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Big Guns at Providence

May26

Restaurant: Providence [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 460-4170

Date: April 21, 2018

Cuisine: Cal French

Rating: Awesome food

Foodie Club core members Fred and Erick wanted an excuse to open some of our really serious whites and so we set up another Providence meal.

While the colors are different, Providence still looks a lot like Patina to me — as the layout is basically the same.

The bar has this blue and gold thing going on.

Tonight Erick, Fred, and I decided to go with “big gun” white Burgs.

From my cellar: 2009 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots. VM 94. Deep but bright aromas of crushed stone and cherry-almond. Fat and opulent; stuffed with soft citrus, spice and stone flavors. A wine of impressive volume, power and fullness but rather backward today. Finishes with lovely balance and superb length. Despite the wine’s sheer size and ripeness, the <em>terroir</em> of Rougeots dominates the vintage.

Erick brought: 2002 Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Meursault Les Narvaux. VM 92+. Pale yellow. Perfumed nose combines minerals, flint, smoke and a roasted nuance. Superconcentrated yet downright elegant, with strongly mineral flavors of lemon and liquid stone. Finishes with superb length and lemony cut.

agavin: these official scores do not reflect the (superlative) quality of these serious whites from one of Burgundy’s best producers.

Fred brought: 1999 Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonniers. sadly, this bottle was corked 🙁

The white lineup.

We bought this off the list because it was below retail (due to recent inflation of Liger).

2015 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée La Colombiere. VM 91. Healthy red-ruby. Blackberry and black raspberry aromas are complicated by a gamey nuance. Plush and classically dry, with smoky and saline qualities and a touch of animal fur reduction that currently blocks the wine’s fruit. This, too, will be racked soon.

Fred’s backup: 1985 Maison Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru La Richemone. BH 91. A highly expressive and nicely airy nose offers up notes of sous bois, spice and warm earth that merge seamlessly into delicious, round and impressively complex medium full flavors that are still underpinned by noticeable if integrated tannins that are mildly rustic on the focused and persistent finish. This is a most satisfying if not especially elegant wine that should continue to drink well for years to come. In a word, lovely. Note that this bottle was definitely fresher than another that I tried in four years ago.

The menu we ordered tonight.

Amuse of crudites. Mussels and various root vegetables (like radishes) along with a bit of dipping sauce.

A dash of soup.

Crab tarts — delicious.

Oyster bites.

Wagyu “cigars.” Amazing.

Scallop, geoduck, sea beans, caviar.

A bit of a zoom in so you can see it better. Notice the generous blob of caviar. And I guess those little green things are the sea beans. This was certainly a nice bite with real brine and interesting textures.

Providence has nice house-made bread.

And Normandy Butter, although it was a bit cold.

I took all the bread types.

Spider crab, truffle butter, crab-infused soy milk. This looks like a ravioli, but the pasta is actually a bean curd made from soy milk. The whole thing was delicious.

Spot prawn with xo. The head was good for sucking out the juices.

But the caviar studded body was the real winner. Absolutely delicious, particularly with the salty, umami-laden xo sauce.

Black mouth chinook salmon, shunkyo radish, nasturtium, vadouvan. Everyone loves nasturtium these days. Very nice delicate salmon.

Black cod, Japanese turnip, clam, ginger. Straight fish dishes like cod are sometimes boring, but the clam brought out some complexity.

Duck & sweet pea tortellini, duck heart, mushroom consommé. A very lovely “French” take on tortellini en brodo.

Foie gras supplement, with olives and almonds. One wouldn’t have thought that olives and almonds was a good foie pairing but this was a first rate dish.

A5 Wagyu, delta asparagus, coastal onion, lime. A nice hearty rich slab of beef.

Providence has a real cheese cart.

And a more frontal look.

Bread for the cheese.

Our custom cheese plate of strong and gooey (for the most part) cheeses with some scrumptious condiments.

Ginger, tomato, soy. An unusual dessert flavor pairing but totally worked.

Rhubarb, creme fraiche, meringue. A bit like strawberry rhubarb and cream. Very tart and a lovely combo.

Bergamot, assam, alpaco. These “rocks” were ice cream and absolutely delicious — although very unique and herbal in flavor.

Petit fours of macarons, gels, and chocolates. All unusual.

A little breakfast cake to go.

This was a great night and lots of fun. It was also the best meal I’ve ever had at Providence and really first rate. Tonight’s dishes were delicious and memorable. Maybe not as memorable as dishes at the very best restaurants, but way more so than I usually find Providence dishes. Plus our service was impeccable and our wines amazing — if we do say so ourselves.

After growing used to the more rustic and less buttery more casual places that dominate LA these days Providence does feel a bit old school. But I still like the tasting format, particularly in Europe at playful top places like Azurmendi and they are clearly still changing things up on a continual basis.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Coche Dury, d'Auvenay, Foodie Club, Leroy, Providence, Red Burgundy, Tasting menu, White Burgundy, Wine

(Not) Trimming Capo

May18

Restaurant: Capo [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 1810 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, Ca. 310-394-5550

Date: April 11, 2018

Cuisine: Italian with Cal influences

Rating: The food here is really very very good.

Tonight’s two part extravaganza begins with a stop off at Sage Society for a “pre-dinner” Trimbach tasting!

This takes place in sage’s cellar “social hall.”

With plenty of snacks. Liz carefully pairs even these amuses with the wines so the little tags are wine numbers so you can match them up.

And lots and lots of Trimbach, mostly riesling, of course. This includes several vintages of the incomparable Clos st Hune and a couple of super sweet VT and SGN wines.

In the house was Anne Trimbach (on the right).

In any case, on to Capo and the main event. Capo is a favorite of mine and I’ve reviewed it before HERE and HERE. They have a particular high end (but not formal) blend of California style (Farmer’s Market ingredients) and Italian tradition. But it’s not a strictly traditional Italian, more interpreted through a vaguely Tuscan / California vibe.

But today, the Foodie Club decides to brace their strict 2 bottle corkage policy and head on in with a small crew of four of us.

Bread and Tuscan white bean paste.

We found this 1976 Chassagne Montrachet on Capo’s wine list and it was actually in pretty good shape for a 42 year-old village!

Maryland crab torta. This really is Crab Norfolk, and it’s probably the best one I’ve ever had, and I spent summers as a boy in Oxford Maryland, land of the blue crab. This is a big juicy pile of delicious blue crab, drenched in butter, and their special touch is a little Meyer lemon in the mix. Bellissimo!

Toro Tartar. Like Nobu’s, but no wasabi ponzu. Really excellent actually.

Dutch White Asparagus with prosciutto.

Foie Gras on toast. Big portion, but the sauce overwhelmed.

Fred brought: 2004 Château Margaux. VM 94. Bright red-ruby. Knockout nose features boysenberry, currant, cedar, graphite and mocha. Suave, gentle and sweet, already displaying ineffable inner-mouth perfume. The 17% merlot component injects a silky component, and the oak element adds a complementary sweetness. Complex, lush, horizontal finish saturates the mouth with flavor. It was not clear to me in April that the 2006 would exceed this-and it will certainly take longer to reach full maturity in bottle.

Dungeness Crab Risotto. Pretty awesome and a California take on the Italian dish.

Pasta with uni, squid, and shrimp. Really nice bright seafood pasta.

Tortelli di Zucca. Not exactly the classic pasta, although it might have had a touch of Amaretto cookie in it — great nonetheless.

Rigatoni, truffle meat sauce. Capo is amazing at these meaty pastas. Perfect chew to the pasta itself, incredibly savory sauce.

Bucatini with lamb ragu. This is one of my favorite pastas. I love the bucatini, I love the gamey ragu. A tough call which is better with the rigatoni.

Larry brought: 1999 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. 95 points. It needed time to open up, had a dense garnet color, with a fading garnet rim, on the nose had some ripe cherry, chocolate, earth, floral, slight herb, a hint of VA. The palate had very ripe fruit, was slightly out of balance with more fruit than acidity (whereas the Masseto was very balanced here). Food worked great with this wine, bringing out plum and cherry flavors through to an excellent finish. Blueberry, brown sugar, stewed/baked blueberry flavors also noted. “Massive, beautiful now, will last ten more years,” but the wine had a few detractors: “very American, pales in comparison with the Italian acidities, unfocused. Overall, probably averaged a 95-96 score for the scorers.

Colorado rack of lamb.

Strauss Osso Buco.

I can’t remember what came in this.

The amazing classic chocolate soufflé.

Made even better with some slightly orange cream.

Berry crumble.

Petit fours.

This was a relatively simple evening for the Foodie Club, but great fun and the quality level was superlative. I just love Capo’s pastas. They do them in this correctly cooked, Italian but not Italian hearty style that is just filled with flavor punch. Balance is superb.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: asgavin, Capo, Foodie Club, Italian cuisine, pasta, Sage Society, Wine

Rogue Reunion

May11

Restaurant: The Rogue Experience

Location: 8687 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (800) 275-8273

Date: April 4, 2018

Cuisine: Modern International

Rating: Awesome food and experience

Wolfgang Puck, consulate LA chef and restauranteur opened a kinda of crazy experimental kitchen lab to the public last year. Basically they have new chefs every week and work on highly technical high end experimental dishes — and fold it all together into a nice “experience.”

It’s located INSIDE the Pacific Design Center — that cold blue/purple whale of a building on Melrose. After hours, it’s not the easiest to find buried upstairs.

The experience begins in this library filled with culinary and cocktail books.

The mixologist whips up a highly technical cocktail, all the while chatting with us about the nature of the place.

He made sort of adult (alcoholic) fruit leather, centrifuged fruit pulp, and purified high proof basil gin.

Fruity super strong gin drink. Delicious and potent drink using 110 proof gin! I can’t remember exactly which fruits were in here.
Cheers!

The books are out on display.

Cocktail hour.

Next some chefs arrive and they serve a couple of snacks while we mingle. Rogue only seats about 8 people!

The weekly menu.

Passion fruit, chervil, salmon roe. The spikey stuff is the pulp, which was delicious. This was not very sweet, and while the pairing of roe and passionfruit worked, it was pretty intensely sour and I like a little more sugar with my passionfruit.

Anchovy, salsa verde, huazontle. Very bright green taste and marinated anchovy — delicious!

Salsify, uni, creme fraiche.

These easily breakable crisps were used to scoop up the succulent uni.

Now we move on to other areas of the compound, including this hallway littered with cooking gear.

This prep kitchen with a lot of facilities.

And tons of fancy technical food toys.

Like a rotary dehydrator! This allowed the mixologist to distill the basil infused gin (at negative atmospheric pressure) and condense it into a super strong clear gin that retains the basil element.

We finally settle in the Rogue “dining room” where the chefs plate behind the counter.

Some of this week’s chefs.

And more.

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

Prawn, strawberry, fennel. Gorgeous presentation and unusual flavor pairing. Worked though!

Cabbage, crab, ramen.

I wonder if they swapped the “ramen” (on the menu) out for rice. Anyway, it was delicious.

Artichoke, parmesan, lamb. The cheese was turned into a gooey “cream.”

The lamb is dusted on top. Gorgeous again. Tasted amazing too, particularly because of the soft cheese.

Larry brought: 1982 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. BH 90. Moderately golden. This wine always seems to age better than what tasting it young would suggest and 1982 is yet another vintage where it has lasted extremely well as the airy and fully mature nose is still vibrant and if not bright then certainly complex and there are now hints of sous bois and truffle in the mix. The nicely enveloping flavors are also punchy and offer good muscle if less complexity and depth than I would have expected. In sum, a fine example at 25+ years of age if not a truly great one. Tasted on multiple occasions with largely consistent notes.

Char, cucumber, skyr. Skyr is a kind of Icelandic yogurt. Super soft and almost sushi-like bit of fish. Quite lovely.

2004 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. JG 97. The new release of 2004 Krug is absolutely beautiful and is already quite elegant and open on both the nose and palate and is drinking with great finesse. I had expected this wine to be a bit more steely in structure out of the blocks, but the refinement of the blend this year has produced a wine that is already a joy to drink at age thirteen, though it will continue age gracefully for many, many decades to come. The cépages in 2004 is thirty-nine percent chardonnay, thirty-seven percent pinot noir and twenty-four percent pinot meunier, with the wine having been disgorged in the winter of 2016. The bouquet jumps from the glass in a refined mix of apple, a touch of walnut, warm bread, lavender, a superb base of soil tones and a topnote of smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and utterly seamless, with vibrant acids, great focus and grip, a lovely core, refined mousse and a very long, complex, racy and energetic finish. There is marvelous precision here on both the nose and palate, not to mention a sense of harmony and grace that is fairly rare in the 2004 vintage. Chapeau!

Cilantro, prickly pear, chayote. Looks like an avocado, but it wasn’t. What it was was delicious. Really bright Mexican flavors!

Chick Pea, Tomatillo, Cotija. Another really nice dish, particularly for vegetables.

1996 Vouvray Moelleux Réserve. 92 points.

Foie, almond, jasmine. Exotic pairings but amazing.

1995 Domaine Marquis d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs. VM 92. Harvested 26th September to 1st of October. A complex, savory nose. A bigger, masculine vintage, although the famed 1995 tannins have melted completely away. Good fruit, good balance. Drinking well now and should hold for years. A very pleasant surprise.

Mole, Bao, Pollo. Different “Mexican” bao — pretty awesome.

Beef Cheek, semolina, leeks. Soft of like a lightly Mexican short ribs and polenta, but light and way better. Great texture too.

Raspberry, ginger. Bright and amazing.

Olive oil, grapefruit, campari, pistachio, fennel. Amazing dessert. Loved the unusual combos.

Caramel, chocolate, sesame, pineapple, rosemary. More odd combos that totally worked. I made the rosemary pineapple thing into my own sorbetto a few weeks later.

Special red chocolate and other snacks.

Nice touches.

We went back to the “bar” area for after dinner drinks. Interesting stuff. I have to get some of the right hand (herbal) thing for gelato use.

Overall Rogue really was fabulous. The service and overall experience was great. Very intimate and interesting. And the food was amazing and very experimental in a good way. On this particular visit we had a lot of Mexican influences reminding me somewhat of Hoja Santa. And overall, the food felt very modernist Spanish, or maybe that’s just because it was modernist. But it was supremely well executed. And since everything changes every week, we will have to go back soon.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more Foodie Club reviews.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cocktail, Foodie Club, modernist, Rogue, Wine, Wolfgang Puck

Mega Melisse

Apr11

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

Location: 1104 Wilshire Blvd.Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 395-0881

Date: February 28, 2018

Cuisine: California French

Rating: Awesome again

It’s been several years since Erick and I came to Melisse for the Carte Blanche, and we wanted to combine a return with Erick & Fred’s birthdays and an excuse to open some DRC RSV.

These days the Carte Blanche must be ordered in advance — and apparently is rarely done, only once every month or two!

Hope Ranch Black Mussels. Radish, cilantro, tomato water. Very clean and bright.

Fred brought this awesome old Krug Grand Cuvee. Nice oxidative notes — amazing.

Puntarelle. Minetuna, fennel, capers & Black Olives. Crunchy, delicious, and with a quality not unlike a combination of sunomono and one of those Vietnamese salads featuring papaya or bamboo.

Smoked Salmon. Meyer lemon and nasturtium. Very soft and cool.

Sweet Pea Soup. White Mushrooms, potato, whipped black truffle. One of the best pea soups I’ve had — delicious — in no small part because of that truffle whip.

Matt, the Somm, recommended this awesome 2006 Királyudvar Furmint Tokaji Sec. 90 points. Very pale golden color. Nose offers apple, toasted grass and a burst of… maybe kerosine more than gasoline. More of that dry grass and simmering petrol on the off-dry palate, with green apple, pear, ripe peach, mineral, and a juicy component like cactus meat. Finish is a little short, with a prickly, raspy dryness in the throat. I’ve had more complex dry tokaji, but at its price point this is an absolute steal.

agavin: awesome and very complex

Egg Caviar. Soft Poached Egg, smocked haddock, cauliflower cream, sturgeon caviar.

Always a delicious signature dish here at Melisse, this was no exception. They now serve it in a glass egg instead of the lopped-top eggshell.

Seared Foie Gras. Meiwa Kumquat, apricot and ginger. Awesome huge chunk of fatty, fruitty goodness.

And the serious wines!

From Erick’s cellar: 1995 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. BH 92. Gorgeous, sexy, opulently perfumed fruit followed by medium weight, intense, backward, beautifully textured flavors underpinned by solid but ripe tannins and the same floral note that many of these ’95s display. This is really quite lovely with a really impressive purity of expression and should age well for years.

agavin: pretty open from the start

From my cellar: 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. VM 98. An absolutely stunning wine, the 1999 Romanée St. Vivant is also deeply informed by vintage. Layers of flavor burst from the glass in all directions in a wine that captures the essence of Romanée St. Vivant. At times delicate and refined, while at others a wine of structure, the St. Vivant dazzles with its complexity and nuance. Clean veins of underlying minerality support the vibrant, saline finish in a breathtaking Burgundy endowed with superb depth. The first DRC wine I ever tasted was a Romanée St. Vivant, so this wine has always been a sentimental favorite. The 1999 is a stunner.

agavin: took 2-3 hours to open up — but was great when it did.

Fred brought: 2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. VM 95+. Medium red with a palish rim. Very sexy aromas and flavors of cherry, dried rose, cinnamon and herbs. Not an opulent style but boasts terrific definition and energy to its strong cherry and berry flavors accented by pepper and leather. This very young, tight RSV needs either a few hours in a decanter or another 5+ years in the cellar. Will eventually go truffley and underbrushy but there’s no sign of tertiary aromas today. Cellarmaster Bernard Noble noted that “there are some regrets about 2002: we could have waited another four or five days to pick. At this stage, our ’02s show less flesh and more spirit.”

agavin: surprisingly open and drinkable — really nice

Roasted “Giant Carrot.” Coconut curry and seeds.

Great bread, but they have dropped the bacon roll. I’m sad.

French butter rules.

Stonington Maine Scallop. Celtuce, snap peas, sword lettuce and seaweed. Really good scallop dish.

Truffle Risotto. Aged Acquerello rice, shaved Perigord truffles.

And the shaving.

Voila, amazing dish with great subtle flavor and texture.

Black bass “En Ecailles.” Green tomato, black sesame, kohl rabi and green garlic. Creepy scales aside, as lovely a bit of bass as you get.

Jidori Chicken. Cabbage sprout, celeriac and porcini.

Avec le jus. Really nice chicken. The “boring” bird doesn’t have to be boring.

Snake River farms rib eye cap. Fava beans, polenta, black truffle.

Another great main. The truffle paste blob was delicious.

Camembert. Black truffle and honey. We continue the truffle theme!

Guanaja Chocolate. Hazelnuts and coffee. This isn’t as epic as Melisse chocolate desserts used to be, but it was good.

Strawberries and cream. Delicious of course.

Gels, chocolates, macarons, cannelles.

Overall, an amazing meal and crazy good wines. I was very stuffed and this was one of those serious tastings where you have ALL the types of proteins etc. But still, Melisse has “toned down” the Carte Blanche from the crazy level of food it was several years ago — in fact they pretty much just do it on request. Now, that said, they did pack a lot of great ingredients in this menu. Tons of truffle. And execution and service remain super on point.

I just wish I could’ve used a flash. I have prepped a small tripod for the next time i have one of these no flash tasting menus.

Foodie Club co-president Erick.

Foodie Club Senior Wine Exec, Fred.

For more epic Foodie Club dinners, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: DRC, Foodie Club, Melisse, RSV, Wine

71Above Birthday

Apr04

Restaurant: 71Above [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 633 W 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Date: February 9, 2018

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome in all ways

This is my sixth visit to one of LA’s latest and hottest event restaurants, 71Above. The first can be found here. Tonight is the combined birthday of Foodie Club partner in crime Erick and my friend Liz Lee!

Besides being located on the 71st floor (950 feet up!) of the US Bank building, being the highest restaurant west of the Mississippi, and showcasing the food of Chef Vartan Abgaryan, it’s owned and operated by my friend Emil Eyvazoff!

This is no casual opening, but a massive (and gorgeous) multipart buildout that encompasses the entire floor. Above is part of the lounge/bar.

And behind that is the stunning dining room with its computer controlled auto tinting windows. Beyond that the view continues all the way around with the chef’s table and several more intimate private dining areas.

The view alone is worth the price of admission, and offers varied sights depending on your 360 degree angle. Notice how even the second tallest building downtown (seen under construction here) is below eye level! On a clear day you can easily see the vast sweep of the Pacific and several mountain ranges.

Tonight’s special menu.

Erick is on the right with some old friends from the Philippines.

2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 95. Brioche, dried pear, smoke, almonds, chamomile and wild herbs are all laced together in Krug’s 2000 Vintage. A wine of striking depth and resonance, the 2000 is absolutely gorgeous today. The first signs of very early tertiary complexity have begun to appear while the acidity is softening, both of which make the 2000 delicious today. At the same time, there is no hurry. I imagine the 2000 will still be gorgeous 20 years from now. Slight elements of reduction linger on the close. The blend is 43% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir and 15% Pinot Meunier, a rare vintage in which Chardonnay is quite high.

An amuse of kiwi and paprika.

Another more crispy amuse.

Bread and awesome French butter.

Oyster. Poached, Uni, caviar, tarragon, champagne. A perfect bite of brine.

Chestnut. Soup, black truffle, salted maple cream.

And here with the soup poured in. No shortage of truffles here. Awesome combo of sweet and rich and savory.

2000 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet. VM 95. The 2000 Chevalier-Montrachet is quite a bit brighter and fresher than the 1999 tasted just prior. Here the flavors are bright, precise and lifted. Orchard fruit, slate, smoke, citrus and white flowers are all beautifully delineated, with perfumed, mineral notes that ring out on the finish. The 2000 is in a beautiful place today.

2014 Louis Jadot Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 94+. White peach, white flowers and spices on the lively nose. Delivers an outstanding combination of richness and brightness, with vibrant lemony acidity framing and energizing the flavors of stone fruits, lemon and acacia flower. This very long, palate-staining Batard should offer superb aging potential.

Hamachi. Crudo, local citrus, habanero, basil, passion fruit. Super bright zingy dish.

2003 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. BH 91. The white flower and very ripe green apple aromas are nuanced by notes of straw and melon with rich, sweet and opulent medium full flavors that are thick, powerful and display ample pain grillé plus a touch of bitter lemon on the long finish. This is a dense, mouth coating wine with huge amounts of dry extract and while it will certainly age, there is so much baby fat present that it could be approached now. A very fine example for the vintage.

2007 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. VM 92+. Pale yellow. Complex nose melds lemon, lime, apple, flowers, powdered stone and sexy fresh herbs. Silky on entry, then quite firm in the middle, with the crushed stone element initially dominating underlying fruit. With aeration, this showed a richer texture and emerging citrus fruit and floral qualities. There’s a slightly saline quality here and a firm spine but the wine avoids coming off as hard or rough. Still, its classically dry finish, with flavors of pineapple and crushed stone, give it a youthful austerity. This was bottled in the spring of 2009, and I would not be surprised if it went into a shell in the next 6 to 12 months.

Prawn. Kiwi, avocado, mango, coconut, chili, lime, soft herbs. A very Vietnamese flavor.

Erick brought: 1986 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 92. An intense green fruit nose trimmed in an almost pungent minerality and background hints of botrytis-tinged honey notes combines with notably dense flavors of considerable depth and much better delineation than the average ’86 displays today. There is fine length and while this is at it’s peak, it should hold here for a number of years to come. (Drink between 2004-2004)

agavin: WOTN — amazing

Erick brought: 1996 Maison Leroy Meursault Les Narvaux. BH 88. Elegant, pure and nicely complex but not nearly as dense or concentrated as the d’Auvenay version yet despite the absence of real concentration, this is really quite lovely with outstanding balance and real finesse. The nose is beginning to display distinct secondary characteristics and I would be drinking up in earnest over the next 2 to 4 years as the Narvaux will begin to decline because there just isn’t the requisite mid-palate density to stay at this level much longer. Multiple notes since release. (Drink between 2007-2007)

Scallop. Turnip, kumquat, toasted macadamia, white soy, pea tendrils, mint.

From my cellar: 1969 Remoissenet Père et Fils Grands-Echezeaux. BH 88. Bricked through to the center. There is plenty of sous-bois present on the distinctly earthy but agreeably spice tertiary nose. The delicious and vibrant middle weight flavors possess reasonably good complexity though the lean finish is slightly drying. This is on the fragile side and assuming that this bottle was indeed representative, my sense is that the wine is beginning to crack up. As such, I would suggest drinking up soon.

agavin: very nice

Erick brought: 1990 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. BH 93. This has always struck me as a curious effort that is somewhat cab-like because the ’90 Boudots is a very ripe effort with notes of secondary fruit, spice, earth and a distinct gaminess that continues onto the meaty and impressively rich if slightly rustic big-bodied and robust flavors that culminate in a long finish where the only nit is a hint of warmth. This isn’t really my style of red Bugundy but there can be no question that this is a very high quality effort that is still drinking beautifully and will be 25 years from now and perhaps even longer. Whether one likes the style is a question for each person to consider but as I say, the quality is indubitably here.

1993 Dominique Laurent Clos Vougeot. BH 87. In contrast to the typical ’93 at this point in the vintage’s evolution, this is remarkably open and expressive though I was surprised to find the intial hints of sous bois, something that frankly is highly unusual in such a (relatively) young wine. Otherwise, this is pretty and certainly delicious but it doesn’t have the concentration that one should have at this level and all the more so given the natural concentration of the vintage. In short, this is barely acceptable for a grand cru.

Agnolotti. Kobocha Squash, mascarpone, black truffle, tarragon, madeira. Rich and buttery and super opulent this is an amazing dish.

1970 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Ygay Reserva. 92 points. Still vibrant and dark red, a little VA but not off putting, surprisingly strong fruit and good acidity with a little dill on the finish. Plenty of life left in this one.

1955 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Campi Raudii et Catuli Ara. Awesome.

2001 Château Mouton Rothschild. VM 91+. Good full ruby. High-pitched aromas of blackberry, mint and minerals. Juicy but quite tightly wound today; much more austere than the comparatively pliant Clerc-Milon-not to mention firmer and less fleshy than it appeared from barrel a year ago. Juicy acidity contributes to the impression of structure. Unlike most 2001s, this seems already to have gone into a shell. This penetrating, mostly cabernet sauvignon (86%) Mouton will need at least a decade of bottle aging.

1968 Gaja Barbaresco. VM 92. Unfortunately, this bottle was totally over the hill.

Venison. Beet, blackberry, black vinegar, charred cabbage, juniper.

Liz brought: 1961 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg. 95 points. Golden yellow. In the nose, orange juice and peel, elderflower. Very fresh despite notes of very ripe fruit (quince, apricot jam). Very transparent in its aromatics. On the palate very pleasant with nice minerality, mild acidity, a voluminous body. Notes of mokka in the finish. Unbelievable, but true: this wine doesn’t seem to have reached its summit.

Cheese plate.

From my cellar: 1946 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Convento Selección. 100 points. So good I just giggle every sip. This is a remarkable dessert wine and I’m grateful to Steve for sharing it not once but twice with me. Ethereal integrated sweetness, lightness, Christmas spices, and magic.

I made this Mud Pie Gelato – Mega Intense Espresso Base, Crushed Oreo layers, Valrhona Dark Chocolate Fudge layers, and topped with house-made Vanilla Meringue

One of the wonderful pastry creations out of the 71Above kitchen.

Even the latte art is spectacular.
The full lineup.

The gang of us — lounging.

Chef Vartan on the left.

Heading down!

Overall, 71Above is just a seriously well conceived and executed one-of-a-kind restaurant. Really, it’s more like a NY, Singapore, or Tokyo kind of concept. First of all, the view is just awesome. I can’t wait to come back on a really clear day. Particularly once they begin brunch service, a nice winter day will offer an observation deck like panorama.

But then Emil and crew built out such a lovely space to capture the drama. It’s modern, but welcoming. Not too loud, you can here the conversation and the music both. And from when you enter off the double elevator ascent it folds from one experience to another: lounge, dining room, more intimate corridors, chef table, quiet and romantic view areas in the back, and a series of two adjustable private dining rooms. The attention to architectural detail is amazing.

Tonight’s meal was my best yet at 71Above (and they were all good). Really tuned up even further — plus the wines (and company) were amazing.

It should also be noted that an interesting menu wouldn’t be anything without great execution. As you can see in this post, the plating is modern but approachable and highly attractive. But the flavor on the dishes is paramount, and really quite excellent, particularly considering their complexity and textural variation. There is a balanced quality between opposite forces in Chef Abgaryan’s cooking that pulls from Chinese culinary theory, while that specific flavors and combinations are largely American/European. It’s both approachable and sophisticated. Bravo!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (7)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 71above, birthday, BYOG, DTLA, Emil Eyvazoff, Foodie Club, Gelato, Vartan Abgaryan, Wine

Seminal Somni

Mar25

Restaurant: Somni

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

Date: March 14, 2018

Cuisine: Spanish influenced Molecular Gastronomy

Rating: Awesome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then we move on to Somni proper.

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

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

The kitchen now merges into the Bazaar kitchen.

Homage to Spain?

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

The vessels are all exquisite.

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

Strong citrus notes.

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

We get to see all the intricate plating.

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

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

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

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

Reading the fist bumps.

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

Caviar & Truffle. Straight up briny goodness.

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

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

Erick brought in it’s special box.

And wrapper.

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

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

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

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

Live scallop. Inside this lettuce dumpling.

Lamb, pine nut & herbs.

With some kind of sauce.

And in it’s final form. Very “leafy.”

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

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

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

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

Pekin chili crab. Vague flavors of peking duck.

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

Wagyu on view.

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

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

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

“Snowflake”.

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

Vienetta. Like chocolate and vanilla custard.

Tea.

Snacks.

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

The menu.

The staff.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For a previous Saam meal, click here.

For a meal and The Bazaar proper, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Foodie Club, José Andrés, Molecular Gastronomy, rioja, SLS Hotel, Somni, Spanish Cuisine, Spanish Food, Unico, Wine, ygay, Zabala Aitor

Bistro LQ – Truffles 2017

Jan12

Restaurant: Laurent Quenioux [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: Near Pasadena

Date: November 30, 2017

Cuisine: Modern French

Rating: Truffles!

Six and a half years ago Foodie Club co-organizer Erick and I put together one of our more legendary dinners, the Bistro LQ Trufflumpagus. And then two years we did it again! Now yet again, but with a slightly more dish oriented, less truffle emphasis.

Chef Laurent Quenioux grew up in Sologne, France, where he developed a passion for food. As a young boy, Quenioux and his father would hunt duck, partridge, and rabbit. Then, he and his mother would prepare her favorite recipes in the kitchen. Eventually, Quenioux left home to embark on an apprenticeship where he trained in some of Europe’s finest kitchens. Quenioux spent time at Maxim’s, Bistro De Paris and La Ciboulette in Paris, before moving on to Negresco in Nice and LaBonne Auberge in Antibe.

In the early 1980s, Quenioux made a move to the United States with a team from L‘Oasis at La Napoule to open The Regency Club in Los Angeles. In 1985, he introduced the celebrated and award-winning 7th Street Bistro in downtown Los Angeles. In the early 2000s, Quenioux debuted the cozy Bistro K in Pasadena and in 2009, Bistro LQ in Beverly Hills. At Bistro LQ, Quenioux set new standards for cuisine in Southern California with his Farmer’s Market-driven kitchen and an emphasis on value and fun.

We are back at Quenioux’s house, but this time inside in the dining room.

Tonight’s special menu. Slightly fewer dishes than our last 2 visits, but more emphasis on each dish.
From my cellar: NV Drappier Champagne Rosé Brut Nature Dosage Zero. VM 90. Pale orange. Mineral-accented red berries and citrus fruits on the nose, complemented by hints of candied rose and white pepper. Stony and precise, offering lively strawberry and orange zest flavors that expand slowly with air. Closes spicy, stony and tight, with very good clarity and floral persistence.

A little toasted bread and some flavored butters. Breads by “Bread Lounge”. Butter from Bordier Brittany France.

One of LQ’s assistants introduces the courses.

1993 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. VM 94. Among the wines of the 1990s, I especially liked the 1993 Dom Ruinart, which was beautiful, especially considering this was an original disgorgement. Layers of honeyed fruit, licorice and mint were woven together in a captivating fabric. We also caught this wine at near peak, as it was firing on all cylinders. What a beautiful wine.

1979 Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut. VM 92. Pale copper color. Mature, enticing aromas of meal, toffee, brioche and melted butter. Creamy, toasty and soft on the palate; completely resolved and best suited for near-term drinking. Lacks real grip and verve but offers lovely ripeness and good depth of flavor.

Chanterelles. Chanterelles Crudo, Santa Barbara Uni, Yuzu ranch dressing, wild hare gelee, arugula, Alba white truffle.

2005 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montmains. VM 92. Pale, bright yellow. Broad aromas of citrus fruits, butter, toasted bread and minerals. Rich, ripe and nicely concentrated, with sexy stone fruit flavors nicely framed by harmonious acidity. Full and pliant but not at all heavy thanks to its lingering aftertaste of dusty minerality. A superb showing today.

2002 Peter Michael Chardonnay Point Rouge. VM 95+. Hints of superripe fruit along with lemon and coconut on the very reticent nose. Huge, sappy and solid; again, this has the body and deep core of fruit of a Burgundy grand cru. Superripe pineapple flavor is brightened by solid, harmonious acidity. Shows extraordinary expansion on the back half, finishing with exotic pineapple flavor and great persistence. “We had so many great barrels to choose from,” noted Morlet, who eventually selected just 11. The wine represents four different barrel types; 10 of the 11 barrels were new.

2008 Villa Mt. Eden Chardonnay Grand Réserve. 91 points. solid Californian Chardonnay, full of fruit, spices, soft tannins, long aftertaste

Caviar. Cannabis Santa Barbara Petit Gris Snails Raviolis. Caviar de Sologne, Alba White Truffle Nage. The snails inside had apparently been fed on cannabis. Any which way it was an amazing dish.

From my cellar: 1988 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. JG 94. The 1988 Corton-Charlemagne from Bonneau du Martray is a superb example of the vintage and it remains at its pinnacle of peak maturity as it closes in on its thirtieth birthday. The bouquet delivers a superb, complex blend of apple, pear, a touch of fresh nutmeg, chalky soil tones, beeswax and a discreet base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and absolutely à point, with a fine core of fruit, superb soil signature, bright acids and a very long, complex and utterly refined finish. Great juice with decades of life still to come.

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

Live Diver Scallops. Truffle Chawan Mushi, diver scallop, lardo, enoki, shiso buds. Under the scallop was a light Asian-style egg custard. The lardo added that extra punch of flavor. Great dish.

From my cellar: 2004 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 92-94. This is aromatically quite reserved with only trace amount of wood influence visible on the white flower and spiced pear suffused nose that carries into the rich, robust and powerful flavors that possess real size, weight and punch and this too displays a wonderful sense of purity and finishing linearity plus there is more minerality than one usually sees in the typical Bâtard.

From my cellar: 2006 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 90. A very ripe nose of honeysuckle and citrus blossom is trimmed in a very discreet touch of brioche that precedes rich, full, intense and less elegant flavors than I’m used to seeing but there is ample volume, dry extract and mid-palate fat that culminate in a better balanced and longer finish.

Spiny Lobster. Braised endive, jamon iberico de bellota, Alba white truffle soubise, spiny lobster. The lobster was great and the jamon wrapped thing delicious — but very salty.

From my cellar: 1994 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia. 91 points. Right out of the gate, got ripe, sweet yellow fruits on the nose along with plenty of wood and vanilla, some wax and oxidation notes. With time got some honey but more white flowers. After three hours all wood and oxidation notes was long gone, and nose seemed overall more muted. Quite fresh and smooth in the mouth. Foremost sweet, yellow fruits, a bit more dry fruits and some spices towards the finish. Pretty good concentration, though somewhat hollow on the mid palate. Medium ++ lenght. I was on 92p early on, later more a solid 91. Should have no trouble taking time in the cellar. That should do only good. At least 5-6 years.

2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée. VM 94. Deep gold. Remarkably pure peach, apricot, citrus honey and hazelnut aromas pack a huge punch, with lime and dusty minerality adding verve. Equally rich on the palate, with the pit fruit and honey qualities repeating and a whack of bitter quinine adding focus. Poses richness and weight against vivacity, finishing with superb clarity and clinging sweetness. Can’t get this off the palate.

Wild Turbot. Squid ink tuille, pea greens, truffle sabayon, chioggia beets, fennel. I’m not normally a white fish fan but this was a superb dish. One of 2-3 best of the night. The truffle butter sabayon was killer.

1995 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl. 90 points. Complex aromas of papaya, pink grapefruit, banana, nutmeg, and rubber. Off-dry, but by no means sweet. Rather austere, really, with acidity and bitterness at the fore. This wine has excellent balance and power, though the flavor profile isn’t immediately delicious. The kind of a wine a sommelier would like more than an everyday wine drinker.

Foie Gras. Truffle celery root, cauliflower, quince risotto, seared foie gras, cacao nibs. My dish of the night. Incredible foie and the cauliflower “risotto” was incredible.

agavin: unfortunately badly corked.

From my cellar: 1995 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui. BH 91. Nice complex, still primary nose and refined, almost silky, very rich flavors with an edgy, slightly tannic finish. This offers better balance than the ’95 Richebourg as the fruit/concentration/tannin balance is superior. This is still very young and should continue to improve though it can be approached now with the right food.

1996 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. VM 94+. Bright red-ruby. Incredible nose combines blackberry, black raspberry, fraise des bois, gingerbread, mocha, soy sauce, cocoa powder, iris and sealing wax. Like liquid silk on entry, with extraordinary sweetness, but extremely vibrant and youthful. Then toughens up in the middle palate. Like the Chapelle, this has been concentrated by a rather substantial saignee, but this does not have quite the early balance of that wine. Very backward but explosively long on the finish, with firm tannins covering the entire mouth. Should be very long-lived, and among the wines of the vintage.

Wild Goose. Date cumin puree, persimmon chips, huckleberry infusion, crosnes, peppercorn.

1994 Guigal. Cote Rotie la Turque. RP 96-98. 1994 appears to be another great vintage for Guigal’s La Turque. It is already amazingly sexy, with a sweet, creamy texture, a dark ruby/purple color, fabulous ripeness, and a layered inner core of sweet juice packed with extract, glycerin, and flavor. It should drink well young and keep for 12-15 years. Last tasted 6/96.

Bellota Loin Cassoulet, iberico de Bellota loin, Tarbais beans, Toulouse sausage, “Cassoulet Style.” Another standout dish. Really awesome pork and beans stew.

The chef himself, Laurent Quenioux.

1994 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Janus Gran Reserva Pesquera. 93 points. 23 years old and it has plenty of fruit and tannic grip. Cherry, cedar and tobacco, lots of ripe cherry. Beautiful from attack to finish, nice long finish and a nice acidity.

Coturnix Quail. Fresh Quail from Vermont light fried. Braised cipollini, spicy Tokyo turnips pico de gallo, sweet onion jus & liver emulsion.

With the liver sauce.
1994 Vega Sicilia. Único. RP 98. The 1994 Unico is a blend of 80% Tinto Fino, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot (presumably 2% is unknown varieties) that was picked from September 28. It is very intense with notes of raspberry, wild strawberry and mulberry with sensational minerality and vigor. There is a Margaux-like florality to the 1994 that blossom with aeration. The palate is rounded and supple on the entry with great weight and backbone. There is real substance here, similar to the 1996. It expands in the mouth with ravishing notes of blackberry, strawberry, citrus lemon, orange peel and a touch of cedar. There is enormous weight on the finish, a behemoth of a Unico. This is very potent, but it still requires several years in bottle. 96,280 bottles produced. Drink 2019-2040.
1989 Vega Sicilia. Único. RP 93-98. The 1989 Unico, a blend of 80% Tinto Fino and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon picked early from 30th September, has a gorgeous, minty bouquet with blackberry, a touch of blueberry, crushed violets and a little strawberry jam. It blossoms with aeration in the glass. The palate is smooth and rounded on the entry: caressing and voluminous in the mouth. The fruit is very pure with notes of strawberry, Tiptree raspberry jam, marmalade and quince. It has great weight towards the finish with orange cordial and a hint of mango. However, it does not have the tension or focus of the 1994 or the 1996. 105,860 bottles produced. Drink now-2035.

Rib Eye Cap. SRF Rib Eye Cap Served Rare. Alba White Truffle mash potatoes, porcini ragu, passion fruit.

2000 Château d’Yquem. RJ 93. Medium golden color; botrytis, ripe apricot, baked pear nose; intense, concentrated, silky textured, baked apple, baked apricot, lemon cream, honey palate with medium acidity; long finish

Vacherin & Cheese course.

Some little intermezzo.

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 <em>cuvée</em>, but with no lack of vivacity.

Baba. Geranium griotte sirup, pistachio mascarpone creme fraiche, chocolate ganache. Awesome chocolate nut flavor.

Apple Gratin hazelnut praline rose. Red kuri ice cream, muscadine grapes. A nice modernized tart.
Overall, this was just a stunning meal on all levels and one of the best of the year.

The atmosphere was great. A nice private room — truly private and actually quiet (except for us). LQ’s team provided great service (we mostly did the wine service but we are used to that). Walker was busy posing as sommelier. Wines were very good. I prefer these full arrangement of wines where we have a broad range of types across the meal.

And the food was just stellar. The foie, the the custard, the ravioli, the turbot, and the cassoulet were all standouts and amazing. I’ll remember them for years!

For more LA Foodie Club dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: bistro lq, Foodie Club, Laurent Quenioux, Pasadena, Truffles, Wine

Foodie Club at Spago

Jan08

Restaurant: Spago [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 176 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (310) 385-0880

Date: November 28, 2017

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Impressive

December is always busy with dinners and we even have two separate Foodie Club events this week.

The first one is to old LA mainstay Spago for a special dinner arranged by Vahan — who has been coming here regularly since the 80s!

Our menu.

We sat out in the lovely (and busy) courtyard. It was loud, but cool.

We had a huge spacious table in the back by the funky fireplace.

1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. BH 97. A distinctly reticent but elegant nose with a purity of expression that is truly impressive to experience as it’s relatively high-toned and while the yeast comes up with air, it’s relatively muted at presence, combining with intense, precise and superbly detailed and complex flavors that culminate in an explosive and wonderfully long finish. This may very well rival the sublime ’90 in time even if it’s not quite as concentrated. This is still a baby so there is absolutely no rush whatsoever.

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

Dinner at Spago almost always includes amuses, and the first is the classic:

Spicy Tuna Tartare, Sesame-Miso Tuille Cone. I’ve had it a million times but it’s still great. The counter play between the crunchy-sweet cone and the soft-spicy interior.

Pork belly macaron. Pretty amazing bit of sweet-fatty in a dessert-like presentation. Great textures too.

Jewish pizza. Smoked salmon with creme fraiche and ikura (salmon roe). I love this too. I even make it at home.

Foie gras and strawberry. Another yummy sweet-fatty bite.

Because of Vahan we got a special kitchen tour.

Pizza oven.

Even the storage.

Have some tuille cones.

Or a plate of veal off the regular menu.

Chefs at work plating.

We had a bite in the kitchen. Crab and uni and flowers in a crispy/chewy sesame ball.

1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. BH 91. Medium golden color. While fully mature this remains quite fresh with lovely complexity on the honeysuckle and dried fruit compote nose. The depth reflected by the nose is also present on the utterly delicious middle weight flavors that possess a very rounded and attractively textured mouth feel before culminating in a palate coating, balanced and lingering finish. Like most ’95s today there is no reason not to drink up though at the same time neither is there any need to rush through your remaining stocks.

1995 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. BH 94. Wonderfully complex and now fully mature aromas of pure white fruits and green Chablis notes are followed by superbly intense and beautifully defined medium-full flavors that just ooze minerality and offer superb length. This is not nearly as heavy as many ’95 Chablis and there is real grace and class here. A drop dead gorgeous wine. Note that I have recently had an lightly oxidized bottle that was at least drinkable if not nearly as good as what I describe above.

Diver Scallop Sashimi. Santa Barbara Uni, Keluga Caviar, Sudachi. A nice soft and tasty dish with complex briney flavors.

Bread. Awesome crispy seed breads.

Sweet carrot hummus with lebneh. Loved this stuff because of it’s sweet and tangy pairing.

1987 Louis Jadot Montrachet. Still in good shape!

2001 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. VM 94+. Pure, reserved aromas of apple, powdered stone, white flowers and nutmeg. Juicy and very intense, with impressive purity and structure for the vintage. Explosive, almost painfully long finish. This extremely youthful, fresh wine should develop in bottle for 10 to 15 years. A more intellectual style this year than the Cabotte.

Handmade Agnolotti. Kabocha squash, pine nuts, amaretti, white truffles. Amazing pasta in butter sauce. The truffles really added too, but my favorite element was the sweet/spiced quality of the Ameretti cooks — traditional in the Verona/Mantua area with pumpkin (in this case squash).

1991 Domaine Marquis d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs. BH 94. Another fine success in what was generally a difficult vintage in the Côte de Beaune (though a very good to excellent one in the Côte de Nuits). The color is still vibrant with only the barest of lightening at the rim. A gorgeously complex, admirably fresh and remarkably dense nose that is, somewhat oddly at this age, trimmed in a discreet touch of wood and displays a wide range of secondary aromatics. The flavor profile is quite similar with that rare and utterly seductive impression of sweetness that great Burgundies often display and derives not from sugar but rather from the superb sappy extract; there is also a lovely plumy character to the mineral-driven and palate coating finish. This is wonderfully rich while displaying real volume in the mouth, yet it remains gracefully balanced and finishes with knockout length. A brilliant and big-bodied Ducster that is more a wine of impressive power than finesse. And for those lucky enough to own a bottle or two, it should continue to hold effortlessly for several more decades.

From my cellar: 1995 Dominique Laurent Clos Vougeot. 93 points. Initial reticence and a considerable amount of sediment, then a rather elemental, pheremonal nose of redcurrant, black tea and incense. On the palate a very bright juicy acidity underlying an attractive body. With roast duck and lots of air, this became richer and juicier, the noticeable acidity cutting the duck fat and rendering the whole quite delicious. The wine had a charming rusticity to it, with a slightly old fashioned brutishness to it. Not for those afraid of acidity, but this has a really bright future. Thoroughly enjoyed and ran out too quickly!

2001 Faiveley Echezeaux. BH 91-93. This too offers astonishingly elegant and pure black fruit aromas and intense, sweet, spicy full-bodied flavors that build and build into a finish that simply doesn’t quit. While this doesn’t quite have the finesse and precision of the Combe d’Orveau, it offers even more power and muscle in a perfectly balanced, stylish and harmonious package. This is a beautiful, seductive effort.

Crispy Scaled Black Bass. Main Lobster, Spanish Octopus Bolognese. Nice rich sauce and good lobster. I find the crispy scales on this type of bass a little creepy though.
Liberty Duck Breast. Poached Persimmon, beet-parsnip Puree, Caramelized Salsify. Nice bit of duck.

1964 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva. JG 90. I had a less than stellar bottle of this wine in January of this year, but a bottle tasted six months before that was quite lovely, so I have to assume that the most recent example was simply a bottle of poor provenance. The last pristine example of the ’64 Borgogno Barolo Riserva offered up a complex and fully mature nose of cherries, camphor, forest floor, tar, anise and a bit of bonfire in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and tarry, with lovely complexity, good focus and still a bit of untamed tannin to resolve perking up the long finish. Like many of the Borgognos from this era, this is not the most elegant rendition of Barolo, but it is deep, complex and has matured nicely into a wine that offers up the blossoming of bottle age and is a good example of the vintage.

1968 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva. 90 points. Again a rare treat to sample another well kept wine from decades past. Light brick in the glass, with some opacity. Enchanting nose of leather and sous-bois. On the palate, I am in agreement with previous notes commenting on the similarity with Burgundy of the same era. Balanced acids, mature fruit, earth, and leather. Add another star to the already fabulous lineup this afternoon.

1970 Faustino Rioja I Gran Reserva. 92 points. Aged to perfection, rather bright acidity and lift for its age, fully resolved tannin, notes of leather dominate the nose. Paired amazing with our finishing dishes. What an experience.

Grilled American Wagyu New York Steak. Root Vegetable gratin, sauce bordelaise.
With the Root Vegetable Gratin added to the plate. Rice stuff (and I had two helpings).

1996 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron. VM 90. Good full ruby-red. Roasted plum, leather and smoked nuts on the nose. Silky and layered in the mouth. Sweet and suave, with a complicating mineral quality. Suggests solid extract but ultimately a wine of very good rather than outstanding intensity. Finishes with fine tannins and persistent, slow-building flavor. Fleshier and more pliant than the ’98.

1988 Château Mouton Rothschild. JK 90.

1990 Château Lagrange (St. Julien). VM 93. Good deep, full ruby. Explosive, rather wild aromas of dark fruits, leather, animal fur and chocolate. Fat, lush and silky, with a seamless texture and a deep sweetness. This offers terrific volume and finishes very smooth and very long, with utterly suave tannins, notes of leather and game, and a suggestion of surmaturite According to Ducasse, 1990 witnessed cooler September nights than ’89 and thus offered “better conditions for producing great wine. ” A superb showing.

agavin: I used to drink this wine on dates in the 1997-98 time frame. lol

Chef’s Selection of Assorted Cheeses. Manchester, L’Amuse Signature Gouda, Blackstone, Shopshire Blue, Blueberry honey, date walnut cake, fall fruit compote. Really nice little cheese spread.

And great bread to go with it.

Espresso.

Overall, another fabulous dinner. Service was first rate, particularly with Vahan being almost Spago family. Wolfgang spent some time at our table too. I always forget how great the food is at Spago too, and how much they keep updating it to keep it fresh and relevant. The place may still have the format of an 80s/90s fine dining place, but the build out, cuisine, and all that keeps evolving and staying relevant. It’s a big pricey, but it is very very good. We also had tons to eat and I was almost painfully full.

Wine lineup was interesting, varied, and almost all were great. 1-2 flawed wines, but that’s to be expected and we had no shortage — we never do!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or just Foodie Club meals.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Foodie Club, Spago, Wine, Wolfgang Puck

Tasting Kitchen

Dec20

Restaurant: Tasting Kitchen

Location: 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 (310) 392-6644

Date: November 14, 2017 & February 19, 2018

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Fun place, good food, great service

Years ago I used to read about all sorts of popup dinners with great chefs at Tasting Kitchen on Abbot Kinney. I never went because I’m just not that into mobilizing rapidly for popups (unless someone else organizes and invites me).

But Tasting Kitchen eventually turned into a restaurant of its own — albeit the concept that led to the name is totally different. Tonight core members of the Foodie Club descend on it to work our special kind of over-the-top magic.

It’s an attractive space with an “outside”.

A nice inside.

And a loft.

Which is where we set up shop. The place was rocking.

The menu.

From my cellar: NV Demière-Ansiot Champagne Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs. BH 93. A beautifully yeasty nose reflects notes of apple, pear, white flowers and a hint of citrus peel. The vibrant middle weight flavors possess a positively gorgeous texture, indeed the mid-palate is almost creamy, while offering excellent depth and length on the dry but not austere finale. For my taste this is drinking perfectly now and I very much like both the style and the quality.

Bread & Butter. Delicious, but extra money.

Kitchen selection of antipasti. Toasts, a couple kinds of ham and salami. Pate. Rilletes of duck. Pecorino and burrata with persimmons. A big plate too and delicious.

From my cellar: 2007 Pierre Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 93+. Pale, bright yellow. Knockout nose combines underripe pineapple, crushed stone and a flinty nuance. Big, rich and voluminous, but with lovely penetration and purity to the pineapple and crushed stone flavors. Wonderfully sweet, tactile wine with outstanding density and breadth for the year. This very long, scented wine remained on my palate for minutes. From very old virused vines in a spot that’s protected from wind by walls on three sides, notes Morey. But the yield in 2007 was still a solid 45 hectoliters per hectare. Wonderfully powerful, youthful Meursault that should reward a decade of aging.

Mussels Portuguese style. Great version of this classic tomato garlic mussels dish. The mussels themselves were really plump and juicy.

Ron brought: 2014 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers Clos Saint-Marc. VM 94+. Bright, light yellow. Pure tension on the nose, with aromas of blood orange and citrus zest dominating. Boasts outstanding fruit intensity and crunchiness, with a vibrant white peach flavor complicated by a suggestion of grilled pips. Utterly seamless wine but with outstanding inner-mouth lift from brisk, noble acidity (4.5 grams per liter, according to Pillot) without any herbacity. This adamantly primary, intensely juicy premier cru builds dramatically on its peacock’s tail of a finish. Stunning potential here.

Burrata, butternut, pepitas, pomegranate. No one told us that the antipasti already came with this, so we had two helpings — which was okay because I love burrata.

Baby beets, citrus, pistachio (2/19/18). Pretty typical.

Warm olives with orange zest. Our pasta was taking forever and so they brought us these olives. They were actually excellent, some great olives, very soft and warm and the orange zest and olive oil really brought them up.

Erick brought: 1990 Maison Leroy Maranges. 89 points. I had high hopes because it was Leroy but it was a little tight and astringent with the fruit in hiding. Not oxidized or old tasting at all. After some time it did open up a bit and became better.

Agnolotti with beef tendon and maitake mushroom. Super salty but absolutely awesome reduction sauce and really nice pasta texture.

Riso alla pilota with prosciutto and fagioli. The beans wrecked me later. Meanwhile it was a bit like fried rice with pork and beans. Fairly mild in flavor and the “worst” of the pastas even though it wasn’t bad.

Malagliati alla boscaiola. Not what I expected at all, as usually boscaiola has cream and peas but really great. Thick sheets of chewy pasta with a nice rich buttery sauce and incredible savory hammy chunks.

Bucatini all’amatriciana. Not totally typical in flavor, mild on the porkiness, but really bright and delicious.

Spaghetti, lobster, pomodor, pilacca (2/19/18). Nice.

Gigli, lamb sausage, rapini, lemon (2/19/18). I would have liked more sausage.

Corzetti, pancetta, peas, egg yolk (2/19/18). Nice pasta and gorgeous coin shapes.

Larry brought: 2002 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline. VM 90. smells downright Burgundian. Silky, sweet and mineral-driven red fruit flavors offer impressive energy and focus, with just a suggestion of tannin on the back end. I find this really elegant today.

agavin: we decanted and after it had a bit of time opened up into an awesome wine.

Salt roasted branzino. chanterelle, oregano, pine-nut. Very nice super moist seabass.

Short rib, brasato al barolo, celery root, chestnut, gremolata. Meaty and solid.

Spinach, pinenuts, roasted garlic (2/19/18). Almost like a Chinese veggie.

French fries (2/19/18) — excellent ones too.

The dessert menu.

The staff was very nice and brought us glasses of this!

The glass.

Chocolate caramel tart. Mint anglaise, salted caramel gelato. Yummy stuff and very attractive.
Hazelnut cream cake. Mascarpone, hazelnut gelato. This was even better. Just delicious.

Crostata, cinnamon, apple, vanilla whip (2/19/18). With the candle for my brother’s birthday.

Overall, we had a great time at Tasting Kitchen. There were a few quirks. First the bad (much overcome by the good). The kitchen was very backed up (they were mobbed) and the food took a LONG time. The bench seat I was on looked comfortable but my butt was going numb and I had to keep standing.

But now for the many plusses. The servers were incredibly nice, helpful, and attentive. Really very good service. They made up for the kitchen slowness. The place, as I mentioned, was very busy and had a great atmosphere full of attractive looking people. Nice build out too. Hostess was nice as well (not always the case at every place by any means). They were very generous/flexible on the corkage.

The food was quite good. It’s not a super extensive menu, nor is it seemingly highly innovative, but the flavors were very bright and most of the dishes excellent, and the lesser ones fine. They “secretly” have a lot of very good pasta here — particularly for it not being an Italian restaurant. Location is great on the super busy ultra-hip high rent Abbot Kinney. I’ll definitely come back.

Came back for my brother’s birthday 2/19/18. Food was just as strong. We were downstairs which was darker and louder.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Abbot Kinney Blvd, Foodie Club, Tasting Kitchen, Wine

Let’s Go Again

Nov10

Restaurant: Go’s Mart [1, 2, 3]

Location: 22330 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, CA 91303 818.704.1459

Date: October 5, 2017

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: One of LA’s best sushi places!

After a long break, it’s back to the unassuming Canoga Park sushi temple that is Go’s Mart. You can check out the Foodie Club mega tasting meal I had previously.

Go’s has been serving up modern style amazing sushi in this almost unlabeled spot for over twenty years.

Inside is almost less glamorous, with just a few tables and a little sushi bar — plus some bad orange paint.

The tables.

Go himself and his assistant Oscar.

The meal was a long one — almost 4 hours for lunch – so I drank A LOT of this excellent green tea.

Fresh ground wasabi and ginger.

Toro and spinach. Maybe not exactly, but it was hard to tell. Nice start.

Sashimi plate.

Monkfish liver with shiso.

Whole crispy baby crab with sea salt, just pop in your mouth and crunch.

Matsutake mushrooms and halibut roe. With that deep earthy flavor that certain Japanese foods have.

Grilled/baked Spanish mackerel with a bit of smoked salmon and onion. The mackerel had that lovely pickled taste.

Whitefish plate. Left to right, Kampachi, triggerfish, butterfish, and kelp halibut. All slightly different preps of salt, yuzu, shiso, etc.

Tuna plate. O-toro, chopped chu toro with caviar, and blue fin toro with garlic.

Oddities on the wall.

Shellfish plate.

Santa Barbara uni.

Seared sweet shrimp with caviar.

King crab.

Golden Japanese scallop.

And the shrimp head returns deep fried. Ate the whole thing.

Silver plate. Seared belt fish, Japanese sardine, Mackerel.

Clam plate. Abalone, giant clam, and octopus.
Toro takuan handroll. Nice bits of radish crunch.

Smoked Ocean Trout and Sock Eye Salmon. As good as salmon gets!

Haha.

A second piece of sardine.

Another handroll.

And gelato by me: Caramel Cappuccino – a salted caramel with expresso in the mix layered with expresso bean whipped cream. In the back is a little Basil Lime Gelato – milk infused with lime and basil from my garden.

Various fresh fruit drizzled in sweetened condensed milk. Very fresh and bright.

Go-san continues to impress with some really scrumptious sushi. He has his own take on the art and not only is the fish impeccable but the flavor combos very refined and interesting. Go has been doing this kind of elaborate stuff forever too, long before the ponzu laden rise of Sugarfish and the like.

It was crowded today though and while quality was incredible, given that Go made every piece for everyone the lunch took almost 4 hours!

For more LA Sushi, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Go's Mart, lunch, Sushi

Hatchet Hall Hedonism

Nov08

Restaurant: Hatchet Hall [1, 2]

Location: 12517 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066. (310) 391-4222

Date: October 3, 2017

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Interesting flavors and presentation

Hatchet Hall took over the “old” Waterloo & City space in Culver City over a year ago. I’ve been before but with a small family group — this time I went with some of my more hardcore wine friends.

The logo hangs over the street in cryptic glory.

The frontage.

Inside they have this whacky new game and “period” decor. If you can see in the back there is an “old south” private room.

They have a great patio too and even a bar like space in the back (not pictured).

The current menu.

Bonus from me: NV Demière-Ansiot Champagne Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs. BH 93. A beautifully yeasty nose reflects notes of apple, pear, white flowers and a hint of citrus peel. The vibrant middle weight flavors possess a positively gorgeous texture, indeed the mid-palate is almost creamy, while offering excellent depth and length on the dry but not austere finale. For my taste this is drinking perfectly now and I very much like both the style and the quality.

Fennel, pear, endive, bleu cheese, pecan, parsley. A variant on that typical “white” waldorfy blue cheese salad.

Watercress, anchovy dressing, fried shallots, parmesan. I liked this one a bit better, it was bright and mildly bitter.

Corn bread, cheddar, shishito, cultured butter, honey sea salt. Dish of the Night, this unctuous corn bread had a bit of a green kick from the shishito pepper.

Amanda brought: 2004 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée. VM 94. Light yellow. A huge, room-filling bouquet includes suggestions of peach, apricot, mango, floral honey, marzipan and dried flowers. Deep in sweet orchard, pit and exotic fruit flavors, with a lush, creamy texture and a late note of tangy minerals. For a wine with such flavor impact and volume this is really elegant. The finish is powerful and sweet, with outstanding persistence.

agavin: sadly pretty oxidized

Octopus, runner beans, treviso, lemon aioli, salsa verde. Decent octopus, except for all that bean — not a bean fan.

Body of the octopus!

Scallops, figs, almonds, brown butter, date vinegar, thyme. This dish continues a trend of light colored soft stuff underneath everything. If you keep looking for it, you’ll see it repeat. There was very much a sweet and savory / soft and crunchy thing going on here. Very much another theme in the Hatchet Hall repertoire.

Erick brought: 1990 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Rouge. JG 92+. The 1990 Clos des Mouches red is still quite young, but it is beginning to blossom a bit and show much of the character that will make it a superb example of this wine when it is fully mature. The bouquet is a bit wild and brambly at the moment, with scents of baked plums, black cherries, venison, vinesmoke, bitter chocolate, herb tones, earth and a framing of toasty oak. On the palate the wine is quite full-bodied for a Beaune, with excellent focus and balance, a thick core of fruit, and fine length and grip on the moderately tannic finish. This wine has been quite closed for the last few years, but is now beginning to emerge from its period of hibernation. It could prove to be a reference point vintage for the Clos des Mouches, depending on how much of its youthful purity returns to the fold.

Chicken livers, onion jam, grilled bread, pickles, apple vinegar. Pretty good, but very chicken livery.

Chop steak, fried oysters, mustard frill, horseradish. This is a “classic” of the house, but I’m not sure I loved it. A little dry, and the fried oysters were a weird match.

From my cellar: 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. JG 92+. The 1990 Château Beaucastel is a lovely wine and is just about ready for primetime drinking, but will continue to improve over the coming five or six years and then cruise along for decades from that point forward. The bouquet offers up a fine blend of dried raspberries and red currants, roasted game, incipient autumnal tones (fallen leaves) and a potpourri of spice tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and a touch leathery in personality, with a good core, melting tannins and fine length and grip on the complex finish. Having had the good fortune to drink several older vintages of Beaucastel at peak maturity, my gut instinct with the 1990 would be to let it rest in the cellar for just a few more years and allow the last layer of aromatic complexity to emerge here, though it must be said that the wine is really lovely on the palate right now.

agavin: this bottle was a little on the bretty side

Collard greens, pork broth, pepper vinegar, chicken cracklin. Collard greens.

Charred turnips, apple, greens, bacon vinaigrette, pecan. The bacon vinaigrette was great.

Carrots, labneh, honey benne seed, cilantro. Nice carrots too — note the soft white stuff (labneh) underneath!

Beef fat potatoes, roasted garlic aioli, salsa verde. Solid taters.

Yarom brought: 1993 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch. 89 points. This was a sub-par bottle, unfortunately. Slightly disappointing. Less complex, not too much fruit.

Dave brought: 1991 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate. VM 97. What a thrill it is to drink Montelena’s 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that takes hold of all the sense and never lets up. Imposing and intense, the 1991 is simply riveting. The flavors are dark, intense and savory, but it is the wine’s silkiness that stands out above all else. Well-stored bottles will continue to drink beautifully for another decade-plus.

Amanda brought: 1997 Pride Mountain Vineyards Reserve Claret. VM 91+. Full dark ruby. Sappy, bright aromas of blackberry, cassis and violet. Powerfully structured, dense and tightly wrapped. The new oak component contributes to the wine’s impressive tannic clout. Still, this wine’s superb intensity and persistence suggests that the fruit will remain when the tannins begin to soften.

Lamb chops, bagna cauda, anchovy. These were great. Lots of good garlic yum.

The Chris Ringlands return after having spent a WEEK in Yarom’s fridge. Amazingly, they were still in decent shape, particularly the 2001 which was both good and while not as balanced as the previous week, still had tons of fruit! A monster!

Emil brought: 2011 Bryant Family Vineyard Bettina. VM 92+. The 2011 Bettina is a bit closed in on itself. Dark red cherry, plum, licorice, smoke and tobacco emerge over time. Today the 2011 is a bit compact, which is not surprising considering the vintage. With time in the glass, the 2011 starts to find its typical explosive, dark personality, but today some slightly angular contours remain. The blend is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.

Mushroom crusted pork chop, smoked lard, thyme. I didn’t like the pork at all. Very “piggy” and soft and flaccid. Some others at the table liked it though.

Chicken schnitzel, smoked bacon, mountain tomato gravy, thyme. Awesome dish. Like chicken parm without the parm. The red tomato sauce was great.

The dessert menu.

Hummingbird cake. Pecan praline, figs in bourbon syrup, creme fraiche whip. Hmmm.

Warm apple crisp. Brown butter oat crumble, salted caramel, vanilla bean ice cream. This was my favorite. An excellent crumble.

Bittersweet chocolate pudding, cocoa nib crunch, cardamon coffee glace.

Overall, Hatchet Hall had some really great flavors going on. The plating and presentation were solid, and the melding of North African/Middle Eastern flavors into the modern American was quite on point. Lots of flavor and interesting. Also fascinating how the Middle Eastern thing is downplayed in everything but the actual flavors.

Service was good tonight. They were quite nice.

Our wines were mostly quite good although we could have used a white or two (that wasn’t flawed).

Because this was across the street the professional gelatician in me just had to try it out.

Various flavors, similar kind of selection to what I do.

Peanut butter and jelly and key lime pie.

Billionaire brownie and brown sugar bourbon.

The ice cream had good flavor but was way too cold and crumbly. (good) Gelato is always better!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Foodie Club, Hatchet Hall, hedonists, Wine

Dialogue with an Epilogue

Nov01

Restaurant: Dialogue

Location: 1315 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

Date: September 28, 2017

Cuisine: Modernist

Rating: Tasty, but small portions and attitude

Dialogue is a new restaurant in the old Naughty Dog building on the 3rd St Promenade. It’s helmed by Dave Beran, formerly of Next and Alinea! It’s very small and solid only by ticket.

It’s on the second floor behind a hidden door in what I suspect is the hood space for the Wolfgang Puck Express (which I used to eat at 10 times a week in the NDI days).

The space is attractive, modern, and tiny. Tables are very close to each other. There is a small bar and a few tables, maybe 20 seats total.

Here is chef Dave Beran (in the middle). There is just a single tasting menu, no choice. Options of wine pairings and a $75 a bottle (gulp) corkage.

Tonight’s menu.

From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 96. Leflaive’s 2001 Bâtard-Montrachet (magnum) was intensely sweet, layered and pure. It was pure magic.

agavin: fabulous wine in perfect shape.

Springtime for Sean. Well, that’s all the description they gave me. A “salad” with caviar and some nutty foie paste? It was pretty good but kinda deconstructed in texture.

NOTE: By the way, NO FLASH allowed here. I hate that because my pictures really suffer, but I can understand not wanting the tiny dining room flashing all evening.

Roasted banana tea, browned butter, peanut. An interesting shot.

Blackberry thermidor, short rib, bone marrow. Very small, interesting textures.

Fennel, white peach, and rice vinegar. Microscopic. I don’t think I loved this dish. Gooey sauce was good though.

Larry brought: 2009 Remoissenet Père et Fils Montrachet Le Montrachet. VM 96. The 2009 Le Montrachet, from a parcel on the Chassagne side, is fabulous. Layers of exotic, tropical fruit flow effortlessly from this broad-shouldered, kaleidoscopic wine. There is plenty of freshness in the glass to support the fruit in this magical, captivating wine. I especially like the way this turns delicate, subtle and refined on the finish.

agavin: our bottle was advanced. Drinkable, but pretty deep golden with sherry notes.

Dragonfruit, scented with roses from early spring. This 0.75″ cube of dragonfruit was ridiculous and didn’t even have much flavor.

King crab, popcorn, orchid, earl grey tea. This was interesting. It really tasted of popcorn (not so much of crab) and had that interesting blend of dehydrated crumble and gooey texture. Pretty good actually.

Burnt lettuce that thinks it’s a peanut. No idea where that description fits in. Can’t even remember what it was.

96 hour koji plum, fresh yuba, thai basil. One of my favorite dishes. Very interesting flavors, very Thai in tone, but not in texture. The yuba is a soy milk skim I used to call “skum in a bucket” but I have always liked it. A very soft tofu skin.

Erick brought: 1995 Domaine A.-F. Gros Richebourg. VM 94. Deep red-ruby. Reticent but very ripe aromas of red and black fruits, licorice, truffle and smoke. Fat, suave and multilayered; less immediately sweet than the huge Clos Vougeot but more refined. A complete wine, with an uncanny harmony of components. Finishes with extremely fine tannins that coat the entire mouth. Totally different in shape from the Clos Vougeot: some tasters may prefer that wine for its sheer size and sweetness, but this is superb Richebourg.

agavin: very nice!

Squab, thai long peppercorn creme fraiche, begonia.

Bitter chocolate, cherry, preserved sakura. I have a friend named Sakura (I think it’s a kind of flower).

The sobering of rhubarb. This was actually a gold colored rhubarb fruit rollup. Tasted like sour cherry fruit rollup.

Choy sum, strawberry nahm prik, cashew. Like a mini salad.

Pork belly, nasturtium, strawberry sambal. I liked this dish. Interesting textures.

These are 2 of the wine tasting wines. I didn’t like them, too many herbal notes. Many of the tasting wines are blended with stuff like fruit juice and vinegar too. I can see how they might pair, but they aren’t really that enjoyable even to a wine geek (at least from these 2).

Black cod, yuzu kosho-beurre blanc, sea grape. Not bad but tiny fish dish.

Anthony or Larry brought: 1994 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque. RP 96-98. The great glories of this house are its Cote Roties, of which there are now five separate offerings. The single-vineyard 1994s were singing loudly when I saw them in July. All of them scored significantly higher than they did during the two previous years, which is not unusual as Guigal’s upbringing (elevage) of the wines results in better examples in the bottle than in cask. All three wines flirt with a perfect score. At this tasting, they reminded me of Guigal’s 1982s – opulent, sumptuously-textured, forward, rich, precocious, flattering wines that will drink well throughout their lives. The exotic 1994 Cote Rotie La Turque exhibits a dense purple color, and a fabulously-scented nose of licorice, Asian spices, truffles, minerals, and gobs of black fruits. Full-bodied, with great richness, a multi-layered personality, and an exotic, overripe character, this is a sensational, chocolatey, rich wine with more tannin than La Mouline.

Anthony or Larry brought: 1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque. RP 100. One of the treats when tasting through the profound Côte Rôties made by Marcel Guigal was the opportunity to taste all of the bottled 1995’s. Reviewed in previous issues, they are even better from bottle than they were during their upbringing (a characteristic of many Guigal wines). The 1995 Côte Rôtie la Turque is the stuff of legends and is every bit as compelling as readers might expect. This single vineyard wine will have at least 2 decades of longevity.

Everything is burnt. Not my favorite either. Tiny too.

The next dish came on a weird candle holder multi-tier “plate.”

French onion soup, rosemary aroma. Pretty good, did basically taste like a French Onion Soup tako-yaki.

Sebastian brought: 2006 Colgin IX Estate. VM 95. Bright ruby-red. Exhilarating nose of wild berries, wild sage, bay laurel and flowers. Wonderfully dense and sweet, but with an extraordinary light touch to the black fruit, floral and spice flavors. A terrific core of ripe acidity gives the wine outstanding inner-mouth lift and extends the finish, which builds inexorably. The tannins are firm but fine-grained. The best vintage to date for the winery’s estate vineyard overlooking Lake Hennessey, which was planted in 2000. In fact, this is extraordinary for five-year-old vines.

Memories of a tomato salad. Yeah. Texture of jellyfish.

Whipped Persimmon, lemon shortbread, hibiscus sugar. Interesting.

Ages of seedling farms apples, miso caramel. This was a nice dish.

An autumn morning.

A carrot pulled from the snow. It wasn’t cold. A candied something. Not that memorable.

Overall, Dialogue was “interesting.” Let me break it down.

Setting: Nice enough. A little cramped, but big kudos for being so close to my house and brave for opening a tasting menu restaurant on the 3rd st Promenade!

Food: Taste was all over the place from just “hmmm” to quite good. Per dish portion size was too small. They don’t need to be huge, but these were so small they left little memory of the taste. Textures were very interesting but sometimes the dishes felt a bit discombobulated. Overall food quantity was WAY too small. We had to go to second dinner (you shall see).

Service: Chef himself was nice. The Somm had quite an attitude. They rushed us out. There are 2 seatings, which I can understand from a business perspective, but they pretty much threw us out at the end even though we were still working on our wines. That just isn’t fine dining.

Wine Policy / Service: Limited wine list. Expensive ($175) weird pairings. $75 a bottle corkage. The corkage is a little high but at least they don’t have per table limits — a retarded policy I have lambasted before. This would all be okay if the Somm hadn’t made us feel like he was doing us a favor by allowing corkage. He was very stingy with glasses, complaining that they were going to run out even though we could see them on the shelf. If it’s really a problem they need more stems. We only had 2 each when he was complaining and $75 X 6 bottles really deserves more than 2 stems.

If they change their menu frequently I’ll try it one more time, but I think right now it would be best for couple or something. It really isn’t setup very well for wine dinners.

So being hungry we walked down to Capo!

The room was packed even at 9 something.

Steaks on the grill.

Unlike the Dialogue Somm this one was very friendly and the list is huge. I asked the Somm for a reasonable and older village wine and got this nice bottle.

2000 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod / Barthod-Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny. BH 88. Beautifully pure Chambolle fruit with good harmony. This too is quite supple and not especially complex but it is extremely elegant and fine. Essence of pinot character. Give this 3 to 4 years in the cellar and drink it over the next 3 to 4.

Bread.
Seb got sea bass because he was being “good” — or maybe because sea bass sounds like Sebastian :-).

Carbonara.

Ragu.
Buccatini with lamb ragu. My favorite!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Corkage, Dave Beran, Dialogue, Foodie Club, Wine

Foodies at Tsujita Sushi

Oct16

Restaurant: Sushi Tsujita [1, 2]

Location: 2006 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.231.1177

Date: August 30, 2017

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Classic Fish

A couple core members of my Foodie Club who all like White Burgundy and Champagne enjoy periodically doing great sushi with the aforementioned wines. This time Tsujita Sushi came up as it’s great and easy to book (I think it’s secretly a loss leader for their noodle chain).

Sushi Tsujita specializes in traditional sushi preparations that involve a lot of subtle salting, curing, and marinating.

The interior has been jazzed up since its previous engagement as Orris.

This is just a small event with Foodie co-chair Erick and regular Fred. But we brought good stuff, just opened it all, shared with the chef, and chowed down.

Fred brought: NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 164eme. JG 95. The 164th Edition of Krug “Grande Cuvée is absolutely brilliant and one of the best iterations of this iconic wine that I have ever had the pleasure to taste. This is not surprising, as it is from the base year of 2008, though the team at Krug utilized reserve wines all the way back to 1990 in this version. The final cépages is forty-eight percent pinot noir, thirty-five percent chardonnay and seventeen percent pinot meunier, with the wine spending eight years in the Krug cellars sur latte. The beautiful bouquet wafts from the glass in a blend of apple, white peach, fresh-baked bread, very complex soil tones, white flowers, incipient smokiness and just a hint of the caraway seed to come with bottle age. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and seamlessly balanced, with a great core, utterly refined mousse, superb focus and grip and a very, very long, complex and zesty finish. The vibrancy of the exceptional base year of 2008 is very much in evidence here and this is destined to be one of the all-time great Grande Cuvées.

From my cellar: NV Drappier Champagne Brut Rosé. JG 90+. As I noted in the past, the Drappier Brut Rosé is one hundred percent pinot noir from the estate’s own Aube vineyards and is produced by the saignée method, so that its lovely cherry color is from skin contact, rather than by adding a bit of still red wine to the blend. The cuvée is aged two and a half years sur latte prior to disgorgement and has a dosage of 7.5 grams per liter. The current release in the market is really pretty and stylish on the nose, offering up a vibrantly complex mix of strawberries, a touch of blood orange, chalky soil tones, rye toast, woodsmoke and a hint of clove in the upper register. On the palate the wine is brisk, full-bodied and focused, with a good core, frothy mousse, lovely minerality and a long, nascently complex and still quite tightly-knit and youthful finish. I was surprised how youthful the structure still was here, given how open the nose is at the present time, but it is certainly approachable today and should really blossom with a year or two in the cellar.

From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet. VM 95. Even though the 2001 Chevalier-Montrachet is five years younger than the 1996, it comes across as a bit more forward, evolved and open-knit, but that is not at all a bad thing, as the 2001 is more enjoyable to drink now. Layers of creamy, tropical-inflected fruit flesh out effortlessly in the glass. Scents of marzipan, chamomile, apricot, lemon oil and light, floral-infused honey all add further shades of nuance. Wonderfully complete and seductive, the 2001 Chevalier is a great choice for drinking today, although I would not push my luck too far beyond another handful of years at most.

Fred brought: 2004 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chevalier-Montrachet. BH 94. As one would reasonably expect, this is more elegant with a stunningly pure nose of white flower, citrus, orange peel, acacia blossom and the barest hint of wood spice that seamlessly introduces refined, complex and beautifully defined flavors that are tightly wound and impressively vibrant, particularly on the powerfully long and chiseled finish that cuts like a knife. This will be a long distance runner and will require plenty of patience.

Erick generously brought: 1996 Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonniers. 96 points. Amazing! Fred writes: Well hot damn if this didn’t run circles around the 01 Levlaive Chevalier Montrachet and 04 PYCM Chevalier Montrachet tonight. This was in impeccable balance between the acid and fruit. A much more precise wine than either Chevy tonight. My WOTN easily.

For food, we ordered the larger omakase (with more cooked dishes) and then added on pretty much every nigiri we didn’t get in the omakase.

House made tofu, vegetables, and truffle.

Smoked duck noodle soup.

With the light, delicious, dashi-based broth.

Super smoked toro.

Reveal the fish and bathe in the sumptuous smokey smell.

Really tasty bit of fish. Intense fat and smokiness.

Sashimi plate.

Ebi with truffle, some delicious tuna, and some other white fishes.

Toro tartar with caviar. The Matsuhisa classic.

Cool containers.

Eggy tofu ball?

Seared garlic wagyu — more or less tepenyaki.

I eat about 4 bowls of ginger.

Special Japanese snapper with yuzu.

Golden eye snapper.

Blue fin tuna.

Santa Barbara sweet ebi (shrimp).

The head, including roe, fried up.

Ikura (salmon eggs) and uni (sea urchin).

Squid with a bit of char taste and yuzu.

Ocean perch.

Black throat sea perch.

Amberjack yellowtail.

House smoked copper river king salmon.

O-Toro (super fatty tuna belly).

Seared scallop “roll”.
Miso soup.

Tamago (egg) with sea eel.

Marinated big eye tuna.

Sardine. I like the marinated ones.

Yellowtail belly.

Shiro ebi icy shrimp.

Toro tartar.

And a peach sorbet.

Plus a cleanser of sweetened yuzu juice.

Not only is Tsujita pretty spectacular, but for high end sushi the price isn’t too bad — i.e. it’s expensive but you get a lot relatively. I enjoyed the variety of fish and particularly the highly marinated ones. The cooked apps are very good too with a lot of flavor without heaviness. They emphasize fish and other proteins too avoiding that “veggie + dashi” thing you sometimes get with Kaiseki dishes.

Also, it should be noted that they have great lunch bowls — I go all the time.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Foodie Club, Sawtelle Blvd, Sushi, Sushi Tsujita, Wine

Alexanders the Great

Oct09

Restaurant: Alexander’s Steakhouse

Location: 111 N Los Robles Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101. (626) 486-1111

Date: August 28, 2017

Cuisine: Steakhouse

Rating: Asian fusion & some of the best steakhouse I’ve had

People have been saying that Alexander’s is the best steakhouse in the city and so the Foodie Club braves the most hideous traffic to cross town on a weeknight to…

Old Town Pasadena.

Here is the imposing entrance, right there next to the California Pizza Kitchen… lol.

The menu.

The manager set us up spectacularly in the private dining room at this awesome 12 person square table. SO SO much better than a long table.

Right next to the wine cellar too, which we didn’t sample from, but certainly revealed some great bottles peeking out.

Charlie brought: NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 164eme. JG 95. The 164th Edition of Krug “Grande Cuvée is absolutely brilliant and one of the best iterations of this iconic wine that I have ever had the pleasure to taste. This is not surprising, as it is from the base year of 2008, though the team at Krug utilized reserve wines all the way back to 1990 in this version. The final cépages is forty-eight percent pinot noir, thirty-five percent chardonnay and seventeen percent pinot meunier, with the wine spending eight years in the Krug cellars sur latte. The beautiful bouquet wafts from the glass in a blend of apple, white peach, fresh-baked bread, very complex soil tones, white flowers, incipient smokiness and just a hint of the caraway seed to come with bottle age. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and seamlessly balanced, with a great core, utterly refined mousse, superb focus and grip and a very, very long, complex and zesty finish. The vibrancy of the exceptional base year of 2008 is very much in evidence here and this is destined to be one of the all-time great Grande Cuvées.

Ron brought: NV Krug Champagne Brut Rosé. BH 94. Medium rosé hue. A cool, restrained and highly complex nose that is not especially fruity displays a moderate yeast character along with slightly exotic aromas of mandarin orange and Asian tea, all wrapped in an enveloping array of beguiling rose petal scents. There is very good richness with a relatively firm supporting mousse that adds to the impression of richness to the superbly complex and highly textured flavors, indeed one could aptly describe this as more wine that Champagne. As such this is indeed a sumptuous Krug rosé that is difficult to resist already though it should reward extended keeping if desired. As I noted in the original 750 ml review, that while I am not always wowed by the Krug Rosé, this latest incarnation in magnum is strikingly good.

An amuse of tater tot with a bit of cheese and whipped something.

Charlie also brought (blind): 2000 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard. JG 92. This was my first introduction to the wines from Joe Davis at Arcadian and I was very, very impressed with what I tasted. While the 2000 Sleepy Hollow chardonnay is not the current release from the winery, the estate’s philosophy of holding back their wines several years prior to release obviously is a testament to their commitment to producing truly cellar-worthy wines. This 2000 chardonnay is drinking beautifully and is at its apogee of peak maturity, offering up a deep and complex nose of pears, acacia blossoms, a touch of beeswax, lemon curd, a very pretty base of soil, citrus oils and buttery oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite zesty, with a great core of fruit, excellent focus and balance, fine structure and a long, complex and tangy finish that closes with a bit of citrus peel. This is a lovely bottle at its apogee, but still with plenty of life ahead of it. Impressive juice.

agavin: our bottle was premoxed and tasted like an 80s white burg. I actually enjoyed its nutty tones as it wasn’t very hot like some premoxed bottles.

Emil brought: 2009 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. BH 93-96. A cool, fresh and densely fruited nose of crushed citrus, green apple and mineral reduction gives way to seriously concentrated and overtly muscular flavors that possess a suave and silky mouth feel yet do not lack for an underlying reserve of power. This isn’t as fine as the Montrachet but it’s even longer, at least at present with a chewy character that provides evidence of the massive levels of extract. Even so, don’t buy this with the intention of drinking it young as it will require plenty of cellar time, at least if you want to see its full potential realized.

Ron Brought: 2009 Philippe Colin Chevalier-Montrachet. BH 90. This is aromatically quite similar to the Demoiselles though the medium weight plus flavors are bigger, richer and more powerful with even more dry extract that are given lift by the solid minerality though again, the finish is distinctly sweet. To be sure, there will be some who appreciate that sweetness but it’s too much for me.

HAMACHI SHOTS 3.0. dashi / avocado / fresno / ponzu / negi / arare. Very bright flavors and mixed textures.

DRY AGED TATAKI. wasabi mustard / charred ginger ponzu / crispy yuba. Strong ponzu tastes but it left much of the beefy flavors intact.

UNI TAMAGO. egg salad / potato chip / celery. The omelet (tamago) made a nice bed for the uni, a Japanese take on the uni egg toast thing.

GRILLED OCTOPUS. calabrian chili / honeynut squash / pickled onion / ink crumble. Tender with a nice char.

GRILLED PORK BELLY. golden beet miso puree / fennel / truffle balsamic. Lol, fried pork belly.

CHILLED FOIE GRAS. kaya toast / pandan gel / soy egg yolk emulsion. This was an amazing foie terrine formulation. We started with 3 of them and ordered 3-4 more extra. It was crazy!

From my cellar: 1985 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux. 95 points. Lots of bright red fruits and good penetrating acid. In fabulous shape.

Erick brought: 1991 Gros Frère et Sœur Grands-Echezeaux. 94 points. Deep and still youthful, although fully integrated.

(blind): 1996 Domaine Heresztyn/Heresztyn-Mazzini Clos St. Denis. 94 points. Beautiful and perfumed: spicy and sweet, baking spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, some meaty and savory. Somewhat similar to the nose on the palate – savory, meat, sweet spice, lots of 96 acid: tart but still enough perfume and depth. Finish is tart cherry and spice.

Vahan brought: 2000 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux. BH 92. A gorgeously scented and wonderfully complex nose of black fruit, spice and warm earth aromas introduce forward, complex, intense and seductive medium-bodied flavors that display excellent power, all wrapped in a sappy and largely, if not completely, resolved finish of excellent length. This is lovely juice that is could either be approached now with pleasure or held for a few more years in the cellar first as it has only just arrived at the front edge of its drinkability. Tasted several times with consistent notes.

agavin: most people here thought this was the best red burg of the night. It certainly had the most intense finish with a ton of fruit, just entering maturity.

The bread was amazing. The dark one was squid ink, then there was a cheese and a milk bread.

Plus some fabulous butters, Strauss Creamery butter, bone marrow butter with honey, and a rendered beef tallow!

KOSHIHIKARI RISOTTO. squid ink / shrimp / uni / braised celery. Great congee-like texture, really nice blend of fresh ingredients.

CRISPY PATA. pork shank / achara / vinegar soy / creamed taro. A whole crazy pig leg deep fried. Super crispy and succulent inside. Yum! Filipino style!

1986 Ritche Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. All of our old Cabs were in great shape!

1973 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. JG 93. The 1973 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was the second vintage crafted by the Richard and Peter Graff here at Mount Eden, and the wine is really very lovely and still right in its prime fully forty-three years out from the vintage. This was a small crop that was picked between October 7th and 12th and the wine was fined, but not filtered prior to bottling. The wine is showing beautifully today, offering up a deep and tertiary bouquet of cassis, cigar ash, complex, dark soil tones, menthol, woodsmoke and a touch of red curry in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and at its absolute apogee, with a good core, a wide open and inviting personality, lovely focus and balance and a long, velvety and very pure finish. Just a lovely vintage of Mount Eden cabernet in its prime.
The next bottle Vahan brought blind:

Vahan brought (blind): 1970 Cheval Blanc. 90 points. The ’70 Cheval Blanc has moved into the latter stages of its useful life, and while it remains a reasonable mouthful of wine, it has begun to drop a bit of its fruit and is more defined by its smoky and earthy characteristics today. The nose offers up a rather flat blend of anonymous black fruit, menthol, charred wood, tobacco smoke and damp earth. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, smoky and earthy, with solid mid-palate depth, but a rather flat personality that could do with a bit more acidity, but solid length on the rather tobaccoey finish. Flavor-wise, there is not much fruit left here, but the wine is not fraying or collapsing as of yet, but simply dominated by its smoky and damp earth character.

CAB PRIME RIB. until it’s gone / horseradish duo / natural jus. Soft and meaty.

With the jus.

And two types of horseradish.

AURORA ANGUS FILET MIGNON 8OZ. illinois black angus / negi salad. A nice filet. Filet is contentious among the carnivores. I have always liked it, but I’m not a steak guy. Some others prefer a gamier bit of meat.

MACARONI AND CHEESE. udon / caramelized mornay / truffle panko. This Japanese variant of Mac & Cheese was pretty fabulous actually. I liked the use of the udon.

ERYNGI MUSHROOMS. roasted garlic / thyme / lemon vinaigrette. Solid buttery mushrooms.

A selection of gourmet salts, mostly intended for the wagyu (below).

From my cellar: 1985 Leoville-Las Cases. RP 94. The 1985 is a gorgeously open-knit Las Cases with a sweet nose of lead pencil, sweet black cherries and currants, and a hint of underbrush and new oak. Medium to full-bodied with expansiveness, supple tannins, and outstanding concentration, this is a beautifully made wine that still tastes like it is an adolescent and may even have an even greater upside as it continues to age in bottle. The low acidity and sweet tannin, however, suggest it has entered its plateau of maturity. Anticipated maturity: Now-2018.

Michael brought: 2002 Palmer. RP 93-95. A successful wine for the vintage, this blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot boasts complex notes of menthol, black currants, plums, licorice, and a hint of cappuccino in its stunning aromatics. Dense, medium to full-bodied, with high levels of tannin in a big, full-bodied style (much in the spirit of such classic Bordeaux vintages as 1966, 1986, and 1996), this wine possesses superb purity and serious length, but should be purchased only by those with considerable patience and a good, cold cellar, since it will need plenty of time.

agavin: the baby of the night, but a great wine.

T-BONE 18OZ. grilled sudachi / chive butter / chives.

AURORA ANGUS RIBEYE CHOP 20OZ. illinois raised prime black angus / grilled lemon

BLUE LAKE BEANS. flash fried / garlic / sansyo. Awesome beans, like Szechuan green beans, but no pork. Reduced soy.

TRUFFLE FRIED POTATOES. truffle butter / togarashi / furikake. Solid potatoes too.

2000 Chapoutier • Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac. RP 95. There are approximately 500 cases of this wine. It is a large-scaled Chateauneuf du Pape that represents the antithesis of La Bernardine. This wine has been spectacular, and I have been a frequent buyer and consumer of this wine since the first vintage Michel Chapoutier made, 1989.

2000 Domaine du Pegau • Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee. RP 92. Fully mature, with a ruby/amber color that shows some lightening at the rim, it offers classic Pegau garrigue, olive tapenade, beef blood and wild herbs to go with a medium to full-bodied, seamless and resolved profile on the palate. It still has a core of sweet fruit and is drinking nicely now, so don’t make the mistake of waiting too long on this. It should be consumed over the coming couple of years.

Larry brought: 1998 Domaine de la Janasse • Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. RP 96. A bigger, richer wine than the Cuvee Chaupin, the 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is full-bodied, rich and silky on the palate, with classic Janasse notes of barbecue smoke, licorice, peppery herbs and smoked black fruits. I’ve been lucky enough to have multiple bottles of this recently, all of which have shown beautifully. There’s no upside, but it will continue drinking nicely through 2023.

Chris brought: 2004 Henri Bonneau • Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins. RP 95. Classic Bonneau with its knockout perfume of sweet kirsch, blackberry, saddle leather and roasted herbs, the 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins is medium to full-bodied, supple and elegant, with fine, sweet tannin on the finish. Showing more depth and richness than just about any other wine in the vintage, with a fantastic mix of aromatic complexity and textural richness on the palate, it’s drinking beautifully now, and should continue to shine for another decade.

滋賀県 SHIGA OHMI JAPAN A5. extremely rare / complex flavor / prized in japan. The first of the super marbled A5 wagyu monsters!

北海道 HOKKAIDO JAPAN A5. château uenae / farmed in below freezing temperatures. And even more amazing!

KING CRAB FRIED RICE. lap xuong / egg white / chive. Really great fried rice. Better than almost all the ones I’ve had at Chinese restaurants (and that’s a lot).

Special medal for the Hokkaido snow beef — only sold into 2-3 places in the US!

And look how marbled it is!

We were too full to order much dessert.

This intermezzo of tangy and sweet fruit and various textures was awesome.

Trio of sorbetti. Watermelon, strawberry balsamic, peach. All were way too sweet. Way too sweet. Texture was good though.

Various Petite Fours. Can we say wafer thin mint?

And a parting biscotti.

Refuse. Probably not even all of them.

And the lineup. They had a lot of stems too. Not all the same type, but even some Riedel Somms.

Overall, an amazing meal.

Service was knock down, drag out awesome. The manager and the maitre d’ took care of us personally, they helped design the meal, and really made sure we had an incredible time.

Food was really fabulous. I can’t really evaluate steak vs other good steakhouses as I’m not a steak guy, but they seemed up there with the best, but the appetizers and sides were both different and interesting (with their Japanese fusion) and extremely well executed. Every dish was pretty much awesome. Not all your typical American steakhouse stuff either.

Wines were great. Only major flaw was the premoxed Cali Chard (which I still enjoyed), and maybe a little bret on 1-2 of the Rhones. I like that we had old stuff. I’ve had too many of the giant young cabs recently. Nice progression too and well timed with our 6-7 waves of food.

Ordering (Emil and I did it) was spot on if very slightly too much. We reordered foie (even if it was great), ate a bit too much awesome bread, and maybe had 1-2 too many steaks — so there was no room for dessert. But better a bit too much than going out for ramen later! Price was even quite reasonable considering what we had, the service, and all that A5 (which has a steep premium).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (7)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: A5, Alexander's, beef, Foodie Club, Pasadena, Steak, Steak House, steakhouse, Wagyū, Wine

Persistent Providence

Sep18

Restaurant: Providence [1, 2, 3]

Location: 5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 460-4170

Date: August 7, 2017

Cuisine: Cal French

Rating: Awesome food

It’s been almost 3 years since I last went to one of LA’s few remaining “formal” restaurants and so the Foodie Club ended up back at Providence.

We chose the middle of their 3 fixed menus plus a couple of supplements. The supplements are pricey enough that it probably would have been cheaper to just go for the big tasting menu.

Providence mysteriously persists in a somewhat annoying corkage policy. They do have “no corkage monday”, which is nice, but it isn’t really no corkage, it’s “no corkage on 2 bottles but don’t bring any more.” We managed to bring a few more, but still they are sticklers with the limit. I don’t mind the corkage but hate the limits. Anyway, this wine was off their list:

NV Drappier Champagne Rosé Brut Nature Dosage Zero. BH 90. The color is paler than that of the regular brut rosé. A pretty and slightly more elegant nose features a similar aromatic profile but with more evident yeast character. There is fine intensity to the delicious and vibrant flavors that are supported by a firm and definitely finer mousse, all wrapped in a bone dry and youthfully austere finish where a hint of bitter cherry pit appears. This won’t be for everyone as the dryness is pronounced; I happen to like it but it would be fair to say that this is not a charmer. With that said, a few years of bottle age should serve to round off the austerity and add a bit of depth as well.

Amuse of spherized cocktail.

Crab bites in radish.

Gougeres stuffed with foie.

Skewers of tomatoes.

Will brought: 1990 Louis Latour Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Our bottle was very mature and subtle, but had a pleasant nutty character.

Chilled fruit “soup.”

Truffle foie bite. Best amuse, and an amazing (and rich) bite.

Fried “cigars.”

Tai snapper, daikon, ginger coriander. Very nice and bright.

Super normandy butter and salt.

I was trying to avoid the bread, but failed miserably.

Seb brought: 2005 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny. VM 90. Good medium red. Dark raspberry, coffee and spicy oak on the nose; this wine’s flamboyant ripeness almost came as a shock following the more reticent 2006s. Big, round, plush and ripe, with spicy dark raspberry and chocolate flavors and considerable density for village wine. Quite smooth and harmonious at the moment: Roumier volunteered that this is not as closed yet as he expected it would be.

agavin: very nice, albeit young.

Supplement of uni egg. Good stuff, but tiny (for $22).

Abalone, grilled avocado, tortilla, dill. Tasted like guacamole with some extra chew. A waste of the abalone and very rich.

From my cellar: 1993 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares. BH 92. Earthy, deep and wonderfully fresh fruit leads to dense, solidly tannnic, beautifully delineated and focused, rich flavors of exceptional purity and length. While the finish is firm, it is by no means hard and there is excellent buffering sève all underpinned by vibrant acidity. There is plenty of wine here but this is a wine for the patient and it should live for years to come.

Santa barbara spot prawn, summer squash, tomato dashi, opal basil. Very light and tomatoey dish. There was a very thin tomato broth poured in here later.

Vermilion rockfish, cranberry beans, buttermilk, chanterelle. Light and buttery.

Dusty brought: 2010 Promontory Red Wine. VM 95+. The 2010 Promontory is rich, powerful and intense, with a core of inner sweetness that is compelling. Today the 2010 is quite exotic in its aromatics, but is less available and forthcoming on the palate. I would prefer to cellar it for a few more years.

agavin: not a bad giant cab, but not really the right kind of wine for Providence which is more white and soft reds.

Supplement of black truffle risotto.

Black truffles from Australia.

And properly topped. A nice risotto, but could have been more mind blowing for the price.

One of the 3 entree choices:

white sea bass. Brentwood corn, pancetta, garden greens.

Another light wine:

Larry brought: 2000 Harlan Estate. JK 96+. The 2000 Harlan Estate is in a beautiful place today. Soft, open-knit and nicely mellowed by age, the 2000 is absolutely gorgeous, with soft contours to match is engaging personality. Mocha, black cherries, leather and spice are all quite forward in this succulent Harlan Estate. The 2000 might not be a profound Harlan Estate, but it is a striking wine that is peaking today and that should continue to drink well for at least another few years.

Liberty farms duck, pluot, shiso, ume.

A5 Wagyu. Maris piper potato, black truffle bordelaise. Rich and tasty.

2015 Nabor. Dusty made this wine and it was bottled roughly a week earlier!

Intermezzo of watermelon, green tomato, tomatillo, basil. A tremendous palette cleanser. Granite textures, really excellent.

The black forests of Nice. Sour cherry, cherry ice cream. Okay, but a little discombobulated. I think a straight black forest cake would have been better.

Petite Fours of pate de fruits, chocolates, and macarons.

This was a great night and lots of fun. I was so full from the butter factor and the supplements that I couldn’t handle the cheese course. Sigh.

The food was very good, but the format is long and heavy, and they do use A LOT of butter. After growing used to the more rustic and less buttery more casual places that dominate LA these days Providence does feel a bit old school. I still like the tasting format, particularly in Europe at playful top places like Azurmendi.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Foodie Club, Providence, Wine

Marino Ristorante

Sep15

Restaurant: Marino Ristorante [1, 2]

Location: 6001 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 466-8812

Date: August 2, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome. One of the best Italian meals I’ve had in LA

Restaurants in Los Angeles are constantly changing, opening, closing etc. One of the recent changes I miss the most was the shuttering of Il Grano — certainly West LA’s best Italian, particularly in the fancy/modern department. I really miss it – as it was one of my favorites and has 9 write ups on the blog (I think the most of any restaurant).
But the amazing chef/owner Sal Marino has relocated (back) to his original family haunt, venerable Marino Ristorante on Melrose and continues to cook up his unique blend of amazing modern Italian. And if anything, he’s gotten even better. Wednesday during summer is always tomato night, so tonight’s tasting menu is heavily tomato focused.

NV Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines. VM 94. A more than worthy follow up to the spectacular 2009, the Jérôme Prévost’s NV (2010) Brut Nature Les Beguines, is stellar. Bright, clean and focused, the 2010 stands out for its delineation and energy. Some of the more slightly oxidative overtones that are often found in the Beguines are absent, at least today. Instead, the 2010 is all about mineral-infused cut. Both bottles I have tasted so far have been outstanding. Prévost describes 2010 as a very difficult year with significant disease pressure. I am not sure how he did it, but the 2010 Les Beguines is fabulous. Cellaring for another few years will only help, but the truth is that this is am impossible wine to resist today.

NV In Florescence Champagne Champagne Blanc de Noirs Brut. 90 points. Not a formula Champagne. Small medium quantity bubbles. High quality. Golden yellow color. Enjoyable with or without food. A bit pricey but special.

Tomato “sushi.” Slices of heirloom tomato on Italian rice.

1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. BH 88. The nose offers lovely complexity followed by precise, somewhat angular flavors that unfortunately lack mid-palate density. The finish is also distressingly short and while this could still use some time to resolve itself fully, the absence of sufficient sève does not bode well for significant future improvement. In sum, this is perfectly good but hardly special.

agavin: our bottle was great and very young

Tuna tartar with tomato powder.

From my cellar: 2012 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. VM 93+. Light orange-yellow. Forward but racy aromas of tangerine, ginger, white flowers, sweet spices and medicinal herbs on the complex nose. Rich and round, but with lovely acid lift and energy to the concentrated flavors of apricot, pear and botanical herbs. Finishes long and pure. Not the most concentrated young Trebbiano d’Abruzzo from Valentini, but has a rich, ripe seamless personality that is hard to resist. Good to go right now but ought to age for 15 years at least. Really lovely wine.

Yellow tomato gazpacho.

2006 Remoissenet Père et Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. BR 90. As a contrast to the Bienvenues, the Bâtard has deeper but much tighter aromas. In the mouth likewise, it’s hiding it’s complexity. If there is one area where this pulls rank, it is the intensity of the mid-plate, but overall this is showing in a very tight way so gives an ‘easy win’ to the Bienvenues for drinking today.

agavin: our bottle was premoxed

Red tomato gazpacho.

Tomato and scallop.

Tuna and tomato.

Yellowtail sashimi with, you guessed it, tomato!

1999 Maison Leroy Bourgogne. BH 85. An expressive and nicely complex nose that is now beginning to turn to secondary with earth and subtle spice nuances that complement rich, round and sweet flavors that offer good punch and while this will be capable of additional aging, it is essentially ready now despite the still moderately firm finishing tannins.

Apulian burrata and tomatoes.

1998 Domaine Michel Gaunoux Pommard 1er Cru Les Arvelets.

Pizza with fresh ricotta and tomatoes.

1996 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes. BH 88. Old vines intensity shows beautifully elegant and pure Gevrey fruit mixed with intense earth notes which lead to very rich, delineated and exquisitely long flavors. This is not an especially big or concentrated wine but it is classic Bachelet in that it is perfectly balanced.

Fresh sardine, red peppers, and tomato.

Erick brought: 1983 Domaine Jean Gros Richebourg. 96 points. Very bright, no sign of rot, very powerful but not heavy, silky texture, great length. A wonderful complex Richebourg which could last for ages but drinks well now.

1993 Jean-Pierre Mugneret Echezeaux. 92 points. Medium red color – no bricking. PNP, drank 1 glass over an hour plus. This was the second time having the pleasure to drink this beauty in a short time. This bottle was just as good as the last IMO. Just great nose, so complex, earthy, funk, horse, so much forest floor here, rose, some metals, and deep red fruits. and spices The palate has great minerality, metals, savory, sauvage, spices, horse, deep red fruits, well integrated.

From my cellar: 2002 Gros Frère et Sœur Richebourg. VM 95. Medium red. Highly perfumed, ineffably complex aromas of strawberry, currant, bacon fat, cocoa powder, gunflint, coffee and smoked meat. Dense, sappy and wonderfully intense, with exhilarating flavors of smoked meat, spices, minerals and underbrush. Conveys a powerful impression of soil tones. Builds almost freakishly on the back end, finishing with a kick of spice and a flavor of pink peppercorn. A wonderfully suave, extremely long Richebourg that offers great early appeal but has the spine to develop in bottle for 10 or 15 years.

Tomato, pork, and rapini pasta on the left. Ravioli in a candy-shaped twist-shape on the right — fresh tomato sauce.

1994 Gaja Barbaresco. 91 points. brillant red color , red fruits and spices , after half hour also come the coffee and chocolate . On the palate is round with smooth but still perceptible tannins , it seem younger , great and vibrant acidity .

1998 Gaja Barbaresco. VM 91. Good deep medium red. Deeply pitched aromas of plum, mocha, licorice and dried flowers. Dense and chewy with extract; compelling, sweet flavors of currant and licorice. Tannins are sweeter than those of the ’99 Barbaresco. Finishes with a suggestion of nutty oak.

Swordfish with tomato puree.

From my cellar: 1982 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia. 95 points.

2000 Domenico Clerico Barolo Percristina. VM 90. The 2000 Barolo Percristina has held up well. It shows considerable freshness in its dark red fruit, leather, licorice and sweet spices. The French oak remains very much present. It’s hard to see the fruit lasting long enough for the oak to every truly integrate.

Octopus with squid ink and tomato.

1977 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. 94 points. The 1977 Montepulciano from Emidio Pepe is absolutely stunning and at its peak of brilliance at age thirty-seven, soaring from the glass in a magical aromatic blend of red and black cherries, wild fennel, botanicals, a touch of discreet tariness, roasted pigeon, a dollop of menthol and a topnote of woodsmoke. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and exquisitely balanced, with a rock solid core, still a bit of remaining, buried tannin, great interplay of bitter and sweet and stunning length and grip on the resolved and still very vibrant finish. A great wine that is absolutely à point today.

1983 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. 95 points. The 1983 and 1985 vintages from Emidio Pepe make great bookends, as both wines are fully mature and drinking at their peaks today. The ’85 is perhaps a touch more elegant, with the ’83 a shade deeper at the core and a bit more structured for the long haul. The stunning nose of the 1983 offers up scents of red berries, forest floor, botanicals, lovely spice tones, a fine base of soil, an autumnal touch of acorn, dried herbs and a topnote of spices meats. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and complex, with a fine core, tangy acids, beautiful balance and a very, very long, poised and classy finish that closes with excellent grip and bounce. Another absolutely classic vintage for the Pepe Montepulciano.

Wagyu beef with peppers and crushed tomato.

1961 Château Pape Clément. flawed.

1988 Château Rieussec. VM 90. Deep, oaky aromas of honey, coconut, vanilla and creme brulee Sweet and plump in the mouth; the flavors of coconut and tropical fruit are initially dominated by spicy oak notes. Finishes with slight heat (the alcohol is a relatively high 14.7%) but also excellent persistence of flavor. This showed more development of flavor as it opened in the glass.

Some gelati I made and brought from home: Cioccolato e Vaniglia Fiorentina “Old Fashioned” Gelati – a pair designed together with a shared double entendre. The vanilla is from a 500+ year old recipe, milk steeped with vanilla and orange peel. The chocolate is made with 100% Valrhona cacao and infused with Knob Creek bourbon and Angostura bitters.
The normal Marino menu looks great, but is certainly more classic than Sal’s special dinner fare like above. If you like adventurous modern Italian, I’d see if he can do a special tasting menu — likely he’ll be up for it. Or several people could put together something really interesting from the regular menu if they think outside the normal appetizer, entree, dessert box. But it’s with this kind of special dinner — and not to mention the great crew and our awesome wines — that Sal’s cooking really knocks your socks off. He is a nut for detail and ingredients. He grows tons of stuff at home — like over a 100 varieties of heirloom tomato — and really knows how to adapt and pair with wine.

Now I’m not normally a huge raw tomato fan, but I actually managed to eat and enjoy all these dishes which is a testament to how good Sal’s cooking is.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long food trips through Italy.

Or more crazy Foodie Club meals.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Marino, Sal Marino, Wine

Last Minute Shunji

Aug07

Restaurant: Shunji [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 12244 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. (310) 826-4737

Date: June 28, 2017

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

A last minute cancelation changed up the Foodie Club dinner plans — so we gathered up some Burgundy and headed out for Shunji’s omakase!

Shunji, which took over for the “Mr. Cecil’s BBQ” in this oddball looking building on Pico has developed quite a reputation.

At night, Shunji offers an amazing and advanced mix of traditional and modern raw and cooked dishes.

Chef Shunji Nakao was an opening chef at Matsuhisa in the day, then opened Asanebo, then The Hump (one of my old favorites). It has quickly risen to the top of the LA Japanese scene.

Marinated vegetables and jellyfish. Before we went I predicted marinated vegetables and dashi gel — this pretty much qualifies. But it was pretty tasty in a sunomono way.

Ikura. Shunji’s salmon roe is unusually sweet and delicate. Lovely.

Goldfish sashimi with radish. Yep, goldfish. Mild, but nice.

Seasonal fig, cauliflower, and okra. On the right, Opal eye sashimi.

A trio of Toro (in the back), blue fin tuna, and chibiki. The last was unusual, all three were great.

Gorgonzola tofu, honey, and cherry tomato. I’ve never had gorgonzola tofu before. It totally worked. Nice soft texture.

From my cellar: 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. BH 94. This is a much different and classically styled with an ultra pure nose of ripe but austere green fruit brimming with oyster shell and seawater notes that introduce elegant, pure and sweet flavors all wrapped in a beautifully balanced and wonderfully detailed finish that also displays some austerity. This is built on a base of pungent minerality and will require ample time to come around. A Chablis lovers Chablis.

Fred brought: 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot. BH 94. Fairly strong wood spice and vanilla presently mark the nose, framing the otherwise pretty white flower and floral aromas though there is plenty of mid-palate density to the rich, round, intense and powerful medium full flavors that despite the richness retain a fine sense of finishing detail. There is good minerality, buckets of dry extract and fine balance with almost painful intensity and superb finishing persistence.

Grilled ayu. A traditional sweet river fish of the smelt family. There was even an instructional video on how to debone it! Which actually helped. Delicious and sweet meat.

Our chef prepares the truffle rice.

Erick brought: 1978 Camille Giroud Beaune 1er Cru Grèves. 93 points. In fabulous shape.

From my cellar: 1997 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant. 96 points. Bright shimmering ruby appearance in the glass. Ready from the moment opened, and didn’t really change much over the course of several hours. Enticing nose of red fruit and sweet grilled herbs, a touch perfumed as well. Great purity and class in the glass, with loads of mature Pinot flavors alongside a gentle smokiness that added heft to the wine. A great showing for the vintage, no doubt.

Truffle rice! Both white and black truffles. Very mild and lovely.

Marinated egg.

The egg notches up the truffle rice.

Wagyu sukiyaki. Delicious!

House-made ginger. I probably ate a pound.

Needle fish or trumpet fish.

Here is the head to prove it.

Sweet lips. Ugly fish, tasted good.

Hokkaido flounder.

Amber jack.

Porgi. As you can see Shunji really knows his “white fish.”

Shimaaji (mackerel).

Sweet shrimp. Succulent.

The heads look on in horror.

Then become shrimp miso soup.

Seki aji (premium Spanish mackerel).

A rare fish comes with a serial number!

Stone snapper or maybe sea ball belly.

Belt fish.

Scottish salmon.

Barracuda. A bit smokey.

Chu toro. Melt in your mouth delicious.

Kohada. A bit marinated.

Tasmanian trout. Amazing, but like salmon.

Hokkaido scallop in nori.

O-toro. This bad boy was stunning.

Dueling uni. Santa Barbara on the left, Hokkaido on the right.

Roasted tea.

Seasonal fruit plate, includes mulberries!

Truffle ice cream and chocolate mouse.

Midori melon.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, easily in the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. This was a really great take on sushi kaiseki style dishes, combining both innovations with a solid grounding in traditional Japanese flavors and seasonal ingredients. There was some really unusual stuff too. I prefer Shunji at the sushi bar with a smaller group — and more nigiri — which this awesome dinner bore out. Sometimes the (non sushi) vegetable dishes are a bit too subtle, even if I appreciate them for their delicate dashi-scented ways. But Shunji is a master of the white fish and he has an exceptionally wide variety of mouse watering nigiri.

Service is attentive and excellent. Be prepared to open up the wallet as this is premium sushi — in a completely different league than your average Spider Roll — particularly if you go for the truffle rice.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Champagne, Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Omakase, Shunji, Sushi, White Burgundy, Wine

Newest Oldest Sushi

Jan20

Restaurant: Ginza Onodera

Location: 609 La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (323) 433-4817

Date: January 18, 2017

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Fabulous nigiri, expensive, not enough food

Los Angeles’ amazing homegrown sushi scene has recently been invaded by high end entrees from outside the city. I recently visited Sushi of Gari for some new style sushi, and Ginza Onodera is a Tokyo import using ultra traditional methods.

The decor is clean. Not as neat looking or stylish as Gari but bright and attractive.

The pottery is very artsy Japanese.

For wine, our small party, organized by Liz Lee of Sage Society, brought all high end late disgorgement champagnes.

Erick brought: 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut Collection. 97 points. Like a Grand Cuvee on fire. Rich, vibrant, with a complex maturity.

The sashimi dipping sauce.

Halibut sashimi.

From my cellar: 1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé P2. 97 points. Floral aromatic start with red berry, red cherry, and ripe apple. Similar flavors with intense concentration, finishing with energizing minerality. In fact very similar to the 1996 “P1” in the next glass, but with just “more” of almost everything good.

Liz brought: 1995 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé P2. VM 95.5. The just-released 1995 Dom Pérignon Rosé P2 is stunning. Young, delicate and vibrant in the glass, the 1995 has it all; expressive aromatics, crystalline fruit and fabulous overall balance. Cranberry, mint, hard candy, cinnamon and dried rose petals are laced into the super-expressive finish. The 1995 P2 is sweet and layered, but with lovely veins of chalky minerality that give the wine its sense of energy. A delicate, floral finish rounds things out nicely.
Comes with a super fancy box.

Blanc and rose.

Smoked mackerel sashimi. Lovely smoky flavor.

The chefs hard at work. Despite a frenzy of effort the sushi was so labor intensive it was about 20 minutes between morsels!

Baby barracuda sashimi. Certainly the best bit of barracuda I’ve had.

Out comes a typical Japanese ceramic container.

Caviar and uni custard. Egg custard is a classic Japanese dish and I love it — this one was particularly decadent with the caviar and uni!

Hokkaido taco (octopus). Very tender, with a nice bit of chew.

Monkfish liver. This monkfish liver was DEEPLY marinated in a sweet soy. It was probably the softest and arguably most delicious version I’ve had. Melted completely in your mouth.

Cod Sperm Sack Tempura. Soft and delicate with that fluffy brain-like texture of the cod sperm. Pretty delicious if you don’t think about what you are eating.

House made ginger. Very sweet and soft. I love ginger and this version was almost like a candy ginger. Delicious.

Goldeneye red snapper.

TLiz generously opened this second bottle:

1990 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon P3. 99 points. Spell binding bottle of Champagne. Disgorged in 2014, there was so much brioche here, I thought I was in bakery. There was a vibrancy and energy to the wine that keep all that pure fruit right out in the front. The effervesce was exactly what it needed to be with textures that promoted its beautiful finesse character. Worthy the money? That is another issue. But price aside, this is in contention for one of the best bottles of Champagne I have ever tasted.

Sardine with ginger. Very pickled and super delicious (if you love vinegar like I do).

Buri wild yellowtail.

Kohada gizzard shad. Another very marinated cut.

Fermented squid gut. Like a pasta in uni sauce. Very strong earthy fermented taste. A bit sweet. I thought it was delicious, but if you don’t like umami “aggressive” Japanese fermented seafood flavors and slimey texture it might freak you out.

Razor clam nori taco. Like a hand roll with no rice. Very much a charred flavor with a constrast between the perfect roasted nori and the crunchy/chewy clam. Very interesting and nice.

Blue fin tuna.

Two kinds of marinated fish roe with slices of daikon. Almost like charcuterie — fishy charcuterie. A touch sweet and quite salty. I loved these. Great texture contrast to between the crunchy daikon and the chewy dried roe.

Chu toro. Amazing.

Collar toro. A special cut from the collar (kami toro). They only get 2-4 prices out of the whole fish!

Chefs plating the next dish.

The covered bowl of miso.

Red miso soup. Earthy and appropriate on a rainy winter night.

Hokkaido uni sushi. Fabulously soft.

Eel sushi. The dry sea eel type I think, with salts and eel sauce. The eel sauce was incredibly sticky and caramelized.

Omelet is considered the measure of a traditional sushi chef.

Tamago (omelet). Very light and fluffy.

Green tea and sesame pudding? Whatever it was exactly it was delicious with a very strong wonderful macha flavor.

Special roasted Japanese tea.

Bags of pickled ginger to go.

Our executive chef, Yohei Matsuki!

Overall Ginza Onodera has a very strong distinctive traditional style. The rich is basically oozing with red vinegar and has a strong assertive quality — but it does stay together well. The fish was very aged and marinated and each piece of nigiri crafted so as to balance with the particular qualities of the fish. I can’t fault the taste, texture, or presentation of nearly any of the dishes. They were pretty spectacular. And I love straight nigiri. Individually these are much more enjoyable than the odd combinations at Sushi of Gari for example.

And service was warm, very Japanese, and excellent.

My issues with Onodera are a high price point (about $300 for food) / quantity ratio. The price itself is high, but not outrageous at all given the labor involved (and certainly not offensive like Urwasawa). But there is also a fairly slow rate between pieces (at least 15 minutes), and not ENOUGH pieces for my big nigiri appetite. I could easily have eaten 2-3 times as many. They might as well have just served me pairs. I would say that for pure nigiri QUALITY in volume this is the best I’ve had outside of Japan. Yamakase has some fabulous nigiri too but you only get a few (plus a whole lot of other dishes). Now I may be biased, but Yamakase is a “better deal” in that you get about 4X the calories for similar money. But it’s really a totally different (if both Japanese) cuisine as Onodera is pretty much straight straight sushi and Yamakase a modern creative Kaiseki. Still, if you want to experience the exquisite art of perfectly crafted nigiri — Onodera is the top right now in LA.

But we were so hungry we went afterward (after midnight!) to Korea Town for some hearty stew!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

The full wine lineup.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Champagne, Foodie Club, Ginza Onodera, Japanese cuisine, Liz Lee, Sage Society, Second Dinner, Sushi, Wine, Yohei Matsuki

Good Vegan? – Is that Possible?

Jan10

Restaurant: Erven

Location: 514-516 California State Rte 2, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 260-2255

Date: December 30, 2016 & January 9, 2017

Cuisine: Modern Vegan

Rating: Best Vegan I’ve had

Real Food Daily has been a Santa Monica Vegan staple for twenty-ish years, but it closed recently (I was not sad, it tasted weird and gave me gas). Instead, the brilliant Saint Martha chef has taken over, rebooted it into a market restaurant, and voila: Erven.

I went twice here in short order. The first time with my wife where we had 5-6 things and the second time with 7 Foodie Club members where we ordered the entire menu X 2!

The frontage is much updated.

There is now a trendy market counter with vegan treats for sale.

The two floor interior looks way updated as well, and stylishly, if economically.

Corn nuts. Came for “free.” These had a strong flavor.A pre meal snack. Very strong intense flavor, not super to my taste.

The menu. Reading this was hard for me because I usually look at the protein types — but here that was all pretty irrelevant!

Krug Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 94. The NV Brut Rosé is brilliant and finely-sculpted in the glass, with floral aromatics, pulsating minerality and chiseled fruit. Less austere than it can be, the Rosé impresses for its combination of tension and textured, phenolic weight. There is so much to like. This release (ID 213027) is based on the 2006 vintage. The blend is 59% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 8% Pinot Meunier. Disgorged Spring 2013.

Savory donut holes. of sauerkraut and smoky applesauce. Interesting. Like jelly donuts too (filling was inside).

Black garlic-chickpea fritter. with yuzu and Aleppo pepper.

2006 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Rosé La Grande Dame. JG 95. For both the vintage-dated and the Grande Dame Rosé bottlings, Veuve Clicquot uses their parcel of Clos Colin in the village of Bouzy for the still red wine that is used to add color to the final blend. The ’06 Grande Dame Rosé is comprised entirely of chardonnay and pinot noir, with thirty-three percent of the blend the former and sixty-seven percent of the blend the latter (with fourteen percent still pinot noir). The dosage is eight grams per liter and the wine is outstanding, offering up a pure and complex bouquet of tangerine, desiccated cherries, chalky minerality, orange peel and plenty of smokiness. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and complex, with a superb core, lovely focus and grip, elegant mousse and a very long, zesty and wide open finish. This is drinking beautifully right now, but will age very gracefully as well. (Drink between 2016-2035)

Sunchokes. with Catalan-style ketchup and garlic. Sort of like potatoes bravos.

Fried date pickles with Sumatran curry, pine nut and maple. Really interesting fried, tangy, sweet, combination. My wife liked them a lot too.

2002 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. VM 95+. Steely, penetrating aromas of minerals, crushed stone and vanillin oak. Wonderfully dense and broad, with a dusty, tactile texture and powerful underlying spine. Shows a superripe note of crystallized pit fruits, but the wine’s powerful acids give it great precision and penetration. A great young Corton-Charlemagne.

Hearts of romaine. with dill-tofu ranch, kohlrabi and poppyseed ‘persillade’. Salad.

Tiny beets with avocado mousse, curry-almond streusel and cilantro. Beet sorbet. Quite nice and interesting beet salad. The sorbet even added a temperature variance.

2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. VM 95+. Pale, bright color. A quintessence of Corton-Charlemagne dirt on the nose: stone fruits, lemon, iodine, ginger, minerals and mint, all complicated by a musky, leesy note that reminded me of a Coche-Dury wine. Then compellingly dense and penetrating in the mouth, with captivating, soil-driven flavors of raw pineapple, white peach, white flowers and crushed rock; a sulfidey complexity and a saline element add to the wine’s spectacular subtle complexity. Hardly a blockbuster but conveys an impression of great solidity. This remarkably precise wine coats the palate with dusty stone and leaves behind a suggestion of honey. My sample at Bouchard in early June was painfully young and closed though obviously outstanding, but this bottle, tasted in New York in August, was spectacular. (Incidentally, my following notes on the Chevalier-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte and Montrachet were from bottles tasted at Bouchard-also quite backward at the time-and I would expect my scores to prove to be conservative.)

Soft tofu with brussels sprouts, pickled garlic ponzu, lime cured onion and popcorn. I love this kind of soft tofu and this was like a combo of a traditional Japanese/Korean soft tofu and a Gjelina brussels sprouts dish.

Korean ‘gnocchi’. with chickpeas, okra, purslane and tomato-kimchi soup. The gnocchi was a little dense.

From my cellar: 2006 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. JG 94. The 2006 Pucelles is by a good margin the most sophisticated and pure of these premier crus, and seems to have avoided the ripe excesses of the vintage better than most of the wines in the cellar this year. The nose is deep and fresh, as it offers up a beautiful mélange of lemon, pear, white peach, spring flowers, a touch of both bee pollen and incipient notes of beeswax and a nice framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, silky on the attack and utterly refined, with a lovely core of fruit and no signs of heat on the long, crisp and very long finish. This is a beautiful bottle in the making.

Falafel. with apricot-ginger mostarda, dried olive and smoked paprika. A hair dry.

Onion bread pudding with mushroom chili, broccoli and spicy squash spread. Another interesting textural dish, nice flavors too, although I didn’t anticipate the beans.

Roasted carrots. with coconut, crispy lentils, Thai herbs, and tamarind sriracha. I really liked the frozen coconut on top and the vaguely Thai flavor profile that fell out of that.

1996 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant. JK 94. Airy, pure, elegant and extremely expressive as the aromas just float from the glass with rose petal and assorted floral notes. The mineral-infused, racy and finely delineated flavors are nuanced and textured though the backend has a somewhat dry and edgy quality to it that is highlighted by the racy finishing acidity. This is still entirely primary and should age well for a number of years.

Farro and black eyed pea ‘hot pot’. with braised greens, shishito, preserved tomato and onion jus. Tasty enough, but needed a braised meat!

Spaghetti. with baby shiitake mushrooms, brassicas and yeast broth. More like a vegan ramen or Asian noodle soup. The broth was good and the noodles nice.

2005 Louis Jadot Charmes-Chambertin. BH 94. An interesting nose of menthol, underbrush, warm earth and relatively high-toned red pinot fruit leads to fresh, rich, full and almost tender big-bodied flavors that are supple on the mid-palate before tightening up on the delicious, powerful and mouth coating finish. A quality effort that is more impressive than it usually is and worth a look.

Shredded cabbage pancake. with braised eggplant, chili hoisin. The waitress said it had the best hoisin ever — well no, not even close — but it did vaguely induce a feeling of Peking duck. Made me want some Peking duck!

Kale cavatelli with squash, oyster mushrooms, pear and tom yum gravy. Loved the yom yum flavor. Texture was great too with the bitey cavatelli. Really a pretty great dish.

Beer battered tofu sandwich with slaw, thick pickle and manchamantal. Kinda like a tempura fish sandwich without the fish. But nice and tangy and great texture. Really quite excellent.

Chocolate ‘liquid’ donut. with frozen peanut butter brittle ganache, huckleberries, and potato chips. Pretty good. I liked the peanut butter tone.

Black sesame cake. with passionfruit custard, cilantro sorbet and coconut meringue. Really nice and I didn’t even miss the dairy!

Chocolate cookie and frozen cinnamon custard ‘sandwich’. with toasted meringue and graham crumble. That “cream” was pretty good without dairy too.

The wine lineup, not bad for 7 at a vegan restaurant!

Overall, Erven was pretty cool. It felt light, and fundamentally the introduction of modern textural play and Asian flavors with the vegan concept really brought the flavor level up. There is so much mouth fireworks going on that it distracts from the lack of protein or fat — wow!

Be warned though, there is a lot of fiber. I’m writing this at 4am because the bloating is keeping me up! Erven will not only tickle your palette, but keep you regular too!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Erven, Foodie Club, Nick Erven, vegan, Wine

Molti Marino

Dec19

Restaurant: Marino Ristorante

Location: 6001 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 466-8812

Date: December 14, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome. One of the best Italian meals I’ve had in LA

But the amazing chef/owner Sal Marino has relocated (back) to his original family haunt, venerable Marino Ristorante on Melrose and continues to cook up his unique blend of amazing modern Italian. And if anything, he’s gotten even better.

The menu for tonight’s special Foodie Club year end dinner.

1996 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame. VM 95+. Deep, highly complex aromas of citrus skin, nutmeg, porcini mushroom, toasted almond and clove. Rich, dry and impressively deep; superconcentrated and oily. A chewy, spicy Champagne that seemed to grow fresher as it opened in the glass. Really explosive on the aftertaste, finishing with a clinging quality and powerful spicy, nutty flavors. A major mouthful of Champagne, at its best at the dinner table. Displays the combination of high ripeness and high acidity of this vintage at its best. This thick, rich, very powerful wine is still a bit youthfully disorganized and will be even better for a few years of additional aging. One of the standouts of my recent tastings.

Mexicola avocado and Dungeness crab. Eaten skin and all! Like a super fresh Italian California roll.

Snapper Tartar.

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. VM 94. The NV Grande Cuvée is absolutely stellar. This is one of the very best Grande Cuvées I can remember tasting. The flavors are bright, focused and beautifully delineated throughout, all of which make me think the wine will age well for many, many years. Lemon peel, white flowers, crisp pears, smoke and crushed rocks race across the palate in a vibrant, tense Champagne that epitomizes finesse. This release is based on the 2005 vintage and was disgorged in winter 2012/2013.

Amberjack & white truffle.

2002 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 95. Pale gold. Intense, mineral-dominated aromas of candied citrus fruits, pear, anise, smoky lees and chamomile, plus a sexy floral nuance and a hint of sweet butter. Palate-staining orchard and citrus fruit flavors show outstanding depth and energy, picking up chalky mineral and spice notes with air. Strikingly concentrated and precise wine with strong finishing punch and noteworthy persistence. This concentrated, deftly balanced Champagne is built for a long, graceful evolution.

Sawagani – wild river crab. These little fellows were live and scampering in the bowl.

Then flash fried. No longer live, they are eaten as a whole bite and had a touch of spice. Amazing crunch and flavor!

From my cellar: 2010 Borgo del Tiglio (Nicola Manferrari) Collio Friulano Ronco della Chiesa. VM 94. Borgo del Tiglio’s 2010 Ronco della Chiesa shows what this hillside site in Cormons can do in cooler vintages. Still bright, focused and intensely saline, the 2010 bursts from the glass with grapefruit, lime, mint and crushed rocks. The 2010 will probably be appreciated most by readers who like tense, vibrant whites. Next to some of the other vintages, the 2010 lacks a little mid-palate pliancy, but it is quite beautiful just the same. I especially like the way the 2010 opens up nicely in the glass over time.

Nantucket Scallop Crudo, citrus salad. Delicious bright. Awesome pairing.

Buri Crudo. Amazing Italian/Japanese slices of large Buri.

Persimmon & Burrata. Best Persimmon I’ve ever had. Sweet and soft and non of that weird dusty finish. Amazing with the cheese too.
From my cellar: 2001 i Clivi Brazan. 93 points. Geraniums and menthol on the nose. On the palate, pear, apricot, white flowers, and notes of pineapple and lemon on the medium finish, with good acidity. Unlike a previous bottle, this didn’t show any significant oxidation, and it held up well over two days without fading. Well-stored bottles with good corks should be good for at least a few more years.

Hokkaido scallop, sea urchin, caviar. Amazing combo of umami and rich flavors.

1976 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Clos Vougeot. 95 points. Amazing shape for the vintage. Lots of cherry.

1983 Domaine Pothier-Rieusset Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens. 92 points. For a Burgundy that should be over the hill it’s drinking nicely. Crystal clear and very light ruby color. Poured straight from the bottle but with a little glass time it really started to show its stuff. Quite fruity and approachable. Has notes of cranberry cocktail with a twist of lemon.

Pizza al tartufo bianco.

With shaved white truffles!

This was one amazing pizza slice. I could have eaten the whole pie. Super soft (fontina?) cheese.

1996 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart. JK 94. Fairly closed and tight nose of spicy black fruit framed in subtle new wood followed by medium weight, intense, relatively powerful flavors yet the tannins are elegant and quite fine. The overall impression is one of discreet breed and this delivers impressive if not incredible persistence. For the patient.

2003 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui. VM 91+. Full red-ruby. Brooding, superripe aromas of medicinal black cherry and cassis. Huge, chewy and backward; boasts impressive flesh and phenolic material but quite closed today, and not particularly sweet. This very rich but youthfully sullen wine finishes with substantial tannic spine. “Jammy but not cooked,” notes Gros.

Black Bass, stinging nettle, dehydrated olives. Great piece of light fluffy bass. As good as bass gets.
1982 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 95-100. I have had perfect bottles of this cuvee, but, perplexingly, the bottles from my cellar tend to be broodingly backward and require plenty of coaxing. This huge wine is, in many ways, just as massive as Leoville Barton, but it possesses a greater degree of elegance as well as unreal concentration. Classic lead pencil, cassis, kirsch, cedar, and spice characteristics are abundant in both the nose and full-bodied flavors. The tannins are still there, and, at least from my cellar, this 1982 does not appear to have changed much in the last 10-12 years. One wonders how much patience admirers of this brilliant St.-Julien will continue to exhibit. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050.

From my cellar: 1985 Gaja Barbaresco. ? points. This was stewy and very “mature.” I liked it, but many at the table considered it totally flawed — which it probably was — I just kinda enjoyed it.

Black tagliatelle Lobster. Home made squid ink pasta with chunks of moist lobster. Amazing.

Chef Sal Marino shows off his pasta dough. Eggy!

1998 Azienda Agricola Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT. JG 91. The 1998 Pergole Torte is a bit deeper-pitched and more black fruity than the more vibrant and red fruity 1999, but despite its slightly “cooler” profile, this too will be a fine bottle of wine at its apogee. The nose is deep and complex, as it offers up scents of black cherries, plums, a touch of bitter chocolate, herb tones, road tar, damp earth and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite tannic, with fine focus, a solid core of fruit and very good length and grip on the firm, chewy and well-balanced finish. The 1998 does not possess the same generosity of youthful fruit as the 1999 or even the 2001 for that matter, and hence would be a bit more difficult to drink before it reaches full maturity, but with its sound acids and lovely complexity, it will be a delightful drink once it reaches its peak.

Cassonetti, celery root filled ravioli, black winter truffle.

With the truffle. This was an absolutely amazing pasta. The melt in your mouth shells, and the slick buttery sauce with the truffles. 11 out of 10!

1985 Antinori Solaia Toscana IGT. VM 94. The 1985 Solaia kicks off a flight of Early Classics. I have had the 1985 twice recently and it has always been impressive. It is also very much a wine of its era, which is to say if anything, it is too polished. This was an era in which wines were squeaky-clean. Well-stored bottles still have plenty of fruit although further upside appears to be limited.

1990 Antinori Solaia Toscana . VM 94. Tasted next to so many other great wines, the 1990 Solaia actually suffers a bit. I am sure it would be magnificent on its own, but here it comes comes across as a bit one-dimensional, with less opulence than vintages like 1994 and 1997, but less structure than the 1988 tasted immediately before. Overall, the 1990 is a hugely attractive wine that stops just a touch short of being truly profound.

agavin: both were great, but I liked the 1990 better.

Chicken & Polenta. Local farm polenta and chicken. Super moist and soft. Usually chicken doesn’t have enough flavor to handle this kind of treatment, but this certainly did.

2002 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. Parker 94. The 2002 Redigaffi is sweet and balsamic in its expression of jammy plum fruit, elegant and ample on the flow and with an expanding volume, firmness, and grip which should guarantee maximum pleasure for another decade and a half.

Lamb Ossobuco. This was bone sucking good. Super rich, stewed and fatty. Ron and I were literally gnawing on the bones.

Wagyu tagliata, sunchoke, pea tendrils. East meets west version of the New York strip, but with Japanese breed beef. Grilled bread was amazing too.

Sal through in: 2004 San Michele Appiano (St. Michael-Eppan) Sanct Valentin-Comtess Passito. 96 points. Awesome complex sticky.

Panettone. This ain’t your grandmother’s panettone. It was more like bread pudding.

Ramen Roll Gelato, made by me. I brought these in but Sal’s crew plated them. In the front is Macha White, green tea with white chocolate. In the back my amazing Hazelnut Caramel with pure traditional hazelnut (made from Italian Hazelnut Regina paste) and house made caramel.

The normal Marino menu looks great, but is certainly more classic than Sal’s special dinner fare like above. If you like adventurous modern Italian, I’d see if he can do a special tasting menu — likely he’ll be up for it. Or several people could put together something really interesting from the regular menu if they think outside the normal appetizer, entree, dessert box. But it’s with this kind of special dinner — and not to mention the great crew and our awesome wines — that Sal’s cooking really knocks your socks off. He is a nut for detail and ingredients. He grows tons of stuff at home — like over a 100 varieties of heirloom tomato — and really knows how to adapt and pair with wine.

I had a lot of great meals at Il Grano, but this was probably the most on point of all of them. Every dish was pretty much a knock out. Bright fresh ingredients coupled with bright fresh flavors. I’m still dreaming of that truffle Cassonetti.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long food trips through Italy.

Or more crazy Foodie Club meals.