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Archive for lunch – Page 3

Great Grenache 2018

Jul02

Restaurant: John Gerber [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: Flintridge

Date: May 25, 2018

Cuisine: New American

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

The main wine theme:  This year, as it has been the past few years for our lunch at Paul’s, our primary wine theme will be “Grenaches of the World”, in this case from the 2007 and older vintages (the older the better).  Just to be clear, “Grenaches of the World” means any Grenache or Grenache-based blend (at least 60-70% Grenache), as long as it is rated 93+ by a reputable critic, and is from the 2008 or older vintage.  Grenache-based wines from Australia, California, Washington, Priorat, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Sardinia (called Cannonau) or any other parts of the world are fair game as long as the wine has a qualifying score.


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

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Trying to give you a sense of the mid century space.

We gather at one multi-wing table.

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Today’s menu.

Snacks

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NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. Paul had a number of these in 375ml of some unspecified edition <=162?
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From my cellar: 2015 Stift Göttweig Pinot Noir Messwein. 90 points. Like grapefruit soda!
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2007 Lail Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Georgia. A strangely expensive Sauv Blanc ($100!), although tasty.
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2013 Bader-Mimeur Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly.
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2014 Peter Michael Chardonnay Mon Plaisir. VM 92. Peter Michael’s 2014 Chardonnay Mon Plaisir wraps around the palate with gorgeous depth and textural richness, two of its principal signatures. Candied lemon, succulent apricot and spice notes meld into the creamy, voluptuous finish. This south/south-east facing site at 1,600 feet planted with old Wente clone Chardonnay yields distinctly ample wines.

agavin: Fake chard!
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Tuna Poke chips. Light and delicious.
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Lobster medallions. On cucumber.
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Some rack of wild boar grilling up for later.

Flight 1

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1996 Alvaro Palacios Priorat L’Ermita. VM 92+. Saturated ruby-red, darker than the Dofí. Blackcurrant, black cherry, clove and Mediterranean spices on the nose. Dense, sappy and sweet in the mouth; lively, harmonious acids frame the wine very youthful black fruit and spice flavors. Finishes with substantial but smooth palate-saturating tannins and superb persistence. This is harder to taste today than the ’97, but should ultimately be the stronger vintage.
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Albert brought: 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. JG 95+.  I have always been a fan of the 1989 Château Beaucastel, which I rank just behind the superb 1981 at this fine estate. The most recent bottle I tasted of this wine was still just a touch youthful, but offered up fine complexity on both the nose and palate and shows excellent promise. The bouquet is a blend of roasted fruitcake, cherries, new leather, venison, incipient notes of sous bois, woodsmoke and hot stones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with a bit of tannin still to resolve, fine focus and grip and a very long, classy and slightly chewy finish. I would be tempted to give this wine a few more years to really resolve, as it will be a superb wine and it would be most enjoyable to drink it at the same plateau that the 1981 has been enjoying for a good decade already.

agavin: this bottle was too bretty for me, although I love this wine
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1989 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. 95 points. Awesome.
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2000 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon. 94 points. Medium ruby. Exotic roasted aromas of surmaturite: black raspberry liqueur, dark chocolate, leather and earth. Shows a thickness and sweetness verging on porty, but the appeal of this bottle was reduced by some exotic, rather odd oak notes. Can this be right? (My sample of the 2001 was too low in SO2 and showing distinct oxidation notes.
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Fruitti de Mare. Octopus carpaccio, razor clams, scallops and spot prawns. We’ve had this dish here before, but it’s always a great showcase of seafood. The only problem is the dubious “pairing” with so much (admittedly great) Grenache.

Flight 2

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2001 Rotllan Torra Priorat Tirant. VM 91+. Deep red. Exotic coconutty oak on the rather port-like nose. At once sweeter and more primary than the Amadis, with a penetrating minerality. Also quite oaky, but has more jammy plum and blackberry fruit to stand up to the wood. Still, it’s hard to predict whether this slightly pruney wine will reward more time in bottle. Finishes with sweet tannins and good length.
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2001 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Romas. VM 94. Bright, deep ruby-red. Captivating aromas of black cherry, violet, licorice and espresso; a rather Rayas-like style of grenache. Chewy, rich and sweet but also quite suave. A succulent, superripe basket of fruits complicated by torrefaction notes of coffee and chocolatey oak. Long, chewy, powerful finish builds impressively. The ’99 version of this wine was aged in 100% new oak; here, 30% seems perfectly appropriate.
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2001 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Blewitt Springs. VM 91. Bright medium red. Very ripe, roasted flavors of raspberry and strawberry. Fat, rich, sweet and mouthfilling; offers a bit less verve than the Kangarilla but this is still shapely grenache. Finishes with big, mouthcoating tannins and impressive sweetness and volume. This is the Dolly Parton of the Clarendon grenache bottlings, notes importer John Larchet.
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2004 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul. VM 93. Explosively floral aromas of raspberry and wild strawberry complicated by mineral and lavender notes. Concentrated and deep, with sweet but nicely focused red fruit and bitter cherry flavors accompanied by exotic smoked meat and black walnut tones. An impressively rich, powerful wine, offering serious palate coverage and a long, very sweet finish.
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Oxtail Consommé. Stuffed morel mushrooms and spring vegetables. This was my dish of the day, and it was just a lovely meaty/mushroomy broth. I particularly enjoy morels too.

Flight 3

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2003 Clos Mogador Priorat. VM 91. Dark ruby. Superripe, potent scents of cherry liqueur, candied dates, dark chocolate and fruit cake. Fat to the point of unctuous, with a distinct sweetness to the rich dark fruit-dominated flavors; cedary oaky notes build through the finish, along with vanilla, baking spices and a suggestion of black olive. A bite of licorice root gives focus to the long aftertaste. For all the volume here, this has the balance for cellaring.
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2004 Spectacle Vins Montsant Espectacle. 93 points. Purple color with fast forming legs and aromas of eucalyptus, blackberry and violet. It’s balanced and has flavours of blackberry with a full body. Bright texture with a long finish.
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2003 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois. VM 93. Inky violet color. Rich, smoky and deep on the nose, with powerful scents of chocolate, creme de mure and kirsch, tinged by candied violet and cracked pepper. Concentrated and lush, with a round, velvety texture and abundant sweet plum, blackberry and mocha flavors. Finishes with ripe, round tannins, a very sweet note of cassis, and great length.
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2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo. VM 95-97.  Deep, dark red. Multidimensional bouquet of kirsch, cassis, red plum, pipe tobacco, grilled meat, licorice pastille and roasted coffee; this has nearly all of the Chateauneuf food groups. Utterly mouthfilling in its richness, with tremendous concentration of red and dark berries, garrigue, bittersweet chocolate and aged beef. Finishes with a velvety lushness, round tannins and palate-staining persistence. A simply remarkable wine: it finished at 16.2% but the alcohol only shows in the wine’s unctuous, almost oily palate feel.
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Wood Roasted Rack of Wild Boar. Sierra porcini and sea peas. A great rack. A little lighter and with a sweeter flavor for being boar (inside of lamb or something).

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On the far back left is our chef, John Gerber, formerly of the French Laundry!
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The panorama of most of the crew.

Flight 4: Cheese

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From my cellar: 2007 Clos Mogador Priorat. VM 93. Glass-staining purple. Explosively perfumed aromas of blackberry, cherry-cola, candied licorice and black cardamom, with a smoky mineral undertone and a hint of fruitcake. Lush, decadent dark fruit flavors show a liqueur-like density but don’t come off as heavy thanks to slow-mounting minerality and a touch of spicy black pepper. There’s nothing shy about this, and while there’s the ripeness and weight that I expect from this wine, there’s also a brightness that bodes well for aging.

agavin: very slight corked 🙁
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2005 Clos Mogador Priorat. VM 93. Opaque violet. A head-spinning bouquet of ripe blackcurrant, cherry liqueur, cola, candied plum, mineral and floral scents, along with a suave undercurrent of spicy oak. Deeply concentrated dark berry and cherry preserve flavors are impressively powerful and ripe, but improbably fresh too. Chewy tannins build on the finish but are overwhelmed by the intense, powerful fruit. This is a beast right now and in need of at least seven to ten more years in a cool cellar, maybe more. Then serve it with the richest red meat dish you can come up with.

agavin: after my bottle was corked Paul generously brought out this one. I have to remember to bring backups every time. I usually do, and it’s only when I don’t that it’s corked.
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2006 Sine Qua Non Grenache Raven Series. VM 95. Opaque violet. Complex bouquet of cassis, blueberry and pipe tobacco, complicated by smoky Indian spices and dried rose. Expansive and open-knit, offering sweet dark berry preserve flavors and complementary notes of candied flowers and fruitcake. The smoky element gains strength on the finish, which is long, energetic and refreshingly mineral-driven. This is remarkably lithe for such power; I underestimated its potential last year. Includes 94% estate fruit, vinified with 25% whole clusters.
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2007 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina. VM 96. Glass-staining ruby. The nose offers a drop-dead sexy array of berry, floral and mineral scents, along with nuances of spicecake and black olive. Impressively deep and sweet but also energetic, displaying dense red and dark fruit liqueur flavors and sexy floral pastille and baking spice qualities. The mineral quality comes on strong with air and lends lift and urgency to the very long, spicy finish. This is slightly more elegant than the Comte des Fous but just as potent.
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2006 Clos Erasmus Priorat. VM 95. Deep ruby. Heady, expansive aromas of raspberry, cassis, cola, star anise, smoky minerals and potpourri. Completely stains the palate with sweet red and dark berry compote flavors; a sexy floral pastille quality gains volume with air. Deep and powerful but graceful, offering a hypnotic melange of fruit, floral and mineral qualities and completely buffered tannins. This superb and very long wine will reward patient cellaring.
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Cheese Plate. Camembert di Bufala, Italy (water buffalo milk). Comte Fromagerie Charles Arnaud, Jura France (cow milk). Nerina Ash Aged, Italy (sheep and goat milk).
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My cryptic notes.

Flight 5: Zin

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I’m just a little too lazy to lookup all the Zin’s, so they are just pictured and listed on the list below.
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And this finishes the vast amount of wine.
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Today I got really serious with the gelato transportation, hauling the Ifi Coolbox with 3 flavors I had made just that morning — notice my sexy custom logo!
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Saffron Almond Gelato. I steeped the milk with Persian Saffron and blended in Sicilian Romano Almonds from Sicily!
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Symphony in Pink – on the bottom Amarena Cherry Gelato and on the top, White Peach Rose Sorbetto.

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The wine list.


Inside the upper level of the cellar where staging occurred.

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And the full lineup!

Overall, a delicious afternoon — food and wine both! As a Burgundy nut, a often forget how delightful Grenache can be, but it’s really great stuff — and so consistent. Certainly a nice grape, if a powerhouse. Even the Zins were (relatively) enjoyable.

We did have WAY too much wine for the number of courses. We could have used an easy 2 or 3 more courses to stage it out. A couple years ago we had one more course and we could really use that as there is that extra Zin flight. I tried to “add” one with the gelato :-).

The setting really is magnificent. The weather was perfect, if a little cloudy. Just an ideal afternoon in the yard!

Related posts:

  1. Great Grenache
  2. Grand Grenache
  3. Sauvages in the Forest
  4. Alexanders the Great
  5. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, Grenache, John Gerber, lunch, Paul Wools, Sauvages, Wine, Zinfandel

Put a Spring in your Step

May09

Restaurant: Spring

Location: 257 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. (213) 372-5189

Date: April 3, 2018

Cuisine: French

Rating: Gorgeous room, very polished food

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Spring was a big opening a year or two ago with a hugely expensive build out. It’s quiet French (in a lightly LA way). Somehow I never got there because of the annoying (for me) DTLA location. Known for only using fresh and local ingredients, Chef Esnault pays tribute to the season of long days and temperate nights with his full Seasonal Dinner Menu, featuring dishes that are available as each season permits.

We were roving downtown and happened to pop by for a quick post museum lunch.

Self referential.

I’m glad I visited during the day as the space is gorgeous and airy — and this is just the entrance.

The kitchen is open and of epic proportions. Chefs moved carefully and quietly about their tasks.

The main space is like a museum space with the glass ceiling and this green and cream vibe.

The lunch menu.

Seasonal pea soup. The guts in first.

Then the soup. This was an excellent soup, actually. Really fresh and lovely.

Seasonal market crudo, pear, watermelon radish, pickled mustard seeds. Nice, but not as exciting as the soup.

Branzino, red quinoa, leeks, turnip, red cabbage, sauce matelote.

Lily risotto, aged carnaroli rice, spring onion, mascarpone, pistachio, chive blossom. Lovely vegetarian risotto. Great texture and a nice creamy “green” quality.

Chocolate hazelnut tart with passionfruit meringue. We watched them assemble and cut this for an hour. I.e. the pastry chef was painstakingly working on the tart itself. Delicious too.

A different chocolate and hazelnut dessert.

Overall, Spring is unusual for LA. It feels and tasted like a high end Paris museum restaurant. Very good too and a great atmosphere if the airy quiet thing is what you are looking for. I’d like to try it at night. They do allow unlimited corkage.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack
  2. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  3. Fond of Philadelphia
  4. James Beard at 71Above
  5. Eating NY – Laboratorio del Gelato
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, DTLA, French Cuisine, lunch, Spring

James Beard at 71Above

Apr18

Restaurant: 71Above [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

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

Date: March 9, 2018

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome in all ways

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This is my sixth visit to one of LA’s latest and hottest event restaurants, 71Above. The first can be found here. Today the location plays host to a special James Beard Foundation luncheon in conjunction with the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. It features dishes both by 71Above chef Vartan Abgaryan and a number of guest chefs.

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!

We have the entire place today for this large luncheon.

The cocktail wines.

The cookies hard at work.

On the left is Sommelier Catherine Morel who organized the gigantic wine efforts.

Today’s special menu.

NV Duval-Leroy Champagne Brut. BH 90. This is also distinctly cool and restrained with lovely nuances of green apple, citrus peel, tangerine, white flowers and ample yeast character. There is a relatively finely beaded mousse supporting the delicious and nicely intense middle weight flavors that terminate in a reasonably complex and lingering finish where the yeast component telegraphed by the nose is more pronounced. I like the crispness and delivery though I would be inclined to hold this for a few years in the hopes that more depth and texture will develop. To be sure, this is perfectly good the way that it is but it lacks the overall complexity needed to be at the next level.

2015 Henry Fessy St. Véran.

Oyster with Chili Lime Mignonette. Bright and delicious, if a touch hard to eat (neatly) standing around.

English Pea Panisse.

Foie Tart with Fennel Meringue. These sweet and rich puppies were so amazing I had about half a dozen!

We move on over to the tables and take our seats.

Bread and delicious French butter.

2012 La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. BH 93. Out of the entire range of 2012s this is the wine that offers the clearest expression in terms of Chablis character as it would be almost impossible to miss this one. The purity and elegance of the green apple, lemon rind and essence of white flowers is remarkable and added to this are nuances of shellfish, saltwater and quinine. There is a lovely intensity to the delicious and overtly mineral-driven big-bodied flavors that offer excellent length and fine depth. Impressive and built to age.

agavin: cheap but good grand cru Chablis

Sweet Potato with Tahini, Snap Peas, Mustard and Harissa Vinaigrette. Guest Chef Jessica Largey. A nice salad. The Tahini dressing was very tahini (aka sesame and lemon juice). Made it feel very Middle Eastern.

2012 Domaine Latour-Giraud Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Cuvée des Pierre. BH 91-94. Strong reduction flattens the underlying fruit to the point that it is impossible to read. This is a big wine with imposing size, weight and muscle where the underlying minerality adds lift to the explosive flavors and finish that are also supported by a citrus-inflected acid spine on the bone dry and hugely persistent finish. This is almost painfully intense yet it remains harmonious and well-balanced. This too is very much recommended provided that you have the patience to cellar it for at least 5 years as it’s unlikely to drink well before that.

Veal Lasagna with Parmesan Mousse, Bone Marrow Vinaigrette and Black Truffle. Guest Chef Timothy Hollingsworth. The sauce and the truffles were great. The lasagna itself was very dense, more a pile of pasta.

2007 Henri Boillot Chambertin. VM 93-96. Deep, bright, saturated ruby. Soil-driven aromas of black fruits and licorice. Brooding and pure, with brisk acidity giving a medicinal reserve to the sweet flavors of blueberry, licorice and flinty minerality. There’s a coolness and suavity here that screams out Chambertin. Penetrating, classy wine with a palate-saturating bitter chocolate finish hinting at great complexity to come. The tannins are perfectly integrated.

agavin: best wine of the day

2004 Domaine Trapet (Jean et Jean-Louis) Chambertin. BH 92. Deeply pitched aromas of warm earth, spice, game, smoke, crushed herb and pure dark berry fruit aromas perfectly complement the powerfully built yet refined flavors that are taut, muscular and focused. There is no excess here as it seems as though everything is in perfect harmony. No, it isn’t quite as elegant as the Latricières but it compensates with more concentration, depth and length. This is absolutely a top tier 2004.

agavin: From Mag. The meany greenies were blowing off, so not too bad for a 2004.

Spring Lamb: Rack, loin, fritter, crispy terrine, raisin, olive, red walnut. Very nice rare hunk of lamb. I actually really liked the loin. This was prepared by 71Above chef Vartan Abgaryan.

2010 Guy Breton Régnié. VM 91. Bright ruby-red. Highly expressive, floral bouquet evokes violet, lavender, red berries and spicecake, with a smoky overtone. Bright and racy on the palate, offering sweet raspberry and cherry flavors and notes of candied flowers and peppery spice. Finishes with very good energy and mineral cut, leaving a floral note behind.

Bittersweet Chocolate with Raspberry, Thyme and Red Wine. Fabulous dessert by pastry chef Gregory Baumgartner.

The crew of chefs and Emil line up for brief speeches.

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.

Today the crew did a bang up job on this large scale lunch. This is a hard format, basically a banquet, yet food quality was spot on. Wines were nice too, although not at the level (for Burgundy) I would pick myself.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. 71Above – Knights Who Say Wine
  2. 71Above Birthday
  3. Wine in the Sky – 71Above
  4. Summer at 71Above
  5. The High Life – 71Above
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 71above, Chevaliers, Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, DTLA, emil ey, Emil Eyvazoff, lunch, Vartan Abgaryan, Wine

Quick Eats – Big Boi

Mar21

Restaurant: Big Boi

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

Date: January 26, 2018

Cuisine: Filipino

Rating: Quick and tasty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats – Tasty Noodle
  2. Quick Eats – Flaming Pot
  3. Quick Eats – Popcorn Chicken
  4. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
  5. Quick Eats: Panini at Home
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Big Boi, Filipino Cuisine, lunch, pork, Sawtelle Little Tokyo

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!

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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.

Related posts:

  1. Sushi Sushi – Small Omakase
  2. Sushi Sushi = Yummy Yummy
  3. Sasabune – Dueling Omakases
  4. Kula Revolving Sushi Bar
  5. Food as Art – Sushi Sushi
By: agavin
Comments (7)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Go's Mart, lunch, Sushi

Rosé Rules

Sep28

Restaurant: Kali Dining [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Location: Beverly Hills

Date: August 11, 2017

Cuisine: New American

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My Sauvages group returns to Jim’s gorgeous Beverly Hills backyard for its annual gather. Food is again by Chef Kevin Meehan of Kali Dining. The wine theme is all Rosé! Yeah, like 35+ bottles of Rosé from around the world.

The setting is lovely enough, and the company always great!

Kirk went all out arranging and drummed up a tremendous number of rosés of every conceivable type.

3 big buckets worth.

Good thing it was a hot summer afternoon.

Things start off with cheeses, olives, almonds etc. Food was all by Kali chef Kevin Meehan, who always does a fabulous job.

Hamachi crudo. Olive spread. Nice bright flavors. Black barely risotto. Black garlic, toasted cheese. A very nice whole grain with a creamy garlic herb vibe. Sea bass on fava beans and fresh tomatoes. Basically a Guazzetto. Hanger steak with potatoes and pesto.

Perfectly fresh watermelon.

The food was super tasty as always from Kevin, although perhaps I could have done with an extra course or two and a dessert, and maybe more cheese to sop up all that wine.

Trying to work through all that rosé we kept on hanging out and eventually our host opened this minor bottle:

1990 Château Margaux. VM 98. RP 100. Full ruby-red. Wonderfully perfumed nose combines redcurrant, plum, mocha, minerals and rose petal. Plush, fat and rich, with great sweetness and class. This has utterly compelling mouthfilling richness. Finishes smooth and endless, with great breadth. This wine showed fabulous potential from barrel, but this is the first truly outstanding bottle I’ve had. Drink 2005 through 2035.

I’m too lazy to write up ALL these rosés, but I did take pictures of each of them for the veritable record — in order too! And at the very bottle my sparse little notes on each.

Related posts:

  1. Ruen Pair Rules
  2. Kali Live Octopus
  3. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
  4. Kali on Melrose
  5. Kali-fornia Dreaming
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Kali, Kali Dining, Kevin Meehan, lunch, Rose, Sauvages

Great Grenache

Jun28

Restaurant: John Gerber [1, 2, 3]

Location: Flintridge

Date: May 26, 2017

Cuisine: New American

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

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


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

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

We gather at one multi-wing table.

Today’s special menu.

From my cellar: 2009 Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay Rosé. VM 88. The 2009 Marsannay Rose is a serious wine. It shows plenty of intensity and generosity, I only wish the aromatics were a little more focused.

2011 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc. VM 88. Pale, bright yellow. Candied lemon peel, bracing grapefruit pith and a hint of flowers on the nose, plus a smoky note that reminded me of chardonnay. Rich, silky and slightly sweet; and more fruity than some Carneros chardonnays I tasted on the same day. This easygoing and attractive wine is perked up by a piquant grapefruit quality on the back end.

2000 La Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri Rioja Blanco. 89 points. Mineral notes with an apple/pear fruit; balanced acidity.

2014 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé. VM 92. Light orange. Intensely perfumed citrus fruit and white cherry scents are complemented by suggestions of dried flowers, honey and dusty minerals. Chewy, tightly focused blood orange and lavender pastille flavors show very good depth and clarity, with a spine of minerality adding support. Finishes sappy and very long, leaving dusty mineral and floral notes behind.

Poke bites.

Lobster roll.

2009 Clos Mogador Priorat Nelin. VM 91. Light yellow-gold. Intense aromas of dried pear, lemon curd, white flowers and candied ginger, with subtle vanilla and beeswax qualities adding depth. Fleshy, deeply pitched orchard and pit fruit flavors are lifted and braced by a tangy mineral quality and pick up spiciness with air. Finishes broad and ripe, with very good persistence and resonating floral and spice notes. This is showing very well now; I’d err on the side of youth here and drink it over the next few years.

2013 Domaine Morey-Coffinet Meursault. BH 88. A more restrained and very pretty nose offers up hazelnut, acacia blossom and pear aromas. The cool, sleek and delicious middle weight flavors also exude a very subtle minerality on the slightly austere finish that delivers good if not truly distinguished depth and persistence.

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

1995 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 91 points. This was ok but really did not ring my bell. 1995 is a not so thrilling vintage with Rayas towering above everything. Very rustic with some serious austerity on the palate and a burnt-ashen character and loads of red fruit. Acidity was average and the wine came across as boring.
Unknown

1998 Alban Vineyards Grenache HdR Selection Seymour’s Vineyard. Someone gave it 96 points online :-).

1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. VM 92. Good medium red. High-toned aromas of dried cherry, redcurrant, wilted rose, roasted herbs and spices. Sweet, silky, sexy and decadent yet with a penetrating quality thanks to vibrant mint and spice elements. Finishes with big, broad, sweet tannins that come from fruit, not oak. Classic fully ripe southern Rhone grenache.

2000 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire. VM 94+. Full deep red. Tangy nose combines red fruits, roast coffee, pepper and spices. Very rich, dense and full, with considerable power (the wine features 15% alcohol) and a strong element of spice cake. Less obviously creamy than the 2001, but equally powerful and extremely long on the aftertaste. The tannins show a chewy quality and a dustiness that no doubt reflect the wine’s 12% mourvedre component.
 1997 Clos Mogador Priorat. VM 89. Medium ruby-red. Aromas of currant, plum, licorice and uncured tobacco. Lush but bright, with a firm edge of acidity and hints of exotic fruits and wild herbs. Finishes with dusty, even tannins and good length.

From my cellar: 2000 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve. VM 93.  Rather pale red (Reynaud says the color will deepen as the wine ages). Smoke and pepper dominate the nose. Thick and sappy; round and seamless. Offers very good depth of flavor but today I don’t find the excitement of the vintage’s top examples. Best today on the peppery, long finish, which features thoroughly ripe tannins. There weren’t a lot of bunches in 2000, says Reynaud, but the grapes were large.

agavin: my WOTD — although I’m clearly biased

Grilled sweetbreads, morels, and blood sausage. Pea mash and carrot romesco. Amazing and rich dish with a lot of gaminess and weight. I loved the blood sausage and theromesco combo in particular.

2001 Mas Doix Priorat Costers de Vinyes Velles. RR 97. Great Priorat from traditional local grapes Garnacha and Carinena. Dark red cherries, cocoa, nice acidic backbone, small pepper note, medium to full body, soft tannines, in a great place right now, powerful yet elegant, smooth aftertaste.

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

2001 Rotllan Torra Priorat Tirant. VM 91+. Deep red. Exotic coconutty oak on the rather port-like nose. At once sweeter and more primary than the Amadis, with a penetrating minerality. Also quite oaky, but has more jammy plum and blackberry fruit to stand up to the wood. Still, it’s hard to predict whether this slightly pruney wine will reward more time in bottle. Finishes with sweet tannins and good length.

2002 Torbreck Grenache Les Amis. 95 points. The nose had a latex paint like aroma from the over-ripe fruit in this wine. There was a lot of dried/over-ripe character to the nose of this wine. With some time it also took on a coconut-like note over the muddled red fruit aromas. The palate had loads of jammy fruit and a chocolate like note, but it was just hard for me to get past the nose of this wine to really enjoy the richness that the palate had to offer.

2002 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Garnacha Campo de Borja. VM 90. Medium ruby-red. Sappy black cherry and black raspberry aromas complicated by chocolate, minerals and tar. Sweet, lush and seamless, with a pinot-like silkiness of texture. Still a bit shy following the recent bottling but large-scaled and mouthfilling, with sound balancing acidity. Distinctly exotic in its flavors but not yet complex. A wine to follow.

2003 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Garnacha Campo de Borja. VM 89. Bright red. Powerful, oak-laced raspberry, strawberry and cherry preserves on the nose, plus a hint of candied licorice. Deep and sweet, the red berry flavors strongly accented by oak notes of coconut, vanilla and clove. Finishes sweet, deep and long. This is clearly made from strong material, but I’d love to have seen it without so much oak.

2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. VM 94. Deep red. Strikingly complex nose offers powerful scents of red berries, spicecake, cured meat and potpourri. Velvety red berry and kirsch flavors stain the palate, picking pick up candied lavender and fruitcake nuances with air. The spiciness builds on the finish, which echoes the cherry note. This wine was most noteworthy for its power in the early going (I rated it 92-94 shortly before it was bottled) but has become more graceful and now conveys a stronger impressive of pure, spicy fruit.

2004 De Lisio Grenache. 90 points. Dark ruby colour. Nose of raisins and some flowery notes. Bursting with ripe fruits on the palate. Blackberry jam. Spicy towards the long finish. Concentrated and flavourful, but still velvety in the mouth. Fruit bomb lovers will like this, with bonus points for the smoothness with age.

Game bird stuffed quail. Black lentils, purple radish and pickled rhubarb. Nice tasty bird. Very moist.

2001 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Deux Frères. VM 91. Bright ruby-red. Superripe, roasted aromas of singed red fruits, carob, marzipan and walnut. A huge, roasted wine showing strong evidence of surmaturite; flavors of dried fruits and walnut. With alcohol in the 16% range this is undeniably massive, but I found myself wishing it had more primary fruit and verve. Quite different in style from the Cuvee de Mon Aieul. A rare and expensive bottling, recommended for fans of the type.

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

2004 Clos Mogador Priorat. VM 94. Deep purple. Powerful, sexy aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, fruitcake, cigar box, graphite and violet, with suave oak spice adding even more interest. Sweet, silky and deep, with wonderfully pure dark berry flavors complemented by cinnamon, smoked bacon and red licorice. Utterly delicious if very young, with great vibrancy, clarity and even elegance. This compellingly sweet and very long wine is the best bottling of Clos Mogador I’ve had to date.

2005 Linne Calodo Sticks and Stones. VM 93. Bright ruby. Explosively perfumed nose offers fresh strawberry, raspberry and rose aromas, with an exotic lashing of baking spices. Fine-grained and silky, with deep but focused red fruit flavors and Asian spices. Lots going on here. Clings impressively on the long, juicy finish. A very impressive blend.

Cheese plate. Midnight moon from California. Schnebelhorn from Switzerland. Campo de Montalban from Spain. Beemster from Holland.

2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe2O3~2a. VM 100. The 2005 Grenache Atlantis Fe203-2a has been absolutely thrilling both times I have tasted it within the last year. A huge, vertical wine, Atlantis graces the palate with deep, voluptuous red fruit, crushed rocks, smoke, tobacco and mint. Even with all of its intensity and explosiveness, the wine remains light on its feet, with great balance and class to burn. The inclusion of whole clusters adds gorgeous lift and perfume, especially on the finish. At nearly ten years of age, the 2005 Grenache Atlantis is in a perfect spot right now and should continue to drink well for another 5-10 years, perhaps longer.

2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe2O3~2c. ?

2007 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Pure. VM 96. Inky purple. Huge, expressive bouquet shows dark berry, floral and fruitcake qualities, along with a smoky mineral note. Lush and creamy, with deep boysenberry and blueberry flavors and velvety tannins. Turns spicier on the back half and finishes with outstanding clarity and juicy persistence. As massive as this is, there’s no sense of overripeness or excess weight.

2007 Domaine de la Solitude (Lançon Père et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 90. Inky purple. Sexy, perfumed scents of black raspberry, cherry compote and potpourri. Broad, fleshy and sweet, offering lush, edge-free black and blue fruit flavors. This upfront, creamy wine is delicious right now.

2007 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 95+. Deep ruby. Powerful, pungent aromas of kirsch, dark berries, smoky herbs and spicecake, with notes of black olive and tobacco coming on with air. Chewy, palate-staining dark fruit flavors are complicated by bitter chocolate, licorice and black cardamom. Acts like a 2005 today, with serious structure but also superb depth of powerful, densely packed fruit. A hint of cherry skin adds grip and refreshing bitterness to the long, smoky, focused finish. Not an easy read right now: this demands cellaring.

2013 Progeny Winery Trinity Rouge.

Planet Zin

1996 Limerick Lane Zinfandel Collins Vineyard.

2009 Robert Biale Zinfandel Black Chicken. VM 90. The 2009 Zinfandel Black Chicken shows off gorgeous mid-palate richness in its black cherries, menthol, licorice and sweet spices. There is more than enough vibrancy and depth to allow the wine to drink beautifully for at least a handful of years.

2006 Turley Zinfandel Dragon Vineyard. VM 92. Good medium ruby. Black raspberry, spices and fruity pepper on the slightly medicinal nose. Ripe, lush and mouthfilling but quite dry; a big, chewy wine with a deep pepper-and-spice character. Finishes with very suave, pliant tannins.

2008 Brian Benson Cellars The Wince. VM 90. Inky ruby. Powerful, highly aromatic scents of dark fruit liqueur, lavender and licorice, with vanilla and mocha accents gaining power with air. Fleshy and appealingly sweet black and blue fruit flavors stain the palate and show a touch of back-end warmth. Velvety tannins give shape and gentle grip to a long, spicy finish that echoes the blue fruit and vanilla notes. Nothing shy about this one.

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

Extras!

Art of the day.

Cryptic notes.

The list de vin.
 And the full lineup!

Overall, a delicious afternoon — food and wine both! As a Burgundy nut, a often forget all the Châteauneuf-du-Pape in my cellar, but it’s really great stuff — and so consistent. Grenache is a nice grape, if a powerhouse. Even the Zins were (relatively) enjoyable.

We did have WAY too much wine for the number of courses. We could have used an easy 2 or 3 more courses to stage it out.

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

Related posts:

  1. Grand Grenache
  2. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun
  3. Sauvages in the Forest
  4. Sauvages at Upstairs 2
  5. Saint Joseph at Maison G
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Grenache, John Gerber, lunch, Sauvages, Wine, Zinfandel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Sun

May06

Restaurant: Kali Dining [1, 2, 3]

Location: Beverly Hills

Date: April 25, 2014

Cuisine: New American

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Venison Carpaccio. Another perfect 10 pairing.

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

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

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

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

Mushroom risotto with parmesan crisp. Yum!

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

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

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

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

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

Cheeses from Andrew’s Cheese shop in Santa Monica.

The lineup (minus one or two).

The gang (notice the sunny side hat fest).

chef Kevin!

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

Related posts:

  1. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  2. Memorial Day Pig
  3. Wine on the Beach
  4. Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity
  5. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beaucastel, Château de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape, Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, Domaine de Beaurenard, Foie gras, Kali Dining, Les Cailloux, lunch, Sauvages, Wine

Cocoa Island – Languorous Lunch

Apr21

Restaurant: Cocoa Island

Location: Maldives. Tel +960 6641818 Fax +960 6641919 Email res@cocoaisland.como.bz

Date: March 16-22, 2012

Cuisine: International

Rating: ?

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We head back to Cocoa Island (and its single restaurant) to cover the second meal of the day. If you missed the endless breakfast, find it here.


Here in paradise the view from the lunch table doesn’t suck. One could eat outside there too, but it was pretty hot, like 94 degrees and humid. The food, however, was anything but tepid. It’s highly varied and international with an Indian slant fitting the location.


Tuna carpaccio with arugala and olives. Like nearly everything at the restaurant this was impeccably fresh and tasty.


Caprese salad.

Salad with beets and mozzarella.


An amazing “squid salad” with light fresh squid and a zesty vinaigrette.


Caesar salad with anchovies and spec.


Raddiccio salad. As you can see, there are a few salad options!


This typical frozen mock-tail was amazing for those with a sweet tooth. Strawberry passionfruit!


Spider roll. Fried softshell crab roll.


Some dipping sauces and ginger. The left is soy, the right a spicy mayo.


California roll made with shrimp. I like the wasabi balls.


Grilled blue fin tuna and potatoes. Sort of deconstructed salad niscose. The tuna was again perfectly fresh.


Fried calamari. Crisp and succulent.


A lot of folk went for the burger which had a kind of curried caramelized onions on it and came with salad and fries.


Goan fish curry. Local “job fish” stewed in fresh curry with Naan (house baked) and bismati rice.


Nasi Goreng. A kind of Indonesian fried rice with egg, chicken satay, mixed seafood, cucumbers, and a spicy peanut sauce. Not light, but it sure was good!


Chicken Tikka Masala. Also awesome.


We caught some local fish and they grilled them up.


And steamed some with ginger, garlic, and scallions.


Even this ugly barracuda.


And made these into fresh fish curry!


The bread was great too.


And the fries.


Plus one, day, I ordered this passionfruit semifreddo which was superb.

It’s pretty amazing that a restaurant can do this breath of styles with such excellent execution, but they did. Everything I had was great, and the same 2-3 guys in the kitchen did it all (even the breakfast, dinner, desserts, and baking!).

For more dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Cocoa Island – Endless Breakfast
  2. Crafty Little Lunch
  3. Go Sushi Goes To Lunch
  4. Trés – Lunch Fantastique
  5. Jackson’s
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Asia, Cocoa butter, Cocoa Island, Cocoa IslandLocation, Cook, Indian cuisine, lunch, Maldives, Resort, Salad, Sri Lanka, Travel and Tourism

Eating Santa Margherita – dei Pescatori

Aug01

Restaurant: Trattoria dei Pescatori

Location: Santa Margherita, Italy

Date: June 29, 2011

Cuisine: Ligurian

Rating: Solid lunch

ANY CHARACTER HERE

On this particular morning we had actually visited the nearby town of Camogli and wanted to eat lunch there but we fell afoul of that particular Italian (and French and Spanish) pitfall: the extremely narrow lunch hour. Basically you can only sit down to lunch between 12:30 (sometimes even 1) and 2. They just aren’t open any other time. Conversely, nearly all other services shutdown 12-3. In any case, our toddler nap schedule didn’t allow waiting around in Camogli so we went back to Santa Marghertia.


We picked this likely looking place right across from the western marina.

The usual multi-page menu.


And bread.

Their house Vermentino even has their name on it — sort of.


Caprese di buffalo.


Acciughe al limone. Marinated anchovies. I became very fond of this dish last year in Spain. Fresh white anchovies marinated in vinegar. Yum.


Penne pomodoro.


Trenette al pesto. Fettuccine-like pasta with pesto.


Spaghetti pomodoro.


Ravioli di pesce con salsa bianca di San pietro. Ricotta ravioli with white fish sauce.


Ravioli di noce. Ricotta ravioli with walnut pesto. This was the second best implementation of this, good, but not as good as at Antonios.

Overall this was a perfectly pleasant lunch. The pastas were very good.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Santa Margherita – La Paranza
  2. Eating Santa Margherita – Antonios
  3. Eating Santa Margherita – Hotel Miramare
  4. Eating Santa Margherita – Miramare Breakfast
  5. Eating Santa Marghertia – Da Michele
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: anchovies, Caprese, eating-italy, lunch, pasta, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Margherita, Santa Margherita Ligure, Trattoria dei Pescatori

Crafty Little Lunch

Jun03

Restaurant: Craft

Location: 10100 Constellation Blvd. Century City, Ca. 90067. 310-279-4180

Date: May 26, 2011

Cuisine: Farmer’s Market California

Rating: Nice little power lunch

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I was meeting a friend in Century City at the Annenberg Space for Photography (which I hadn’t even known existed), and we decided to catch lunch at nearby Craft. I’ve eaten dinner a couple times here before and thought it a very good “New California” style restaurant using a sort of large American tapas style. I think they may have ditched this format (at least the lunch menu shows no evidence of it). This seems to happen a lot and really bums me out as I completely and utterly prefer the small-plates style to the appetizer/entree dinosaur.


The menu. We both went for the little $30 “power lunch.” Craft is right in the heart of Century City with all the lawyers and CAA, so it’s obviously a spot for those putting lunch on the expense account.


Bread.


“Wild Mache, pistachio & raisin.” Really great little salad. The greens had a nice peppery quality, complemented nicely by the light dressing and the sweetness of the raisins.


“Rabbit tortellini, pecorino & baby onion.” Very nice little pasta too, in that buttery tortellini school. Inside was some good solid chunks of rabbit meat. The sauce was basically butter, cream, pecorino and onion.


“Sea Bream, leeks, fennel & watermelon radish.” The sauce was on the side as my friend preferred.


The leeks, fennel & watermelon radish.


The dessert menu.


Expresso.


“Ricotta cheesecake, poached cherries.” A slightly new format of an old classic.

“Profiteroles, mint chip ice cream & chocolate.” This should have been delicious, but for some reason it was muted. The pastries were really good, like a Beard Papa cookie shell, but the ice cream, while creamy, didn’t taste enough like mint. Not like the powerful mint leaf flavor of say Sweet Rose Creamery. The chocolate too was a bit muted.

Overall, this was a nice little lunch. I’ll have to go back for dinner again, although if they totally abandoned the small plates I’m bummed.

Related posts:

  1. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  2. Ford’s Filling Station
  3. La Cachette Bistro part deux et trois
  4. Fraiche Santa Monica
  5. Waterloo & City
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beard Papa, California, Century City, Century City Los Angeles, Cooking, Craft, Craft Los Angeles, Dessert, Ice cream, lunch, pasta, Power Lunch, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad

The “Reform Kosher” for Passover Tuna Melt

Apr23

We were scrounging around for lunch and came up with this variant passover tuna melt. While “passover” compliant it is in the tradition of the Great Trefa Banquet of 1883. You’ll see why. My wife did not participate — for the same reason.


So in making the tuna itself. At home I use this red chunk Italian tuna packed in olive oil which is amazing. Here I only had some Trader Joe’s albacore packed in water. So I added some olive oil (I don’t like mayo with my tuna). I also threw in some chopped cornichons, fresh ground pepper, lemon juice.


And mustard. Now this is a great mustard, but as we searched my mom’s very deep pantry, it came up.


Notice the price on this baby, and the yellowed tag. Today you’d find this tub for around $29, therefore dating this particular example to the 80s. We moved on to a lesser, but “younger” mustard.


The tuna.


The matzah, waiting.


Here’s the Trefa, a little Prosciutto.

Matzah, ham, then tuna.


A nice aged cheddar (goes so well with the ham).


All four.


A little trip to the toaster oven and…


Voila.


Close up. Yum!


Others who aren’t tomato haters used some of these.


As shown.


And after baking.


Our explorations in the pantry also turned up this vintage can of hazelnut oil, complete with archaic french price tag. It might date back to the late 70s!

For a similar non-passover snack, see here.

To see my passover seder, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Passover Seder 2011 – day 2
  2. Passover Seder 2011 – day 1
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Black pepper, Cooking, Lemon juice, lunch, Matzo, Olive oil, Passover, Prosciutto, Sandwich, Tuna, Tuna melt

Quick Eats: Coastal Flats

Dec03

Restaurant: Coastal Flats

Location: 7860-L Tysons Corner CenterMcLean, VA 22102(703) 356-1440

Date: Nov 30, 2010

Cuisine: Southern Coastal American

 

This place is part of a small local chain of one-off’s. That is, each restaurant in  the group has a different name and menu. While they’re slightly commercial, they do a good job. Everything is tasty and reliable. Not innovative or fancy, but good. In a world dominated by chains the complete one-off restaurant is dying at the midrange level. In particular, they seem unable to secure leases in these coveted mall-type spaces. Probably the mall authorities are unwilling to take a risk. However, not all chains are totally evil — just most! — you know who you are Olive Garden et all!

The menu. Not so disimilar to the little non-chain Eastern Shore places I remember as a kid, just bigger and more internationalized.

Crab cakes, with cous-cous. I didn’t try the sandwich, but the cous-cous was very tasty, with a slighly sweet flavor.

A grilled salmon sandwich, not on the menu, but they improvised.

The lobster roll. This was GOOD. The corn was very sweet, and the lobster tender and fresh. The fries were excellent too.

The remains of the fried grouper my two-year-old enjoyed. He was particularly partial to the applesauce.

I love tartar and cocktail sauces with my fries. This tartar, i have to say, was one of the best I’ve had. There were capers, and an excellent lemony tang.

The flour-less chocolate waffle is awesome.

The commercial-style decor. Nothing wrong with it, but not a lot of character either. Service is always very good at these places, in that way that tells you they have a formal staff training program.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Mon Ami Gabi
  2. Quick Eats: Brunch at Tavern
  3. Quick Eats: La Cachette Bistro
  4. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  5. Quick Eats: Piccolo
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: chain, Crabcake, Dessert, Food, Lobster roll, lunch, Restaurant, reviews, side dishes, Southern Food, United States, vegetarian
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