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Archive for California

Carmel Birthday!

Jun28

One of my best friends rented out a house in Carmel Valley California for his 40th birthday party and a bunch of us all drove up/down there.
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We “suffered” this terrible view from the balcony of our rental getaway!
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But this is the chronicle of the main birthday dinner as cooked by private chef Arielle Mckee (above).
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Her loyal assistant, Bailey working the early 90s kitchen.

And so the meal begins:
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Cocktail. French 75, Meyer lemon, gin, rose petal, keto simple syrup.
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From my cellar: 2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Cuvée Nicholas et Mathis. Drinking awesome. 93 points. ale gold with citrine highlights. Pungent nose of extremely overripe stonefruit with an underlying citrus/mineral aroma. Tart citrus zest, dark wildflower honey, wax & crushed shell. Well rounded and versatile.
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Amuse of watermelon and pistachio coated goat cheese. The ball is a lot like an ancient Roman snack.
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Amuse of fresh cheese stuffed strawberries with honey. Delicious!

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From my cellar: 2009 La Pousse d’Or Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret. BH 92. A deft touch of wood frames lemon and moderately exotic fruit aromas that include peach, mango and pear. There is excellent richness to the full-bodied, dense and mineral-inflected flavors that culminate in a naturally sweet, sappy and generous finish. This delicious effort is blessed with plenty of dry extract and while not classic in character, it’s really quite attractive all the same.

agavin: this bottle was a touch premoxed.
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Amuse of “potted plant“. Actually some kind of turnip or radish in an edible “dirt.”
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Arctic char (an ode to spring), pea shoot, pea flower, shaved fennel, cara cara orange, watermelon radish, avocado.
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From my cellar: 2013 Prager Riesling Smaragd Klaus. AG 92. Luscious peach and Mirabelle are significantly marked by their pits as well as by smoky black tea and forest floor notes for a low-toned, dark impression. Sappy and expansive, palpably rich in extract and fundamentally firm, this finishes with piquant concentration and formidable length, a hint of blond tobacco adding welcome, saliva-drawing savor.
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green garlic, asparagus, and oyster mushroom bisque; goat kefir, shaved goat Gouda, herb flower.
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From my cellar: 1999 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Clos de la Mousse. BH 88. I clearly underestimated the density here because my concerns about the borderline intrusive wood that this displayed on release has been successively integrated. The nose now reveals ripe red and black pinot fruit that is still almost completely primary yet the tannins are indisputably beginning to melt and in their stead, offering lovely finishing complexity on the suave and velvety backend. This should continue to positively evolve for the next 5 to 7 years though it is certainly enjoyable now.
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Roasted half quail, pan jus, porcini, red gooseberry, California white sage, carrot-parsnip mash.

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Pescatarian option: porcini “steak”.

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From my cellar: 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VC 93+. I have always been a fan of the 1989 Château Beaucastel, which I rank just behind the superb 1981 at this fine estate. The most recent bottle I tasted of this wine was still just a touch youthful, but offered up fine complexity on both the nose and palate and shows excellent promise. The bouquet is a blend of roasted fruitcake, cherries, new leather, venison, incipient notes of sous bois, woodsmoke and hot stones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with a bit of tannin still to resolve, fine focus and grip and a very long, classy and slightly chewy finish. I would be tempted to give this wine a few more years to really resolve, as it will be a superb wine and it would be most enjoyable to drink it at the same plateau that the 1981 has been enjoying for a good decade already.
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Rack of lamb: blueberry-balsamic. I use the most amazing sherry balsamic vinegar from Portugal, fresh rosemary, Cabernet, morel mushroom, celeriac purée, Russian red kale. Delicious meatsicles!

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Sea Bass, French green lentil broth, leek, sherry balsamic, Russian red kale, heirloom cherry tomato salad

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Local cows milk cheese: savory candy cap almond flour shortbread, local Catalina cherry preserves, garam masala spiced almond crumble
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Muscat poached local stone fruit, bergamot panna cotta, edible pineapple guava flower.
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Rose Turkish Delight. Probably the best Turkish Delight I’ve had.
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Our wine lineup. Not bad for a bunch of parents!
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Mangoberry Cheesecake Gelato — raspberry/mango cream-cheese base with blackberry/mango ripple and house-made graham cracker crumble — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #cheesecake #mango #raspberry #blackberry #GrahamCracker #coulis #ripple #creamcheese
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Chess Chocolate Oreo Gelato — Valrhona medium chocolate base with layers of Valrhona Ivoire white chocolate ganache and crumbled Oreos — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #cheesecake #chocolate #valrhona #WhiteChocolate #oreo #chess

Overall, a really nice meal, leaning keto, extremely fresh and indicative of California ingredients and style. We do have fabulous produce (and chefs) here in the Golden State! I was really impressed by the cooking, which for being done by one lead chef and a couple hard working assistants in a rental kitchen was quite on point.

Related posts:

  1. Bourbon Birthday
  2. 71Above Birthday
  3. Szechuan Impression Tustin
  4. Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday
  5. Double Eagle is Pretty Standard
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Arielle Mckee, birthday, BYOG, California, California Cuisine, carmel, Gelato, strawberries, Wine

Grand Grenache

May30

Restaurant: John Gerber [1, 2, 3]

Location: Flintridge

Date: May 27, 2016

Cuisine: New American

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Today’s Sauvages lunch is a lunch in honor of  late Co-Poobah Steve Levin. It’s graciously hosted by Paul at at his beautiful home in Flintridge. This event is held outdoors in memory of the Zinfandel barbecues that Steve would hold for our group every summer at his home (it being Paul’s idea to maintain this fine tradition). To that end, we always enjoy a few Zinfandels at this lunch in addition to the theme wines for the lunch. The annual lunches at Paul’s home always rate very high on the scales for ambiance, camaraderie and food quality.

The main wine theme:  This year, as it has been the past few years for our lunch at Paul’s, our primary wine theme will be “Grenaches of the World”, in this case from the 2007 and older vintages (the older the better).  Just to be clear, “Grenaches of the World” means any Grenache or Grenache-based blend (at least 60-70% Grenache), as long as it is rated 93+ by a reputable critic, and is from the 2007 or older vintage.  Grenache-based wines from Australia, California, Washington, Priorat, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Sardinia (called Cannonau) or any other parts of the world are fair game as long as the wine has a qualifying score.


This California style building isn’t the house itself, but the amazing top of the integrated cellar.

Inside the upper level of the cellar where staging occurred.
 The backyard.

Our triplex mega table — a triclinium?
 Today’s menu.

Flight 0:

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.

2014 Colinas de Uruguay Albarino. Very bright and crisp.

Bonus from my cellar: 2012 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé. VM 93. Light, bright orange-pink. Complex scents of fresh red berries, nectarine and orange zest, with a sexy floral overtone. Silky and expansive on the palate, offering juicy cherry and pit fruit flavors and an exotic touch of honey. A dusty mineral quality adds bite and lift to the strikingly long, chewy, floral back end.

2015 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé. Really nice young fruit and flowers.

2013 Progeny Winery Grenache. Not yet released! Pure hot Grenache.

2013 Progeny Winery Trinity Rouge. Blend of several Rhone grapes.

Gougères. aka fancy French cheese puffs.

Tuna poke. Wrapped in nori. Somehow the now “plebian” tuna tartar has been rechristened poke.

Flight 1: White

2012 Oremus Furmint Tokaji Dry Mandolás. Bight and fresh.

2013 Clos Mogador Priorat Nelin. 90 points. Dry body, hard to place the fruit on the nose. It’s extremely unique. Marzipan is present on the palate. High alcohol content but very round and smooth body.

2013 Clos Figueras Priorat Font de la Figuera Blanco. VM 91. Vivid straw color. Lively citrus pith and pear skin aromas are complicated by anise, white flowers and dusty minerals. Firm and juicy on the palate, offering zesty lime and orange flavors and a gingery topnote. Finishes dry, precise and very long, with a lick of spiciness and lingering minerality

1998 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée. Our bottle was sadly was advanced.

Fruits de Mer. Razor clam, sea scallop, prawn and octopus with fava beans, fennel and coriander. Amazingly fresh and tender — all of it.

Flight 2: CNDP

2000 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 93. Full ruby-red. Expressive aromas of roasted blackberry, black raspberry and espresso. Lush and superripe, with compelling mid-palate fat and fullness. Fresh flavors of dark berries and dark chocolate. Finishes very ripe and long, with sweet, suave tannins. Offers a rare combination of stuffing and finesse.

2001 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 94. Red-ruby. Flamboyant, wild Chateauneuf du Pape aromas of raspberry, pepper, leather, Cuban cigar tobacco, fruitcake, game and truffle. Explosive, layered and deep, with captivating flavors of game, leather, melting chocolate cake, leather, incense and black pepper. Wonderfully suave and silky but with terrific verve and grip. Finishes with fine, palate-coating tannins and sneaky length. If someone sticks a glass of this in your face and you don’t say Chateauneuf du Pape, you should give up wine drinking.

agavin: great wine. Nice and balanced and mature.

2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina. VM 95. Glass-staining ruby. Explosively perfumed bouquet of fresh red and dark berries, potpourri, incense and licorice. Completely saturates the palate with sweet raspberry and boysenberry flavors, picking up anise and lavender pastille qualities with air. For a wine with this kind of palate impact there’s remarkable finesse and clarity. Red berry and floral notes echo endlessly on the long, sappy finish.

agavin: way too hot and young

2000 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. 94 points. Deep garnet color. First whiff from the nose was fantastic revealing a freshness of cherry fruit which sadly went quickly away leaving in its place liqueur-like, jammy and darker fruit. Nose is scented, complex and mature with tertiary aromas accompanying abundant fruit like blackberry and plum and minerals. Palate is even more intense than the nose with unending finish. Fruit is liqueur-like as the wine is full bodied and with lots of glycerol. Yet it is balanced and drinks effortlessly. Flavors include spices, herbs and ground coffee. Tannins are mellow and acidity has to be high for the wine to be in such an impeccable balance. The wine is mature but I believe it could age and last for at least twenty more years given its structure and still abundant fruit…

2001 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine. VM 91. Bright ruby-red. Blackberry, bitter chocolate, violet, mint and spicy oak on the nose; intriguing suggestions of mourvedre. At once dense and penetrating, with rather oaky flavors of blackberry, violet and eucalyptus. Finishes with a hint of leather, but also a slight dryness from the wood element.

Grilled Paine Farm Squab. Licorice root braised leeks, sierra morels, and shallot puree. yum!

Flight 3: “Old” CNDP

1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 90. Good medium red. Aromas of red fruit syrup, cola, milk chocolate, humus, graphite and prune. Sweet, lush and rich, with the fruit syrup flavor showing a distinctly roasted quality. Grew fresher and juicier with a bit of aeration and held its shape nicely, but eventually the pruney element became more pronounced. With little in the way of primary fruit remaining, this doesn’t really come alive, in spite of its complexity.

1998 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac. VM 93. Medium red. Smoky red fruits, graphite and pepper on the complex nose. Superripe, plump and sweet, with lovely balancing acidity for a wine this high in alcohol. This has real depth and chocolatey sweetness. Very long, ripely tannic finish builds slowly and lingers long. Distinctive, outstanding Chateauneuf du Pape.

1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo. VM 95. Saturated dark ruby. Nose like a fruit essence: blackberry and blueberry liqueur, licorice, pepper, Provencal herbs, and hints of more exotic fruits. A wine of extreme unctuousity, virtually too large for the mouth. Suggestion of marc, but with sappy fruits and great solid underlying structure. The tannins saturate the palate on the peppery finish. Very much in the style of Bonneau rarely made Cuvee Speciale. This wine took nearly two years to finish fermenting. Paul Feraud told me he feared that the alcohol would burn, that there would be too much residual sugar, and that the wine would show signs of premature oxidation. But in fact this headspinner (and I mean that in the purest, Linda Blair sense) boasts great surmaturite without quite descending into madness.

agavin: so hands down the best wine of this flight! Huge and balanced.

1999 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Bernardine. VM 88. Medium red-ruby. Aromatic, wild aromas of redcurrant, leather, smoke and game. Juicy, firm-edged flavors of smoky red fruits. Bright and fairly tannic but not especially deep.

1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. VM 92. Full ruby-red. Aromas of roasted plum, cherry and raspberry, with a distinct animal aspect. Deep, rich and complete; lush but with sound supporting acidity. Complex mineral and chocolate notes complement the wine’s superripe fruit flavors. Very long, subtle finish features thoroughly ripe tannins. Laurence says the pH here is a relatively low 3.4. #2, not yet racked: Liqueur-like jammy sweetness on the nose. Extremely glyceral palate impression; sauvage hint of smoked meat. Finishes very long, with completely ripe tannins. #3, from a foudre in the back corner of the cellar, where there’s less air movement; includes La Crau plus Montpertuis: Saturated ruby. Completely primary wine; makes #1 seem ready to drink. Black cherry liqueur on the nose. Thick but with powerful underlying backbone. Medicinal black cherry and licorice notes. Finishes with huge, toothcoating tannins. The licorice note comes from the mourvedre planted on iron-rich soil in Montpertuis, says Laurence. Making early assessments of this estate’s wines can be a tricky exercise, as the numerous foudres that go into the ultimate blend range widely in style and quality, but 1998 appears to be an outstanding wine in the making. (Laurence says it reminds her of the domain’s 1985).

agavin: our bottle reeked and tasted of barnyard

Flight 4: Spainish

1999 Cims de Porrera Priorat Classic. VM 89. Deep ruby-red. Low-toned aromas of raisin, maple syrup, damp earth and nut skin; seems far more advanced than the 2000. Fat, sweet and lush in the mouth, but can’t match the 2000 for purity. Hints of bitter cherry, raisin and maple syrup. Finishes with sweet, building tannins and good length.

1998 Clos Mogador Priorat. 92 points. full bodied, with prominent dark cherry and blackberry notes. the wine is bone dry without even the slightest touch of sweetness. Jerry noted that he could taste the alcohol. Distinct barrel flvors including coffee come through on the finish. good complex wine, will benefit from cheese at least.

From my cellar: 2007 Spectacle Vins Montsant Espectacle. 94 points. Upon opening a tangy, yeasty, dark-fruit rolling on the forest floor nose was apparent. In the glass for 20 minutes it was black cherry, chocolate, and lots of orange spice – very enticing nose. Big taste, definitely reminiscent of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Cherry, figs, slightly saline mineral, very good balance, some meaty “chewiness” to it, little bit of pepper coming on in the 30+ second finish. There was also a peculiar cool “sweetness” aspect to the finish. Again – excellent balance in this wine, but I ended up thinking you could drink it with dessert, or even as a stand-alone dessert. A good one from Spain – the overall essence of velvet is never far away.

2002 Clos Erasmus Priorat. VM 90+. Medium ruby-red. Claret-like aromas of currant, licorice, tar and nutty oak. Densely packed, tight and juicy, with slightly green but sappy fruit flavors framed by bright acids. Distinctly a wine from a less ripe year but possesses very good concentration, subtle sweetness of fruit and very firm structure. This may well be better for a couple years of additional time in bottle.

Roast Rib of Veal. Grilled potato, porcini confit and sauce Antiboise. I don’t even like tomatoes and I liked that sauce.

Flight 5: Big Boys (by weight)

 From my cellar: 2007 Domaine la Soumade Rasteau Cuvee Fleur de Confiance. Parker 96. The top effort, the 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau Fleur de Confiance, is awesome. An inky/blue/black color is followed by a stunning bouquet of scorched earth, incense, blackberry jam, coffee, and spice. This full-bodied, massive, stacked and packed Rasteau is destined for two decades of life. Its sweet tannin and textured mouthfeel are compelling. Give it 2-4 years of cellaring and consume it over the following 20 years.

2001 Alban Vineyards Grenache Alban Estate Vineyard. VM 92. Medium ruby. Roasted black fruits, kirsch, gunflint, smoke and game; distinctly syrah-like and not at all tired or overly oaky. Then thick and deep, with urgent, penetrating flavors of sappy black fruits and spices. At once powerful and pliant. Finishes very long, with fine, broad tannins. I preferred the Reva syrah in 2000, but this year the grenache seems even deeper and sweeter, with a larger structure. Also tasted: 2002 Viognier Alban Estate Vineyard Edna Valley, 2001 Roussanne Alban Estate Vineyard Edna Valley.

2001 Torbreck Grenache Les Amis. 94 points. Medium purple with ruby tinge. Nice prototypical superripe Grenache nose, but all fruit and no vegetables so that’s good. Mouth was heavy with nice glycerin and considerable heat that persists through finish. Lots of red berries in there, very sweet.

2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven Series. VM 94. Opaque purple. Succulent, mineral-driven dark berry and kirsch, with strong graphite, iron and black olive notes arriving with air. Vibrant mineral qualities add urgency to deep, sweet black and blue fruit flavors and lend an incisive character to the long, spicy finish. Picked up silky tannins with air but not at the expense of the suave fruit.

Cheese plate. Brebirousse, france. Caveman Blue, Oregon. Challerhocker, Switzerland, Majorero, Spain. Queso al Romero, Spain.

Flight 6: Zinfandel (eek gads)

1976 Sutter Home Winery Zinfandel Amador County. Not bad for its age.

1987 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel. Cloudy, but interesting.

1997 Ridge Zinfandel Late Picked Paso Robles.

1999 Turley Zinfandel Tofanelli Vineyard. VM 91. Moderately saturated medium ruby. Slightly high-toned aromas of smoky black fruits and eucalyptus. Dense, sweet and chewy, with impressive depth of flavor. Exotic hint of orange peel. Finishes with chewy, sweet tannins and excellent length. The Neyers Winery bottling from the same vines showed more urgent berry fruit but a bit less volume.

2006 Turley Zinfandel Mead Ranch. VM 89. Bright, deep red. Superripe, porty aromas of mocha, molasses and nuts. Fat, sweet and creamy but a bit over the top. This big, thick, peppery wine finishes with considerable power and strong tannins. I find this rather awkward.

2012 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard. VM 94. The 2012 Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard is one of the most tannic and structured Zinfandel in Turley’s extensive lineup. Tense, brilliant and beautifully sculpted throughout, the 2012 bursts from the glass with explosive concentration and pulsating acididy. Winemaker Tegan Passalacqua gave the 2012 three extra months in barrel, all of which it clearly needed. Readers will have to be patient here.
  My scribbled thoughts on the wines.
 The wine list.

On the right is our chef, John Gerber, formerly of the French Laundry!

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. Grenache is a nice grape, if a powerhouse. Even the Zins were (relatively) enjoyable.

The setting really is magnificent. The weather was perfect, and just an ideal afternoon in the yard!

Related posts:

  1. Sauvages in the Forest
  2. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
  3. All Things Akbar
  4. A Night of Cheese
  5. Saint Joseph at Maison G
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Chateauneuf du Pape, Grenache, John Gerber, Rhone, Sauvages, Wine, Zinfandel

Inotheke – Modern Greek

Mar23

Restaurant: Inotheke

Location: 606 Broadway #101, Santa Monica, CA 90401. 310) 458-3366

Date: March 19 & November 11, 2016

Cuisine: Modern Greek

Rating: Good flavors

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I’m always on the lookup for new local restaurants, plus I like Greek food, so I as excited to hear about modern Greek eatery Inotheke.

 Located right near the promenade on Broadway.

The menu is full of reinvented classics, but tuned toward sharing and small plates.

Likewise the interior is modern and clean, with only a touch of blue and white to remind us of the “theme.”

Tzatziki. I never eat Greek without ordering my favorite tangy yogurt. This version was pretty good. Tangy, garlicky, but not as thick as I like it.

The pita was grilled, soft, and greek style.

Oven Roasted Beet salad. Arugula, goat cheese, red onion, dill, lemon vinaigrette. Fairly typical, but still a tasty salad.

Spanakopitakia. Feta, kaseri, spinach, red pepper. Got to love fried pastry encrusted cheese!

Scallop tartare. Cucumber, lemon, olive, chili flakes. This had a good bit of dill too and was quite “Greek” in flavor. The scallops were nicely firm. Good stuff overall.

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Salmon “Exohiko”. (11/5/16) Filo Pastry, Eggplant, Zucchini, Capers. Basically salmon baked in a pastry!

Shrimp Saganaki. Tomato Sauce, feta, ouzo. A version of the classic greek dish. Sometimes in Greece it was cheesier and creamier, but this was solid. Lots of acid.

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Scallop Saganaki (11/5/16). Tomato, Feta, Ouzo, Scallions, Rice. On our second visit, Inotheke mixed up their Saganaki, venturing away from the classic shrimp to scallop (never seen that in Greece) and adding in some lovely rice underneath. The rice alone made this version better.
 Lamb & Orzo. Tomato, Parmesan. My favorite dish of the night. Basically like a lamb risotto or pasta. Nice texture from the orzo and appropriate lambiness from the soft meat, plus the cheese really worked.

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Moussaka. (11/5/16) Ground Beef, Eggplant, Zucchini, “Bechamel”. A nice version of one of my favorite Greek dishes. Lots of goopy Béchamel!

Overall I liked Inotheke and I’ll be back. Sometimes I like my Greek pretty “traditional” but this split a nice balance as they had many of traditional dishes, merely with updated plating (that’s a plus). Flavors were good and bright and I like the sharing format — plus it’s very convenient.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Petros Greek Feast
  2. Aestus – And the Modern Plate
  3. Parlez Vu Modern?
  4. Quick Eats: Taverna Tony
  5. More Modern Dim Sum
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Greek cuisine, lamb, Moussaka, Santa Monica, Small Plates, Tzatziki

California Dreaming

Dec11

Restaurant: Private Club

Location: Somewhere in California

Date: December 9, 2015

Cuisine: American

Rating: Awesome

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After the Foodie Club met for our epic Truffle Dinner, we hit on the idea of a dinner exploring old California wines. We’re not talking the last 20 years of high alcohol monster wines, but the classic post war California. So this drink covers 1954 to 1998!

And what better location than a true California institution, left nameless, a private bastion of the old California.

They don’t make them like they used to!

And we had a custom menu and this awesome private room.

With plenty of space to work out our wine situation. Check out that ice bucket in the back!

1988 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Late Disgorged (magnum). 93 points. A beautiful etched 3L bottle, which we opened at R&D’s caroling party. Beautiful golden robe with a persistent mousse. Notes of roasted notes, caramel apple, fresh pear and hazelnuts. Fine bead with flavors of cherry, hazelnut, sautéed apple and pear with a subtle hint of honey and vanilla cream on the finish. Lovely. This actually needed some time in the glass to open and express itself.

And a detail on the label.

2014 Wente Bros Vineyards Pinot Chardonnay. 85 points. None of us know what a “pinot chardonnay” actually was. Presumably, and by taste, there was plenty or all Chardonnay. This 60 year old white was pretty much gone, but it did have a sherry-like quality that was kinda interesting with the foie.

1970 Inglenook White Pinot. 89 points. We aren’t sure what was in this either, but plenty of Chard. It was pretty good too and surprisingly drinkable for a 45 year old Chard. I’ve had 15 year old Cal Chards in worse shape!

From my cellar: 1990 Fabien Coche-Bouillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières. 93 points. Unmistakable and typical white burgundy notes of mineral, stone fruit, and saline. Very light in color and what appeared to be a new cork in the bottle. I would guess that these might have been topped off with the latest vintage prior to being released. This definitely showed remarkable freshness for a wine of 25 years of age. In a word, delicious.

agavin: I didn’t have any old Cal Chard, so I brought some old Chard. But positively young compared to the previous two. Nutty and nice white Burg.

Foie Gras with mango. Port ginger sauce. Really nice seared foie, with a very good sweet sauce and lovely mushy mango pairing. Worked well with these old chards.

1975 ZD Wines Pinot Noir. 91 points. Very young and fresh!

1982 Calera Pinot Noir Reed Vineyard. 86 points. Slightly musty, but in pretty good shape and quite enjoyable.

1969 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon. Our bottle was cloudy and undrinkable.

1974 Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection North Coast. 88 points. Lovely midpalate lift and silky smooth texture. Palate is tertiary. David says full of dill and American oak, can tell it’s not French. Racines.

Scottish salmon. White beans, fume rouge. Another great sauce. This chef is awesome with the sausome.

1976 Burgess Petite Sirah Harvest of the Napa Valley. 91 points. Bright and young!

1974 Freemark Abbey Petite Sirah York Creek. 90 points. 41 years old and still has a tannic punch to it! Brambly, tobacco aromas, reminiscent of rasberries and blackberries. On the palate gently stewed blackberries, red fruits, mineral and a bit of a tannic kicker. This magnificent wine screamed for red meat accompaniment; alas, I had truffled eggs.

1974 Conn Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Family Vineyard. 96 points. Still quite dark in the glass with minimal bricking at the margin. Big and almost brooding, dense mixed black fruit; full mid palate; medium acidity almost keeps up with the fruit; some tannins on the finish; might have guessed that this was a 10 year old petite syrah.

agavin: everyone agreed with was WOTN, a real stunner

1989 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard. 93 points. Highly perfumed bouquet of ripe fruit, flowers, and terroir. Indeed, the sexiest bouquet of the eight wines. Generous mouthfeel, considerable substance, quality finish. In a great place, and though it has several years of life left there is no reason to wait.

Smoked quail and porcini mushroom risotto. Another awesome sauce.

1983 Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon. 93 points. This was the first vintage with the Dick Grace label, 3.5 years in Limousin Oak barrels, typical Grace nose, rich fruit and terrific bottle bouquet plus hints of more wood than the older wines, concentrated medium fruit plus lots of mouth coating tannins in the mouth, finish is long but average flavors when compared to the other wines tonight.
 1984 Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon. 92 points. Drinking very well for an older Cailfornia. I was under the impression Napa Cabs won’t age so well. This wine has changed my perception. Good levels of fruit, soft mellow tannins and a nose so aromatic of dried rasins. Great wine.
 1984 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 90. This wine has consistently been a crowd pleaser, with its impressive dark color, rich, jammy, cedary, licorice, chocolatey, cassis, and olive-like aromas and flavors, and full-bodied, unctuously-textured style. It is a big, chewy, flashy, oaky style of Cabernet. Although fully mature, there are no signs of decline.
 1987 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Parker 98. Chateau Montelena has made so many sensational Cabernets that it seems almost impossible to believe that their 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate could be even more profound than any of the exceptional wines made previously at this property. The black/purple color, the extraordinary bouquet of rich cassis, violets, and licorice, the massive extraction of flavors, sensational depth, super ripeness, and a length that must last over a minute, suggest to me that this is easily the most concentrated and potentially longest-lived Cabernet Sauvignon that Chateau Montelena has ever made. The extract level is incredible, yet the balance is there. Anticipated maturity: 1997-2025.

Roast duck. Red wine and figs. Great duck. Great sauce. Perfect pairing.

1994 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 88. Mount Veeder’s 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon is a sleeper. The wine displays loads of creamy, vanilla, pain grille notes in the nose, to go along with ripe black currants intermixed with truffles and licorice. The tannin is sweet, the wine gives a nice tactile impression on the palate (medium to full-bodied and chewy), and the finish includes gobs of pure black cherry and black currant fruit. This is a delicious, up-front 1994 Cabernet that can be drunk now as well as over the next 10-12 years.

1993 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Parker 94-96. Of all the extraordinary wines emanating from California in recent years, one of the most remarkable achievements must be the two cuvees of Cabernet Sauvignon made by Naoka and Gustav Dalla Valle, with the capable assistance of consulting winemaker, Heidi Barrett. Dalla Valle’s Cabernet Sauvignon is a pure, unbridled expression of this varietal at its most powerful and concentrated. The proprietary red wine, named after the owners’ daughter, Maya, is usually a blend of equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (the greatest Cabernet Franc I have tasted in the New World). These are wines of immense stature and richness. It seems nearly impossible that one could pack so much intensity and flavor into a wine without either the wine or the tannin coming across as heavy-handed. Since 1990, all of the Maya offerings have possessed extremely well-integrated tannin and acidity.
 1993 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Franc Bosché Vineyard. 92 points. Very ready to drink now…window is closing. Very smooth and mildly velvet (velour?) mouth feel. Dark purple to almost brownish color with very little clear spectrum at the edges. Plum with a little hit of apricot and vanilla.
 From my cellar: 1998 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard. 91 points. Brown-red. Roses, eucalyptus, flowers on the nose. Very powerful, yet in perfect balance. Tannins and acidity for the long haul. Nice fruit, lots of savory, complexity. This is a deep wine, and I wish I hadn’t just a sip in the tasting room. A wine to be studied and savored.

agavin: Oldest Cal wine in my cellar. lol.

Wagyu hanger steak. Truffle lingonberrie sauce. Truly great hanger steak. Super tender and meaty, fabulous sauce.

1987 Heitz Cellar Chardonnay. Fairly oxidized, but still drinkable.
 1978 Joseph Phelps Johannisberg Riesling Selected Late Harvest. 92 points.  It was sweet on the pallete like thin caramel syrup, a dark burnt golden hue in color. Smelled sugary & fresh & delicious. TBA brown in color.

Charles Krug Moscato di Caneli. Not even in cellar tracker. Medium sweet and old. Pleasant.

Selection of domestic cheeses. All three were very nice.

Petit fours. A few random bits of sweet.

All and all a stunning evening. The venue was great. The service was great. Food really exceeded expectations. This kitchen handles an enormous volume, yet these dishes were all really nice, and many fabulous. They aren’t the most modern looking, but they tasted really great and were fabulously paired with the wines.

Speaking of, some very impressive juice considering the age. That Chards and pinots from 40+ years were even drinkable is amazing. But many were very good. And a few of the cabs were just fabulous. I don’t really think these newer high alcohol style California wines being produced today will last like this. These cabs were made to taste like Bordeaux, and to last like Bordeaux. For the most part, they seem to. Now that isn’t to say that every wine in this tasting was young, fresh, and blemish free. These are old wines, and one accepts some fickleness. But they preformed well. More then well, great.

Overall awesome.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or check out more crazy Foodie Club dinners.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, California Cabernet, California Club, DTLA, Foodie Club, Los Angeles, Wine

Ocean Star isn’t such a star

Nov16

Restaurant: Ocean Star Restaurant

Location: 145 N Atlantic Blvd #201-203, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 308-2128

Date: October 6, 2015

Cuisine: Cantonese Dim Sum

Rating: Mediocre cart dim sum

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I go out to the San Gabriel Valley all the time, and I figured that I ought to give one of the old school cart dim sum places another try.

Ocean Star has been around forever. In fact, I think I ate there sometime in the 90s.

The place was mobbed, and it wasn’t the youngest demographic in the world. The lobby too had that over-the-top SGV 90s decor. Look at that chandelier, the marble, the cove lighting.

Same thing goes int he enormous and chaotic hall.

Chicken soup with scallop wonton. Ok, basically one giant wonton.

Shrimp rice noodle. One of the better dishes. The usual sweet sauce.

Shu mai. Not the best shu mai by any means, but certainly edible.

Har gow. Just so so. Not bad, but a little “stale.”

Lotus wrapped sticky rice.

Mushy and not very good tasty.

BBQ pork. This was pretty tasty. Sweet and fatty.

They had those crazy crispy cruller rice noodle things on the cart. Didn’t try them though.

The food was lackluster. They had a large variety — if you managed to hail the right cart — but almost everything I tasted was a bit flat. Almost freezer burned. Really, for being out in the SGV, this is no better than The Palace in Brentwood. More options perhaps. The food quality might even have been a bit worse.

Service was kind of typical. They were nice, but I couldn’t manage to get either mustard or ice water. I did get tea and the check. It also took a while for the carts to come to me and when they did, I kept getting the lame carts, like the congee one, or the vegetables, or the tripe. It took a real while before I got the actual good stuff.

Prices are cheap. So if you like to pay less for worse, and join the crazy crowd of seniors, Ocean Star is your place. I’ll go to Elite or King Hua.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Ocean Avenue Seafood
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  3. Epic Ocean Party 2015
  4. Christmas is for Dim Sum
  5. Say Hi to Shi Hai
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Chinese cuisine, Dim sum, Monterey Park, Ocean Star, san Gabriel valley

Sauvages in the Forest

Jun03

Restaurant: John Gerber [1, 2, 3]

Location: Flintridge

Date: May 22, 2015

Cuisine: New American

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Today’s Sauvages lunch is a lunch in honor of  late Co-Poobah Steve Levin. It’s graciously hosted by Paul at at his beautiful home in Flintridge. This event is held outdoors in memory of the Zinfandel barbecues that Steve would hold for our group every summer at his home (it being Paul’s idea to maintain this fine tradition). To that end, we always enjoy a few Zinfandels at this lunch in addition to the theme wines for the lunch. The annual lunches at Paul’s home always rate very high on the scales for ambiance, camaraderie and food quality.

The main wine theme:  This year, as it has been the past few years for our lunch at Paul’s, our primary wine theme will be “Grenaches of the World”, in this case from the 2006 and older vintages (the older the better).  Just to be clear, “Grenaches of the World” means any Grenache or Grenache-based blend (at least 60-70% Grenache), as long as it is rated 93+ by a reputable critic, and is from the 2006 or older vintage.  Grenache-based wines from Australia, California, Washington, Priorat, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Sardinia (called Cannonau) or any other parts of the world are fair game as long as the wine has a qualifying score.


This California style building isn’t the house itself, but the amazing top of the integrated cellar.

2012 Progeny Mount Veeder Trinity Blanc. Interesting blend of Roussanne and Marsanne.

Inside the upper level of the cellar where staging occurred.

The backyard.

2003 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Ashley’s Vineyard. VM 91. Medium yellow. Smoky, lower-toned nose offers dried fruits, baking spices and leesy traces. Superconcentrated and creamy but with bright acids leavening the wine’s sweetness. The broadest and longest of this set of chardonnays on the back end, but finishes with a slight youthful aggressiveness.

agavin: Golden yellow, quite enjoyable, but by Burgundy standards oxidized for its age and not going to last much longer.

Grilled crab claws with avocado mouse.

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.

Grilled peaches wrapped in prosciutto with gorgonzola.

The pool patio where we dined.

On the left is our chef, John Gerber, formerly of the French Laundry! On the right is our host Paul.

A lot of the food used the wood burning oven.
Today’s menu.

Flight 1:


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.

2001 Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois. Parker 100. More youthful and backwards, the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de La Reine des Bois has been incredibly consistent for me and always comes in near the top of the scale. Black raspberry, blackberry, wood smoke, licorice, crushed rock-like minerality and smoked beef are just some of the nuances here, and it hits the palate with serious levels of fruit, thrilling structure and blockbuster length. It still needs another handful of years to hit full maturity, but its off-the-hook good today (assuming you’re not completely against tannin).

2001 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres. Parker 99. The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres elicits “wows”. Aged 60% in neutral wood foudres and 40% in one, two, and three-year old Burgundy barrels, this 2001, which tips the scales at an awesome 16.2% natural alcohol, boasts an inky/purple color along with a sensationally pure bouquet of blackberries, graphite, acacia flowers, licorice, and sweet kirsch liqueur. Unctuously textured and full-bodied, with high tannin as well as a closed personality, this prodigious yet fabulous Chateauneuf du Pape is a potential legend in the making. It requires 3-5 years of cellaring, and should keep for two decades. The texture, purity, and magnificent concentration suggest tiny yields, old vines, and non-interventionalistic winemaking. By the way, this wine represents a selection of the finest lots in the cellar as the sources are the same as for the Cuvee de Mon Aieul, although a large component of Deux Freres is from the Usseglio holdings in the sector of Chateauneuf du Pape called La Crau. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2022+.

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.

Wood Oven Roasted Clams. Saffron Gnocchi, Chorizo, Peas, Charred Scallions and Grilled Bread. A very lovely partially deconstructed bouillabaisse.

Flight 2:


2003 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee. Parker 98. Starting with the 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve, this wine showed spectacularly on release, closed down for a few years, and has now emerged, at close to full maturity, and is straight-up fabulous. Out of the entire tasting, it remained my favorite. Giving up gorgeous blackberry, currants, garrigue, pepper and beef blood, it hits the palate with a massive, full-bodied texture that carries layers of sweet fruit, awesome concentration and blockbuster length. Tasting like the essence of both this estate and the terroir, it’s an incredible wine that I’m happy to taste/drink anytime. It will continue to evolve gracefully, but I see no reason to delay gratification.

2004 Les Bosquet des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape A la Gloire de Mon Grandpere. Parker 91. Almost all Grenache (98%), the 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape a la Gloire de Mon Grand-Pere comes from the Gardiole lieu-dit and was aged 12-18 months in concrete tank, foudre and demi-muids. Sweeter and more feminine in style compared to the traditional cuvee, it offers loads of baking spices, cinnamon, dried garrigue and sweet Grenache fruit to go with a medium to full-bodied, supple and pure profile on the palate. Rich (especially in the vintage) and nicely balanced, it’s a joy to drink and makes the most of the vintage. Enjoy it over the coming couple of years as well.

2000 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 95. The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape reveals 14.6% alcohol, and is stylistically similar to the great 1990. The 2000 is open-knit and fat, with higher levels of glycerin as well as a more corpulent style than the structured, backward 2001. A deep ruby/purple color is followed by sweet, black cherry/kirsch liqueur-like notes presented in a voluptuous, full-throttle, intense style. It is already revealing such secondary nuances as pepper, garrigue, and truffles. Chewy, full-bodied, and moderately tannic, this cuvee is accessible, but not ready to drink. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.

Grilled Sonoma Duck Breast. Confit Crepe, Mole, Pickled Cherry. A stunning bit of duck breast accompanied by a stunning smokey “chipotle” sauce. The crepe was even better if possible.

Flight 3:


2000 Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 93. The 2000 Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape, which Emmanuel Reynaud believes is better than 1998, came in at a whopping 15.2% alcohol. It is reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 1998 and 1999, with a medium to light ruby color, and a sumptuous bouquet of kirsch liqueur, spice box, and licorice. Full-bodied and fleshy, with low acidity, it is a sweet (from high glycerin and alcohol), seductive, intoxicating offering with no hard edges and a rich, fleshy mouthfeel. While it will be hard to resist, I feel the 1998 still has more structure. Anticipated maturity for the 2000: 2005-2016.

From my cellar: 1998 Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 94-96. There is no doubting the extraordinary depth and layers of flavor the 1998 Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape contains. The color is medium to deep ruby, and the bouquet offers aromas of ripe strawberry and cherry candy, with kirsch liqueur thrown in for additional interest. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and fat, with high levels of sweet fruit, a velvety texture, multiple dimensions, and an explosive finish. It is an undeniably sexy, compelling Rayas that is already performing exceptionally well, despite having been bottled only a few months ago. There are several thousand additional bottles available for the world’s market. My best guess is that this voluptuous, sexy Rayas should drink well young, yet age easily for 15-16 years. Do not be surprised to see it put on considerable weight over the next few years.

1998 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee. Parker 95. The 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve showed the warmth and richness of the vintage, with knockout kirsch and blackberry fruit, garrigue, game and leather aromas and flavors that literally come jumping from the glass. Full-bodied, rich, textured and beautifully focused, if not still structured, it’s a rock-star to drink through 2020 or so.

Grilled Wild Boar stuffed Morels. Fiddlehead Ferns, favas with red wine farrotto and ramp pesto. I’ve never had these before, morels stuffed with boar mousse! Really pretty amazing.

Just so you can see the inside. Sous bois like crazy.

Flight 4:


2001 Clos Erasmus. Parker 98. A wine of great intensity, this 415-case blend of 78% Grenache, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Syrah aged in 100% new French oak casks, reveals an inky/purple color as well as a tight but promising bouquet of acacia flowers, raspberries, blackberries, and hints of blueberries, smoke, and the essence of minerality. With extraordinary richness, good underlying acidity, firm tannin, and a multilayered mouthfeel, this spectacularly concentrated 2001 is only hinting at its ultimate potential. Patience will be rewarded as this is a tour de force in winemaking, marrying the elegance and complexity of Priorat with the extraordinary concentration and intensity that comes from low yields and ripe fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020+.

2001 Alvaro Palacios Priorat L’Ermita. VM 95+. old-vines garnacha with a bit of cabernet from the Dofi vineyard added to bring more structure) Bright ruby-red. Discreet but nuanced nose hints at black fruits and flowers; quite subdued today. Then explosive in the mouth: huge, suave, deep and layered, with powerful yet somewhat cool black fruit, mineral and graphite flavors. This really expands to fill the mouth. Wonderfully concentrated wine that’s not at all heavy. Finishes very broad and rich, with noble tannins and great persistence. Still a baby, and likely to merit an even higher score six or eight years down the road.

1998 Clos Erasmus. Parker 99. The spectacular 1998 flirts with perfection. A saturated opaque blue/purple color is not dissimilar from ink. Dazzling aromas of ripe, pure blackberries, violets, blueberries, wet stones, and smoky, toasty oak soar from the glass. Powerful, with an unctuous texture, and super-extracted, rich, concentrated flavors, this blockbuster effort boasts extravagant quantities of fruit, glycerin, extract, tannin, and personality. The wine displays a firm, structured edge, but a viscous texture from super concentration gives it immediate accessibility. This 1998 should hit its plateau of maturity in 7-8 years, and is a strong candidate for 20-30 years of aging. It is a winemaking tour de force.

1999 Clos Erasmus. Parker 93. The 1999 Clos Erasmus, a blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Syrah aged in 100% new French oak, was fashioned from yields of only one ton of fruit per acre. Its dark ruby/purple color is followed by an elegant perfume of pure, sweet black raspberries, currants, creosote, and minerals. It reveals complex flavors, tremendous purity, and a long finish with no hard edges. Drink it now and over the next 12-15 years.

The lamb grilling on the BBQ.

Rotisserie Leg of Lamb. Fennel, potatoes, spring porcini, and olives. Have a bit of lamb!

Flight 5:


2001 Alban Vineyards Grenache. Parker 92. The 2001 Grenache (an 800 six-pack blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah) exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to peppery, kirsch, raspberry, and blackberry aromas and flavors. With a viscous texture, medium to full body, and a gorgeous up-front style, it begs to be drunk over the next decade.

2001 Linne Calodo Sticks and Stones. Parker 95. The extraordinary 2001 Sticks and Stones (a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, and 10% Syrah) tastes like an old style of Rayas, or the renowned Chateau Lafleur from Pomerol. I know that sounds ridiculous, but those were the two wines that came to mind when I smelled and tasted this wine. It’s pure cherry liqueur with notions of raspberries, flowers, and minerals in the background. This deep ruby/purple-colored Rhone Ranger simply blew me away. With gorgeous texture, purity, perfume, and fruit presence, it has enormous amounts of both soul and personality. Enjoy it over the next 5-6 years.

2006 Sine Qua Non Raven Series (Grenache). Parker 98. 2006 Ravens Series (# 6 and 7 Grenache): This blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah, largely from the 11 Confessions Vineyard, with a small amount from Bien Nacido, spent 21 months in barrel. It is really strutting its stuff now, and showing even better than my original note predicted in August of 2009. The wine has loads of meat, licorice, smoke, charcoal and graphite, as well as huge peppery, blackberry and black cherry notes. Full-bodied, with great acidity, nicely integrated tannin, an admirable mouthfeel and tremendous length, this killer Grenache is still young and probably 3-5 years away from prime time drinking.

2013 Progeny Winery Grenache. 94 points. Tasted from a barrel sample. This was just yummy – candied fruits, spicy, reminds me of a slightly softer form of the SQN version (not a meal in a glass) but oh so wonderful. Still quite a bit of tannin and still very young. Might never make it to being a wine that’s produced, but I very much hope it is as it was just delicious.

Cheese plate. Point Reyes Blue, California. Noord Hollander, Holland. Heublumen, Switzerland. Somehow skipping France!

Flight 6:


1979 Joseph Swan Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County. 88 points. Had a light garnet core fading into a tawny colored rim with oranges hues. Fdruit aromas and flavors included dried cherries, black and red currants, plums and a touch of citrus; secondary aromas and flavors included baking spices, brown sugar, dried herbs, touch of old leather. This wine had bright acidity and a fresh character, was enjoyable however the finish was shorter than expected and appeared to be declining.

1980 Ridge Geyserville. 91 points. Pretty red raspberry nose. Medium bodied with medium+ acidity. Mix of tart and ripe raspberry fruit sprinkled with cinnamon. Tasty, great acidity.

1995 Ravenswood Zinfandel Dickerson. 87 points. Dark fruit, smoke, and light spice. Medium-full body.

1993 Turley Zinfandel Aida Vineyard. 90 points. Layers of flavors, mostly blackberry, but with a very peppery overtone.

My scribbled thoughts on the wines.

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. Grenache is a nice grape, if a powerhouse. Even the Zins were enjoyable. We didn’t have a mediocre wine today, just good and great ones.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Chateauneuf du Pape, Grenache, John Gerber, Rhone, Sauvages, Wine, Zinfandel

Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 2

Mar06

Restaurant: Valentino Santa Monica [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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

Date: March 4, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fabulous!

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This dinner is the second part of the annual White Burgundy Premox test series, hosted by Burg-meister Don Cornwell. This dinner covers 2007 Batard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, and associated BBM and CBM. Part 1, covering Chablis, Meursault and Corton can be found here.

2007 was a vintage was cool and acidic.

This particular dinner is 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.


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


Notice the awesome array of glasses. 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.

Tonight’s special menu.

Flight 0: Champagne

2002 Claude Cazals Champagne Blanc de Blancs extra Brut Cuvée Vive Clos Cazals. 93 points. Very nice acidic champy.


Bruschetta with wild arugula, prosciutto, and grana padano “Schegge.” Really nice, and I don’t even like tomatoes. The ham and cheese were what made this, that was a very nice hunk of grano.


Ahi tuna tartare with micro celery greens. We’ve all had tuna tartar before and this was a fine example.


Burrata caprese. The first time I ever had burrata was at Valentino!


Kushi oysters.

Flight 1: BBM & CBM

A word about tonight’s format. Every bottle was served blind, except we were aware of what flight it was and what was in the flight, just not of which wine was which. The reveal was held until the end of the entire evening so that we could vote on favorite wines without bias.

Personally, I’d prefer a reveal halfway through each flight for a number of reasons. True, this would compromise the voting a bit, but that’s not super important to me. I’d prefer to be able to taste the wines both not knowing which was which and knowing, so that I can continue to build up my subjective memory for each house style. I also find it very difficult to remember back across multiple flights for “best” comparisons. I took notes and marked my favorites of each flight and compared those.

agavin: Also, some general comments on this flight. Like the Chablis night, the BBM/CBM flight had a LOT of green apple and a lot of acid. The noses were much more expressive (as is typical of Puligny/Chassangne wines. These wines improved in the glass for the most part and only 2 of them (#2 and #8) were actually enjoyable to drink. Like all tasting at these dinners they suffered from the format in terms of hedonistic enjoyment. It’s a great format for revealing minute differences, but the excess of sameness in a single flight devalues the wines that aren’t drinking as well right now. In a different dinner where they were the only white burgundy and there was a higher food to wine ratio they might be quite enjoyable.

2007 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. Burghound 94. A mild hint of exotic fruit combines with honeysuckle and a slight oak influence before giving way to rich, full and notably generous medium plus weight flavors that possess outstanding mid-palate fat and extract, which serve to buffer the firm acid spine on the wonderfully fine and lingering finish. A lacy, long and stylish wine of finesse rather than power and 2007 is undoubtedly one of the better vintages for the Leflaive Pucelles.

agavin: simultaneously rich and acidic, perhaps a touch advanced.

2007 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 39, July 2010: As would be reasonably expected, the Bienvenues possesses a distinctly more elegant if presently highly restrained nose of airy notes of honeysuckle, subtle spice, lemon peel and cool green fruit that is in keeping with the refined, pure, dry and strikingly precise medium-full flavors that coat, and stain, the palate with ample dry extract and outstanding length on the citrusy finish. This achieves its usual stunning quality but the Referts is closer than it usually is. This should peak at about 8 years of age. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Good pale color. Very closed nose hints at citrus peel, clove and stone. Tactile and chewy but still quite tight and classically dry, with a strong spine of acid and minerals keeping the rich flavors of citrus fruits, peach and stone under wraps. A distinctly cool style, and very 2007. Finishes with excellent verve. This is about 13.5% alcohol, with a bit of chaptalization. 92+

agavin: very nice. great, great nose. some reduction. Sour but nice with long acidic finish.

2007 Leflaive Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A reserved and quite discreet nose reflects notes of spice, honeysuckle and ripe white peach that complement well the rich, full and intense flavors that are delicious, textured and have a wonderful mouth feel on the beautifully balanced and powerful finish. This is a classic Bienvenues with impressive levels of dry extract yet this finishes quite dry. Lovely, understated and impeccably balanced. 91-93

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, green-tinged yellow. Pure aromas and flavors of lemon, lime and crushed stone. Wonderfully high-pitched in the mouth, with citrus peel and violet notes lifting the wine and giving it a magically light touch. Very precise Bienvenue with superb acidity and captivating leesy complexity. 93+

Don Cornwell, Wally’s Leflaive Dinner, Mar. 16, 2010: yellow-green color; prominent honeysuckle and sweet green melon (Midori liquer) aromas; fresh lime and green melon or almost lee chee fruit flavors; very good acidity and decent minerally finish; again surprisingly forward but great balance. I liked this. 94

agavin: green apple nose. Taut, with a jolly rancher like vibe.

2007 Pernot Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: An almost invisible trace of wood highlights a similar nose of honeysuckle, rose petal and orchard fruit aromas that slide gracefully into more obviously mineral-driven medium full-bodied flavors that are at once generous yet detailed with excellent volume on the round, naturally sweet and mouth coating finish. This is also quite forward and while it will benefit from a few years of cellar time, this is not a vintage of Pernot’s BBM built for the long haul. 93

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Subtly complex aromas of white peach, honeysuckle, minerals, hazelnut and vanillin oak. Sweet and silky yet penetrating on the palate; more expressive today than the Pucelles and relatively open for a 2007 grand cru. Finishes persistent, but without quite the authority of the Batard. 92

agavin: green apple nose. Very tart. After some time hints of tropical.

2007 Ramonet Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: It’s relatively rare when I find the Ramonet Bienvenues to be superior to their Bâtard (though there are any number of vintages where I have found them to be qualitative equals) but 2007 is one vintage where it is. The primary reason is not so much because there is a noticeable difference in the respective underlying materials but rather because the balance of the BBM is better and the acid support is better integrated as well than in the Bâtard. Moreover, after 2 hours of aeration, the BBM had softened considerably and rounded out into something genuinely sublime where as the Bâtard remained taciturn and angular after the same period. The open question of course is whether the Bâtard is simply much more primary and thus less evolved but ultimately will follow a similar evolutionary curve? For those who are risk averse, buy the Bienvenues. And for those who are fans of both wines, buy both but to the extent that you have the choice, I would favor buying more of the Bienvenues because it’s a really, really lovely wine and a surer bet. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, bright yellow. Citrus peel, iodine and lavender on the nose. Citric, tightly wound and light on its feet; seems a bit leaner and less filled in than the Ruchottes today but this is a baby. Will this put on weight with time in bottle? 92+?

agavin: closed at first, then a bit of honeysuckle on the nose. Too tart at first. I didn’t like it for a while, then it opened up a bit.

2007 Hubert Lamy Criots-Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet note of pain grillé frames a ripe and exuberantly fresh nose of concentrated citrus and floral aromas that precedes superbly intense mineral-laden flavors that possess a beguiling texture and positively huge length. The abundant sap coats the mouth and despite the density, this flavor profile is linear and crystalline on the explosive and almost painfully intense finish. Terrific juice and highly recommended if you can find a bottle. 94

Stephen Tanzer: not reviewed

agavin: funny detergent funk smell. Overly sour, never liked.


Ringer. 2007 J. Rochioli Chardonnay Sweetwater Vineyard. VM 94. Light green-gold color. Intense, mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit aromas are complemented by smoky lees and iodine. Deep, spicy lemon and bitter orange flavors stain the palate and are given depth by a hint of sweet butter. The mineral qualities gain strength on the finish, which is strikingly pure and very long.

agavin: thinner at first, with lots of reduction. But turned out to be quite pleasant.


Grilled mediterranean branzino topped with fresh fennel, oranges and olives. At first I was like, boring fish. But this was not only a generous portion but very nicely done and a first rate pairing with the wine.

Flight 2: Batard


Stepping up to the next level.

agavin: This flight was so big I accidentally put two of them in the next flight’s group photo! An overwhelming 9 wines! There were more “drinkable” wines (0, 9, 12, 16), but the flight also contained a lot more deep yellows and seemingly advanced wines, plus a few funky ones. Several seemed nearly undrinkable. When I open 12-15 year old Batard/Chevalier (which I do weekly) I have about a 20-25% premox rate, but generally they are generally much more rounded and expressive than these wines. I’m not at all convinced that 8 years is a good age to actually be enjoying Batard. So it’s entirely possible that the heavily oxidized examples will end up as those premoxed bottles, but the others that are closed or funky will resolve themselves.

2007 Vincent Girardin Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A tighter and less expressive nose offers up apricot, floral and grapefruit aromas trimmed in a deft touch of wood that dissolve gracefully into rich, full and concentrated flavors that are actually quite fine even though there is ample dry extract, all wrapped in a powerful and mouth coating finish. This is a big wine yet it has grace and class. Note though that patience will be required. 93-95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Good bright yellow. Pure, complex aromas of orange peel, peach, apricot, hazelnut and iodine, along with a faintly exotic suggestion of lichee. Ripe, juicy and energetic, with a more obvious underlying structure and less easy sweetness showing today than the Bienvenue. Sappy, powerful and rich in extract: this really coats the mouth. Quite backward in style, with strong oak spice showing today. The tactile, almost dusty finish is accentuated by strong acidity. 94+

agavin: Slightly darker, with reduction. Very nice though, somewhat rounder although still apple tart.

2007 Colin-Morey Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: In contrast to the nose of the Corton-Charlemagne, there is reduction present here that does compromise somewhat the expressiveness of the otherwise pure and layered white flower, spice and brioche nose that merges into beautifully defined medium plus weight flavors that evidence a discreet minerality on the balanced, long, deep and driving finish. This is less evolved than the prior wine but with great potential. 92-95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale yellow. Very sexy aromas of orange blossom, oily peach, pineapple and smoky lees. At once thick and bracing, with outstanding concentration and layered texture. This huge wine shows strong vanillin oak and outstanding sucrosite that no doubt had a lot to do with the fact that it only finished fermenting its sugars in December of 2008. The parcel is in Chassagne-Montrachet, but at the border with Puligny. Incidentally, Colin sealed his 2007s with soft wax capsules in an attempt to give his bottles additional protection against oxidation. 96

Don Cornwell, Dinner at home, June 14, 2011: (opened because slight leakage detected) Wow. What an impressive Batard. This had the density of a Ramonet Montrachet from an incredible vintage and the minerality of Chevalier. A truly awesome wine. One of the best young white burgundies I’ve ever tasted. 96

agavin: also liked. Pale. Batard + apple nose. Rounder, with jolly rancher finish.

2007 JN Gagnard Batrd-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet touch of brioche highlights the restrained but ripe nose of green apple, honeysuckle, anise and apricot aromas that are elegant, pure and wonderfully refined before merging seamlessly into sweet, intense and unusually detailed big-bodied flavors that reflect slightly more minerality than I typically find in this wine before culminating in an energetic and palate staining finish. A stunner of a wine by any standard but it’s worth noting that while it’s bigger and more powerful than the Caillerets, it’s not finer or more elegant. 94

Steven Tanzer: not reviewed

agavin: deeper color. Cider smell, more advanced.

2007 Leflaive Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This is also on the ripe side for a 2007 with an ultra elegant nose that is pure, airy and cool, indeed this is unusually elegant for the appellation with its white flower, citrus, pear, menthol, white pepper and light spice hints that are in perfect keeping with the rich, full and broad- shouldered flavors that possess the usual volume and power of a classic Bâtard but do not lose any of the precision or detail on the expansive, mouth coating and hugely long and very dry finish. Like a number of examples in 2007, this is an elegant yet forceful Bâtard. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, green-tinged yellow. Knockout nose combines musky pineapple, lime and powdered stone; seems less exotic than the 2008. Wonderfully silky on entry, then explosively ripe and sweet in the middle, with powerful, palate-staining flavors of lime and flowers. Very rich and impeccably balanced, with its sweetness perfectly countered by firm buffering acidity. A great showing for this extremely long grand cru. 95

Don Cornwell, Wally’s Leflaive Dinner, Mar. 16, 2010: (tasted from two different bottles over four hours) Light yellow-green color; some light S02 here [Meadows noticed this too and quietly asked me about it as well. We both agreed this was slightly reductive]; citrus and sweet basil aromas; surprisingly forward and supple for a Batard, doesn’t have the power I expected; very good acidity and a long finish. My separate notes at dinner were almost verbatim identical. Meadows says he thinks the 2007’s will be open for business early but will live for a long time. 94(+?)

agavin: also deeper golden color with ripe cider smell. considerably advanced seeming.


Ringer. 2007 Ramey Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard. VM 94. Greenish yellow. Vibrant aromas of lime, lemongrass, powdered stone and anise. At once supple and energetic in the mouth, with impressive precision to the peach, citrus and smoky mineral flavors. Tightly wound and taut but not austere, showing a distinct spiciness on the back half. Lively citrus and mineral flavors carry through a rising, spicy finish. These grapes are sourced from four different blocks, all of them planted to the Wente clone, according to Ramey.

agavin: liked this. Medium color. Some reduction on the nose, and a LOT of vanilla oak. Thought it might be new world. But it was rich and balanced.

2007 Ramonet Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 36, Oct. 2009: Initially, the pure, elegant and refined nose of citrus and white flowers was extremely reticent and it required over an hour before it really blossomed. The focused, intense and precise flavors are compact and very tight before culminating in a distinctly angular and only moderately long finish where the acidity is notably prominent. This is unapologetically built for the long haul and while there are some wines in the range that could be enjoyed now, at least with sufficient aeration, it frankly is a complete waste to open this now. The ’07 version is also not especially fleshy or powerful but the balance appears to be good enough to allow it to be great in time but that time is at least 10 years out. In short, don’t buy this if you have any expectations of drinking it within 5 years and again, 10 years will likely be required before it’s ready. 93

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Bright, pale yellow. Rich aromas of stone fruits, yellow currant, lees and iodine, plus a complicating whiff of rye bread. Dense and powerful but not at all heavy. Quite youthfully closed but aeration brings up captivating inner-mouth floral character and penetrating talc-y minerality. Wonderfully precise, classy Batard with uncommon complexity. 94+

agavin: closed and flat, didn’t like.

2007 Chateau de la Maltroye Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: The first wine to display any appreciable wood influence that frames the elegant, pure, broad and classy white flower, spice and citrus hints that continue onto the focused but equally broad-scaled flavors that culminate in a rich, full and exceptionally powerful finish that stains the palate with seemingly limitless reserves of dry extract. This is backward but the impressive potential is not hard to see. In a word, stunning. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Very pale color. High-pitched citrus peel, powdered stone and violet on the nose. At once powerful and penetrating, offering uncanny lift and weightlessness for a wine from this grand cru vineyard. A bit closed in on itself initially on the middle palate, but showed much more white peach and citrus fruit flavor with aeration and finishes with almost painful intensity. This, too, needs several years of aging-or a lot of time in a carafe. 94+

agavin: deep colored and cider like, more advanced.

2007 Niellon Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A highly nuanced and layered nose frames elegant, expressive and densely fruited white flower and peach aromas plus strikingly rich and powerful full-bodied flavors that possess so much dry extract that like the Chevalier, this is almost painfully intense. The acid/fruit balance is especially impressive and despite the size and weight, like many examples in 2007, this is actually quite refined. In a word, marvelous. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale color. Lemon, lime, mint, clove and crushed stone on the nose. Rich and pliant but at the same time juicy and powerful; this really resounds in the mouth and grips the palate on the aftertaste. Already showing some personality but needs bottle aging to expand. 93

agavin: medium color. Different somehow, weird. Sour to the taste.

2007 Sauzet Batard-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet hint of post-bottling SO2 is just noticeable enough that I would suggest decanting this for 30 minutes first if you’re tempted to try one young. Otherwise, a restrained and pure nose features notes of white flower, fresh citrus peel and a mix of pear and white peach which lead to richer, fuller and more powerful if not necessarily more concentrated broad-shouldered flavors that possess relatively fine detail and balance on the explosive and gorgeously long finish. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Very pale bright yellow. Deeper-pitched on the nose than the Bienvenues, with peach and white flowers dominating. Large-scaled and rich but precise, saturating and filling the mouth with flavors of white peach, minerals and crushed stone. Offers outstanding intensity without any impression of weight, not to mention superb energy. Terrific juice: I’d wait five or six years on this beauty. 94+

agavin: One of the better ones in the flight. Reduction on the nose, tasted like sweet tarts.


Scallops in porchetta, pancetta wrapped, with pappa al pomodoro & parmesan. The bacon notched this up big time.

Flight 3: Chevalier part 1


And everyone’s favorite vineyard.

This was probably the worst flight (considered as it was drinking now) and a major disappointment. There was a lot of deep colored wines, advancement, and a general closed quality that didn’t favor current enjoyment. 20 was a notable exception.


Ringer. 2007 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard. 93 points. Trademark Ceritas richness, though some of that has been tamed as the days go by, wonderful acidity and overall balance, lovely, complex flavors, nothing ripe or out of place, even some hints of minerality on the finish. Terrific wine. Maybe I’m dreaming, but this could be a top vintage Chablis Preuses, which tends to be a richer vineyard.

agavin: deep color. Rich with caramel tones and maybe a hint of sherry. less acid.

2007 Bouchard Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet touch of oak highlights the naturally spicy floral and high-toned orchard and green fruit aromas before giving way to textured, sappy and almost painfully intense full-bodied flavors brimming with both dry extract and ample minerality on the hugely long and impeccably balanced finish. This is a really lovely wine that possesses everything it needs to deliver a first-rate drinking experience with a decade of cellar time. As good as this is, and it is very impressive, it’s not necessarily superior to the magnificent Perrières though it may require a bit more bottle age to arrive at its peak. 94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale yellow. Citrus peel, wet stone, flowers and a saline nuance on the nose. Wonderfully ripe, broad and rich but classically dry, with the stony quality currently dominating the middle palate. Best today on the extremely long, grapefruity finish, which opens like a peacock’s tail. 94

agavin: medium color, tart.

2007 Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This is a study in elegance as the positively stunning nose displays breathtaking purity of expression with incredibly complex and airy white flower and ripe green fruit aromas that precede beautifully balanced, harmonious and chiseled, indeed even crystalline middle weight flavors that possess outstanding length and knockout depth. This is class in a glass with terrific vibrancy and the palate staining finish is almost painfully intense and about the only nit is a trace of warmth though this is as much due to the superb transparency as the actual level of alcohol. If you can find it, buy it. 95

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Good medium yellow. Deeply pitched nose dominated by pear, clove and wet stone. The most vibrant and lightfooted of these 2007s, with penetrating, mouth-saturating flavors of pear, clove, crushed stone and saline minerality. Compared to the Batard, this shows less volume and sheer size but more finesse. Finishes intense and very long, in need of considerable aging. Niellon recommends giving it eight to ten years. 93+

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow color; aromas of SO2 and meyer lemon; great acidity and grip here; again lots of minerality, but this wine is slightly angular and yet viscous — ever so slightly disjointed at the moment; with considerable time in the glass, this improved a lot, and developed a nice citrus and minerally finish. Hence the split score. 94+|95+

agavin: closed and reduced, disjointed, with a sour tropical finish.

2007 Jean-Marc Pillot Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: An expressive nose blends stunningly pure fruit laced with citrus and lime notes that are highlighted by abundant pain grillé influence and leads to rich, full-bodied and sweet flavors of remarkable precision that deliver a strong wet stone character where the firm and bright acidity beautifully frames an impressively long finish that also really coats the palate. This is almost painfully intense and I very much like the underlying sense of energy and overall sense of balance that suggests that the ’07 Pillot Chevalier should age well. 92-94

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: (fermented in a new barrel, then racked into a used barrel for aging until April of 2009) Lemon ice, crushed rock and strong smoky oak on the nose. Wonderfully rich and lush, with a slightly aggressive character to the lemon and spicy oak flavors. Best on the back end, where the wine saturates the entire palate without any impression of weight and fills the retronasal passage. But less open now, and drier, than the Clos Saint-Marc, as the oak is currently blocking the wine’s fruit and mineral components. 93+

agavin: medium colored. I liked this. Rich with some reduction and a searing finish.

2007 Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: As with the Bâtard, there is a discreet hint of post-bottling SO2 that is just noticeable – decant. A classic, and radiant, Chevalier nose offers perhaps the purest fruit in the range with a mix of upper and middle register acacia blossom and fresh lemon aromas that are seductively enveloping before sliding seamlessly into strikingly detailed, stony and almost Chablis-like flavors carrying a similar sense of salinity and this is like rolling tiny pebbles around in the mouth, all wrapped in a palate-etching finish of spectacular length. This is breath-taking stuff and the focus and linearity are superb. This should age well for years. Textbook Chevalier. 96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Very pale lemon-yellow color. Vibrant aromas of lemon, lime, crushed stone and vanilla. Penetrating and precise, with great elegance and definition to the lemon and crushed stone flavors. A distinctly more feminine style than the Batard, with the lowest acidity of these 2007s but plenty of supporting white-soil minerality. This will be the easiest of these grand crus to drink young but should nonetheless age well. 94

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Yellow-green color; white flowers and fresh pineapple aromas; the most fat of the entire group; an “easy” wine; very nice rounded fruit with good acidity and some minerality. Very nice. Later: acidity is now becoming more apparent in the finish. 94+

agavin: medium colored. Rich and tart.

2007 Louis Latour Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A more subtle touch of wood sets off the lightly spiced floral, green apple, white peach and pear aromas that lead to very pure, detailed and stony medium weight plus flavors that possess superb intensity and huge length on the mouth coating finish. This is presently quite understated and does an impressive job of blending power and finesse in a package of impact without heaviness. 94

Steven Tanzer: not reviewed

agavin: Deep colored. Quite advanced and sherry like. Not drinkable.


Sauteed santa barbara prawn with herbs & white wine and served on risotto. The prawns weren’t the largest, but they were sweet and tender with a lovely briny taste. The risotto was very delicate, but rich and delicious. Notice the good sized portion too, and we got seconds of the risotto too.

Flight 4: Chevalier part 2


This is the flight everyone was waiting for, as it has the real big guns.

This should be a flight of incredible wines, but there were major disappointments (along with a couple gems). 27 (the Girardin) was incredible, but I thought the Ramonet had an undrinkable potty/sulfur quality (and I love reductive wines). Maybe it will blow off. Again, hard to tell how much the awkwardness reflects their youth.

2007 Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Database, April 15, 2012: A strikingly complex nose offers seriously impressive breadth with its aromas of ripe, pure and airy nose of white flower, spice and subtle pear aromas. There is excellent richness to the mouth coating flavors that are built on a base of fine minerality, all wrapped in a sappy and mouth coating finish that oozes dry extract. This is really a lovely effort that is at once refined yet powerful with an almost painfully intense backend. A very impressive effort that is positively Zen-like in its poise and quiet sense of harmony. A ‘wow’ wine though note that it will need plenty of time to fulfill all of its vast potential. Tasted twice with consistent notes. 96

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 39, June 2010: A strikingly complex nose that is even more complex than that of the Bâtard as there is a great breadth of aromas to the ripe, pure and airy nose of white flower, spice and subtle pear aromas that complement to perfection the rich and mouth coating flavors built on a base of fine minerality, all wrapped in a sappy and mouth coating finish that oozes dry extract. This is really a lovely effort that is almost as powerful as the Bâtard but as one would expect, finer and even a bit longer with an almost painfully intense backend. A very impressive effort that is positively Zen-like in its poise and quiet sense of harmony. A ‘wow’ wine though note that it will need plenty of time to fulfill all of its vast potential. 96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Ineffable, discreet aromas of powdered stone, lemon peel, tangerine and flowers are complicated by an almost metallic minerality. Wonderfully succulent and silky in the mouth, but with a firm stony edge that gives it a rather uncompromising quality. An ethereal essence of wet stone minerality, this powerful, concentrated, classically dry wine is also compellingly smooth on the reverberating aftertaste. 96

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow-green color, closer to gold than the others; the aromas are more floral than most and there’s some citrus as well; this wine seems bigger, fatter and softer than the others [N.B. for Leflaive, not what I expected] yet has good acidity; after about two hours this was showing some meyer lemon and good minerality and length in the finish. 95+(?)

agavin: Deep colored. Somewhat advanced but acidic.

2007 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: A discreet, indeed almost invisible, touch of wood frames extremely primary aromas of white flower, wet stone and a spice component that are very cool, pure, elegant and restrained with brilliantly detailed, classy and refined medium plus weight flavors delivering a borderline painfully intense and palate staining finish that goes on and on. This seems to be extracted directly from liquid rock and this has that ‘wow’ factor in spades. Don’t miss it. 97

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Knockout nose combines apple, white flowers, crushed stone and saline minerality. The palate delivers the mineral energy of this vintage in spades, with citrus and stone flavors offering outstanding precision and staining the palate on the back end. This was a knockout from barrel and has turned out splendidly. Boillot rates this as one of his best Chevalier vintages to date. He also told me that it was always his dream to make Chevalier-Montrachet. “I would sooner lose all the other crus,” he told me. “Chevalier-Montrachet is the greatest terroir for white wine, while Musigny is the greatest for red.” 96

Don Cornwell, Middle Eastern Dinner at Michael Zadikian’s, Aug. 8, 2009: (Wine now open two days) Light yellow color; aromas of white flowers and meyer lemon; this had a wonderful density to it – strong minerality, citrus and power yet with viscosity not unlike Batard in a great vintage; very long minerally/citrus finish. Really impressive for two-day open 2in3. 96

agavin: medium colored. Closed nose, with green apple taste and a lean finish.

2007 Colin-Morey Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: This too is mildly reduced which also knocks down the expressiveness of the reserved, cool and classy floral, citrus and subtle spice aromas that complement the textured and relatively concentrated flavors that exhibit really beautiful detail and an exuberant minerality that culminates in a long, explosive and tension-filled finish. A stunner of a wine that should also be capable of aging for the next 15 years. 93-96

Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2008: Crushed stone and a violety topnote on the highly aromatic nose, with a complicating saline nuance. Superconcentrated, dense and sweet, with superb inner-mouth lift to the mineral-driven flavors. This, too, boasts a chewiness rare for the vintage. The finish is penetrating and utterly palate-staining. This may still have a gram or so of sugar yet to ferment. 94-97

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow green color; Light to medium gold color; very light lemony a4romas; tight, lemony flavors which expanded a lot in the mid-palate and had good acidity and grip; very long citrus and minerals finish.. Impressive. 95+

agavin: paler yellow. A bit of spritz and tartaric acid crystals. Reduced on the nose. Acidic, but quiet nice.

2007 Ramonet Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows, Burghound Issue 35, July 2009: Given the almost extreme reticence of the Bâtard, I was moderately surprised to see how wonderfully expressive this positively brilliant wine is already. The nose is simply stunning with a supremely elegant and kaleidoscopic range of spice, floral, citrus, stone and pain grillé notes that is the perfect complement to the racy, detailed and equally complex middle weight flavors brimming with the underlying minerality advertised by the nose, all wrapped in a driving, delineated and explosive finish. As good as the Ramonet Chevalier is, in the 10 vintages that it has been made, I can’t think of one where it’s the equal of the Montrachet. However, 2007 just might be that vintage. 96

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Pale, bright yellow. Citrus pith, green apple, Anjou pear, licorice and dusty stone on the nose. Dense, tactile and sappy, with superb mineral lift and precision. This boasts a tight core of crushed stone and citrus flavors and terrific purity and energy but will also require extended aging. Expands impressively on the back half and finishes with superb mineral persistence. 93+

Don Cornwell, tasted April 9, 2010 at 2007 tasting: Light yellow-green color; white flowers and pears aromas with a very faint hint of mint; bright, indeed brilliant citrus with very strong minerality on the mid-palate and fabulous acidity; the finish is quite long and very minerally. Superb wine [Ramonet?] 95+

agavin: straw pale, but a terrible potty nose of sulfur. Tasted like toilet too. Yuck.

2007 Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet

Allen Meadows: not reviewed

Steven Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Sept. 2009: Bright medium yellow. Very ripe, expressive nose offers yellow peach and white flowers. Opulent, shapely and very ripe, in a distinctly sweeter style than the Batard. Gives an impression of lower acidity too, but there’s plenty of acid here. I suspect this one will shut down in bottle. Girardin, who bottled most of his crus in April and May of this year, noted that the 2007s really only started to express themselves in February, and that many of his fellow producers bottled this vintage too early. 94+

agavin: best wine of the night. Straw pale, lots of reduction, and a massive massive palette and finish.


Veal tenderloin with wild mushroom sauce served with rosemary roasted potatoes, haricots verts, carrots. Also a lovely dish, and a good bit of it. The meat was nice and tender and the sauce was fabulous.

Flight  5: Dessert


2001 Château de Fargues. GV 93. COLOR-beautiful dark golden; NOSE-much more honey; honey meets chlorine; very intriguing; hints of apricots; TASTE-outrageous weight on the mid-palate; Honeycomb cereal; really, really heavy pear component; I’m loving the orange peel aspect; very youthful Sauterne, not ready yet – it’s gonna get better from here; solid acidity, but a little flabby in the mid-palate which concerns me a tad; nice long finish; very bright; star fruit on the finish; little hints of pineapple; I’m enjoying this wine; it’s got BIG potential; RP-94/96; GV-93

agavin: a nice young sauternes. Not super thick or unctuous, but good.


Pistachio creme brulee. I like creme brulee and this was a great one, not so unlike a green tea one I’ve had at Takao.  Great stuff.

Above is the flight list after being revealed.

And the full array of revealed bottles.


That’s more or less two people’s glasses!

agavin on food: There is a lot to say about this tasting. First of all, Valentino did a great 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. Last month when we were here for the Chablis tasting, the food was solid but not enough of it. Not only did they drastically increase the quantity but the mix of dishes was far superior. Valentino might not be the modern Italian in town but they still really know how to cook.

agavin: 2007 as a vintage has this super acidic green apple vibe across the board. Interesting, like with 2005 we had a much higher percentage of advanced wines with these bigger grand crus than with the Chablis and Meursault. Overall, there were a lot of disappointing wines for hugely scored big whites from great producers. It’s hard to totally assess. The really oxidized wines are probably dead, although bottles probably vary. But a lot of the wines might just be in a funny state. I’m not sure 8 years from vintage is a great time for huge grand crus. I don’t drink them at this age myself, usually waiting at least 5 more years. I can’t help but think a bunch of these will outgrow their ungainly youth. What remains to be seen is if all that acid integrates and rounds out.

Don: The top six wines of the night by group ranking/voting were:

1. 2007 Girardin Chevalier (with 8 of 13 first place votes)
2. 2007 Ramey “Hyde Vineyard” Chardonnay
3. 2007 Colin-Morey Chevalier
4. 2007 Carillon Bienvenues
5 (tie) 2007 Colin-Morey Batard Montrachet
5 (tie) 2007 Girardin Batard Montrachet

David Ramey’s wine was the first California ringer ever to finish in the Top 5 wines. The Rochioli Sweetwater made a very good showing in the Criots/Bienvenues flight as well, tying for seventh overall. Several people, myself included, thought the Rochioli was Bienvenues. I thought it was the Ramonet BBM and it was my second favorite wine of the flight after the Carillon BBM.

The oxidation results this time were closer to prior years. Six of the 27 wines, or 22%, were either oxidized or advanced.

But what was the biggest shocker of the night was that both the Leflaive Chevalier and Leflaive Batard were oxidized, the Leflaive Puligny Pucelles fully ready to drink (one participant felt it was advanced) and the Bienvenues, while not oxidized or advanced, didn’t impress anyone. This is definitely NOT a good development.

Don’s reviews of each wine can be found here.

Other big tasting dinners from this dinner series:

2007 White Burgundy part 1

2006 White Burgundy

2004 Red Burgundy

2005 White Burgundy part 1

2005 White Burgundy part 2

2005 White Burgundy part 3

Speak to the hand of Fu

Related posts:

  1. Valentino – 2007 White Burgundy part 1
  2. Valentino – 2006 White Burgundy
  3. Valentino – 2005 White Burg part 2!
  4. Valentino – 2004 Red Burgundy
  5. Burgundy at Providence
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 2007 White Burgundy, California, Don Cornwell, Italian cuisine, Santa Monica, Valentino, White Burgundy, Wine

Forget the Duck Soup, More Meat!

Mar04

Restaurant: Tasty Duck [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1039 E Valley Blvd. Ste B102. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 572-3885

Date: February 28, 2015

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Great Duck!

_

Tasty Duck is a regular spot with my Hedonist food and  wine club. Tonight is not only duck night, but “high” (or at least higher) end wine night.


The interior is jammed and the turnover is high. There isn’t even a space inch to stand while waiting for a table as the serves need what little space there is to reach the tables.


NV Charles Mignon Champagne Cuvée Comte de Marne Millésime Grand Cru. 90 points.  Medium(-) lemon, fine sub-mm bubbles enamanating from numerous point sources. Medium(-) aromas of lemon, cooked green apple and biscuit. Dry, medium(+) tart acidity, medium(-) body and alcohol (@12.5% abv). Medium flavors of green apple, lemon, mineral, and touch honey/biscuit. Focused finish, medium length with cutting finish. Soft delicate mousse. Great as aperitif.


The main event: Peking Duck. Not only was this delectable, with fantastic crispy skin and delicate meat, but it’s artfully arranged. We had two plates of these per table and it was a feeding frenzy!


Here are the traditional accompaniments, starting with excellent pancakes. One mystery question I must ask: why do Chinese restaurants insist on putting far too few pancakes and too little hoisin sauce on the table?


Hoisin sauce and green onions.


From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 93. Surprisingly open and expressive with wonderfully complex and nuanced aromas that reveal a dazzling array of floral and fruit elements followed by rich, ripe and somewhat more full-bodied flavors than usual but the additional weight is more than buffered by the racy finishing acidity and almost painfully intense back end. This is presently a good deal more forward than the ’00 Bâtard though there is clearly enough material to suggest that this will benefit from another 3 to perhaps 5 years in the cellar.

agavin: our bottle was round, open, with caramel notes. Mature and delicious.


Cumin lamb. Strong, but not spicy. A typical specimen, but with tender flavorful lamb. Some places border on mouton.


A 1971 Riesling Kabinett. I can’t even find this on Cellar Tracker. I think this was more than a bit past by my standards.


Their interesting take on “walnut shrimp.” The fried shrimp, sweet mayo sauce, and walnuts is supplemented with pineapple! Not my favorite rendition of this dish. We’ve gotten spoiled.


1976 Hugel et Fils Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive SGN Sélectionneé par Jean Hugel. 92 points. Metallic nose like wet pennies with some candied nuts. Earthy funk initially this really started gaining weight in the glass coming up with some ripe red apple notes later on. Still good and interesting to drink.

agavin: this one was pretty good, if fully mature.


Sauteed A Chop. We had no idea what “a chop” was but it’s apparently some kind of boc choy? Anywhichway it was a pretty good garlicky green.


From my cellar: 1990 Georges Noellat Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. agavin 89. At first this was lean with a bit of a funky/cork vibe. After about 30 minutes this blew off and I found it rather nice and enjoyable, if fully mature.


Crispy whole red cod with sweet and sour sauce. A really nice fish, similar to a couple weeks ago at the Shanghai place.


2007 Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 90. Here the aromas run more toward cassis flowers along with pretty and wild red berry fruits that are followed by rich, full and quite minerally middle weight flavors that are beautifully detailed, textured and solidly persistent, all wrapped in a subtle oak influenced finish. I like the intensity here and the balance is impeccable and if not a wine of great depth, there is enough here to be more than just interesting.


Some amazing Shanghai style soup dumplings (XLB). Tasty little morsels stuffed with pork and broth. We got about 4 orders of these.


2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. Burghound 87. A high-toned raspberry and cranberry fruit nose that also displays subtle spice and menthol hints introduces round, supple and easy to like flavors up until the finish that is overtly warm if attractively sappy. Be sure to keep this cool because the warmth really comes up if the temperature rises even slightly.


2011 Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. 89 points. Plum notes, pepper spell on opening, strong tannins. Decanted for 4 hours and opened up. Probably should not decant more than an hour.


French style Beef. Extremely tender and delicious, almost sweet, morsels of filet.


2011 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon Yountville. 86 points. The heavy tastes were present: some cocoa, some tobacco, some rose hip. But none of the lighter stuff needed to even it out. The nose was quite nice and lighter than the palate. Mouthfeel was a bit too sharp.


Sticky rice with BBQ eel. A new dish. The eel was great. The rice had a nice texture, but the flavor was a bit earthy?


2005 Canon la Gaffeliere. Parker 94. For opulence, decadence, and sexiness, this 2005 is hard to resist. One of the vintage’s most flamboyant efforts, it is a gorgeous blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. With a stunningly exotic nose of espresso roast, a juicy meat and herb concoction, spice box, chocolate, incense, and copious quantities of sweet, ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit, this full-throttle St.-Emilion exhibits good structure (because of the vintage’s sound acid levels) and high, but velvety tannin. It is a brilliant effort from proprietor Stephan von Neipperg. I would not discount its aging potential as the 1990, which I thought would have a short aging curve, is still going strong at age 18. The 2005 should easily last 20-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.


Oyster mushrooms. These looks and felt a bit like Shanghai rice cakes. They were pretty delicious though.


2008 Alban Vineyards Grenache. Parker 93-95. The 2008 Grenache is just plain beautiful at this stage. A striking bouquet redolent of dark red fruit, flowers and spices melds into a core of textured fruit. This is all purity and finesse. I can hardly wait to taste the finished wine. This is very fresh for a wine that has been in barrel for nearly three years. The 2008 Grenache is 98% Grenache and 2% Syrah. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2018.


Beef rolls with BBQ beef and cilantro. Really nice, tasted like rolled up Pho. The shell was a bit chewy and tough, which detracted.


2004 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella Superiore. Parker 93. Sweet, open aromatics lead to hints of dark blueberries, blackberries, spices and minerals as the 2004 Valpolicella Superiore gradually opens in the glass. Today the wine comes across as shut down, but the imposing tannins are also rather fine, suggesting that with time the wine’s inner sweetness will gradually emerge. Readers who want to try their luck with this wine earlier should open the bottle a good eight hours or so prior to drinking it. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019.

agavin: even having been open and decanted for hours, it was still massive.


Pork hock. Some kind of crazy pig leg. Some serious fat here and the skin was a bit mushy, but the meat fell off the bone and was incredibly tender and delicious.


A very nice mixed fried rice.


This ancient 1959 Beerenaulese came out like motor oil. Ridiculously dark. It wasn’t perfectly balanced, but it was surprisingly likable if you have a taste for the sweet and thick like I do.


Pan fried noodles. A bit greasy, but okay.


1989 Raymond-Lafon. Parker 91-92. The 1989 exhibits aromas of honeyed pineapple/tropical fruit and toasty new oak, as well as an exotic, flashy perfume that is not as pronounced in either the 1990 or 1988. The 1989 exhibits less botrytis than the other two vintages. The wine possesses an opulent, full-bodied, exotic, lavishly rich personality, moderate sweetness, and huge quantity of extract, glycerin, and alcohol in its finish. The wine is also extremely young and unevolved. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025.

agavin: Nice, although a little unbalanced.

Overall, another fantastic meal. The total damage, including tax and a whopping 30% tip was $42 a person! “Inflated” because of our multiple ducks. They were very friendly and willing to serve us the dishes one at a time over a long period, but the restaurant was a bit over busy and the duck came the microsecond we sat down. It was frustrating to be dealing with opening the wine, pictures, and the like and to be launched into the feeding frenzy. In previous trips we’ve had the cold appetizers. Then they got going a little too fast with the food. We had to tell them to slow down (which they did). Plus as we were jammed into the back corner and there was only one narrow entrance point the overworked servers had trouble handling the “basics” like water, plate changes and the like. As the place emptied out they caught up a bit. They certainly try hard and are extremely nice. It was just too crowded and too little space.

The duck was first rate, as good as Peking duck gets — more or less. Some other dishes, like the pork hock, and the XLB were amazing too. A few others just so so, like the shrimp. The eel was interesting, and a nice addition. Tasty Duck is all about the duck.

For more Hedonist adventures or

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

Instead of the mild Chinese desserts we headed over to Salju for some shave ice:


Pineapple snow with passion fruit, almond jelly, blackberries, and boba.


Mango snow with strawberries, blueberries, passion fruit syrup and almond jelly.


Coffee snow with coffee jelly, syrup, and almond jelly.


Coconut snow with peanut butter cups, egg custard, and condensed milk.


Green tea snow with chocolate chips.

Related posts:

  1. Tasty Duck Lives up to its Name
  2. Tasty Duck Will Bring You Luck
  3. Spear your Meat
  4. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  5. Lasagne Bolognese Minus the Meat
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Alhambra, California, Chinese cuisine, hedonists, Hoisin sauce, Peking Duck, pork, Salju, Tasty Duck, Wine

Oliverio 10x10x10

Feb09

Restaurant: Oliverio [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 9400 W Olympic Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 407-7791

Date: January 6, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome Food & Wine

_

Like I do, Foodie Club co-founder Erick arranges his own mega dinner for his birthday, this year at the fabulous Oliverio in the Avalon Hotel. He went all out and got the chef to “whip” up a massive 10 course tasting menu. Plus, he and I brought about 20 wines together to serve as a palette for the evening. We ended up going through 10 for 10 people.


The atmosphere at Oliverio is tres LA. They have sexy poolside dining, but this being a “wintery” evening, we at inside.


Our big table.


My friend Liz at a previous dinner with master chef Mirko Paderno. If you want to read more about his background find it in this post.


The bread service. A like the crispy things!


From my cellar: 2012 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse. AG 88. Almondo’s 2012 Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse is brighter and more focused than the Bricco delle Ciliegie. Lemon, green pear, jasmine and crushed rocks inform a crisp white to drink over the next year or two.


Yellowfin tuna tartare with quail egg and crispy polenta chips. You could almost pretend it was beef. A little bit of a kick too.


From my cellar: 2010 Venica & Venica Malvasia. AG 88. The 2010 Malvasia is an attractive white, but I am not sure Venica has decided what road to take with their Malvasia, an aromatic grape with a strong personality. You either have to let Malvasia rip or try to reign it in, but this particular wine is made in a middle of the road style that does neither. It shows good varietal character, but lacks personality.


Vegetarian cannelloni (A). the (A) signifies an alternative substitute, in this case vegetarian.


From my cellar: 1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 91 points. Dark golden. Deep fragrance of honey and herbs. Very intense honey, textured. Long and delicious, slightly of wood.


Cauliflower soufflé parmigiano fondue black winter truffle. Yum! Love this dish.

Because we have a seared foie course coming I brought a serious straight up Sauternes to compliment.

From my cellar: 2001 Château Suduiraut. IWC 95. Medium yellow-gold. Flamboyantly ripe, complex nose combines pineapple, apricot, toffee, clove and vanilla. Hugely sweet and rich, with deep, powerful flavors of honey, marzipan and toffee. A major mouthful of wine, with great lingering sweetness. Today, this makes the Rieussec seem almost polite by comparison.

agavin: great wine. young, sweet, and no off notes at all.


Seared hudson valley foie gras with roasted squash and parmigiano fondue. I thought it would be funny to get Erick his candle with his foie! Good stuff, and a real slab of the fatty liver.


Squash ravioli parmigiano fondue (A).


From my cellar: 1993 Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja) Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille. IWC 95. Denser ruby-garnet than the above. More concentrated aromas of black cherry confitura, black pepper, herbs and spices, plus some very Medoc-like licorice and resin scents. Full body. Powerfully structured, with rich, minerally fruit, but less velvety today than the above. Potent and crisp on the finish. Superb for the vintage.


Homeade ricotta cheese cavatelli pasta with braised veal sugo. Some serious meaty winter pasta. I love the bitey texture on these cavatelli.


Homeade ricotta cheese cavatelli eggplant & candied tomato (A).


1995 Coche-Dury Auxey-Duresses. 91 points. A Coche-dury red? I’ve never had one, and this was a very nice mature bright berry red burg that drank like a premier cru (it’s a villages).


Black winter truffle risotto with morel mushrooms.


1990 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Hauts-Doix. 90 points. Took a few minutes to open up, but was good when it did.


John dory filet in a delicate seafood broth.


1995 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni. 93 points. Another consistent Showing. Needs about 30 mins to open up. No need to decant though. Full on red fruit nose, very open and in a way delicate though. Well aged and maybe past its peak but a beautiful wine. The only wrong is that it tails off a cliff in the end and lacks vitality. We would suggest to drink now.


Hudson valley duck leg confit. A huge portion. Rich and delicious with a great jus.


Branzino with white italian beans & tuscan cabbage (A).


From my cellar: 1990 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra. AG 95. The 1990 Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra has developed a bit since I last tasted it about two years ago. Here the fruit is decidedly richer and more opulent than the 1990, but the early signs of maturity have also set in with slightly more advanced notes of coffee beans, mint and violets. The finish is long, powerful and utterly convincing.


Kagoshima a5 wagyu beef. Heavy and rich. I couldn’t have eaten  another bite.


Porcini mushroom soufflé (A).


2001 Camus Pere & Fils Charmes-Chambertin. 88 points. Garnet with a touch of bricking at the rim. The nose is soft and smoky, delicate and showing some age. Living up to its name, it’s a charming wine; subtle and soft with fresh strawberry fruit and a touch of dried meat on the finish.


Selection of fine italian cheese. Gorgonzola, parmesan, brie. I loved the gorgonzola with the honey.


Bread for the cheese.


Homemade limoncello. This was the smoothest most pleasant limoncello I’ve had. I lovely nose of lemon rind too.


Nutella chocolate mousse with raspberries. I couldn’t really taste the nutella myself.

Erick with his lovely wife Amanda

Overall, this was another knock out meal. The food was fantastic. Each dish was really fabulous and very generous with the truffles, foie and the like. Mirko Paderno is a top top Italian chef, one of the best in town (and LA has very good Italian). The wines were also wonderful, with a lot of good variety.

LA dining reviews click here.

More crazy Foodie Club meals.

Related posts:

  1. Sage at Oliverio
  2. Sauvages at Oliverio
  3. Amarone at Oliverio
  4. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
  5. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 1
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beverly Hills, California

Say Hi to Shi Hai

Feb02

Restaurant: Shi Hai

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

Date: January 26, 2015

Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum

Rating: Fun dishes, good, but dumpling skins too thick

_

My quest to try all the great dimsum houses in the LA area (mostly the San Gabriel Valley) continues with newcomer Shi Hai.


The name apparently means “sea world.” Hopefully no “blackfish” served here. 🙂


I brought only a 100mm macro lens and so capturing the dining room was a challenge. It’s sort of SGV  high style 2015. This substantial wine nook betrays the recent Chinese interest in wine — even if all that Bordeaux and Cal Cab clashes hideously with the food!


Another nice pretty menu.


The usual tea.


We didn’t actually have to ask for mustard, and when we asked for water and soy sauce and vinegar we got 2 out of 3 on the first try! This is A+ service for an authentic dimsum house, some places you ask 3-4 times per item.


Shrimp dumpling (Har gow). The filling was good, but this dish betrayed Shi Hai’s biggest problem, their thick sticky shells. Getting these puppies out of the steamer intact was nigh on impossible so you ended up with a filling and a pile of shredded skin on your plate.


Shrimp and Bean Sprout Leaves Dumpling. I never find these “veggie” type ones as good as the meatier varieties. This also had the sticky skin problem too.


Surf clam and crab egg shrimp dumpling. I liked both the way these looked and the ocean flavors.


Octopus dumpling. Content-wise, this may have been just a Har Gow in disguise, dressed up as little octopi. But they sure are cute.


Shanghai juicy pork bun. Always a favorite. These weren’t the best XLB I’ve ever had, but they were tasty just the same. Here the dough thickness was reasonably in check.


Crispy cruller rice noodle. This is only the second time I’ve had the rice crepes with something friend inside (the first being at Elite). Weird, but it works, combining the soft and sticky textures with the crunchy. The thing inside was basically a tempura shrimp.


Baked BBQ Pork Bun. The flavors were good, but these felt a tiny bit soggy.


Roast Suckling Pigeon. This succulent little roast fowl is ironically paired with… Pringles! Despite that, it was a tasty little game bird. The skin was nice and crisp and the meat had a dark gamey quality I really liked.


The pigeon was served with mayo and salt.


Heads up! — shows of the 100mm lens to nice effect.


Sticky rice with lotus leaf.


The inside was a little wet, but the sausage was good.


Shi Hai Dan Dan Noodles. Now this is a little odd at a Cantonese place, but maybe it’s a nod to the popularity of Szechuan.


Either way, while it looked kind of wet, the flavors were deep, with a lot of sesame and that pleasant medium numb from real Schezuan peppercorn. I love this stuff.


Steamed sweet bun. How could anybody resist these little piggies? They were filled with some kind of dark taro/sweet bean mixture. No pork involved as far as I can tell.

Overall, Shi Hai was good but not great. I’d put it in the second tier of SGV dimsum underneath Elite, King Hua, and Sea Harbor, but in line with Lunasia and Shanghai #1 Seafood. It absolutely blows away what Downtown and Westside places I’ve tried, and is certainly a worthy destination. Shi Hai also has an interesting menu, and I’d like to go back and try another round or two of dishes. If only they tuned up their dumpling shells to be lighter and less gummy they’d be great.

It should also be noted that it’s just a short wander across the street for some excellent snow afterward!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

The build out might be new, but it retains a modernized version of the old 80s Monterey Park Style — cove overload!

 

Related posts:

  1. Lunasia Dim Sum
  2. Elite Dim Sum
  3. Sea Harbor Dim Sum
  4. More Awesome Dimsum – King Hua
  5. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Chinese cuisine, Dandan noodles, dimsum, Monterey Park, san Gabriel valley, SGV, Shi Hai

Quick Brunch with Joe

Jul11

Restaurant: Joe’s Restaurant [1, 2]

Location: 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Date: June 23, 2013

Cuisine: California Farmer’s Market

Rating: Consistently good

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I’ve been coming to Joe’s since 1995 or 1996 and they are approaching their 20th anniversary any day now. In a major metropolitan restaurant scene, that’s an eternity. Chef Joe Miller was an early proponent of the ingredient driven “farmer’s market style” of California cooking that is very popular right now. And despite the restaurant’s venerable age, the menu is continually rotating and the dishes remain fresh and relevant.


The Abbot Kinney frontage.


Quaint bar. Further inside is a little maze of little rooms and a lovely patio that is perfect for brunch.


The brunch menu.


Joe’s has good bread. Particularly the brioche. At brunch there is also banana bread, but I forgot to photo it.


Buttermilk pancakes. Made in an iron mould by all appearances.


Brioche French Toast. Cherries jubilee, vanilla whipped cream, toasted almonds. Decadent, like a dessert!


Pan seared skuna bay salmon. Couscous, green onion, roasted radishes, snap peas, parsley sauce. A lovely piece of salmon.


Reuben sandwich. Corned beef, sauerkraut, gruyere cheese, 1000 island dressing, pickled vegetables. Simultaneously classic and reinvented.


Wild dungeness crab hash. Roasted peppers, country potatoes, rosemary nage, soft poached eggs.

Joe’s offers not only a great brunch, a lovely patio, but considerable value as well. For this kind of gourmet treatment, the brunch entrees are extremely reasonable, averaging perhaps $13. You could expect to pay close to this for an omelet at a typical LA short order joint!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Brunch at Tavern
  2. Joe’s Restaurant – California Classic
  3. Brunch at Tavern 3D
  4. Brunch at Tavern – again
  5. Quick Eats: Panini at Home
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Abbot Kinney Blvd, California, Farmer's Market, Joe Miller, Joe's Restaurant, Reuben sandwich

Sons of Anarchy

Oct19

Title: Sons of Anarchy

Genre: Crime Drama

Watched: October, 2012

Summary: A dramatic juggernaut 10/10

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Sons of Anarchy could be loosely described as The Sopranos with bikers. Fundamentally  it’s a focused kind of gangland ensemble piece set in a fictional hick town not too far from San Francisco. But like anything, it’s execution dependent, and in this case the execution is pretty f***cking awesome.

Against all odds, the larger character structure is based on Hamlet. We have a prince, haunted by the ghost of his father (here, his dead dad’s writings). His mother married the new king. The prince is torn by doubts. There’s nothing wrong with classic structure. Hell, The Lion King did this too. It works and adds a helluva a lot of gravitas.

Hellboy and Peg Bundy make one fantastically naughty couple!

This show is impossible to put down. I watched all four and a half seasons in about ten days, staying up late into the night (enough that I was continually exhausted the next morning). The writing and acting are all fantastic. We have a lot of great characters here, and despite the fact that many of them are killers, you really care what happens. And what happens is a lot of bad shit! Most episodes end with a twisty cliffhanger that makes it really difficult to resist letting Netflix (which has the first three seasons) role into the next episode. NOTE: This feature, added perhaps two months ago, is a break-thru for TV watching.

Just as interesting as the characters is the whole biker milieu. In the same way that The Sopranos took you inside the modern Mafia, SOA opens up the inner working of the MC (Motorcycle Club). And unlike the Jersey Italian thing, I knew little to nothing about bikers. In the show they operate in a similar thugy fashion, but instead of being so strictly hierarchical, the biker gang functions as a kind of heroic democracy. And by heroic I don’t mean super hero, I harken back to the way in which men behave in warrior societies. This is a man’s world, where personal honor and toughness count for everything. A man’s ability to “protect his own” (be it women, property, or whatever) is paramount to his status.

Television exaggeration aside, these characters ring of truth. And isn’t that what great drama is all about?

Check out more TV reviews.

Related posts:

  1. The Sopranos – Season 1
  2. Breaking Bad – Season 1
  3. The Sopranos – Season 2
  4. The Sopranos – Season 3
  5. Breaking Bad – Season 2
By: agavin
Comments (8)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: California, FX (TV channel), Motorcycle Club, Netflix, Sons of Anarchy, Sopranos, Television, The Lion King

Kiriko Days – a la Carte

Sep03

Restaurant: Kiriko Sushi [1, 2]

Location: 11301 Olympic Blvd #102, West Los Angeles, CA 90064. TELL (310) 478-7769

Date: August 21, 2012

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: Very nice!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

It was Tuesday, and I’d just gotten back from a month of entirely Croatian meals, so I felt the burning need for sushi.

Kiriko filled the bill with its unassuming storefront on the corner of Olympic and Sawtelle, right next to the Yakatori place.


I’ve been here three times before, but always ordered the Omakase. This time I decided to get some of the more interesting dishes off the menu.


“Miso soup with fresh Nori seaweed.” This wasn’t interesting, but it was good.


“Soy marinated fresh salmon egg with grated daikon radish.” I love Ikura and this was a slightly different take on it. Really quite delectable with a nice soy/brine flavor.


“Shrimp and vegetable pot stickers.” Both temperature and spicy hot, they had that yummy pan fried thing going.


“Halibut tempura wrapped with shiso leaf and ume plum, served with sea salt.” Really yummy, like Japanese fish and chips. The fish was tender and soft without being mushy but it was the sisho that really sold it.


The salt as advertised.


“Homade smoked wild salmon sashimi plate (sockeye and king).” The one on the left tasted like lox, the right more just like fantastic salmon. Pretty darn awesome.


“Fresh albacore from oregon sashimi.” With a ponzu and garlic chips. Also pretty melt in your mouth amazing.


“Sea urchin and sea salt ice cream with salsa fresco gazpacho.” Now this is different, but good. The soup is a fairly straight up gazpacho flavor and the “ice cream” really WAS ice cream, made from Uni! Interesting combo and very refreshing.


“Seared kinki snapper with shiso pesto sauce.” The fish was incredibly tender and not fishy at all. Very interesting and delectable flavor/texture thing going on.


“Seared blue fin tuna with truffle butter flavor.” Wow! This was like Wagyu beef, but it was tuna. Pretty awesome.


“Anago seared sea eel sashimi with ume sauce.” The eel is blow torched and has a nice char to it, and the sauce is sweet and sour. Very interesting. Still, I might prefer the traditional BBQ eel, but this was very good.


“Seared scallop sushi.” Yummy, yummy. Also I like my scallop totally raw best.

This was my best meal at Kiriko (and all were good). Ordering off the menu allowed us to try some unusual things (like Uni Ice Cream!) and it really worked out. Inventive stuff. Good stuff. It’s really nice to see a chef being creative with sushi/sashimi and not following exactly in the Matsuhisa mould.

I wrote up a couple other meals at Kiriko or

Click here to see more LA Sushi posts.

Related posts:

  1. Kiriko Sushi
  2. Sushi Sushi Sushi
  3. Mori Sushi – A Top Contender
  4. Food as Art – Sushi Sushi
  5. Sushi Zo
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Asian, California, Ikura, Japanese, Japanese cuisine, Kiriko, Kiriko Sushi, Nori, Omakase, Sashimi, Sushi, Uni, Uni Ice Cream, West Los Angeles

Sugarfish – Sushi by the Numbers

Aug27

Restaurant: Sugarfish

Location: 11640 W. San Vicente Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049. Phone: 310 820-4477

Date: August 13, 2012

Cuisine: Sushi

Rating: Fish is good, format is annoying

_

My relationship with sushi goes way back. My parents first took me to Washington DC’s (then) single Japanese restaurant, Mikado, in the 70s and I started on sushi by eight years old. In the 80s I constantly evangelized sushi. To people’s unanimous response of “yuck, raw fish?” I’d respond, “but it’s SO good.”

Fast forward to 1994 and my move to California. Sushi was just going mainstream and I was an experienced devotee. I’d been to Japan, I knew the names of most fish in Japanese, I’d had a sushi poster over my bed since high school. Still, Sushi Nozawa, conveniently located just 5-10 minutes from Universal Studios (where we were then making Crash Bandicoot), was hands down the best I’d ever had. There were a couple funny things about it:

1. The rice was warm and fell apart easily

2. There was often vinegar like sauce on the fish (which was really good)

3. The seafood itself was incredibly fresh and not fishy at all

4. Chef Nozawa, who made everything personally at the tiny sushi bar, enforced all sorts of rules in a Seinfeld “soup nazi” like manner. No cel phones. No mentioning California or Spicy Tuna roll, no asking for anything. Just “trust me” he said.

All and all an amazing experience.

Fast forward again 10+ years and I’d long been dining happily at what Nozawa spawn restaurants: Echigo, Sasabune, Sushi Zo, and the like. These chefs trained with the master, and deliver fantastic sushi in his format (sometimes including cel phone and roll rules — although at Sasabune I have twice seen Brett Ratner pacing back and forth between customers with his iphone/blackberry glued to his ear).

Then we have Sugarfish, Nozawa’s direct progeny. It’s a problem child for me, mostly because of the format: It’s a chain (albeit a small one) and the chef is missing. Any chef. There is still a vestigial sushi bar, but there are no knife-wielding Japanese guys in white hats behind calling out as you enter or leave. Instead you order packages of “trust me” off a short men and caucasians bring it to you. This seems… unclean… improper.

The Sugarfish menu (see here: Lunch Menu) feels like a packaged corporate imitation of the whole experience. Converting what is essentially a handmade and human relationship (diner and chef) into a by the numbers formula. And besides, even “The Nozawa,” the largest package, is like a snack for someone like me used to gigantic omakases (sample some on my sushi page)!

But here it is:


I’ve never been a huge edaname fan. These are fine, but the oil gets all over your hands.


“Tuna sashimi.” The fish is good, but the whole thing is dominated by the sweet vinegar sauce. Not that I mind, as I love sweet vinegar sauce.


“Albacore sushi.” Tasty enough, and melt in your mouth.


“Salmon sushi.” Good enough fish, but blander than some.


“Yellowtail sushi.” Also nice pieces of Hamachi. Nothing wrong with it, but like almost everything else on this menu, a bit boring.


“Halibut sushi.” Also nice fish.


“Toro hand roll.” Felt a tad bland for some reason.


“Blue crab hand roll.” This was tasty, and the crab hand roll was always a highlight at Nozawa, but this felt like an 80% imitation, perhaps not sweet and crabby enough.


“Halibut fin sashimi.” Bizarrely served at the end. By normal Japanese standards this should have come before any rice. Still, it was a fine dish, again amped up by the vinegar sauce.

Overall, Sugarfish has good fish. Not great fish, but the typical good fish that is now widely available in LA. But the whole thing is so watered down, a packaged imitation of the real sushi experience aimed at dabblers. The room was filled with women catching lunch. They like sushi, may even recognize that better places are tastier, but they aren’t committed to the experience. Unless I’m in a real hurry, I’ll take a human chef who can recommend what is fresh or make me something I haven’t tried before. Nozawa once said to me, “today I have seven types of fish and every day, I ask myself, can I do seven fish well? Should I perhaps do only six?” This espouses the very Japanese sentiment that any small thing can be done exceedingly well with enough focus and concentration. That doesn’t seem to dive with corporate packaging.

For more sushi reviews, click here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Echigo Sushi
  2. Sushi Zo
  3. Sushi Sushi – Small Omakase
  4. Takao Sushi Taking Off!
  5. Food as Art – Sushi Sushi
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Brentwood, California, Japan, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Nozawa, Sugarfish, Sushi, Sushi Nozawa, Universal Studios

Giorgio Baldi – Canyon Perks

Jul20

Restaurant: Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi

Location: 114 West Channel Road. Santa Monica Canyon, California  90402. 310-573-1660

Date: March 3, 2012

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Overpriced, but so so good

_

Giorgio Baldi is a restaurant of extremes. The good: It’s five minutes from our house and the food is spectacular. The bad: It’s at least twice as expensive as it should be, crowded, has an attitude, and outside wine is not allowed. The ugly: Almost every visit has a-list celebrities on display. We’ve seen Spielberg three times, Tom and Katy (before that cratered), and a host of others.


Their wine list is big, well chosen, and very pricey. Parker 92. “The 2004 Barbaresco Gaiun Martinenga is elegance personified. I was quite impressed with this wine’s seamless texture and expansive, ripe fruit and refined bouquet. The style is simply beautiful, as the wine marries modern and traditional approaches with uncommon elegance. There is outstanding depth and lovely integration of the tannins Nothing in particular stands out, just the wine’s exceptional balance. Gaiun is made from a plot adjacent to Asili and shares a similar softness to the Barbarescos that are made in that storied vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019.”


This is the kind of dish Giorgio excels at, “truffle risotto.” Wow is this good. Be warned, some truffle dishes are over $100! This one was perhaps $35. I apologize for the poor photos. I had recently broken my hand and forgot a real camera and so had to use the iPhone.


Also amazing, the “white corn agniolotti with truffle butter sauce.” These little bits of pasta melt in your mouth. If you like butter and truffle, this is utterly amazing.


“Asparagus ravioli in butter sauce.” All the pastas here are fantastic.

“Santa Barbara prawn, tomato, and farrow salad.”


“Pumpkin ravioli in butter sage sauce.” A classic of the Vernoa/Mantua area. They do it well. Your tongue will love it, your heart not so much.


“Branzino with artichokes, mushrooms and tomatoes.” They make a great grilled/baked sea bass here. Problem is: $55-60!


Most dishes come with classic potatoes and spinach. Even this is good.


One of my favorites. “Three pound lobster, meat sautéed with tomato, garlic, and basil, stuffed back in the shell.” Just amazing. Over $100!


Classic pork chop.


A side of simple penne pomodoro.


Artichokes.


“Butterscotch budino.” Yum yum!


“Creme brulee.”


“Flour-less chocolate cake.”

These aren’t the greatest pictures, and while I’m sure the food looks good, you are probably saying to yourself: “Looks like an Italian restaurant.” Yes, but this is a very very good Northern Italian restaurant with a huge menu. And they do pretty much everything great. The biggest problem is the price. Everything is at least twice what it really should be and they ream you on the extras. You have to ask for the prices on the enormous list of specials, and all are sky high. Many dishes are over $100! They even charge $7-8 for 7 ounce bottles of water! It’s really painful and I only go these days when someone else is paying. Still, I do love it.

Also on the negative side is the overpriced winelist and no corkage allowed (almost all LA places allow corkage, to  exclude is very rare). Then there is the crowd factor. Not only might you be sitting shoulder to shoulder with Tom Cruise, but it’s really shoulder to shoulder. The two-tops are completely adjacent. They have to pull out your table for your date to sit. This places stranger’s conversations about six inches away.

But I can’t fault the food.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. The New Cal Cuisine: Rustic Canyon
  2. Rustic Canyon Redux
  3. Rustic Canyon 3D
  4. Rustic Canyon 4
  5. Fraiche Santa Monica
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbaresco, California, Giorgio Baldi, Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi, pasta, Santa Monica California, Truffles, Wine

N/Naka – Farewell to Foie

Jul01

Restaurant: N/Naka [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 3455 S. Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034. 310.836.6252

Date: June 22, 2012

Cuisine: Modern Kaiseki

Rating: Awesome

ANY CHARACTER HERE

It’s been an N/Naka couple of weeks. I was just there three weeks ago for an amazing Omakase. Now the Foodie Club returns for the “Farewell to Foie” dinner. For those of you that live in caves, California is on the verge of banning that most delectable of duck livers due to debatable animal rights issues. Chef Ms. Niki Nakayama has whipped up an entirely foie meal to celebrate the last month of foie!


The setting is elegant, minimalist, and very Japanese.


From my cellar: “The Pinson 2008 Chablis Les Clos displays somewhat detached lanolin, resin, and vanilla from barrel, but also generous citrus tinged with chalk dust and white pepper typical for this site. With a sense of substantiality shared with other wines in its collection as well as a silken texture – yet with plenty of energy and saliva-inducement.” This wine is textbook white burgundy and Chardonnay at its best, flowery and rich in a way that new world Chards almost never achieve. But, as I was to observe, Chardonnay makes a really poor pairing with foie gras. The richness of the foie begs for something sweet like a Riesling Spatlese.


Saki Zuke (A pairing of something common and something unique) – Custard of Organic Farm-fresh Jidori Chicken Egg and Hudson Valley Foie Gras topped with Seared Foie Gras on a Bed of Shredded Foie Gras, a Sauce of Balsamic Foie Gras Jus and a Flower of Pansy, Gold Leaf.


“Zensai (Main seasonal ingrediant presented as an appetizer) – Torchon of Hudson Valley Foie Gras served with Seared Unagi (Freshwater Eel), Brûléed Black Mission Figs, Roasted Bing Cherries, a Sweep of Bittersweet Chocolate and a Sauce of Cabernet Sauvignon and Bing Cherries and Gelée of Sanbaizu.”


“Modern Zakuri (A modern interpretation of sashimi) – Hokkaido scallops with Hudson Valley Foie Gras Crumbles, Shaved Zest of Fresh Yuzu, garnished with leaves of Baby Red-veined Sorrel from Niki’s Garden and Sprouts of Daikon and Drops of Ponzu Reduction.”


“Otsukuri (Traditional Sashimi) – Live Hirame (Halibut) from Jeju, Korea, thinly sliced with a Flower of Pansy from Niki’s Garden and a Sauce of Foie Gras Ponzu.” The foie in the ponzu added a lovely touch of richness to this otherwise simple sashimi.


“Palate Cleanser – On the Half Shelll, Kumamoto Oyster with Fresh Uni (Sea Urchiin) from Santa Barbara with Ponzu.”


The 2000 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru was a spectacular example of grand cru red Burgundy brought by Foodie co-chair EP. Every time I taste a very good burgundy with a little age on it I remember why I love burgs so much. Just spectacular.


“Mushimono (Steamed dish) – Black Abalone from Monterey and Hudson Valley Foie Gras poached in Dashi and served with the Poaching Liquid and Scallions.” This sure is a lot of foie!  The combination was incredible, and the broth even better. Notice that the bowl has a little “spigot” on the right for pouring it out onto a spoon. I spilled some and debated licking it off the table — not kidding.


“Shiizakana (Not bound by tradition, the Chef’s choice dish) – Ravioli stuffed with Diver Scallops from Hokkaido, Japan, Maine Lobster Tail and Hudson Valley Foie Gras with a Sauce of Yuzu Brown Butter.” Absolutely to die for ravioli with a dough much like that of a Har Gow.


“Niku (Meat Course) – Beef Houbayaki – American Wagyu Beef Ribeye Steak topped with Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Scallions on a Sauce of Sweet Red Miso, on a Magnolia Leaf that sits on top of Charcoal.” Rich enough? Wagyu AND foie?


The Magnolia leaf creates a wonderful odor as it smokes too.


For the sushi flights we ordered this ultra premium sake. I’ve had both this semi-sweet version and the same maker’s dry. The semi-sweet is worlds better in my opinion, perhaps the best sake I’ve ever had.

“Palate Cleanser – some marinated fish bit with tomato from Niki’s garden.”


“Shokuji One & Two (Rice dish –Sushi) – Tai (Japanese Snapper), Chu-toro of Big Eye Tuna”


“Aji (Spanish Mackrel), Amaebi (Sweet Shrimp)”


“Seared Toro of Spanish Baby Blue Fin Tuna, Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras topped with a Balsamic Foie Gras Jus Reduction.”


“Shiizakana 2 – Risotto of Unagi (Freshwater Ell) with Unagi Sauce and topped seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras.” Another incredible dish, although just loaded with foie. I love rice with Unagi sauce all by itself and the foie drippings made it 10x better!


“Soba – Buckwheat Noodles in Traditional Soba Broth with Scallions and Jus of Foie Gras.”


“Salmon and seared American Wagyu.” Beef sushi!


“Additional Shokuji/Additional Shokuji/Ochazuke (Rice Dish) – a porridge of .fish, rice, and green tea.” Very mild, pleasant, and settling after all that foie.

“Palate Cleanser – Sorbet of Yuzu”

“Dessert – Crème Brûlée of Black Sesame Seed.” Rich and creamy.

Artisan Hojicha tea.

N/Naka really is a very special place. All the meals I had here were spectacular (here for the first, here for the second, here for the third). But this last was just crazy out of this world. I was actually a little worried before hand that it would be too much foie (like our crazy 27 course truffle dinner), but despite the length (6 hours!), and the insane amount of foie it was actually manageable. And beyond all that, Chef Niki managed to actually enhance every single dish with all that richness. Foie isn’t a typical Japanese ingredient, but it didn’t throw any dish for a loop. Most were extremely memorable and all were fantastic.

Click here to other LA Japanese restaurants.

Or other Foodie Club extravaganzas.

Related posts:

  1. N/Naka Reprise
  2. Food as Art – N/Naka
  3. Knocked out by N/Naka
  4. Matsuhisa – The Private Room
  5. Food as Art – Nobu
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Black Abalone, California, Dashi, Foie gras, Foodie Club, Hokkaido, Hudson Valley, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Japan, Japanese cuisine, N/Naka, Niki Nakayama, Omakase, Restaurant

Back to the Bazaar

Jun22

Restaurant: The Bazaar [1, 2]

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

Date: May 7, 2012

Cuisine: Spanish influenced Molecular Gastronomy

Rating: Awesome, one of LA’s best places.

_

I’m like a José Andrés groupie. I’ve been to every possible variant of his restaurants in LA, Vegas, and many in Washington. I covered some introduction to The Bazaar in a previous review, but it’d been almost two years so I figured it was time for another review.

The current dinner menu can be found here.


Grilled “tomato bread” with spanish Manchego cheese. A snack to start, and popular with my three year-old. Yes, he comes to meals like this. In fact, he’s been to at least four José Andrés restaurants, not to mention a couple Michelin two stars.


They have all sorts of interesting cocktails, but the signature one is the nitro caprina. Dry ice is used to freeze the rum and lime concoction down without added ice or water.


“LN2 Caipirinha. Brazilian cachaça, fresh lime and sugar frozen by using Liquid Nitrogen. Tableside service.” The result is above. It tastes like a sherbet, with a highly unusual smooth texture, but it’s intensely potent (in terms of proof). Goes down all too easy.


Then I pulled out this wine from my cellar (I’ve brought it here before). The 2007 Laurel. Yum. As I mentioned in my review of Calima this is a fantastic Spanish wine buy. Parker gives it 94 and says, “The 2007 Laurel, a blend of 65% Garnacha and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep purple-colored with a bouquet of wet stone, Asian spices, black cherry compote, and incense. Dense and sweet on the palate with tons of spice, it is super-concentrated, rich, and smooth-textured. Give this lengthy effort 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2013 to 2027. Laurel is produced from the young vines of Clos Erasmus as well as from the results of a triage in the vineyard and cellar of the flagship wine.”


Then we have “Spanish olives, traditional” (right). Classic olives with pimentos and anchovy. This is followed (on the left) by “Spanish olives, modern.” Pureed olive has been “sphereized.” The flavor is basically the same, but these pop in your mouth to deliver a concentrated burst of olive.


This first dish is “Sweet potato chips, yogurt, tamarind, star anise.” The crisp chips are used to scoop up the fluffy cool yogurt, which has a pleasing fruit tang.

“Smoked yellowtail and crispy rice. Yoghurt, grapes, capers, radish.”


I’m nuts over Jose’s Gazpacho. I’ve even made it from his recipe a number of times at home. The intense sherry vinegar vibe is awesome.


“Not your everyday caprese, cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella.” This is a near perfect deconstruction of the caprese. The mozzarella balls explode in your mouth, and pair great with the pesto and the little crunchy crackers.


“Sea urchin and mango spheres.” Interesting texture. Interesting flavor.

“Japanese taco. Grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, chicharron.” These are really good. Some other people at the table wused out so I had to eat three of them. Poor me.

“Organized Caesar. Quail egg, Parmesan.” The classic salad… constructed.


“Sautéed cauliflower “couscous”. Cauliflower purée, harissa, lemon, crispy quinoa.”


“Baby beets, citrus, pistachio, goat cheese.” A nice variant on what has become an LA classic.


“Sautéed shrimp garlic, guindilla pepper.” In Spain usually called Gambas pilpil. Basically shrimp boiled (fried?) in olive oil and garlic. These were very typical of what I must have had 30 times in southern Spain. The quality of the shrimp here was higher than is often the case at cheap places in Spain.


“Bunuelos, codfish fritters, honey aioli,” these are specular (but hot, right out of the fryer). The sauce gives them an almost Chinese flavor. Fried fish always works.


“Croquetas de pollo chicken béchamel fritter.” Awesome, I barely caught them before they disappeared. The inside is filled with fluffy béchamel. I love béchamel.


“Grilled Wagyu flank steak piquillo pepper confit.” This tastes like the melts in your mouth steak and peppers.


“Wild mushroom rice Idiazábal cheese.” Nice tangy mushroom risotto.


“Boneless Mary’s Farm chicken wings Spanish green olive purée.” These bits of hearty fried chicken are topped with a blue cheese sauce. They taste like wings, but go down so much easier.


My personal favorite along with the cheese steak, “Cotton candy fois lollypop.” The little cube of fois pairs with the sugar like a Sauternes. Oh so yummy.


The deconstructed “Philly cheese steak” (right) is one of my favorites. The bread is super crispy with liquid cheddar. the beef is wagyu. The vegetarians got “Hilly cheese steak” (left) with mushroom instead of beef. Same cheese.


You can see the cheese oozing out.


“Nitro coconut, floating island, passion-fruit, banana.” I don’t like bananas (had too many with half a bottle of whiskey in ’91), but the nitro island was delicious. Cold, refreshing coconut.


I’m a huge flan fan and this Spanish classic didn’t disappoint.


“Creamy Chocolate Heart. Coffee and cardamom.”


“Grapefruit and Olive Oil. Olive oil ice cream, mint and textures of grapefruit.” Really bright and fresh.


“Chocolate rice crispy.” There is a hint of peanut butter.


The passion-fruit “Pate des fruits” packed a wonderful wallop of fruit flavor. The others are clementine and berry.

No other restaurant in LA has the combination of ultra modern chic and whimsical playfulness that The Bazaar does — plus everything tastes great and you get to experience an great melange of flavors in one meal. One note, I ‘ve done The Bazaar’s “set menu” twice, and ordered myself four times. If you know what you are doing doing it yourself is the better way to go, particularly because they don’t mix up their set menu enough. However, if it’s your first visit, letting them handle serves as a fine introduction.

I’ve also been to Saam, the fixed menu back room three times. Overall, I like the front room a tad better. Saam is great, particularly the first time you go, but they don’t change it up that often. Here in front you can really control what you get, and the prices are more reasonable.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for a full swath of all my José Andrés restaurant reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  2. Food as Art: The Bazaar
  3. Saam – José Andrés Squared
  4. Trés – Brunché Fantastique
  5. Back to the Future
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Clos Erasmus, Grenache, José Andrés, La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, Olive, SLS, SLS Hotel, The Bazaar

Round 2 Closed!

May31

I’ve official “sold” all 100 tickets in ROUND TWO of the Naughty Dark Contest. So I fired up the Ruby interpreter and asked it to compute the appropriate pseudorandom number, which turned out to be 3.

Counting from zero − I’m such a programmer − this turned out to be a ticket owned by Levi Tinney of California!

They chose the following prize: A signed ARC of The Darkening Dream! I threw in a bonus poster too.

A signed ARC of The Darkening Dream

But just because ROUND TWO is finished, doesn’t mean you can’t win. Check out the rules and get submitting, round three is open. As soon as it sells out another 100 tickets, there will be yet another drawing. And the special prizes are available to anyone, anytime!

Which speaking of, we have two new special prize winners:

Zac Mitchell of Sydney Australia

and

Matt Wallace from West Sussex England

For more info on the contest, a detailed list of prizes and rules can be found here!

The prizes are below:

Zac went for a signed Crash 1 and I threw in some extra stuff

Matt is a double special prize winner with signed Crash 1 & 2

Related posts:

  1. Round 1 Winner Selected!
  2. Special Prize Winners
  3. More Special Prize Winners!
  4. Announcing the Naughty Dark Contest
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Contests, Darkening Dream
Tagged as: ARC, California, Contest, Contests, Naughty Dark Contest, Prizes, The Darkening Dream

Ink – At the Cutting Edge

May17

Restaurant: Ink

Location: 8360 Melrose Ave. Ste 107. Los Angeles, CA 90069. (323) 651-5866

Date: May 5, 2012

Cuisine: ?Modern?

Rating: Very tasty, hard to pigeonhole

_

I’ve wanted to go to chef Michael Voltaggio’s Ink since I first heard of it last fall. One glance at a few photos of the food told me it was the kind of place I like. But the midtown location and the difficulty of getting reviews — not to mention my busy dining schedule and broken arm — delayed maters considerably. But then Foodie Club member Ryan’s birthday rolled around…


The location is that of the former Hamusaku east (a decent high end sushi place I used to eat at all the time in Westwood). Even planning a week ahead, we had to take a 9:45pm reservation (on a Thursday) and wait nearly half an hour to sit.


The bar.

The cocktail menu. Like most modern LA joints Ink employs some serious mixology. Being a wine nut and pseudo-pro sommelier (I recently got my Italian specialization, working on Burgundy) I’m  not really that knowledgeable about cocktails.


Still, I tried this: “Tequila. jalapeno, passion fruit, agave, lime.” It was good, spicy, and somewhat of an attack on the palette.


And this “Scotch. toasted coconut, ginger, lime, cardamon.”


The space is sleek, cold, and very loud. It even still has a sushi bar.


They had both a tasting and ala carte menu. We ordered from both, supplementing the tasting meal with… well pretty much a whole extra meal.


I brought this Brunello to from my cellar to start. “The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is a fresh, vibrant offering bursting with dark cherries, violets, underbrush, minerals and sweet toasted oak on a medium-bodied frame. The wine reveals terrific balance in an energetic, focused style, with firm yet ripe tannins. The finish is long, clean and refreshing. This is a gorgeous effort from Loacker. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019.”


“crab, charred avocado, whipped fish sauce, mushroom chicharron.” While these dishes were hard to split four ways, they sure did taste good. Like Red Medicine (which has a similar presentation), it’s a little hard to get all the flavors in the mouth at once. I liked the sweetness of the crab with the avocado and the fish sauce. The chicharron made me think a little too much of pork rinds.


“carrots, coconut ice, cardamom soil, pea tendril mojo.” This was a surprising and amazing dish. The vegies are what they are, but that white dusty stuff is basically nitro-frozen Tom Yum Goong! It melted in the mouth and really made all the produce spectacular.


“spaghetti, giant squid, squash, hazelnut pesto.” The noodles under there are actually made from squid. This was tasty too, with a bit of an uni type vibe without any uni. The pesto itself made the dish.


“beef tartare, hearts of palm, sea bean chimichurri, horseradish, rye.” I was a little disappointed in this dish. It sounded great, and there was nothing off, but the beef itself didn’t really pop the way it does with truly great steak tartare.


“foie gras, waffle, smoked maple, hot sauce.” But this was wonderful. I love foie in this kind of mouse-like texture profile. It went amazingly with the smoked maple.


Here is the tasting menu for tonight. This had to be done for the whole table and the portions, while individually smaller, resulted in considerably more per dish per person.


Boca is one of my new favorite wines, a total insider’s wine from Northern Piedmonte. 70% Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolina and 10% Uva Rara. It shimmers on the palate with layers of fruit, mineral, and herbs.


“east coast halibut, caesar tempura, melon, espelette.” The individual components of this dish were great, but the whole thing didn’t mesh fully. The tempura is actually balls of caesar dressing, and they were great. The melon was fantastic and good with the fish, but it overwhelmed and him the subtle halibut.


“morels, egg yolk gnocchi, mushroom hay, sorrel.” This was a great mushroom dish and paired perfectly with the Boca’s earthy tones. The gnocchi had an interesting texture, like circus peanuts.


“black bass, fava bean guacamole, puffed corn tortilla.” Mostly, this was just fish. Good fish, but not as exciting as some of the other dishes.


Glee star Matthew Morrison across the way.


“milk-fed veal, asparagus, curds and whey of buttermilk.” Pretty tasty.


“poutine, chickpea fries, yogurt curds, lamb neck gravy.” This was amazing, but ridiculously rich. Again with the circus peanut texture, but I was digging it.


“lamb shoulder, lamb’s quarters, tongue, vadouvan, yogurt.” Also very good, and very rich. We probably over ordered, but we still managed to kill it. The fact that the vegetables are tempura fried perhaps threw us over the edge.


“yuzu curd. rhubarb, matcha, jasmine, chamomile.” This was the weakest dessert, but it was still wonderful.


“apple, caramel, burnt wood ice cream.” This one was amazing. Unexpected interplay of textures and flavors.


“chocolate, ice cream, spiced tofu, sesame cake.” Also excellent. Notice the similarity


“greek yogurt, strawberry, japanese peach, coconut.” This also was great. Like strawberries and cream with a wonderful granite. Or maybe like a perfected Hawaiian shave ice?


Coffee made table-side.

Overall, Ink was pretty spectacular. Not every dish worked, but it’s very modern and experimental in a good way. The interplay of textures and flavors — not to mention the “dust and ball” style plating — reminds me of Red Medicine when it first opened (before the even more experimental Elfin period). Despite the very similar look, the flavors at Ink remain much more grounded in American modern and a sort of gastro-pub sensibility. Still, the textural experimentation alone puts it at a very high level. Roberto Cortez has a similar kind of modern too, although his preps are more sophisticated and his palette more subtle and balanced – but that’s beyond restaurant food.

With this kind of uniqueness, it’s no wonder Ink is doing well. It also seems Voltaggio mixes up the menu frequently, so I’ll be back soon — provided I can score a convenient reservation.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

See more Foodie Club meals here.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Ortolan
  2. Food as Art: Ludobites 7.0
  3. Upstairs 2 – Modern Tapas, Lots of Wine
  4. Food as Art: Melisse
  5. Takao Top Omakase
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Brunello di Montalcino, California, Cocktails, Dessert, Fish sauce, Foodie Club, Ink, Los Angeles, Michael Voltaggio

Wolfgang Puck’s Cut – A cut above?

May05

Restaurant: Wolfgang Puck’s Cut

Location: 9500 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, California 90212. P: 310-276-8500

Date: April 12, 2012

Cuisine: Steak House

Rating: Great, but I think Mastro’s is slightly better at the over the top steak house thing

_

The Foodie Club rolled out on the town for the first time in a while (I was slowed up by my broken wrist) and it was founding member Simon’s birthday and he wanted to go to Cut.


Cut is located inside the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (think Pretty Woman) and is Wolfgang Puck’s take on redefining the American Steak House. In this, it succeeds very well. While it adheres to the Steak House basics: slabs of beef served plain on the plate, Cut upgrades things in a number of ways. But we’ll get to this in good time.


The modern kitchen turns stuff out in full view.

Puck himself was in attendance as well, he came by the table to admire my wines.

And self-help guru and modern Rasputin Tony Robbins was just a couple of tables over. Cut is definitely a place to be seen, and you can totally tell from the crowd.


Erick brought this Burgundy to start. “Displaying a bright, medium-to-dark ruby color as well as a cherry and ground white pepper-laced nose, this is a refined, thickly-textured, concentrated, and broad wine. It has outstanding depth of sweet cherry fruit, admirable structure, and a long, precise, and satiny finish. This gem has the requisite fruit, backbone, and concentration for extended cellaring. Projected maturity: 2002-2010.”


Out come the breadsticks. Given that this is passover, I had to abstain.


Which got even harder when the cheesy balls emerged. Simon and Erick snarfed the whole basket to save me.


Cut isn’t in any hurry. After about twenty minutes the menu showed. You can see that the center is a wide variety of “slabs of undercooked beef.” Also present are appetizers, sides, sauces and the like.


This is a presentation of some of the special “Kobe style” beef. The black ones are Japanese cattle, bred in America. The white ones are American cattle in a Kobe style. At the top is the American Kobe style filet mignon which Simon will later eat.


More temptation arrives in the form of a very delectable looking bread plate. The guys said it was great.


Then keeping with kosher tradition we have: “Maple Glazed Pork Belly, Asian Spices, Watercress, Persimmon, Sesame–Orange Dressing, Bosc Pear Compote.” Pretty fantastic actually. Like bacon in maple syrup.


Then the first in a trio of raw. “Big Eye Tuna Tartare, Wasabi Aioli, Ginger, Togarashi Crisps, Tosa Soy.” A nice take on the familiar dish.


As I’ve mentioned recently, I’m loving the steak tartare. “Prime Sirloin “Steak Tartare”, Herb Aioli, Mustard.” This was good, with sour dour (I didn’t eat it) and horseradish and various aioli on the side.


Plus a quail egg we dumped on top. It had a nice delicate flavor, but wasn’t as good as say this one I had in Chianti. Probably because it wasn’t from Chiana cattle!


And more raw beef, because I love it so. “Kobe Steak Sashimi, Spicy Radishes.” This was a wonderful dish too, although I liked the similar take at A-Frame a little better.


Now we pull out the big guns wine-wise. From my cellar. Parker gives this a 96 and it earned every point. “This fabulous, blockbuster has been totally unevolved since bottling, but at the Jaboulet tasting, it was beginning to reveal some of its formidable potential. A saturated opaque purple color is followed by aromas of cassis, minerals, and hot bricks/wood fire. Super-ripe and full-bodied, with a massive mid-section, teeth-staining extract, and mouth-searing tannin, it is a monster-sized La Chapelle. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2050.”


Now, coming to the main course. I’m not really a straight up steak man. I don’t enjoy plain beef. It’s too simple and I’m a more is more kind of guy. So I went for “Kobe Beef Short Ribs “Indian Spiced”, Curried Pumpkin Puree, Garam Masala, Slowly Cooked For Eight Hours.” Above is the curry like sauce.


Then they settle the succulent short ribs on top. This is beef my style. Not only is the meat itself rich and flavorful, but the sauce provides an intense medley of Indian spices. Love this.


For those going plain, they provide a bunch of “free” sauces like salt and three kinds of mustard. We also ordered a $2 thing of “Shallot-Red Wine Bordelaise” (not pictured) which was a really incredibly wine reduction sauce.


Simon’s “American Wagyu / Angus “Kobe Style” Beef From Snake River Farms, Idaho, Filet Mignon 6 Oz.” Looks beefy. You can see it raw above in the raw steak photo.


Erick settled on a classic “U.S.D.A. PRIME, Illinois Corn Fed, Aged 21 Days, Bone In Rib Eye Steak 20 Oz.” Now that’s a man’s piece of meat. I had some. It tasted great, smothered in Bordelaise!


“Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Smokey Bacon, Pearl Onions.” Pretty good, but Cut doesn’t have the full array of massively decadent sides like Mastro’s.


“Roasted Campania Artichokes, White Asparagus, Guanciale.” The white asparagus are a nod to Puck, Austrians love them. But it was the artichokes that dominated this pleasant dish.


“Cavatappi Pasta “Mac & Cheese,” Québec Cheddar.” This is a little richer, and it was good, but it didn’t totally match up to a Mastro’s “Gorgonzola mac & cheese!” or “king crab truffle gnocchi.”


Out comes the dessert menu.


“Dark Chocolate ‘Marquise’, Black Cherries, Chocolate Brioche, Red Wine Ice Cream.” This was good, rich, but a little chocolatey for my taste. The wine ice cream was very subdued.


“Valrhona Chocolate Soufflé, Whipped Creme Fraiche, Gianduja Chocolate Ice Cream.” Excellent classic Soufflé, if not quite as perfect as the one at Maison Giraud (I have photos of it, but haven’t written them up yet).


However, it did come with this superlative collection of sauces. Left to right, chocolate hazelnut ice cream (yum!), creme fraiche, and deep Gianduja chocolate sauce. All excellent.


“‘Baked Alaska’ Meyer Lemon Gelato & Blackberry Sorbet, Toasted Pistachios.” This was mine and it was good. Really good. The whole meyer lemon blackberry thing completely and totally worked. It was almost as good — and very similar to — the semifredo at Capo which is one of my all time favorites.


Then to finish, some little lemon and chocolate tarts. Both were excellent.

Overall, Cut is very very good, if a little expensive. It does succeed in taking the Steak House format and shaking it up a bit. Partly by offering unusual cuts of beef, partly by having newer more modern appetizers and sides. Execution is very good. Service is very good. It isn’t as over the top as Mastro’s. Not being focused on the pure beef, I can’t speak to the steak itself (both seem good to me). Mastro’s does, however, have a serious decadence factor — not that Cut is light. After coming out of Mastro’s my heart is usually palpitating. Perhaps that isn’t a good thing.

More Foodie Club extravaganzas here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Red Medicine – Elfin Feast
  2. No Beef with Mastro’s
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills California, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, California, Cut, Dessert, Foodie Club, Kobe, Rodeo Drive, Steak, Wolfgang Puck
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