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Archive for March 2018

Valentino – 2010 White Burgundy part 1

Mar30

Restaurant: Valentino Santa Monica [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]

Location: 3115 Pico Blvd  Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 829-4313

Date: February 7, 2018

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fun and educational!

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This dinner is the first part of the annual White Burgundy Premox test series, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. Tonight’s particular dinner covers 2010 Chablis, Meursault, and Corton Charlemagne. Other dinners in the series are listed at the bottom of the post.

As usual, the dinner was at Valentino, which has been a mainstay of the LA fine dining scene for decades. I first started coming here in about 1995 and it was a mind blowing change from the usual trattoria and red-sauce style Italians. Valentino is much closer to Michelin 2 star restaurant in Italy, although not as modernist as some of those are in recent years. If food in Italy turns you on, check out my Eating Italy segment.

And with regard to the wines and vintage: 2010 is a classic year for white Burgundy. The relatively cool growing season maintained crisp acidity, and the reduced crop delivered great intensity of flavor. Moreover, the wines have structure, and although the simpler wines are accessible now, most premiers and grands crus from top estates have a long life ahead of them.


Our private room. Notice the large table with a lot of space. This is important when you have 30+ glasses a person!


Notice the awesome array of glasses in the background. Only about half of them are visible. Few restaurants can handle this sort of thing, as they need over 400 stems of the same type and a dedicated Sommelier with sufficient experience and skill. Ours tonight handled the whole wine service with extreme professionalism and personality.

The whole thing in session.

Tonight’s special menu.

Flight 0: Champagne

2002 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses. VM 96. The flagship 2002 Brut Clos des Goisses is simply stunning in this vintage. Seamless, ripe and beguiling, the 2002 is pure harmony in the glass. Dried pears, apricots, flowers, red berries and spices are some of the many notes that inform this towering, aristocratic wine. At once vertical yet endowed with serious length, the 2002 stands out for its breathtaking balance and overall sense of harmony. Layers of fruit built to the huge, creamy finish. This is a great showing from Philipponnat. The 2002 was disgorged in June 2011.

Parmiggiano Schegge.

Eggplant Cotoletta.

Grilled pizza.

Calamaretti Fritti.

Branzino & Enoki Mushroom Rolls.

Bread sticks.

Flight 1: Chablis

2010 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. VM 97. The 2010 Chablis Les Preuses combines the minerality of Valmur and the fruit of Bouguerots in a style that is immensely appealing. The wine’s balance is utterly impeccable throughout. This is one of those effortless, gracious wines that is easy to underestimate because the elements are so seamlessly woven together that nothing in particular stands out. I am blown away by the sheer balance, purity and harmony of what is in the glass. This is a great showing from Fevre and Didier Seguir.

2010 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. VM 96. The 2010 Chablis Preuses is a dense, structured wine bursting with fruit. The typical Preuses bouquet is very much present, but today the wine is young and needs time to settle down. This is a decidedly bold, ripe Preuses that captures the weight and richness of the year. Although insanely vivid and beautiful in the glass, it needs time to fully come together. Today, the minerality appears nearly buried by the sheer weight of the fruit.

2010 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. VM 96. The 2010 Chablis Valmur is intense, rich and heady, but also has more than enough acidity to back things up. It is at once rich yet weightless in its expression of fruit, which is rare for Valmur. Hints of slate, crushed rocks, peaches and apricots meld together on the dramatic, enveloping finish. The Valmur is every bit as fabulous as it was when I tasted it last year from barrel.

2010 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. VM 95+. The 2010 Chablis Les Clos is all about understatement and balance. White floral notes meld into white stone fruit in this utterly gracious Chablis. Clos can at times be fleeting and elusive, and there is certainly some of that in the 2010. Still, it is impossible to miss the wine’s textural finesse and sheer overall balance. I will not be surprised if the 2010 continues to get better in bottle.

2010 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. VM 96. Veins of saline minerality support expressive fruit in the 2010 Chablis Les Clos. White peaches, slate, smoke, crushed rocks and salt are all quite vivid in the glass. It is hard to resist the Clos today, as the fruit is so silky and delineated, yet at the same time it is quite clear the wine has the potential to evolve beautifully in bottle for many, many years. The 2010 is all about silkiness and precision. Today, it has a little less overt ripeness and weight next to the Preuses.

2010 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. VM 97+. The very best elements of vintage and site is expressed by one of Chablis’s true visionaries come together in the 2010 Chablis Clos. The aromatics alone are breathtaking, but then endless layers of fruit flow across the palate, captivating all the senses; intellectual, hedonistic and everything else. The Clos has elements of all the preceding wines in the same way Romanée-Conti encapsulates all the wines at DRC. The 2010 Clos shows great balance and class from start to finish. It is a profound wine to savor over the next few decades, although it shouldn’t be touched before age ten. Readers who can find the 2010 should not hesitate. It is a magical bottle of wine.

2010 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot. VM 95. An intriguing, rich, almost tropical expression of fruit emerges from the 2010 Chablis Blanchot, owing to the warmer microclimate in this site. The Blanchots is ripe, seductive and enveloping. Stylistically it is one of the flashier 2010s here. Layers of fruit build to the deeply resonant, radiant finish. The Blanchot should drink well relatively early.

2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. VM 95+. Readers will have to be patient with the 2010 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre. Some of the other 2010s are showing much more today, but the Montée de Tonnerre is all understatement and class. Still, it is impossible to miss the wine’s textural finesse and exceptional overall harmony. Everything is simply in the right place in this majestic, compelling Chablis. A gentle hint of spice frames the finish.

Warm King Crab Salad with Cannellini Beans and Citrus Essence.

Flight 2: Meursault

2010 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 93. Pale, bright yellow. Aromas and flavors of fresh peach and apricot, lemon-lime and crushed rock. Rich, dense, creamy and seamless, but with firm acidity and strong stony minerality leavening the wine’s sweetness. Very complex and intense Perrieres with superb energy and length. Made from a blend of three parcels.

From my cellar: 2010 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 94+. Bright pale yellow. Exotic, slightly high-toned aromas of orange, hazelnut and spicy oak. Then much more soil-dominated on the palate, with savory, chewy flavors of liquid stone and salty minerality dominating the wine’s underlying fruit. Tensile, tightly wound Perrieres, in need of five to seven years of patience.

2010 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères. VM 94. Roulot’s 2010 Meursault Bouchères comes across as weightless, perfumed and very beautiful. Floral aromatics lead to expressive stone fruits in this gracious, feminine wine. In 2010, the Bouchères is all subtlety, finesse and understatement. A distinctly salty finish full of tension and energy leaves a lasting impression. This is going to be a fascinating wine to follow over the coming years. The 2010 is the last Bouchères made by Roulot. As part of the purchase of Domaine Manuel, Jean-Marc Roulot acquired the 1.3 hectare Clos des Bouchères, and he prefers to focus his efforts there, as that plot is quite a bit larger than his existing holding in the greater Bouchères.

From my cellar: 2010 Domaine Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières. VM 94. Knockout perfume of soft citrus fruits, menthol, wet stone and white truffle. Densely packed, saline and seamless; deceptively approachable today owing to its sheer richness and depth of flavor and its very long, sweet aftertaste. But this utterly primary wine has the stuffing for aging. Boillot recommends drinking it in the next year or so or holding it for seven or eight years; he’s convinced the wine will be totally closed in two years.

2010 Domaine Latour-Giraud Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Cuvée des Pierre. VM 95+. Bright pale yellow. Spicy oak, lemon oil, hazelnut and brown spices on the nose. Boasts superb saline density on entry, then remains tactile and salty in the middle, but with terrific energy to buffer the wine’s volume. There’s outstanding flavor intensity here but not the early tenderness of the basic Genevrieres bottling. Superb lemony minerality gives the finish terrific cut. Really mounts slowly and builds. Latour noted that both this wine and the cuvee classique went back into barrel for additional aging after the August racking; he moved the rest of his wines into tanks, where they remained in mass for another six months.

2010 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières. VM 96+. Usually we feature older wines in Cellar Favorites, but given the understandable trepidation consumers have around cellaring white Burgundy, I thought it would be interesting to see how a handful of highly touted white Burgundies are faring. To be honest, I had a selfish reason for wanting to taste these wines. I bought many of the Lafon 2010s (it is my daughter’s birth year), but I did so not really knowing when the wines would be ready to drink or how long they will last. I think I can at least offer a view on the first part of that question, but the second, happily, remains a question mark, in the best sense of the term.Vinous readers will recall that 2010 is unusual in the Côte de Beaune for its combination of both elevated ripeness and high acidity, two attributes one rarely finds in the same vintage. At Lafon, the 2010s were positively electric when I tasted them from barrel and then from bottle. Today, a few years later, the 2010 whites are every bit as impressive. Although projecting drinking windows for white Burgundy these days is fraught with peril, based on this showing all of the 2010s need at least a few more years in bottle with the possible exception of the Goutte d’Or.While the preceding Meursaults all offer a measure of exuberance – albeit in a classically austere style – the 2010 Meursault Genevrières is a much more introverted wine that draws the taster in with its myriad shades of dimension. Deceptively medium in body, the 2010 is all about intensity, cut and inward energy, with the classic reductive flavor profile that is typical of this great site, and breathtaking harmony. The 2010 refreshes the palate with every taste as it continues to grow in the glass. Over the last few years, the 2010 has blossomed into a spectacular Meursault. This is the best showing yet from the Genevrières.

2010 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. VM 95+. Orange and lemon zest and pure crushed stone on the reticent nose. A real live wire in the mouth, with great verve to the flavors of lemon peel, white pepper and saline minerality. For such a bracing wine, this one boasts a magically silky, seamless texture. The outstanding, slow-mounting finish boasts pristine grapefruit, lemon and crushed stone elements and outstanding aromatic persistence. This wine finished its malo in June of 2011 and is still an infant today.

From my cellar: 2010 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. VM 94. Deep aromas of fresh apricot, orange creamsicle, vanilla and spices. Big, concentrated and rich, displaying more power and weight today than the Genevrieres. Dense and silky-sweet but a bit shocked by the bottling and not currently showing the precision or length of the last sample. But this is still long on the aftertaste. Lafon notes that this wine will become more floral as it settles down in the bottle.

Linguine with Sea Scallops Ragu. Not a bad dish, but not the best White Burg pairing and oddly VERY similar to the next dish.

Flight 3: Meursault Perrieres

2010 Henri Germain et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 90-93. Here the SO2 had just recently been adjusted and it was strong enough to render the nose impossible to fairly evaluate. The stony, precise and energetic middle weight flavors possess both excellent complexity and plenty of detail before concluding in a dry, clean, focused and impressively persistent finish.

2010 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 93-95. Bright, light medium yellow. Fully ripe peach complemented by flinty minerality. At once thick and bright, with intense stone fruit, oak char and nut oil flavors. Quite serene today after the early malo. This switches to a higher gear on the back half, with its mounting finish showing strong crushed stone minerality, some smoky, petrolly, riesling-like notes, and outstanding persistence.

2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 95+. Locked up tight on the nose. Then thick, large-scaled and powerful in the mouth, with an extraordinarily tactile palate feel to the pineapple and crushed stone flavors. Packed with dry extract. Boasts the concentration, fine-grained texture and sheer sappy density of a grand cru. This brilliant wine finishes with uncanny rising length. I’d love to revisit it in ten years.

2010 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 96.  Bright pale yellow. Very ripe aromas of pineapple, yellow peach and wet stone, lifted by a floral topnote. Wonderfully fine-grained and sweet, but with pungent pineapple and mineral flavors conveying a powerful impression of energy. Finishes very long and lush, with a resounding whiplash of fruits and stone. These 2010s boast outstanding depth of fruit without any heaviness.

2010 Vincent Dancer Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 92-94. This is perhaps the purest wine in the range with its gorgeously complex floral, spiced pear and wet stone suffused aromas. The racy, intense and chiseled flavors possess good mid-palate fat and concentration with plenty of dry extract that buffers the explosive, classy and gorgeously persistent finish where a discreet touch of wood surfaces. This is, in a word, terrific.

2010 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 93. Much more exotic on the nose than the Charmes, offering aromas of pineapple, hazelnut and marzipan. Hugely ripe and concentrated, but almost tropical in the context of this set of 2010s. Offers grand cru weight and texture, strong acidity and palate-staining pineapple and grapefruit flavors but finishes with a slight youthful bitterness. I’d drink this very ripe wine over the next decade or so while waiting on the superlative Charmes.

2010 Domaine Jean-Michel Gaunoux Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 94. Bright pale yellow. With its aromas of pineapple, powdered stone and tea leaf, this smells a bit sweeter than the Genevrieres. Dense but light on its feet, with terrific inner-mouth perfume to the flavors of lavender, powdered stone and minerals. Taut, elegant, very dry wine with superb cut and rising length. A very clear expression of Perrieres terroir.

2010 Albert Grivault Meursault 1er Cru Clos des Perrières. VM 92. Cool nose of mint, green herbs, some lemon and lemon drops, a bit of sweet oak. A bit oaky for my tastes. The palate shows more energy with good acid, not as deep or wide as I would like from a Perrieres but quite pretty with lemon drops, oak, a touch of the herbal/mint. The finish is the best part showing great drive and brightness with lots of lemon drops and some sweetness from the oak.

Risotto with Lobster and Mixed Seafood. We always get this dish, but tonight it was nearly identical in flavor profile to the pasta and again a bit too tangy/acidic for the Burg. Really we should have had the white cheesy/creamy risotto that was a Valentino specialty back in the 90s, the one that is closer to Risotto gamberi con crema.

Flight 4: Corton Charlemagne

2010 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. VM 96+. Bright pale yellow. Extremely closed nose hints at gunflint and menthol. Dense and pure on entry, then as powerful as a solid in the middle, with explosive lift to the flavors of white pepper, mint and dusty stone. Expands with air to fill the mouth without giving any impression of weight. Finishes with a convincing saline tang and outstanding persistence. This has the structure of a top red Burgundy: I’d forget about it for at least eight years.

2010 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. VM 95+. Good bright, pale yellow. Very pure, reticent aromas of lemon, lime and white flowers. Dry and penetrating to the point of painful, with pristine flavors of crushed stone, lime, lemon and ripe but lightly bitter pomelo. Pure energy: this makes the Cabottes seem almost creamy by comparison. Finishes with intense crushed stone flavor and outstanding cut and lift. For the cellar.

2010 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne. VM 95+. Palish bright yellow. Tight, vibrant nose offers white peach, pineapple, nut oils and brown spices. Juicy and sweet but kept under wraps today by powerful acidity. Still, this remarkably intense wine does not come across as austere owing the full ripeness of the fruit. Wonderfully classy Corton-Charlemagne with a penetrating, dusty, extremely long finish. This held up brilliantly in the recorked bottle. I suspect this wine will shut down in the next couple years.

2010 Domaine Patrick Javillier Corton-Charlemagne. VM 92+. Bright pale-yellow. Very closed nose hints at minerals and spices. Rich, dense and sappy, with almost surprising sucrosite to the flavors of orange zest and stone. Very precise Corton-Charlemagne with a tangy, slightly tannic back end. Forget about this one for at least five or six years.

2010 Domaine de la Vougeraie Corton-Charlemagne Le Charlemagne. VM 94-96. The 2010 Corton-Charlemagne Le Charlemagne is stunningly beautiful. Layers of expressive, voluptuous fruit are supported by persistent underlying mineral notes. The wine blossoms on the palate in all directions, showing off its pedigree and pure class. A vivid, crystalline finish leaves a lasting impression.

2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne. VM 95+. Pale, bright yellow-green. Discreet, pristine aromas of white peach, lime, white pepper and powdered stone. Extremely tight and penetrating, with outstanding intensity to its steely, lemony flavors. Conveys a powerful citrus character that’s accentuated on the back end by a bracing crushed stone element. Impenetrable today but built for a long and eventful evolution in bottle.

2010 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. VM 94+. Good pale yellow. Penetrating aromas of citrus peel, spices, metallic minerality and crushed rock. Tightly wound, gripping and deep, with outstanding concentration and clarity and a density of texture that reminded me of the 2005 here. A flavor of candied lime peel is already quite exhilarating but this wine’s youthfully imploded character calls for at least seven or eight years of cellaring. Today, this is rather like a tighter version of the 2011, and even more closed than a bottle I rated 94 in Issue 164.

2010 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne Quintessence. VM 92?. Bright, pale yellow. Reticent but very pure aromas of yellow peach, hazelnut and vanillin oak; comes across as riper than the utterly primary basic Corton-Charlemagne. Sweet and fine-grained, with a distinctly silky texture to the yellow fruit flavors. I find this less limey and minerally than the basic bottling, without quite that wine’s tension. In fact, the finish shows a slightly exotic apricot quality and a bit of youthful warmth.

Pan Roasted Napa Quail with Parmesan Polenta. Good quail dish.

Flight 5: Dessert

1989 Château Rieussec. VM 92. Lively, complex, fresh aromas of tropical fruit, honey and spicy oak. Sweet and viscous in the middle palate; kept fresh by apple and pear notes and harmonious acidity. Very concentrated and deep. Very long on the aftertaste; has the sheer material to buffer its alcohol. Rieussec switched to later bottling with this vintage: 30 rather than 24 months after the harvest.

Made and brought by me for the meal: Mint Oreo Fudge Triple Threat – Fresh mint gelato base with Valrhona chocolate ganache and mint oreo cookies!

Apple Torte & Apple Fritters with Cinnamon Creme Anglaise.

Looking over the sea of glasses!

There is a lot to say about this tasting. First of all, Valentino did a good job as usual. The wine service was impeccable, and this is a difficult task (pouring lots of big blind flights). Overall service is absolutely first rate. It’s a large quiet room, and the staff was highly attentive. The food was okay, although feeling a bit dated and the menu selection was odd with the two nearly identically sauced dishes. The decor and food are also a tad dated now, very very 90s — and not even as good as I remember back in the 90s. But memory is a funny thing.

There wasn’t quite enough food and the flights were WAY too large. Really this dinner could use 6 flights, no bigger than 5 wines each and about 6 savory dishes. This was more a planning/budget issue than anything under the restaurant’s control.

Thanks to Don C again as always for organizing a super fun and education event! It’s an enormous amount of organization and we all really appreciate it.

Speaking of Don, his compiled results and comments from this dinner are as follows. The top five ranked wines of the evening were:

On February we held the first night of the 2010 White Burgundy and Vintage Assessment Dinners at Valentino Restaurant in Santa Monica.  The dinners were in our usual format with 14 attendees and sommelier Paul Sherman evaluating the wines at each dinner.  All of the wines were served single blind and all of the voting takes place completely blind (with individual written ballots) with the attendees ranking their top five wines by bottle number.  As we usually do, we attempted to include all of the top examples from each appellation.

We tasted 32 different wines from Chablis, Meursault and Corton Charlemagne (four flights of eight wines each).  On February 20 we had 30 different hyphenated grand crus from Montrachet and two ringers – one from California and one from France.  Again, we had four flights of eight wines each.

Here are the top ten wines based on the group rankings from each night:

 

Night One- Feb 7 (Chablis (8), Meursault (16), Corton Charlemagne (8)):

 

Top 5 DC
Group Ranking Total Points Votes Rating
1 Vincent Dancer Meursault Perrieres 29 8 95
2 Lafon Meursault Genevrieres 23 6 95
3 Raveneau Chablis Clos 20 5 94
4 Roulot Meursault Perrieres 19 6 95
5 tie Javillier Corton Charlemagne   [DIAM] 17 7 94
5 tie H. Boillot Meursault Perrieres 17 4 93|90?
7 Latour-Giraud Meursault Genevrieres Cuvee de Pierre 15 5 95
8 Vougeraie Corton Charlemagne 13 4 93
9 Roulot Meursault Charmes 11 4 94+
10 Fevre Clos [DiAM] 8 4 94+

The premox report for nights one and two were very good.   Over two nights, we had the lowest total incidence of oxidized or advanced wines over the past 13 years.  The group consensus was that 3 of the 64 wines were advanced or oxidized (6.25%).  By my count it was 7 of 64 wines (or 10.94%) [ Andy interjects that at dinner 1 basically nothing was premoxed and that he feels Don sometimes see a highly ripe wine as advanced ].  To date, the vintage with the lowest incidence of oxidized and advanced wines was 2004 — (12.7%).  But we still have 16 bottles of “Mostly Montrachet” to taste on March 7.   Once again, none of the DIAM-closed bottles were corked, oxidized or advanced and no one reported any sort of unusual flavors or aromas.  So far, that’s 13 perfect bottles over the last two years.

 

Some Impressions About the 2010 Vintage Based on this tasting:

I will provide details on each wine in the tasting notes, but I found the 2010 vintage more uneven and probably less impressive overall than I had expected – at least for the Cote de Beaune wines.  The Cote de Beaune wines are much riper and more dense (with lots of tropical fruit notes on the aromas) than the early reviews suggested.  And in several cases, particularly in Corton, Meursault and Batard, the acidity level wasn’t as high as expected and in some cases, seemingly not high enough to counterbalance the heavy ripe fruit flavors. [ Andy notes that he LOVED the 2010s – but it’s highly subjective ]

The 2010 Chablis as a group were marvelous.  They have prototype Chablis aromas (lots of oyster shell and green fruit) with excellent Chablis minerality/liquid rocks in the finishes.  The surprise was that this came with about 50% more depth of fruit than most of the classic Chablis years.  This is a vintage in a style that everyone can love – similar to 2002 but with better acidity and abundant minerality.  There were lots of smiles over these wines and no one had any doubts, as we sometimes do when tasting Chablis at 7.5 years.

The Meursault wines were very uneven, and in some cases the wines seemed totally atypical and excessively ripe for Meursault.  Three or four of the wines had Corton Charlemagne weight and density with none of the normal Meursault aroma or flavor markers.  These bottles gave the impression of being too sweet and way too fat for Meursault.  Since I’m a classic Meursault lover, I wasn’t pleased. While there were a handful of really stellar Meursaults (e.g. Vincent Dancer MP, Roulot MP, Lafon Genevrieres, Latour-Giraud Genevrieres Cuvee Pierre, and Roulot Charmes) overall I preferred the flight of 2009 Meursault Perrieres we tasted a year ago, which were exceptional, to the flight of 2010 Meursault Perrieres.  That’s certainly not what I would have expected going into the dinner.

The Corton Charlemagne flight was group’s least favorite flight on night one.  Two of the wines were advanced, one was corked and the BDM seemed quite off to me with an excessively bitter phenols finish.   Overall this flight of wines didn’t impress me.  Some were notably sweet, even for Corton, and the acidity didn’t seem to match the ripeness and sweetness. Only the Javillier seemed to be a classic Corton.

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2009 White Burgundy part 1

2008 White Burgundy part 1

2008 White Burgundy part 2

2008 White Burgundy part 3

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2007 White Burgundy part 2

2007 White Burgundy part 3

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

Related posts:

  1. Valentino – 2009 White Burgundy part 1
  2. Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 1
  3. Valentino – 2008 White Burgundy part 1
  4. Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 2
  5. Valentino – 2006 White Burgundy
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 2010 White Burgundy, BYOG, Chablis, Corton-Charlemagne, Don Cornwell, Gelato, Italian Cusine, Meursault, Valentino, Wine

Quick Eats – Pho Cafe

Mar28

Restaurant: Pho Cafe

Location:2841 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Date: February 2, 2018

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Excellent Pho

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After our bike ride (and Bicycle Cafe stop) Sebastian and I went to Silverlake for some Pho.

Unassuming entrance right next to Silverlake Ramen.

Minimal interior.

The menu.

Gotta have these.

Banh Xeo. Vietnamese crepe with shrimp, charbroiled lemongrass steak, mushroom, bean sprouts, side of fresh herbs, rice paper wrap.

Comes with the sauce and the usual fresh herbs.

The the rice paper wraps.

You soften up those things and wrap up the “crepe” (which is more like an omelet) and have some delicious stuff.

Herbs for the pho.

Pho Tai Gan Bo Vien. Beef rice noodle soup with slices of filet mignon steak, tendon, meat balls, and a side of fresh herbs. A very nice Pho, almost as good as the typical in Vietnam level. Lots of soup and hard to eat as Pho always is.

Pho Chay. Vegetable rice noodle soup with tofu, mushrooms, bok choy, and a side of fresh herbs.

Some solid Pho and lots of other good home style stuff.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats – Little Sister
  2. Quick Eats – Pho 2000
  3. Quick Eats – Le Saigon
  4. Quick Eats – Sushi Burrito
  5. Quick Eats – Qin
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Pho, Pho Cafe, Silverlake, Vietnamese cuisine

Quick Eats – Spoke

Mar26

Restaurant: Spoke Bicycle Cafe

Location: 3050 N Coolidge Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90039. (323) 684-1130

Date: February 2, 2018

Cuisine: Cafe

Rating: Cute place while riding

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Sebastian and I met at the Zoo parking lot for some road bike riding along the LA river.
 Up here the river has a distinct and unique feel that I really enjoy, it’s simultaneously beautiful and ugly and always reminds me of:

Halflife 2’s extensive canal scenes!

And it has a non Alien inhabited “bicycle cafe” called spoke. You can “park and eat/drink”!

Simple stuff.

Avocado toast. Feta, corn, cherry tomatoes, arugula. I’m not sure I had ever consciously ordered avocado toast — although obviously I’ve had more or less had this simple dish. Pretty good actually in this combination.

Chocolate orange cappuccino. Interesting.

Weird hipster artifacts. That gut is exactly why I ride the bike — plus it’s fun.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: La Cachette Bistro
  2. Quick Eats: Taverna Tony
  3. Quick Eats: Kreation Kafe
  4. Quick Eats – Sushi Burrito
  5. Quick Eats: Italian-Iberian Snack
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Avocado Toast, Cafe, coffee, Halflife 2, Spoke

Seminal Somni

Mar25

Restaurant:  Somni

Location: 465 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.246.5555

Date: March 14, 2018

Cuisine: Spanish influenced Molecular Gastronomy

Rating: Awesome

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I’m a bit of a Jose Andres groupie as not only have I been three times to Saam, at least 10 to The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE), but also to brunch at Trés, and even to é by José Andrés (twice) and Jaleo in Vegas and several places in Washington D.C.

For those who don’t know, José Andrés is perhaps America’s leading practitioner of  my favorite culinary style: Spanish Molecular Gastronomy. This school of cooking, a radical interpretation of the preparation of food, was begun at El Bulli outside of Barcellona. Andrés cooked and studied there with master chef Ferran Adrià. I first encountered Andrés’s cooking in Washington DC at Cafe Atlantico, and its own restaurant within a restaurant, Minibar.

I’ve eaten molecular a number of times in Spain, for example at Calima and La Terraza. The Bazaar and Saam brought molecular style to LA.

Somni is the “secret” prix fixe only room within the Bazaar, which replaces the previous secret room, Saam. The new one has a format more like é by José André as it’s 10 seats and fairly theatrical. There are two seatings, and a $235 dollar a person (includes tip) tasting menu. They do allow dietary restrictions with advance notice.

Somni has its own waiting tables out in the lobby. But knowing that we are serious gluttons and that the many courses would be small we decided to partake of a “pre-dinner” by ordering off the Bazaar menu.

Fred brought this older Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. These mature grand cuvees are fabulous. Foie Gras Floating Island Soup. Corn espuma, corn nuts, chives. I haven’t had this exact soup before, but it is roughly based on an older Jose foie soup I had 20+ years ago at Cafe Atlantico. Very rich — lots of cream.

Oxtail Steamed Buns. watermelon radish, cilantro, serrano chili. I love the texture and breadiness of these Chinese buns combined with other more savory ingredients.

‘Rossejat’ Negra. paella-style pasta, squid ink, sepia sofrito, shrimp. Very nice version of this dark noodle based squid ink paella.

Tortilla de Patatas “New Way”. potato foam, egg 63, caramelized onions. The ingredients of the traditional tortilla (potato & egg) deconstructed and served in a very soft fashion.

“Philly Cheesesteak”. air bread, cheddar, wagyu beef. I never get enough of this dish! The crispy bread, the soft wagyu, and the succulent salty meted cheese inside!

Then we move on to Somni proper.

The former Saam space has been opened up to the Bazaar kitchen, reformatted in lovely pale wood and with a semi-circular bar. It’s much more airy.

The whole kitchen is visible behind the bar. And there is a weird empty void space behind the guests.

The kitchen now merges into the Bazaar kitchen.

Homage to Spain?

Chef de Cuisine Zabala Aitor, hailing from Catalonia and Basque. He worked at El Bulli, Arzak, Aelarre, and ABaC!

The vessels are all exquisite.

Hojita. A nitro frozen cocktail of rum. Delicious and strong.

Strong citrus notes.

Fred brought: 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. BH 97. 1990 is one of my favorite vintages ever for this storied cuvée because while the vintage was on the riper side the high yields allowed the fruit to retain a very good level of acidity which made for balanced and ageworthy wines. While I have had the pleasure of tasting the ’90 on a number of occasions since its release, the last time was alongside the 1985 and the 1988, and as admirable as those two vintages are, the 1990 is head and shoulders above them to my taste. The fantastically complex nose is comprised of an abundance of yeast and toast characters that don’t completely dominate the essence of apple, pear, citrus, spice, acacia blossom and discreet orange peel scents. There is equally good depth to the delicious, full-bodied and powerful flavors that possess a lovely sense of vibrancy thanks to the still firm but fine mousse that shapes the delineated, delicious and impeccably well-balanced finale. In my view 1990 is one of the greatest vintages for this wine of the last 25 years and one that is still drinking well. While there is no additional upside development to be hand, neither is there any rush to drink up as this should continue to hold effortlessly for years to come.

We get to see all the intricate plating.

Pan con tomate y jamon. Classic toast with tomato pulp and jamon. The toast itself may not have actually been toast.

Almond shell. Looks like almonds, but you pop the whole thing in the mouth and eat it — soft, nutty, and amazing.

Apple floret, cheese & beet. One of these cheese, apple, beet salads served in sponge form.

“Piggy” de manteca colorada. A pig shaped little crisp.

Reading the fist bumps.

Jose has long had a thing with “hands.” Not sure what it is.

Caviar & Truffle. Straight up briny goodness.

Nori empanada. I can’t remember what was inside but it was delicate and crispy.

Spot prawn and that’s it. Pure succulent Santa Barbara spot prawn steamed or sous vide or something. Incredibly fresh and juicy. Sucked out the head!

Erick brought in it’s special box.

And wrapper.

1986 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Blanco. VM 96. The first bottling for this wine since the 1970; aged for 21 years in oak casks, followed by another six years in concrete vats. Pale gold. Pear nectar, orange zest, beeswax, fennel, vanilla and honey on the explosively perfumed, highly complex nose. Densely packed citrus and pit fruit, candied fig and chamomile flavors are sharpened by juicy acidity and a jolt of minerality. Juicy, penetrating and sappy on the extremely long, spice-laced finish, which eventually leaves behind mineral and orange pith notes.

agavin: best white Rioja I’ve ever had. So clean and complex.

Pigtail curry bun. You dip it in the curry sauce — incredible. This was an amazing dish.

Hibiscus Margarita. Another nitro frozen treat, served in the flower. Hard to eat and very alcoholic — but tasty.

Live scallop. Inside this lettuce dumpling.

Lamb, pine nut & herbs.

With some kind of sauce.

And in it’s final form. Very “leafy.”

Egg, sea urchin & truffle. An amazing combination. The egg was dried and salty and overall this was an umami bomb.

“Croissant.” With lobster and shellfish reduction. The sauce was one of those French-style “bisque”-like sauces. Great dish with the elements of a lobster pot pie basically.

Larry brought: 1970 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Ygay Reserva. 94 points. Still vibrant and dark red, surprisingly strong fruit and good acidity with a little dill on the finish. Plenty of life left in this one.

Alubias con jamon. Sort of beans and ham — but spherized.

Pekin chili crab. Vague flavors of peking duck.

From my cellar: 1980 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. 96 points. Opened and decanted and then poured and drank over the course of maybe 2.5 hours. This is a wine that was only getting better. Prob the early part of the drinking window, but really with time in the decanter it was gaining body and interest and so it’s not going anywhere fast. It’s got that wonderful spice that I love in Unicos and hints of red fruits underneath and just a perfect wine.

Wagyu on view.

Japanese A5 & bone marrow. It comes hidden under leaves.

We pulled them off so you can see the meat — pretty neat.

Larry brought: 1959 Moulin Touchais Anjou. 95 points. Golden sweet and amazing.

“Snowflake”.

Under the sugary snowflake was ice cream, macha, and some kind of nut paste?

Vienetta. Like chocolate and vanilla custard.

 Tea.

 Snacks.

Merienda. A little white chocolate and nut paste sandwich. Mochi.
 Matcha doughnut. Inside was gooey matcha custard that just exploded out! Amazing.
 Cool decanter.

The menu.

The staff.

Overall, the food was amazing at Somni. Much more advanced and “sophisticated” than the early Saam meals which were just Bazaar+. This is much more theatrical and formal, much more in the vein of E or minibar.

Service was excellent. First rate really and very attentive. Wine service was very slick too.

But things ran very smooth and FAST. Too fast as the entire meal in Somni from walking in the door to rolling out was only 1 hour and 45 minutes! Yeah! It should have been 3. Maybe a few more courses. They do this, I assume, so they can comfortably get two seatings in and not be working super late. But it felt a bit rushed.

And most crucially, particularly as we opened 6 bottles of wine (5 at dinner proper) we didn’t have enough time to finish our wine. The somm did a great job opening the wines and all that, but he was a bit slow starting them up because of the cocktail and then didn’t pour super aggressively. The net was that we didn’t finish half of it — and considering the quality level and cost of the wines we brought — really at the very top of Spanish wines — it was kinda a shame. I’m sure the staff enjoyed them later 🙂 which is certainly better than wasting them. But really he should have poured faster and warned us that there was no way we would get through so many. We probably only at 1:30 to drink 5 bottles with 4 people.

Apparently they change the food fairly rapidly, so we plan to be back soon, just with less wine or more people.

They also nominally have the annoying 2 bottle per party limit — which I hate and have ranted about before — but they let us open all our bottles with no complaints so kudos to them.

Also, this was only the 2nd or 3rd night they were open — and everything was very polished — pretty impressive.

For a previous Saam meal, click here.

For a meal and The Bazaar proper, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Truffles at Saam – I am
  2. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  3. Jaleo Bethesda
  4. Saam I am again
  5. Sauvages Rioja at the Bazaar
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Foodie Club, José Andrés, Molecular Gastronomy, rioja, SLS Hotel, Somni, Spanish Cuisine, Spanish Food, Unico, Wine, ygay, Zabala Aitor

Eating Melbourne – Sovereign Hill

Mar23

Restaurant: Sovereign Hill

Location: Bradshaw St, Golden Point VIC 3350, Australia

Date: December 31, 2017

Cuisine: Hard to tell

Rating: Better than it would have been in the US

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For completeness in posting all the meals I photographed we have a lunch at the interesting reconstructed gold rush town of Sovereign Hill.

Here is the main pump for pumping water out of the mines. I hadn’t realized before coming to Australia that it also had a 19th century gold rush much like California.

Simple pasta.

Fish and Chips. Again!

Pumpkin salad. With feta and pomegranates. You wouldn’t see this at an American tourist place.
 And catering to the Chinese tourist some kind of vaguely Asian chicken with rice. Not bad although not great either.

Decent for where it was.

For more Australia dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Melbourne – Sarti
  2. Eating Sydney – Leura Gourmet
  3. Eating Barossa – Artisans
  4. Eating Adelaide – Skyline
  5. Eating Cairns – Tamarind
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Australia, eating-australia, Melbourne, Sovereign Hill

Quick Eats – Big Boi

Mar21

Restaurant: Big Boi

Location:2027 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (424) 832-7199

Date: January 26, 2018

Cuisine: Filipino

Rating: Quick and tasty

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I’ve periodically been going to B-Sweet on Sawtelle, which despite it’s very odd hours (closed Mondays and Tuesdays), is a really tasty Filipino-esque dessert place.

The owners are branching out down the block with this savory Filipino comfort food spot.

It’s super fast casual. Order at the counter, get your food in a plastic container.

Take out (which I hate) or sit in the cut but tiny space with self serve silverware.
Basically you build a bowl or plate of Filipino stuff. You can pick which starches go underneath too like rice, garlic rice, pancit noodles.

This two protein plate is Longanisa, house-made pork sausage links known for its distinctively sweet taste and Pork Sisig, tasty crispy chopped pork belly with a little lick, drizzled with a spicy mayo. Underneath was a hella-of-a-lot of garlic rice. Both mains were tasty and rich, with grease oozing into the rice (yum).

This second plate was garlic rice and noodles. On top was BBQ Skewers, thin marinated top sirloin steak, and Pork Tocino, thinly sliced pork shoulder cured in soy, salt, sugar, and garlic. The sweet red BBQ was particularly tasty. Surprisingly, the roll was very good too, a bit sweet. I can see that there is a sugar factor here. Hey, B-Sweet.

Overall, this is a funny little place, but tasty and very reasonable. Plus it’s EXTREMELY Fast. So if you just want to grab some fast yummy grub, not bad. I wish the limpia came in smaller batches so you could realistically have it as one person (13 egg rolls!). Also, one of my serious foodie Filipino friends thinks it isn’t terribly “authentic.” I would have no idea.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Big Boi, Filipino Cuisine, lunch, pork, Sawtelle Little Tokyo

Midweek at Mizlala

Mar19

Restaurant: Mizlala

Location: 4515 Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 91403. (818) 783-6698

Date: February 22 & March 29 & Sept 8 , 2018

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Rating: Really bright and tasty

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Several people told us that Mizlala in Sherman Oaks was really good, and so a small group of us Hedonists decided to give it a try.

The interior is cute and modern Middle Eastern.

The menu.

NV Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 90. The Brut Rosé Pur Meunier is a rosé done with a blend of mostly Meunier vinified in white, off the skins, with the addition of still red Meunier for color and texture. Bright, red-tone fruit, tobacco and dried flowers give the wine striking aromatic depth to play off and contrast the fruit. The 6 grams of dosage feels just a touch sweet for this wine. Otherwise, the Pur Meunier is very nicely done. The current release is a blend of equal parts 2014 and 2013. Disgorged: February 2017. Dosage is 6 grams per liter.

Salatim. Four “salads” (3 pictured above).

With awesome house-made pita bread.

Eggplant babaganoush.

Lebane with Zaatar. I LOVE this stiff Middle Eastern yoghurt/cheese — so much that we ordered 3 plates of it for 5 people!

Creamy Beet salad. Also really good.
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Smoked spicy eggplant (9/8/18).

Spicy Moroccan carrots. Love these too.

From my cellar: 2011 Raul Pérez Rías Baixas Muti. 90 points. With shrimp diablo, rice and black beans. Saline, lime, mineral crispness. Very lithe mouthfeel. Would have liked to see if it would have evolved, but too many eager sippers for it to last that long.

Jerusalem Salad. Cucumber, tomato, freekeh, lemon vinaigrette.

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Mushrooms (3/29/18). Dates, hazelnuts, fig balsamic, puffed rice.
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Potato Latkes (3/29/18). Horseradish creme fraiche, apple sauce, pecorino.
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Bourekas (3/29/18). Cheese, truffled mushroom, spinach and feta. Unusual takes on these fried pastries.
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Flaming cheese!
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Haloumi Saganaki (3/29/18). Orange, honey, walnut chimichurri. The fruit really added a lot of sweetness to this which made me think of Hawaiian Pizza. I prefer it more tangy.
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Hummus with crispy artichokes (3/29/18). Gremolata, cured lemon emulsion, aleppo pepper.

Moroccan Fried Chicken. Really moist and crispy.

smoked paprika aioli, Spiced duck fat.

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World’s Best Greek Salad. Campari tomato, persian cucumber, feta, kalamata olive, oregano.

Garlic shrimp. White wine, preserved lemon, butter bean puree. I always love these garlicky shrimp. Like the Spanish Gambas Pil Pil.

Greek Octopus. Smoked paprika, grilled potato, celery, lebaneh.
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Falafels (9/8/18).

1993 Faiveley Echezeaux. 95 points. Deep ruby, dense but bright. A touch of VA initially but this blows off quite quickly to reveal dark red fruit and a hint of the autumnal. Somewhere between silk and velvet on the palate, very cosseting and very drink…

1995 Daniel Moine-Hudelot Chambolle-Musigny. 91 points.

1970 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Cerro Anon Gran Reserva. Awesome!

Lamb Tagine. Colorado lamb shoulder slow braised with apples, dried fruit and silan, topped with sesame, served with saffron rice.

Shortrib Tagine. Slow braised with picholine olives, san marzano tomato and fennel.

Lemon Saffron Chicken. Brined airline chicken breast grilled over coals accompanied by baby artichokes, green olives, cherry tomato, and saffron rice.

Moussaka. Lamb Bolognese, bechamel sauce, gruyere cheese.

Moussaka, when done right, is such an awesome dish.

2007 Hundred Acre Vineyard Shiraz Summer’s Block Ancient Way. VM 93.  Inky purple. Superripe aromas of cassis, cherry preserves and dark chocolate, with complicating notes of licorice and mint. Densely packed and chewy, offering palate-coating black and blue fruit flavors that show serious depth and building sweetness. A hint of smoked meat comes up on the long, clinging finish, which is framed by broad, pliant tannins. I’m not exactly sure what I’d serve with this but it would definitely have to be part of a dead mammal and it would be roasted, braised or grilled.

1994 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. VM 92. Medium red. Aromatic nose combines plum, redcurrant and cedary spices. Very suave, fine-grained, plummy wine with captivating saline minerality. Lovely balance and subtle sweetness of fruit here, not to mention suave, ripe tannins. Finishes firm and clean, with terrific subtle length. À point but will hold for a while.

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Branzino (3/29/18). Cauliflower cous cous, lebaneh, currants, pine nuts.

Kefta and chicken kabob.

Grilled Merguez Sausage. Yum!

Fillet Mignon Kabob, Skirt Steak, and Lamb Leg. Really good, very tender kabobs.
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Kefta and lamb kabobs (9/8/18).

French Fries!
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Chocolate nut crunch dessert (3/29/18). Can’t remember what exactly was in it, but it was quite good.

I brought some more of my house-made gelatti. Ube Gelato. I roasted the Japanese Purple Yams from scratch and made them into this Filipino classic for Erick’s birthday.

And in Filipino tradition, Macapuno Coconut Sport.

You top the Ube with the coconut.

And one of my most unique creations: Gorgonzola Fig Walnut Gelato – a gorgonzola dolce gelato base with fig jam and candied walnuts.

You can see the candied walnuts and fig jam streaked through it. This gelato turned out perfectly. Super creamy, with a very distinct real Gorgonzola Dulce texture. Several at the table thought it was one of my best.

Overall, Mizlala was really good. It’s very bright modern Israeli, Moroccan, Lebanese flavors, much in the Yotam Ottolenghi style. Some of the best Middle Eastern I’ve had in a while. The second time I went (3/29/18) the food was just as good but the service was annoying. The girl was very slow to take our order, over-worked (or busy elsewhere), and said she was going to spread out our food but brought the entire dinner, 8 items, appetizers and mains all within a 7 minute spread (looked at the photo timestamps to verify!). Not even 2 courses really but 2 trips from the back. I hate that. Made for a super rushed meal. She felt totally checked out.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

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  4. Italian House Party
  5. Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Middle Eastern, Mizlala, Tapas, Wine

World Seafood is Elite

Mar16

Restaurant: World Seafood Restaurant [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1412 S Garfield Ave. Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 282-3888

Date: January 27, 2018 and February 7, 2020

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Elite Dimsum

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I last went to World Seafood almost 2 years ago for dim sum but recently one of the Elite managers, Derek, came over to World Seafood and brought with him one of the Elite chefs. Because of the new kitchen and management I’ve decided to write a new from scratch review. Then about 2 years later Yarom, my brother and I hit it up again and it’s still great.

 Typical big Cantonese house outside.
 Inside a touch of new color encircles the giant Chinese-style banquet hall.

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They have a much bigger space than Elite and gave us an elaborate private room.

 

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The menu (1/7/20).
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Sauces, including XO sauce on the right.
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Spicy crunchy cold cucumbers.


Pork Shui-Mai. Great versions of the classic.

Chicken feet in house sauce. Not my thing, but some like it.

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Shrimp and Chinese Chive Dumpling. What’s better than shrimp dumpling? Shrimp with Chive!
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Fun guo, or Chaozhou fun guo sometimes spelled fun quor, fun gor, fen guo, Chiu Chow dumpling, Teochew dumpling, or fun kor is a variety of steamed dumpling from the Chaoshan area of coastal eastern Guangdong, a province in Southern China.

Shanghai Style Steamed Bun. We love XLB, and these particular examples were awesome. Nice and delicate and easy to slurp out of the little tins.

Har Gow (Crystal shrimp). Excellent versions of the standard.

Special dumplings with meat, shrimp, and vegetables.

Scallop and shrimp dumplings.

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Sea Cucumber Roll. Lettuce leaves filled with pork, shrimp, sea cucumber and topped with masago.
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Beef balls. A touch dense.

Tofu wrap. Mostly vegetables and some pork? wrapped in bean curd. Hot and soft and delicious.

Sautéed pea tendrils with garlic. A nice version because lots of garlic.

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Sautéd string beans with minced pork. A touch bland, or under salted.

Special shrimp. A lot of good flavor with peanuts and a bit of spice.

Baked chicken bun. Delicious slightly sweet crunchy exterior top filled with chopped seasoned chicken meat.

BBQ Pork Bun. Like a jelly donut, just filled instead with porky goodness!

Fried Meat Dumpling. This was the chewy fried rice coating with sweet ground meat paste inside. I’ve had better versions of these, the filling here was a bit boring.

Crab cream roll. Some bits of crab and maybe cream-cheese deep fried. Much like a crab rangoon. Mayo sauce. Pretty tasty if very fried.

Flakey baked pork bun. The buttery flakey batter around sweet BBQ pork. Really delicious.

Peking duck! We asked and he had — even at lunch! Very nice duck too.

Pan fried shrimp and scallion cake. I had these in Fuijian province. Really delicious and very greasy (in a good way).

Preserved meat crepe. Chewy and bland.

Green onion rice noodle. Bland.

Fried shrimp rice noodle. Excellent.

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Sticky rice with chicken in lotus leaf. Pretty good.

White boy shrimp (aka walnut shrimp). Nice version.

Macau pork. Pan fried roast pork. Tasty!

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Macau Style Roast Pork Belly (2/7/20). Delicious. Different than it was a few years ago.
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Fried Chicken Cartilage with Garlic. Crunchy and the garlic was great. Chewy insides.
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Roast Duck. Nice and juicy. Served with sweet sauce.

House special fried rice. Nice kitchen sink rice.

Seafood Chow Mein. Those crispy little noodles I love soaked in a seafood sauce. Great noodle dish.

Coconut buns. Delicious!

Milk buns with custard. Also good. They have a lot of interesting Chinese desserts here but we were full.
 Plus I had brought my own homemade dessert: PeaNutella & Jelly Frenzy Gelato – Peanut Butter base layered with everyone’s mob crazy spread and strawberry jelly. Plus bonus peanut butter cookies!

Overall, World Seafood has now leapt into the top SGV dimsum houses. It’s very much like Elite (wonder why) and super yummy. Big menu of with all sorts of Cantonese treats. Their banquet is great too.

As of 2/7/20 I still thought World Seafood was very good, in the “A level” of SGV dimsum. Big menu, interesting stuff, fresh, piping hot, and all that goodness.

Related posts:

  1. Dim Sum – World Seafood
  2. SGV Nights – Seafood Palace
  3. Top Island Seafood
  4. Elite Dim Sum
  5. Lincoln Seafood Restaurant
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Dim sum, dimsum, Gelato, hedonists, Lunch Quest, SGV, World Seafood, World Seafood Restaurant

Bangaichi Ramen

Mar15

Restaurant: Bangaichi Ramen

Location: 9810 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. (424) 603-4341

Date: January 22, 2018

Cuisine: Japanese Ramen

Rating: Meh

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The former location of East Borough has been empty for over a year and finally in comes…

Ramen — and right next to the former Ramen Roll location. Good thing we aren’t still open, more competition. hehe.

It was always a pretty space but on the odd side of the street.





Big menu.

They have a modern fixed build out and TVs.

A ramen bar and a full liquor licensee (EB must have had it).

Decent array of condiments.

Cold Tufu w/ Onion Slices. Tofu, white onion, dried bonito, sesame oil. I love this kind of soft Japanese/Korean tofu. This was a typical, but very oniony prep.

Gyoza. Decent classic pan fried gyoza. Bangaichi Ramen. Char-siu pork, bamboo shoots, green onions, bean sprouts, butter, corn, seaweed, nori, seasoned egg. I didn’t really like this ramen at all. The broth was like miso soup and had very little richness and flavor. The toppings were fine for what they were, but it was just uninspired. I had to dump a ton of vinegar in to make it palatable.

I was there at a weird (late) lunch hour but I was the only customer. It screams Japanese ramen chain, but I don’t really get this type of Hokaido miso ramen. They are very Japanese in style and probably not that likely to appeal to a general American audience. And Culver City is a seriously white bread general American audience (as I learned first hand).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Noodle Check – Yamadaya Ramen
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  3. Far Eastern Ramen
  4. Ramen is all the Rage
  5. Quick Eats – Venice Ramen
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bangaichi, Culver City, Japanese cuisine, ramen

Taittinger in Bel Air

Mar13

Restaurant: Hotel Bel-Air

Location: 701 Stone Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90077

Date: January 19, 2018

Cuisine: Continental

Rating: Great food, great wine

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Liz Lee of Sage Society puts on some of the best Winemaker dinners in town and tonight was no exception. An all Taittinger dinner featuring Vitalie Taittinger, lots of great Champagne, and located at the unique…

Hotel Bel-Air.

We considered this place for our wedding and it’s always been gorgeous.

Almost park like.
 Wolfgang Puck runs the restaurant at the hotel.

Here is the main dining room but we had a private room off to the side.

Our special menu for tonight.

Here is our spacious room.

NV Taittinger Champagne Brut Réserve / La Française (magnum). BH 89. Notes of yeast, baked bread, petrol and citrus serve as a slightly muted introduction to the rounded, delicious and reasonably complex flavors where the citrus elements telegraphed by the nose reappear on the moderately dry finish. This is perfectly good but it lacks a bit of overall complexity; that said, it is certainly inviting and easy-to-like.

Blini with caviar and creme fraiche.

Truffle bone marrow puff pastries.

Artsy butter photo.

Sitting down to dinner.

Vitalie Taittinger is in the shiny blue in the center.

Yummy bread.

Flight 1.

NV Taittinger Champagne Brut Réserve / La Française. BH 89. Notes of yeast, baked bread, petrol and citrus serve as a slightly muted introduction to the rounded, delicious and reasonably complex flavors where the citrus elements telegraphed by the nose reappear on the moderately dry finish. This is perfectly good but it lacks a bit of overall complexity; that said, it is certainly inviting and easy-to-like.

NV Taittinger Prelude. VM 91. Pale gold. Vibrant, mineral-laced citrus and orchard fruit aromas are complemented by suggestions of buttered toast and honey. Toasty orange and pear flavors are braced by juicy acidity, picking up a suggestion of chamomile with air. Finishes dry and precise, with repeating mineral and toast notes.

NV Taittinger Champagne Les Folies de la Marquetterie. VM 92. Pale gold. Red berries, rose and orange peel on the fragrant, floral-accented nose and in the mouth. Sappy and broad, with very good depth and an energizing note of chalky minerals. Gains weight with air and finishes with excellent breadth, clarity and lingering mineral and honeysuckle notes.

Sashimi of Big Eye Tuna, Hamachi & Alaskan King Salmon. Very nice, if salty and a bit heavy on the yuzu-kushu.

Flight 2.

2012 Taittinger Champagne Brut Millésimé. BH 92. The understated nose is presently quite discreet though not completely inexpressive with its array of floral, brioche, Meyer lemon and plenty of yeast influence. The clean and very crisp medium weight flavors possess excellent punch thanks to the very firm and relatively fine supporting mousse, all wrapped in a markedly dry but not really austere finale. This is a wine of refinement yet it doesn’t lack for verve and even power though it does need some bottle age to better develop the level of overall depth.

2009 Taittinger Champagne Brut Millésimé. BH 89. A ripe but fresh nose is comprised by notes of baked apple, yeast, brioche and a hint of rose petal. The round, rich, pliant and quite forward medium-bodied flavors are almost soft because while the supporting effervescence is relatively fine it’s not particularly dense and as such I found the overall effect to lack a touch of vibrancy on the otherwise reasonably dry and clean finish. This would better suit those who prefer less aggressive examples of Champagne when it comes to the mousse. In sum, this is perfectly good but I much preferred its 2008 counterpart.

Seared Main Diver Scallops “In the Shell.” Well scallop anyway. Lovely dish and a great pairing with the Champy.

Flight 3 — getting into the Comtes.

2004 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 96. I am thrilled with the way the 2004 Comtes de Champagne continues to evolve in bottle. A few years ago, the 2004 was quite focused and linear, in the style of the vintage, but more recently, the wine has begun to fill out beautifully. The 2004 remains bright, with a full range of citrus, white flower and mineral nuances that dance on the palate. A brisk, saline-infused finish rounds things out beautifully in a Comtes that impresses for its crystalline purity. I expect the 2004 will always remain a bit cool next to the more opulent 2002, but it is still drop-dead gorgeous.

2005 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 94. Bright yellow. Vibrant pear and melon aromas are complicated by suggestions of ginger, brioche and smoky minerals. Dry, smoky and precise, offering intense orchard and pit fruit flavors that gain weight with aeration. A dusty mineral quality adds focus and lift to the long, penetrating, floral finish. There’s a Burgundian thing going on here that’s quite intriguing.

2006 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 97.5. The 2006 Comtes de Champagne is striking, especially in the way it brings together elements of ripeness and freshness in a hypothetical blend of the 2002 and 2004. Smooth and creamy on the palate, the 2006 is all about texture. There is a real feeling of density and weight in the 2006, qualities I expect to see grow with time in the bottle. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. The 2006 has been nothing short of magnificent both times I have tasted it. Comtes de Champagne remains the single best value (in relative terms) in tête de cuvée Champagne. I suggest buying a case and following it over the next 20-30 years, which is exactly what I intend to do. There is little doubt the 2006 Comtes de Champagne is a magical Champagne in the making.

Main Lobster & Black Truffle Garganelli Pasta. Great pasta.

The big Flight 4.

1996 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 97. Taittinger’s 1996 Comtes de Champagne is another highlight. The flavors are only now beginning to show elements of complexity, a great sign for aging. Gently spiced and buttery notes suggest the 1996 is about to enter the early part of its maturity, where it is likely to stay for another decade or so.

1995 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 96. A total turn-on, the 1995 Comtes de Champagne is utterly magnificent. Orange marmalade, mint, smoke, hazelnuts, white truffles and honey blossom come to life in an exquisite, resonant Champagne that delivers the goods, big time. Opulent and exotic yet miraculously fresh for a 20 year-old wine, the 1995 Comtes is in a beautiful spot to deliver maximum drinking pleasure. With time in the glass, the 1995 becomes even more finessed. Readers who own the 1995 or can find it are in for a real treat. Let’s leave it at that.

Bonus! 1990 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 96. The 1990 Comtes de Champagne captures a stylistic middle ground between the 1988 and 1990. Slightly advancing tones of orange peel and roasted nuts are beautifully contrasted by a streak of minerality that gives the wine its freshness and verve. Bright floral and mineral notes reappear on the finish, adding focus. Rich in its texture yet effortless, the 1990 offers exceptional balance and tons of class. It should continue to drink well for another 15 years.

1990 Taittinger Champagne Artist Collection. Over the hills sadly.

1989 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 91. The 1989 Comtes de Champagne is darker in color than the 1988 and also quite a bit more forward. Candied orange peel, spices and caramel suggest it is on a fairly quick path. Today the 1989 is most impressive for its generous texture and complete, developed personality. This won’t make old bones, but it is delicious today.

1985 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. JG 95.  I reviewed this wine in the last article on Champagne, but having just had a stupendous bottle that was even better than my review in Issue 3, I felt it was necessary to include this note in the current report. The bouquet on this particular bottle is stellar, as it offers up beautiful mélange of pear, wheat toast, almond skins, a touch of custard, chalky soil tones and a quite pronounced note of orange zest. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and racy, with pinpoint bubbles, great acids, beautiful resolution, and a very, very long, focused and snappy finish. Much like the 1990, the 1985 Comtes de Champagne has years and years of life ahead of it, but is fully at its apogee. Glorious juice.

Whole Roasted Carpenter Ranch Squab.

Flight 5.

NV Taittinger Champagne Brut Prestige Rosé. VM 90. Light orange-pink. Cherry, orange zest and fresh rose aromas show very good clarity and energy. Sappy red fruit flavors display a spicy quality, picking up energy and a floral nuance with air. Concentrated, vibrant and precise, finishing on a zesty mineral note, with lingering spiciness and firm grip.

2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 95. Taittinger’s 2006 Comtes de Champagne Rosé has come along nicely over the last six months. Intensely perfumed, Pinot-inflected aromatics carry through the mid-palate and finish as the 2006 shows off its depth and pure energy. Veins of chalky minerality give the red berry and cranberry flavors an extra kick of energy. The 2006 is both powerful and delicate at the same, with crystalline precision and fabulous depth. Hints of orange peel, mint, cinnamon and cranberry add further shades of nuance on the complete, beautifully articulated finish.

2004 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 94. Vivid pink. Red berries, orange peel, cinnamon and fresh flowers on the high-pitched nose. Juicy, precise and very pure, offering intense, spice-accented red fruit flavors with hints of exotic spices and candied rose. Aeration brings out notes of cherry and rhubarb, which add depth and a bitter touch to the very long, juicy, fruit-dominated finish. Looks to be built for a graceful evolution but this Champagne is delicious now.

Out comes the rack of pork!

Whole Roasted Rack of Kurabuta Pork Chop.

Stems for everything!

Flight 6 – slightly sweet.

NV Taittinger Champagne Nocturne Rosé Sec. VM 89.  Dark orange-pink. Pungent red berry and cherry pit aromas are enlivened by suggestions of white pepper and ginger. Surprisingly taut and linear given its level of residual sugar, offering juicy raspberry and tangerine flavors that pick up a toasty nuance on the back half. Finishes with repeating spiciness as well as a hint of bitterness, leaving a sweet berry note behind.

NV Taittinger Champagne Nocturne Sec. VM 90. Bright yellow. Deeply perfumed aromas of poached pear, melon, nectarine and lemon curd are complemented by suggestions of buttered toast, anise and chamomile. Plush and broad on the palate, offering ripe citrus and pit fruit flavors with a touch of chalky minerality adding cut and lift. A floral quality builds slowly with air and carries through the spicy, sappy, gently sweet finish. I like this Champagne’s balance of fruitiness and vivacity and there’s no way that I’d have guessed that its <em>dosage</em> was so high.

Brillat Savarin, Robiola Cheese, Aged Comte.

The whole wine lineup.

Have a few glasses.

Liz Lee on the left, Vitalie Taittinger on the right.

Another stellar dinner from Liz and Sage Society! Very educational with Vitalie Taittinger there and the way in which Liz has arranged the wines. Different flights explored different aspects of the Taittinger style. We wandered across the decades as well and the older vintage wines showed particularly well.

Plus Liz does an absolutely amazing job with the food pairings. The food here reminds me a lot of that at Spago — I wonder why?

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Drappier at Petrossian
  2. Krug at Il Grano
  3. Republique of Jadot
  4. Salt’s Cure
  5. Factory Kitchen – Fabulous
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bel Air, Champagne, Liz Lee, Sage Society, Taittinger, Wolfgang Puck

I-Driva to I-Naba

Mar11

Restaurant: I-Naba

Location: 20920 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503. (310) 371-6675

Date: January 18, 2018

Cuisine: Japanese Tempura

Rating: Solid but not amazing Tempura

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Various people in my foodie circles had been floating the idea of a wine dinner to old school Torrance tempura joint, I-naba.

I ended up going with the Baby Killers (what I call one of my food groups). The reservation was for a blisteringly early — thanks Charlie! — 6:30pm which resulted in hideous traffic to it’s undistinguished mini-mall location.

The inside is seriously old school Japanese restaurant.

The even have a tempura bar — which is cool.

Cured duck with mustard. Nice, like a pastrami.

Amuse of marinated onions and some fish.

Sashimi plate with salmon, yellowtail, and another fish.

Fermented squid guts. A winter special — very briny and not to everyone’s taste — I actually like it.

Simmered chicken with taro. Chunks of taro and chicken soup. Pretty good.

Fried tofu in dashi soup. Very mild flavor but I love the texture of the fried tofu and the mild dashi flavor.

Pressed mackerel sushi. Very old fashioned — like 19th century!

Chawanmushi – Simmered egg custard dish. Always love these.

Stew of egg and some other stuff.

Deep fried pork cutlets.

Various tempura.

Even more tempura.

And more.

And my favorite tempura, the mixed everything (Kakiage).

Cold buckwheat soba noodles.

Soy sauce like dipping sauce and the traditional condiments of wasabi, green onion, and daikon radish. You dump them in the sauce and dip. Very nice soba.

So-so Japanese ice cream. (Overly grainy and frozen).

Red bean flavor.

Green tea.

Real genuine Sweet Milk Gelato that I made (and brought)! Meyer Lemon French Vanilla Gelato — looks simple, but the milk was steeped with Tahitian Vanilla beans and Meyer Lemon peel. I pair it in the bowl with Amareno cherry syrup too!

Here it is with the cherries!

And me serving.

Instagram fodder!

The dump included ice cream!

Tonight’s wines were great, but a total free-for-all as Charlie likes to do it. Because I’m lazy, I’ll just post the pictures.










As you can see, mostly Champ and Burgundy of both flavors.

More instagram posing.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable evening (except for the traffic), and the wines and company were fabulous, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the food. It was good traditional Japanese, and some dishes were very good like the tofu and soba, but the tempura in particular sat too long (possibly due to our large party) and was only good, not great. In fact, I like the tempura better at super casual Hannosuke. I had hoped for mind blowing tempura. That being said, the whole meal was tasty and a great deal.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Hannosuke Tempura
  2. Food as Art – Tempura Endo
  3. Mori Sushi – A Top Contender
  4. N/Naka Reprise
  5. Hurry Curry
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Babykillers, BYOG, Gelato, i naba, Japanese cuisine, Sashimi, tempura, Tofu, Wine

Eating Melbourne – Sarti

Mar09

Restaurant: Sarti

Location: 6 Russell Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Date: December 31, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Very good Italian

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Our final dinner in Australia was New Years Eve and we went to this excellent Italian restaurant…

Pretty front hidden on a side street.

Inside, bar, etc.

Outside patio currently hosting a private party.

Italian all the way.

The special New Year’s menu.

I ordered this nice Australian chard.

Trota Marinata. Semi cured ocean trout, white radish, grapefruit, salmon roe.

Rotolo di Coniglio. Rolled rabbit, quinoa salad, walnuts, baby carrots.

Fiori di Zucca. Zucchini flowers filled with goat’s cheese and chives.

Insalata di Polipo. Octopus salad, avocado puree, pomegranate.

Zucchini and goat cheese foam.

Il Pesce. Pan seared Barramundi, baby cucumber, orange, caramelized witlof.

Risotto alle Verdure. Pea pisotto, sugar snap peas, mascarpone, mint.

Green salad with nuts.

Fries.

Spaghetti alla Chitarra. Black ink pasta, WA blue swimmer crab, fresh tomato, garlic, chili.

Chocolate ice cream.

Pietre di Frutta della Passione. Passion fruit stones, what chocolate sponge, basil.

The crew at the table.

Downtown Melbourne

Overall, a very nice Italian meal. Australia has a lot of Italians and quite good Italian food. This was in that modern Italian style.

For more Australia dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Tasmania – Tasman
  2. Eating Sydney – Salt Meats Cheese
  3. Eating Barossa – Artisans
  4. Eating Sydney – Oyster Bar
  5. Eating Uluru – Sails in the Desert
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Australia, eating-australia, Italian Cusine, Melbourne, Sarti

Eating Tasmania – Tasman

Mar08

Restaurant: Restaurant Tasman

Location: 1 Davey St, Hobart TAS 7000, Australia. +61 3 6235 4547

Date: December 29, 2017

Cuisine: Austalian

Rating: pretty good

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Our last night in Tasmania we ate at the slight “fancy” hotel restaurant because it was convenient and looked pretty good.

Sadly, I didn’t really chronicle some of the more casual local fare that really stood out like the fresh oysters and scallops, or even better the scallop curry “pie” (I had at least 3 of these).

The menu.

Squash soup with a bit of curry and some considerable spice (cayenne?). I liked it. My wife did not because she doesn’t like spicy.

Rocket and parmesan salad with aged balsamic.

Curried scallops with date and tamarind chutney, hung yoghurt and coriander. Not bad but I preferred the aforementioned scallop curry pies.

Cheese pasta for the boy. He ordered 2 of them!

Pan roasted salmon fillet with beetroot gnocchi, golden beets, goat’s curd and baby chard leaves.

Roasted lamb rump with cannelloni beans, zucchini, asparagus, pistou and pickled white anchovies. The anchovies gave it a bit of an umami vibe.

Dessert menu.
 Vanilla creme brulee with biscotti.

Overall, not a bad meal at all for upscale modern Australian.

For more Australia dining reviews click here.

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Tasmania is a dismal and unattractive place — nothing to look at here! (JK)

Related posts:

  1. Eating Tasmania – Cargo
  2. Eating Cairns – Tamarind
  3. Eating Adelaide – Skyline
  4. Eating Sydney – Oyster Bar
  5. Eating Sydney – Quay & Co
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Australia, eating-australia, Hobart, Tasman, Tasmania

Eating Tasmania – Cargo

Mar06

Restaurant: Cargo Bar Pizza Lounge

Location: 51 Salamanca Pl, Battery Point TAS 7004, Australia

Date: December 27, 2017

Cuisine: Pizza

Rating: Ok

_

Our first night in the Tasmanian city of Hobart was the same night as the end of the big Sydney to Hobart sailing race so the city was packed.

Wandering around we found this pizza bar and lounge.

Odd format where you order food at one counter, drinks inside, then wait at a table for it.

So sort of fast casual bar.

The menu.

Garlic bread.

Lame caesar salad.

A sort of weird salad with various Italian deli meats in it. Described as Bresola, rocket, Spanish onion, cherry tomato, parmesan, fetta (spelled that way) & white truffle oil. This isn’t any bresola I’ve ever seen.

Kid’s cheese pizza.

Pizza with cherry tomatoes.
 Hoi Sin Duck Pizza. Roasted duck, peanuts, cheese, hoi sin sauce, chili, spring onions & stir fry vegetables. Dough wasn’t the best but the toppings were actually pretty good. I love hoisin sauce.

Overall, a nice enough atmosphere, but a so-so dinner.

For more Australia dining reviews click here.

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People waiting on the harbor for the sailboats to head across the finish line

Related posts:

  1. Eating Adelaide – Coopers
  2. Eating Cairns – Tamarind
  3. Eating Sydney – Oyster Bar
  4. Eating Sydney – Salt Meats Cheese
  5. Eating Adelaide – Skyline
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Australia, Cargo, eating-australia, Hobart, Pizza, Tasmania

Mountain Hot Pot

Mar05

On one of my 2018 trips to Mammoth for skiing some friends hosted us (two nights in a row) at their condo for homemade Chinese Hot Pot. Yay!

And we returned on New Year’s Eve for even more great hot pot.

I was in charge of the libations. From my cellar: 2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Cuvée Nicholas et Mathis. 93 points.

Our hosts Wendy and Alex pulled out all the stops, cutting up all the additives like the above tofu and veggies.

Beef — higher quality than at most hot pot places.

Beef, pork, squid, and fish balls. I love these.

Shrimp.

Mushrooms.

Glass noodles.

From my cellar: 2004 Domaine Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulées. BH 89. Deep ruby. Distinctly ripe and perfumed aromas of warm earth, underbrush, spice, dark berry fruit and a subtle smokiness complement perfectly the supple, sweet but robust medium full flavors that finish with impressive complexity and solid power. This is firmly structured but not hard or aggressive and the natural ripeness of Brulées comes through here.

The broth by itself. It was a pork broth.

Some of the ultra-tender pork meat that came out of the broth.

Condiments to use in constructing dipping sauce. This was also my job.

Our hosts, Wendy left and Alex right. Chopping away!

The loaded hot pot!

So on 12/31/18 we returned for another round of even more over the top hot pot.

IMG_0436
This is one serious home hot pot spread!
IMG_0427
Three types of mushrooms, tofu and bean curd.
IMG_0428
On the right 3-4 flavors of “meatballs.”
IMG_0429
Fish cakes!
IMG_0437
From my cellar: 1997 Maison Roche de Bellene Chambertin Collection Bellenum. 96 points. This wine was drinking superbly tonight.
IMG_0430
Four kinds of meat including pork belly, lamb, and two awesome types of beef!
IMG_0431
Veggies.
IMG_0433
Marinated tofu.
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And an array of sauce components.
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As New Year approached we, of course, cracked the Krug.
IMG_0432
Our host additionally made this amazing Apple Pie.
IMG_0439
And homemade mochi / red bean “brownies”.
 Wendy takes her Ice Cream seriously. Look at the freezer drawer!!!

Overall, a fabulous and fun meal. Better than at some of the hot pot restaurants I’ve been too and loads of fun.

Related posts:

  1. Mountain Eats – Brasserie
  2. Mountain Time Machine
  3. Mountain Eats – Campo
  4. Mountain Eats – Petra’s
  5. Night of the Whirling Noodles
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, home cooking, hot pot, Mammoth Lakes

Eating Adelaide – 48 Flavors

Mar02

Restaurant: 48 Flavors

Location: 78 Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. +61 8 8211 6180

Date: December 20, 2017

Cuisine: Gelato

Rating: Awesome gelato, if a tad brightly colored and stabilized

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Right next to the Chinese restaurants and the Central Market is this award winning gelato place.

48 Flavors!

They have a lot of flavors, both fairly classic Italian and some more Asian slanted ones.
 These brightly colored ones are mostly fruit flavors.

Over here are the more chocolate/vanilla type “heavier” flavors.

And a final shot.

This is Turkish Delight, a rosewater based flavor.

48 Flavors tasted great, has nice texture, and a lot of interesting and delicious flavors. The colors are pretty intense though and I asked them if they added coloring. The guy behind the counter said no, but I read the ingredients on their website and well… yes they do. My own Sweet Milk gelato style is pretty technical (2-3 sugars) but these are way more so with a host of stabilizers, emulsifiers, colors, oils, starches, etc in every flavor. It does help with the color, texture, and shelf life, but it’s well… more processed. I don’t really feel I need the artificial flavors or colors. Not sure why they need the oils either. Probably helps with the emulsification (and hence the texture) but dilutes the natural taste a bit.

For more Australia dining reviews click here.at

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Toy factory in the Barossa Valley

Related posts:

  1. Eating Adelaide – Coopers
  2. Eating Sydney – Gelato Messina
  3. Eating Adelaide – Skyline
  4. Eating Adelaide – Ding Hao
  5. Foreign Flavors: Panjshir
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 48 Flavors, Adelaide, Australia, Dessert, eating-australia, Gelato

Eating Adelaide – Coopers

Mar01

Restaurant: Coopers Alehouse

Location: 316 Pulteney St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. +61 8 8223 6433

Date: December 26, 2017

Cuisine: Australian

Rating: Decent pizza

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Just a super simple pizza dinner at a local pub.

Cute old style Adelaide building. A lot of older Australia has a sort of “old west” style because it was built in a similar time period.

I love cider on tap. Local too.

Kid’s pizza.

Margarita pizza.

My weird pork, BBQ, and pita chip pizza. Not bad, if a little odd.

A pub with pizza, but decent pizza.

For more Australia dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Adelaide – Skyline
  2. Eating Adelaide – Ding Hao
  3. Eating Sydney – Salt Meats Cheese
  4. Eating Sydney – Ibis Hotel
  5. Eating Barossa – Artisans
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Adelaide, Australia, beer, cider, Coopers Alehouse, eating-australia, Pizza
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