Image
  • Writing
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • About my Novels & Writing
    • All Writing Posts
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Scrivener – Writer’s Word Processor
    • iPad for Writers
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Books
    • Book Review Index
    • Favorite Fantasy Novels
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Short Story: Harvard Divinity
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • About the Book
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Games
    • My Video Game Career
    • Post Archive by Series
    • All Games Posts Inline
    • Making Crash Bandicoot
    • Crash 15th Anniversary Memories
    • World of Warcraft Endgames
    • Getting a Job Designing Video Games
    • Getting a Job Programming Video Games
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Movies
    • Movie Review Index
  • Television
    • TV Review Index
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    • A Game of Thrones
  • Food
    • Food Review Index
    • Foodie Club
    • Hedonists
    • LA Sushi Index
    • Chinese Food Index
    • LA Peking Duck Guide
    • Eating Italy
    • Eating France
    • Eating Spain
    • Eating Croatia
    • Eating Vietnam
    • Eating Australia
    • Eating Israel
    • Ultimate Pizza
    • ThanksGavin
    • Margarita Mix
    • Foodie Photography
    • Burgundy Vintage Chart
  • Other
    • All Posts, Magazine Style
    • Archive of all Posts
    • Fiction
    • Technology
    • History
    • Anything Else
  • Gallery
  • Bio
  • About
    • About me
    • About my Writing
    • About my Video Games
    • Ask Me Anything
  • Contact

Archive for Gevrey-Chambertin

Sauvages at Upstairs 2

Sep12

Restaurant: Upstairs 2 [1, 2]

Location:  2311 Cotner Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064 Tel. 310-231-0316

Date: September 9, 2016

Cuisine: Modern Tapas

Rating: Bright flavors and a lot of options.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Upstairs 2 is located just above the Wine House on Cotner. The main room serves an eclectic tapas menu, but as this was a special Sauvages du Vin lunch (always a lunch, always Friday) we gathered upstairs in the private room for a special menu and flights of themed wine. This time around Grand and 1re cru Red Burgundy from the village of Gevrey-Chambertin, vintages older than 2004.

Today’s special menu.

Flight 0

The whites are bonuses that various people brought – like me.

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros. BH 92-95. A classic Chablis nose of mineral reduction, oyster shell and green fruit aromas merges into sappy, rich and powerful flavors that possess more refinement than usual on the long, sappy and beautifully detailed finish. I’m impressed that this seems to have to rusticity and in this sense, it’s a bit atypical.

1999 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets. 83 points. Our bottle was “very” advanced. Golden and oxidative.

2005 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Mount Carmel. VM 91. Light yellow. Rich pineapple and lichee on the nose, with fresh melon and fig adding complexity. A real fruit basket on the palate, displaying peach, honeydew, tropical fruits and an exotic licorice quality. Picks up sexy baking spices on the long, juicy finish. I prefer the finesse of this to the power of the Seasmoke today.

The gang gathers in the private room. Amusingly, this was the very same room in which I took my Italian Sommelier mastery class
4.5 years ago!

Flight 1

1999 Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin. 92 points. Bright ruby. Very seductive and perfumed nose of first roses, then cherry, raspberry and a touch of roast. Somewhat tight on the palate, yielding some cherry and flowers. Gritty tannins with medium acidity and body. Sappy finish with medium to long persistence. Needs at least another 3-5 years to come together.

1990 Serafin Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin. 90 points. Black fruit with earthy hints, overall a bit firm and rustic. Nice fruit, length and balance, but I was surprised this was from 1990 given the wine’s firm structure and seemingly modest ripeness.

1996 Geantet-Pansiot Charmes-Chambertin. VM 94. Saturated deep ruby; one of the darkest ’96s I saw in November. Multifaceted nose combines black fruits, violet, licorice, espresso, smoke, gibier and sweet butter. The class of the cellar in terms of concentration, sweetness, finesse and length; in fact, today this wine makes Geantet’s ’95 seem almost heavy in comparison. Lovely roundness and clarity of flavor. Really explodes on the palate-staining finish.

1996 Dominique Laurent Chambertin. VM 92-95. Much deeper red-ruby color. Brilliant sauvage perfume of dark fruits, mocha and Chambertin earth. Very intensely flavored but folded in on itself; currently showing less texture and volume than the Clos de Beze. But explodes and expands on the finish, which features powerful, chewy tannins. A musclebound wine that will need at least seven or eight years of bottle aging.

Foie Gras Terrine. Burgundy-Pomegranate Reduction. Pretty straight up duck liver goodness!

Flight 2

From my cellar: 1998 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle. 93 points. Lots of cherry fruit and good structure. Quite delicious.

1998 Claude Dugat Chapelle-Chambertin. VM 89-92. Dugat vinifies two barrels of Chapelle-Chambertin juice owned by Philippe Livera and Butterfield & Robinson, keeping one barrel for himself.<BR> Higher-toned aromas of iron, earth and game. Penetrating and rather powerful, but a less fruit-driven style than the wines from Dugat’s own vines. Not quite as much material or nuance here. Soaking up the oak more quickly, and thus a bit drier on the finish. But still impressive.

1997 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes. VM 93. Deep red. Perfumed, nuanced aromas of cherry, faded rose, woodsmoke and bacon fat. Tighter and less showy than the last two bottles, but displayed sappy, intense red fruit flavors with aeration. A rarity: a ’97 with real finesse. Finishes very long and juicy, with unusually supple tannins for this wine, from some of the oldest vines on the Cote de Nuits.

agavin: voted WOTD (wine of the day)

1998 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine Collignon Louis Jadot.

Flight 3

Pan Seared Quail. Roasted grapes, poltry reduction, celeriac choucroute. A nice small game bird dish.

1999 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques. BH 91-93. Roasted ripe fruit that has a mix of red and black fruits, especially black cherry with wonderfully spicy, complex flavors that are both rich and dense. This is very ripe but the acidity is more pronounced which does a better job of balancing off the richness. Clos St. Jacques is almost always the finest Gevrey 1er chez Jadot and 99 is no exception. Grand cru quality and because of the richness, this will be approachable young but drink well for a long time.

1999 Domaine Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Fontenys. VM 91. Full red. Expressive aromas of raspberry, woodsmoke, tobacco and game. Sweet and pliant, with very ripe flavors of meat and tobacco. Showing more personality today than the Brunelle or Clos Prieur. Lovely ripe, harmonious acidity. Finishes very long, with fine tannins. This was delicious since the beginning.

2000 Domaine Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Fontenys. VM 90+. Red-ruby. Floral aromas of red cherry, licorice and tarry oak. More perfumed than the foregoing wines; tightly wound but very aromatic in the mouth, with dark fruit and licorice notes. Pure and fresh for the year but in need of aging.

2001 Domaine Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Fontenys. VM 91+. Full ruby-red. Pure, vibrant aromas of berries, cherry, minerals and flowers. Sweet, stony, minerally and quite firm, with refreshing framing acidity. ?A mix of old vines and very old vines from a very hot part of this vineyard,? says Philippe, adding that the fruit here came in with a relatively high 12.5% potential alcohol in 2001. Structured finish features firm acids and serious but supple tannins.

agavin: our bottle was slightly tainted

Pan roasted Duck Breast. Cauliflower Puree. Duck Demi-Glace. Some perfect bits of medium rare duck breast. Very juicy.

Flight 4

The partial flight lineup.

2002 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques. VM 94+. right ruby-red. Deeply smoky aromas and flavors of black and red cherry and violet. Less nuanced and expressive today than the 1er cru, but also boasts terrific freshness of fruit. Brilliantly primary wine, finishing with slow-building, extremely persistent flavor and superb grip. Give the 1er cru six years in the bottle, but hold off on this one for seven or eight. (Incidentally, Dugat opened a bottle of the ’92 Lavaux, no doubt to make the point that his wines age better than some critics believe. It was a knockout: at its peak right now, and more stylish and complex than 99% of Burgundies from this relatively early-maturing vintage.)

2001 Domaine Perrot-Minot Mazoyères-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. BH 93. This is much like the ’02 in style with a sterner and less elegant character but a good deal more power and the same masculine quality. Earthy, robust and slightly austere minerality and a mix of red and black fruit aromas introduce precise and brilliantly intense flavors that deliver outstanding length and simply incredible complexity. I rarely prefer big over fine but the additional complexity and depth of material make this a better wine and this is just flat out wonderful.

2002 Domaine Perrot-Minot Mazoyères-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. VM 92. Good deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines black fruits, minerals and coffee. Richer and more tactile than the Charmes but not sweeter; more massive and powerful. This boasts very strong fruit without coming across as overly sweet or heavy. A wine of compelling length, with the well-buffered tannins coating the entire palate.

2002 Louis Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin. VM 90-93. Good bright ruby-red. High-toned roasted fruits, licorice, violet and sweet oak on the nose. Sweet, supple and creamy, with fruit currently dominated by an exotic coconutty oak quality. A second barrel showed even riper aromas and superb richness.

2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. VM 92. Ruby-red. Wild, musky aromas of strawberry, minerals and smoky oak. Wonderfully silky on entry, then suave and aristocratic in the middle palate. Very subtle flavors build impressively on the sweet finish, which features very fine tannins.

Grilled Alpine NY Strip. Gratin of Root Vegetables. Haricot Verts. Truffle Jus. I loved the meat and “potatoes” quality of this dish — particularly that the potatoes were rich and cheesy.

Expresso Ice Cream. A nice creamy bit of ice cream clearly made with real expresso beans.

The lineup.

Overall Upstairs 2 did an awesome job with this dinner. Wine service was good and the food was a fowl collection of tasty morsels. Sorry, couldn’t resist. We had only 1-2 flawed wines and a lot of great showings from Gevrey, particularly the 90s wines. Sauvages is always a great time.

Related posts:

  1. Sauvages at Drago
  2. Sauvages at Oliverio
  3. Sauvages in the Forest
  4. Sauvages – East Borough
  5. Sauvage Spago
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burgundy, Gevrey-Chambertin, Red Burgundy, Sauvages, Upstairs 2, Wine

San Fran – Jardinere

Feb24

Restaurant: Jardinere

Location: 300 Grove St. San Francisco, CA 94102. (415) 861-5555

Date: February  9, 2012

Cuisine: California French

Rating: Solid flavors

_

We left the reservation aspect  of our  San Francisco trip to a bit late. S.F. diners, it seems, make their reservations early. Besides, we were traveling with my 3-year-old, so long involved tasting menus were not an option. Sigh. Coi  even had availability. In any case, we ended up at this overpriced but tasty California French. Although not pictured, the dining room is lovely in one of those ornate between  the wars styles.


“Pierre Gelin, Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos de Meixvelle” 2007.” This turned out to be an excellent example of young Burgundy. Bright notes of berries I soft round charm.


The menu changes frequently.


“Roasted Butternut Squash Soap, herb goat cheese, prosciutto and spiced pepitas.” The specific soup pictured did not  include  the ham.


“mushroom cappuccino.”  One of our diners did not order  the 1st course and  received this as a free substitute.


“Venison Tartare, cara cara orange, celery root and mustard seed.” I’m totally becoming a Tartar addict.


“Carnaroli Risotto, Delta Asparagus, English Peas and Parmiggiano-Reggiano.”


“Liberty Farms Duck Breast, Savoy Cabbage, Preserved Kumquats and Farro.”  Perfectly rare.


Homemade pasta with tomatoes for my son.


And the all-important cheese.


The dessert menu.


“Bonne Bouche Platter. Crème Brûlée, Opera Cake, Petite Tarts, Cookies, Fruit Jellies, Chocolate Truffles and Candies.”  A bit of everything — and in a good way.


“Bearss Lime Cake. Coconut Crème, Margarita Sorbet and Salt Air.”  Basically deconstructed piña colada.

Overall, this was a good meal. The price tag reflected the location near the theater and the ornate dining room. The food was not stunningly guard, but it was on point.

For more San Fran dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. San Fran – Kokkari
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Chocolate truffle, Crème Brûlée, Food, Gevrey-Chambertin, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area

Josie Restaurant

May04

Restaurant: Josie Restaurant

Location:  2424 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, Ca 90405. 310-581-9888

Date: April 30 & December 30, 2011

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Very reliable and tasty New American

ANY CHARACTER HERE

We go to Josie’s a couple times a year. The menu is pretty solidly in the mid 90s New American, and it doesn’t evolve very much, but it is very good and quality control is excellent. There is an emphasis of farmer’s market ingredients and interesting game meats too.


The bread.

Parker 92. “Bachelet’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes – from 60- to 70-year-old vines both below the route nationale and north of Gevrey in Brochon – offers lovely black fruit aromas with hints of anise and mint. A truly palate-staining intensity of vividly-fresh, tart but ripe black cherry and blackberry is underlain by firm, fine tannins (not precluding an emerging silkiness of texture) and augmented by bitter-herbal and stony notes. Although palpably dense and abundantly tannic, this outstanding village wine still comes off as juicy, sleek, invigorating and refined. Put it away for at least 5-7 years.”

I have been coming here since at least 1997 or 1998 and the Amuse, this gruyere and mushroom quiche never changes. Now it’s tasty, but I do find it odd that they NEVER mix anything up :-).

The appetizer half of the menu.


“Beet and Herbed Goat Cheese Tart. Sweetheart beets, toasted Oregon hazelnuts, baby mizuna.” Tastes as good as it looks.


This was a special. White asparagus (just come into season), gnochi, all in a butter sauce with a bit of cheese. The sauce is much like the classic Italian butter and sage sauce.


A special, mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce with a puff pastry. I love those sherry cream sauces, like bisque with even more butter.


This small but excellent Bordeaux was also from my cellars. “Grand Mayne is one of St.-Emilion’s best-run properties. Aside from a couple of hiccups in the early nineties, the quality has been consistently excellent, often outstanding. The 1996 Grand Mayne exhibits a dense purple color, and an attractive nose of white flowers, sweet blackberries, cherries, minerals, and pain grille. It is medium to full-bodied, with excellent depth, an elegant personality, and a clean, mineral-like finish with moderate tannin. New oak is noticeable in the flavors. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2014.”


This was a split (half bottle) and the restaurant even had a mini decanter!


The mains.


Another special, salmon with spring peas, tomatoes, etc. A very nice seasonal take on the salmon, cooked perfectly through.


Trout in lemon butter sauce with local market vegetables.


And another special, a duck leg stuffed with duck confit, little gnocchi, and a meaty reduction sauce. This was a really nice duck dish.


“‘Tagine’ of Beef Short Ribs. Braised Moroccan-style and served with curried cous cous and a side of spicy almond yogurt.” I’ve probably ordered this dish 15-20 times, and it never disappoints.


The little cracker.


And the almond yoghurt underneath.


Notice how much I left of it. I love the mix in this dish. The savory richness of the meat, the soft cous cous, the bit of cream and yoghurt (always good with a heavy meat), the slightly spiced (but not spicy flavor). Yum!


The desserts.


“Chocolate Bread Pudding. Whipped cream, vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate sauce.” About as good as a bread pudding gets. Very similar in fact to the one at Sam’s by the Beach. This one is even more chocolaty though.


Super yum!

Josie’s doesn’t disappoint. It does mystify me slightly why there is so little change in the menu, considering particularly that the quality is so high. I mean, the supplementary vegetables move around with the seasonal and market changes, but the basic list of dishes doesn’t vary much, and I’ve been coming here well over ten years. Personally, if I was in the kitchen everyday I’d be bored. However, seeing as I come 2-3 times a year, I’m all over it.

If you liked this New American, click for reviews of similar places: Rustic Canyon (REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2), Tavern (REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2, REVIEW 3), or Gjelina (REVIEW).

Related posts:

  1. La Cachette Bistro part deux et trois
  2. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  3. Red Medicine is the Cure
  4. Upstairs 2 – Modern Tapas, Lots of Wine
  5. Piccolo – A little Italian
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, beets, Brochon, Cooking, Dessert, Gevrey-Chambertin, Old vine, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, Salmon, Sandwiches, Short rib, side dishes, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors

Passover Seder 2011 – day 1

Apr21

April rolls around and it’s seder time again, the ritual dinner celebrating the exodus from Egypt. As usual, things have to be done in full Gavin style.

Various ingredients. There are all sorts of traditional requirements to this meal, the most significant of which is an avoidance of any leavening agents, yeast, etc.

Parker 92. “Bachelet’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes – from 60- to 70-year-old vines both below the route nationale and north of Gevrey in Brochon – offers lovely black fruit aromas with hints of anise and mint. A truly palate-staining intensity of vividly-fresh, tart but ripe black cherry and blackberry is underlain by firm, fine tannins (not precluding an emerging silkiness of texture) and augmented by bitter-herbal and stony notes. Although palpably dense and abundantly tannic, this outstanding village wine still comes off as juicy, sleek, invigorating and refined. Put it away for at least 5-7 years.”

Parker 94. “The profound 1997 Barolo Bussia boasts intense aromas of molasses, cherry liqueur, melted tar, licorice, and toast. Dense and full-bodied, with enormous quantities of glycerin and fat, this hedonistic, thick, viscous Barolo can be drunk now and over the next 15-16 years.”

And for those who crave the old school sweet and alcohol finish of the classic kosher wine, the Kesser. No vintage listed or needed.

This is a traditional seder plate. It contains each of the ritual elements of the dinner. Starting at the egg on the right and heading clockwise. Egg, horseradish, lamb shank, lettuce, horoset, parsley.

Hard boiled eggs. Dipped in salt water before eating.

A glass of wine is left for Elijah, the prophet. He gets the cool cup.

Parsley, dipped in salt water.

Matzah, or unleavened bread. When the Israelites escaped from the Pharoah Ramses (check out Exodus if you aren’t clued in on that) there was no time to leaven the bread. So matzah, an unleavened cracker, is eaten in symbol remembrance.

More traditional accompaniments. At the top, Horoset (mixture of apples, nuts, and spices — homemade of course), the green is parsley, the pink stuff horseradish with beets, the white atomic horseradish! Mind bendingly potent. The water in front is salt water.

Another seder plate.

Matzah is traditionally eaten with the horseradish and horoset. This is called the Hillel sandwich, for more on that click here.

Gefilte fish. This is housemade from Pico Kosher Deli. It’s various chopped fish, boiled. A sort of unfried chicken McNugget of the fish world. Yummy with horseradish.

A big dinner requires a big pot.

Matzah balls prior to cooking.

The matzah ball soup. A very tasty vegetable/chicken stock with… matzah balls.

Start of the stuffing for the chicken.

The stuffing. Onions, matzah, peppers, etc.

The stuffed chickens.

On the BBQ. The grill is really the best way to cook whole chickens. You do need something like this foil to protect the bird from the direct heat.

The spread.

The plated chicken and stuffing.

Potato kugel.

Carrot fritters and pesto.

The salad and dressing.

My plate. You can compare to the litany of Thanksgiving plates.

The dessert spread.

The sponge cake in its early stages. Because no leavening agents are allowed, sponge cake is traditional. It’s fluffed up with egg.

It’s served with strawberry sauce (basically strawberries and sugar).

Fruit slices, also traditional.

Cookies.

Matzah, coated in chocolate and carmel.

Home toasted almonds.

The flour-less chocolate torte.

Iced.

Iced, decorated with almonds and chocolate dust.

With finished decoration.

Very full!

To see day 2 of passover, click here.

Related posts:

  1. The Hillel Sandwich
  2. Red Medicine is the Cure
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chicken, Dessert, Donnhoff, Egypt, Elijah, Gevrey-Chambertin, Horseradish, Israelites, Jew, Jews, last supper, Leavening agent, Matzah ball, Matzo, Passover, Passover Seder, Seder, The Exodus, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors

Totoraku – Secret Beef!

Apr09

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3]

Location: 10610 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Date: April 7, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

Six or seven years ago my friend and then-boss Shuhei Yoshida took me for the first time to the “secret beef” place. He warned me. It’s hard to find, is unlabeled, there are no walk-ins, and the door is often locked. I’ve been back at least 6-8 times since and am now friendly with chef/owner Kaz Oyama. This place is invitation only. Some one in the party needs to know Oyama-san (that would be me this time). It serves a very refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

This particular meal is the March Foodie Club meeting. And yeah, we’re late by a week (for March). We took eight people.

The outside is basically a shell. The “Teriyaki House” has nothing to do with the food within, and the phone number is incorrect.

The “decor,” is almost amusingly spartan (ugly actually). Nor is this a big place.

One of my favorite things about Totoraku is that the wine is all BYOB, hence no corkage, and the food (being mostly beef) goes so spectacularly with big red wines. You can see some of the bottles left over from previous guests, many of which are of the very highest level. We’re talking 1945 Petrus, La Tache, or Hommage du Jacques Perrin.

The wine prepped in my cellar and ready to go.

This unusual Spanish white earn 92 from Parker, “The 2007 Gorvia Blanco was sourced from a single 3 acre vineyard planted exclusively to the indigenous variety Dona Blanca (used in the past mostly for grappa production or as a table grape). Medium straw-colored, it reveals aromas of apple, pear, slate/mineral, citrus, and acacia. Crisp, concentrated, and intense (in the style of top-level unoaked Chablis), in the mouth it is vibrant, complex, and impeccably balanced. It should provide both intellectual and sensual pleasure for another 5-6 years.”

There are three dipping sauces. Left to right, a sweet teriyaki-style sauce, lemon juice, and light soy sauce.

The impressive looking appetizer spread. This is for four people. Everyone gets a bite sized bit of each.

Pear with prosciutto. Very sweet and soft, with a hint of salty.

Black sesame tofu. Highly unusual and delicious. Nutty, gooey and chewy.

Akimo (monk fish liver). Some of the best I’ve had, very soft and not very fishy.

Vegetable jelly. Interesting texture, tasted like… vegetables.

Sockeye salmon wrapped in jicama, with avocado and a kind of soba.

Fresh steamed abalone on zenmai Japanese royal fern), a sansai, or mountain vegetable. Delicious. Very tender abalone, and the vegetables nicely pickled and earthy.

Kohlrabi in a kind of potato salad like prep. Excellent crunchy texture and a nutty flavor.

Hard boiled qual egg stuffed with code row and crab. Tasted like a deviled egg!

Shrimp on endive with caviar. The endive lent a nice crunch and slightly bitter tang.

I always like to start the reds with Burgs. Parker gives this 92, “Bachelet’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes – from 60- to 70-year-old vines both below the route nationale and north of Gevrey in Brochon – offers lovely black fruit aromas with hints of anise and mint. A truly palate-staining intensity of vividly-fresh, tart but ripe black cherry and blackberry is underlain by firm, fine tannins (not precluding an emerging silkiness of texture) and augmented by bitter-herbal and stony notes. Although palpably dense and abundantly tannic, this outstanding village wine still comes off as juicy, sleek, invigorating and refined. Put it away for at least 5-7 years.”

Beef carpaccio with special salt, flowers, and some onion family derivative. Very yummy. This is eaten raw.

Two kinds of beef sashimi, eaten nearly raw. On the left beef tataki (rib eye) and on the right (in the cup) beef throat sashimi. Also on the plate is a bit of Korean style hot sauce (the red stuff), some intensely strong garlic (yum) and micro julienned ginger.

The throat was very chewy, more about texture. The rib eye soft and more flavorful. All went well with the garlic and ginger — I particularly liked the garlic.

Homemade smoked beef tongue. Tasted just like a good pastrami.

A raw beef dish. Marinated raw beef is seen here with ginger, raw egg, cucumber, daikon, pine nuts, and something orange. Apparently, this is a Korean dish called Yukhoe. Actually, I’ve had it at Korean places, but in any case it’s delicious.

The elements are mixed together and then eaten. It’s hard to describe why it’s so good, but it is, with a very complex flavor and texture interplay.

I went to this vineyard in 2009 and convinced the owner to sell me a case of this spectacular old vine, but little known (and little made) wine before it was even released. He had to put the labels on hismelf. Parker 96. “The top effort, the 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau Fleur de Confiance, is awesome. An inky/blue/black color is followed by a stunning bouquet of scorched earth, incense, blackberry jam, coffee, and spice. This full-bodied, massive, stacked and packed Rasteau is destined for two decades of life. Its sweet tannin and textured mouthfeel are compelling. Give it 2-4 years of cellaring and consume it over the following 20 years.”

Chef/Owner Kaz Oyama, fleeing from the “paparazzi” with a glass of the Rasteau.

The raw is finished, and so out come these humble little BBQs.

Beef tongue with salt.

So many moo-less cows.

BBQ to perfect, and add a bit of scallions, then dip in lemon juice and enjoy. This is about the most tender tongue I’ve had (and I’ve had plenty). It’s still a dense slightly rubbery texture, but delicious.

Filet Mignon with bell peppers, onions, and sisho pepper.

These are all grilled up. You can eat the beef however you like, I prefer rare to medium rare. The peppers even had a bit of heat, but not so much, but a delicious flavor.

The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon.

They are served with this spicy sweet miso dip. The vegetables do help to move along the fat and protein heavy meat.

Momotaro tomatoes with a vinaigrette. These are supposedly incredibly good tomatoes, as a hater, I didn’t try them. I think Oyama-san gets them from some special place in Orange Country.

Parker gives this blockbuster 96 points. “The 2008 Flor de Pingus had been in bottle for 2 weeks when I tasted it. It offers up an enticing nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it displays outstanding volume, intensity, and balance. Rich, dense, and succulent, it has enough structure to evolve for 4-5 years and will offer prime drinking from 2015 to 2028.”

I had asked special if we could get a bit of seafood thrown in just to “break up” the meat. These are nice jumbo shrimp.

Shrimp on the barbi!

Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.

Cooked here with the scallions.

To medium rare. Then eaten with the sweet sauce. Personally I like this better than the filet as it’s fattier and has more flavor. It’s slightly less uniform in texture.

Chilean sea bass with a bit of dressing and peppers. Tasty, but not as fantastic as the beef.

Sashimi grade salmon with pepper and lemon. Simple, but the fish was so good it was delicious.

Inside rib eye.

It’s hard to compare the inside and the outside. I think the outside might have been very slightly better.

“Special” beef. I think it was a form of sirloin. It was certainly good, very salted.

A little early for this massive Parker 98. “The 2007 Espectacle is 100% Garnacha sourced from 120-year-old vines located at La Figuera on the northern edge of the Montsant DO. The vineyard is managed by Rene Barbier’s Clos Mogador team and is aged in one 4000-liter vat at Celler Laurona. The 2007 Espectacle reveals a sexy bouquet of mineral, Asian spices, incense, truffle, and black cherry compote. This leads to a full-bodied, plush, succulent, impeccably balanced wine which admirably combines elegance and power. It will evolve effortlessly for several more years and have a drinking window extending 2013 to 2022 if not longer. It is Montsant’s benchmark wine and a world-class expression of old-vine Garnacha.”

Short rib. Close to the Korean galbi. This is way more tender than what you’d get a typical Korean BBQ house and was my favorite of all the cooked meats. It’s also probably the richest — go figure!

Raw.

Less raw. Goes in the sweet sauce — yum!

Skirt steak.

This is a tasty but sometimes tough cut. Not here, soft as butter.

A bit of a “bonus round” with left to right, short rib, filet, outside rib eye.

Were cooking now!

The lynch is always one of my favorites. Parker gives the 2000 96 points. “Beautiful creme de cassis, and cedar in a surprisingly full-bodied and evolved style that could be drunk now. I originally predicted 2008-2025 for the window of full maturity, and that looks accurate, as this wine, which exhibits a little amber and loads of glycerin, is probably the biggest, richest Lynch Bages produced after the 1995 and before the 2005. Succulent, with lots of juicy black fruit and silky tannin, this is a beauty that can be drunk now or cellared for another 15-20 years.”

The final savory course is a rice and egg drop soup. You could get it spicy or mild (this is spicy). Apparently in Korea this is called Gukbap. It helped wash down the beef.

There are some special ice creams and sorbets.

On the left White Chocolate, bottom Espresso, right Lychee, top Blueberry, back pistachio. I liked the ice creams better than the sorbets (which isn’t usually the case). The sorbets were a bit mild, although certainly very nice. The White Chocolate was my favorite, followed maybe by the Pistachio.

I had brought 12 wines (for 8 people) but we only made it through 6. I was a bit disappointed because I never got to my biggest gun, a 1970 Palmer, because I opened 6 bottles at the beginning to breathe. But still, the “little” guns were pretty great. Big reds always go extraordinarily well with this very beefy meal.

And this place IS all about the beef, which is arguably some of the best I’ve ever had. Certainly the best yakiniku/Korean BBQ I’ve ever had. There is a perfect tenderness to every cut that’s fairly transcendant. I’m not even that much of a steak fan — but I’d take this stuff any time over even a spectacular cut from Mastros or Cut. The food here does not vary much from visit to visit. There is no menu. The quality however is utterly consistant. So while it isn’t an everyday sort of dining experience, perhaps once every 6-9 months, I love to return for my fix.

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.

Fellow Foodie Club Chair – EP

Related posts:

  1. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  2. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
  3. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  4. Red Medicine is the Cure
  5. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, bbq, beef, Brochon, Carnivore, Chateauneuf du Pape, Cinsaut, Côtes du Rhône AOC, Dessert, Foodie Club, Gevrey-Chambertin, Grill, Japanese cuisine, Japanese Yakiniku, Korea, Korean BBQ, Los Angeles, Old vine, side dishes, Teriyaki, Totoraku, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors
Watch the Trailer or

Buy it Online!

Buy it Online!

96 of 100 tickets!

Find Andy at:

Follow Me on Pinterest

Subscribe by email:

More posts on:



Complete Archives

Categories

  • Contests (7)
  • Fiction (404)
    • Books (113)
    • Movies (77)
    • Television (123)
    • Writing (115)
      • Darkening Dream (62)
      • Untimed (37)
  • Food (1,481)
  • Games (100)
  • History (13)
  • Technology (21)
  • Uncategorized (16)

Recent Posts

  • OOToro Double
  • Robo Eats – Anarbagh
  • Fred loves N/Naka
  • Major Major Major
  • Far East – Beijing Tasty House
  • Home Sweet Spicy Home
  • Quick Eats – Bafang
  • Quick Eats – Peking Restaurant
  • Quick Eats – MK BBQ
  • Wolfing it Down

Favorite Posts

  • I, Author
  • My Novels
  • The Darkening Dream
  • Sample Chapters
  • Untimed
  • Making Crash Bandicoot
  • My Gaming Career
  • Getting a job designing video games
  • Getting a job programming video games
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • A Game of Thrones
  • 27 Courses of Truffles
  • Ultimate Pizza
  • Eating Italy
  • LA Sushi
  • Foodie Club

Recent Comments

Archives

  • March 2023 (9)
  • February 2023 (11)
  • January 2023 (14)
  • December 2022 (11)
  • November 2022 (13)
  • October 2022 (14)
  • September 2022 (14)
  • August 2022 (12)
  • July 2022 (9)
  • June 2022 (6)
  • May 2022 (8)
  • April 2022 (5)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (2)
  • January 2022 (8)
  • December 2021 (6)
  • November 2021 (6)
  • October 2021 (8)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (2)
  • June 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (1)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (11)
  • March 2020 (15)
  • February 2020 (13)
  • January 2020 (14)
  • December 2019 (13)
  • November 2019 (12)
  • October 2019 (14)
  • September 2019 (14)
  • August 2019 (13)
  • July 2019 (13)
  • June 2019 (14)
  • May 2019 (13)
  • April 2019 (10)
  • March 2019 (10)
  • February 2019 (11)
  • January 2019 (13)
  • December 2018 (14)
  • November 2018 (11)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (15)
  • August 2018 (15)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (14)
  • May 2018 (13)
  • April 2018 (13)
  • March 2018 (17)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (15)
  • December 2017 (15)
  • November 2017 (13)
  • October 2017 (16)
  • September 2017 (16)
  • August 2017 (16)
  • July 2017 (11)
  • June 2017 (13)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • January 2017 (7)
  • December 2016 (14)
  • November 2016 (11)
  • October 2016 (11)
  • September 2016 (12)
  • August 2016 (15)
  • July 2016 (13)
  • June 2016 (13)
  • May 2016 (13)
  • April 2016 (12)
  • March 2016 (13)
  • February 2016 (12)
  • January 2016 (13)
  • December 2015 (14)
  • November 2015 (14)
  • October 2015 (13)
  • September 2015 (13)
  • August 2015 (18)
  • July 2015 (16)
  • June 2015 (13)
  • May 2015 (13)
  • April 2015 (14)
  • March 2015 (15)
  • February 2015 (13)
  • January 2015 (13)
  • December 2014 (14)
  • November 2014 (13)
  • October 2014 (13)
  • September 2014 (12)
  • August 2014 (15)
  • July 2014 (13)
  • June 2014 (13)
  • May 2014 (14)
  • April 2014 (14)
  • March 2014 (10)
  • February 2014 (11)
  • January 2014 (13)
  • December 2013 (14)
  • November 2013 (13)
  • October 2013 (14)
  • September 2013 (12)
  • August 2013 (14)
  • July 2013 (10)
  • June 2013 (14)
  • May 2013 (14)
  • April 2013 (14)
  • March 2013 (15)
  • February 2013 (14)
  • January 2013 (13)
  • December 2012 (14)
  • November 2012 (16)
  • October 2012 (13)
  • September 2012 (14)
  • August 2012 (16)
  • July 2012 (12)
  • June 2012 (16)
  • May 2012 (21)
  • April 2012 (18)
  • March 2012 (20)
  • February 2012 (23)
  • January 2012 (31)
  • December 2011 (35)
  • November 2011 (33)
  • October 2011 (32)
  • September 2011 (29)
  • August 2011 (35)
  • July 2011 (33)
  • June 2011 (25)
  • May 2011 (31)
  • April 2011 (30)
  • March 2011 (34)
  • February 2011 (31)
  • January 2011 (33)
  • December 2010 (33)
  • November 2010 (39)
  • October 2010 (26)
All Things Andy Gavin
Copyright © 2023 All Rights Reserved
Programmed by Andy Gavin