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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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Posted in: Food

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

Heroic Spanish

Nov03

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: March 15, 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 old Spanish. These things are immortal!

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.

In honor of the old Spanish wine Jeffrey brought in a whole pig!

He also has this interesting water pulled out of “thin air” by a machine. Quite good too.

1970 Bodegas Tradición Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Oloroso Anada. 95 points. Intense and very complex nose, nutty, dry fruit, a hint of luxurious cognac. Very rich and round, strong acidity and mineral and a long deeply toned nutty finish. My guess is an old sherry. It could also a dry style Madeira. With air, incredibly complex, sweet cognac nose. This will go incredibly well with aged comte or parmesan.

Amuse of Cinco Jotas Jabugo on Toast with Crushed Tomato.

1986 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Blanco. VM 98. Bright yellow-gold. A hugely complex bouquet evokes dried pear, peach nectar, orange marmalade, honey, marzipan and chamomile, with vanilla and smoky mineral notes in the background. Stains the palate with sappy, deeply concentrated citrus, orchard and pit fruit flavors, plus suggestions of brown butter, shortbread and orange zest. This wine is fully mature but there’s no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. Finishes with superb persistence and energy, leaving peach liqueur, buttered toast and honey notes behind, eventually. This is one of the most remarkable white wines that I have ever had, from anywhere. (Drink between 2022-2031)

Scallop Bruschetta with Uni and Caviar. Buttery and delicious.

Foie Gras “LH” Bruschetta. Larry (LH) loves foie, so Jeffrey prepared not 1, not 2, but 4 liver courses!

House-made Vegetable Fritatta.

Served with perfect Garlic Aioli. It’s a great frittata and the intense garlic punch really knocks it up.

From my cellar: 1968 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia. VC 95. I cannot recall having crossed paths previously with the ’68 Tondonia Gran Reserva, and given how beautifully this bottle showed, I do not intend to wait a long time until having the next bottle of this brilliant wine. The bouquet is deep, pure and perfumed, as it soars from the glass in a beautiful mélange of cherries, orange zest, cinnamon sticks, lovely soil tones, a touch of nutskin and a distinct topnote of rose petals. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and spicy, with a fine core, great length and grip and still a bit of tannin to resolve on the long and palate-staining finish. A great, great bottle of Rioja. (Drink between 2008-2030)

1959 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. VM 95. Upon opening, with just a quick decant, I am blown away by the wine’s depth and overall intensity. Bright red cherry, cedar, tobacco, sweet vanillin and incense are all so wonderfully alive, with bright acids playing off the natural intensity of the fruit. Sure, there is a bit of volatile acidity, but not enough to detract from the wine’s immense pleasure. Even though the market for Rioja has changed dramatically over the last 10-15 years, older vintages still deliver exceptional value in the world of fine, ageworthy wine. Readers lucky enough to own the 1959 can look forward to another twenty years of magnificent drinking, maybe more. Longevity will ultimately be driven by the integrity of the cork, as the wine itself is basically eternal. (Drink between 2020-2040)

1954 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia. JG 54. The 1954 Bosconia Gran Reserva is at its absolute apogee and is drinking beautifully well. The bouquet is deep, complex and very refined in its mélange of raspberries, red currants, orange rind, nutskins, lovely spice tones and a fine base of Rioja soil. On the palate the wine is medium-full, round, focused and quite spicy in its personality, with lovely mid-palate depth, bright acids to keep the wine bouncy from attack to finish, and excellent length and grip on the complex backend. 1954 is a great vintage in Rioja, and the Bosconia Gran Reserva is a fittingly fine homage to the quality of the vintage. (Drink between 2008-2025)

1952 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. 99 points. extraordinary and special wine, which managed to amaze me.

1948 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Reserva Cuvée Especial.

Foie “ Hoff” Gras Agnolloti with black truffles. A “light” little foie and truffle pasta to satisfy the foie monster at the table. No butter or cream here either… look away… move along…

Garlic bread. Great crunchy bread. Not that we needed extra carbs but I smeared aioli on for even more garlic.

En Croute…

Salmon en Croute with Farmers Market Asparagus. This isn’t a light dish either and this is a single person portion! Between the pastry and the beurre blanc…

Pan Seared Foie Gras “Estilo Hoffman”. More foie!

Classic Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese. Oh and this is a single portion of a giant hunk of cow leg with a huge pile of to-die-for classic risotto!

Then there is a whole pig.

Whole Roast Pig with Liver Sauce. With creamed spinach and liver sauce. Haha. A light finish to the savories.

1994 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage. JG 94. The 1994 vintage of Taylor is a huge and powerful wine, but it does not possess quite the same vivid freshness of my very favorite vintages in the last several decades. Perhaps this is just a stage that the wine is in today, but amongst the fine troika of vintage Taylors from the 1990s, I have to give a slight nod to the remarkably refined and hauntingly brilliant 1992 Taylor over the larger-scaled 1994. The very powerful bouquet on the ’94 offers up a mix of intense cassis, plum, chocolate, licorice, tar, and a huge base of earth. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and quite closed on the attack, with a huge, rock solid core of fruit, firm, well-covered tannins, great soil inflection, and an impressive brightness on the finish that is not evident on the nose today. If this is simply a dumb stage for the wine, then my score will prove to be conservative. (Drink between 2025-2075)

Pecan Tart with Irish Coffee & Whisky Gelato and Baileys Irish Gream Gelato.

Baileys Irish Gream Gelato — New stabilized 13% Bailys Irish Cream recipe, with a touch of seasonal coloring! — Designed to pair with “Irish Coffee Gelato” — 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 #expresso #whiskey #baileys #StPatricksDay #cream #green

Irish “Coffee” Gelato — Tullamore Dew Irish Whisky blended into a Coffee Custard Gelato base with (optional) layers of Crushed Oreo — Designed to pair with “Baileys Irish Gream Gelato” and includes a hefty Caffeine kick — 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 #expresso #whiskey #custard #oreos #irish

This was an epic dinner. Not only were the wine’s crazy good — these last forever — but there was so MUCH food. Look at the size of those individual portions and then there is all the foie, the osso bucco, en croute etc. Wow. I’m still full half a year later writing it up.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more Foodie Club dining, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Foodie Club, Gelato, Heroic Deli, Heroic Italian, Italian cuisine, Pig, rioja, Spanish Wine

Eastern Promises – BBQ Joint

Jul15

Restaurant: BBQ Joint

Location: 216 East Dover Street, Suite 201. Easton, MD 21601. 410-690-3641

Date: May 24, 2014

Cuisine: BBQ

Rating: Some of the best BBQ I’ve had

The Eastern Shore of Maryland is usually considered a seafood zone, being known for its awesome blue crab, but local residents don’t turn their nose at any Southern American favorites.

Located in quaint old Easton.

The menu.

The house made sauces (mostly a choice of sweet or spicy).

Sawdust floors.

Some sides, like applesauce, mac & cheese, and cornbread.

A pulled chicken sandwich and collard greens.

Salad. I like the “paper” plate.

This side plate has a roll and slaw.

Part of our BBQ sampler. featuring ribs (wet), BBQ chicken, chopped beef brisket, and pulled pork.

A pulled pork sandwich (front right). The pulled pork is a Carolina style. In the back are ribs “dry” and in the front baked beans (with pork of course).

The BBQ joint is as described, pretty straight up BBQ, but wow, was it tasty. This was some darn good smoked meat!

For more Washington dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barbecue, Barbecue chicken, bbq, BBQ Joint, Easton Maryland, Maryland, Meat, Pig, pork, Pulled Pork, ribs

Ford’s Filling Station

May03

Restaurant: Ford’s Filling Station

Location: 9531 Culver Blvd, Culver City. 310-202-1470

Date: April 28, 2011

Cuisine: Gastropub

Rating: Always great for lunch.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

It was a gorgeous day (again) in LA, so I headed out to find another good lunch spot with outside dining. We ended up in Culver City with its rather large selection of good lunch spots and specifically at Ford’s Filling Station, which is run by Benjamin Ford, son of Han Solo. The place has been around awhile but before this he had another place in Beverly Hills which was very good — but I can’t remember the name.

Notice the “pig country” sign. They offer on the menu a 8 person minimum whole pig dinner with a whole roast pig!

Outside, there are two different patios. In general, Culver city has a lot of outside dining which is nice. For some mysterious reason LA restaurants often lack al fresco. This makes no sense given our weather.

The menu.

“Bacon wrapped dates, stuffed with cheese.” Um yum! I love this dish, and I’ve had it at many places (like recently at Upstairs 2). These were as good as any, showing off the sweet and salty.

“Shrimp Curry, jasmine rice, marash pepper and applewood smoked bacon.” Also a really great dish. Very similar to the one I had at Gladstones. The bacon made it even better.

Sliced serrano peppers in has you want to spice it up.

“Pulled Pork Panini, melted gouda and spicy pepper relish.” The beans were awesome too, with a nice smoky porcine flavor.

A close up of the sandwich itself. I had expected something like a North Carolina pulled pork sandwich. That’s kinda tangy. This was more the succulent roast pork with cheese. Yum.

The dessert menu.

“Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich, chocolate chip cookie and mint chocolate-chip ice cream.” The ice cream was great, very similar to the mint ice cream I had at Sweet Rose Creamery, tasting as it did of fresh mint leaves. The fudge was good too. The cookie needed more butter, it was a little dry. Not bad, and the overall dessert was still very good, but with a really awesome cookie, it could have been… really awesome.

Inside, the stripped down old-school culver city building provides a nice deconstructed interior. I’ve never been here at night but I bet it’s a good watering hole.

Another good Culver City place is Fraiche, here for review.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Here Piggy – Botin Madrid

Dec29

Restaurant: Botin

Location: Madrid Spain

Date: July 1, 2010

Cuisine: Classic Spanish

At the end of our month in Spain we wanted to hit up a totally traditional Spanish place for our final dinner. This place in Madrid claims to be the “oldest restaurant in the world.” True or not, it does serve a narrow but good menu of traditional Spanish fare. And this means pig — lots of pig!

The storefront in the heart of old Madrid.

The speciality of the house is roast baby piglet. They told me they go through 50-60 complete pigs a night! You can see them lined up in their terrines waiting for the ovens.

Oink oink!

Their fiery doom.

“The 2007 Les Terrasses is the same blend as the Camins cuvee but entirely sourced from old vines. It spent 12 months in 20% new French oak. Aromas of mineral, Asian spices, espresso, black cherry, and black raspberry lead to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, smooth-textured wine. Savory, moderately structured, and approachable, it may evolve for 1-2 years but can be enjoyed now and over the next 6-8 years.” Parker gives it a 92.

The building sure looks old.

This traditional Gazpacho was very good — and included the tray of “additives” (cucumber, tomato, crouton). Even I — a consummate raw tomato hater — loved it.

Pimientos Rojos with Boquerones in Vinegar. I love this dish. Anchovies have a bad rap here in the states, but these fresh Spanish ones are amazing. I love the vinegary tang, and the contrast with the marinated peppers. Yum!

Here is the pig in the foreground — with potatoes — the Spanish love meat and potatoes. In the background is roasted lamb shoulder.

The lamb plated. Smokey, rich and tender. The piggy was someone else’s, after looking at the little pigs I just couldn’t bring myself to chow down on one. I didn’t see the lamb. Bah!