Archive for May 2014

Game of Thrones – Episode 38

May30

gameofthronesseasonreleasedate-1396104840n4k8gGame of Thrones

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Watched: Episode 38 – June 1, 2014

Title: The Mountain and the Viper

Summary: Wow, what a finish!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Joff bit it (or drank it) in episode 33, but we’ve been waiting half a season to see how this all falls out for poor Tyrion. Then we even had to wait an extra week without an episode. Now the moment is at hand.

As usual, I’ll break down the threads into their sub plots for discussion.

At the wall – The moles town brothel might be loud, but the girls have nothing on Littlefinger’s places down south. These are some seriously ugly whores. And mean too, as we learn when a drunk one harasses Gilly about her baby. But they aren’t long for the world, Gilly recognizes the wildling warcries. Soon, Giantsbane, the Thenns, and Ygrite are pretty much killing everyone — until Ygrite notices Gilly and her baby and lets her go. Still, they make a point of showing her massacre a good number of men and women alike.

Back at Castle Black, Sam thinks Gilly is dead and the others reassure him she’s tough. Jon knows Mance is close and they contemplate how grim the odds are for the defenders. I.e. setup for next week’s invasion!

themountainandtheviper07

Sure he betrayed her, but that was a long time ago.

Dany – We’re treated first to a bit of book free love story between Grey Worm and Missandei (the translator). The Unsullied are bathing near the female servants (opportunity for nudity!) and he “spies” on her (overtly). Later, she tells Dany about this and they discuss eunuchs (I guess reminding the non-dorks that Unsullied have no parts). Pillar and the stones. Anyway, Grey Worm comes to apologize and they have a little “moment.”

A boy (I wonder if it’s the same one from season 1) brings Ser Barristan a letter. It’s the pardon letter Jorah got for spying on Dany years ago. Barristan goes to Jorah straight and tells him first. Then Jorah approaches Dany on her throne to plead his case. He’s honest with her, but she gives him no chance to explain himself. If there is a theme this week, it’s all about reversals, and so Jorah is banished from the city and the woman he loves. For the second time, stripped of everything he cares for. But us viewers are treated to an awesome shot of Meereen as he rides off.

Being queen can be tough

Being queen can be tough

Ramsay and Reek – Ramsay and his army are parked outside Moat Cailin. We can see it’s a swamp, but only in the distance. He gives Reek/Theon a combined pep talk and scare. Theon rides in under the white flag, past dead and rotting soldiers. Inside, the Iron Born aren’t doing so well. Most are dead, all are sick (sieges suck). Alfie Allen does a great job as Reek playing at being Theon. He offers the chance to surrender and live. The leader mocks him, but another kills him (ironically, just like he himself was taken out back at Winterfell). His exact words were “treat you honorably like he did me” and Ramsay is a man of his word, as the poor guys end up flayed.

Later, Ramsay brings his army back to Roose and gives him the banner from Moat Cailin. Roose shows him the North all around them and officially recognizes him as a Bolton (as opposed to Snow). If he wasn’t such an evil dude it might be an emotional moment.

Arya – is finally approaching the vale with the hound (return to the Bloody Gate or whatever it’s called). They have one of their hilarious conversations. We are reminded of the Hound’s infected wound, and treated to more of Arya’s interesting view point about “proper” killing. “I’d kill Joffrey with a chicken bone if I had too.” And when they find out her aunt is dead, Arya cracks up (which actually gives a glimpse of the old more childish Arya).

I'd kill Joffrey with a chicken bone if I had too

I’d kill Joffrey with a chicken bone if I had too

Sansa – her older sister is being anything but childish. Littlefinger is being interrogated by the grey-clad lords and lady of the Vale about Lysa’s “suicide.” When they bring Sansa in, she tells a carefully constructed story riding the line between fact and fiction. In fact, she clings decidedly close to the truth, revealing her identity and spinning the crucial parts (the nature of her kiss and the murder itself) to Littlefinger’s benefit. Both sisters have grown. Littlefinger is let off. He works the lords pushing them toward war with the Lannisters and getting Robin out of the Eerie to “tour” the Value.

themountainandtheviper02

Someone has finally learned how to play the game

Later, Litlefinger visits Sansa to ask her why she helped him. She looks at him coyly. And as Littlefinger ushers Robin off on his “adventure” she appears in a striking feather shouldered dress. It’s been awhile since I read her parts in the novels, but this all feels decidedly more overt and adult than in the source material. Not that that’s a bad thing — particularly on TV.

Tyrion – And finally, the man of the hour. Jaime vists Tyrion one last time and they have one of those wry conversations, discussing duels, methods of execution, and words for different kinds of killing. Then Tyrion launches into this long story about his moron cousin Orson the Beetlesmasher. It’s a credit to Peter Dinklage that he makes it so spellbinding, and great writing that it turns out the beetle smashing is probably an allegory for human violence. In the end, Jaime wishes him luck.

Taking a moment at Pycell's expense

Taking a moment at Pycell’s expense

And he moves on to the arena. This is a glorious set. Notched somewhere on the water in Dubrovnik the half circle of spectators looks out on the sea, and they’ve matted in a love Red Keep looming above. Oberyn is taking the whole thing lightly. Light armor and getting his buzz on. But the man is fast. He really does the grace and speed of The Viper credit — and the Mountain is huge. It is so George R R Martin that his character ultimate does him in. His need to toy with the Mountain and get the truth about his sister from the man leaves an opening for a huge last minute reversal. Oh it would be great to be a GOT virgin and experience it for the first time again.

Oh, and that is one seriously bad way to check out! Ouch!

They don't call him the Viper for nothing

They don’t call him the Red Viper for nothing

All in all, this was a fabulous episode, probably my favorites of this season so far — mostly due to the Tyrion scenes and the fight, but there is lots of good stuff going on. George R R Martin has a real talent for reversals. His basic mode of operation is to make you fall for the characters, even painting the villains sympathetically, and then jerk their fortunes up and down unpredictably. It’s a damn effective dramatic strategy.

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My novels: The Darkening Dream and Untimed

or all my Game of Thrones posts or episode reviews:

Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

Season 5: [41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50]

Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Episode 31
  2. Game of Thrones – Episode 32
  3. Game of Thrones – Episode 34
  4. Game of Thrones – Episode 36
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 33
By: agavin
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BOS – Nose to Tail

May30

Restaurant: BOS

Location:424 E. 2nd St. Los Angeles, CA 90012. 213.700.7834

Date: May 28, 2014

Cuisine: Exotic Cow Parts

Rating: Whacky concept / Excellent chef

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BOS, a new opening in LA’s extended downtown, is quite the unique concept. It focuses on the cow — and all the cow. This is a very modern restaurant, serving up very contemporary (but not molecular) American food, using unusual proteins and all sorts of fusion influences.


The mini-mall frontage.


BOS is located in Little Tokyo’s Honda Plaza.


The menu.


Chef David Bartnes.


Owner Jun Isogai.


1999 Salon Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs. IWC 94. Bright yellow-gold. Deeply pitched, pungent aromas of candied lemon, pear skin, anise, buttered toast and smoky lees, with notes of ginger and white flowers adding lift. Densely packed yet vibrant, showing impressive power and clarity to its mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit flavors. Expands on the finish but maintains its focus, picking up iodine and bitter lime notes that linger impressively. A more vibrant rendition of Salon than the 1997 version, but with a bit less concentration than the 1996. This should be a slow ager.

Matthew: to me, this was somewhat shut down. The nose had some fresh bready notes, but was kinda quiet. The palate had a dense lime and lemon note, with nice acidity and cream. I think this needs a helluva lot more time to flesh out the complexity that’s (most likely0 buried underneath.


2004 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon. Burghound 90. The reduction this displayed after bottling now dominates the nose and has become, in my view, permanent. Thus, how much you will like this wine necessarily depends on whether moderately strong reduction bothers you or not. By contrast, the highly energetic and vibrant rich, round and detailed medium-bodied flavors possess good extract for the vintage and plenty of punch and persistence on the finish. Partially because of the reduction and partially because of the firm acid spine, this is still quite young though if I am correct about the reduction being permanent, finding the proper drinking window is much more about taste preferences than actual maturity as the nose isn’t going to display much ever. For my taste, I would continue to cellar this for another 2 to 4 years. Note further that my rating is a compromise between a technical fault and an otherwise delicious, intense and balanced wine.

agavin: All reduction. I kind of like sulfur, but this isn’t a super approachable chard.

Matthew: 91 points. All about the sulphur at this point. Thought the egg shells would blow off with some time, but they never really left. I gave this about 4 hours of air before dinner, but it could have used far more. Will 2004 Leflaive’s ever resolve themselves?


Carpaccio of Tongue. Pea Sprouts | Avocado | Pickled Shallots | Issan Dressing. This dish had a very soft texture and a good amount of zing. Still, it wasn’t my favorite tongue.


2001 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 92. This is still admirably fresh with its pretty and impressively complex nose that blends mostly mature secondary fruit and floral aromas with attractive citrus elements that extend to the solidly rich but well-detailed, powerful and tautly muscled medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent verve and length. This is ever-so-slightly better than I originally envisioned when I reviewed it just after the bottling. While for my taste this is in fact ready, there is certainly no rush to drink up. In a word, lovely.

agavin: Very rich and more hedonistic.

Matthew: 93 points. had a really nice density to it. Batard is a powerful grand cru, and this really fit the bill with lots of seashell, sweet lemon, flint, and smoke. While this was drinking well tonight, I think there’s a HUGE upside to this bottle. Pernot produces some of the most underrated/undervalued white burgundies.


Grilled Miso Heart. King Oyster Mushrooms | Yuzu Miso Vinaigrette. Dense meat, and very nice flavors.


1998 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Hochrain. 92 points.

agavin: nice, but a bit sour for my taste in Rieslings.

Matthew: 91 points. served blind. Nose had Austrian notes of lychee, vanilla, and citrus. The palate was fleshy and powerful, but I thought it was much younger than a 1998. I guessed it was a Singerriedel, so I wasn’t too far off. Drinking very nicely with a lot of life left on it.


Fried Tripe “Calamari”. Cilantro Garlic Yogurt Dip.


2011 Maison Ilan Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots.

agavin: ok. young, blind I thought it was a gevery.

Matthew: 87 points. Seemed a bit simplistic and overly acidic to me (and I LOVE acidic pinot). This did have really nice floral notes, but never seemed to reach the levels of the other Maison Ilan’s.


Sweetbread Tacos. Salsa Verde | Pico de Gallo | Sriracha Sour Cream | Pickled Radish. These tasted amazing, but the idea of eating some Thalamus or Pancreas of the cow cave me a bit of a turn.


2011 Francois Confuron-Gindre Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts.

agavin: Probably the best of this blind flight. Very young, but lots of fruit and a weird (but good) underlying flower.

Matthew: 92 points. Served blind. Definitely a powerful wine. Dark nose with some rose and lilac tones. Had a nice meaty edge to it, too. Palate was already drinking really well…will get better, but jeez, it’s already a winner.


Flat Iron “Thai-taki”. Thai Cucumber Salad | Crispy Shallots.


This was a super tasty dish with bright Thai flavors.


2011 Maison Ilan Volnay 1er Cru Les Robardelles. 88 points.

agavin: I liked this one more than most of this 2011 flight. I thought it was a Vosne Romanee, because it had that spice, but Volnay isn’t too far off.

Matthew: 88 points. I liked this a hair more than the Chaffots as it seemed to have more of a fleshed out floral note. I’ve always loved the floral complexity of Volnays, so maybe that’s where it’s coming from. The palate was delicious, but a bit simplistic. Interested to see where this goes with time.


Our fish waiting to cook.


Grilled snapper. Chilies and lime. An excellent grilled white fish.


2011 Maison Ilan Mazoyères-Chambertin. 93 points.

Mathew: 93 points. Served blind. Very impressive wine. Aromas of dark fruits, lots of steaminess, and flora notes. This was a powerful wine but seemed to have a lightness on the palate to it. This is really good.


Pig’s Feet and chicharron. Not my favorite dish in any light. The feet were too gelatinous for my taste (but I was told that’s how they are supposed to be). The fried skin was tasty, but it always makes me think of various dog treats I used to give Osiris.


From my cellar: 1986 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin. 94 points.

agavin: I loved this. It wasn’t perfect, perhaps a hair over the hill and would have been better if allowed a few days to settle from the car ride, but still, it had fruit, complexity, acid, and all that mature Burg goodness.

Matthew: 94 points. poured a tomato juice color, but the nose was really earthy, and I loved its complexity. The plate oscillated from tones of mushroom to more floral notes. This wasn’t a powerhouse…but had all the things I wanted in burgundy.


Whole roasted ox-tail. Roasted vegetables.


2001 Domaine Dujac Echezeaux. Burghound 92. A seductive black cherry fruit nose with abundant Vosne spice notes is just beginning to display hints of secondary development before introducing big, rich, full and mouth coating flavors that evidence a fine sense of underlying minerality and excellent finishing intensity. While this could be drunk now with pleasure, for my taste I would advise cellaring it for another 2 to 5 years first, depending on your taste of course. Whatever window that you choose, it should be well worth the wait as this is really lovely juice. Tasted twice recently with consistent notes.

agavin: Super young, but a very nice wine.

Matthew: 94 points. this needed time. Thank god for matt’s amazing decanter (you NEED to see it). After about 90 minutes in the decanter, the dark berries and spice notes really built up and fleshed out. The palate had this awesome grip to it, too…a real presence. Loved how the spice notes built up with time…I can only imagine how wonderful this will become with patience.


Prime NY Strip. Chimichurri | Heirloom Cherry Tomato Jam | Peewee Potatoes


1995 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 90. Classic Bachelet fruit with a touch of earth and beautifully complex, round, sweet flavors that display exceptionally fine length. This is by no means a big wine, offering only a bit of finishing tannins yet plenty of buffering richness. It could be enjoyed now though its peak drinking period will likely require another 2 to 3 year wait.

agavin: One of my favorites of the night, but took an hour or two to get there.

Matthew: 94 points. took some time, but this turned into a really beautiful bottle of wine. Super sexy nose of roses, earth, and a touch of balsamic. The power on the palate built with time, too. This matured from a featherweight to more of a welterweight with time.


Dry-aged Ribeye Steak Frites. Parsley Garlic Butter.


1961 Château Léoville Las Cases. Parker 85. I tasted this wine with Michel Delon after I told him I had never had a great bottle of the 1961. After tasting it again, my original assessment remains unchanged. The wine reveals an austerity and under-ripeness that is reminiscent of the 1970. This fully mature Las Cases displays a garnet color with considerable amber at the edge, and a spicy, earthy, tobacco, and herb-scented nose. Some sweetness in the attack fades quickly to reveal a medium-bodied, tannic, compact wine that is good, but uninspiring. It will keep for another 10 years, but don’t expect any miracles to develop.

agavin: kind of nice mature Bordeaux, although the pencil note was a bit too pronounced for my taste.

Matthew: 93 points. beautiful nose of rose petals, sous bois, tobacco, and cranberries. The palate was lean and bright with a hefty dose of acidity and cranberries. It seemed to build out its floral notes with time and a bit of cedar/tobacco/earthiness developed with air. LLC has been such a disappointment for me over the years…so it was fun to finally open a bottle that was terrific.


A5 Japanese Wagyu NY Strip (Sendai, Japan). Trio of Sea Salts. Very tasty.


1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo. 93 points. Double decanted all day.

agavin: Tasted like tea. Very pale Burgundy color. But highly enjoyable.

Matthew: 93 points. beautiful nose of dirt, violets, minerals, and rust. Glad matt opened this so early today, because the glass I poured for myself was just beautiful. The tannis were there, but sweet and faint. This was all about the earthy/rose/plum/mineral tones that were intertwined on the palate. Drinking in a great place.


Uni and Lobster Pasta. Santa Barbara Sea Urchin | Maine Lobster | Caviar | Homemade Fettuccine


1966 Blandy Madeira Sercial. 92 points.

agavin: Not my favorite Madeira. A bit thin and sour. Not bad, but I’d take a great PX over it.

Matthew: 93 points. slow ox’d (is that possible with madeira???) for about 27 hours prior to dinner, and wish I had opened it earlier. Had some nickel tones on the nose with lots of dried florals and plums. Definitely a heat note on the nose too, but luckily that didn’t translate to the palate at all. Loved the raisin, sweet plum, and acidity on the palate. You would think that you were in store for a vicious desert wine, but this just flowed together nicely. Tons of life left (obviously), but I thought this showed well tonight.


Chocolate mousse.


This exotic fresh beer tasted of grapefruit rind and mango!


Vanilla Panna Cotta| Strawberries. Very soft and yummy.


Cheese cake. Cherries. Passionfruit. Bright and delicious.


Above is the world’s most disgusting spit bucket — consisting not only of the above wines but floating chunks of pig feet and the like!

Overall, this was a great evening. The wines and company were awesome. The food was delicious too. The chef clearly has an imagination and skill. The concept might however be a bit too much for some people. Even as aggressive an eater as I am, a few of the dishes were a little extreme.

For more LA dining reviews click here.


Related posts:

  1. Food as Art – Babita
  2. Valentino – 2006 White Burgundy
  3. Burgundy at Providence
  4. Hedonists go to Beijing
  5. Valentino – 2004 Red Burgundy
By: agavin
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Eating Hanoi – Club Opera

May28

Restaurant: Club Opera

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 28, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Upscale take

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Our second night in Hanoi brought us (accidentally) to an even more upscale take on Vietnamese cuisine. Of course, it still had the giant menu.














And fresh spring rolls. Just here, you get an individual sauce on a spoon!


Or these Friend Spring Rolls Hue Imperial Style impaled on a coconut.


Or these other fried spring rolls.


Mango Salad with Grilled Australian Beef. These are always great.


This was a kind of rice ravioli. It was a little bland.


Seafood rice noodle. There are glass noodles in there and all sorts of seafood including fish, shrimp, and squid.


Grilled Australian Beef tenderloin with lemongrass and chili.


Grilled pork ribs with Mandarin sauce. Apparently, like Mandarin oranges, Mandarin sauce is well… orange (and sweet).


Grilled Duck in Tamarind Sauce. Yum.


Grilled prawn with lemongrass.


Steamed prawn in passion fruit sauce. Great over rice.

Overall, things were quite tasty here, but the level of formality and “rigidity” of the place didn’t really fit the vibe we had grown accustomed to in Vietnam. It also wasn’t actually “better” than the good casual places. Sure, presentation was a little more elaborate — and it was still an on point kitchen — but I don’t think it was worth the price hike.

Another mysterious observation. Having grown a bit sick of beer, I went to the wine list. It was mostly French, but there were no German or Alsatian wines. And very few whites, maybe a Sancere or two. Nothing that really goes with this cuisine (I was looking for a dry or slightly off dry Riesling). Lots of Bordeaux, which the Vietnamese seem to like but which I think clashes terribly with the complex and slightly sweet flavors of the food.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Seasons of Hanoi
  2. Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc
  3. Eating Hoi An – Brothers Cafe
  4. Enter the Mandarin
  5. Wake up Hanoi
By: agavin
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Seasons of Hanoi

May26

Restaurant: Seasons of Hanoi

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 28, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Lovely

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Hanoi has very good food. Our guide the first day took us to this upscale location.


Hanoi is filled with lovely colonial buildings and many of the city’s better restaurants seem to have taken them over as idyllic settings. From a glance, you can see this isn’t a local joint, which is more a plastic stools on the sidewalk kinda thing.


I was too hot and exhausted to photograph the 15 page menu.


Seafood salad. One of those delicious Vietnamese “fresh” dishes consisting of some protein, various vegetables, usually peanuts, and a slightly sweet, sour, sauce that really makes the dish.


Shrimp salad. This one probably also has some kind of plant material “filler” like papaya, bamboo, or the like.


Vietnamese Spring Rolls. The classic shrimp, pork, and noodle rolls.


Caramel Shrimp. Like Vietnamese gambas pil pil. But no garlic, shrimp boiled in a stick-sweet sauce. Delicious.


Particularly over rice!


Fried eel. With a peanut base sauce. Also delicious.

Overall, this was one of our more “modest” (in terms of dish count) meals, but it was super tasty. I would have liked a more epic sampling of their cuisine.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Wake up Hanoi
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  3. Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc
  4. Eating Hoi An – Brothers Cafe
  5. Enter the Mandarin
By: agavin
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Wolvesmouth – Cut Your Teeth

May22

Restaurant: Wolvesmouth: Cut Your Teeth

Location: ?

Date: May 16, 2014

Cuisine: Modern

Rating: Pretty awesome

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I’ve been wanted to try out Wolvesmouth for a long time, but the whole normal “application” process is highly irritating. I have so many elaborate dinners (several a week)  that I don’t feel the need to fill out lengthy applications selling myself or call places at exactly this time. But my friend Stewart who has been many times secured tickets for my wife and I to this special installation dinner.


I actually had no idea what to expect in advance. I hadn’t even bothered to Google it. Then we showed up at this sketchy South Glendale warehouse neighborhood.


But inside they had built a little fairy playground. Like a super-sized version of CR8 (which were some of my favorite meals ever).


The “game” (or hunting?) theme was reinforced all over by genuine stuffed animals! It’s hard from the photos to appreciate this, but there were dozens of the little beasts and a highly elaborate and atmospheric stage setting.


Tonight’s handwritten menu taped up in the kitchen area.


They cooked everything right there in the corner of the warehouse.


1989 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut Collection. JG 96. Recently disgorged. Dark honey colour. Rich and evolved nose, very ripe feel to it. Dense in character. Very “vinous”. Honey notes. This is a beautiful expression of Krug yet somehow lacks the vibrancy of the Krug wines. Maybe it’s the fact that 1989 was such a hot year. A beautiful wine nonetheless and could easily work very well with food.


Venison, hen of the woods, blackberry, cauliflower, blueberry meringue, pine gelee, cabbage, coffee. This was to be eaten with your hands. Of course it was also designed to look like a blood splatter experiment! It tasted great though with an intriguing mix of textures.


1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 94 points. Clear with medium+ intensity of lemon/gold. Very complex nose, medium+ intense and it smells fully developed with aromas of stonefruit (peach), green fruit (pear), spice (nutmeg and ginger). Secondary aromas of oak (smoke) and minerals (steely/stony). Palate: Dry, medium acidity, 13,5% alcohol which is well integrated, medium+ flavour intensity and the taste lasts long. Aromas of stonefruit, pear, minerals and nutmeg. An extremely good wine which is complex, delicate and well balanced with great length. Ready to drink but can keep for another 2-4 years.


The vegetarian version without the meat.


Squirrels have invaded the bar!


1985 Remoissenet Père et Fils Montrachet. Burghound 92. An elegant nose of bread crust and yeast wrapped in aged white flower notes leads to sweet, complex and deliciously mouth coating flavors that display fine length and good finishing punch. This is a lovely combination of power and grace and it is substantially better than Remoissenet’s other ’85 whites that I have tried. No other notes.

agavin: very closed and sleepy at first but opened after an hour or so to be awesome!


Fava bean, crab, dill, sourdough, strawberry, beet, cucumber. A yummy and inventive take on the beet salad.


1984 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni. 95 points. This is a great wine (good location in the vineyard and top winemakers) from a very off year — and it’s 29 year-old pinot noir. But somehow (and I’ve had 3 bottles) it’s still in great shape. Really quite lovely with a complex tar and cherry thing going on. I happen to find it fabulous.

agavin: tea and berries. Yum!


Halibut, lemon gelee, zucchini flower, jalapeños, creme, red onion, radish, carrot, poblano. A lovely fish. I particularly enjoyed the gelees.


More cutesy dead things.


2008 Domaine Michel Gaunoux Corton-Renardes. Burghound 93. There is a hint of vegetal here that actually adds breadth to the sauvage, cool and wonderfully fresh and complex nose of red currants, earth and humus. The silky yet focused, intense and overtly austere big-bodied flavors possess an excellent sense of underlying tension on the still exceptionally tight finish that is supported by a very firm tannic spine. This is terrific as it has a strikingly sophisticated mouth feel and superb aging potential.

agavin: a surprisingly drinkable and lovely Burg for such a young Grand Cru.


Rabbit croquette, snap pea risotto, basil, blueberry, turnip, zucchini flower. The croquette was awesome, a fried rabbit meatball.


1989 Château Mouton Rothschild. Parker 90. Considering the vintages and the estate, Mouton’s performances in 1989 and 1990 are puzzling. I have tasted these wines multiple times since my last reviews appeared in print. The 1989 Mouton-Rothschild is the superior wine, but in no sense is this a compelling wine if compared to the Moutons produced in 1995, 1986, and 1982. The 1989 displays a dark ruby color that is already beginning to reveal significant lightening at the edge. The bouquet is surprisingly evolved, offering up scents of cedar, sweet black fruits, lead pencil, and toasty oak. This elegant, medium-bodied restrained wine is beautifully made, stylish, and not dissimilar to the 1985. It is an excellent to outstanding Mouton that should be close to full maturity in 4-5 years; it will drink well for 15-20.


1995 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 95. Bottled in June, 1997, this profound Mouton is more accessible than the more muscular 1996. A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 19% Merlot, it reveals an opaque purple color, and reluctant aromas of cassis, truffles, coffee, licorice, and spice. In the mouth, the wine is “great stuff,” with superb density, a full-bodied personality, rich mid-palate, and a layered, profound finish that lasts for 40+ seconds. There is outstanding purity and high tannin, but my instincts suggest this wine is lower in acidity and slightly fleshier than the brawnier, bigger 1996. Both are great efforts from Mouton-Rothschild.


Pork belly, sweet potato leather, green apple, yam, lobster, tarragon. Another intriguing combination. The blobs of yellow were some kind of spicy/sweet gelee and were awesome.


1995 Latour. Parker 96. I have been blown away by this wine on recent occasions, and all of my hopes for it being a prodigious example of Latour after bottling have proven to be correct. The wine is a more unctuously-textured, sweeter, more accessible Latour than the 1996. Wow! What a fabulous, profound wine this has turned out to be. It is unquestionably one of the great wines of the vintage, and will probably need 10-12 years of cellaring before it can be approached. The wine reveals an opaque purple color, and a knock-out nose of chocolate, walnuts, minerals, spice, and blackberry and cassis fruit. Exceptionally full-bodied, with exhilarating levels of glycerin, richness, and personality, this wine, despite its low acidity, possesses extremely high levels of tannin to go along with its equally gargantuan proportions of fruit. It is a fabulous Latour that should age effortlessly for 40-50 years.


Anther fritter, with chipotle, perhaps a little more conventional, but good too.


1995 Montrose. Parker 93. An explosively rich, exotic, fruity Montrose, the 1995 displays even more fat and extract than the 1996. There is less Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1995 blend, resulting in a fuller-bodied, more accessible and friendlier style. The wine exhibits an opaque black/ruby/purple color, as well as a ripe nose of black fruits, vanillin, and licorice. Powerful yet surprisingly accessible (the tannin is velvety and the acidity low), this terrific example of Montrose should be drinkable at a young age.


Asparagus, gnocchi, spinach, cherry avocado. Very clean and fresh tasting.


Vajra Lange Nebbiolo. Didn’t try this wine, too many bigger names.


Fried quail, chipotle, pimento cheese sandwich, green tomato, nectarine, blue lake bean. Basically mini fried chicken and combined with the chipotle a little like hot wings. The Kentucky style cheese sandwich was awesome.


Roar!


2006 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis. IWC 93. Vivid ruby. Red and dark berry preserves and spice cake on the nose, with complicating floral qualities that gain strength with air. Very fresh, with intense black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors supported by a firm spine of minerality. Fine-grained and nimble, with admirable finishing clarity and precision.


A vegetarian version with fried broccoli.


2001 Rieussec. Parker 99. A monumental effort, the 2001 Rieussec boasts a light to medium gold color in addition to a fabulous perfume of honeysuckle, smoky oak, caramelized tropical fruits, creme brulee, and Grand Marnier. The wine is massive and full-bodied yet neither over the top nor heavy because of good acidity. With intense botrytis as well as a 70-75-second finish, this amazing Sauternes will be its apogee between 2010-2035.

agavin: needs some more time — like years — but still enjoyable.


A cool presentation of dessert. Honey in beehive configuration.


Honey cornbread, ice cream, honey crunch, ricotta, honey steamed cake. And it was to die for too, very honeyed with smooth and a nice crunch both, warm and cold.


Ice, strawberry, buttermilk panna cotta, lime parfait, pistachio. Another great dessert. The ice was just straight ice, but it really added.


For the final act, dry ice smoke surrounded this dead dear.


Then everyone got to “pitch” in and hurl their plate into the room smashing it against the wall Greek style. Crazy fun.

Overall, this was a highly creative and delicious event. The atmosphere, music (almost seemed like it was timed with the courses), food, layout, (and wine), all contributed to a unique evening. Cooking wise this was very refined and inventive cuisine. Everything was served efficiently (surprising for 9-10 courses and so many people) and was on point. The flavor, texture, and temperature modulations were sophisticated and complex, yet every dish basically worked. Bravo!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
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Food as Art – Babita

May20

Restaurant: Babita Mexicuisine

Location: 1823 S San Gabriel Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 288-7265

Date: May 17, 2014

Cuisine: Modern Mexican

Rating: A rare find

_

Chef Roberto and his wife Elba run this unique gem in the San Gabriel Valley. It’s family owned, upscale, tiny, chef driven and elaborate. And it’s Mexican food! Los Angeles has no shortage of Mexican restaurants, both of the classic and modernized formats, but we don’t have a lot (if any others?) that strive for an upscale ingredient focused style.


The tiny room is wood paneled (70s style) and lined with tequila bottles.


Speaking of bottles, we brought our own as usual:

1994 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Allen Vineyard. Our bottle was totally oxidized.


2001 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée. Parker 93-95. The great American patriot and wine connoisseur Thomas Jefferson called Hermitage “the single greatest white wine of France.” Slightly lower-keyed, but still prodigious, the 2001 Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree does not possess the muscle, volume, or weight of the 2000, but it is a beautifully etched, elegant, intensely mineral wine offering hints of white flowers, citrus oils, and earth in its dense, full-bodied, chewy personality. Like its older sibling, it will be delicious in its first 3-4 years of life, then close down, to re-emerge 10-12 years later. It will last for three decades or more.

agavin: Ours was nice, with that strange semi-oxidized taste older Hermitage blanc usually has.


Chips and salsa. Classic, but very very good.

2006 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes. Parker 98. The limited cuvee of 100% old vine Roussanne (50% vinified in barrel and 50% in tank), the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape blanc Vieilles Vignes is an extraordinary wine. Since the debut vintage in 1986, I have been unable to figure out how to predict this cuvee’s aging potential, but I tend to agree with most sommeliers who feel this wine needs to be drunk in its first 4-6 years of life, then not touched again until age 12-15. It is so amazing, I usually drink it as quickly as I can get my hands on a few bottles. The sensational 2006 possesses a wonderful honeysuckle note interwoven with marmalade, tropical fruit, peaches, and buttery pastry characteristics, and zesty acidity despite a thick, full-bodied, rich texture. It is difficult to find a better white Chateauneuf du Pape than Beaucastel. Much like their reds, their whites are made in a style that is atypical for the appellation. It is put through full malolactic, and one-third is barrel fermented, then blended with the two-thirds that is aged in tank. Extraordinarily rich and honeyed, it is ideal for drinking with intensely flavored culinary dishes.

agavin: No oxidation here, but a pure intense weighty white that paired very well with the food.


Spicy fresh guacamole, yellow chile stuffed with ceviche of salmon with strawberry sauce and brine poached large shrimp-cocktail with habanero sauce. Some real heat in this dish, particularly from the guacamole and shrimp sauce. Each element was delicious and different.


From my cellar: 1978 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 93. 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 where it should remain for another 20 years.

agavin: Very nice, arguably my favorite red of the night. Started a bit funky, but that quickly blew off. Way more fruit than one would expect for a 78 but Ygay lasts forever.


Duo of soups. Crema de jalapeno (right) and cuitlacoche (left) soup garnished with oaxacan chapulin and mezcal. There is actually a cricket in this dish, floating on the left of that toast. Both soup were wonderful, by themselves, and together.


1997 Luis Pato Bairrada Vinha Barrosa. Our bottle smelled and tasted like cork (cardboard). Others didn’t seem to mind it.


2005 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja Finca El Bosque. IWC 94. Ruby-red. Spicy red fruits and minerals on the nose, with a suave floral element adding complexity. More restrained than the 2004, showing a more elegant personality but no less intrigue. Sweet strawberry and raspberry flavors combine flavor impact with stylishness. Finishes with lightly chewy tannic grip and fresh mineral lift. There’s a deft quality here that’s really compelling.


Partridge Eggs “Huevos Rancheros”, beans, cream, ranchero sauce.


Bodega Numanthia Termes Toro Termanthia. Unfortunately I forgot to photo the year (anoyingly on the back).


2004 Torbreck Descendant. Parker 98. The 2004 Descendant, an old oak-aged blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier from a 12-year old vineyard, offers up notes of blackberries, ink, sweet truffles, and acacia flowers. There are 1,000 cases of this full-bodied, intense, rich blockbuster. It will drink well for 10-15 years.

agavin: can we say extracted? (but very good). Eucalyptus notes.


Colossal Sea Scallop seared, over herbed Squid ink Risotto. Yummy. Top flight scallop with a nice sweet squid ink sauce.


2004 Nit de Nin Nit de Nin. Parker 98. Only three barrels are made of Nit de Nin, made by Ester Nin, the vineyard manager for Clos Erasmus. The 2004 is 60% Garnacha, 30% Carinena, and 10% Syrah aged for 18 months in French oak. Purple/black, the wine has a fragrant perfume of mineral, truffle, creme de cassis, kirsch, and blueberry. Super-rich and layered on the palate, this opulent wine has exceptional depth and impeccable balance as well as a 60-second finish. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.

agavin: very nice.


Shrimp on pastry with squid ink sauce.


1996 L’ Ermita (Alvaro Palacios). Parker 95-96. The 1996 L’Ermita appears to be another blockbuster effort from Alvaro Palacios. The color is a saturated purple. The expressive nose boasts aromas of pain grille, roasted coffee, chocolate-covered, jammy cherry candy, minerals, and new oak. Full-bodied, dense, and thick, with an unctuous texture, lower acidity, and higher alcohol than the 1995 and 1994, this is a meaty, chewy, masculine wine with a flamboyant personality, in addition to a monster finish. It is super-intense, but exceptionally well-balanced, especially in view of its proportions. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2020.


Poached chicken in malbec-viognier, over Colachi Zucchini relish.


2004 Mas Doix Doix Costers de Vinyes Velles. Parker 98. The 2004 Costers de Vinas Viejas is 50% Carinena, 48% Garnacha, and 2% Merlot aged for 16 months in new French oak. Deep purple, the aromas are other-worldly with truffle, tar, graphite, kirsch, and wild blueberry among the array of scents leaping from the glass. Flamboyant and opulent, the wine has remarkable richness and depth of flavor leading to a 60-second finish. Drink this hedonistic effort over the next 10-12 years.

agavin: these priorats may be young and gigantic, but they are surprisingly drinkable (being so young).


2004 Sean Thackrey Orion Rossi Vineyard. 91 points. Beautiful, clear, deep, bright cherry color, very difficult to place the varietal blend based on this color, almost reminiscent of barbera or gamay. Similarly beguiling nose and palate of exotic spice, Penfolds-like eucalyptus and intense oak, blueberries, Rhone fruit and kirsch. Minimal acidity, pleasant tannins building late, and a kick of volatility and heat from the alcohol. A really interesting, cerebral wine that led to much opining around the table on this wine’s true quality, and much speculation on the unknown grape blend. This is not a wine I would enjoy drinking every day, but in an era when most California cult wines taste predictably similar, this seems more like what a cult wine should be, idiosyncratic and fascinating.


Braised Ox Tails over Carrot-Potato mashed and Cinnamon Mole. Loved this dish. Like Mexican osso bucco.


Look at that ox bone under the meat.


1972 Osborne Jerez-Xérès-Sherry PX 1827. agavin 98. I love PX, but this was just pure motor oil raisin pleasure. As good as sherry gets and intensely syrupy, balanced, and smooth.


1971 Bodegas Toro Albala Montilla-Moriles Don PX. 93 points. Also great, but fell in the shadow of the 1827. There was a lighter fruit note going on in the middle too.


Praline Semifredo with caramel sauce and fresh drizzles. This amazing dessert paired unbelievably well with the sherry. I love semifredo and caramel, and it was just amazing.

Yarom and Chef Roberto

This was just an amazing evening and quite different. I’m not sure what I expected (of a “fancy” Mexican in the SGV) but I was certainly blown away. Babita is just a unique gem of a place.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
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Game of Thrones – Episode 37

May18

gameofthronesseasonreleasedate-1396104840n4k8gGame of Thrones

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Watched: Episode 37 – May 18, 2014

Title: Mockingbird

Summary: Fabulous episode

ANY CHARACTER HERE

As I said last week: poor Ty. Quite a pickle he’s got himself into. Anyway, as usual, I’ll break down the threads into their sub plots for discussion.

Tyrion – Of course this is the thread we are most interested in. It takes the form of a test of three champions:

Champ 1: Jaime scolds Tyrion for throwing his life away. The dialog is so sharp — actually it’s so sharp this whole episode, and show for that matter. Lines like “You fell in love with a whore?” and “Careful, I’m the last friend you have.” Great back and forth zingers, plus there is a lot of emotion between the brothers. When Tyrion sideways asks Jaime to be his champion and Jaime turns him down it almost brought a tear to my eye. Whether this registered as a betrayal or a mere recognition of Jaime’s weakness is hard to say, and that very ambiguity is delicious. On mention of the opponent we cut to:

Heart to heart

Heart to heart

The Mountain. This new Mountain 3.0 looks just like 1.0 and is great. I don’t know what they were thinking with the unimpressive 2.0 version in season 2. That one was neither huge, obviously cruel, or so impressive. The show spares no punches with his brutal treatment (and enjoyment) of the prisoners. We are treated to several shots of the bloody entrails. And Cersei’s approval.

Now there's a Mountain that Rides!

Now there’s a Mountain that Rides!

Champ 2: Bronn has been bought out by Cersei. Ty is pretty screwed. There is the usual great delivery and an uncomfortable honesty. Bronn would LIKE to find a reason to help Tyrion, it’s just none of them make sense. With Cersei’s offer he has money and position now, and I think he’s honestly worried about the Mountain. The man is a beast, and the way he talks about it is more tell following on the show. I liked that they parted friends and the painful honesty of “Aye, I’m your friend, and when have you every risked your life for me?”

Champ 3: The unexpected. Oberyn talks of Cersei, and tells chilling tale of the young girl’s cruelty toward Tyrion. This is straight out of the books but the delivery is pitch perfect, retaining all the straight up meanness. This serves to lower Tyrion right to the bottom, then Oberyon spills out a fabulous little line about Justice and revenge, “and I shall begin with Gregor Clegane.” Great stuff. Plus, I really liked Tyrion’s witty insight that “masking manipulation with truth is one of Cersei’s greatest talents.”

Arya and the Hound – continue to “bond.” Sort of. They approach a burnt out farm and a dying man. Arya spins out her particular blend of bleak nihilistic philosophy: “Nothing is just nothing.” The hound kills the man out of mercy and is bitten by Biter and kills him while Arya dispatches Rorge with a clever bit of trick.

Later, he’s sewing up his bite wound and she offers to burn it to stop infection. Nasty looking cut but he refuses. Still, he tells the story again of being burned by his brother the Mountain, which serves both to reinforce how nasty the big guy is and to invoke sympathy. Arya responds by tending his wound (sans fire).

Jon – has a brief bit at Castle Black. Ghost is now huge (and CGI). The first of these is cool. Mance is approaching and he suggests in council that they seal the tunnel but Thorne, always a PITA will have nothing of it.

Sam gets about 1 second this week

Sam gets about 1 second this week

Dany – is lording over her rather cool sets in Meeren. Dario comes to her saying he is only good for two things: women and killing. Surprisingly, she actually takes him up on both (treating lady viewers to Dario backside). A rare bit of simple human comfort for her. In the morning, Dario runs into Jorah, who knows, and is a bit miffed. But he manages to convince the queen to offer mercy (partially) to Yunkai and put Dario in his place (slightly) by reminding him that Jorah still comes first when it comes to council. This is pretty fun stuff, particularly given the serious nature of her storyline.

Now there's a dress!

Now there’s a dress!

Melisandre – takes a bath in front of Selyse giving Stannis’ too women some screen time together. Not my favorite part, but it is amusing the way Mel uses both sexuality and piety. Selyse is all nun type. I really want to know what they see in that fire!

Brienne and Pod – visit that same inn where Lady (Sansa’s wolf) was murdered in episode 2. Hot Pie happens to be there, making for yet another cameo return. By being direct Brienne finds out about Arya was last seen with the hound — even if Pod was worried that such honesty might get them killed. Still Pod shows his value by knowing they might head for the Eerie. One might think they might actually find each other (or at least Sansa), but this is George R. R. Martin we are talking about! Pod and Brienne are fun together, although not as much fun as she was with Jaime — that was a hoot.

Not yet bosom buddies, but working on it

Not yet bosom buddies, but working on it

Sansa – finally we return to the Eerie. One might wonder why at the end of the episode, and why we wouldn’t end with Oberyn offering his services to Tyrion — but for good reason. Sansa has a few magical moments in the snowy Eerie courtyard. The snow takes her back to her childhood and she makes a snowy Winterfell (excellent snow sculpting skills BTW San). Robin joins and for a bit they have a nice moment, then the spastic Joff wanna-be goes nuts and she slaps him. As if this weren’t bad enough Littlefinger approaches. Sansa is becoming more of an active agent and she asks him point blank: “why did you really kill Joffrey?” Littlefinger is, like Cersei, a master of half truths. He appeals to his own love for Sansa’s mother and fingers it as revenge. I call B.S., Littlefinger doesn’t do anything for emotional reasons like that. But he makes a creepy move on Sansa and kisses her. Uh, oh. Lysa is watching.

I'm a dreamer

I’m a dreamer

The Lady of the Vale summons Sansa to the throne room with the Moon Door open. After a little setup about how the bodies burst apart on the ground below, she grabs Sansa. Littlefinger stops her, swearing (on his life) to send the girl away. Then he “comforts” Lysa, only to confess his love for Cat and toss her out the door. Trademark GOT ending and plus, he got a little extra taunt in before doing the deed.

And I build a mean snow castle

And I build a mean snow castle

All in all, this was a first rate episode, one of my favorites of this season. It just had a lot of good stuff, and only a few lesser scenes (like Mel and maybe Jon). Now we have to wait two weeks for “The Viper and the Mountain.” I wonder what that one is about…

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or all my Game of Thrones posts or episode reviews:

Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

Season 5: [41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50]

Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

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  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 36
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Yarom Shot Everything

May15

Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: May 12, 2014

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome night!

_

About once a year, my Hedonist group heads to Il Grano for a game feast cooked up by master chef Sal Marino. This time, nearly every animal featured was shot by Yarom!


Tonight’s menu.

1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. IWC97+. Full copper-gold color. Initially restrained, brooding nose exploded with aeration, showing apple, orange, apricot, honey, iodine, smoke, hazelnut, macadamia and a suggestion of dry oloroso sherry. Dense, full, chewy and rich; an extraordinarily solid Champagne with an intriguing suggestion of Calvados. Broadens toward the back and goes on and on on the echoing aftertaste, with rich, mellow notes of toffee, brown butter and marrow. Like the ’92 Clos du Mesnil, this displays its powerful underlying acidity with aeration (Krug’s wines never go through malolactic fermentation) and should be long-lived.


Hamachi crudo with avocado.


1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. IWC 94. Bright gold. Ripe orchard fruits, peach pit, toffee, marzipan and dried flowers on the pungent, smoky nose. Broad and fleshy on entry, then tighter in the mid-palate, offering palate-staining pit fruit nectar, apple pie and brioche flavors, enhanced by a toffeed quality. Closes spicy and very long, with resonating smoke and toasted hazlenut qualities.


Capresi salad.


2004 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. IWC 94. Light, bright gold. Spicy citrus and orchard fruit aromas are complemented by chalk, white flowers and a touch of smokiness. Taut, linear lemon and orange rind flavors give way to deeper pear in the mid-palate and pick up notes of honeysuckle and toasted grain with air. Still very young but shows excellent promise. Finishes with good mineral cut and sappy persistence.

agavin: A fruity hedonism that is hard to resist.


Boar tartar, spring red onion, quail egg. Soft and delicious. The egg really upped it a notch.


From my cellar: 1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused, round, intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now and I wouldn’t hesitate to open one anytime as there is no further upside to be had. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.


Legumes and onions.


From my cellar: 1966 Maison Roche de Bellene Volnay 1er Cru Santenots Collection Bellenum. 95 points. Wow. A total fruit bomb still, with lots of soft berry and long acidic finish.


Rabbit milanese, shallot-stanwick apricot confit.


1961 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cèdres. 98 points. Initially, the nose showed a bit of horse/barnyard, but this mostly blew off to reveal a Graves-like expression of dark fruit, ash, smoke and floral notes — complex and incredibly seductive. The taste was equally youthful giving mostly red fruit and mineral with a slight tartness. Mid-weight. Flavors were great, though, through a long, satisfying finish. Brad indicated that this reminded him of 1959 Bordeaux (sadly I can’t comment on the linkage — I’ll just have to trust him). What a special bottle of wine!


Rabbit drumettes! Eat your heart out KFC.


Bread.


Condiments.


1990 Jacques Prieur Musigny. Burghound 92. I had not had this wine in many years as the last was in 2000 but that bottle showed better than this most recent one that was marred by both brett and some volatile acidity. A note that I believe is more representative follows: A classically styled Musigny with a superb nose of violets, black fruits and incredibly seductive secondary aromas followed by big, rich, structured flavors and a long, textured and velvety finish.

agavin: way better than 92 points.


Porchetta!


1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 89. As long time readers know, I have never thought very highly of this wine and I have had on the order of 3 cases of it without ever finding one that I thought was very good, let alone great. This would include a bottle that was air expressed directly from the domaine so my objections have nothing to do with storage, provenance or shipping. However, the bottle in this tasting displayed the best fruit/acid/tannin balance of any ’90 VV that I’ve yet had and while I would stop well short of according it the accolades that it once received in abundance, it didn’t not display the green finishing tannins and overtly advanced aromas that its predecessors have. In short, a wine of moderate promise and while by no means great, at least acceptable in the context of the extremely high standards of this wine and this vintage.

agavin: started a little closed, but opened up to just wow.


Porchetta, sal’s garden arugula, parmigiano.


1994 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. Burhound 95. This too is sublime in its subtlety and grace with ineffably pure aromas and it strikes a balance between the opulence of the RSV and the restraint of the GE with an expressive yet ultra fine nose of rose petals, violets and seductive spice notes that introduce unbelievably refined flavors that seem crafted from silk and lace, culminating in a linear, mouth coating finish that detonates like a bomb and lasts and lasts. At present, this is taut and precise with the lithe muscularity of a world class gymnast yet it is not lean or unduly tight as there is a generosity to the mid-palate that serves to buffer the underlying tannic spine that will permit this to age for decades. This is clearly a great wine that epitomizes the concept of power without weight.

agavin: Typical of 2004 with that greeny pepper taste.


More greens for the vegetarians.


2002 Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Grèves. Burghound 89-91. Very ripe red cherry, strawberry and pinot fruit aromas explode from the glass and introduce exceptionally fresh and exuberant, sappy and pure medium weight flavors underpinned by dusty, textured tannins and plenty of finishing velvet and silk. There is an utterly seductive inner mouth perfume and the length is most impressive. As good a young Lafarge Grèves as I can recall at this stage.


White pizza, venison sausage, ramps. Not sure I’ve ever had deer pizza, but it was awesome.


1996 Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite. Parker 99. One of the candidates for France’s wine of the vintage is unquestionably Chapoutier’s 1996 Hermitage l’Ermite. In October, 1997 I reported that this was a virtually perfect wine made from a small parcel of vines, believed to be over 100 years old, located close to the tiny white chapel owned by the Jaboulets on the highest part of the Hermitage Hill. Yields were a minuscule 9 hectoliters per hectare. Now that this wine is in bottle, it is unbelievable! Unfortunately, only 30 cases were exported to the United States. The wine boasts a saturated black/purple color, as well as a phenomenal nose of rose petals, violets, blackberries, cassis, and pain grille. In the mouth, it is phenomenally rich, with a viscous texture, and a multidimensional, layered finish that lasts for over a minute. Its purity, perfect equilibrium, and unbelievable volume and richness are the stuff of legends. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2050.


Gazpacho.


1990 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 100. The 1990 La Landonne is a perfect wine! Fortunately, more than 800 cases were produced. It possesses an opaque black color, and a huge, truffle, licorice, cassis, and peppery-scented nose. While it is one of the most concentrated wines I have ever poured across my palate, it is perfectly balanced, with adequate underlying acidity, huge extraction of ripe fruit and tannin, and a phenomenal 70-second or longer finish. This is the essence of Syrah!

agavin: oh, yeah!


Pheasant breast, fava, fava tendrils.


1993 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 88. The great glories of this house are its Cote Roties, of which there are now five separate offerings. The 1993s, which have just come on the marketplace, are from a troublesome vintage for everyone in Cote Rotie, rivaling 1984 in difficulty. Nevertheless, the single-vineyard wines have turned out well. As for the single vineyard wines, they are all excellent in 1993, but more herbaceous and clearly marked by the green pepper smells of slightly underripe Syrah. The most tannic of the three famous single vineyards is the 1993 Cote Rotie La Landonne. It is amazingly powerful and rich for the vintage, and reveals more fruit and intensity than it did prior to bottling. It exhibits a saturated ruby color, and copious amounts of pepper, tar, olives, licorice, and black cherry fruit in the nose. It remains the most muscular and structured of the three wines, and has managed to avoid the hollowness and vegetal character that plague so many 1993 northern Rhones. This Cote Rotie should age gracefully for a decade or more.


An the boring sans pheasant version.


2000 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne. Parker 93. The 2000 Cote Rotie La Landonne is the most powerful and primordial of the 2000 La La’s, not surprising given this cuvee’s telltale earthy, leathery characteristics that are intermixed with notes of truffles, licorice, blackberries, and pepper. Medium to full-bodied, with moderate tannin and good density, it should hit its prime in 2-3 years, and last for 14-15.


Pappardelle pheasant veneziana. I love this kind of wintery game pappardelle.


2007 Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Parker 100. The perfect 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (tasted on four separate occasions) is composed of 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre and other authorized varietals from 60- to 100+-year-old vines. The wine is aged in both tank (75%) and small oak barrels (25%). Its inky/purple color is followed by a phenomenal nose of spring flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, boysenberries, licorice, truffles, and spice. Displaying massive body, incredible freshness, laser-like focus from the excellent acids, and a finish that goes on well past a minute, this prodigious Chateauneuf du Pape is the most extraordinary wine yet made at this estate. While accessible (as most 2007s are), ideally it needs 4-5 years of cellaring, and should keep for three decades.

agavin: can we say fruit bomb? yes, but in a great way!


Vegetarian pasta.


1995 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 96. The two limited cuvees of Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin are spectacular in both 1994 and 1995, but each will require 10-15 years of cellaring. Less than 300 cases were made in each vintage. The textbook blend of 70% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 10% Grenache, and 5% Counoise was utilized in 1989, 1990, and 1994, but in 1995, the Mourvedre component was reduced, with the amount of Counoise and Syrah increased significantly. The 1995 reveals more of an aged beef, smoked duck-like component, no doubt because of the higher percentage of Counoise and Muscardin. Although there is less Mourvedre in this cuvee, it still possesses the massive richness, opaque purple color, and sweet, earthy fruit that oozes over the palate with extraordinary intensity and purity. The change in the 1995’s blend gives the wine a more spice-driven, animal character, with the distinctive aged beef/Asian spice/smoked duck characteristics more exaggerated. This wine needs 12-15 years of cellaring, and should last 40-50 years. It is a modern-day classic. No Hommage cuvee was produced in 1996.


Pea pasta lamb Bolognese. Yum!


2001 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 99. The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin is a blend of 60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise, and 10% Syrah. Full-bodied, excruciatingly backward, and nearly impenetrable, it boasts an inky/blue/purple color in addition to a promising nose of new saddle leather, melted asphalt, camphor, blackberries, smoky, roasted herbs, and Asian spices. A huge lashing of tannin as well as a formidable structure result in the antithesis of its more flattering, forward, and voluptuous sibling, the classic Beaucastel. Readers lucky enough to come across this cuvee should plan on waiting at least a decade before it begins to approach adolescence. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040.

agavin: a brooding monster


A pomodoro pasta for the meat challenged.


1985 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia. Parker 100. I had this wine in a blind tasting – I have had it frequently, and have never failed to give it a perfect rating. At the same time, I have often mis-identified it in blind tastings as the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild. In this tasting, the wine was phenomenal. The color remains an opaque purple. The bouquet is beginning to develop secondary aromas of cedar and truffles to go along with its intense cassis, black-raspberry, blackberry, tarry, toasty personality. Exceptionally dense, concentrated, and full-bodied, this wine possesses layers of concentrated fruit that are beautifully balanced by the wine’s sweet tannin and well-integrated acidity. The finish lasts for nearly a minute. A monumental Cabernet Sauvignon, it is one of the greatest wines made this century. Tasting after tasting continues to confirm this wine’s surreal level of quality. Despite being 11 years old, it remains youthful. My best guess for when it will reach full maturity is between 2000-2025. What a wine!


Boar piccata. Like old school veal piccata, but boar!


Boring! But not boaring.


1961 Chateau d’Yquem. Parker 84. The year 1961 was only a mediocre vintage for Barsac and Sauternes; however, the sales of these wines have long been helped by the greatness of this vintage for the red wines of Bordeaux. I have consistently found Yquem’s 1961 to be a muscular, out of balance wine, with a burnt character to the bouquet, and overly oaky, aggressive flavors that lack this estate’s ripeness and great richness. The wine is now beginning to dry out and become more awkward. Drink it up.

agavin: It might be a mediocre year and a deep color, but it was pretty fun.


Boar ribs! You have to love these suckers. Plus, you can club your rivals over the head afterward.

This was another knock down great evening and it was fun to see Sal cook in a different style. He really rose to the occasion and treated the game just right. And the wines! Wow, everyone really stepped up and we had some real gems!

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,

Or for Hedonist extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
  2. Never Boaring – Il Grano
  3. Tasty Duck Lives up to its Name
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  5. Tar & Roses got your Goat?
By: agavin
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Wake up Hanoi

May13

Restaurant: Hanoi Metrolpole

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 28, 2014

Cuisine: International

Rating: Much better than at the Hilton

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Moving north through the DMV into Hanoi we come to rest at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi.


This is a seriously nice hotel. It’s up there with some of the best city hotels I’ve stayed in like the Tokyo Park Hyatt and the Four Seasons Istanbul.


Plus there’s that lovely colonial vibe. Back when labor was EVEN cheaper (read even more exploited) they really knew how to build.


The breakfast buffet is pretty impressive.


Juices. I’m partial to the mango which is like a mango lassi.


No place in Vietnam would be complete without pastries.


Lots of them!


And lots.


And more lots.


Or exotic fruits.


Yogurts and yogurts with fruit.


Or even a milk bar (sorry, no Droogs).


Cereal.


And a pretty good looking cold cut spread.


I don’t know who wants salad with their coffee, but I guess some do.


Cheese.

A cool “live” honeycomb.


Notice the giant vat of Nutella — and mysteriously, the Vegemite. Those Australians.


Now we get into the Asian section. Tofu, grilled fish, various Asian condiments.


The elaborate Miso and Congee station.


Some dimsum and sauces.


Like these pork shu mai.


Or steamed buns without any filling.


And the omelet bar plus others.


Veggies.


More veggies.


Fried rice.


Odd gelatinous rice “tamales.”


Pork stuffed sticky rice.


You can see one of the cooks unwrapping and cutting it here. Lotus leaf or banana leaf?


The all important Pho station.


Surprisingly, Pho works for breakfast.


And the jump start is rather necessary.


So decadent was their service that someone brought this tray around periodically to tempt you. Ho Chi Minh must be rolling in his grave. Wait, I checked out his grave and he was just lying there looking at the ceiling.


Yum flan.


And last but not least, bread pudding with creme Anglais!

All in all a great breakfast. More offerings, but the food perhaps wasn’t QUITE as on point as the Saigon breakfast. Close though, real close.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Hoi An – Riverside
  2. Good Morning Vietnam
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  4. Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc
  5. Apocalypse Dhou
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Game of Thrones – Episode 36

May11

gameofthronesseasonreleasedate-1396104840n4k8gGame of Thrones

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Watched: Episode 36 – May 11, 2014

Title: The Laws of Gods and Men

Summary: Good stuff

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Joff’s death set it up, but the next big event is finally here: the trial of Tyrion Lannister. Poor Ty.

Anyway, as usual, I’ll break down the threads into their sub plots for discussion.

Davos & Stannis – Have made the journey across the narrow sea to Bravos. This isn’t in the books as far as I can remember, and it’s our first (but not last) glimpse of the city. And it’s certainly a small glimpse as we see them sailing in, under a giant colossus that was clearly borrowed from the Colossus of Rhodes. Other than that, we see the inside of the bank. The Iron Bank officer sure is insightful, and Stannis isn’t getting anywhere. Davos gives a speech and we don’t know exactly how it goes except…

He shows up at the bathhouse and throws his friend Salladhor Saan a bunch of money to sail with him.

thelawsofgodsandmen4

Bank employes have gone downhill since the Middle Ages

Yara & Theon – Yara sails on her mission to save Theon, and she reads the letter from Ramsay to motivate her troops while we intercut with Ramsay and his murderous bedwarmer. The Iron Born storm the Dreadfort and locate Theon (aka Reek) in the kennels. But Reek isn’t Theon and he’s terrified to go with Yara. A blood streaked and crazy Ramsay confronts them, battle ensues, but Reek is so much Ramsay’s creature that Yara flees, claiming her brother is dead.

After, Ramsay has another creepy scene with Reek where he gives him a bath as a reward and tells him he’ll need him to pretend to be Theon to take Moat Caitlin. Creepy. What’s up with the bathing?

I couldn't resist a shot of the Titan of Bravos

I couldn’t resist a shot of the Titan of Bravos

Dany – A Shepherd’s boy in North Ireland (I mean Meereen) has his goats barbecued for dragon food. The father appears before Dany in her throne room with the bones and is given money. A young noble asks to bury his crucified father. Dany agrees and finds there are 212 more cases — ah, being a real ruler is hard work — no wonder Robert and Joff hated small council meetings!

thelawsofgodsandmen5

A cozy throne room

Oberyn – Joins the small council with his amusing know-it-all attitude. Mace (Marg’s father) is, as his mother Olena has said, not the brightest bulb. They discuss the house and Dany back in Meereen.

Oberyn and Varys talk in front of the Iron Throne (does Varys meet anywhere else?). Both are perceptive. I’m not sure what to make of Varys’ claim to be free of desire.

Tyrion – Then the meat of the episode, perhaps 25+ minutes. Jaime visits Tyrion in jail, but manacles him and takes him to the throne room and trial. Tommen names the judges and leaves. What follows is a litany of inconclusive but damning evidence. Kings Guards, Pycell, Cersei herself — all paint a story of his culpability.

thelawsofgodsandmen3

And this one too, particularly the chair in the middle

During a break Jaime takes Tywin aside and pleads for Tyrion. They strike a deal: Tywin will send Tyrion to the wall and Jaime will throw away his cloak and become heir again.

But back at Trial the crown calls Shae (obviously not across the narrow sea). She paints a terrible picture, claiming to know of his whole plot with Sansa (of course not the case). She even confesses to be his whore, telling their intimate secrets. It really is heart wrenching. Tyrion, taking a play from his own hand back in the Eerie during season 1, “confesses” (not as humorously) to being a dwarf, and on trial for it. He pulls out the emotion. Then demands trial by combat. All eyes (or at least the camera’s) are on Jaime.

thelawsofgodsandmen1

Sucks to be the dwarf

A great episode, particularly the second half. The first covers most of the bits and pieces left out of last week, but the second focuses on Tyrion, and as we all know, that means good times — well, perhaps not for the Imp — but certainly for us loyal watchers of this brilliant combination of character and actor brought to life.

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Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

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Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

HBO’s official Inside the Episode:

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Episode 32
  2. Game of Thrones – Episode 30
  3. Game of Thrones – Episode 33
  4. Game of Thrones – Episode 24
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 23
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SOS – Smoke Oil Salt

May08

Restaurant: Smoke Oil Salt [1, 2]

Location: 7274 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90046. (323) 930-7900

Date: May 6, 2014

Cuisine: Spanish

Rating: Good “New American” Spanish

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Hedonist leader Yarom is an investor in the new Smoke Oil Salt, a tapas bar from Adam Fleischman (Unami Burger) and Perfecto Rocher (Lazy Ox), so it’s only natural that the group should hit it up just a few weeks after opening.


Our special menu tonight, but we had considerably more than this as you’ll see.


2002 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé. IWC 92. Pale yellow-gold. Fresh citrus and orchard fruit aromas are complicated by notes of gingerbread, white flowers and sweet butter. Toasty lees and mineral qualities gain power with air, adding depth to the wine’s gently sweet pear, honey and tangerine flavors. At once rich and lively, finishing with excellent clarity and alluring mineral and floral character. This Champagne, which I’ve tasted from three different disgorgements now, is proving that it’s built for the long haul.


Olives and bitets. Olives, toasted almonds, manchego, peppers. Very tasty. Particularly the olives and the olive oil soaked cheese (hard to see).


Amanida de remolatxa. Beet salad, goat cheese, watercress. The beet salad has become omnipresent — and boring — but this one had nice bright flavors. The sweetness of the beets contrasted nicely with the vinaigrette and the salty cheese. The watercress and frise offset the smooth textures.


From my cellar: 2011 Raul Pérez Rías Baixas Sketch. Parker 93. The 2011 Sketch is just wonderful – pure Albarino from vines planted in 1972 on sand and granite soils, it sees 12 months in French oak. Interestingly, Raul opted to age some lots underwater in order to see how the lack of oxygen impacts upon the elevage (although some of the lots were spoiled and of course, did not enter the final blend!) The nose is reticent at first, but over one hour it unfolds to offer subtle notes of lime and a tinge of sea-foam, the oak barely noticeable. The palate is exquisite: beautifully balanced and with real race and tension. There is an adorable twist of bitter lemon that keeps this Sketch on its toes. Taut, pure and effortlessly speaking of its place, this is just a delightful Rias Baixas that you will savor to the last drop. Drink now-2017+.


Xarcuteria d’iberic. charcuterie of iberican meats and cheeses. Lots of good stuff here. Salty blue cheese, manchego, and yummy meats.


2005 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote de Bouguerots. Burghound 92. A ripe nose evidences moderate Chablis character with plenty of saline character that continues on the big, rich, intense and powerful flavors that evidence plenty of mid-palate concentration. Interestingly, this got better and better the more it aired and while this is a big wine it’s not ponderous or heavy, all wrapped in a well-balanced and persistent finish. This could be drunk now with pleasure or aged further to good effect. Impressive.


Braves trencades. Fried potatoes, serrano ham, chorizo, fried egg. Sort of the ultimate ham and eggs breakfast. This was certainly YUMMY. The yolk from the egg helps soak the soft potatoes underneath and tie it all together.


2001 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 94. The purity here is mind bending and this is perhaps the most transparent wine in this entire group. Elegant, fine and crystalline with superbly detailed fruit and flavors with a positively brilliant, almost painfully intense finish that is astonishingly long. Classy and altogether imposing with its unmatched combination of complexity, depth and focus. While I cannot argue that this has better material than either the Montrachet or the incredible Corton-Charlemagne, I can say that stylistically, the Chevalier is my personal favorite. This is unquestionably a great wine. (Drink between 2008-2013)

agavin: our bottle was tasty but a bit premoxed.


Pa amb tomaca i llangonisses. Catalan tomato toast with sausages. Tasty.


1997 Luis Pato Bairrada Vinha Barrosa.


Artichoke tostada. An omelet with artichoke and salad.


1997 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°. IWC 87. Bright medium ruby. Slightly roasted aromas of plum, tobacco leaf and loam, plus the tarry/vegetal complexity often shown by this bottling. Rich and layered in the mouth, with subtle sweetness; good density leavened by very firm acids. Falls a bit short on the back end, which shows some lemony acidity and toothdusting, slightly dry tannins.


Swiss chard. With pine-nuts and raisons.


From my cellar: 1994 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Janus Gran Reserva Pesquera. 93 points. Most of us thought this the wine of the night along with the 94 Unico. Very complex and fruity. Cassis.


Peixet Fregit. Fried  smelt, fennel, pickles, horseradish aioli. Fried small fish. Hard to tell what was inside, as the fry was very tasty — a bit salty though.


1994 Vega Sicilia Unico. Parker 96-98. The 1994 Unico is a blend of 80% Tinto Fino, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot (presumably 2% is unknown varieties) that was picked from September 28. It is very intense with notes of raspberry, wild strawberry and mulberry with sensational minerality and vigor. There is a Margaux-like florality to the 1994 that blossom with aeration. The palate is rounded and supple on the entry with great weight and backbone. There is real substance here, similar to the 1996. It expands in the mouth with ravishing notes of blackberry, strawberry, citrus lemon, orange peel and a touch of cedar. There is enormous weight on the finish, a behemoth of a Unico. This is very potent, but it still requires several years in bottle. 96,280 bottles produced. Drink 2019-2040.


Elk. Yarom and a friend shot this elk, and here it returns with mushrooms and rosemary. It was incredibly tender and delicious.


1985 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Unico Reserva Especial. 95 points.


Pheasant. He also killed the pheasant, which was cooked with lentils, sausage, and garbanzo beans. A tad dry.


1996 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. Parker 96-97. Pablo Alvarez quipped that in 1996, the growing season was so benevolent, that the winemaker was not even necessary! The 1996 Unico has a very pure, pastille-like bouquet with raspberry, wild strawberry, crushed stone and a touch of Chinese tea. It has impressive delineation and linearity. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannins. The fruit profile is shimmering in the glass with black cherries, cassis and blueberry notes. It is very feminine and powerful towards the poised, tensile finish that is long and seductive. One of the finest recent vintages, suffused with sensuality and opulence, the 1996 Unico is destined to be a great wine, one that might unfairly be over-shadowed by the 1994. 99,480 bottles produced. Drink 2020-2040+.


Calamars amb mongetes. Monterey bay baby calamari, warm cranberry beans.


1976 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia. IWC 96. Pale-edged red. Multidimensional nose of raspberry, black plum, orange zest, coffee, milk chocolate, game and a superripe whiff of raisin. Uncanny sweetness in the mouth, with a strong spine of acidity framing and intensifying the fruit flavors. Really remarkable acid/fruit balance. Big, rich, powerful and deep. Finishes extremely long and magically fresh. Contains about 80% tempranillo, a bit high for Bosconia, which is always higher in tempranillo (and spends less time in barrel) than Tondonia. The Bosconia and Tondonia gran reservas are selections made in the cellar; both are from Vi?a Tondonia grapes, a 100-hectare holding purchased by Maria Jose’s great-grandfather in 1912 (the first Vi?a Tondonia Gran Reserva was from the 1920 vintage). Bosconia, says Maria Jose, is a stronger, more youthful, longer-lasting style of Rioja, with more power and body. It’s for the younger generation, she adds, while the Tondonia is altogether more classical. On my last visit to this bodega, in 1994, I scored the ’76 Tondonia Gran Reserva 97 points.


Valencia callos. Honeycomb tripe stew, spanish chorizo, chickpeas. By far my least favorite dish, and others, as it sat on the table. I’m just not a tripe fan.


2008 Benjamin Romeo Contador. Parker 98. The 2008 Contador, rapidly becoming one of Rioja’s benchmark wines, is composed of 86% Tempranillo and 14% Garnacha aged for 18 months in new French oak. It is a glass-coating opaque purple color with an exceptional bouquet of sandalwood exotic spices, lavender, incense, espresso, tapenade, and blackberry. Dense and mouth-coating, it deftly combines elegance and power in a structured wine that will easily achieve its 20th birthday and well beyond.

agavin: young, but awesome.


Squab.


1978 Francois Gros Chambolle-Musigny. Fabulous for a mature village wine like this.


Cassoleta de fideua negra. Squid ink pasta, calamari, mushrooms, honey aioli.


This was scrumptious, so I have to show another close up picture.


1978 Vin Santo dell Abbadia. Mature, and paired nicely with the chocolate.


Arros amb llet de xoxolata. Valrhona chocolate rice pudding, salty caramel, cinnamon whipped cream. This was certainly tasty, even if it looked like… well you know.

All in all another great evening of pure hedonism. For a brand new restaurant SOS is strong out the gate. It is right in there in the current “wood table, paper menu, small plates, loud room” thing that dominates new restaurants in LA right now. The food is quite Catalan/Valencian and very good. Only the tripe dish missed the mark. Some of the others, like the squid ink pasta and the eggs and ham were spectacular.

It didn’t hurt that we had a giant group of 16-18 and really fabulous wines either!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

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  5. Mercado Madness
By: agavin
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Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun

May06

Restaurant: Kali Dining [1, 2, 3]

Location: Beverly Hills

Date: April 25, 2014

Cuisine: New American

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Who says wine is just for diner, today I was invited to a Châteauneuf-du-Pape themed lunch with food cooked by chef Kevin Meehan of Kali Dining. Who says you can’t drink before 5?!?

2012 Mas de Gourgonnier Les Baux-de-Provence Rosé. Hard to find, but a picture perfect afternoon wine.

1978 Château Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 91 points. View from the Cellar 95. Medium garnet colour, very bright and clear. Mature nose of medium intensity, with dried fruit, wet cedar wood and earthy forest floor, incense and sweet spice. Palate is medium bodied, elegant and velvety with dried plummy fruit, notes of chocolate, some floral nuances and sweet spice. Finish is medium with just a hint of tannins. Acidity is medium and mouthfell is velvety. Complete mature and complex wine, lovely.

1981 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 95. One of the all-time great classics, the 1981 is fully mature and should be consumed. It’s a big, sweet, candied fruit bomb offering notes of smoke, pepper, dried herbs, truffles, leather, cedar, as well as black and red currants. Full-bodied and opulent, it is one of the most delicious, complex, and stunning Beaucastels ever made. Anyone who has magnums of this wine has the equivalent of liquid gold. Out of regular bottle, I would recommend consumption over the next several years. agavin: pretty wow for a 33 year old CNDP!

From my cellar: 1985 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 91-93. One of the most charming Beaucastels since it was first bottled (and still holding on today), is the gorgeous 1985. Its medium ruby color reveals considerable amber/pink at the edge. This offering demonstrates that a wine does not need a lot of tannin and power to age well; it’s all about balance. Velvety-textured, opulent, sweet, and appealing, this remains a classic Beaucastel.

1990 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 96. Two great back to back vintages are the 1990 and 1989. The more developed 1990 boasts an incredible perfume of hickory wood, coffee, smoked meat, Asian spices, black cherries, and blackberries. Lush, opulent, and full-bodied, it is a fully mature, profound Beaucastel that will last another 15-20 years.

Foie Gras truffles. They look like chocolate truffles, but each is a solid ball of foie! With truffles, asparagus, and various flowers. Paired perfectly too.

1989 Les Cailloux (Lucien et Andre Brunel) Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 88. Les Cailloux’s regular cuvee has evolved into a blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, and 5% miscellaneous varietals aged both in barrel and foudre. The backward 1989 appears to be fully mature. More narrowly constructed than the 1990, it offers up notes of soy, seaweed, lavender, black cherries, figs, and plum-like fruit in a medium-bodied, structured, but delicious style.

1990 Domaine de Beaurenard Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Boisrenard. Parker 95. This wine saw a small amount of aging in new oak cask, resulting in a more international style when released. Still youthful, the dense ruby/purple-colored 1990 exhibits a classy nose of black fruits, spice box, vanillin, and kirsch liqueur. Full-bodied and pure, with a subtle touch of oak, this fleshy, stylized, yet authoritatively flavorful, rich Chateauneuf du Pape has reached its plateau of maturity, where it should remain for 7-8 years.

Venison Carpaccio. Another perfect 10 pairing.

1998 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul. Parker 94-98. The 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee du Mon Aieul is close to full maturity. Dark plum/garnet, with a nose of licorice, lavender, seaweed, blueberry, and black raspberry, the wine is full-bodied, still very fresh, but complex, with silky tannins and a broad, savory mouthfeel. Everything seems resolved, and the wine looks to be at its peak of complexity. It should hold here for another 3-4 years, but last easily for 10-12. In terms of the best vintages of Mon Aieul, I would have to rank the 2003, 2006, and 2007 superior to the 1998, which was the debut vintage of this cuvee from proprietors Jean-Pierre and Thierry Usseglio.

2000 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul. Parker 95. The profound 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul (85% Grenache and the rest equal parts Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault) tips the scales at 15% alcohol. From an old vineyard and cropped at 15 hectoliters per hectare, and aged only in foudre, it boasts a dense purple color in addition to an exquisite nose of violets, minerals, blueberries and blackberries. Pure and concentrated, but atypically tannic, it requires considerable aging as it is one of the vintage’s more backward, broodingly powerful efforts. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2020.

2001 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul. Parker 97. The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul (85% Grenache and equal parts Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault) tips the scales at a prodigious 15.8% alcohol. Half of the wine is aged in neutral wood foudres and the other half in tank prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. The sources for Mon Aieul are three vineyard parcels with vines averaging between 75 and 87 years of age. The 2001 is much more structured and backward than the 2000, 1999, or 1998. The color is a dense purple, and the bouquet offers sweet but reserved aromas of blackberries, raspberries, crushed rocks, and kirsch liqueur. It possesses superb texture, enormous body, and tremendous purity as well as overall symmetry. The tannin is high, but it is largely concealed by the wealth of fruit and extract. Give it 3-4 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 15-18. This fabulous 2001 will provide fascinating comparisons when tasted alongside the 2000, 1999, and 1998 over the next 10-15 years.

2003 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul. Parker 97. Deep, layered and rich, the 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de mon Aieul is comprised almost all of Grenache and always comes from three lieux-dits: La Crau, Guigasse and Les Serres. Aged all in tank and showing none of the negative traits of the vintage, it has a rich, meaty bouquet of semi-mature red and black fruits, wild herbs, melted licorice, dusty minerality and roasted beef. Full-bodied, gorgeously pure and seamless, with solid underlying structure and a core of sweet fruit, it is a brilliant wine. I don’t see any upside to holding bottles, yet given the balance, richness and mid-palate depth, it should continue to hold for another 5-8 years and certainly drink nicely well past that.

Mushroom risotto with parmesan crisp. Yum!

2000 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee. Parker 95. The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee may be one of the few 2000s that is better than its 1998 counterpart. A deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by sweet aromas of creme de cassis, kirsch liqueur, cedar, licorice, and pepper. It smells like an open-air Provencal market. Sweet, fat, opulent, and voluptuous, with fabulous fruit concentration, sweet tannin, and a long, 45+ second finish, this powerful, deep, seamless 2000 is impeccably well-balanced. A tour de force in traditional Chateauneuf du Pape, it is accessible now, but should age easily for 15-20 years.

1998 Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois. Parker 98-99. This wine went through a long closed period. It was sensational to drink a year or two after bottling, then the wood tannins in the wine’s structure took over. It remained in that state until about two years ago, when it began to slightly open up, and now it seems to be coming into full form. It still has a good 10 years of upside, and potentially 20 more years of drinkability. Still dense ruby/purple, with notes of blueberry liqueur intermixed with graphite, smoke, crushed rock, and white flowers, the wine is full-bodied, beautifully pure, and all evidence of any barrique aging has been completely assimilated into the wine’s fruit and character. This is a beauty that is just now living up to its full potential. Bravo!

1998 Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins. Parker 96-98. This wine is reminiscent of Roger Sabon’s Le Secret des Sabon, with a style that borders on Italian Amarone. Powerful, full-bodied, alcoholic flavors, redolent with truffle, meat juices, roasted herbs, tar, sweaty saddle leather, plum, and soy, are incredibly complex but also provocative, and no doubt controversial. In the mouth, the wine is fleshy, full-bodied, thick, and juicy, pushing the level of ripeness to the limit. A distinctive and singular effort, as all Henri Bonneau’s wines are, this wine is silky and velvety, but should continue to drink well for another 25-30 years. agavin: My WOTA (afternoon).

Filet with onion puree and potatoes. Great pairing, great dish.

1990 Domaine Deletang Montlouis Moelleux Les Petits Boulay. 91 points. Great stuff for cheese!

Cheeses from Andrew’s Cheese shop in Santa Monica.

The lineup (minus one or two).

The gang (notice the sunny side hat fest).

chef Kevin!

Overall, a delicious afternoon — food and wine both! As a Burgundy nut, a often forget all the Châteauneuf-du-Pape in my cellar, but it’s really great stuff — and so consistent. We didn’t have a mediocre wine today, just good and great ones.

Related posts:

  1. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  2. Memorial Day Pig
  3. Wine on the Beach
  4. Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity
  5. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
By: agavin
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Game of Thrones – Episode 35

May04

gameofthronesseasonreleasedate-1396104840n4k8gGame of Thrones

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Watched: Episode 35 – May 4, 2014

Title: First of His Name

Summary: Good stuff

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Martin has a talent for coining phrases, and internet joking about XX of YY aside, First of His Name is one such title. Evocative, like so many of his little turns of phrase, it’s simultaneously unique to the books/show and characteristic of medieval phraseology.

Anyway, as usual, I’ll break down the threads into their sub plots for discussion.

Cersei – If Jaime was front and center last week, it’s Cersei standing in for Kings Landing (hey, Tyrion doesn’t even show this episode, which might be a first!). Tommen is crowned and both his women (Cersei and Margery) loom large. But when they talk, instead of the biting hatred that Cersei usually shows her young rival there is a bit of revealing honesty. Knowing C, she’s probably just playing Marg.

Next, she plans his wedding with her father. Apparently it won’t even be that long off (so much for letting Tommen drop a pair). She and Tywin have one of those legacy discussions. Plus it seems the Lanisters are actually out of gold and owe a fortune to the Iron Bank of Bravos. That’s folding in with Davos’ plans, which is some new stuff from the book. As usual, Charles Dance is in fine fine form.

Lastly, Cersei returns to Olena’s suicide-watch garden for a chat with Oberyn. He mentions his 8 daughters (the Sand Snakes) and they discuss Cersei’s daughter (in Dorne). Cersei wants to send a ship as a gift. This is probably setting up some action from A Dance with Dragons. Some great lines too like O: “We will have a trial and we will learn the truth” C: “We’ll have a trail anyway.”

firstofhisname3

He may favor bathrobes, but he is cool!

Dany – gets the news of Joff’s death, and is confronted with a choice. Seems she now has ships but the slavers have reclaimed the cities she spent Season 3 taking. She’ll woman up and set things to right — because we can’t have her getting back to Westeros too soon can we?

Finally got a new dress!

Finally got a new dress!

Arya and the Hound – try to sleep, but she has to recite her names, amusing enough as they include him! In the morning he thinks she’s gone, but finds her practicing her water dance out by the river. Arya does a great job with this, looking every bit the girl really trying to practice her swordwork. The little spar between them is great as always.

Everyone's favorite water dancer!

Everyone’s favorite water dancer!

Brienne and Pod – The big she-knight is pretty ambivalent about having him along as a squire as it is, but Pod’s lousy horsemanship and ineptitude at cooking rabbits has a certain charm. What really hooks her though is his story about protecting Tyrion at the Blackwater.

Sansa – also has a substantial arc in this episode. She approaches the Bloody Gate and the entrance to the Eerie with Littlefinger. She’s in disguise as his niece. Again we skip the cool approach to the fortress, but Robyn and Lysa aren’t any more stable for an extra 2 years atop their perch. Lysa knows Sansa’s secret and seemingly greets her all smiles. Then we’re treated to some icky Littlefinger/Crazy lady make out. And Lysa admits to having poisoned her husband and dragged Cat into this. That Littlefinger, he’s had her, and had her wrapped around his littlefinger for some time.

Sansa and Lysa have some bonding time, but Aunt crazy has some serious jealousy issues with regard to her man — not that she doesn’t have reason to doubt his sincerity. Lysa has in mind some cousin on cousin marriage for Sansa. Really, that wasn’t odd at all in the Middle Ages.

firstofhisname5

Look at me, a disguise!

Jon & Bran – So close again. Locke  spies on the mutineers and finds Bran and crew. Slipping back to Jon he tries  to warn them away from the building. Meanwhile, Bran and Jojen have a shared pseudo vision and confirm their desire to seek out the “one tree” (or whatever the big face tree is).

Carl comes in and has Meera hung up on a hook so he can get down with the R word — but fate (and the Night’s Watch) intervene. While Jon and crew slaughter the scum, Locke sneaks into where Bran is tied up and tries to carry him away. Bran jumps into Hodor’s mind and sends the giant off to nearly rip Locke’s head off — bye bye. He sees Jon, and wants to crawl to him, but Jojen convinces him that he must continue heading toward the tree.

Jon and Karl have a nice duel — double dagger vs. sword. It doesn’t go great for Jon under one of Craster’s wives (setup last week) helps him out, and then Karl gets a seriously gnarly sword through the head. Ghost makes a return visit grabbing Rast (who has escaped and is making a break for it) and returns to Jon — who apparently hadn’t forgotten about him like we all thought he had.

This whole Craster’s Keep raid isn’t in the books, and in the end, it doesn’t change anything, but it does serve to give Jon and Bran’s plot lines some jeopardy and to help tie in Bran a bit. Really, when a character runs off in parallel without seeing anyone for 2-3 whole books, it doesn’t play that great — good changes!

All and all, a solid episode. Perhaps not as good as Oathkeeper, but really some good work on the Cersei, Sansa, and Jon timelines. More Arya. More Arya!

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or all my Game of Thrones posts or episode reviews:

Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

Season 5: [41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50]

Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

HBO’s official inside the episode:

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Episode 34
  2. Game of Thrones – Episode 31
  3. Game of Thrones – Episode 33
  4. Game of Thrones – Episode 32
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 17
By: agavin
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Shin Beijing Cubed

May01

Restaurant: Shin Beijing [1, 2, 3]

Location: 3101 W Olympic Blvd – Los Angeles, CA 90006. 213-381-3003

Date: April 28, 2014

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: very solid electric Chinese

_

The Hedonists return to one of our regular haunts, Korean Chinese Shin Beijing for some reliable (and somewhat closer than the SGV) Chinese eats — oh, and another birthday party.


We had a private room with two of these tables!


From my cellar: 2011 Domaine Tempier Bandol. 91 points. Black-tinged very dark purple red violet color; tobacco, dried black fruit, smoke nose; tight, intense, dried berry, roasted black fruit, tar, tart black cherry palate.


Kimchi. No self respecting Koreans would do without.


You know the seafood is fresh when it moves!


2003 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. Burghound 90. A subtle background hint of wood spice frames the baked green apple and pear fruit aromas as well as the powerful, rich and robust flavors that do a slow build from the mid-palate to the explosive finish that is almost painfully intense. This is blessed with massive amounts of dry extract if not great elegance and I do like the purity.


Cold appetizer plates are traditional at real Chinese restaurants.


The sauces come separate and are dumped on table-side.


Aromatic braised beef in black bean jelly. Cold jellyfish with wasabi sauce. Shrimp with mustard sauce. Special house salami.


1998 Château Monbousquet Blanc. RJ 91 points. Straw, lemon grass, mineral nose; earthy, lemon grass, mineral palate; medium finish (100% new oak).

agavin: Our bottle was either oxidized or in a very weird closed state.


Tonight we had a bunch of Vegans and so ended up with a log of vegetable dishes.


2004 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Felsentürmchen Spätlese. IWC 89. Subtle aromas of white peach, lime and sweet spices. The lip-smacking acidity makes this spatlese appear light and elegant. Salty minerality and lively spice character animate the finish.

agavin: nice, and paired well with the spice.


Spicy fried eggplant. Very tasty, and with some kick.


1997 Domaine Charles Schleret Tokay Pinot Gris Herrenweg de Turckheim. Our bottle was tainted.


Spicy fried shrimp. These were good, but I prefer the “fried shrimp in hot sauce” which is a saucier version of this dish.


2009 Schloss Schönborn Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Kabinett. 89 points. Pear on nose, also syrupy apple; acidic and fruity, low residual sweetness.


Vegetable friend rice.


2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. 93 points. Rich for an auslese. In blind tasting would have considered beerenauslese. Just about ready with lovely acidity and fruit. Drink for decades.

agavin: my favorite of the Rieslings tonight. Really nice.


Seemed fish with ginger. There was someone else at the table with a boring dietary restriction. A fine fish, just bland.


2006 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard. IWC 91. Dark red. Finely focused red berry, cherry, floral and mineral scents are given a pungent character by smoky herbs. The fresh, sweet strawberry, raspberry and bitter cherry flavors pick up dusty tannic grip on the back end. Finishes bright and brisk, with excellent persistence and echoing sweet red berry flavors that really cling to the palate.


Better fried rice. With more goodies.


2007 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard. IWC 92. Medium red. Ripe, smoky cherry and dark berry aromas are brightened by fresh rose and minerals. Cassis and blueberry flavors coat the palate, with velvety tannins providing shape. The minerality gains power with air, adding urgency to the deep, sweet dark fruits that dominate the finish. You could serve this with a rich lamb or beef dish.


Beef. Tender morsels.


2012 Saarloos & Sons Pinot Noir Motherhood


Vegetable noodles. Fine for what they were.



2009 Cayuse Grenache God Only Knows. IWC 93. Good medium-dark red. Very ripe aroma of strawberry liqueur. Intensely flavored and gripping; broad without coming across as heavy. Wild berry and smoke flavors are accented by a peppery element. Finishes subtle and long, with substantial fine, dusty tannins.


Sweet and sour fish. Okay, but nowhere near as good as the same dish last week at Beijing restaurant.


Some plan steamed buns.


2003 T-Vine Cellars Syrah Duarte Vineyard. 92 points.  T-Vine wines sure do have personality. Here is a good-natured and self-assured wine. Ebullient nose of black fruit, toast and pepper. Typical tooth staining extract, it fills the mouth with sweet juicy fruit, smoke and grilled meat. The tannins are still somewhat drying and maybe it could use a little more bottle time, but this wine has loosened up quite a bit since I last had it. I think that you can overanalyze a wine like this and it kind of misses the point. The winemaking is serious (it’s very well made), but this is an easygoing wine that is comfortable in its own skin (no pun intended). Note that it is more of a straddle wine that may overwhelm many dishes. Still, you don’t care so much when you are sipping it while cooking or enjoying a glass after a meal. Surely a fan favorite.


Been sprouts.


From my cellar: 1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 92 points. A little funky at first, but after a few minutes, 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 peking duck.


Green onions for…


Peking duck! Fabulous as always, I ate 6 pancakes worth.

2006 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon. 92-94 points. Young but already showing beautifully. Aromas of spice, leather, and tobacco. On the palate it’s smooth and succulent with notes of cigar box, graphite, leather, and black plum. Long finish. An excellent wine that will only get better over the next 3-7+ years.


Special pork. Super fatty but very tasty bacon.


1998 Neyers Syrah Hudson Vineyards. IWC 93. Saturated ruby. Sauvage, highly complex aromas of black fruits, maple syrup, bacon fat, roasted game and leather; I would have picked this for Northern Rhone syrah, perhaps a cross between Cote-Rotie and Cornas. Dense, sappy and pliant, with impressively intense flavors of spicy black fruits and enticing inner-mouth perfume. Finishes with a whiplash of dark berry flavor and a firm tannic spine. A great California syrah.


Crab in black bean sauce. Also great.


2011 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard. IWC 92. Good medium red, not too bright. Deeply pitched aromas of plum, raspberry, strawberry, mocha, loam and brown spices, lifted by floral notes of lavender and rose petal. Rich, broad and concentrated; more about spices and flowers than primary fruit today but sophisticated and complex nonetheless. A faint mintiness provides lift. Spreads out nicely on the back half, finishing with a light dusting of tannins and plenty of energy. This one needs a few years in the cellar.


Lobster in garlic and ginger sauce. Yummy, but hard to crack into at times.


2010 Opus One. IWC 95. Good saturated medium ruby. Riper on the nose than the young 2011, offering scents of blackcurrant, minerals, graphite, licorice and leather. Wonderfully suave and silky in the mouth, with terrific concentration and aromatic lift to the savory dark berry, crushed stone and mineral flavors. Really stains the palate without leaving any impression of weight. Boasts great clarity and outstanding depth, not to mention a finesse of texture rare for California cabernet. “Maybe my best vintage yet,” said winemaker Michael Silacci. A beauty.


Chinese plate pics are never lovely, but there’s the pork!


1989 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey. IWC 88. Very sweet, thick and honeyed in the mouth, with a slightly fungal Tokaj quality and a hint of damp earth. Very concentrated but a bit syrupy-sweet and on the soft side. Something odd lurks just beneath the surface. Since the early days for this wine, I’ve found it slightly oxidized and lacking in shape and grip.


Iced leechee for dessert. Chinese restaurants aren’t known for their desserts.

Overall, this was a great evening. Shin Beijing turned out to be a great find with a nice ambiance (as far as Chinese restaurants go) and terrific food. They really treated us well too. It’s not so easy to handle a boisterous group of this size and they managed perfectly. The price was very reasonable too.

Service was as good as it gets for Chinese. They provided us with plenty of wine glasses, brought the dishes slowly, and were extremely friendly.

Tonight’s only problem was that somehow the vegetarians “hijacked” the menu. Not that they did anything on purpose, but the requests for some vegetable dishes resulted in not just a few for them, but in 4-6 orders of mostly vegetable dishes. I’m just too much a omnivore for that much sauced vegetable.

Discover more crazy Hedonists adventures on my Hedonist page or

For more LA dining reviews click here.

The birthday girl with Yarom

Related posts:

  1. Shin Beijing Again
  2. Hedonists go to Beijing
  3. Birthday Party, Hedonist Style
  4. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
  5. Feasting Lunasia
By: agavin
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