sharp minerals, and forest floor on the powerful nose. Initially the palate is a bit shy, but with time it gains concentration and volume until it explodes with deep red and black fruits. This is medium bodied and elegant but the fruit is intense, the acids are lively, and there is a strong spice note on the finish. There are still some hard edges and this is probably 5 years from its peak, but it’s wonderful now. Paired beautifully with grilled chickens.


1995 Lagrange. Parker 90. The 1995 Lagrange is similar to the 1996, but the fruit is sweeter, the acidity lower, and the wine less marked by Cabernet Sauvignon. The color is a deep ruby/purple. The wine boasts a roasted herb, charcoal, black currant, mineral, and new oak-scented nose. Medium to full-bodied and ripe, with copious quantities of jammy black cherry and cassis flavors presented in a medium-bodied, low acid, moderately tannic style, this well-endowed, purely made wine requires cellaring.


Oyster spherification, finger lime and wasabi. These first two apps were the weak point of an otherwise stellar meal — not that they were bad, but they just didn’t reach the heights of the rest. The oysters were too warm, and probably could have used a nice Sancerre :-).


Bay scallop cones, ponzu, yuzu kosho, masago. I love raw scallops but these had a slightly odd oil or pine tang. Marcel thought it might be the yuzu, but maybe the oil in the cones.


White truffle pizza, buffalo mozzarella, squash blossom, bacon & shallots. Now these pizzas were AWESOME. I love a good pizza, and this certainly was it. Nice chewy dough. Perfect!


In this serious I’m going to show off some of our ingredients, in this case fresh truffles both white and black!


And persimmons, frozen for texture.


Squabs.


And venison loin. Look at that color.


Moving upstairs we return to our epic 100 point Bordeaux.


From my cellar, 2009 Pape Clement Blanc. Parker 100. The 2009 Pape Clement Blanc is an absolutely remarkable wine, which is not a surprise given what this historic estate has done in both white and red over the last 20 years. Their white wine, an intriguing blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon, 16% Sauvignon Gris and the rest Muscadelle, comes from 7.5 acres of pure gravelly soil. An exquisite nose of honeysuckle, tropical fruit, pineapple, green apples, and orange and apricot marmalade soar from the glass. Great acidity, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a texture more akin to great grand cru white Burgundy put this wine in a class by itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were others who also think this is pure perfection in white Bordeaux. I tasted this wine four separate times and gave it a perfect score three of the four times. It is one of most exquisite dry white I have ever tasted from anywhere – period. Certainly the founder of Pape Clement, Bertrand de Goth, would be happy with his decision to plant a vineyard here in 1305. Pure genius!


2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc. Parker 98. Smith-Haut-Lafitte hit a home run with their red Pessac-Leognan and came very close to perfection with their dry white Graves. Possibly the best dry white the estate has produced since the proprietors, the Cathiards, acquired the property in 1990, this wine exhibits a sensational fragrance of buttered citrus, honeyed melons and a touch of grapefruit, lemon zest and orange rind. It also displays grapefruit on the attack and mid-palate as well as real opulence, terrific acidity and length. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. Astonishing!


2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 96. Prost was, justifiably, extremely proud of this wine and observed that it may be the best “straight” Chevalier that he’s ever made. Not surprisingly, this is a good deal more elegant than the Bâtard with gorgeously pure floral and white fruit, stone and subtle spice aromas that seamlessly merge into the almost painfully intense and vibrant flavors that, like the Perrières, possess crystalline purity and huge length. This is a knockout Chevy and if you can find it, don’t miss it.


Truffled egg. Like at Melisse. Good stuff.


Inside you can see the scrambled egg bits.


From my cellar, 2009 Clinet. Parker 100. Clinet has been on a hot streak lately and the 2009 appears to be the greatest wine ever made at the estate, surpassing even the late Jean-Michel Arcaute’s monumental 1989. A blend of 85% Merlot and tiny amounts of Cabernet Franc (12%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (3%), this big Pomerol boasts an opaque, moonless night inky/blue/purple color in addition to a gorgeous perfume of blueberry pie, incense, truffles, black raspberries, licorice and wood smoke. Viscous and multi-dimensional with silky, sweet tannin, massive fruit concentration and full-bodied power, there are nearly 4,000 cases of this thick, juicy, perfect Clinet.


2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Parker 100. The finest wine ever made by proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, the 2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to a glorious nose of acacia flowers, licorice, charcoal, blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings and incense. This massive, extraordinarily rich, unctuously textured wine may be the most concentrated effort produced to date, although the 2000, 2005 and 2010 are nearly as prodigious. A gorgeous expression of Pessac-Leognan with sweet tannin, emerging charm and delicacy, and considerable power, depth, richness and authority, it should age effortlessly for 30-40+ years. Bravo!


2009 La Fleur Petrus. Parker 96-98+. Even with considerable youthful characteristics, this stunning, open-knit 2009 is quite approachable. This fabled terroir sandwiched between Petrus and Lafleur (hence the name) generally produces one of the more elegantly-styled Pomerols, but in 2009 it offers an extra dimension of flavor intensity as well as more texture and concentration. It reveals a super-seductive perfume of mocha, loamy soil, herbs, black cherries and black currants, truffles and licorice, full body and velvety tannins. The overall impression is one of intensity, power, glycerin and richness as well as undeniable elegance and laser-like focus.

Despite its (slightly) inferior rating, this wine stood out at the current moment.


Langoustine ravioli, kale, foie gras veloute, black burgundy truffle. Wow, this was great. The filling was solid dense langoustine and really tasted like it. The sauce was a decadent langoustine bisque made from the bodies and saturated with foie gras. Plus the truffle. Only the kale was healthy.


2009 Montrose. Parker 100. A colossal effort, the 2009 Montrose represents a hypothetical blend of the monumental duo of 1989 and 1990 combined with the phenomenal 2003. With 13.7% alcohol (an all-time high at Montrose), it is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Some structure and minerality can be detected in the background, but the overall impression is one of massive blackberry, black currant and mulberry fruit intermixed with forest floor, damp earth, crushed rocks and a hint of spring flowers. Full-bodied with sweet but abundant tannin, Jean-Bernard Delmas believes this is the greatest wine he has made during his short tenure at Montrose since retiring from Haut-Brion. This wine will undoubtedly shut down for a decade, then unleash its power, glory and potential perfection.


2009 Pavie. Parker 100. Bottled the week before I arrived, the 2009 Pavie appears to have barely budged since I tasted it two years ago. Many experts consider this phenomenal terroir to be nearly as great as that of Ausone. Made from a classic blend of 60-70% Merlot, 20-25% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky/blue/purple-colored blockbuster reveals wonderful notes of blackberries, crushed rocks, roasted meats, spring flowers, cedar, blueberries, graphite and a hint of vanillin. With extravagant fruit and high extract as well as a hint of minerality, this structured, massively intense effort is typical of all the luxurious, perfect or nearly perfect Pavies produced under the Perse regime (which began in 1998). While built for 40-50 years of cellaring, the softness of the vintage and its flamboyant style is slightly less apparent in the 2009 Pavie than in some of the other Perse wines.


2009 Leoville-Poyferre. Parker 100. One of the more flamboyant and sumptuous wines of the vintage, this inky/purple-colored St.-Julien reveals thrilling levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasures. A soaring bouquet of creme de cassis, charcoal, graphite and spring flowers is followed by a super-concentrated wine with silky tannins, stunning amounts of glycerin, a voluptuous, multilayered mouthfeel and nearly 14% natural alcohol. Displaying fabulous definition for such a big, plump, massive, concentrated effort, I suspect the tannin levels are high even though they are largely concealed by lavish amounts of fruit, glycerin and extract.


White truffle risotto, Japanese rice, Parmigiano reggiano. Another great dish. The Japanese rice had a nice texture, but I’d give this 8/10 on my risotto scale as it needed slightly more cheesy creamy punch to hit the highest highs (I’ve had a lot of great risotto). Still great though.


2009 De Suduiraut. Parker 98. The 2009 is one of the greatest wines ever produced from the estate. It has a riveting bouquet of quince, honey, pear and a touch of clarified butter that is beautifully defined, offering scents of yellow flowers with continued aeration. It is a little heavier and more intense than its peers at this stage. The palate is beautifully balanced with perfectly judged acidity and immense purity. The finish offers crisp honey, quince and clementine notes laden with botrytis that is counterpoised by wonderful acidity. It possesses an unerring sense of completeness and composure that is irresistible. Bravo!


An intermezzo of pears. Looks simple, but paired with the Suduiraut, fabulous.


Most of the gang. Our hostess is in the front right.


2009 Pontet-Canet. Parker 100. An amazing wine in every sense, this classic, full-bodied Pauillac is the quintessential Pontet Canet from proprietor Alfred Tesseron, who continues to reduce yields and farms his vineyards biodynamically – a rarity in Bordeaux. Black as a moonless night, the 2009 Pontet Canet offers up notes of incense, graphite, smoke, licorice, creme de cassis and blackberries. A wine of irrefutable purity, laser-like precision, colossal weight and richness, and sensational freshness, this is a tour de force in winemaking that is capable of lasting 50 or more years. The tannins are elevated, but they are sweet and beautifully integrated as are the acidity, wood and alcohol (which must be in excess of 14%). This vineyard, which is situated on the high plateau of Pauillac adjacent to Mouton Rothschild, appears to have done everything perfectly in 2009. This cuvee should shut down in the cellar and re-open in a decade or more.


2009 Chateau Margaux. Parker 99-100. A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with most Medocs, the alcohol here is actually lower (a modest 13.3%) than most of its siblings-. Abundant blueberry, cassis and acacia flower as well as hints of charcoal and forest floor aromas that are almost Burgundian in their complexity are followed by a wine displaying sweet, well-integrated tannins as well as a certain ethereal lightness despite the wine’s overall size. Rich, round, generous and unusually approachable for such a young Margaux, this 2009 should drink well for 30-35+ years.


2009 Cheval Blanc. Parker 99-100. It will be fascinating to follow the evolution of the 2009 Cheval Blanc versus the 2010 as well as the awesome 2005, 2000, 1998 and 1990. This famous estate’s vineyard is situated at the juncture of Pomerol and the sandy, gravelly soils of St.-Emilion, facing the two noble estates of l’Evangile and La Conseillante. A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Cheval Blanc tips the scales at just under 14% natural alcohol. Its dense blue/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of incense, raspberries, cassis, sweet forest floor and a subtle hint of menthol. Opulent and full-bodied with low acidity but no sense of heaviness, this dense, unctuously textured, super-smooth, velvety, pure, profound Cheval Blanc is impossible to resist despite its youthfulness.


Chef pan fries up some foie gras, and manages to produce enough smoke to set off the smoke alarm :-).


And the lovely squabs.


Roasted squab, lollipop leg, faux truffle, real truffle, celery root puree, squid ink dyed baby artichoke hearts, persimmon, parsnip chips, jus. This was a 10/10 game fowl dish. Everything was amazing, from the lovely bird meat, to the truffles, to the awesome jus (I love a good jus) to the delicate puree. Really delightful.


2009 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 99+. The 2009 Mouton Rothschild has a striking label from Anish Kapoor. The wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot that begs comparison as a young wine with what the 1982 tasted like in 1985 or, I suspect, what the 1959 may have tasted like in 1962. Representing 50% of their production, the wine has an inky purple color to the rim and not terribly high alcohol for a 2009 (13.2%), but that is reflected by the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a remarkable nose of lead pencil shavings, violets, creme de cassis and subtle barrique smells. It is stunningly opulent, fat, and super-concentrated, but the luxurious fruit tends to conceal some rather formidable tannins in the finish. This is an amazing wine that will be slightly more drinkable at an earlier age than I thought from barrel, but capable of lasting 50 or more years. Kudos to the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and the entire Mouton team, lead by Monsieur Dalhuin.


2009 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 99+. The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003’s voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.


2009 Latour. Parker 100. A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot with just under 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Latour is basically a clone of the super 2003, only more structured and potentially more massive and long lived. An elixir of momentous proportions, it boasts a dense purple color as well as an extraordinarily flamboyant bouquet of black fruits, graphite, crushed rocks, subtle oak and a notion of wet steel. It hits the palate with a thundering concoction of thick, juicy blue and black fruits, lead pencil shavings and a chalky minerality. Full-bodied, but very fresh with a finish that lasts over a minute, this is one of the most remarkable young wines I have ever tasted. Will it last one-hundred years? No doubt about it. Can it be drunk in a decade? For sure.

My wine of the night. Really pretty awesome.


Venison loin, acorn squash puree, carrots & turnips, chanterelles, truffle noodle. Another 10/10. The meat was some of the best deer I’ve had and the jus was out of this world.


I just have to show off that rare goodness. Some really delightful red meat here, and perfect with all that Bordeaux.


bottles

Nitro dragon’s breath popcorn. Always fun. They do this at Saam.


Popcorn that is basically liquid nitro frozen, then you crunch and…


Breath fire (or smoke).


Another bottle of the 2009 De Suduiraut it was just that good.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.


Now the chefs whip up some nitro frozen ice cream.


In this case, coconut lemon grass ice cream! It tasted like Tom Kha Gai ice cream!


And what’s up with this kiwi? It looks like a little tush!


Paleo banana bread, coconut lavender nitro ice cream, market kiwi. A lovely and refreshing dessert, which paired delightfully with the dessert wine.


Above are the two somms on the left, and me on the right in the shiny red shirt.

Someone makes off with the best of the bottles 🙂

Overall, this was an impeccable event. Not only were the wines and food incredible, but the atmosphere, company, and overall congeniality (helped by having talented sommeliers) really made it a delightful evening.

For more LA dining reviews click here.


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By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bordeaux, Champagne, Dessert, Dionysus, Hollywood Hills, Marcel Vigneron, Pizza, venison, Wine

Ghosts of ThanksGavins Past

Nov27

In honor of turkey day, a look back on over a decade of previous Gavin festivals of gluttony…

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, turkey

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Nov25

The_Hunger_Games-_Catching_Fire_62Title: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence (Actor), Josh Hutcherson (Actor), Francis Lawrence (Director)

Genre: Science Fiction / Distopian

Watched:  November 23, 2013

Summary: Well done, much like the first

_

I enjoyed the first film and loved the first book, but I wasn’t even able to finish Catching Fire (the novel) when I tried reading it years ago. The political mumbo jumbo really bugged me. Sure, if you’re a fan of the council scenes in The Phantom Menace or of The Matrix sequel’s Zion, you might groove to this kind of nonsense, but as a student of history I just can’t see how the A to Z of our current America could lead to this peculiar and lopsided society. And particularly not to 75 years of it, mildly unchanging. Sure, oppression is a long standing historic pattern, one of the broadest we have, but this particular type doesn’t make total sense. Or maybe it’s a matter of the stark division. You could have a vast array of rural poor, but you’d need a complex layering of mid level “collaborators” living in the district in privileged situations who helped perpetuate the system. And I don’t see how the Hunger Games themselves really keeps anyone in line, more likely it would inflame the situation.

In any case, I had hopes that the film would improve on the novel’s balance, and I think it has. Typical of screen writing, the trimming was mostly on the political side, leaving more time for the exciting arena section.

Fundamentally, if you enjoyed the first film, you’ll like this one. The macro structure is extremely similar: grim period in the districts -> selection -> prep for the games -> second half in the arena. It’s rare to have such a neat structure to rinse and repeat, and the whole idea of the “Hunger Games All-Stars” (borrowing from Survivor) works nicely to do just that — and to amplify the competition.

Rising up into the arena was one of the best moments again

Rising up into the arena was one of the best moments again

But there lies some of the problem. The movie spends its new character budget exclusively on the tributes that are part of Katniss’ team. The others remain close to anonymous, and so lack any personality or intensity. I guess, as the film itself says, “remember who the real enemy is.” However, this strips the combat of any personal or visceral quality. Instead, it’s more “man vs. environment.” In this case, said environment is a Hawaii engineered to kill old testament style: complete with killer baboons, blood rain, fog-o-boils, floods, and the like.

There is also the three-way triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Galen. I guess it’s fairly realistically done. Truthfully, she likes both, and in different ways — and mostly she deals with them individually. This is no Twilight, with the embarrassing have to put the other boyfriend in the sleeping bag gag. It’s just not that intense, and Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss close to the vest.

Pretty damn impressive set too!

Pretty damn impressive set too! (caught on Google Maps)

Overall, a fun watch, and while not filled with giant overwrought CGI stunts like many of the movies in the trailers (47 Ronin, I’m looking at you). But like the first film, Catching Fire, shorn of some of the emotional intensity that could have made it great, has to make due with merely being good.

Some obligatory peeves and questions:

  • The very end felt extremely abrupt.
  • If President Snow obliterated district 12, where’s his coal coming from?
  • Katniss’ electric arrow trick? Common! Everyone knows that electricity travels at the speed of light. You can’t shoot an arrow AFTER the lightning bolt hits and then watch the electricity move down the wire.
  • You also can’t shoot an arrow with a fire hundreds of yards into the sky.
  • Katniss seems to have the quiver of every filling arrows, magically enchanted and +9 to hit. After fighting the baboons she is either out, or close to out. Next shot: full quiver.
  • How could the conspirator’s crazy plan depend on her shooting out the dome?
  • If everyone is in on it, why kill each other? (or was it mostly the environment?)
  • Those boils sure wash off fast.
  • Hearted stopped? A little CPR gets you in fighting strength in no time! (actually, I do this in my novel Untimed, so who am I to talk)

Find my review of the first Hunger Games film & book here or

For more Film reviews, click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Movies
Tagged as: Catching Fire, Francis Lawrence, Hunger Games, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Katniss Everdeen

BOA Birthday Blitz

Nov22

Restaurant: Boa Santa Monica

Location: 101 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 899-4466

Date: November 20, 2013

Cuisine: Steak

Rating: Awesome night. Crab was amazing!

_

I’m not normally a huge fan of  Innovative Dining Group, as they tend far toward style over substance with their trendy collection of sushi and steak joints. However, BOA, their high end steak house, made a convenient and excellent location for Hedonist mainstay Ron’s 70th birthday bash.


Ron is a Hedonist OG and besides being a nice guy has a hell of a cellar filled with great wines.


19-20 or twenty of us showed up for his bday bash and BOA put us in the private “room” (more an alcove). This is about a quarter of it. Besides being loud (like everywhere else in BOA) it was a great little venue.


With a modernist twist.




The menu is typical high end steak fare, but as you’ll see, the execution is top notch.


We brought so many wines that I just organized these into flights, this being the champagne starter. We had a LOT of wine and there were so many it was impossible to try all the good ones — not because they ran out, just because there were too many.

From magnum, 2000 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée. Burghound 94. A moderately yeasty yet elegant nose that is fresh, complex and carries touches of both ~i#pain grillé~/i# and citrus blossom while leading to intense, pure and gorgeously deep flavors that possess first class breadth and genuinely excellent length. While still on the way up, after 30 to 45 minutes it began to display notably deeper and broader flavors that are at once powerful yet refined. A terrific effort that is absolutely worth your attention.


A tasty roll, presented by hand model Sarah.


From my cellar, 1996 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree. Parker 99-100. It is no secret that I adore Chapoutier’s luxury cuvee of white Hermitage called Cuvee L’Oree. Made from 90-year old vines and microscopic yields of 10-12 hectoliters per hectare, this wine flirts with perfection. It is a compelling white Hermitage. Made from 100% Marsanne, it is as rich and multidimensional as the fullest, most massive Montrachet money can buy. It is unctuously textured, yet extraordinarily and beautifully balanced. I suspect it will drink well early in life, and then shut down for a few years. It should last for 4-5 decades. The 1996 possesses some of the most amazing glycerin levels I have ever seen in a dry white wine. In short, this wine must be tasted to be believed.

I’m not sure how I feel about this wine I brought. I’ve owned it (well cellared) since release and it’s a Parker 99-100 wine, but while it had a really interesting nose there was a certain density and massiveness, plus a bit of funk and an “older” taste (but not like white Burg) .


2006 Domaine Guy Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. Burghound 92. This is at once ripe yet cool and reserved with a seductive mix of orchard fruit and brioche aromas that are strikingly elegant and refined before introducing equally elegant and pure middle weight flavors blessed with ample dry extract that confers a textured and full-bodied palate impression to the explosive and palate staining finish. As one would expect, this is finer than the Bouchères though perhaps not quite as deep. A choice.


2002 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. Burghound 91. while it is impressively scaled and an excellent white wine, I am somewhat under whelmed if the important criterion is to produce wines typical of Chablis. In short, excellent white, average Chablis.


2009 Domaine Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 94. Here mild reduction doesn’t materially diminish the appeal of the more elegant if ever-so-slightly less complex aromas that feature notes of stone, lemon zest, acacia blossom and spiced pear. There is superb intensity and simply gorgeous detail to the mineral-driven and impeccably well-balanced flavors and explosive finale. Still, as good as this is and it is indeed exceptional, the superior complexity of the Bâtard gives it the barest of edges in 2009.


1994 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Heimbourg Vendange Tardive. Parker 96. The 1994 Gewurztraminer Heimbourg V. T. exhibits a light to medium gold color, an exotic, honeyed cherry, lychee nut, rose-scented nose, thick, rich, moderately sweet flavors, fabulous purity, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. The wine is still unformed, but it can be expected to last for 20+ years, becoming increasingly dry in taste as it evolves. This wine bordered on perfection – it is that pure, rich, concentrated, ageworthy, and impeccably well-balanced. The grapes are harvested at strikingly high sugar levels, and would qualify as an off-dry, medium sweet wine. It is best served with foie gras, or at the end of a meal by itself. This wine is made in extremely limited quantities (under 100 cases).


Goat Cheese Baklava. Pistachios, black truffles, frisee.


Charred tuna Tartare.


Table-side Classic Caesar.


They mix it up the old school way.


I have to say, this might have been the best caesar I’ve ever had. It looks typical enough but it had a real peppery bite.


Baby greens, tomatoes, seasonal fruit, mustard vinaigrette.


BLT. Applewood smoked bacon, crisp lettuce, tomato, avocado, creamy bacon dressing.


The wedge. Crisp iceberg, vine ripened tomatoes, shaft blue cheese dressing.


Baby beet & watercress. Goat cheese foam, frisee, toasted caraway, pistachios.

This suffered a little from too much beet, too little other.


1998 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares. Burghound 94. Massively dense in every respect with astonishing concentration of deeply pitched and still 100% primary fruit that complements the compelling, robust and powerful flavors that feature notes of cassis, blueberries, black cherries, minerals and earth, all wrapped in a mouth coating and fantastically long finish. The tannins are massive as well but the fruit is so dense I do not worry at all about the prospects for extended evolution in the cellar. A complete and utterly classic Bonnes Mares.


1998 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares. Burghound 88. Quite deeply colored and this is presently almost opaque with very earthy, gamey fruit aromas and extremely dense, beautifully complex, texturally elegant flavors and while this is very long, the finish is rather dusty with a somewhat astringent quality to the tannins. Very good rather than exceptional quality.

I actually thought this was drinking a bit better (more hedonistically) than the Roumier!


1996 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Ruchottes-Chambertin Michel Bonnefond. More Roumier!


Out comes our special order giant crab. We had THREE of these puppies!


Close up!


This is just one of three ways they prepped the crab. I didn’t get pics of the other two but the body was cooked and tossed with some herbs. The lower part of the legs were flayed open for the picking and on separate plates. But this part was crazy good. It was trivial to just pop out giant fresh nuggets of crab from those leg segments.

It was AMAZING! And I’ve had A LOT of crab. I spent most of my summers in Oxford MD, home of fresh blue crabs.


Some sauces. There was also drawn and melted butter (not pictured). All we were missing was one of those super potent yellow mustards (Chinese style).


Jumbo Sea Scallops.


1989 Palmer. Parker 96. Deep garnet-brick. Dark chocolate covered cherries, espresso, cinnamon, rose petals, tree bark and loam. Medium to full body with layers of concentrated fruit and spice flavours supported by crisp acidity and a medium+ level of fine tannins. Very long finish.


1995 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 95. If it were not for the prodigious 1996, everyone would be concentrating on getting their hands on a few bottles of the fabulous 1995 Leoville-Las-Cases, which is one of the vintage’s great success stories. The wine boasts an opaque ruby/purple color, and exceptionally pure, beautifully knit aromas of black fruits, minerals, vanillin, and spice. On the attack, it is staggeringly rich, yet displays more noticeable tannin than its younger sibling. Exceptionally ripe cassis fruit, the judicious use of toasty new oak, and a thrilling mineral character intertwined with the high quality of fruit routinely obtained by Las Cases, make this a compelling effort. There is probably nearly as much tannin as in the 1996, but it is not as perfectly sweet as in the 1996. The finish is incredibly long in this classic. Only 35% of the harvest was of sufficient quality for the 1995 Leoville-Las-Cases.


1996 Montrose. Parker 91. The 1996 Montrose reveals outstanding potential. It boasts a saturated dark ruby/purple color, and aromas of new oak, jammy black currants, smoke, minerals, and new saddle leather. This multi-layered wine is rich and medium to full-bodied, with sweet tannin, a nicely-textured, concentrated mid-palate, and an impressively long finish.


1998 Penfolds Grange. Parker 96-99. A wine that flirts with perfection, and should rival the 1986 as one of the legendary Granges produced, the 1998 has one of the highest alcohol contents (nearly 15%) as well as one of the highest percentages of Shiraz in the blend (97%). Its stunning purple color is accompanied by exceptionally sweet aromas of blackberry liqueur intermixed with barbecue spices, an endearing, smoky earthiness, pepper, roasted meats, and coffee. Huge, massive, unctuously textured, and extraordinarily youthful, this impressive wine is a candidate for perfection. It should continue to evolve over the next three decades.



1990 Penfolds Bin 920. Parker 93. Deep garnet colored, the nose here is slightly closed to begin and needs a few moments to open, revealing earthy / evolved notes of dried mulberries, figs, tobacco leaf, dried Mediterranean herbs, dusty earth and a hint of aniseed. Medium to full bodied, it is very rich in the mouth with a firm level of grainy tannins, very crisp acid and a good long finish.


2003 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Da Capo. Parker 100. For the fourth time, the Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has been produced, and for the fourth time, it has received a perfect score although I might back off the 2000’s perfect score based on the fact that it seems to be more of an upper-ninety point wine than pure perfection these days. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has distanced itself ever so slightly from the 2003 Cuvee Reservee. Before bottling and immediately after bottling, these two wines’ differences were not as evident. At present the Capo reveals that extra level of flavor, power, complexity and richness. It is a big wine (16.1% alcohol – less than in the 1998, but more than in the 2000 and 2007) boasting a dark plum/garnet color as well as a stunning bouquet of aged beef intermixed with pepper, herbes de Provence, and steak au poivre. This unctuously textured, full-bodied Chateauneuf possesses enormous body, huge flavors and sweet, velvety tannins. Still youthful, it has not yet begun to close down, and I’m not sure it ever will given this unusual vintage. It is a modern day classic that should continue to provide provocative as well as compelling drinking for 20-30+ years.


1996 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 93-96. The 1996 Cote Rotie La Landonne is a wine with tremendous intensity and tannin, as well as a pronounced roasted herb, smoked meat, and Asian spice-scented nose with tell-tale black fruits, melted tar, and truffle notions in the background. Rich, powerful, and massive, this effort will require 3-4 years of cellaring, and will last for two decades.


New Zealand Lamb T-Bones with cabernet sauce (sort of Bordelaise, but not as good). The lamb was very tasty, but the bones in the middle were hard to see and made sawing the meat out tricky.


New York Strip (I think).


Some steak with a rub.


And another steak.


Bine-in Kansas City Filet Mignon.


I’m guessing this was the veal with a rub (blackened?).


And a steak with a rub cut open.


Just a little wine on the table (and remember, this is about 1/4 of the room!).


2008 Caldwell in a giant signed magnum!


2008 Screaming Eagle Second Flight. Parker 92. The 2008 Second Flight emerges from the glass with black cherries, plums, mocha, espresso and chocolate. This is an especially round, rich vintage for Second Flight. All the elements are in the right place, but overall, 2008 does not appear to be one of the estate’s very finest years. Of course, that is in relative terms. The 2008 is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Merlot.


2006 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 96-100. Finally in the bottle, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon  is the only wine from that vintage I tasted. Most of these wines spend 38-40 months in barrel and as a result seem to be remarkably elegant and complex without showing any new oak. This cuvee is a selection from Kayli Morgan that has been aged longer. Notes of spice box, white chocolate, espresso and sweet black cherries and black currants tumble from the glass of this full-bodied, round, generously endowed wine that has no hard edges.


2009 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 94-100. The 2009 wraps around the palate with layers of dark fruit. Seamless, rich and inviting, the 2009 is pure opulence and richness. Bittersweet chocolate, mocha, plums and spice box are some of the many notes that flow through to the rich, enveloping finish. A round, layered wine, the 2009 stands out for its depth and total plushness.


2001 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz). Parker 99. The 2001 Syrah Astralis Vineyard may be just as compelling as the 2002. Tighter because of being in the bottle, it is an extraordinary effort that offers the essence of graphite, blackberry liqueur, espresso, and acacia flowers, all combining into an olfactory smorgasbord for the senses. Sensationally concentrated, with sweet tannin, but neither weighty nor over the top as might be expected for a wine of such extreme richness, it is an extraordinarily well-delineated Syrah that should hit its prime in 10-12 years, and last for 30-40. Hail Caesar … I mean Roman!


2010 Château d’Abzac. This was for testing the Coravin.


Now the sides: Lobster twice baked potato!


Truffled cheese fries. These were pretty amazing and VERY creamy.


Sautéed seasonal mushrooms.


Apple hazelnut brussel sprouts.


Crab & Black truffle gnocchi. Amazing!


Mac-N-Cheese. Good too. Nice and creamy.


Creamed spinach.


Chipotle lime corn.


Truffle Parmesan Cauliflower.


My plate, loaded. This nearly did me in — although it was awesome. As Larry said, I hit my wall. About halfway through the plate I just had to pause for a while.


An awesome time was had by all.


2004 Tokaj Hétszőlő Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos.


1992 Fonseca Vintage Port. Parker 97. Fonseca has scored in both the 1991 and 1992 vintages. The 1992 is a majestic young port that should ultimately rival, perhaps even surpass this house’s most recent great efforts (1985, 1977, 1970, 1963). This colossal vintage port reveals a nearly opaque black/purple color, and an explosive nose of jammy black fruits, licorice, chocolate, and spices. Extremely full-bodied and unctuously-textured, this multi-layered, enormously-endowed port reveals a finish that lasts for over a minute. It is a magnificent port that will age well for 30-40 years.


Butter cake (and ice cream).


Chocolate something cake.


Cookies and ice cream (yummy).


Cheese cake.

These were some solid desserts, but I still think Mastros has the most uber desserts, all those giant well down classics. However, usually by the time one gets here, the tank is pretty damn full!


More drunken smiles.


Ron brought out this ancient brandy for his official birthday moment. Good stuff — and it’ll put hair on your chest.


They gave him his cake with an impressive sparkler!


Michael Carpenter, one of our members and a wine dealer, was trying out this cool recent gadget. I bought one myself a couple weeks ago and it’s awesome. The Coravin is essentially a hollow needle that punches through a cork, allowing argon to be injected and wine to be sucked out. The cork then resealed and you have stolen some wine from the bottle without opening it!


Savoring.


Our lovely and helpful server!

Overall, this was a knock out evening. We had a great crowd and incredible wine. The restaurant really took care of us and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. Everything was extremely tasty, from the caesar, to the incredible crab.

Afterward, we broke up into two separate after-parties. Us Westsiders went next door to the Ye Olde King’s Head pub and cracked open one of my bottles.

From my cellar, 1970 Gros Frère et Sœur Vosne-Romanée. 92 points. It was still very much alive and drinking quite beautifully. A veritable chameleon in the glass, the aromas kept changing every time I brought the glass to my nose. First sour cherries, then papaya, then raspberries, then red clay, then lemon rind, then caramel — it was intoxicating. The palate, on the other hand, was a bit simple and one-dimensional, but I thought the nose more than made up for it. A lovely wine!

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Yarom with the manager (I think, I was too drunk to find out)

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By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BOA, BOA Santa Monica, hedonists, Meat, Steak, Wine

Falling Skies – Don’t Run Away

Nov20

falling_skies_ver19_xlgTitle: Falling Skies

Genre: Family SciFi

Cast: Noah Wyle (Actor), Moon Bloodgood (Actor)

Watched: Late October, 2013

Summary: V meets The Road

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Steven Speilberg produced TV has a checkered history,  most being cheesy and family oriented. But he keeps on trying, and I have to admire him for pushing Science Fiction more into the mainstream (Earth 2, Seaquest, Terra Nova, Falling Skies, Under the Dome, Extant and more).

Falling Skies is without a doubt the best of the above (excepting Extant which isn’t out yet). It has the family feel of Terra Nova, but is far less monster of the week. This is post apocalyptic fiction, and begins six months AFTER an alien invasion pretty much wiped out everyone. The survivors are scraping by, fighting aliens when they can, scavenging, and mostly just surviving. The story concentrates on the Mason family: a dad and three sons who have managed to keep together (barely) in this new world. In overall feel, the show borrows heavily from the zombie survival and alien invasion genres. It even reminds me at times of The Last of Us — only far, far less bleak.

For TV, and given the big scope of a ruined America and several different types of nasty aliens (some flesh, some mechanical), the show looks pretty impressive. The feel is a little cheesier than Continuum and its slick future Canada, but far more ambitious given that every shot features a destroyed and trash-covered Eastern-seaboard. There is that slight unintentional camp and softness that is the hallmark of the family drama. Falling Skies dishes out some punishment to its characters — people die (or worse) — but the atmosphere isn’t one of perpetual fear and dread like The Last of Us or the Road.

The show doesn't skimp on the latex

The show doesn’t skimp on the latex

Ultimately, this show works, and is held together by a solid set of believable characters and likable performances. Noah Wyle works as former history professor turned military man. I’m less of a fan of his superior officer, Captain Weaver, but the teens do a good job: his two sons Hal and Ben, and a complex triangle of blondes Margaret and Karen. Biker badass turned monster-hunter John Pope is quite amusing — even if not entirely consistent — and manages to imbue a role that could be cheesy with considerable charisma.

Blondes abound

Blondes abound

The aliens themselves, their goals and types, are a bit opaque. We have mechs, skitters (at least 2 factions), harnessed humans, fishheads, and in season 3, the Volm. I actually like that things weren’t clear, but as secrets are revealed, I didn’t always buy the writer’s choices. They borrow more heavily from pop-culture aliens than from any deep reading of the literary genre (which features considerably more sophisticated modeling of possible invasion reasons — like Gregory Benford’s incredible Galactic Center series). The show uses the mechanic of alien bio-device infiltration to create what is essentially a zombie mechanic, and at times a “turned” mechanic. This is familiar territory, particularly for Buffy fans like myself. Somehow, it all feels a bit light in Falling Skies. Maybe it’s a tonal thing. Despite the dark happenings, and blue-gray color palette, the show usually maintains a fairly upbeat mood.

Season 1-2 run together seamlessly, but with season 3 there is one of those disconcerting season breaks and then a fairly different balance of power. A new alien race is introduced and the whole feel is slightly different, perhaps more serious. I felt a little less engaged during this third outing even though intellectually I appreciated the effort to mix it up.

Overall, I have to give Falling Skies a B+. It tries hard. It’s more ambitious and even more successful than most Science Fiction television. The writing, acting, and production are all solid. Somehow it falls short of greatness — or even of breathing new life into the genre — still, it’s well worth a watch.

Check out more TV reviews or

my own Time Travel novel, Untimed.

falling_skies_ver18_xlg

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: alien, Falling Skies, Moon Bloodgood, Noah Wyle, Science Fiction, Steven Spielberg, Television

Keeping Paiche

Nov18

Japanese Peruvian hotspot Paiche is so good, I’ve just had to go again (and again) to photo nearly all their dishes…

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Japanese, Japanese Peruvian, Paiche

Raw Crab Guts are Yummy

Nov15

Restaurant: Soban

Location: 4001 W Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 936-9106

Date: November 13, 2013

Cuisine: Korean

Rating: The crab is amazing

_

A new wine and food friend of mine who happens to be Korean wanted to introduce me to Soban and the wonderful world of Korean raw crab. This popular k-town joint looks much like many others.





The English menu. There is a separate Korean one with no pictures.


2011 Inama Soave Classico Vigneti di Foscarino. Parker 92. Creamy and rich, this is so beautifully expressive and profound. There’s nothing obvious about this remarkable wine. Its aromatic evolution spans from crushed mineral and pencil shaving to lemon curd, vanilla custard and sun-kissed apricot. This is a Soave Classico dressed in its Sunday best. It sees six months of oak, of which 20% is new. Those two-fold veins of acidity and minerality will help it age.

We had to sneak these in tea cups, as alcohol isn’t allowed at Soban.


Like all Korean restaurants they  lay out a spread of sides.


Fresh kimchee.


Marinated garlic.


Eggplant.


Wonderful soft egg custard, much like a savory version of Tamago.


Broccoli.


Seaweed.


Some other kind of green.


Fried tofu with a slightly spicy sesame sauce.


Marinated sprouts.


Another green.


And a final green.


The usual white rice, which I normally wouldn’t picture, but it will become important later.


This is the crab. It’s a Korean species specially flown in, then marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sugar, garlic and ginger for several days. Soban is apparently the only LA place that uses real Korean crab.


The meat is clear and gelatinous, and you suck it right not, almost like squeezing toothpaste from a tube. It has a wonderful subtle briny flavor with more than a hint of ginger. Really quite nice, if a little slimly by the average American textural sensibility.


Then, one can mix some rice in with the row and “crab brain” (guts). This is a wonderful treat. My host actually gave the idea to Yama-san at Yamakase (you can see it here). I happen to love crab guts. Not everyone does, but they have a delightful briny savory quality that blends perfectly with the starchy rice.


Grilled cod. This is a simple fish, but cooked to perfection and complete with a large delicately cooked roe. Yum! In some ways it was like the Korean version of your simple Mediterranean sea bass.


This is a fermented and soy paste stew. It smells rather… fermented (like Nato), but has a complex and interesting taste with more than a little heat.


You can see the Jalepenos.


Spicy mackerel, tofu, and mixed vegetables. This dish had a bit of heat, not overwhelming, but that red Korean kimchee style heat. The mackerel was very flavorful, and not particularly fishy.


Octopus in spicy sauce. The sauce is similar to the mackerel, but they use a Korean species of fresh octopus that is very tender. It was quite nice.

Overall, this was a great little meal, with the crab (and the crab guts on rice) being the real highlight. That’s a very unusual dish and well worth trying if you have the guts! (haha)

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: crab, Foodie Club, Korean cuisine, Korean food, raw crab, Sage Society, Soban, Wine

Pacific Rim – Robots vs. Monsters

Nov13

pacific-rim-blu-rayTitle: Pacific Rim

Cast: Charlie Hunnam (Actor), Idris Elba (Actor), Guillermo Del Toro (Director)

Genre: Science Fiction / Comic

Watched:  October 15, 2013

Summary: A little underwhelmed

_

I’m a major Guillermo Del Toro fan — Pan’s Labyrinth being one of my favorite films in recent memory. And despite the wonky concept, Hellboy was pretty damn great. So I was fairly excited to check out Pacific Rim, even if giant mechs slugging it out with monsters Godzilla-style is a tad overdone.

Having watched, I’m just not sure what to make of the film. Visually, it’s gorgeous. The fights are good. But the style feels a bit all over the place. The depth of character usually present in Guillermo movies has taken back stage to speeches and impressive cinematography (always in his oeuvre, but not usually so dominant). The whole thing feels like style over substance.

Although the style is pretty satisfying. The film looks and sounds great. There’s a very deliberate red/blue palette and a lot of grand (if implausible) shots. Giant robot heads descend down mile high elevator shafts to land on 70 story bodies. Robots are helicopter lifted only to drop (dramatically) into the ocean. Combatants leap nearly out of the atmosphere. And most importantly, a full sized ship is used as a baseball bat.

The Japanese platonic partner felt very fanboy

The Japanese platonic partner felt very fanboy

Charlie Hunnam, who is generally excellent in Sons of Anarchy, is fine here. He has an inherent like-ability and a manly man style that doesn’t grate. But most of the remaining cast felt like caricatures. The tough black military leader. The obnoxious fellow solider (can we say Top Gun). The geeky science guys. Oh, and we shouldn’t forget Guillermo regular Ron Perlman hamming it up as an alien black market kingpin. This last is actually great fun to watch, but has a camp level in excess of the rest of the film.

3205457-pacific-rim-jaegers-wallpaper[1]

Every 9 year-old boy’s wet dream

I had suspension of disbelief problems with the tech. The whole “need two pilots so we can use half their brains” premise just never made sense. No metal exists strong enough to stand up to the punishment the mechs endure — not to mention the G-forces involved as your giant metal monster falls out of the sky and crashes into the earth (can we say pilot-jelly?). And why do they even have to be INSIDE the mech? Why can’t it be remote control? None of that stuff really matters. After all, it’s a monster vs robot movie, but it bugged me.

Fundamentally, I think the film’s biggest problem is cookie-cutter speech-spouting nature of the dialog. The people didn’t feel real. We know the monsters are fake, that’s not a problem, but the people ought to act like people. It’s an enjoyable film. A decent film even, but it falls considerably short of great.

For more Film reviews, click here.

One of many cool images

One of many cool images

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By: agavin
Comments (13)
Posted in: Movies
Tagged as: Charlie Hunnam, Guillermo Del Toro, Idris Elba, Pacific Rim, Science Fiction

Surprise! More Shanghai #1 Dim Sum

Nov11

Shanghai #1 Seafood Village has some of the best, freshest dimsum in SoCal, after 5+ visits I’ve compiled an ever growing catalog of this copious and delicious bounty…

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: China, chinese c, Chinese cuisine, Dim sum, dimsum, Shanghai

Mercado Madness

Nov08

Restaurant: Mercado

Location: Los Angeles, California 90048. 323.944.0947

Date: November 5, 2013

Cuisine: Mexican

Rating: Solid modern Mexican.

_

The Hedonist gang loves to try out new places, plus it was David’s birthday! Mercado is a recent entry into the crowded LA Mexican arena from co-owner Jesse Gomez and chef Jose Acevedo.


The Mercado space on the crowded 3rd street drag is modern and that is also reflected in the fresh take on traditional dishes.


Fitting decor for being so close to the day of the dead! People really hauled out the wines, as we had twenty bottles crowded onto that table!


2004 Billecart-Salmon Champagne.


2006 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Ten. Burghound 86. This is also extremely ripe with the same notes of menthol along with touches of cherry cough syrup, red berries, chocolate and coffee notes that continue onto the mouth coating, serious and structured finish that is again not particularly well integrated into the body of the wine. Here though the finish is not harsh so much as just awkward.


Guacamole – hass avocado, serrano, cilantro, red onion, chile de arbol salsa, spicy pepitas, fresh chips. These were some of the best nachos and guac I’ve had.


2007 Frédéric Magnien Fixin Crais de Chene. Burghound 86-89.  A subtle touch of wood sets off earthy and reasonably complex aromas of red and blue fruit as well as lovely violet nuances that merge into rich, round and supple flavors that possess an attractive textured on the delicious, long and nicely sappy finish that carries less rusticity than one might otherwise expect.


From my cellar, 1978 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 93. One of the wines of the night (IMHO). The 1978 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial spent 18 years in barrel and 10 years in bottle prior to release. It still has a deep cherry red color along with an aromatic array of underbrush, brier, tobacco, incense, and blackberry. It has slightly sweeter fruit and livelier acidity than the 1994. This lengthy effort is at its peak now.


Carnitas nachos. Chips, pork chunks, marinated carrots, chili con queso, guacamole. Quite tasty, as I’m partial to both chili con queso and carnitas.


1994 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 94. The 1994 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial reveals no age in its appearance. Deep purple-colored, it sports nicely developed, complex aromas with elements of Asian spices, balsamic, lavender, mineral, and blackberry. Elegant, intense, and concentrated, it is balanced by vibrant acidity.


1989 Marques de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay. Parker 92. This traditionally run Bodegas estate bottles all of its wines. The 1989 Castillo y Gay Grand Reserva Especial, which represents 25% of the estate’s production, and is produced only in top vintages, is the flagship wine of Marques de Murrieta. The deep ruby/purple-colored 1989 offers up smoky, sweet, jammy black cherry fruit aromas intertwined with scents of minerals, tobacco, and vanillin. Medium-bodied and ripe, with outstanding levels of fruit, glycerin, and extract, low acidity, and ripe tannin, this hedonistic, luscious Rioja can be drunk now and over the next 15+ years.

Mexican Kale Salad – kale, arugula, candied pumpkin seeds, pears, dried strawberries, cotija-pesto croutons,
agave-lime vinaigrette. Many complained that the vinegar clashed with our heavy reds.


1970 Bodegas El Coto Rioja Coto de Imaz. 89 points.


1970 Berberana Rioja Reserva Carta de Oro. Vanilla and cherry at first on the nose give an impression of cream soda. Resolved, cherry and brown sugar palate with adequate acidity and something savory and creamy. Perfectly enjoyable.


Lobster taco – with slaw. This was tasty, but the shell was a hair soggy and some felt the lobster a little fishy.


1986 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Gran Reserva. 87 points. Still very pleasurable, but it has obviously seen better days. The nose smelt like something quite a bit older, with wafts of balsamic vinegar, suggestions of dried leaves and undergrowth, and only after that more classic matured Tempranillo notes of cooked plums and cigarette smoke. Thankfully, the palate was not quite as tired as the nose would suggest. The dried leaves and balsamic notes were there in some measure, but these were more background notes that the main act, with the wine showing nice little notes of sour plums, a touch of meat and some smoked tea leaves as it moved into a very soft, mellow finish draped with velvety tannins.


1987 Bodegas Rioja Santiago Rioja gran condal. 88 points.


Alambres de Camarõn – Mexican sweet shrimp skewers, cilantro pesto, chayote with calabacitas.


1998 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904. IWC 93. Bright red with an amber rim. Pungent, expansive scents of dried red fruits, potpourri, vanilla and pipe tobacco, with a spicy overtone. The silky palate offers penetrating redcurrant and bitter cherry flavors sweetened by notes of vanilla and mocha. Finishes smooth and long, with very soft tannins and lingering floral notes. Ready to drink but there’s very good depth here, suggesting (along with this wine’s track record) that it will reward further patience. I also had the chance to re-try the outstanding 2001 Vina Ardanza, which is aging at a snail’s pace and really needs more time for the oak to fully integrate with its fruit. Right now the vanilla character is dominating but there’s obviously excellent material underneath it.


2002 Dominio de Atauta Ribera del Duero. IWC 89. Bright ruby-red. Black raspberry, violet pastille and a whiff of tar on the nose. Texture currently stunted by sulfur but the flavors of blackberry and violet pastille offer lovely purity-not to mention impressive ripeness and intensity for the year. Finishes with tongue-dusting tannins.


Carnitas – Chef Jose’s slow-cooked natural pork, guacamole, chile de arbol salsa, cauliflower with escabeche


1970 Château Mouton Rothschild. Parker 93. I have had a remarkable number of opportunities to taste this wine. One of the most frustratingly irregular wines I have ever encountered, the 1970 Mouton can range from pure nectar, to a wine that is angular, austere, and frightfully hard and tannic. This bottle (one of the Reserve du Chateau bottlings that was mistakenly released by the estate and labeled with the letters R.C., rather than a number) was impossible to assess when decanted, given its hard, tough, impenetrable style. Nearly eight hours later, the wine had opened magnificently to reveal a classic bouquet of sweet cassis, tobacco, minerals, and exotic spice aromas. Opulent, full-bodied, thick, and juicy, the extraordinary evolution of this particular bottle would make a persuasive argument for long-term decanting. After being perplexed throughout much of this wine’s evolution, I was reassured by this bottle. No doubt Mouton’s high Cabernet Sauvignon content causes this wine to go through a tight, hard, ungenerous stage.


1985 Haut Bailly. Parker 86. There is not a great deal of depth to this Haut Bailly. Nevertheless, it offers charm, finesse, and a sweet black berry/curranty fruitiness. Some of the new oak and smokiness that were present when the wine was young has dissipated to reveal a slight herbaceousness behind the new oak. The wine is medium-bodied, with soft tannin, and some flesh on the attack that quickly narrows out to a lighter style, supple yet unexciting wine.

A lot of people really liked this wine.


Carne Asada – prime marinated skirt steak, guacamole, cebollines, grilled corn.


2001 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras. Parker 88. The beautiful, elegant, seductive 2001 Vacqueyras is a serious effort. Its medium ruby color is followed by distinctive kirsch liqueur notes intermixed with freshly ground pepper, licorice, and strawberries.


2007 Caves Saint-Pierre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Fiacre du Pape. 90 points. Ripe, crushed red berry juice with savory, earthy notes of mushroom and truffle influence. Aromas of blackberry juice, brambly wild berry, oak vanillin, grilled herbs and warm berry tart. Nice texture. A bit tart on the entry with big acid. Richly flavored and hedonistic in style with lush red and black fruit, fresh herbs, a stony minerality and some earthy and dried leaf notes. Suggestions of violet and lavender oil also. Hints of espresso. I could do with a tad less acid, so perhaps added time in the bottle will relax/integrate that.

Pollo en Salsa de Chipotle – Free-range half chicken, chipotle wild mushroom sauce, queso fresco
mashed potatoes.


2001 Domaine de la Solitude Chateauneuf du Pape la Reserve Secrete. Parker 96. Absolutely prodigious, and unquestionably one of the vintage’s most illustrious wines, is the modern-styled 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape La Reserve Secrete. A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, aged 75% in small oak casks and 25% in tank, an awesome nose of creme de cassis, graphite, kirsch, licorice, and vanilla soars from the glass of this saturated ruby/purple-colored wine. With extravagant richness, a sumptuous texture, and tremendous opulence as well as purity, this stunning, modern-styled Chateauneuf du Pape retains the soul and typicity of Provence as well as Chateauneuf du Pape. One of the vintage’s greatest wines, it is a brilliant achievement.


2005 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate. Parker 92. The 2005 Magill Estate Shiraz was barrel-fermented and spent 14 months in French and American oak. It delivers a super-expressive nose of smoked meat, game pencil lead, pepper, blueberry, and blackberry leading to an elegant Shiraz with superb depth and grip. This lengthy effort will provide pleasure through 2020.


Farmers’ Market Enchiladas – Chef Jose’s hand-picked vegetables, yellow mole, queso fresco, nopalitos.


1992 Gaja Langhe Sito Moresco. Still lots of tanic structure.


2010 Tobin James Syrah James Gang Reserve. 2010 Syrah? Eeek gads.


Tacos Carnitas!


Flan. This was a great flan. Ignore the sauce, which might have been Bailieys or something, but the flan was very creamy, a real custard.

Overall, another fabulous night. The food was good, although perhaps a hair uneven, but the wines and company were amazing as always. Service was absolutely first rate. They really took care of us — although next time they need to bring the entrees out one at a time. With wine dinners, multiple courses at once can be overwhelming.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Yarom with owner Jesse Gomez

Related posts:

  1. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
  2. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  3. Hedonists at La Paella
  4. Pig Ear is Here – Taberna Arros y Vi
  5. More Hedonism at La Paella
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Carnitas, Dessert, flan, hedonists, Meat, Mercado, Mexican cuisine, rioja, Wine

Beautiful Creatures

Nov06

Title: Beautiful Creatures

Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Genre: YA supernatural

Length: 592 pages, 147,000 words

Read: Nov 6-20, 2011

Summary: Fun read

_

This is a pleasant YA supernatural romance. At a certain structural level it’s a blend of reverse Twilight (boy is normal, girl is supernatural), Carrie, and modern Southern Gothic. The opening third or so gets off to a strong start. The male first person past POV is engaging, and the character likable, although nicer and far less lusty than any sixteen year-old boy I remember (my own interior monologue was decidedly raunchy). The prose is workmanlike. It isn’t pretty, but it doesn’t get in your face. There’s a touch of overwriting, the occasional sentence that rephrases what the previous did. I never do that myself. I don’t. Nope. Positively not.

As the first act breaks into the second, the supernatural lore structure is revealed to us. There are a lot of name changes here which seems fresh but slightly forced. Wizards or witches are called “casters,” which shades of World of Warcraft, makes me wonder if they’re ranged dps or healers? Both actually. The different schools or talents of magic have names like thaumaturge which are probably novel to many younger readers. Me, having read  7,000 fantasy books, can’t help but think of Master of Five Magics, which is a great book, uses that word, and has no resemblance to Beautiful Creatures :-). In any case, the magical world building in Beautiful Creatures is about 3/5. There’s some interesting stuff going on, but the depth is only hinted at, and it is not heavily based on either some other existing fictional school of magic or traditional occult.

The book is quite long, particularly for a YA. How this got past the editorial zeal and lust for brevity of today’s publishing world is a slight mystery. And I don’t mean this as a bad thing. The trend toward cutting every unnecessary word, sentence, paragraph, and scene has made for a lot of choppy books. The space allows Beautiful Creatures to feel a little less rushed, and develop a bit of relationship and a broader cast of family members. The second act is certainly slower than the first and third, and there are scenes that could’ve been cut, but their presence does help bolster the authentic relationship between the two leads. It’s not a super deep relationship, but since when is teenage love the Mariana Trench? I definitely enjoyed the back and forth between Eathan and Lena. Less so with the high school social conflicts in the middle. There are perhaps a few too many elements mixed into the pot: The romance, the school drama, a best friend, family dynamics (for two families), the magic system, telepathy, preternatural dreams, and a vague Civil War ghost story. It’s this last that feels the least integrated as even by the end the parallelism isn’t made totally clear. I can certainly forgive this debut-author-style zeal. It’s just a desire to put in too much cool stuff. I did it myself in The Darkening Dream. Then my editor made me chop half of it out. There’s still at least as much as in this book.

The final quarter of Beautiful Creatures, which is basically one evening, races to a conclusion at breakneck pace. A midnight deadline adds a sense of urgency. The obligatory party scene had me cringing (although no more than the weekly Vampire Dairies party or Buffy‘s obligatory visit to the Bronze) but then we get on to the actual supernatural resolution. I had slightly mixed feelings , as some of the conversation with the older casters reminded me of Scooby Doo, but the action part was fine. The brief POV reversal though… hmmm. This, I think, was trying to get around the first person narrator limitation, but there might’ve been a more elegant solution. After 570 pages with “I” being Ethan I just couldn’t switch my brain over to Lena for 5-10 pages.

But all those nitpicks aside, I very much enjoyed the book, which is what matters. I suspect that mostly had to do with the the core romance (I would’ve enjoyed more R — or X) and the fairly novel mythos. There are worse foundations to build a book on.

For my full list of book reviews.

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: Dead Beautiful
  2. Book Review: White Cat
  3. Bleeding Violet
  4. The Name of the Wind
  5. Storm Front
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Books
Tagged as: American Civil War, Beautiful Creatures, Book Review, Carrie, Fiction, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Southern Gothic, Supernatural, Young-adult fiction

Tofu with a Seoul

Nov04

Restaurant: Seoul Tofu

Location: 2101 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.444.9988

Date: October 21, 2013

Cuisine: Korean

Rating: Solid

_

Seoul Tofu seems a relatively new offering on my favorite Westside Asian lunch street, Sawtelle. It features a newer, more attractive build out that some of the old mainstays.

It seems a formula that Korean restaurants offering the spicy tofu soup also serve up a variety of Korean BBQ dishes as well. Not the kind one cooks oneself, as Seoul Tofu doesn’t offer the table-side burners, but the sort served up on hot metal skillets.


Koreans always start off with a variety of little side dishes. My favorite here is the fried tofu or fish cake in the bottom left. It has a nice chewy texture and a pleasant smokey flavor.


The menu.


Soon Tofu with beef dumplings. This is why I come to these places, for the lovely silken tofu in an intensely hot (temperature wise) bubbling spicy broth. The tofu and the soup were both delicious, but the dumplings lacked a bit in flavor.


A nice presentation of white rice (hot!).


Bulgogi. Grilled thin slices of tender beef marinated in special sauce. This was tasty enough, but the onions were too raw and the meat perhaps a little fatty.

Seoul Tofu follows the exact same formula as the nearby (1 block) Tofu-Ya, and the decor is nicer and more up to date, but the older restaurant is a dollar or two cheaper — and more importantly, tastes a little bit better. Ain’t competition a good thing?

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
  2. Seoul Sausage Kingdom
  3. Moko
  4. Manpuku – Not so Secret Beef
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Korean BBQ, Korean cuisine, Restaurants and Bars, Seoul, Seoul Tofu, Soon Tofu, South Korea, Soy sauce, Tofu

The Crack House

Nov01

Restaurant: King Kho Bo

Location: 1621 South San Gabriel Blvd. San Gabriel Ca, 91776. 626-573-8000

Cuisine: Dried Chinese Snacks

Rating: So addictive, we call it crack

_

One of the perils of driving 30 miles for your Chinese food in LA traffic is that in order to arrive on time, you have to risk being 30 minutes early. But fortunately, the San Gabriel Valley is host to all sorts of interesting culinary stops that can kill a few minutes.


One of these is known among us Hedonists as the “Crack House” for its addictive dried Chinese snacks.


Row after row of dried stuff. Some savory.


Some sweet.


Dried okra. This stuff is so dried (do they use a freeze drying machine? Who knows) that it’s incredibly crunchy. These veggies are pretty salted with a bit of Asian style flavoring.

The quintessential “crack” is dried mushrooms. They are incredibly addictive.


Some dried sour plums.


Or more familiar mango.


I don’t even know what these are!


Sesame fish!

Or even better: mini chili crabs!


Nuts and seeds.


And more sweets.


Various beef and pork jerkys. I tried some awesome sweet pork and really spicy Asian beef.


The friendly owners.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  2. More Mark’s Duck House
  3. Mark’s Duck House
  4. Tasty Duck Will Bring You Luck
  5. Dim Sum is Shanghai #1
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Crack house, dried mushrooms, King Kho Bo, san Gabriel valley
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