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Ancient Baroli

Nov29

Restaurant: Heroic Deli and Wine Bar [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Location: 516 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 490-0202

Date: May 17, 2022

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome wines and time

In Spring of 2022 friend Jeffrey, owner of Heroic Italian, hosted a series of old wine dinners. This one is (mostly) old Barolo. These things are immortal and some of my favorite accessible old wines.

To complement Jeffrey prepared an almost ludicrously rich and copious amount of food. Pay careful attention as the plated courses are INDIVIDUAL.

The street view.

We situated ourselves in the back of the main dining room. This was an epic dinner. Not only were the wine’s crazy good — these last forever.

Tonight’s special menu.

From my cellar: 2015 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. VM 93+. Good bright yellow. The pure, complex nose suggests lime, yellow apple and botanical herbs. Then very precise, intense and penetrating, if still youthfully unevolved, conveying a powerful, three-dimensional impression of extract and a deep, textured, multilayered mouthfeel. The wine closes very long and juicy, with herbal and saline elements that titillate the taste buds. Another outstanding wine from Valentini, who never misses a beat with his Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. (Drink between 2022-2033)

Jotas Jamon brushetta. Special piggy toasts.

Scallop with Uni and Caviar.

Walker manages the wines.

From my cellar: 1958 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva. Unfortunately flawed. Tasted like old dry sherry. Really really good dry sherry.

The 1958 is on the left next to another wine of similar age. Uh yeah, it’s gone. Had to open a backup 58 (below).

One old Spanish “snuck” in.

Praise Cheezus. Jeffrey concocted this whacky take on fried mozzarella served with spicy sauce, garlic aioli, and pesto.

We demonstrate how cheesy the interior is!

1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva. 94 points. Wild strawberries with balsamico was mentioned by one at the dinner, and I completely agree. Also the slightest hint of nail polish. Also leather, rose hip, rose petals and “old” scents like an aged book or an old style library.

1955 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo.

Lobster Claw “prequel.” Served before the main lobster event.

My backup: 1958 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva. 96 points. Very light color in the glass, but the wine got better and better with air. Overall it was consistent with my previous experience. Complex nose of dried flowers, caramel, quite a bit of red fruit, tar, and cherries. Good structure with present tannins and fruit notes that picked up weight with air. Long finish. Amazing experience.

Spicy Calabrian Sausage Pasta. This is an awesome dish with great al dente pasta and quite a lot of heat. Sort of a wine killer, but delicious all the same.

Lobster “Thermidor.” Mayhaps there is a “reaction” to this joke.

Farmer’s market asparagus.

1964 Fontanafredda Barolo. 93 points.

1967 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo. JG 94. 1967 is one of my absolute favorite vintages in the Langhe for current consumption and the ’67 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo is a stunning example of this very underrated year. The celestial nose offers up a complex and classy mélange of black cherries, licorice, pungent roses, road tar, spit-roasted gamebirds, complex soil tones and a topnote of bonfires. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and absolutely à point, with a great core of pure fruit, melting tannins, bright acids and simply stunning length and grip on the focused and impeccably balanced finish. Just a great bottle of fully mature Barolo at its zenith! (Drink between 2010-2040)

1970 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo.

Heroic’s amazing garlic bread. So good, so carby.

Pan seared foie gras “Estilo Hoffman.” Larry likes his foie.

Herbed Kurobata Pork Roll. aka porchetta.
The porchetta served with smashed potatoes, liver sauce, and creamed spinach (below). The meat was amazingly flavorful with that perfect crispy exterior. The smashed potatoes are very sexy as well.

Creamed spinach.

Old Amaro and Etrusco — cool stuff!

Holy Cannoli. Good cannoli, but the shell needs that bubbly flakey quality from adding the wine to the dough and the ricotta, while good, wasn’t made fresh that morning in a small Sicilian village.

Overall, another amazing meal. So much food and so good. And the old Baroli… Except for my dead solider there were so many good ancient grapes. I really like old baroli as they have this lovely dried fruit quality that just keeps going and going!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more Foodie Club dining, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Barolo, Foodie Club, Gelato, ham, Heroic Italian, Jeffrey Merrihue, pasta, Pig, Wine

Quick Eats — Piccolo

Nov07

Restaurant: Piccolo

Location: 2127 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 314-0144

Date: April 14, 2022

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Excellent neighborhood Italian

Piccolo is the latest restaurant by Chef Antonio Muré. I’ve been to a lot of his places around the west side over the years including the original Piccolo.

The menu.

From my cellar: 2003 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Grandi Annate. 91-3 points. Incredibly well settled out and integrated, lovely fruit with cranberry and black rasberry undertones, not sweet but good viscosity, aftertaste of licorice/anise and earth.

Bread.

Insalate Crescione.

Beet Carpaccio.

Beef Carpaccio with Fondue and Truffles. The Truffles! Really good, albeit light.

Butter pasta.

Orchetti with Red Sauce.

Pici alla Melanzane.

Twisty noodles with tomato sauce.

Branzino.

Lamb Chops.

This was just a quick family dinner but the food was very good. Very typical of chef Muré.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chef Antonio Muré, Italian cuisine, pasta, Piccolo, Venice

Old Baroli at Etta

Jul23

Restaurant: Etta

Location: 8801 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. (424) 570-4444

Date: November 10, 2021 and June 10, 2022

Cuisine: Italian Wood-fire grill

Rating: Tasty, hearty

Etta is a new “transplant” from Chicago bringing a sort of modern Italian American wood-fire grill thing to LA.

It’s located adjacent to the Shay boutique hotel in Culver City.

The interior is large and attractive with a lively bar scene.

On 11/10/22 we brought an all Italian slate of mostly old Baroli, plus this bonus white of mine.

2015 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. AG 93+. Good bright yellow. The pure, complex nose suggests lime, yellow apple and botanical herbs. Then very precise, intense and penetrating, if still youthfully unevolved, conveying a powerful, three-dimensional impression of extract and a deep, textured, multilayered mouthfeel. The wine closes very long and juicy, with herbal and saline elements that titillate the taste buds. Another outstanding wine from Valentini, who never misses a beat with his Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.

1937 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

1958 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

1961 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

1964 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

1967 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

1970 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo.

1978 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

The menu in November 2021.

And in June 2022.

Fire- baked focaccia. Ricotta, honey, truffle. Nice and fluffy.

Meatballs. Sunday sauce, fire-wilted kale, herbed yogurt, grilled bread. A bit of heat.

Roasted eggplant. Tahini ricotta, buttered hazelnuts, Calabrian chie, herb salad. Pretty darn spicy actually.

Bubbling shrimp. Ginger, chiltepin chile, mint.

Rack-roasted oysters. smoked-tomato butter, lovage, lemon.

Grilled pork jowl. Smashed cucumbers, peanuts, herb salad.

Little Gem Salad. Avocado, cucumbers, creme fraiche vinaigrette. Nice textures.

Pizza toppings.

Wild Mushroom Pizza. Goat cheese, black truffle raclette. Excellent except for the truffle oil.

Fire Pizza. Sausage, giardiniera, chile de arbol. Spicy sausage basically.

Cacio e pepe agnolotti. Pecorino, black pepper.

Lumache. Sun gold pomodoro, basil, olive oil.

Casarecce bolognese. Parmesan fondue.

Spaghettone. Uni, lemon, black pepper.

Orecchiette. Crispy sausage, cavolo nero, tomato jus, fennel pollon. Lots of hearty flavor. Some spice.

Cacio e pepe. Mafaldine, pecorino, black pepper. Lovely, nice emulsion.

Orecchiette with red sauce.

Brussels sprouts. Honey dijon vinaigrette, crispy bacon, dill yogurt, herbs.

Market haricot vrt. Grilled romano beans, sweet peppers, lemon vinaigrette, purslane.

40oz bone-in hearth-roasted short rib. This is the fixings tower.

Herbs.

Pickles, sauces, and more herbs.

The actual meat. 40oz bone-in hearth-roasted short rib. You made your own pita/taco like things out of this. delicious.

Bread and “sauce”?

Dry-aged whole branzino. Brown butter, capers, parsley, lemon.

Spinalis. Last of the season tomatoes, wild arugula, parmesan & date vinegar.

Hanger steak. Tamarind glazed bok choy, pepita butter, charred cipollini, crispy buckwheat. Nice steak.

Dessert menus from the two days.

Mint chip semifreddo. Devil’s food cake, creme de menthe, chocolate sorbet.

Chocolate ice cream. Caramel, brownies.

Strawberry ice cream. Olive oil, sea salt.

Double Chocolate Mousse. Feuilletine crunch, dark chocolate cremeux, banana sherbert, oreo crumbs.

Etta was good. Hearty and perhaps just as much American as it is Italian — maybe more than 50% — but it is pretty tasty. The space is large, loud, and attractive. Service was pretty good. Very friendly for sure, although I had to go “grab” some glasses because I’m impatient.

Our wines on this Barolo night (the second visit was more casual) were really awesome. Old Borgogno rocks!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Barolo, Culver City, Etta, Foodie Club, Italian cuisine, pasta, Pizza, Wine

Quick Eats – Pasta Sisters

Jul18

Restaurant: Pasta Sisters

Location: 3280 Helms Ave, Culver City, CA 90232. (424) 603-4503

Date: November 5, 2021

Cuisine: Pasta

Rating: Good pasta, weird fast casual format

I met John G for a nice little lunch in Culver City on this particular Friday.

Pasta Sisters in located on the corner of Helm’s Bakery.

Yep. Helms bakery location.

Small interior space with very little (or no?) interior dining space.

The fast casual menu at the counter.

A bit of focaccia bread.

Spaghetti Truffle. A daily special simple pasta with white truffle.

Spaghetti Bottarga. Dry Sardinian mullet roe, olive oil, garlic.

Tagliatelle Porcini. Fresh Italian porcini, cream, parsley.

Gnocchi Pesto. Pine nuts, basil, parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano, extra virgin olive oil.

BRESAOLA CARPACCIO. air dried carpaccio, arugula, shaved parmigiano reggiano, lemon olive oil.

This is pretty good pasta, but it is served in an odd fast casual format. Typical counter ordering where you pair the very small number of pastas with a variety of simple sauces. The results are quite “tight” (aka good) but very very “classic.” They aren’t new style more integrated pasta dishes like at a place like Felix. As such, I’d only come for a quick lunch. I don’t do fast casual formats for dinner. But if I was near Culver City and craving pasta it’s not bad at all. There is a very nice patio too.

After lunch on this particular day we went down the block and tried some ice cream.

This place specializes in home made (simple) ice cream put inside cookies.

Voila.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Culver City, pasta, Quick Eats

Marino al Fresco

Oct01

Restaurant: Marino Ristorante [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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

Date: June 3, 2021

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Superb

Tonight I return to a favorite haunt.

The amazing chef/owner Sal Marino cooks at his original family location, venerable Marino Ristorante on Melrose and continues to whip up his unique blend of amazing modern Italian. And if anything, he’s gotten even better.

Post pandemic they’ve turned the parking lot into a cute patio.

We begin with a bit of white Burg because the bringer of champagne is fashionably late. But the quality of their champ makes up for it!

2012 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 93. Here the nose is aromatically similar to the Pucelles but with even better complexity and elegance. There is fine mid-palate density to the refined and marvelously intense medium-bodied flavors that possess the same fine complexity on the beautifully well-balanced and highly persistent finale. This is very Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet in the sense that it allies finesse and grace with power. (Drink starting 2019)

Our table. Just ignore the cinder block in the distance :-).

2007 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. VM 97+. The 2007 Dom Ruinart is the first vintage made entirely by Chef de Caves Frédéric Panaïotis, which shows just how long the production cycle is in Champagne. A striking, tightly-coiled wine, the 2007 Dom Ruinart will leave readers week at the knees. In this vintage, Panaïotis took Dom Ruinart, which has traditionally relied on a relatively high percentage of Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims and tilted the balance to 75% Côtes des Blancs and 25% Montagne de Reims fruit. As a result, the 2007 is much more chiseled and steely than is the norm. The citrus, slate, crushed rock, white pepper, mint and floral notes really sizzle in this powerful, dramatically rich Champagne, with bright saline notes that add freshness and vivacity to the striking finish. The 2007 is a stunning Champagne by any measure. Although it is very early, the 2007 has the potential to go down as one of the great Dom Ruinarts. It is every bit that special. Dosage is under 5 grams per liter, a pretty striking change from the 2006, which was closer to 10. Readers who can grab the 2007 won’t want to miss it. (Drink between 2018-2048)

2006 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé. VM 97+. The 2006 Dom Pérignon Rosé is every bit as captivating as it was last year, maybe even more so. At times powerful, but in other moments finessed, the 2006 constantly changes in the glass, revealing a different shade of its personality with every taste. Perhaps most importantly, the 2006 seems to have gained a level of precision and pure sophistication it did not show last year, when it was quite a bit less put together. Back then, the 2006 was a wine of tremendous potential; today that potential is starting to be realized. Quite simply, the 2006 Dom Pérignon Rosé is a magical Champagne. Don’t miss it. (Drink between 2020-2046)

PEACH & BURRATA. Regier Farms yellow peaches, burrata, wild baby arugula.

From my cellar: 2007 Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. VM 93. Bright golden-tinged straw. Complex nose of apricot, quince, flint and mint. Dense, suave and juicy, with a multilayered quality to its flinty-mineral and orchard fruit flavors. The note of diesel fuel emerges again on the long, magically mouthcoating but vibrant back end. One of the best Trebbiano d’Abruzzo’s I have memory of from Pepe. This older Trebbiano d’Abruzzo is a specific release for the US and other international markets. (Drink between 2016-2026)

agavin: unfortunately this had a strong turpentine quality that was not very enjoyable.
2005 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes. BH 94. A beautifully elegant and highly complex nose of extract of dark berry fruit that is both elegant and complex serves as a dramatic introduction to the big-bodied, indeed even robust flavors that are firm, dense and incredibly concentrated, all wrapped in a palate drenching finish that just oozes dry extract and gives a velvety texture to the unbelievably long finale. This is a wonderfully gifted wine that has everything it needs to age gracefully for multiple decades and it will need 12 to 15 years in a cool cellar to really hit its stride. This too is one of those ‘wow’ wines. (Drink starting 2017)

ZUCCHINI BLOSSOM. ricotta & marjoram filled zucchini blossoms.

From my cellar: 2001 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. JG 94+. The 2001 vintage is one of the recent favorites of Signor Pepe, and he is convinced that this will be a classic in the fullness of time. The bouquet is still quite primary in its blend of dark berries, black cherries, Cuban cigars, a bit of cherry pits, dark soil, botanicals and a nice touch of nutskin in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite a powerful young vintage of the Pepe Montepulciano, with a rock solid core of fruit, lovely, nascent complexity, chewy tannins and excellent length and grip on the focused and still quite youthful finish. Today, the fine 2003 accessible, but with sufficient bottle age, the 2001 is going to be a reference point vintage of this great wine. (Drink between 2020-2050)

agavin: the red Pepe, however, was great!

MACCHERONCINI RABBIT. homemade pasta, rabbit ragout.

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1995 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo. VM 95. Gaja’s 1995 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is potent and virile to the core. A modern-day version of the 1974, the 1995 hits the palate with a rush of fruit enveloped by firm, powerful tannins. The style is frank, direct and intense, with fabulous richness but also some elements of rusticity. The 1995 will drink well for another 10-15 years. (Drink between 2014-2024)

1996 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì Tildìn. VM 96. The Sorì Tildìn is one of the best wines in this retrospective of Gaja’s 1996s. Sweet floral notes, mint and sweet red cherries give the 1996 its distinctive lifted, perfumed personality, qualities that are enhanced by the wine’s natural acidity. Fresh, aromatically open and also quite energetic, Sorì Tildìn is distinguished by its detail and nuance. Think of a sketch done in fine pencil. (Drink between 2016-2036)

PAPPARDELLE BOLOGNESE. 3hr beef, pork and veal meat sauce.

2004 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. VM 93. The inky-colored 2004 Redigaffi, 100% Merlot aged for 16 months in new oak, offers expressive, nuanced aromatics along with sensations of richly-textured blue and black jammy fruit, minerals, mint, chocolate, spices and sweet toasted oak on big, powerful frame with notable underlying structure and a warm, resonating finish. Although it has enough structure and acidity to drink well for another decade or so, I enjoy Redigaffi most in its youth. (Drink between 2013-2016)

2005 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. VM 92. The 2005 Redigaffi will delight Tua Rita fans. Large, ample and broad on the palate, the 2005 possesses remarkable depth and intensity within the context of the year. Mocha, torrefaction, plum, smoke, brown spices and leather meld together in a big, opulent wine. All things considered, the 2005 has held up well, but signs of oxidation are setting in. Any remaining bottles need to be enjoyed over the next few years. (Drink between 2015-2018)

Pork stew with onions and mashed potatoes. Super flavorful and delicious.

1997 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia. VM 94. The 1997 Ornellaia is another wine that is in the zone today. Soft, sensual and inviting, the 1997 has aged gracefully and also maintained a good deal of freshness as well. Wild flowers, spice, mint and red stone fruit continue to open up as this sumptuous wine fleshes out in the glass. (Drink between 2016-2031)

2015 Sine Qua Non Syrah Trouver l’Arene. VM 97. A real head-turner, the 2015 Syrah Trouver l’Arène is every bit as compelling from bottle as it was from barrel. Rich, sumptuous and exquisitely layered, the 2015 possesses magnificent concentration as it builds in the glass. Inky dark blue/purplish berry fruit, graphite, smoke, licorice and spice are some of the many nuances that develop in an arrestingly beautiful, vivid Syrah that will thrill those fortunate enough to find it. The blend is 80.5% Syrah, 7% Petite Sirah, 7% Mourvedre, 2% Grenache and 3.5% Viognier, done with 34% whole clusters and aged for 22 months in 48% new oak. (Drink between 2020-2035)

Sal, who was out at a catering event, returns just in time to bring in the meat!

And a closeup.

Porterhouse with mushroom sauce and brussels sprouts.

Vietnamese Hazelnut Coffee Gelato — Cafe du Monde coffee milk with Piedmontese Hazelnut Paste swirled with Sweetened Condensed Milk — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #vietnameseCoffee #coffee #CafeduMonde #SweetenedCondensedMilk #hazelnut

Chocolate Peanut Cream – a base made from 100% Valrhona Chocolate and South American Peanuts layered with house-made Peanut Butter Cream Cheese “Cream” — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #chocolate #valrhona #peanuts #icing #PeanutButter #reeses

The wine lineup.

Another great dinner. I really like the al fresco dining. Food was good, but I’ve had more elaborate and interesting meals from Sal. Tonight he was out for most of the evening, we didn’t have any of his specialties (like crudo and gazpacho), and more materially the person organizing the dinner has a more “modest” ordering sensibility than I do. Check out this meal I put together with Sal by contrast. He’s a fabulous chef when you let him go all out. The stand out for me tonight was the pork stew — which was pretty incredible actually.

Wines were pretty excellent too (except for my white Pepe).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Marinos, pasta, Pepe, Sal Marino, Wine

Return to Rocco’s

Jun21

Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: Santa Monica

Date: Spring, 2021

Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking

Rating: Awesome

Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. So it’s very fitting for what’s only my second post lockdown dinner.

The dynamic Borgese team consists of Rocco, his lovely wife (and the main kitchen chef), and his daughter (helping out with service).

Their house has not only a wine cellar, but a cheese and meat larder!

Plus all this incredible wood fired oven set up.

We have this fabulous outside table, perfect for covid ventliation.

Tonight’s special menu.

2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne P2. JG98. Somehow, I never managed to cross paths with the initial disgorgement of the 2002 Dom Pérignon, so I was delighted to see the coming P2 version waiting in the wings in our tasting lineup in March at the Abbé d’Hautvillers. It would be fascinating to compare the P2 with the first release of the 2002 Dom Pérignon, in much the same way I tasted the two 1996 versions side by side, as this is a great Champagne vintage that dovetails so beautifully with the house style of this bottling. The 2002 P2 delivers a stunning young nose of pear, apple, stony minerality, iodine, dried flowers a touch of nuttiness, menthol and gentle upper register botanicals so emblematic of this cuvée as it starts to first stretch its wings. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and absolutely rock solid at the core, with lovely mousse, laser-like focus again and stunning backend mineral drive on the very, very long, perfectly balanced finish. The 2002 Dom Pérignon P2 looks to be almost unreachable by the passage of time and could easily last a century. (Drink between 2022-2095)

Capesante al Tartufo. Divine quality to these scallops, served in crudo style with a bit of olive oil and delectable truffles.

NV Krug Champagne Brut Rose Edition 24eme. VC 97. The Krug Rosé Brut “24ème Édition” is from the base year of 2012 and the wine is absolutely stunning on both the nose and palate. The wine includes reserves back to the 2006 vintage and ended up with a cépages of forty percent pinot noir, thirty-two percent pinot meunier and twenty-eight percent chardonnay. The wine this year includes eleven percent of its pinot noir component as still red wine from Aÿ, and the wine is quite a bit deeper in hue than is often the case for a Krug Rosé. The bouquet is pure, precise and utterly refined, wafting from the glass in a mix of fraises du bois, a touch of rhubarb, blood orange, caraway seed, wheat toast, a gorgeous base of soil tones, discreet smokiness and a topnote of rose petal. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, vibrant and flawlessly balanced, with a great core, refined mousse, bright acids and a long, complex and laser-like finish. I always love Krug Rosé, but this may well be my favorite iteration of this bottling I have ever had the pleasure to taste. (Drink between 2020-2060)

2006 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé. VM 97+. The 2006 Dom Pérignon Rosé is every bit as captivating as it was last year, maybe even more so. At times powerful, but in other moments finessed, the 2006 constantly changes in the glass, revealing a different shade of its personality with every taste. Perhaps most importantly, the 2006 seems to have gained a level of precision and pure sophistication it did not show last year, when it was quite a bit less put together. Back then, the 2006 was a wine of tremendous potential; today that potential is starting to be realized. Quite simply, the 2006 Dom Pérignon Rosé is a magical Champagne. Don’t miss it. (Drink between 2020-2046)

Tartare di Manzo con Tartufo. Another gorgeous truffle statement with great texture.

2010 Joseph Drouhin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 93+. Pale bright yellow. Very stony aromas of peach, apricot and grilled nuts. At once thoroughly ripe and quite dry, with its primary fruit flavors currently dominated by a strong dusty stone element. This very backward but scented Perrieres saturates the palate with spices and minerals.

2012 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Domaine. JG 96. The 2012 Bouchard Chevalier-Montrachet “Normale” is a stunning wine, with a bit more of an inviting structure out of the blocks than the even more refined la Cabotte. The gorgeous nose soars from the glass in a very deep and pure blend of pear, tangerine, chalky minerality, a touch of almond paste, apple blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and almost silky in its texture out of the blocks, with a superb core, excellent focus and grip and a very, very long, elegant and perfectly poised finish. Great juice. (Drink between 2020-2060)

Risotto al Gamberi de Santa Barbara. The cooked down shrimp shells in the risotto brown give this an awesome seafood flavor.

From my cellar: 1996 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 94 points. A lovely Perrières that is gracefully straddling the fence of freshness and maturity. A trace of fruit is joined by nutty, mushroomy tertiary notes. A real delight.

2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. BH 97. A background touch of wood frames green fruit, white flower and salt water aromas that introduce ultra pure, refined, elegant and cool flavors that possess terrific vibrancy and focused power before culminating in a driving, understated, firm and altogether serious finish. I very much like this as it’s classic Valmur and should age beautifully as the balance is perfect. Perhaps the best way to capture the spectacular potential of this wine is to call it brilliant. Don’t miss it but note that patience is required. (Drink starting 2018)

Fake chard (forgot to photo the annoyingly hidden vineyard and vintage, so can’t look it up).

Pasta al Ricci di Mare. Perfect al dente uni pasta. What not to love?

From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares. VM 94. The 2001 De Vogüé Bonnes Mares exhibited uncommon depth and richness in the luxuriousness of its vibrant fruit, with a personality that was delicate yet powerful. Still very much an infant, it was a privilege to catch this gorgeous wine in its youth.

1995 Château Haut-Brion. JG 94+. The 1995 vintage of Haut-Brion is excellent, though still a few years away from primetime drinking. The bouquet is deep, pure and classical in profile, delivering scents of cassis, sweet dark berries, singed tobacco, a touch of coffee bean, fresh herb tones, a complex base of gravelly soil tones, cedary oak and just a hint of the more red fruity elements that are sure to emerge here with further bottle age. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep, complex and seamlessly balanced, with ripe, buried tannins, fine focus and grip and outstanding length on the vibrant and very classy finish. This is a superb Haut-Brion in the making. (Drink between 2025-2085)

Quaglia Fritta al Rosmarino. Super crispy, salty, and savory.

Agnolotti Fatti in Casa con Ragu di Costolette. Like the ultimate Chef Boyardee beef ravioli!

A pasta-less version for Yarom.

Steaks on the grill.

Prawns at the ready.

2001 Château Haut-Brion. VM 92+. Full red-ruby, less bright than La Mission. Brooding aromas of raspberry, nuts, menthol and game. Dense, rich, chewy and deep but a bit youthfully closed, showing less personality today than the 2001 La Mission. Larger but not longer. Finishes with building tannins and a minty nuance.

2003 Château Margaux. VM 96. Full, saturated red-ruby. Knockout nose combines redcurrant, tropical chocolate, leather, woodsmoke and nutty oak with exotic chocolate mint and coffee liqueur; still manages to retain floral lift even in this beastly vintage. Then wonderfully fat, sweet and full, even if it comes across as almost heavy following the ineffable 2005 and 2004 examples. But “relatively inelegant” for Margaux still suggests a degree of refinement that few chateaux can match in the greatest vintages. A hugely rich and dense wine that finishes with elevated but ripe tannins and great length, with a subtle suggestion of dry spices. Pontallier says the terroir will take over in 20 years, “like with the ’82.” Splendid.

2001 Château Latour Grand Vin. VM 97+. The 2001 Latour is magnificent. A huge, structured wine, the 2001 Latour boasts notable depth to match its vertical, towering structure and pure power. At nearly fifteen years of age, the 2001 remains deep, virile and imposing. With air, the 2001 is a approachable now, but ideally it needs at least a few more years in bottle. This is a superb showing by any measure. Frédéric Engerer adds that 2001 was the last vintage that was lightly filtered prior to bottling. (Drink between 2021-2051)

Bistecca de New York con Fuoco di Lenga. Some great meat.

Wood fired potatoes.

Wood fired eggplant.

2002 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline. VM 90. Bright red. Intensely perfumed aromas of cherry and redcurrant, accented by cinnamon and dried flowers; smells downright Burgundian. Silky, sweet and mineral-driven red fruit flavors offer impressive energy and focus, with just a suggestion of tannin on the back end. I find this really elegant today.

1994 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin. JG 94. I like the 1994 Hommage à Jacques Perrin a bit better than the 1995- both for drinking today and for its ultimate, long-term quality as well. There is a touch of brett here on the nose, but at a more manageable level than what is found in the 2000 iteration. The nose wafts from the glass in a complex blend of cassis, woodsmoke, dark soil tones, grilled venison, pepper, the first touch of autumnal elements and a generous framing of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied complex and quite classic in profile, with a fine core, still a bit of melting tannin and excellent focus and balance on the long and complex finish. It is pretty clear that the earliest vintages of Hommage were the best! (Drink between 2016-2035)

1999 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 91. Moderately saturated red-ruby. Complex nose melds redcurrant, kirsch, iron, tobacco, mocha and spices. Chewy, intensely flavored and fairly deep, but rather tight following the bottling. As usual for this estate, in a rather claret-like style, without the obvious surmaturite of some Chateauneufs. Firm acidity and sweet, fine tannins give this wine the backbone to age slowly. Finishes with subtle persistence.

Gamberi de Santa Barara alla Griglia.

2003 Château Suduiraut. JG 93. The 2003 Suduiraut is the finest example of this vintage in Sauternes that I have yet tasted, though this is admittedly from a fairly small sampling of the vintage. The bouquet is deep, pure and very refined in its mélange of pineapple, apricot, peach, coconut, gentle soil tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and most impressively light on its feet, with fine mid-palate depth, with lovely focus and just a touch of youthful bitterness still to resolve on the long, succulent and bouncy finish. The acids here are not as zesty as in the 2005, but there are sufficient to frame the wine beautifully and to keep it fresh and lively far into the future. I would give this wine three or four years to fully blossom and then drink it over the next several decades. (Drink between 2013-2040)

Beignets with Berries.

Strawberry Cheesecake Gelato — strawberry cream-cheese base with strawberry ripple and house-made graham cracker crumble. Made by me of course.

The wine lineup. Not too shabby.

Overall, this was an amazing dinner, and the Borgese’s just keep amping up the quality.

First of all, the Borgese hospitality was awesome, the house lovely, and the food absolutely incredible. Best “home cooked” meal I’ve had. Maybe ever if you restrict it to chefs cooking in their own home kitchen. Just amazing. Every dish was great. Rustic but extremely delicious style. Superb homemade pastas. My gelato was darn good too :-).

Service was handled by the youngest Borgese (teen daughter) and was better than most restaurant staff. Super friendly and you can tell they do this a lot.

Wines were, as you can, pretty darn impressive!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: BYOG, Dinner at the Borgese's, Gelato, hedonists, Italian cuisine, pasta, Rocco Borgese, Wine

Penfolds Marino

Apr10

Restaurant: Marino Ristorante [1, 2, 3, 4]

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

Date: February 25, 2020

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Superb

Tonight I return to a favorite haunt for a special Penfolds dinner featuring one of Penfolds own, organized by my good friend John.

The amazing chef/owner Sal Marino cooks at his original family haunt, venerable Marino Ristorante on Melrose and continues to whip up his unique blend of amazing modern Italian. And if anything, he’s gotten even better.

Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia’s oldest wineries, and is currently part of Treasury Wine Estates.

Our special menu tonight.

Wines at the ready.

And just chilling.

2012 Penfolds x Thienot Champagne Lot. 1-175. Pale yellow. Some mousse on the pour. Medium sized persistent bubbles.
Chalky nose. Pears, apples, chalky with a hint of tobacco. Very astringent and aggressive on first sip. Some nuttiness. No brioche and very little mousse on sipping. Well structured. An excellent bottle without a doubt. It should age well, but it’s approachable now. Good stuff. QPR a tad low.

Tuna and caviar with olive oil. Nice bite. Flavors soft and subtle.

Razor clams. Very Vietnamese but super delicious.

Rock cod with Japanese Sea Urchin. Delicious, but I might have liked a more intense uni flavor.

The gang at the big table in the back of the main dining room.

Sal introduces the food.

2016 Penfolds Chardonnay Yattarna. 95 points. White Peach, nectarine, meyer lemons, lemon meringue pie along with a nutty profile and great acidity, this is wine is painfully young, wait 10 years to fully enjoy this masterpiece. Multi-regional blend. From Tasmania, Henty, Adelaide Hills and Tumbarumba aged in french oak barrels (35% new) for 8 months.

agavin: this was a great “fake” chard (as I call any non white Burgundy chard). But it is expensive considering it’s “fake.”

Wild Japanese Snapper Crudo with Radish Mosaic. Very nice soft flavors.

2016 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri. 94 points. Clear deep ruby; clean medium plus nose of cassis, blueberries, black pepper, toast and vanilla; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; pronounced flavor intensity; pfn with addition of cocoa and black licorice; long finish; outstanding quality; from the bottle, it wasn’t as pronounced as we remember from the Penfolds dinner; we decanted and it was infinitely better

Prime Filet Tartare, black truffle. Tons of strong truffle aromatics.

2017 Penfolds Shiraz RWT Bin 798. 94 points. Clear deep ruby; clean medium nose of fresh cassis yogurt, vanilla, blueberry and toast; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; medium plus flavour intensity; pfn with addition of cocoa; long finish; outstanding quality; big ass wine

Rhode Island Black Bass with black tuscan kale and sweet onions. This was paired (controversially) with a massive Austrialian red but due to the sweet onions and the awesome rich sauce it actually worked spectacularly.

2016 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707. A touch “dusty” in style.

Maccheroncini with Jimenez farm lamb ragout. Very nice meaty pasta.

1999 Penfolds Grange. VM 91+. Full ruby-red. Sexy aromas of raspberry, cola, root beer and coconut. Thick, dense and concentrated, with exotic, slightly candied dark fruit, caramel, toasted coconut and mineral flavors nicely shaped by firm acids. Shows strong fruit and a major dose of oak on the powerful, backward finish. This can’t quite match the 1998 for sheer depth of fruit, but it’s built to age.

Kirk brought this rare: 1990 Penfolds Shiraz Coonawarra.

30 day dry aged ribeye with salt and porcini mushroom sauce. Great meat, perfectly cooked and seasoned, with the stunning rich sauce.

NV Penfolds Grandfather Rare Tawny. 94 points. This is undoubtedly one of the best bottles of port I have ever had at any price. Pecans and fruitcake on the nose. Thick and luxurious with a burnt sugar, nutty palate that even seemed to have a touch of peppermint in the background. Great finish and mouthfeel with no hint of heat or alcohol. I though my impression of this may have been overblown when I drank my first bottle several months ago, due to the amount of wine consumed, but this 2nd bottle also knocked it out of the park.

Ricotta cheesecake. Very Sicilian in flavor, like a fluffy cannoli interior. Loved it.

From my cellar: 2008 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito. 94 points. Tasted at the winery: Prune-like, candied plum, cherry, siky, lush, intnse tangy aspect; not heavy, slightly sweet with good lift, medium long finish. Very nice classic passito.

This is a signature Sweet Milk flavor — Italian Lemon Cookie Meringue Pie — Limoncello Zabaione base with lemon cookie flavor mixed with Italian Lemon Creme Cookies and Sicilian Candied Lemon and topped with house-made toasted Meringue — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato) — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #lemon #LemonCookie #cookie #Sicily #Sorento #Limoncello #Meringue #LemonMeringuePie

Getting crazy with an innovative new flavor: Oaxacan Choco-Mole – The base is made with Valrhona 100% Cacao and intense Oaxacan Mole Negro from Guelaguetza restaurant — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #cocao #oaxaca #mole #molenegro

Sal was totally on point today and we had a perfect meal. Service was great too. Really nice dinner that went extremely smoothly. The wines were lovely, but BIG for the most part. Grange needs a lot of time and even the 99 was a baby. The 16s and 17s — woah.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, Grange, Italian cuisine, Marino Ristorante, pasta, Penfolds, red wine, Sal Marino, Truffle

Uni at the Borgese’s

Mar23

Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s [1, 2, 3]

Location: Santa Monica

Date: February 6, 2020

Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking

Rating: Awesome

Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. Tonight’s theme is UNI!

The dynamic Borgese team. Rocco in the center, his lovely wife (and the main kitchen chef on the left), his daughter (helping out with service) on the right of her and our Somm on the far right.

Their house has not only a wine cellar, but a cheese and meat larder!

Plus all this incredible wood fired oven set up.

Rocco apparently shucked 20-30 fresh Santa Barbara Unis in preparation for this dinner.

Some live lobsters twitch in the bowl too.

Steaks ready for the cooking.

Since it was a “wintery” Febuary evening, we ate inside in the dining room as opposed to out on the lovely patio.

Our special Uni menu.

NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 163eme. VM 95. The NV Grand Cuvée 163 Edition is wonderfully open-knit and giving, qualities that make it a terrific choice for drinking now and over the next 30 or so years. Pastry, apricot, lemon confit, chamomile and white flowers, along with soft contours, give the wine its inviting, alluring personality. There is more than enough energy and overall freshness to support several decades of fine drinking. Even so, the 163 is virtually impossible to resist at this early stage. (Drink between 2017-2037)

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition — unknown edition.

Riccio di Mare con Tartufo. Sea urchin with truffle. Two ways, one close to plain with sea-salt and the other with truffles. I think I actually like the plain more, but both were great.

2009 Dom Pérignon Champagne Luminous. 94 points. We are not sure if they play with the dosage on the Luminus given its designed for Party time but this felt softer than the usual 2009 (Papies 93) more approachable and lusher in a way. The fact that we had this in a club does not qualify for a full TN and hence no score but we do have to say that for party purposes the Luminous reigns supreme and definitely has a start & wow factor like no other.

Trish brought (thanks!): 1993 Dom Pérignon Champagne P2. 95 points. Light Amber color, good nose, nice palate feel, good bubbles and good finish.

Crostini con Burro al Riccio di Mare. Sea urchin butter crostini. Really nice crostini with a good bit of acidity to balance it out. This was even yummier than the bites.

2007 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé. VM 96. The 2007 Dom Ruinart Rosé is another brilliant wine from Chef de Caves Frédéric Panaiotis in his first vintage at the house. Delicate, nuanced and wonderfully polished, the 2007 is airy and gracious in feel, with superb aromatic intensity and exceptional balance. Sweet floral notes, mint, spice and crushed red berries are all laced together in this very pretty, gracious Rosé. More finesse than power, the 2007 is positively sublime. (Drink between 2019-2037)

From my cellar: 2007 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 97. The 2007 Comtes de Champagne Rosé is a total knock-out. Racy and exuberant in the glass, the 2007 wraps around the palate with stunning textural depth and resonance. The 15% still Pinot adds structure and persistence to a creamy, inviting Rosé Champagne that will leave readers weak at the knees. Hints of rose petal, dried cherry, cinnamon and dried flowers meld into the sublime finish. This is about as good as it gets. Wow! (Drink between 2018-2038)

2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 96. The 2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé is at once rich and refined, a simply fabulous Champagne Rosè I won’t soon forget. Intensely perfumed, with the Pinot Noir-derived red berry and cranberry flavors that are not just concentrated, but also remarkably pure. It is one of the better Rosé bubbles I have had in the last year. (Drink between 2018-2036)

Brodo al Riccio di Mare. Sea urchin bisque with spiny lobster. This was incredible. Lovely presentation in the shell too and featuring a super rich sea urchin bisque — much like a lobster bisque — with lots of lobster.

2012 Louis Jadot Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 93. There is a hint of menthol sitting atop pretty aromas of acacia blossom, spiced pear and white peach scents. The delicious, muscular and pure broad-shouldered and powerful flavors possess fine size and weight that continues onto the concentrated and impressively persistent if presently compact finish. Those who enjoy their white burgs young should note that while this is very promising there isn’t great complexity at this early stage so I would very much be inclined to allow this to age for at least 8 to 10 years first. (Drink starting 2020)
By Allen Meadows

2013 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. BH 91-94. A background whiff of SO2 is barely noticeable and does not compromise the attractiveness of the layered and intensely floral nose of almond, white peach, pear and softly spice-infused aromas. There is good volume and richness to the appealingly crisp, stony and energetic medium-bodied flavors that possess a clean, focused and beautifully textured finish. (Drink starting 2021)

2006 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. VM 95. Bonneau du Martray’s 2006 Corton-Charlemagne (magnum) opens with a super-classic bouquet of slate, crushed rocks and hints of reduction. Bracing and intense and energetic, the 2006 flows with superb focus and pure mineral-drenched cut. From magnum, the 2006 is simply dazzling and appears to have many years of fine drinking ahead of it. 95 (Drink starting 2014)

Rocco shows off the live lobsters.

Aragosta con Crema al Riccio di Mare. California Spiny Lobster with Sea Urchin Cream. Delicious “lobster salad.” Really a fabulous dish.

2017 Sine Qua Non Tectumque. VM 93. Just bottled, the 2017 White Wine The Tectumque is rich, unctuous and full of character. Dried pear, almond, honey and wild flowers all infuse this rich, flamboyant wine. The 2017 is built on a core of co-fermented Roussanne and Petit Manseng, which yields a white with intriguing layers of savory complexity. I find that the Sine Qua Non whites need time to come together in the cellar and show their best with at least a few years of bottle age. I suspect that will be the case here as well. (Drink between 2021-2029)

From my cellar: 2012 Paolo Bea Arboreus. 94 points. Complex and unique, but also, like, whatever. It is basically watered down sherry. Quite honeyed nose. Dry. Oily. Seaside wax texture. Etc. Oxidized in the manner of the style. Gained weight with time open. Perfect pairing for uni.

Pasta al Riccio di Mare. Sea urchin pasta. Scrumptious creamy pasta. Not super urchiny, but amazing all the same. A bit reminiscent of this one.

From my cellar: 1985 Nicolas Potel Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. BH 91. A very fresh yet mature nose of citrus, white flower and lightly toasted nut aromas combines with round and vibrant middle weight flavors that possess a seductive and rich mouth feel, all wrapped in a sappy and mouth coating finish. This is really a lovely effort with complexity and ample finishing punch and is a wine that will continue to hold well if not improve. (Drink between 2007-2009)

agavin: Lovely. Also a good uni pairing due to its maturity.

Risotto al Riccio di Mare con Halibut. Sea Urchin Risotto with Halibut. The risotto was delicious, maybe just a hair thick or “dry” (just a bit shy of perfect), but delicious. Halibut is a plain fish, but the risotto offset this nicely.

Marcassin Fake pinot (can’t read the vintage).

2005 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. VM 94. Good deep ruby-red. Wonderfully sweet, aromatic nose combines currant, chocolate and cedary oak. Fat, lush and silky, with atypical volume to the flavors of plum, tobacco and chocolate. Wonderfully supple, plump wine with layers of flavor, thoroughly sweet tannins and compelling aromatic persistence. Today the wine’s substantial baby fat is masking its impressive underlying power. According to Borie, this 2005 combines the best traits of the chateau’s 2003 and 2000.

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. (Wines of France , Mountainside, NJ)

Bistecca Fiorentina. Giant slabs of rare beef. Nicely salted and bloody delicious.

Optionally, we gussied the steak up with more truffle!

Roasted eggplant with olive oil and salt. I loved these.

Roasted carrots.

My first gelato as an intermezzo.

Coconut Lime Sorbetto — bright lime flavors — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Thai Coconut, Lime Juice, and a touch of Dark Vanilla Rum — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #coconut #lime #rum

Almond cake by the Borgese’s.

By coincidence, my second gelato was a perfect pairing.

Almond Amaretto Truffle Gelato — Amaretto Zabaglione (egg yolk, amaretto, and sugar custard) Sicilian Almond gelato base with stacked layers of house-made Valrhona Almond Amaretti Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #almond #amaretto #amaretti #cookie #ganache #ChocolateTruffle

So we plated the almond truffle and the cake together. Match made in heaven.

The wine lineup. Not too shabby.

On the left our too awesome young servers, in the center our somm, and to the right the real chef, Lady Borgese.

Overall, this was an amazing dinner, probably my favorite of the three Borgese dinners — mostly because I love uni and seafood.

Service was handled by the youngest Borgese (teen daughter) and her friend (both pictured above) and was better than most restaurant staff. Super friendly and you can tell they do this a lot.

Wines were good. Not AS good as at the previous two events. Mostly whites and champagnes, which I love, but not everyone else has as deep a cellar in this department. My favorite was my whacky Umbrian white, the BEA Arboreus because being partially oxidized it’s an amazing uni pairing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Dinner at the Borgese's, Gelato, hedonists, Italian Cusine, pasta, Rocco Borgese, Uni, Wine

The Rooster Crows

Mar16

Restaurant: The Rooster

Location: 2301 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404. (310) 264-0999

Date: January 31, 2020

Cuisine: Wood-fire grill and California / pseudo-Italian

Rating: Tasty, but too pricey for its vibe

Continuing our streak of family dinners during my mom’s 75th birthday week, the gang of us headed off to the Rooster.

Bruce Marder, The Rooster’s chef/ restaurateur, lists Capo, The Brentwood, Cora’s Coffee Shop, and Marvin as his current successes. Renowned for his world class cuisine, his skills encompass a deep appreciation for international flavors that he unabashedly blends into an American style menu that celebrates our cultural diversity.

Bruce Marder’s latest addition to the Santa Monica scene features dishes kissed by almond-wood flames including tender, grilled meats served up family style, to pizzas and flatbreads baked in the wood fire oven.

The finest of ingredients, sourced from the farmers’ market, our personal garden, and highly regarded local ranchers, are the foundation of a cuisine that exemplifies the purity of the flavors without unnecessary adulteration.

Big, colder, more casual dining room and wood-fire grill.

Open kitchen.

I’ve always been a fan of Capo, despite a bit of attitude there, and have been at least 40 times, so I was interested to see what they did here in this larger more casual space.

The menu.

From my cellar: 2013 Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Beaux Sens. 93 points. This is 100% Pinot Meunier. One of the few vineyards where the wines have not been grafted. Mostly because it comes from a vineyard of purely sandy soil. There’s spice and sunflower seeds and a very nice balance to the wine. Soft bubbles. Very well done.

Fried bread and eggplant spread

Artichokes. Lemon, horseradish. These were nice wood-fired artichokes.

Eggplant. Rocca reggiano, tomato sauce. Basically a kind of skillet eggplant parm, this was quite delicious.

Warm seafood salad. Beurre blanc sauce. Incredible sauce. Really tender seafood. Seafood was grilled. I’m not normally a huge fan of the warm seafood salad, but this one was fantastic. Big hunks of very tender and flavorful seafood, and then the beurre blanc was perfect. Same one basically that’s on the crab torta I love at Capo. They even threw in the bread to sop it up.

From my cellar: 2004 Tenuta Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino. 93 points. The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is a fresh, vibrant offering bursting with dark cherries, violets, underbrush, minerals and sweet toasted oak on a medium-bodied frame. The wine reveals terrific balance in an energetic, focused style, with firm yet ripe tannins. The finish is long, clean and refreshing. This is a gorgeous effort from Loacker. (Drink between 2013-2019)

Spicy pepperoni pizza. Solid wood-fired pizza, although nothing stunningly original.

Simple pasta.

Cacio e pepe. Nice, but a touch disappointing. Maybe not creamy enough, or peppery enough. I’m not sure.

Spaghetti Roma.

From my cellar: 1999 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Vecchie Vigne Sorì Paitin. 94 points. The 1999 Barbaresco Sorì Paitin Vecchie Vigne is dark, powerful and opulent, with more than enough stuffing to age well for the better part of the next decade. Smoke, menthol, tar, black fruit and French oak blossom in the glass as this resonant, exuberant Barbaresco show off its unique, totally compelling personality. The French oak is present, but well balanced at the same time. (Drink between 2014-2022)

Loup de Mer.

Babyback ribs. Very tasty with lots of meat. Not super sauced or anything.

Lamb chops. Excellent lamb.

I don’t usually show the bill, but I thought I would tonight to make a point. We had 6 people (eating). So basically $100. Not crazy, but we didn’t order drinks or dessert. They charge for bread/butter. Corkage was a perfectly fine 3X$35. I have no problem with that. I had expected the Capo deal of high corkage, 1 or 2 bottle limits, and vetting to make sure one’s bottle was not “on their list.” I did see any of that and they just let me open my 3 bottles. This may have changed because Erick said that when he went months ago they had the limits. Limits suck, but for this 1/31/20 dinner and my experience, corkage was totally fine.

Food is actually quite good, if a bit too much emphasis on the wood-fire. Now I like wood grills, but (almost) everything is a touch much. The space feels loud, colder, and not “cozy” like Capo. Menu is more limited (but with some pizza).

Service was very friendly, but our server was a touch good-naturedly confused. 4 of us guys shared dishes and she brought them out in the weirdest order. I had to send a thing or two back (for a bit) because it made no sense. I’ve presented it here in the post in the order it SHOULD have come in. But they brought the pizza, pasta, and eggplant all right away, then thought to bring the artichokes as a “side” with the meat? Strange. The 20% service fee is also included and mandatory. I always tip 20% anyway and so this feels a bit weird.

It was Friday night and they were half empty. I don’t think the feel of the place warrants the pretty high prices. Capo is very expensive, but manages to make it feel LA swanky in this way that works. I suspect the Rooster will have trouble and at the very least change format a bit.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Grill, pasta, Pizza, Santa Monica, The Rooster, Wine, Wood-fire

Mirko at Osteria Mamma

Mar09

Restaurant: Osteria Mamma

Location: 5732 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90004. (323) 284-7060

Date: January 24, 2020

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great meal

I’ve been eating at Mirko Paderno restaurants for years. He’s a super talented Italian chef, who’s been at a lot of places: Oliverio, the 4 Seasons, Berea (briefly), Estrella, Spring, and now Osteria Mamma.

I’m not entirely sure if Mirko is cooking here all the time or just using the kitchen for special dinners like ours — slipped in. Yarom asked him to cook up a meal including a bunch of big Y’s “fresh shot” wild boar.

The location is right next door to Kali — far far from me on a Friday night in traffic!

The interior is cutesy LA Italian.

We had a giant table in the back.

As usual at Italian (or most) “gang” dinners, people neglect to bring any whites despite the fact that half the food goes with white! So I put a couple Italian whites in my bag.

From my cellar: 2015 Vietti Roero Arneis. 91 points. Light yellow color; aromatic, lemon balm, lemon syrup, tart peach nose; tasty, medium bodied, lemon syrup, vanilla palate; medium-plus finish 90+ points.

Caprese di Bufala. fresh buffalo mozzarella DOP, tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, sea salt.

Calamari. grilled calamari with arugula, oranges, cherry tomatoes, lemon dressing.

From my cellar: 2010 Borgo del Tiglio (Nicola Manferrari) Collio Studio di Bianco. Vinuous 95. Weightless, crystalline and pure, the 2010 Studio di Bianco appears to float on the palate. White pear, crushed rocks, oyster shells and lime jump from the glass. A beautifully delineated, vibrant wine, the 2010 captures the best qualities of the year. Stylistically, the 2010 is brighter and more focused than the 2011, with a bit less body but more sheer drive and personality. What a gorgeous wine this is. (Drink between 2014-2025)

Burratona. fresh burrata cheese with roasted squash, aged balsamic, frisée, toasted pine nuts.

Main Lobster Catalana Style. A great lobster salad.

Linguine al Pesto di Rucola. Mamma’s arugula pesto.

From my cellar: 1966 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico Riserva. 95 points. This took a few minutes to open up, but it had tremendous fruit and strength still when it did.

From my cellar: 1997 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba. 97 points. Bricking medium dark red color with pale meniscus; lovely, roses, milk chocolate, leather, incense nose; delicious, gorgeous, poised, velvety, roses, spice box, tar, resin palate; medium-plus finish

Roasted Quail, cannelini bean puree, natural jus. Another stand out dish.

Focaccia bread and tomato sauce.

2001 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. 93 points. Elegantly light and refined, plums, licorice, cherries, well balanced deep and classy wine with clear and pure taste world, I preferred this over the Miani Merlot 2001.

Maltagliati Pasta with Wild Boar Ragu, fresh ricotta cheese. Great ragu — Yarom shot the boar!

2004 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. 94 points. The inky-colored 2004 Redigaffi, 100% Merlot aged for 16 months in new oak, offers expressive, nuanced aromatics along with sensations of richly-textured blue and black jammy fruit, minerals, mint, chocolate, spices and sweet toasted oak on big, powerful frame with notable underlying structure and a warm, resonating finish. Although it has enough structure and acidity to drink well for another decade or so, I enjoy Redigaffi most in its youth. (Drink between 2013-2016)

Bigoli Neri alla Bottarga. black squid ink bigoli, cherry tomatoes, shrimp and bottarga.

Branzino. Grilled Mediterranean branzino fillet, red and green bell pepper peperonata, garlic aioli.

2012 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. VM 92+. Bright ruby-red. Coffee and cocoa nuances almost overpower the wine’s delicate violet and dark berry aromas. Then rather graceful in the mouth, with a distinct delicacy to the dark berry, cocoa and coffee flavors. A lighter Redigaffi than usual, but harmonious and refined.

Colorado Lamb Chop, dolce latte fonduta, bagna cauda.

Arnie brought: 2007 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. VM 95+. Dark medium ruby. Lovely vibrancy to the aromas of blackcurrant, plum, licorice and cocoa powder, with a strong impression of minerality. Like liquid silk on the palate and yet powerful at the same time, with strong minerality contributing to the impression of lift and inner-mouth perfume. The dark berry, violet and cocoa powder flavors offer compelling early sweetness, and this wine’s wonderfully lush tannins will not get in the way of early enjoyment. A great example of the new generation of Quilceda Creek cabernet. Based on its superb length and balance, I’d cellar this for even more fireworks ahead.

Roasted wild boar loin & ribs, soft polenta, pioppini mushrooms, natural roast jus — extremely gamey and salty. Very salty. Given that the boar has been dead (and in the freezer) many months, this rareness was a bit “interesting.” However, the salt must have sterilized everything as I was fine.

Bone in!

Seb brought: 2014 Sine Qua Non Syrah Piranha Waterdance. VM 95-97. A wild, exotic wine, the 2014 Syrah Piranha Waterdance hits the palate with serious richness, power and voluptuousness. This is in a decidedly lush, exotic style. A rush of super-ripe, intense fruit builds into a flamboyant finish in a heady, inviting wine that will drink well with minimal cellaring. The blend is 81% Syrah, 8% Petite Sirah, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Touriga Nacional and 1% Graciano, done with 26% whole clusters. (Drink between 2019-2029)

Selection of fine cheese & fruit marmellata.

Peppered Lemongrass Ginger Creme Brûlée Gelato — A blended milk and Thai coconut cream base steeped with lemongrass and ginger and then juiced up with yuzu and black pepper. For sugar, I used coconut palm sugar and even torched the top! — created by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #lemongrass #ginger #CremeBrûlée #BlackPepper #coconut #yuzu

Double Shot Gelato — Hot brewed espresso gelato with house-made dark chocolate hazelnut ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — this will keep you up! — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #chocolate #valrhona #espresso #coffee #hazelnut #ganache

Overall, this was a great meal — some even thought the best Mirko meal, but I’ve had several better, particularly this one. Still, it was a fun night with good wines (I liked mine best, of course as they were native Italian varietals), great company, and very good food. It’s unclear which dishes were Mirko’s or if some were the normal restaurants. Certainly the lobster, quail, boar dishes were Mirko. All a touch confusing. We didn’t have any of his risotto though — which is one of my favorites.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Tagged as: boar, BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Mirko Paderno, Osteria Mamma, pasta, Quail, Wild boar

More Pasta at Antico

Feb26

Restaurant: Antico

Location: 4653 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004. (323) 510-3093

Date: January 8, 2020

Cuisine: Italian(ish)

Rating: Very good pastas

Our Foodie Club (+ Yarom) has been trying to get to Antico — the new solo place by Chi Spacca chef Chad Colby for several months and finally we did.

The frontage looks normal enough but when you…

Zoom out: Antico is located, oddly, in a run-of-the-mill KTown strip mall.

The inside is all contemporary upscale dining.

The menu.

Erick brought: 2008 Philipponnat Champagne Extra Brut Clos des Goisses. VM 98. The 2008 Clos des Goisses is just as impressive today as it has always been. Rich, dense and explosive, the 2008 exists in three dimensions, with remarkable textural depth and vertical intensity to burn. Clos des Goisses is notoriously slow to develop. Readers who can be patient will be treated to a spectacular Champagne. The blend is 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir, which makes the 2008 a rare Clos des Goisses that favors Chardonnay. About 75% of the lots were fermented in oak. Disgorged April 2017. Dosage is 4.25 grams per liter. (Drink between 2023-2058)

Part of the “Chef’s Pantry”. Ricotta on toast. Good cheese.

Salami.

Squash. Quite good, actually.

Grapefruit with pepper. Odd, like one of my gelati.

Sardines. Very crispy.

Puntarelle – pea tendrils, meyer lemon, Cetara anchovy. Very nice savory dressing.

Burrata — autumn squash, pumpkin seeds. Burrata is always good.

From my cellar: 2003 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano. VM 93. The 2003 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is a super-ripe, opulent wine that resembles the 1997 in its generous, full-bodied personality. The tannins are surprisingly well-balanced within the context of this challenging vintage. The 2003 should drink well relatively early for this Riserva. All things considered, this is a superb effort. Production was down sharply in 2003. The estate bottled just 13,000 bottles of this wine compared to the typical 23,000 bottles. (Drink between 2013-2023)

Capelinni — “al limone” Cetara anchovy, colatura. Very nice bright pasta.

Cavateappi — lamb, gaeta olive, pecorino. Good tomato and acidic flavors. Great texture.

Bread for mopping up sauce.

1996 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. 94 points. This just kept getting better and better with time in the glass. Dark blackberry fruit and licorice with some nice spicy notes on the finish. Awesome complexity. Good structure. This will last another 10 years.

Tajarin — porcini. Yum.

Fazzoletti — beef check & veal tongue bolognese. Fabulous bolognese. Very rich.

A “carb free” (aka no pasta) version of above.

Left over from Roccos.

Chicken — focaccia crostone. It’s chicken.

Swordfish belly — olive, lemon, caper. This was rich and flavorful.

Larry brought: 1997 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Costasera. 93 points. Deep red coulour with a typical nose of Amarone showing raisings, wet leafs and a hint of vanilla fudge. Palate shows a lovely acidity that is just perfect together with the sweet cherry and raisin fruitiness and is in perfect maturity right now.

Lamb shoulder chop – pistachio, mint. Nice texture and flavor.

Antico steak — salsa verde. I liked the brightness of the “salsa.”

Mashed potatoes with olive oil.

Polenta.

The dessert menus.

Chocolate budino.

Antico is supposed to be known for their ice cream. Like me, they make it with a Carpigiani. It’s basically gelato. Perhaps a touch more custardy than a traditional gelato, and they either serve it right out of the batch freezer (tricky) or make it right before shift and keep it in a warm freezer (or just warm it up). Maybe even at 10-12F. It’s very soft then, like softserve, and given that gelato is always best right out of the batch freezer, before any crystallization has set in, it’s pretty darn good.

Chocolate ice cream. This one had intense chocolaty flavors. They mix up the texture nicely with the chunks.

Meyer lemon ice cream. The meyer lemon curd made it, but the ice cream (gelato) was nice too.

Honeycomb ice cream. Pretty much fior di latte with honeycomb, but given the textural quality of the base, very good.

Overall, I liked Antico a lot. Everything was good, but I particularly liked the pastas — I always do. They aren’t as good as Felix pastas perhaps, but they are very good. It’s not a big or varied menu though, nor super unique, but it is extremely well executed. Service was great too and they really treated us right.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for epic Foodie Club meals, here.Chad Colby

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Antico, Carpigiani, Chad Colby, Dessert, Foodie Club, Ice cream, pasta

Boar at the Borgese’s

Feb24

Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s [1, 2, 3]

Location: Santa Monica

Date: January 6, 2020

Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking

Rating: Awesome

Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple.

The dynamic Borgese duo.

Their house has not only a wine cellar, but a cheese and meat larder!

Plus all this incredible wood fired oven set up.

Pasta and steaks at the ready.

Since it was a “wintery” January evening, we ate inside in the dining room as opposed to out on the lovely patio.

From my cellar: 2007 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 96. Taittinger’s 2007 Comtes de Champagne will be nearly impossible to resist upon release. Soaring aromatics, mid-weight structure and soft contours give the 2007 its alluring personality. Lemon oil, white flowers, mint, chamomile and green pear add brightness and freshness throughout, with a persistent, clean finish that makes it impossible to resist a second taste. Today, the 2007 comes across as a slightly more open version of the 2004, with freshness that makes that wine so appealing, and a touch of textural richness that recalls the 2002. Although the 2007 does not have the explosive energy or verticality of the profound 2006, it will drink better earlier. The 2007 has been positively brilliant on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. (Drink between 2018-2047)

NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 168eme. 95 points. Exceptional, though this wine needs a decent amount of air to show at its best. Aroma of citrus, brioche, and gingerbread. Intense acidity on palate with flavors of green apples, baking spices, toast, and rum raisins. A bit like Apfelstrudel. Exquisitely balanced, with a huge, rich body and unami in abundance. I cannot remember tasting a wine that has shown so well at so early a stage of its evolution.

Our table setting.

The menu.

From my cellar: 2010 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc. JG 94+. The inherent elegance of the 2010 vintage is the perfect foil for the Clos des Mouches blanc and this is one of the most beautiful young vintages of this consistently excellent wine that I have had the pleasure to taste. The brilliant nose soars from the glass in a complex mélange of apple, lemon, a touch of butter, chalky soil tones, lemon oil, orange blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and quite reserved in profile, with a great core of fruit, impressive, nascent complexity, zesty acids and laser-like focus on the deep, transparent and utterly seamless finish. A great Clos des Mouches. (Drink between 2016-2040)

2013 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 93. A wonderfully complex and slightly riper nose offers up notes of honeysuckle, jasmine tea, peach and spiced pear. The superbly rich, classy and pure medium-bodied flavors possess impressive size, weight and mid-palate concentration while coating the mouth on the strikingly long, serious and energetic finish where a hint of bitter lemon appears. This is a relatively big and powerful BBM that will definitely need at least 5 to 6 years of bottle age before it begins to display glimpses of its full potential. (Drink starting 2023)

Tartare di Manzo con Tartufo. Beef Tartare Crostini with truffle. Great meaty toast.

From my cellar: 1996 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. VM 95. The 1996 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is a wine that I bought a few bottles of in the days when I could get change from fifty pounds! This replicates the strong showing from 2010: ebullient red fruit on the nose with crushed granite and light truffle scents that convey more brightness than many 1996 reds. The palate is beautifully balanced with svelte tannins and a well-structured, quite grippy but balanced finish. It simply oozes effortless class and should offer many more years of pleasure. Tasted at The Ledbury in London. (Drink between 2019-2035)

1996 Gros Frère et Sœur Grands-Echezeaux. 93 points. Sexy aroma, just the right amount of funk. Enticing. Palate more precise than the nose.

2004 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes. VM 93. Good deep red. Superripe, slightly decadent aromas of red cherry, leather and underbrush. Plush, fat and large-scaled; a full-blown expression of soil, with notes of smoke and game. This boasts extraordinary sweetness for the vintage, remaining just this side of over the top. Just a hint of nut skin on the finish. Very sexy wine.

Quaglia Ripiene con Polenta. Stuffed quail over polenta. Great quail. Great polenta.

1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque. VM 96. Deep ruby-red. Powerful, expressive aromas of roasted cherry and raspberry, marzipan, brown spices and grilled nuts. Ripe, creamy and lush, with seamless cherry and pepper fruit. Not quite as expressive today on the palate as the above. But here the tannins seem even finer, though this wine is not longer than the Mouline.

1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne. VM 97+. Deep ruby-red. More sauvage aromas of black raspberry, blueberry, tar, mocha, minerals, mace and roasted game. Superconcentrated and powerful, with a near-solid texture. One of those rare wines that seems almost too big for the mouth. Finishes with huge, toothfurring-but-ripe tannins and great persistence.

Tagliatelle con Ragu di Coniglio. Rabbit ragu with tagliatelle pasta.

1989 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline. VM 95. Saturated deep red. Roasted redcurrant, raspberry, tobacco and warm earth on the nose, along with an exhilarating component of exotic spices; this reminded me of the extraordinary ’89 Haut-Brion and La Mission. Thick, dense, huge and sweet but with excellent verve. A fleshy La Mouline that’s packed with flavor. Finishes extremely long and sweet, with substantial ripe, chewy tannins.

agavin: probably my RWOTN (red wine of the night)

1998 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque. VM 95+. Bright medium ruby. Griotte cherry, roasted herbs, pepper and brown spices on the nose. Tightly wound but also quite suave, with penetrating black fruit and licorice flavors. Very fresh and precise. Finishes firm and extremely long, with slow-building, pure, fruit-driven flavor.

Piccione al Rosemarino con Risotto. Rosemary pigeon over risotto.

Pigeon giblets. Strong!

1993 Penfolds Grange. 93 points. Made with 14% Cabernet. More fragrant than your typical Grange in a floral kind of way. There is still power on the nose that perhaps comes from the slightly higher dose of Cabernet in this vintage. There is also a creaminess on the palate but its not as good as they ’92 and certainly can’t hold a candle to the ’91.

1999 Penfolds Grange. VM 91+. Full ruby-red. Sexy aromas of raspberry, cola, root beer and coconut. Thick, dense and concentrated, with exotic, slightly candied dark fruit, caramel, toasted coconut and mineral flavors nicely shaped by firm acids. Shows strong fruit and a major dose of oak on the powerful, backward finish. This can’t quite match the 1998 for sheer depth of fruit, but it’s built to age.

Pappardelle con Ragu di Cighiale. Wild boar ragu with pappardelle pasta. Yarom shot it.

2004 Sine Qua Non Grenache Ode to E. VM 97. The 2004 Grenache Ode to E is absolutely stellar. There’s not too much more to say. Still young, fresh and vibrant, the 2004 is incredibly impressive. Exotic spice, rose petals, raspberry jam all open up in an effortless, nuanced wine bursting at the seams with personality. Exquisitely nuanced and balanced, the 2004 is a gem. Readers who own the 2004 should be thrilled; as it is a magnificent wine by any measure. My favorite age to drink Sine Qua Non wines is around ten years. The Ode to E Grenache delivers the goods, and then some. The blend is 88% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 2% Viognier, all from Eleven Confessions. (Drink between 2015-2024)

2011 Sine Qua Non Grenache Patine Eleven Confessions Vineyard. VM 97. The 2011 Grenache Patine has turned out beautifully. Dark red cherry, plum, mocha, spice and leather meld together in the glass as this savory, beautifully layered wine opens up. Herb, graphite, smoke, sage and tobacco add shades of nuance in a delineated Grenache that captures the best of this cool, late-ripening year. Patine is 77% Grenache, 22% Syra and 1% Viognier, all from Eleven Confessions, done with 25% whole clusters and aged for 33 months in French oak barrels, 11% new. (Drink between 2018-2031)

Bistecca Fiorentina alla Legna. Wood fired porterhouse steak. Definitely not overcooked!

Roast carrots.

Wood fired eggplant.

Salt.

Polenta with jus. Oh so good!

Fire water!

Grapefruit Aperol Tarragon Sorbetto — Cold pressed Fresh Grapefruit juice from my garden, Aperol and fresh Tarragon! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Unique and bracing — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #grapefruit #aperol #tarragon

Haven’t made this in almost 3 years — Rocky Road Gelato — Valrhona Chocolate base with marshmallows and pecans and house-made caramel and toasted kosher Marshmallow topping! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — oh my! — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #chocolate #valrhona #RockyRoad #marshmallow #caramel #marshmallow #pecan

The wine lineup.

One tired chef — lots of work to put on this stunning dinner.

Overall, this was an amazing dinner.

Service was handled by the youngest Borgese (teen daughter) and her friend (both pictured below) and was better than most restaurant staff. Super friendly and you can tell they do this a lot.

Wines were out of this world too. I like this kind of array of different wines covering a range of foods. I did the pairings (flighting out what we had with the menu). Really an embarrassment of riches. Particularly the old Lalas.

We are heading back in February for “Uni night” — can’t wait!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Tagged as: BYOG, Dinner at the Borgese's, Gelato, hedonists, Italian Cusine, pasta, Rocco Borgese, Santa Monica, Wine

Close Eats – Cinque Terre

Jan31

Restaurant: Cinque Terre West Osteria

Location: 970 Monument St #110, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. (310) 454-0709

Date: December 7, 2019

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Solid neighborhood Italian

There are so few places to eat in Pacific Palisades and almost all of them are part of the Caruso mall with it’s terrible least common denominator food style.

This isn’t, and is off to the side in a mini-mall with my “favorite” local place, Sasebune express.

The interior is tiny but cute enough. A little casual for my taste.

The menu.

Bread.

Cinque Terre Salad. Baby mixed greens, taggiasche olives, tomatoes, grapes, figs, pecorino, fig vinaigrette.

Melanzane alla Disaia. Eggplant, marinara, Parmigiano, basil, mozzarella. Hard to not like baked eggplant with marinara and cheese. Hot and delicious.

Tartufo pizza. Mozzarellaa, goat cheese, black truffle. Not really much (if any) real truffle. Ok though. Not as good as the truffle pizza at Toscana.

Basic pasta for the boy.

Gluten free penne pomodoro. Because some people in my family (and not the boy) like really really boring food.

Pappardelle alla Bolognese. Very solid version of the classic. Nice thick fresh pasta.

Mezzelune alla Zucca. Butternut squash ravioli, brown butter, sage, Amaretto. Nice to see they included the Amaretto — makes it real Northern Italian style.

Grilled Branzino.

Macchiato.

Overall, not bad at all for the Palisades. Certainly the best Italian in the village. Of course that isn’t saying much as there are some real stinkers and the village has terrible food. Still, I’ll have to come back and see how it holds up and try more dishes.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Cinque Terre West, Italian cuisine, Italian Food, Pacific Palisades, pasta

Astrea Caviar + Heroic Wine Bar

Jan27

Restaurant: Heroic Deli and Wine Bar [1, 2, 3]

Location: 516 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 490-0202

Date: December 3, 2019

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Pretty awesome, actually

Our friends Eve and Riesa, who own Astrea Caviar wanted to do a dinner with Erick and I so we enlisted Jeffrey Merrihue and his chef Barbara Pollastrini to make a custom caviar menu at Heroic Wine Bar.

They took over the old Real Food Daily / Erven space on Santa Monica Blvd.

This is an unusual space, divided into two halves, each of which has a separate loft. The build out is attractive though.

Here’s the main side loft.

Here’s Jeffrey, who like me at Ramen Roll is very hands on operationally.

Hand painted Zodiac ceiling.

The back space is much more dinner-like. But we were upstairs above this in the very dimly lit (but large) private room.

Our special menu.

Erick brought this “rare” Piper and it comes in a special case. Champagne houses love their gimmicks.

1988 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare. JG 94. I love the 1988 vintage of Rare, which is a very, very fine example of this underrated, but excellent year in Champagne. The wine is now fully mature, but still bright and zesty, as it delivers a fine aromatic constellation of pear, peach, a nice dollop of honeycomb, toasted almonds, plenty of smokiness, brioche and plenty of smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off lovely mid-palate depth, with frothy mousse, fine focus and soil signature, excellent focus and grip and a very long, utterly classic and beautifully balanced finish. A superb vintage of Rare with years and years still ahead of it. (Drink between 2014-2030)

From my cellar to match: 1988 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 97. I am blown away by the 1988 Comtes de Champagne. Still incredibly fresh, the 1988 Comtes flows with intense mineral notes that frame a vibrant core of Chardonnay fruit. The color, aromatics and flavors are all remarkably youthful, while the crystalline purity of the finish suggests the 1988 will drink well for another two decades, if not longer. Readers who enjoy mature Champagne will need to be patient. Still, I see no reason to deny gratification; this is a rock star wine! (Drink between 2013-2030)

Just some of the caviar that Astrea brought for the dinner.

This one, a new “breed” was just for munching on.

Here it is open.

Amuse of NONNA’S GNUDI. Ricotta & spinach, sage infused housemade brown butter, fluffy Parmigiano Reggiano. This is basically a ball of soft spinach and cheese, topped with cheese, and soaked in perfect butter sauce. It’s richly cheesy — and buttery — very rich actually. Quite yummy. But you gotta like butter and cheese at its best!

Strange Bedfellows. Live oyster with Live Santa Barbara Uni and caviar. A delicious paring of raw — caviar, oyster, and uni — with the champagne.

Mad Hatter. Crispy fried egg yolk topped with caviar and house made creme fraiche. The fried egg was delicious, but tasted strongly of both “fry” and egg yolk — big surprise — so it wasn’t quite as good a caviar showcase (although it was great).

Night and Day. Squid ink spaghetti with live Santa Barbara Stone Crab and caviar. This was a “too die for” pasta. Fabulous by itself and even better with all that caviar and even better with old champagne.

From my cellar: 2011 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Vireuils Domaine et Selection. 94 points. Wow, even the “negotiant” Coche doesn’t disappoint. The intensity of this wine was unreal. Blazing. Struck like lightening both deep into the palate and broadly across at the same time. Just unreal that this is a village wine.

Erick brought: 2005 Domaine Ramonet Chevalier-Montrachet. BH 93. This continues to show somewhat oddly because while it now appears to be much more backward than it did when I originally tasted it for review in 2007, there still isn’t the elegance or refinement that I’m used to seeing chez Ramonet with this wine. Ripe and airy white flower and citrus blossom aromas offer excellent complexity if less elegance than I’m used to seeing are followed by still tight full-bodied flavors that possess impressive volume and concentration, all wrapped in a nicely long finish that displays less depth than promised by the nose. One change that is evident though is that if this is going to come together, it will take longer than I initially imagined and thus I have extended my initial drinking window by several years. (Drink starting 2015)

Red Planet. Poached live Santa Barbara lobster with champagne and caviar and beurre blanc. Another great dish. Perfectly cooked Pacific lobster is always great with beurre blanc — then add the caviar!

Secret Garden. It’s a (healthy) secret. Zucchini with vegetables, cured egg, and crab. This was a fine dish, but not nearly as good as the other (maybe because it wasn’t nearly as rich).

Castaway. Marinated Japanese A5 Wagyu tartare with live uni, thin scallop and caviar. Again — didn’t suck. Haha. Great, although not quite as good a pairing as the all seafood dishes.

Reisa brought: 1999 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny. JG 90+. The 1999 Chambolle villages is deep, lush and powerful, with a style not dissimilar from a hypothetical blend of the 1990 and the 1995. The bouquet is quite primary, delivering notes of black cherries, herb tones, a bit of smoke, minerals, chocolate and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is quite full-bodied (the biggest Chambolle since the 1990), with lovely freshness and shape, plenty of tannin buried in the wine’s formidable fruit, and fine length on the complex finish. Like so many Roumier village Chambolles, it deserves, nay demands, cellaring time. (Drink between 2009-2020)

Adding an item “from the regular menu”: PASTA CARBONARA. Mezzemaniche, house made guanciale, pecorino Romano. Chef Barbara shows off her Roman chops with this scrumptious carbonara. The Mezzemaniche also has a really nice bite, and the pork cheeks the perfect crunch and porcine flavor. Very roman and again maybe the best Carbonara I’ve had in a long time. It maybe could have been a touch creamier — as this is an pork and cheese forward prep, but the guanciale alone is worth the price of admission.

Bacon & Eggs. Pork belly confit and caviar and truffle. Inspired by the Republique dish this wasn’t quite as good — but was still really great — and opulent.

Again from the regular menu: TOURNEDOS ROSSINI. Central Valley Rib cap, chicken liver parfait, King Oyster mushroom, Italian summer truffles. This was rich, but boy was it good! How can you go wrong with those ingredients?

Next we sat around drinking — for a while!

Erick brought: 1973 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. JG 93. The 1973 Dom Pérignon is at a beautiful point in its evolution and is a great pleasure to drink. The deep and mature nose offers up a complex mélange of rye seed, oranges, fresh figs, honeycomb, a gentle touch of walnut, a beautiful base of soil that is both chalky and shows some signs of clay and a very gentle hint of DP’s signature herbal streak. On the palate the wine is fullish, very deep and utterly seamless, with impeccable balance, lovely focus and complexity, very gentle bubbles that frame the wine these days, rather than offer up youthful effervescence and a very long, refined and vibrant finish. I would opt for drinking the ’73 Dom Pérignon up over the next decade in regular-sized formats, while it remains at its apogee of peak drinkability, as there is not anything left in reserve at age thirty-five. Of course magnums (which should be absolutely brilliant right now) will cruise along significantly longer. A lovely bottle. (Drink between 2008-2018)

From my cellar: 2006 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé. VM 98. One of the highlights in this tasting, the 2006 Cristal Rosé is simply stunning. A vertical, towering wine, the 2006 Cristal Rosé is a thrill a minute, with a compelling interplay of aromatics and exquisitely layered fruit, all supported by a real feeling of phenolic intensity. While the 2007 is seductive, the 2006 is virile and imposing, with the statuesque lift of a Giacometti sculpture. All the elements meld together in a complete, alluring Champagne that will continue to drink beautifully for many decades. In 2006, the Pinot Noir was already being farmed biodynamically, while the Chardonnay was still under conversion. (Drink between 2016-2041)

Tightrope (dessert). Puff pastry with chocolate mousse and caviar. I’m not sure the caviar added here (hence the tightrope) but it was a nice dessert.

I went nuts here and brought not one, not two, not three, but four gelato flavors:

Mint Meringue Strawberry Sorbetto — An intense dairy-free base made from Avignon Strawberries and layered with house-made Spearmint Meringue — created by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #strawberry #sorbetto #mint #Meringue

True Tiramisu Gelato — after long hiatus, one of my best flavors remerges for a holiday party — This is a genuine tiramisu in gelato form, with a Marsala Egg Yolk Zabaione, fresh Mascarpone Cheese, and real Espresso. Then it’s layered with Valrhona Cocoa and Lady Finger’s soaked in house-made Espresso Rum Syrup — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Tiramisu #Espresso #coffee #chocolate #marsala #Zabaione #Eggyolk #Rum #Mascarpone

Root Beer Float Gelato — Sarsaparilla flavored gelato base with house-made vanilla cream cheese layers — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #RootBeer #RootBeerFlaot #Sarsaparilla #vanilla #creamcheese

Toasted Almond Truffle Gelato — My new egg yolk based nut formulation with Toasted Sicilian Noto Romano Almond makes a sublime base stacked with layers of house-made Valrhona Almond Amaretti Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #almond #amaretti #cookie #ganache #ChocolateTruffle

The wine lineup.

Left to right, Reisa, Eve, and Erick.

This is actually some really serious Italian and in a style that is very unusual for LA. Ingredients are all either top flight Italian or really good fresh local California. It’s an interesting hybrid, but Chef Barbara’s flavors are great and really taste very Italian Italian (as opposed to Italian American) in flavor.

She’s quite a creative and flexible chef too and when tasked to make this special caviar menu came up with a bevy of really interesting and fabulous dishes.

Plus the wine, food, caviar, company, and gelato were all spectacular.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more Foodie Club dining, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Astrea Caviar, Barbara Pollastrini, BYOG, Caviar, Champagne, Foodie Club, Gelato, Heroic Deli, Heroic Wine Bar, Italian cuisine, Jeffrey Merrihue, pasta, White Burgundy, Wine, Wine bar

Feeling it with Felix

Nov11

After a two year absence I return to Felix not once but twice more in October 2019. Check out all the new pastas…

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: felix, Italian Cusine, pasta

Quick Eats – Colapasta

Oct31

Restaurant: Colapasta.

Location: 1241 5th St, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 310-8336

Date: September 18, 2019

Cuisine: Italian / Just pasta

Rating: Simple menu, but good pasta, very casual

There seems to be a bit of a trend to opening pasta restaurants in Santa Monica.

Colapasta is a super casual small menu artisanal pasta place by Stefano De Lorenzo the main chef from La Botte years ago. The place is brand new and the concept is very similar to Uovo on the other side of the Promenade. They both have very short lists of classic pasta and little else on the menu.

The decor is simple and the space is modest — not too unlike Ramen Roll. haha.

The menu. You can basically see that it’s mostly pasta. A salad or two as well. No liquor license yet but they have applied for a 41 (beer and wine).

Zuppa di Granoturco. Sweet Summer Corn Soup.

Bresola Arugula e Burrata. Sliced paper-thin Aged Beef, arugula, Burrata. This is pretty much a perfect “salad” for me as I love Burrata (and this is a good one, either from Italy or more likely from Stefano locally, but in the Italian style and very good). The burrata and cured meat combo is one of my favorites. Arugula helps push it down.

Bigoli Aglio Olio e Acciughe (Campania). Bigoli Pasta with Garlic, Oil, Anchoives. This is a simple pasta, but with that anchovy pasta it has a delightful garlicky umami.

Casunziei (Dolomiti). Half Moon shaped Red Beet Ravioli, Brown Butter, Poppy Seeds. This is one of the chef’s signatures. It’s very Po River Valley (Mantua, Verona etc). Sweet and rich, quite delicious.

Lasagna Classica al Ragu (Emilia). Classic Beef Ragu Lasagna. The basta was delicate and the ragu had great flavor. It just needed a Béchamel sauce to be perfect.

Pasta lurks in the fridge.

Overall, this was a pleasant and VERY quick little meal. The pasta is good. It’s not radical or terribly LA in style like Felix or anything — it’s very homestyle (Italy) Italian. Very simple. They are, however, inexpensive, and well executed. So if you have a need for a noodle fix and don’t want to break the bank, you could do well here. Probably slightly more my taste than Uovo. Not nearly as good or as much variety as Heroic Wine Bar down the street.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Colapasta, Date Night, pasta, Santa Monica

Dinner at the Borgese’s

Oct16

Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s

Location: Santa Monica

Date: August 29, 2019

Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking

Rating: Dinner of the year?

Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special backyard house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. The evening was set up by Michael K and because of the epic nature of the food we all pulled out some amazing wines to match.

The dynamic Borgese duo.

Their house has not only a wine cellar, but a cheese and meat larder!

Awesome backyard.

And lovely outside dining room.

Plus all this incredible wood fired oven set up.

Michael started us off with this actually fairly lovely bottled bellini.

2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. VM 98+. The 2008 Cristal is a wine that takes over all the senses and never lets up. The brilliance and cut of the Chardonnay finds an extra kick of resonance from the Pinot Noir to carry the mid palate and finish in this stunningly beautiful, chiseled Champagne. Lemon oil, almond, flowers, dried herbs and Mirabelle plum are some of the many aromas and flavors that develop as the 2008 shows off its pedigree. The 2008 is a regal, towering Champagne from Roederer. That’s all there is to it. (Drink between 2023-2058)

Pretty place setting.

Our special menu.

2005 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 93. A fantastic nose of spice, wood toast, brioche, white flower, honeysuckle and citrus hints lead to rich, full, big and sappy flavors that really coat the mouth on the broad and palate staining finish. This is a big Bienvenues and while perhaps not as graceful as the 2000 or 2002, this is certainly stylish and deep. Like many of the wines in the range, it is also relatively forward by the usual standards of this wine yet it will certainly reward mid-term cellaring. (Drink starting 2012)

2013 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 93. A wonderfully complex and slightly riper nose offers up notes of honeysuckle, jasmine tea, peach and spiced pear. The superbly rich, classy and pure medium-bodied flavors possess impressive size, weight and mid-palate concentration while coating the mouth on the strikingly long, serious and energetic finish where a hint of bitter lemon appears. This is a relatively big and powerful BBM that will definitely need at least 5 to 6 years of bottle age before it begins to display glimpses of its full potential. (Drink starting 2023)

2014 Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma Coast. 92 points. This one does not fit with the others! Plus — fake chard!

Octopus on the grill.

Insalata di Posilipo. Octopus Salad. Tender octopus with citrus. Very tender and lovely.

From my cellar: 1999 Denis Mugneret Père et Fils Richebourg. BH 92+. Fascinating interplay of black fruit, earth, tobacco and Vosne spice framed by discreet hints of oak toast followed by sweet, supple and very intense flavors that last for minutes. This is not quite as ripe or opulent as most of the wines in this group though it sports excellent acid/fruit balance as a result. I like the more reserved style of this.

Jeff brought — thanks: 1996 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin. VM 97. A Burgundy of tension and bracing energy, the 1996 Rousseau Chambertin is simply magnificent on this night. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s stunning inner sweetness and perfume in what is an utterly glorious expression of Pinot Noir and Chambertin. I imagine the 1996 will still be compelling in 30 years’ time. Today is transcendental and deeply beautiful. (Drink between 2019-2046)

Tartare de Manzo. Beef tartare with truffle. Excellent tartare, perfect bread, and lots of truffle.

Plus we got direct to the mouth truffle shaving — like the truffle equivalent of an upside down tequila shot.

2011 Bruno Paillard Chardonnay Champagne Blanc de Blancs Réserve Privée.

From my cellar: 2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 96. The 2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé is at once rich and refined, a simply fabulous Champagne Rosè I won’t soon forget. Intensely perfumed, with the Pinot Noir-derived red berry and cranberry flavors that are not just concentrated, but also remarkably pure. It is one of the better Rosé bubbles I have had in the last year.

Calamarata Pasta con Branzino. Pasta with Branzino. A light Southern Italian style pasta. House made and really great texture and bright flavors.

The no carb guy got a pile of tuna or beef or something.

1989 Château Margaux. Parker 90. Dwarfed by its younger sibling, the 1990, the 1989 Chateau Margaux has a dark plum/garnet color and a big, sweet nose of new saddle leather, toasty oak, and weedy black cherry and cassis fruit. The wine is medium-bodied, with relatively elevated tannins, outstanding concentration and purity, but a somewhat clipped as well as compressed finish. This certainly outstanding wine has put on a bit of weight in its evolution in the bottle, but it is hardly one of the most profound efforts from Chateau Margaux. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025. Last tasted, 10/02.

1995 Château Margaux. Parker 95. Bottled very late (November, 1997), the 1995 has continued to flesh out, developing into one of the great classics made under the Mentzelopoulos regime. The color is opaque ruby/purple. The nose offers aromas of licorice and sweet smoky new oak intermixed with jammy black fruits, licorice, and minerals. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with extraordinary richness, fabulous equilibrium, and hefty tannin in the finish. In spite of its large size and youthfulness, this wine is user-friendly and accessible. This is a thrilling Margaux that will always be softer and more evolved than its broader-shouldered sibling, the 1996. How fascinating it will be to follow the evolution of both of these vintages over the next half century. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040.

1996 Château Margaux. Parker 100! The 1996 Chateau Margaux, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, must be a strong contender for wine of the vintage. It offers everything you desire from this First Growth. It is blessed with breathtaking delineation and freshness on the nose, understated at first and then blossoming with mineral-infused black fruit, hints of blueberry, crushed stone and violet. The palate is perfectly balanced with filigree tannin, perfect acidity, a wine where everything seems to be in its right place. Blackberry, crushed stone at the front of the mouth, just a touch of spice towards the finish that shows supreme control. This is a Margaux that seems to light up the senses. It was outstanding in its youth…something that has not changed one bit over the intervening two decades. This may well turn out to be the Left Bank pinnacle of the 1990s. Tasted July 2016.

Quaglia Fritta. Fried Quail. Scrumptious bird and batter. Some of the best fried fowl I’ve had.

1998 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. Parker 96. The 1998 Redigaffi (2,000+ bottles produced) is profound. I do not normally quote dry extract numbers, because taste is more important than the numbers. However, I could not help but notice one of the highest measured dry extract numbers I have ever seen in a wine with the 1998 Redigaffi — 39 grams per liter! Made from 100% Merlot, aged in 100% new Allier and Troncais French barrels, it is bottled without fining or filtration. An opaque purple-colored, powerful, enormously-endowed effort, it offers gorgeous black currant, plum, and blackberry fruit characteristics infused with spice box, chocolate, and vanilla. This harmonious wine oozes with extract and glycerin. Extraordinarily pure and impressive, with copious tannin nearly hidden beneath the wine’s superb richness, this beauty should be at its apogee between 2004-2020.

1999 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. Parker 99. The 250-case cuvee of 100% Merlot, the 1999 Redigaffi has an astonishing 36 grams per liter of dry extract, which exceeds most top Pomerols in a great vintage! Unfined and unfiltered, it is as close to perfection as a wine can get. The color is a deep saturated blue/purple. The powerful, pure nose offers smoke, licorice, black cherry, and blackberries. It boasts awesome concentration, a fabulously dense, viscous mid-section, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. This is riveting juice. Anticipated maturity: now-2015.

Homemade pasta at the ready.

Ravioli de Melanzana. Eggplant ravioli with a simple butter save sauce. Totally classic and absolutely amazing. Very simple authentic ravioli.

1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle. 98 points. An extraordinary wine in fabulous shape. Still needs 90-120 mins in the decanter and can then be drunk over the course of 2 hours or more. Relish how every moment of it – it gets better as time passes but you need to go through all of those moments.

1996 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve. VM 90+. Good deep red. Deeper aromas of black cherry, raspberry, pepper and licorice. Broad-shouldered but very closed, showing less sweetness today than the ’96 Pignan. Red fruit flavors complicated by notes of leather, licorice and herbs. Strong acid/tannin backbone for aging. But tough going today.

2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage. VM 98. “Now we take the monster out of his cage,” Jean-Louis warned me before pouring this. Inky, almost black in color. Elemental, hugely concentrated and powerful on the nose, which slowly unveils aromas of dark cherry liqueur, blackberry, cassis, espresso and a deep note of sweet tobacco. Impossibly rich and dense on the palate (the yields in 2003 were off by two-thirds), showing myriad dark fruit and bitter chocolate flavors, with a suggestion of tapenade and an intense licorice quality. Remarkably, this takes on a mineral tone on the finish, which has the effect of further drawing out the amazingly powerful finish.

Agnello alla Legna. Wood fired lamb chop. Great tender lamb.

2009 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT. VM 96. Good full ruby. Superripe, pure aromas of blackberry, cassis, violet, minerals, milk chocolate and exotic spices. Superconcentrated, rich and seamless, offering explosive sweetness but also great verve, thanks to bright acidity that provides wonderful lift and clarity to the blackberry, blueberry and black cherry flavors. Finishes with ultra-suave tannins and a kaleidoscope of violet and Oriental spice flavors. A very great Masseto from a hot year, when I would have expected the merlot to suffer a bit. But unlike in 2003, when it wasn’t just hot but dry as well, Masseto’s unique microclimate allowed the merlot to avoid major stress in 2009. As good and refined as the Ornellaia is in 2009, I think the Masseto has an extra layer of complexity and depth.

2005 Harlan Estate. VM 95. Open-knit, sensual and perfumed, the 2005 Harlan Estate is super-expressive today. Like so many 2005s, the Harlan is a bit lacking in intensity and overall structure relative to the very best years. The 2005 is a terrific choice for drinking now and over the next 15-20 years. At some point during that arc of time, the 2005 is likely to become a bit frail, but that does not appear to be imminent. Even after thinning to a cluster per shoot, the clusters and berries were large, which required some bleeding in the tanks, a technique that is not often used at Harlan Estate. (Drink between 2017-2027)

Steaks on the grill.

Resting.

Bistecca Fiorentina. Giant slabs of rare beef. Nicely salted and bloody delicious.

Veggies at the ready.

Roasted carrots.

The chef Rocco Borgese (right) his cheffing partner and wife (left back) along with their daughter (center standing).

1986 Château d’Yquem. Parker 98. There is no other wine in the world like it, and there is no other luxury wine that can possibly justify its price as much as Yquem. The remarkable amount of painstaking labor necessary to produce the nectar known as Yquem is almost impossible to comprehend. This is a fascinating effort. With greater evidence of botrytis than the colossal 1983, but less power and alcohol, the 1986 Yquem tastes reminiscent of the 1975, only more precocious, as well as more concentrated. Several highly respected Bordeaux negociants who are Yquem enthusiasts claim the 1986 Yquem is the greatest wine produced at the property since the legendary 1937. Its enthralling bouquet of pineapples, sauteed hazelnuts, vanillin, and ripe apricots is breathtaking. Compellingly concentrated, the breadth as well as depth of flavor seemingly know no limits. This full-bodied, powerful, yet impeccably balanced Yquem should provide memorable drinking for 40-55 more years. Like the 1983, this is another winemaking tour de force. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2040. Last tasted, 4/91.

Mocha Bourbon Butterscotch Gelato — expresso infused milk, Valrhona cocoa, Knob Creek Bourbon, and a house-made Butterscotch Sauce — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #mocha #expresso #coffee #chocolate #Valrhona #butterscotch #bourbon #KnobCreek

Slightly tweaked second pass at — Almond Amaretto Truffle Gelato — Amaretto Zabaglione (egg yolk, amaretto, and sugar custard) Sicilian Almond gelato base with stacked layers of house-made Valrhona Almond Amaretti Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #almond #amaretto #amaretti #cookie #ganache #ChocolateTruffle

Tingly Passion Gelato — dairy passionfruit striped with blackberry coulis and steeped with Chengdu Street Market Szechuan Green Peppercorns — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #passionfruit #blackberry #coulis #SzechuanPepper #SpicySweet #passion

Banana Caramel Gelato — I hate bananas but I was convinced to make this, fresh banana base with house-made caramel — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #caramel #banana

NV Domaine Borgnat Ratafia de Bourgogne. Red dessert wine.

These will take the hair off your everything.

Calvados and even more crazy, chartreux — which I had never had before but is very green and interesting — herbal.

Most of the lineup. I think the dessert wines were off being consumed when I shot this.

Overall, this was an amazing dinner, arguably the best of the year so far.

Service was handled by the youngest Borgese (teen daughter) and her friend and was better than most restaurant staff. Super friendly and you can tell they do this a lot.

Wines were out of this world too. I like this kind of array of different wines covering a range of foods. I did the pairings (flighting out what we had with the menu). But everything rocked except the Aubert — I just can’t give fake chard any props. Really an embarrassment of riches.

We are heading back during the winter — can’t wait!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
Comments (11)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Dinner at the Borgese's, Gelato, hedonists, Italian cuisine, pasta, Rocco Borgese, Santa Monica, Wine

Heroic Wine Bar

Oct04

Restaurant: Heroic Deli and Wine Bar [1, 2]

Location: 516 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 490-0202

Date: August 17 and September 27, 2019

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Pretty awesome, actually

Heroic Deli and Wine Bar is a double concept run by my friend Jeffrey Merrihue (we share an ex-partner in common). By day, it puts the modern spin on the Italian American “hoagie” concept, by night it serves as a wine bar with exceptionally fresh take on modern Roman (the city, not the empire) cuisine.

Here’s Jeffrey, who like me at Ramen Roll is very hands on operationally.

Hand painted Zodiac ceiling.

The back space is much more dinner-like.

They have this gorgeous table in the center. For the 8/17/19 meal my wife and I came during the evening and sampled the wine bar fare. For the 9/27/19 meal a large 9 person family group of ours took the private room updates over this area.

Up the stairs in the back half (there are 4 areas!) is the private room.

The evening menu (in August 2019). There are also happy hour snacks — fairly extensive.

Prosecco.

From my cellar: NV Pierre Péters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve. VC 91+. As is customary with this bottling from Rodolphe Péters, the wine is a blend of fifty percent of its base year of 2014 and fifty percent from last year’s blend, which had gone into the family solera of reserve wines that dates back to 1988. The vins clairs here do not entirely go through malo as fifteen percent are non-malo wines, with the range raised in a variety of vessels, including barrels, stainless steel tanks and cement vats and the wine spend two years aging sur latte. The new release is very good indeed, offering up a youthful blend of apple, pear, hazelnut, chalky minerality, incipient pastry cream and spring flowers. On the palate the wine is crisp, focused and full-bodied, with a good core, still pretty brisk acidity, frothy mousse and very good backend mineral drive on the long and nascently complex finish. This is very good today and will be even better with a couple of years in the cellar. (Disgorged March 2017). (Drink between 2017-2030)

A glass of nice Italian rose.

Amuse from the chef of Risotto cacio e pepe with truffle. Super creamy.

NONNA’S GNUDI. Ricotta & spinach, sage infused housemade brown butter, fluffy Parmigiano Reggiano. This is basically a ball of soft spinach and cheese, topped with cheese, and soaked in perfect butter sauce. It’s richly cheesy — and buttery — very rich actually. Quite yummy. But you gotta like butter and cheese at its best!

A lovely glass of white.

ITALIAN CORN SOUFFLE. Corn, eggs, cream, caramelized onions, roast pepper. This is fine, but not my favorite dish here. Very mild.

Crispy fried artichokes with aioli. These were fabulous. First of all, it appears to be all heart, second it was super crispy and the aioli nice and tangy. Very addictive.

INSALATA DI GRANCHIO. Pacific crab, lemon zest and vinaigrette. Lovely light and bright crab salad in this adorable crab bowl!

From my cellar: 2013 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse. AG 88. The 2013 Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse comes across as green and grassy in this vintage, with distinct Sauvignon-like inflections. Lemon peel, grapefruit, lemongrass and flowers are all expressive in the glass, but the overall impression is of an overly vegetal, aggressive wine that is best enjoyed sooner rather than later. The Vigne Sparse is always on the leaner side of Arneis. In 2013, that aspect of its personality is especially prominent. (Drink between 2015-2016)

HAIL CAESAR. A classic parmesan, imported anchovy, garlic, dijon mustard, red romaine lettuce, crostini.

CALIFORNIA CAPRESE. Imported bufala mozzarella, avocado, house roasted tomatoes, pesto, avocado, balsamic glaze. Basically a caprese with guacamole. Very nice though, great ingredients.

ARABIATA MEATBALLS. Tangy tomato sauce. Full of flavor.

CRISPY LAMB RIBS. These were salty, meaty, and very tasty.

Spicy Salami Pizza. Pizza is super new here at Heroic, just having been added in September. A bit of heat. Nice. Basically a “fancy” pepperoni. Crust is super thin, almost like a cracker — I happen to like it that way. Nice and cheesy. It doesn’t have that stretchy doughy quality that many pizzas have. Overall, based on this one pizza, it was pretty good, but not blowing away the best pizza places in town.

White Mushroom Pizza. I didn’t get to try this one.

Margarita Pizza. Or this one.

From my cellar: 2003 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano. AG 93. The 2003 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is a super-ripe, opulent wine that resembles the 1997 in its generous, full-bodied personality. The tannins are surprisingly well-balanced within the context of this challenging vintage. The 2003 should drink well relatively early for this Riserva. All things considered, this is a superb effort. Production was down sharply in 2003. The estate bottled just 13,000 bottles of this wine compared to the typical 23,000 bottles. (Drink between 2013-2023)

Rigatoni Pomodoro. My son found the sauce had too much tomato flavor (he likes it bland).

TRIOFE AL PESTO. Organic basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, pecorino Romano, pine nuts. This is as good a pesto pasta as I’ve had in America. The Triofe — which is a classic shape for Ligurian pesto dishes — had a great bite to it and lots of surface area to pick up the very strong and oily — in that great Olive Oil way — pesto. Delicious!

BUCATINI ALL’ AMATRICIANA. Slow roasted tomato sauce, house made guanciale. This was my least favorite of the pastas as the guanciale this night was a bit soft and fatty (rather than crispy). It did have that tomato/pork flavor going on big time, but the porcine quality was a touch overwhelming.

RIGATONI AL SUGO DI AGNELLO. Braised Superior Farms lamb shoulder, crispy artichokes, house made n’duja. Mild and meaty but very delicious.

PASTA CARBONARA. Mezzemaniche, house made guanciale, pecorino Romano. Chef Barbara shows off her Roman chops with this scrumptious carbonara. The Mezzemaniche also has a really nice bite, and the pork cheeks the perfect crunch and porcine flavor. Very roman and again maybe the best Carbonara I’ve had in a long time. It maybe could have been a touch creamier — as this is an pork and cheese forward prep, but the guanciale alone is worth the price of admission.

An Italian Cabernet — better than most California ones — if big.

CAVOLFIORE. Whole cauliflower, crispy garbanzos, roasted tomatoes, olives, Sicilian capers, garlic (vegan). I really liked the textural play and particularly the stunning olives.

POLPO CROCCANTE. Crispy octopus with Russet potatoes, garlic and parsley. Really crispy and quite lovely.

THE SANTA BARBARA. Fresh sea urchin (live) spot prawn (live) blue ocean spaghetti, caviar – crispy fried prawn head. Oh god, love uni and caviar. This was fabulous too.

So good it’s worth another picture. Notice the blue Spirulina pasta.

BRANZINO ALL’ ACQUA PAZZA. Italian Branzino with fennel, leeks, saffron broth.

MERLUZZO PUTTANESCA. Santa Barbara Black Cod, tomato, capers, garlic and anchovies.

SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA. California veal, sage, prosciutto di Parma, wine. Like a fancy, slightly porky old-fashioned veal salimbocca. Plus some truffle. Meat was very tender and soft, with that particular texture of pounded veal.

TOURNEDOS ROSSINI. Central Valley Rib cap, chicken liver parfait, King Oyster mushroom, Italian summer truffles. This was rich, but boy was it good! How can you go wrong with those ingredients?

TORTE DE MELE. Deconstructed apple pie with salt caramel. Also quite lovely.

TIPSY TIRAMISU WITH BRANDY SHOT. A very solid tiramisu with a nice zabaglione note.

PANNA COTTA. Amarena cherries, crumbled biscotti, Barolo sauce. Very nice with a great creamy texture.

I’ve been meaning to come by and try the night time food for months now and finally managed to do it (twice) — and boy was I impressed. So different from the lunch — which is also good — but this is actually some really serious Italian and in a style that is very unusual for LA. Ingredients are all either top flight Italian or really good fresh local California. It’s an interesting hybrid, but Chef Barbara’s flavors are great and really taste very Italian Italian (as opposed to Italian American) in flavor. As a night time restaurant the physical layout is a little odd (although attractive), and it’s not cheap, but all the dishes I tried were delicious. Particularly the pastas. Woah some of those are good (particularly the pesto, carbonara etc).

Stylistically this is a hybrid of very authentic Roman (the city) food with ingredients either being top-shelf imported Italian or really good local California-sourced. This later, however, is still filtered through the stricter sensibilities of Chef Barbara and so is more Italian style with California ingredients. Places like Bestia or Felix on the other hand are more Italian cooking philosophies with punched up California sensibilities. Quite different, actually.

I would say that because Heroic started as a sandwich shop (which of course it still is during the day) and has such an unusual multi-part space that it’s a sleeper for really good LA Westside dining. So consider it placed on your dining radar.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barbara Pollastrini, Heroic Deli, Italian cuisine, Jeffrey Merrihue, pasta, Wine, Wine bar

Angelini Osteria

Sep04

Restaurant: Angelini Osteria

Location: 7313 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (323) 297-0070

Date: July 12, 2019

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: An LA classic

It’s been years, maybe even 10 years, since I was at LA classic Italian Angelini Osteria. Foodie Club member Larry goes all the time so he organized this dinner.

The frontage is located on busy Beverly Blvd in West Hollywood.

The menu.

Erick brought: 1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. JG 96. The 1985 Dom Pérignon is still several years away from its peak of drinkability, and while it is certainly quite approachable at this stage in its evolution, this wine will continue to improve with further bottle age. The bouquet is deep, complex and still a tad adolescent, as it offers up scents of tart apples, pink grapefruit, gentle herbal tones, a touch of limepeel, stony minerality and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and still quite young, with a rock solid core of fruit, bright acids, fine focus and balance, tiny bubbles and superb length and grip on the racy finish. While some tasters around the table thought this wine was drinking beautifully, for my palate it remains still a bit bound up in its minerally adolescence and will offer up significantly more opulence and toasty charm with another five to ten years of bottle age. It should prove to be an absolutely classic vintage of Dom Pérignon.

Pizza bread.

A kind of free amuse in the form of some kind of grain and veggies.

Salumi Board. Prosciutto di Parma, mortadella, salmi, fresh burrata, mixed baby greens. I wouldn’t really call this a board, as it’s a pile of meat and cheese on a bit of salad — but it was delicious.

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

Maryland Soft Shell Crab, rice flour deep fried, arugula, capers, lemon cream sauce.

White Marinated Anchovies, red beets, mixed baby greens, red onions, balsamic. I love white marinated anchovies. I touch odd paired with beets though.

Polipo, Warm Mediterranean Octopus. Arugula, cherry tomatoes.

From my cellar: 2004 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano. VM 95+. The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is powerful, deeply colored and still carrying a considerable amount of tannic heft for a twelve year old wine. Dark cherry, plum, smoke, tobacco, scorched earth and licorice give the wine much of its distinctive virile personality. The Madonna del Piano is one of the bigger, brawnier 2004s readers will come across. As such, it needs to be served alongside similarly rich, hearty cuisines.

Pizza Margherita, ‘nduja, cherry tomatoes, olives, burrata. Sligtly odd pairing of meaty Margherita with the olives. Maybe I just don’t like black olives on my pizza.

Tagliatelle, duck ragout. Solid duck pasta, much like the classic with pheasant.

Homemade Spaghetti Chitarra alla Norcina, summer black truffles, sausage, parmigiana reggiano. Pasta Norcina is one of my utter favorite pastas, but this didn’t feel like a classic Italian Norcina. Now it was good, and very truffled, but the sausage (and cheese) were a bit subdued.

Veal Shank Agnolotti, parmigiana reggiano sauce. Awesome meat agnolotti. Sumptuous, soft, delicious.

Linguine, Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, garlic, chives. Very solid uni pasta. Not the best I’ve ever had, but very good.

Trish brought: 2004 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss. VM 97. The 2004 Sperss is one of the most finessed wines I have tasted from Angelo Gaja’s property in Serralunga. The darkness and gravitas of Serralunga are tempered by the supreme elegance of the year. Dark red and black cherries, smoke, tobacco, menthol and licorice flow through on the deep, resonant finish. This is another powerhouse wine that has been given an extra level of refinement in 2004.

Risotto al Frutti di Mare. Risotto Acquerello, cuttlefish, lobster, calamari, shrimp, mussels, clams. Excellent seafood risotto.

Whole Mediterranean Branzino roasted in sea salt, aromatic herbs, sautéed mixed vegetables.

Comes with these classic vegetables.

They do the filleting fortunately.

The finished plate. Very moist delicate white fish.

Larry brought: 2004 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. VM 93. The inky-colored 2004 Redigaffi, 100% Merlot aged for 16 months in new oak, offers expressive, nuanced aromatics along with sensations of richly-textured blue and black jammy fruit, minerals, mint, chocolate, spices and sweet toasted oak on big, powerful frame with notable underlying structure and a warm, resonating finish. Although it has enough structure and acidity to drink well for another decade or so, I enjoy Redigaffi most in its youth.

Lamb Chops Scottadito. Grilled Colorado lamb chops, arugula.

Mixed Italian Cheeses.

The dessert menu.

Cassata Italiana. Semifreddo, carmelized hazelnuts, pistachios. Half frozen ice cream with Italian nuts.

Panna Cotta, vaniglia bean, raspberry sauce.

Budino di Cioccolato, vaniglia gelato, chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Peanut Pretzel Gelato — testing a new 80% chocolate fondant base made with Valrhona and Callebaut Chocolates — then layered that with a house made salty peanut pretzel ganache — you can’t see the base, it’s under the ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #peanut #chocolate #valrhona #Callebaut #ganache #pretzel

Bellini Sorbetto! — French White Peaches and Prosecco — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — I love the Pozzetti (round tubs), but I do need to figure out how to decorate the small batches in an attractive way — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #Bellini #peach #Prosecco

Overall, a very nice meal. Angelini Osteria hasn’t slipped at all and remains a great example of 90s/00s LA Italian. The kitchen is still very on point and the dishes are a mix of old 90s favorites, LA favorites (lots of burrata), and pretty solid contemporary Italian dishes not too different than you might find in Italy. Execution is spot on and service excellent.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Hollywood, Italian cuisine, Osteria Angelini, pasta, Pasta Norcina, Pizza, Risotto, Wine

Bad Boys at Michael’s

Mar18

Restaurant: Michael’s on Naples [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 5620 E 2nd St. Long Beach, CA 90803. (562) 439-7080

Date: February 21, 2019

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: A top LA Italian

A couple years ago, we organized some Hedonist outings to Michael’s on Naples, rated on the Zagat list as #2 best restaurant in all Los Angeles. I co-organized this one with our fearless leader Yarom, myself, coordinating and designing the menu as well as ordering the wines. So many things sounded good that I came up with a 14 course extravaganza. The resulting Hedonistic Italian blowout ended up (with some alternates) as a total feast of great wine and food.

Michael’s is located on Naples Island, a bridge-connected island in Longbeach that looks so much like Florida they use it to film much of Dexter‘s Miami. During Fred’s recent visit the Foodie Club wanted to get together again with Orange County member, Kent — so we chose Michael’s this time as our southern destination.

Our special menu.

Fred brought (from Walker’s collection): 1959 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. JK 96. Stunning, just stunning.

Stuzzichino. Pizzette. Grilled flat bread with mortadella, burrata, pistachios. This wasn’t my favorite. Maybe the texture of the dough.

Risotto. Carnaroli rice, Dungeness crab, lobster, bottarga, meyer lemon. I thought I’d absolutely love this, as I generally adore seafood risotto. It was good, with nice lobster/crab flavor, but was maybe a little mild. Maybe it needed to be creamier?

From my cellar: 1997 Domaine Leroy Corton-Renardes. VM 91-94. Deep ruby-red. Wild, superripe aromas of liqueur-like cherry, smoke and game. Very concentrated, ripe and smoky in the mouth; a voluminous wine that’s supersweet without being overripe. Real grand cru size and power. Intriguing torrefaction notes of mocha and coffee. Finishes extremely long, with firm tannins and a late burst of cherry. Wow!

Fred says: The wonderful Leroy spice nose just stuns. So perfect that the only critique is that it is too perfect and too Leroy. Easily the best Corton Renards I have had. In a really nice drink window right now. The plate is very dense and long but accessible. There is a hint if heat and volitility if you look hard enough and if you are comparing to Rousseau Chambertin. A stunner.

agavin: loved this wine, with tons of dried fruit.

Erick brought: 2000 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin. JG 96. The 2000 Rousseau Chambertin another majestic example of the vintage, and there cannot be too many 2000 reds that are in this same league. The deep and utterly classic nose soars from the glass in a blend of raspberries, cherries, clove-like spice tones, coffee, a touch of venison, cedary wood and that magically complex signature of Chambertin soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very complex, with a great, great core of fruit, exquisite focus and balance, seamless tannins and exceptional length and grip on the poised, elegant and powerful finish. A great example of Chambertin.

Fred says: Gosh these are drinking well now. Decanted for sediment this was initially a little too young next to the 97 Chambertin. However it also had more length and weight. With time that youthful awkwardness resolves and again becomes a delicious and caressing Chambertin. Just starting to enter it’s drinking window. Give this a good decant or 1-2 hours in the glass. Excellent.

agavin: this was great, but I thought the 97 slight more approachable right now.

Fred brought: 1997 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin. BH 91. Dense and richly fruited with copious black fruits trimmed in a deft touch of wood followed by round, intense, full-bodied flavors and fine persistence. This is not a great Chambertin by the lofty Rousseau standards but there is plenty of wine here, not to mention excellent richness and length. It is approaching peaking drinkability though it should hold here for at least a decade. Consistent notes.

Fred says: Very much Chambertin in the nose with earth and meat aromas. On the palate dried cranberry and tart cherry fruit with a hint of sous bois. This started out wonderful then went into an awkward acidic inbalanced phase only to emerge balanced with those harsh edges disappearing 2 hours later. A wonderful wine up against some tough competition in field of Jayer, Truchot, and 00 Rousseau Chambertin.

Agnolotti. Pasta filled with braised beef cheeks, veal reduction, sage bread crumbs. Excellent and meaty. Could have maybe used more butter flavor — and more agnolotti!

Kent brought: 1987 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts. Fred says: Served double blind. The weightlessness and purity was apparent and striking. A very classy wine with just a little spice and hint of meat aromas. The hint was that it was a lighter vintage. I guess 88. Having only had Jayer one other time I dare not be so bold to think it could be another. But it was. A wonderful treat. Not as clean as the 88 Jayer Beaumonts that I had a few months ago but the weightlessness and purity of that rises above a field of Rousseau Chambertin is quite remarkable. These wines are really about length and complexity without weight. WOTN tonight.

agavin: probably my favorite wine was well. Fully mature, tons of dried fruits, great depth.

Kent brought: 2000 Domaine Truchot-Martin Clos de la Roche. JG 95. I had not tasted the 2000 Truchot Clos de la Roche in several years, as I bought more Charmes for my own cellar, and I was quite surprised to see how beautifully the Clos de la Roche is drinking today, as my bottles of Charmes (after a long and glorious period of generosity) have currently closed down again for a bit of hibernation. However, this is not the case with the 2000 Clos de la Roche, which is at its zenith and offers up a stunningly expressive nose of cherries, beetroot, mustard seed, roasted venison, a beautifully complex base of soil, woodsmoke and just a touch of new wood. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, complex and in full bloom, with a gorgeous core of fruit, glorious soil inflection, modest tannins and a very, very long, focused and tangy finish. Just a great bottle of Clos de la Roche that should continue to cruise along for decades, but is now fully into its plateau of peak maturity. A stunning wine.

Fred says: Served blind. Intense spice and sweetness on the nose. So much so I thought it must be a producer that included stems. Dusty in color, the palate was sweet and silky but with plenty of length. Truchot critics need not worry about this being too light. A wonderful wine and second only to the Jayer tonight.

Umbrian black truffles!

Malfaldine con funghi e tartufo nero. I hadn’t had this tripe-textured pasta shape before, or at least not by name and now I’ve had it twice recently.

Really great texture though and amazing pasta with the truffles. Cream and truffles, yum!

Quaglie. California quail, black lentils, heirloom carrots, apple salad.

Anatra (duck).

Anatra. Whole liberty farm duck, farrotto, butternut squash, baby broccoli. Excellent duck. Farro was pleasant and grainy.

Panforte. Chocolate cake, candied citrus, honey mascarpone whip. Dry (and very Italian) but quite delicious.
Butterscotch Butterscotch Caramel Popcorn Gelato – I made my rediculously decadant homemade butterscotch, crafted a gelato from it, layered it in, and added caramel popcornjust because I could! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — oh my! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #butterscotch #vanilla #popcorn #CaramelCorn #sauce #sweet!

Salty Peanut Fudge Reese’s Gelato – Salty Chunky Peanut Base with homemade Valrhona Chocolate Fudge Ribbon and mini Reese’s Peanutbutter Cups! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — oh my! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #peanut #salty #reeses #peanutbuttercup #fudge #Valrhona

Strawberry Basil Hendrick’s Sorbetto – Strawberry and Hendrick’s Gin Sorbetto laced with Fresh Basil. Strawberries from Avignon — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #sorbetto #strawberry #basil #Hendricks #Gin #cocktail

Our amazing lineup.

Fred and Kent’s friend.

Kent and Erick.

Me.

Food: Execution was excellent with some dishes being stellar: duck, pastas, and the rest being just “very good.” This is very interesting modern “fancy Italian”. Some of the best in the city, but a few dishes could use more “yum.”

Wine: We had an incredible array of wines. We had incredible luck as every wine was in great shape — even the 1959 Champagne! The reds were just amazing, particular for me the 87 Jayer, 97 Leroy and 97 Rousseau.

Service: The staff did a fabulous job. At first we had a chilly table on the roof deck, but they were very nice about relocating us downstairs to a great table with tons of room. The owner came by at the end and we were chatty and sharing some wines. Plus, he loved my gelatti.

Value: Tremendous. This was just fabulous value — partially for not being in LA proper — particularly given the level of service and the lack of corkage. Bravo!

But it is FAR AWAY. haha.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Foodie Club dinners here!