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

Archive for Wild boar

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.
7U1A6234-Pano
The location is right next door to Kali — far far from me on a Friday night in traffic!
7U1A6238-Pano
The interior is cutesy LA Italian.
7U1A6261-Pano
We had a giant table in the back.
7U1A6237

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.

7U1A6265
Caprese di Bufala. fresh buffalo mozzarella DOP, tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, sea salt.
7U1A6294
Calamari. grilled calamari with arugula, oranges, cherry tomatoes, lemon dressing.
7U1A6257
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)
7U1A6318
Burratona. fresh burrata cheese with roasted squash, aged balsamic, frisée, toasted pine nuts.
7U1A6275
Main Lobster Catalana Style. A great lobster salad.
7U1A6268
Linguine al Pesto di Rucola. Mamma’s arugula pesto.
7U1A6253
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.
7U1A6252
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
7U1A6287
Roasted Quail, cannelini bean puree, natural jus. Another stand out dish.
7U1A6298
Focaccia bread and tomato sauce.
7U1A6254
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.
7U1A6308
Maltagliati Pasta with Wild Boar Ragu, fresh ricotta cheese. Great ragu — Yarom shot the boar!
7U1A6256
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)
7U1A6330
Bigoli Neri alla Bottarga. black squid ink bigoli, cherry tomatoes, shrimp and bottarga.
7U1A6332
Branzino. Grilled Mediterranean branzino fillet, red and green bell pepper peperonata, garlic aioli.
7U1A6255
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.
7U1A6324
Colorado Lamb Chop, dolce latte fonduta, bagna cauda.
7U1A6251
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.
7U1A6336
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.
7U1A6344
Bone in!
7U1A6249
7U1A6250
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)
7U1A6348
Selection of fine cheese & fruit marmellata.
7U1A6354
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!

Related posts:

  1. Angelini Osteria
  2. Osteria Latini 3
  3. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini 2
  4. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  5. Eating Modena – Osteria Francescana
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: boar, BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Mirko Paderno, Osteria Mamma, pasta, Quail, Wild boar

Not Boaring at Sáu Can Tho

Feb12

Restaurant: Sáu Can Tho Vietnamese Kitchen [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 8450 Garvey Ave #103, Rosemead, CA 91770. (626) 307-8868

Date: December 15, 2019

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Excellent!

_

Every December my Hedonist club goes to this awesome SGV Vietnamese place — which used to be named Phong Dinh and is now Sáu Can Tho. This authentic Vietnamese/Chinese continues to serve up interesting stuff — plus they’re happy to take some of Yarom’s “do it yourself” meats, like his recently shot wild boar.

7U1A4244
The new logo.
7U1A4268
Free range shredded chicken salad. Pretty darn good for a “chicken salad.” Actually very good. Bright flavors, slight sweetness.
7U1A4277
Wild boar sausage. Tasty.
7U1A4285
Beef carpaccio with julienne water spinach. One of the weaker dishes.
7U1A4295
Spiral sea snails sautéed in coconut sauce. The conical snails are smothered in the sauce. Snails are great, and you have to suck out the tender meat — but the sauce is amazing — totally to die for. Light coconut curry flavor.

7U1A4315
SCT Famous Baked Catfish. This is famous for a reason. Really a standout delicious baked fish with peanuts and a bit of turmeric flavor.
7U1A4300
It comes with veggies, fish sauce.

7U1A4302
Rice paper — the type you put in warm water.
7U1A4312
Super delicious rice noodles.
7U1A4307
Herb salad.

7U1A4320
Here is an example of the “taco” by combining the elements.
7U1A4325
Freshwater prawn with garlic butter sauce. Really delicious huge garlicky prawns.
7U1A4331
Wild boar sautéed with chili and lemongrass rolls. These were incredible. They look fairly hideous, with the sinister dark wrapper and a slightly mushy texture. But the flavor was amazing.
7U1A4335
Alligator curry. Interesting mushy/chewy meat texture.
7U1A4338
Goat curry. Great rich yellow curry flavor.
7U1A4343
Crispy shrimp chips.
7U1A4347
“Shaken” wild boar tenderloin. Lots of flavor.
7U1A4350

Vietnamese rotisserie squab. Crispy and juicy.
7U1A4362
Crispy quails with fish sauce glaze. Interesting fishy note.
7U1A4358
Rice cakes to go with the quails. bland but great texture.

7U1A4370
Vietnamese Flan Creme Caramel Dessert. Very nice.
7U1A4366
Moose Avenue Gelato — Ice cream fans should get the joke — pure Tahitian Vanilla gelato base layered with Valrhona Milk Chocolate Ganache and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups –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 #vanilla #valrhona #chocolate #ganache #Reeses #PeanutButterCups

Mango Coconut Cheesecake Gelato — this one is serious — Mango Cheesecake base layered with house-made Graham Crackers and house-made Coconut Cream- Ceese Icing and sprinkled with Candied Mango –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 #mango #cheesecake #creamcheese #coconut #icing #GrahamCracker #CandiedFruit

Overall, Sáu Can Tho is a delicious place, and most of the dishes were great — particularly the catfish, ugly wrapped boar, snails etc. This is pretty spot on California style authentic Vietnamese, similar to many places in Garden Grove / Westminster. I suspect these are mostly Saigon style places reflecting the 1970s exodus of many Vietnamese to America and are part of our great Los Angeles cultural melting pot!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or
LA dining reviews click here.

7U1A4298
7U1A4245
7U1A4247
7U1A4252
7U1A4259
7U1A4258
7U1A4262
7U1A4251
7U1A4253
7U1A4255
7U1A4260
7U1A4290
7U1A4340
7U1A4248
7U1A4263
7U1A4261
7U1A4256
7U1A4254
7U1A4257
7U1A4249
7U1A4246

Related posts:

  1. Never Boaring – Il Grano
  2. Pheasant & Deer are Never Boaring
  3. Không Tên – Brunch
  4. Thai Tour – Pailin Thai
  5. Không Tên – Nomnom
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: boar, BYOG, catfish, Gelato, hedonists, snails, Vietnamese cuisine, Wild boar

Never Boaring – Il Grano

Jan25

Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: January 23, 2013

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Not boaring in the least!

_

As any frequent reader knows, I feast all the time with my Hedonist buddies, and recently, our fearless leader Yarom hunted down his own boar. Yeah, that’s right, here’s the bloody proof.


On the left above is Yarom posing with his boar. On the right is a friend of his, who shot a monster of a male boar. Yarom went for a nice juicy sow because, well, they taste much better. The fellow on the right is probably tough and gamey as hell. And that is the point of this post after all, to talk about food. Namely, the epic feast the above boar turned into. Yarom had her butchered and gave different parts of the meat to different restauranteurs. A big chunk went to Il Grano’s Sal Marino to turn into a spectacular Italian meal.

As usual we Hedonists brought some stellar wines to go along with it.


Ron, the master of bubbly and white brought this. Parker 94+, “The 2002 Brut Coeur de Cuvee is absolutely stunning. This young, towering Champagne bursts from the glass with layers of mineral-infused fruit, showing fabulous intensity and purity from start to finish. Hints of tropical, opulent fruit are very nicely tempered by the wine’s underlying structure. Think Montrachet with bubbles. The Coeur de Cuvee is made from 50 year old vines in Les Blanches Voies Hautes. The blend is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Disgorged May 2010.”

Really one of the best champagnes I’ve had in some time.


Our boaring menu for the night.


We sat in the private room at a nice round table. This is the same spot where I hosted my birthday sixth months ago.


Burghound 93-95, “It seemed relatively supple and forward, indeed more or less ready to drink. To be sure, there was no obvious secondary nuances in evidence and still good freshness to the rich, intense and vibrant flavors brimming with minerality on the impressively long finish. Impeccably stored bottles might need another few years to arrive at their peak but absent this bottle being an aberration, I don’t think that opening one today would be infanticide.”


Parker 95, “The 2008 Echezeaux is flat-out great. It is a deep, dark wine graced with exquisite balance, lovely inner perfume and a layered, eternal finish. Here the slightly higher percentage of new oak (70%) gives the wine an additional measure of volume.”

Burghound 92, “A ripe, spicy and relatively elegant aromatic profile presents a fruit array that is primarily red-fruit based. The rich and full-bodied flavors possess ample volume and the tannins are really quite fine but dense and as such, the persistent and solidly well-balanced finish is firm and mildly austere. This will not be an early drinker.”

This was a great wine and just didn’t taste 5 years old, more like 15!


House made mini boar meatballs. These had a wonderful simple flavor: meat, with just a few spices.


From my cellar, Parker 96, “The fabulous 1998 Barolo Falletto del Serralunga reveals intensity and volume. A dark plum color is accompanied by a classic Nebbiolo perfume of rose water, melted tar, truffles, and cherry jam. As the wine sits in the glass, aromas of spice box and cigar smoke also emerge. Full-bodied, dense, and powerfully tannic, yet extremely harmonious.”


House made boar sausage, mozzarella & rapini pizza. Like the ultimate sausage pizza!


Parker 94, “The 2004 Barolo La Serra reveals a generous personality in its dark red fruit with notable depth and richness that carries through to the persistent, sweet finish. With air, floral notes develop to round out this particularly multi-dimensional, full-bodied and beautiful La Serra. 2004 is a great vintage for this wine, which can sometimes be austere.”


Then Sal gets funky, straying from the Italian beat. Boar empanadas! Really yummy.


Parker 96, “Two great back to back vintages are the 1990 and 1989. The more developed 1990 boasts an incredible perfume of hickory wood, coffee, smoked meat, Asian spices, black cherries, and blackberries. Lush, opulent, and full-bodied, it is a fully mature, profound Beaucastel.”

… except, it was corked. Bummer, but it happens.


And boar tacos.


With homemade guacamole and salsa (not pictured).


Parker 99, “Marcassin Estate continues to grow, although still ever so tiny, with just over 20 acres of tightly spaced vineyards on the Sonoma Coast. They also supplement their estate bottlings with purchased fruit from vineyards owned by the Martinelli family which they help manage, the Three Sisters Vineyard for Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir from the Blue Slide Vineyard. Their dominant Chardonnay clones continue to be based on the old Wente clones taken from the Hudson and Hyde Vineyards, and the Mt.Eden clone. The Pinot Noir material is dominated by California heritage clones. Little changes under the firm’s leadership of Helen Turley and her husband John Wetlaufer (now married 42 years), and as someone raised in Maryland, I am proud to say they were schooled at the renowned St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. They have always been committed to the highest quality of wines possible. It is akin to being tutored by a great master to sit down and taste through their series of Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. They added a few wrinkles this time by throwing into the tasting a 2005 Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet, which was completely obliterated by their own Chardonnays, and with the Pinot Noirs, a highly rated grand cru red Burgundy from the 2005 vintage that didn’t fare particularly well either. Their point was that not only are their wines superior (and I would certainly agree with these comparisons), but also that some of the most famous names in Burgundy have more sizzle and snobbery behind them than actual quality. The Pinot Noirs are very complex and need lots of aeration/decanting to strut their stuff. They continue to remind me of grand crus from Morey St.-Denis, especially wines such as Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche because of the following. NOTE: Prices noted are from the winery’s mailing list. These wines sell for 2 to 3 times more in the secondary market.”

I don’t know what Parker is smoking, but this sure shows he doesn’t know Pinot Noir. This was over oaked and my least favorite wine of the night. Not that it was bad, but I just don’t like the new world style of Pinot.

To the right, and much more to my liking, Parker 91, “The 1996 Barbaresco exhibits a dense ruby color as well as a forward nose of cherry liqueur, earth, truffle, mineral, and spicy scents. Rich, full-bodied, and seductive, with its moderate tannin largely concealed by the wine’s wealth of fruit and extract, this gorgeously pure offering gets my nod as the finest Barbaresco produced by Gaja since 1990.”


Then the best “sausage and peppers” I’ve ever had. The meat had this succulent game spiciness.


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.”


Polenta with boar ragu. This was pretty stunning too with a wonderful soft texture.


Parker 90, “In 2003, we will finally see several releases, including his 1997 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier. Although this is an outstanding effort from a difficult vintage, Bonneau is used to producing wines that are far better out of bottle than from barrel. This 1997 has gotten better with each year of aging, and from bottle, it is an outstanding example of Chateauneuf du Pape. A heady concoction of kirsch liqueur, licorice, pepper, and ripe black cherry fruit is offered in a rich, full-bodied, surprisingly intense style. The acid is low, the fruit ripe, and the wine plump and juicy. Typical of many Bonneau efforts, it offers notes of smoke, beef blood, earth, figs, and prunes.”

Again Parker misses, as this was a wonderful wine.


And the classic: Pappardelle al Cinghiale. Sal makes this normally and it’s fabulous, but this one might have been extra good.


Parker 95, “If it were not for the prodigious 1996, everyone would be concentrating on getting their hands on a few bottles of the fabulous 1995 Leoville-Las-Cases, which is one of the vintage’s great success stories. The wine boasts an opaque ruby/purple color, and exceptionally pure, beautifully knit aromas of black fruits, minerals, vanillin, and spice. On the attack, it is staggeringly rich, yet displays more noticeable tannin than its younger sibling. Exceptionally ripe cassis fruit, the judicious use of toasty new oak, and a thrilling mineral character intertwined with the high quality of fruit routinely obtained by Las Cases, make this a compelling effort. There is probably nearly as much tannin as in the 1996, but it is not as perfectly sweet as in the 1996. The finish is incredibly long in this classic. Only 35% of the harvest was of sufficient quality for the 1995 Leoville-Las-Cases.”


Boar chops, peal barley, and pea tendrils. Wild boar isn’t the tenderest pork chop you ever tasted, but it does have a great flavor.


Parker 96, “The prodigious 1997 Insignia (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 3% Petit-Verdot) lives up to its pre-bottling promise. Tasted on three separate occasions, every bottle has hit the bull’s eye. The color is a saturated thick-looking blue/purple. The nose offers up explosive aromas of jammy black fruits, licorice, Asian spices, vanillin, and cedar. Full-bodied as well as exceptionally pure and impressively endowed, this blockbuster yet surprisingly elegant wine cuts a brilliant swath across the palate. A seamless effort with beautifully integrated acidity, sweet tannin, and alcohol, it is still an infant, but can be drunk with considerable pleasure.”


Then the leg. This reminds me of Jose Andres’ “secreto” which you can see here.


Parker 95, “L’Evangile’s sublime 2005, a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, is the first wine made in their brand new cuverie. Sadly, there are fewer than 3,500 cases of this deep purple-colored offering. A gorgeous nose of meat juices, black raspberries, chocolate, espresso, and notions of truffle oil as well as smoke is followed by a full-bodied Pomerol displaying sweet tannin, a flawless texture, and stunning complexity. While surprisingly showy and forward for a l’Evangile, it will undoubtedly shut down over the next year or so.”


A slice of the leg. Really gamey and tender.


Then some bones for gnawing.


Chef/Owner Sal surveys the carnage.


This wonderful medium old maderira “served” for dessert.


And for dessert itself, this orange tart which was a lovely finish to all the meat.


Check out what we did to the table!

This was another knock down great evening and it was fun to see Sal cook in a different style. He really rose to the occasion and treated the boar right.

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,
Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.


Yarom pigs out on some knuckles.


The impressive spread for the evening.

Related posts:

  1. Il Grano Birthday
  2. Il Grano part 2
  3. Il Grano – Only 19 courses?
  4. Tomato Night at Il Grano
  5. ThanksGavin 2011 – The Main Event
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: boar, Chardonnay, Dessert, Foodie Club, hedonists, Il Grano, Nebbiolo, Pinot noir, Sal Marino, Santa Monica California, Wild boar, Wine tasting descriptors

Eating Tuscany – Boar at Home

Jun27

Location: Tuscany, Italy

Date: June 12, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

ANY CHARACTER HERE

During our day in Siena we picked up a few supplies.

Most notably, at the sign of the Cinghiale, the Tuscan wild boar.


This funny little gourmet shop sells all sorts of big products — plus some cheese and wine.


The don’t allow photos, but I stole this one of the inside. Zoome in and check out the salesman and his mustache!


Back at our temporary “home” we opened this old Barbaresco. One of my brother’s friends in Milano had given it to him thinking it wouldn’t be good anymore — being almost 40 years old — but lo and beyond it was delicious.


We did have to decant it to seperate out the sediment, but I managed to extract the cork (in 2 pieces) without loosing any.


At the boar shop we picked up two kinds of pecorino, this fresher one.


And this aged “good with old wine” one.

We also got some of this boar salami, pure wild pig mixed with Brunello!


And this “Panna Rustico” which is hearty bread with pecorino and pancetta baked into it. What more could you want with a nice old Italian wine but variants of pig and cheese?

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri
  2. Eating Siena – Trattoria Pepei
  3. Quick Eats: Panini at Home
  4. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  5. Eating Bologna – Trattoria Leonida
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbaresco, Cheese, Cinghiale, eating-italy, Florence, Italian cuisine, Italy, Pecorino, Salami, Siena, Tuscany, Wild boar, Wine

Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri

Jun25

Restaurant: Pozzo dei Desideri

Location: Bologna, Italy

Date: June 11, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

Rating: Good food, good value

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Today we drove through the mountains between Forli in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, then down past Florence to Staggia a small town near Siena. As this was a transitional day and we were settling into our new (temporary) home we just popped down into town for a quick local dinner.


This joint is in the center of this one horse town.


It has a big menu of typical Tuscan fare and very reasonable prices.


This being the heart of Chianti we chose a local Chianti Classico. This was probably about an 89 point wine, but it had some decent age on it making it fairly nice.


It was old enough that they decanted it.


In this modern age, the old adage, “don’t order seafood in the country,” no longer applies. This was billed as Zuppe di Mare. There wasn’t a lot of “soup” but it was tasty with a hearty garlic tomato sauce and various and mysterious shellfish.


Torte of Zucchini in a Pecorino sauce.


One of the MOST typical of pasta dishes, Pappardelle Cinghiale (wild boar ragu) with olives. The Cinghiale is the local hairy wild boar of tuscany. Click here for some pictures of this delightful creature.


This is a big wide fresh pasta with pomodoro and pecorino.


Gnocci with pecorino, tomato, and arugula.


The omnipresent insalata misto.


And another Tuscan classic, the block of beef. This is a fillet in balsamic sauce.


Notice how it’s served rare. Really rare. Tuscans don’t believe in cooking their beef. It was tasty though. Leaner and a bit tougher than an American filet, but full of flavor.

Overall the place was very good for just being a casual inexpensive local spot. We did however run an odd service quirk when they brought out a second steak a full hour after everyone else got their food (they had forgotten the order). Unlike in America they didn’t want to pull it from the bill (although it was only about 10 euro) and instead insisted on boxing it up for us.


Then we walked across the street for gelato. The place was humming at 11pm, packed with kids.


The didn’t have a lot of flavors, but they are all artisanal and very good.


Some various gelato cakes too.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  2. Eating Parma – Cocchi Ristorante
  3. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  4. Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari
  5. Eating Milano Marittima – Ristorante La Frasca
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Bologna, Chianti, Dessert, eating-italy, Emilia Romagna, Emilia–Romagna, Gelato, Ice cream, Italy, pasta, Pecorino, Pozzo dei desideri, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Siena, Steak, Toscana (wine), Tuscany, vegetarian, Wild boar
Watch the Trailer or

Buy it Online!

Buy it Online!

96 of 100 tickets!

Find Andy at:

Follow Me on Pinterest

Subscribe by email:

More posts on:



Complete Archives

Categories

  • Contests (7)
  • Fiction (404)
    • Books (113)
    • Movies (77)
    • Television (123)
    • Writing (115)
      • Darkening Dream (62)
      • Untimed (37)
  • Food (1,483)
  • Games (100)
  • History (13)
  • Technology (21)
  • Uncategorized (16)

Recent Posts

  • Robo Eats – Szechuan Place
  • Providence Chef’s Table 2022
  • OOToro Double
  • Robo Eats – Anarbagh
  • Fred loves N/Naka
  • Major Major Major
  • Far East – Beijing Tasty House
  • Home Sweet Spicy Home
  • Quick Eats – Bafang
  • Quick Eats – Peking Restaurant

Favorite Posts

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

Recent Comments

Archives

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