Just a quick breakfast note for you all as you wake up this morning. Jenn and I drove in NYC together as we are meeting Susan and Rich for lunch at Nougantine. Since lunch won't be until late afternoon, we decided to stop by the newly opened Bouchon Bakery in Rockefeller Center, near where I work.
Jenn got her favorite, Pain au Chocolate, which I'm sure she'll post about. I went with the twice baked Ham & Cheese Croissant...toasted. Let me tell you, this is toasted, cheesy, flaky, yuminess. While a bit on the expensive side for a breakfast sandwich ($9), it is really good.
They start with a fresh, flaky croissant, no doubt made with a lot of butter. They slice it and layer in ham and Swiss cheese. Next, they take more cheese and put that on top of the croissant. Lastly, the toast the whole thing so that everything is warm, melted, and has just a bit of crunch to every bite. What a way to start the day!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Agora Restaurant
This past Saturday night, Paul and I actually went out to dinner with friends (don't ask what time!). We left the dining choice up to them and they picked a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant in Dupont Circle called Agora. The menu layout is similar to a Spanish tapas restaurant with a wide variety of small plates. We got there early so we ordered hummus to keep Amelia happy while waiting for our friends. The hummus was good but the bread was awesome and piping hot!
After much discussion, we decided to order two dishes each. There was a whole section of cheese so I decided to try a sheep cheese described as being full flavor, fatty with butter aroma, and served with honey comb. The cheese was good on its own but the sweetness of the honey made it better. Paul ordered zucchini pancakes which were deliciously pan fried and had a lovely hint of mint. Our friends ordered fried mussels which were awesome! The batter was light and the mussels tasted very fresh. My next dish was grilled branzino and lemon with olive bread. The dish was good but the bread was disappointing. Paul ordered Adana Kebap which had an awesome spice to it. I don't always like lamb but both lamb dishes I took a bite from had great flavor and no weird aftertaste.
For dessert we tried 3 different dishes but I only liked two of them, a rice pudding with dried fruit and apricots stuffed with walnuts covered in a caramel sauce over mascarpone cheese. The caramel sauce was so good!! Paul and I also got Turkish coffee to end the meal mostly because my friend said she would read our fortune. You drink your coffee down to the grinds, flip the cup over, and wait for it to cool. Then you make a wish and the fortune teller lifts up the cup...if it sticks slightly your wish will come true! The coffee grinds leave stains on the cup and the fortune teller interprets the stains. On my cup we saw a tree which I thought was really Medusa. Who knows what that means but I avoided looking into her eyes!
Here are some pics from our lovely meal:
Waiting for my fortune:
Rice pudding:
Stuffed apricots:
Kebap:
Zucchini cakes:
Fried mussels:
Grilled branzino:
After much discussion, we decided to order two dishes each. There was a whole section of cheese so I decided to try a sheep cheese described as being full flavor, fatty with butter aroma, and served with honey comb. The cheese was good on its own but the sweetness of the honey made it better. Paul ordered zucchini pancakes which were deliciously pan fried and had a lovely hint of mint. Our friends ordered fried mussels which were awesome! The batter was light and the mussels tasted very fresh. My next dish was grilled branzino and lemon with olive bread. The dish was good but the bread was disappointing. Paul ordered Adana Kebap which had an awesome spice to it. I don't always like lamb but both lamb dishes I took a bite from had great flavor and no weird aftertaste.
For dessert we tried 3 different dishes but I only liked two of them, a rice pudding with dried fruit and apricots stuffed with walnuts covered in a caramel sauce over mascarpone cheese. The caramel sauce was so good!! Paul and I also got Turkish coffee to end the meal mostly because my friend said she would read our fortune. You drink your coffee down to the grinds, flip the cup over, and wait for it to cool. Then you make a wish and the fortune teller lifts up the cup...if it sticks slightly your wish will come true! The coffee grinds leave stains on the cup and the fortune teller interprets the stains. On my cup we saw a tree which I thought was really Medusa. Who knows what that means but I avoided looking into her eyes!
Here are some pics from our lovely meal:
Waiting for my fortune:
Rice pudding:
Stuffed apricots:
Kebap:
Zucchini cakes:
Fried mussels:
Grilled branzino:
Wine Notes w/o June 20th
Here are the latest wines I’ve had the pleasure of drinking along with the occasion…
Susan and Rich had come over for dinner last Friday, so it was an opportunity to have a couple of good wines. We started with the two Champagnes, had the Rose as an interlude, and then moved on to the Cabs. There was a slacker in the bunch.
2000 Philipponnat Brut Grand Cru Cuvee 1522 Champagne – We started with this Champagne. I was hoping that it would have a sentimental value to Susan and Rich as they have an empty bottle of this in their dining room that they bought in France. They talk about it often as being a great bottle, so when I found an updated vintage of the wine, thought it would be good to try with them. This did not disappoint. This is a mix of Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%), and had a light yellow color. This refreshing, medium bodied Champagne showed an initial nose of yeast, along with floral flavors, peaches and spice. The finish was relatively long, with a nice bit of acidity to cleanse the palate and get you ready for the next sip, or taste of food. Really enjoyed this wine. Grade of B+/A-.
1995 Duval Leroy Femme Champagne – I was a bit worried about how to follow the 1522, but forged forward with the Femme. I’ve had this wine twice before, and it’s been excellent each time. This wine has a vanilla creaminess to it, which complements and balances the lemon zesty acid to it. This wine is starting to show some of the complexity of an aged wine, but has a while to go in its life as well. There is a hint of caramel, as well as a bit of toast, roasted nuts, and honey. Terrific wine, and I wish that I could regularly find more. Grade of A- due to its balance and slightly more complexity than the 1522.
2010 Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy Terre de Maimbray Rose Sancerre – This was a great interlude between the Champagnes and the red wines. This pale salmon colored rose was nice and crisp, with a fragrant floral and berry perfume. The palate was clean, and showed ncie fruit flavors of strawberry and cherry. This was a fresh and elegant wine, with light, but not too light, flavors that danced on the tongue. No alcohol aftertaste was discernible, which some young Roses show. Grade of a solid B.
1995 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Cabernet & 1997 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Cabernet – I’m only going to write one combined note about these two wines. Drinking them side by side, they were clearly from the same producer & vineyard. Overall, both wines were delicious. Classic, well aged cabernets strutting their stuff (even allowing for a minor cork issue on the 1995). Both wines were dark purple, with no visible bricking yet. Fragrant notes of cassis, dark fruit, toasted oak, and a hint of coffee. The palate was full, rich, and lovely, but not overwhelming. Nor did it prevent you from wanting and drinking several glasses as the typical fruit-bombs can. Key flavors included chocolate, blackberry, cassis, tobacco, herbs, and coffee. The major difference between the two wines was that the 1997 finished with dusty tannins, as opposed to the more silky finish from the 1995. I think the 1995 deserved a Grade of A, while the 1997 was an A/A-.
NV Vilmart Cuvee Grand Cellier Rubis Rose Champagne – After the wine tasting at the Pluckemin, Jenn and I sat down with Steve & Mary, and Jeff & Dana for dinner out on the patio. We started with this wine, as Steve, Mary and Jenn consulted with Brian (the Sommelier) prior to sitting down. Vilmart makes some wonderful wines, and this Rose is an excellent example. With a bit of bottle age, the wines are well balanced between fruit and vinous flavors, and have a nice complexity from (in my opinion) the barrel aging program used at this estate. The color was medium pink, with a hint of orange. This is a full bodied rose, and made primarily from Pinot Noir. However, there is also a lightness and freshness that balances the flavor. The fruit is abundant, and this should drink well for quite a while. It was a nice glass to go by itself, along with the first courses, which varied from Oysters to Salads to Risotto. Grade of B+.
2000 Karl Lawrence Cabernet – I picked this wine as a follow up to the Vilmart Rose, and for something to go with everyone’s entrees. I enjoy the KL wines. They provide a bit of everything you’d expect from a cabernet, and at a reasonable price. While not a great vintage, I expected the 2000 to provide a full flavored, ready to drink wine. While not a spectacular wine, it does provide a full range of bouquet, color, and flavor, at about a ¾’s pace (and half price relative to a lot of wines these days). Color was dark purple/black, and the nose was fragrant. Hits of cherries, mocha, black fruits, spice, and vanilla, along with some oak on the finish, it was silky smooth and easy to enjoy. Medium to full bodied, this was drinking well now, and will not likely improve. Grade of B.
Susan and Rich had come over for dinner last Friday, so it was an opportunity to have a couple of good wines. We started with the two Champagnes, had the Rose as an interlude, and then moved on to the Cabs. There was a slacker in the bunch.
2000 Philipponnat Brut Grand Cru Cuvee 1522 Champagne – We started with this Champagne. I was hoping that it would have a sentimental value to Susan and Rich as they have an empty bottle of this in their dining room that they bought in France. They talk about it often as being a great bottle, so when I found an updated vintage of the wine, thought it would be good to try with them. This did not disappoint. This is a mix of Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%), and had a light yellow color. This refreshing, medium bodied Champagne showed an initial nose of yeast, along with floral flavors, peaches and spice. The finish was relatively long, with a nice bit of acidity to cleanse the palate and get you ready for the next sip, or taste of food. Really enjoyed this wine. Grade of B+/A-.
1995 Duval Leroy Femme Champagne – I was a bit worried about how to follow the 1522, but forged forward with the Femme. I’ve had this wine twice before, and it’s been excellent each time. This wine has a vanilla creaminess to it, which complements and balances the lemon zesty acid to it. This wine is starting to show some of the complexity of an aged wine, but has a while to go in its life as well. There is a hint of caramel, as well as a bit of toast, roasted nuts, and honey. Terrific wine, and I wish that I could regularly find more. Grade of A- due to its balance and slightly more complexity than the 1522.
2010 Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy Terre de Maimbray Rose Sancerre – This was a great interlude between the Champagnes and the red wines. This pale salmon colored rose was nice and crisp, with a fragrant floral and berry perfume. The palate was clean, and showed ncie fruit flavors of strawberry and cherry. This was a fresh and elegant wine, with light, but not too light, flavors that danced on the tongue. No alcohol aftertaste was discernible, which some young Roses show. Grade of a solid B.
1995 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Cabernet & 1997 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Cabernet – I’m only going to write one combined note about these two wines. Drinking them side by side, they were clearly from the same producer & vineyard. Overall, both wines were delicious. Classic, well aged cabernets strutting their stuff (even allowing for a minor cork issue on the 1995). Both wines were dark purple, with no visible bricking yet. Fragrant notes of cassis, dark fruit, toasted oak, and a hint of coffee. The palate was full, rich, and lovely, but not overwhelming. Nor did it prevent you from wanting and drinking several glasses as the typical fruit-bombs can. Key flavors included chocolate, blackberry, cassis, tobacco, herbs, and coffee. The major difference between the two wines was that the 1997 finished with dusty tannins, as opposed to the more silky finish from the 1995. I think the 1995 deserved a Grade of A, while the 1997 was an A/A-.
NV Vilmart Cuvee Grand Cellier Rubis Rose Champagne – After the wine tasting at the Pluckemin, Jenn and I sat down with Steve & Mary, and Jeff & Dana for dinner out on the patio. We started with this wine, as Steve, Mary and Jenn consulted with Brian (the Sommelier) prior to sitting down. Vilmart makes some wonderful wines, and this Rose is an excellent example. With a bit of bottle age, the wines are well balanced between fruit and vinous flavors, and have a nice complexity from (in my opinion) the barrel aging program used at this estate. The color was medium pink, with a hint of orange. This is a full bodied rose, and made primarily from Pinot Noir. However, there is also a lightness and freshness that balances the flavor. The fruit is abundant, and this should drink well for quite a while. It was a nice glass to go by itself, along with the first courses, which varied from Oysters to Salads to Risotto. Grade of B+.
2000 Karl Lawrence Cabernet – I picked this wine as a follow up to the Vilmart Rose, and for something to go with everyone’s entrees. I enjoy the KL wines. They provide a bit of everything you’d expect from a cabernet, and at a reasonable price. While not a great vintage, I expected the 2000 to provide a full flavored, ready to drink wine. While not a spectacular wine, it does provide a full range of bouquet, color, and flavor, at about a ¾’s pace (and half price relative to a lot of wines these days). Color was dark purple/black, and the nose was fragrant. Hits of cherries, mocha, black fruits, spice, and vanilla, along with some oak on the finish, it was silky smooth and easy to enjoy. Medium to full bodied, this was drinking well now, and will not likely improve. Grade of B.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Leftovers
After dinner here with Susan & Rich we had leftover fresh mozzarella sitting nicely in tupperware & water that we didn't want to go bad. Last night we finished up a tomato with another round of Caprese salad, olive oil and balsamic vinegar but that didn't quite polish off the cheese.
So tonight we marinated boneless chicken breast in Wegmans Lemon & Garlic sauce and grilled it along side bell peppers (only red, orange and yellow - the green ones don't like me very much) tossed with garlic powder and olive oil. When the chicken and peppers come off the grill, layer on leftover fresh mozzarella on the chicken and top with the peppers. The heat from the chicken and peppers melts the cheese...yummy! Served with a simple Caesar salad of Romaine lettuce, bacon bits, Parmesan cheese and croutons.
So tonight we marinated boneless chicken breast in Wegmans Lemon & Garlic sauce and grilled it along side bell peppers (only red, orange and yellow - the green ones don't like me very much) tossed with garlic powder and olive oil. When the chicken and peppers come off the grill, layer on leftover fresh mozzarella on the chicken and top with the peppers. The heat from the chicken and peppers melts the cheese...yummy! Served with a simple Caesar salad of Romaine lettuce, bacon bits, Parmesan cheese and croutons.
Pluckemin Inn - Summer Wine Tasting & Dinner
Along with Mary & Steve, Alan and I attended the summer wine tasting at the Pluckemin Inn on Sunday, June 26. There were ten distributor tables spread across two floors, each with between 5 and 7 wines they were showcasing. I didn't keep my tasting notes nor do I remember much about what I tried so I'm hoping Alan, Mary & Steve will add their thoughts to this post. I concentrated on Rose and Champagne with a little Pinot thrown in. I do remember clearly that the standouts for me were the Evening Land Pinot from Oregon and the Alfred Gratien rose (joy in a bottle).
After the tasting the four of us were joined by Jeff & Dana for dinner on the patio. Outdoor dining at it's best, it was a perfect temperature to be outside. We decided to all do an appetizer and an entree. I may or may not be able to remember what everyone ordered and since there wasn't a ton of plate trading this time, there are a few of the dishes I won't comment on at all.
To start it off, both Mary and I ordered the half dozen oysters with cocktail sauce and mignonette. One of the things that I really like about the Plucky's oyster appetizer other than the freshness and clean taste of the oysters (usually east coast selections) is that they serve both lemon and lime. Once you've put a little lime on your oysters you won't go back. The mignonette had the appropriate level of briny vinegar to pair perfectly with the raw bites. I saw Mary eating hers with cocktail sauce so hopefully she'll throw in a note about that.
Alan tried to order the tuna and hamachi tartar but was told a few minutes later they were out. He switched to the tried and true Butter Lettuce Salad with pecans, goat cheese and pear (or apple). A really wonderful salad. Jeff ordered the tuna sashimi and Dana got the beat salad. The dish that stood out for me actually though was Steve's risotto with spring peas. Nice flavor, great texture and not overly heavy. Good call, Steve!
For our entrees, Dana and I both got the new Sunday special fried chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli rabe. They served three nice sized pieces that were coated and fried nicely ~ almost lightly ~ in a crunchy but not greasy coating. The chicken was cooked perfectly, moist and tender. Mine was wonderful and I ate every single bite. The mashed potatoes were also great - really smooth and flavorful and served in their very own crock. I don't remember the rabe.
Alan got the Plucky burger and fries. I'm sure everyone already knows this but I'll state it again. Best. Fries. Ever. Alan said his burger wasn't very good this time around - over cooked and small, it didn't fit the bun well.
Mary ordered a white fish...halibut? I'm not sure. Looked great sitting in the light broth and she said it was very good. Steve ordered the ribs which fell off the bone...he mentioned that he tried them a few weeks before and was very happy with the flavor. We'll have to try them next time. Jeff ordered the steak & frites but I didn't ask how it was.
The Pluckemin Inn is a standby and a favorite. They do a number of dishes very, very well including most fishes. In fact just about everything with shellfish or fish in it have been flavorful and inventive. I didn't see a crab or lobster salad on the menu this time around but it's been one of my go to dishes. I'm sure we'll be back many, many more times.
After the tasting the four of us were joined by Jeff & Dana for dinner on the patio. Outdoor dining at it's best, it was a perfect temperature to be outside. We decided to all do an appetizer and an entree. I may or may not be able to remember what everyone ordered and since there wasn't a ton of plate trading this time, there are a few of the dishes I won't comment on at all.
To start it off, both Mary and I ordered the half dozen oysters with cocktail sauce and mignonette. One of the things that I really like about the Plucky's oyster appetizer other than the freshness and clean taste of the oysters (usually east coast selections) is that they serve both lemon and lime. Once you've put a little lime on your oysters you won't go back. The mignonette had the appropriate level of briny vinegar to pair perfectly with the raw bites. I saw Mary eating hers with cocktail sauce so hopefully she'll throw in a note about that.
Alan tried to order the tuna and hamachi tartar but was told a few minutes later they were out. He switched to the tried and true Butter Lettuce Salad with pecans, goat cheese and pear (or apple). A really wonderful salad. Jeff ordered the tuna sashimi and Dana got the beat salad. The dish that stood out for me actually though was Steve's risotto with spring peas. Nice flavor, great texture and not overly heavy. Good call, Steve!
For our entrees, Dana and I both got the new Sunday special fried chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli rabe. They served three nice sized pieces that were coated and fried nicely ~ almost lightly ~ in a crunchy but not greasy coating. The chicken was cooked perfectly, moist and tender. Mine was wonderful and I ate every single bite. The mashed potatoes were also great - really smooth and flavorful and served in their very own crock. I don't remember the rabe.
Alan got the Plucky burger and fries. I'm sure everyone already knows this but I'll state it again. Best. Fries. Ever. Alan said his burger wasn't very good this time around - over cooked and small, it didn't fit the bun well.
Mary ordered a white fish...halibut? I'm not sure. Looked great sitting in the light broth and she said it was very good. Steve ordered the ribs which fell off the bone...he mentioned that he tried them a few weeks before and was very happy with the flavor. We'll have to try them next time. Jeff ordered the steak & frites but I didn't ask how it was.
The Pluckemin Inn is a standby and a favorite. They do a number of dishes very, very well including most fishes. In fact just about everything with shellfish or fish in it have been flavorful and inventive. I didn't see a crab or lobster salad on the menu this time around but it's been one of my go to dishes. I'm sure we'll be back many, many more times.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Grilling in the Rain
This past Friday was supposed to be a day spent poolside, in the sun and water, with the Lahey family. Connor would be all set with his spanking new floatie and swimsuit and we'd be chilling with a few bottles of Rose while soaking up the rays. But I guess no one told Mother Nature to turn off the torrential downpours and turn on the sun.
We moved to plan B. This entailed sitting inside while drinking many bottles of fermented grapes and eating more produce than any four humans can typically consume (thank you S&R for sharing this week's CSA bounty). Personally, I had too much fun to miss the sunshine all that much.
I'm counting on Alan / Susan / Rich to post the wines we drank while I talk food. We started off the same way we start off most evenings of entertainment...cheese & bubbly. The cheese was a mild, milky brie & a Piave from Wegmans with a fresh baguette and a bowl full of my favorite summer addiction, Veggie Stix from Costco. We noshed for a while in between admiring Connor's unique ability to roll from Point A to Point B with fantastic precision and determination. Apparently, he's spurred on by the need to get to any and all electronics! Such a super cutie!!
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We moved onto and polished off a second incredible bottle of champagne and dove straight into a Rose while noshing on an interlude course of fresh mozzarella & Jersey tomatoes. Yummy! The special Balsamic vinegar and the just picked basil added that extra something...love a good Caprese salad! With a nice buzz on, we prepped for dinner.
The evening's menu included grilled baby squash wrapped in prosciutto, grilled scallions, Saratoga steaks from Flannery's in California, wild mushroom & Parmesan risotto and a salad of red & green leafy lettuce, onion, English cucumber and cherry tomatoes with feta cheese. Since we cooked all of this ourselves, I'd usually be a little more gentle on my critiques...but for the sake of the blog, I'll try and be as unbiased as possible. The baby squash was without a doubt THE BEST squash I've ever had. I don't usually like squash - but this was perfect. The crispness of the prosciutto added the right blend of saltiness to the soft, buttery texture of the squash. So awesome....must try that again. I also couldn't stop eating the grilled scallions. Who knew? So fabulous and a great flavor note when eaten with bites of steak.
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The salad was wonderful because it was so fresh and crisp. I didn't add Feta to mine but loved the Greek feta yogurt dressing that S&R brought as an accompaniment. Nor did I realize how much I liked English cucumbers...less seeds and crunchy. I thought the raw onions gave the whole thing a nice zing and offset the sweetness of the tomatoes perfectly.
The risotto I made had the correct balance of creamy but still al dente that I was shooting for...but I was disappointed in the overall flavor. I've made risotto a bunch of times and can usually get more depth of flavor and woodiness when using mushrooms then I did this time. I think buying the prepackaged mushroom blend from Wegmans in lieu of the individual mushrooms from Delicious Orchards was a mistake. Not bad, but not memorable. I also forgot to add in peas and missed the splash of color they give the final dish.
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Finally on to the steaks. This Saratoga cut is something new we've tried once before and I really like the cut. It's got the tenderness of a fillet with the flavor profile closer to a rib eye. The size of the steaks were nice ~ I didn't feel like I was eating so much I needed to take a Crestor. But alas, tonight these were overcooked. Grilling in the rain is a challenge, I'm told and I think it played a part. Unlike the first time Alan grilled Saratoga steaks, all red and perfect in the middle, these tended more towards medium and lost a little of their flair along the process. We'll need to try again!
We moved to plan B. This entailed sitting inside while drinking many bottles of fermented grapes and eating more produce than any four humans can typically consume (thank you S&R for sharing this week's CSA bounty). Personally, I had too much fun to miss the sunshine all that much.
I'm counting on Alan / Susan / Rich to post the wines we drank while I talk food. We started off the same way we start off most evenings of entertainment...cheese & bubbly. The cheese was a mild, milky brie & a Piave from Wegmans with a fresh baguette and a bowl full of my favorite summer addiction, Veggie Stix from Costco. We noshed for a while in between admiring Connor's unique ability to roll from Point A to Point B with fantastic precision and determination. Apparently, he's spurred on by the need to get to any and all electronics! Such a super cutie!!
We moved onto and polished off a second incredible bottle of champagne and dove straight into a Rose while noshing on an interlude course of fresh mozzarella & Jersey tomatoes. Yummy! The special Balsamic vinegar and the just picked basil added that extra something...love a good Caprese salad! With a nice buzz on, we prepped for dinner.
The evening's menu included grilled baby squash wrapped in prosciutto, grilled scallions, Saratoga steaks from Flannery's in California, wild mushroom & Parmesan risotto and a salad of red & green leafy lettuce, onion, English cucumber and cherry tomatoes with feta cheese. Since we cooked all of this ourselves, I'd usually be a little more gentle on my critiques...but for the sake of the blog, I'll try and be as unbiased as possible. The baby squash was without a doubt THE BEST squash I've ever had. I don't usually like squash - but this was perfect. The crispness of the prosciutto added the right blend of saltiness to the soft, buttery texture of the squash. So awesome....must try that again. I also couldn't stop eating the grilled scallions. Who knew? So fabulous and a great flavor note when eaten with bites of steak.
The salad was wonderful because it was so fresh and crisp. I didn't add Feta to mine but loved the Greek feta yogurt dressing that S&R brought as an accompaniment. Nor did I realize how much I liked English cucumbers...less seeds and crunchy. I thought the raw onions gave the whole thing a nice zing and offset the sweetness of the tomatoes perfectly.
The risotto I made had the correct balance of creamy but still al dente that I was shooting for...but I was disappointed in the overall flavor. I've made risotto a bunch of times and can usually get more depth of flavor and woodiness when using mushrooms then I did this time. I think buying the prepackaged mushroom blend from Wegmans in lieu of the individual mushrooms from Delicious Orchards was a mistake. Not bad, but not memorable. I also forgot to add in peas and missed the splash of color they give the final dish.
Finally on to the steaks. This Saratoga cut is something new we've tried once before and I really like the cut. It's got the tenderness of a fillet with the flavor profile closer to a rib eye. The size of the steaks were nice ~ I didn't feel like I was eating so much I needed to take a Crestor. But alas, tonight these were overcooked. Grilling in the rain is a challenge, I'm told and I think it played a part. Unlike the first time Alan grilled Saratoga steaks, all red and perfect in the middle, these tended more towards medium and lost a little of their flair along the process. We'll need to try again! To wrap up the evening we had a chocolate fudge and New York style cheesecake and more wine. Great fun, great food and of course, incredible friends! Can't wait to do it again.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Food Truck Foodie (Episode 1: Sabora Street Arepas)
Welcome all! "Food Truck Foodie" here. This is the first in what I hope to be a weekly series of articles in which I present to you the best and worst of rolling cuisine--that is, food truck food! Though I mainly eat from food trucks in the Washington, DC area, I will be sure to include any noteworthy additions from trucks I visit in other parts of the world. I hope you enjoy!
Longaniza and Spanish Chorizo Arepa with Fried Yucca--$9
What a food adventure! I don’t know where to begin. So I’ll start with the arepa, specifically the top (and bottom) of the arepa—the arepa cakes. The arepa cakes were fried to perfection. The maza and flour combination took on such a delicate but pronounced sweetness and richness that I wondered aloud whether creamed corn was a secret ingredient. Biting into the arepa cake by itself tastes like biting into a simultaneously sweet and savory deep-fried Johnny cake. In other words, it’s just short of heaven. It reminded me of the authentic arepas I used to eat during my summers at the now-defunct Taqueria Fiesta in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. In between these delightful corn cakes is a mélange of flavor and ingredients. As I noted at the outset, I got the longaniza and Spanish chorizo arepas. So, the main ingredient is chorizo—obviously. Sabora Street certainly did not skimp on their helping of chorizo in my arepa. The sausage was very good, but lacked a certain paprika-based punch I have come to expect with Spanish chorizos. I guess it must be the influence of the longaniza sausage, which has black pepper and nutmeg instead of smoked paprika like the Spanish chorizos do. That minor criticism aside, the chorizo was good enough that I didn’t leave any on my plate. Part of that undoubtedly had to do with the fresh pico de gallo that was generously mixed in with the chorizo. You could taste bright notes of crunchy jalapeno peppers, red onion and tomato, with just enough hint of lime to bring it all together. I’m usually not a fan of pico, but this did the trick, and added a lightness to the arepa that helped complete the dish, particularly from a textural standpoint. It’s always nice to have that contrast of crunch and velvety soft within a dish. High marks for that. Rounding out the arepa was the dry sharpness of the Cotija cheese—always a nice touch with Latin cooking.
The fried yucca took on what, for me, embodies the best characteristics of a French fry—crisp on outside, velvety soft root on the inside. And the salting was perfect. I’ve had yucca before that did not cut the mustard for the simple reason that there was nothing savory about it. Untouched, yucca has a blandness to it that makes one wonder whether it has any redeeming qualities at all. But a simple commitment to spice this fantastic side dish can easily bring it to another level of culinary wonder. Here, they seasoned the yucca with what appears to be generous (but not too much) amounts of Kosher salt and finely chopped chives. Add to this mixture the sweet piquancy of their garlic lime aioli, and these yucca fries are anything but the bland root they often can be.
All in all, I’d say this was a pretty good introduction to Sabora Street. Aside from the slight flavor unexpectedness of the sausage, I’d say the overall flavor profile was a success. And the authenticity level was truly spot on. I will admit that $9 for one arepa and a side of yucca did strike me as a bit much for this dish. But once I bit into it, my fears of a $9 lunch easily left my mind. The portions were more than generous (something I can’t always say for some other, higher-priced food trucks that rhyme with The Schmobster Truck--$17 for a tiny lobster roll? Really? That I had to wait 45 minutes for? In the rain?). I eagerly look forward to Thursdays in the future when the people at Sabora bring some more Sabor to our Metro Center streets.
Rating 7.3 out of 10. (This would have been slightly higher if the price was a bit better.)
Longaniza and Spanish Chorizo Arepa with Fried Yucca--$9
What a food adventure! I don’t know where to begin. So I’ll start with the arepa, specifically the top (and bottom) of the arepa—the arepa cakes. The arepa cakes were fried to perfection. The maza and flour combination took on such a delicate but pronounced sweetness and richness that I wondered aloud whether creamed corn was a secret ingredient. Biting into the arepa cake by itself tastes like biting into a simultaneously sweet and savory deep-fried Johnny cake. In other words, it’s just short of heaven. It reminded me of the authentic arepas I used to eat during my summers at the now-defunct Taqueria Fiesta in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. In between these delightful corn cakes is a mélange of flavor and ingredients. As I noted at the outset, I got the longaniza and Spanish chorizo arepas. So, the main ingredient is chorizo—obviously. Sabora Street certainly did not skimp on their helping of chorizo in my arepa. The sausage was very good, but lacked a certain paprika-based punch I have come to expect with Spanish chorizos. I guess it must be the influence of the longaniza sausage, which has black pepper and nutmeg instead of smoked paprika like the Spanish chorizos do. That minor criticism aside, the chorizo was good enough that I didn’t leave any on my plate. Part of that undoubtedly had to do with the fresh pico de gallo that was generously mixed in with the chorizo. You could taste bright notes of crunchy jalapeno peppers, red onion and tomato, with just enough hint of lime to bring it all together. I’m usually not a fan of pico, but this did the trick, and added a lightness to the arepa that helped complete the dish, particularly from a textural standpoint. It’s always nice to have that contrast of crunch and velvety soft within a dish. High marks for that. Rounding out the arepa was the dry sharpness of the Cotija cheese—always a nice touch with Latin cooking.
The fried yucca took on what, for me, embodies the best characteristics of a French fry—crisp on outside, velvety soft root on the inside. And the salting was perfect. I’ve had yucca before that did not cut the mustard for the simple reason that there was nothing savory about it. Untouched, yucca has a blandness to it that makes one wonder whether it has any redeeming qualities at all. But a simple commitment to spice this fantastic side dish can easily bring it to another level of culinary wonder. Here, they seasoned the yucca with what appears to be generous (but not too much) amounts of Kosher salt and finely chopped chives. Add to this mixture the sweet piquancy of their garlic lime aioli, and these yucca fries are anything but the bland root they often can be.
All in all, I’d say this was a pretty good introduction to Sabora Street. Aside from the slight flavor unexpectedness of the sausage, I’d say the overall flavor profile was a success. And the authenticity level was truly spot on. I will admit that $9 for one arepa and a side of yucca did strike me as a bit much for this dish. But once I bit into it, my fears of a $9 lunch easily left my mind. The portions were more than generous (something I can’t always say for some other, higher-priced food trucks that rhyme with The Schmobster Truck--$17 for a tiny lobster roll? Really? That I had to wait 45 minutes for? In the rain?). I eagerly look forward to Thursdays in the future when the people at Sabora bring some more Sabor to our Metro Center streets.
Rating 7.3 out of 10. (This would have been slightly higher if the price was a bit better.)
Father's Day Meal
So I know I'm a little late in posting this but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful meal that we had on Rich's first Father's Day. While it may have been the first time Rich celebrated Father's Day as an actual Father, it really wasn't much different than Rich likes to celebrate every holiday where he has control over the menu.....which means we had steak. And, not just any steaks, we had 2 inch thick 28 day dry aged porterhouses from Hind & Fore. The picture below gives some indication of the meat-a-palooza we were going to have.
To answer any question - we did not consume these steaks alone - it was 1 per couple and two smaller "charcoal" steaks for my 10 & 8 year old nieces. We started the late afternoon off "light" - with 3 different kinds of cheese (Brillat Savarin Fraise, Goat Gouda, & Tarentaise - a raw alpine cow's cheese from Vermont) & some fresh Jersey tomatoes & mozzarella (clearly Cheese was also a big focus of our menu). Then, on to the main attraction which was some squash from our recent CSA delivery wrapped in prosciutto & grilled, some early season fresh Jersey corn (wrapped in tin foil with a little butter, some salt & pepper, & a drizzle of water - then grilled), salt potatoes (basically new potatoes that are cooked in obscene amounts of salt....shockingly good)....and the meat. Needless to say, we were stuffed. And I think Connor enjoyed watching his daddy become even happier in "meat-nirvana". Just to give an idea of how the steaks were cooked:
All of this ended with some home made vanilla ice cream & strawberry sauce made from the local farmer's market berries.
Needless to say, I think Rich had a very good....and very filling....first Father's Day!
One of my favorite marinades/sauces
Hi my name is Jeff and I'm a shrimpaholic. I make Forrest Gump seem like a novice when it comes to shrimp. There are many ways that I enjoy shrimp (apparently the shrimp off the crudo menu at Marea is not one of them), but one of my favorites involves a little marinade that I stumbled upon at Wegman's.
I had spent many nights trying to replicate what I ended up finding in a bottle already made for me. It is a ginger garlic soy sauce (pictured) that is made by House Seafood (distributed by Ashman Manufacturing Company).
What I do is take peeled uncooked shrimp (I find 28-25ct per lb to be a good size to grill) and marinate them in this sauce with lemon juice (squeezed half of lemon) for about 30minutes to 2hours (depending on how much time I have).
After getting the grill up to about 600 degrees, I then grill them for about 90 seconds on each side with the lid open. Right before I take them off, I use the other half of the lemon and squeeze it out over the cooked shrimp. I then serve with a little dipping sauce on the side (obviously not from the sauce that was used to marinate the shrimp).
I've only come across this brand in Wegman's and there are many times that I've gone there and they were sold out. If you come across a bottle and eating yummy food is your thing, give it a try and let me know what you think.
Addison, Grand Del Mar, California
For our last dinner in Del Mar we joined a vendor sponsored event at Addison, one of the top rated restaurants in the San Diego metro area. The dinner was hosted by CrossView, IBM and Sterling Commerce and Addison was on-property at the Grand Del Mar resort. It's located about 500 yards up the hill from the resort, adjacent to the golf pro shop and M Club.
We arrived promptly at 7pm to find a group already in the private dining room with attached outdoor veranda overlooking the 18th green and waterfalls. The bar was open but Alan spied a waiter in the process of decanting an older Cabernet (Pahlmeyer) and expertly navigated into place to be able to sample a glass for him and a glass for me. While we stood around outside chatting with one of our hosts amid the beautiful surroundings and the perfect temperature, I tried many of the h'ors deurves passing by. The ones I remember were a delightful, warm Gruyere pastry with an actual liquid cheese center and little spoons of crab, honey and tarragon that I loved and probably snatched half a dozen of. I'm having trouble recalling others but there were maybe five or six in total.
When called into the dining room, we took up places at a table near one of the fireplaces and close to the veranda glass doors. There were six people to a table and six tables in total. Each table consisted of at least one host (someone from IBM, CrossView or Sterling) and guests of the conference and their significant others. Our table had a most wonderful couple from Plano Texas (Teneka who works at JC Penney & her hilarious husband, Tom), Jason from Portland, Oregon and one other woman. The conversation was fast and funny, covering a wide range of topics. The chatter at the table was so engaging that I didn't pay as much attention to the food as I usually would, but remembered to snap a few pictures and grab one of the menus they had at each place setting.
Our first course was a salad of seasonal greens with shallot confit, glazed beets and Cabernet dressing. I thought the confit's sweetness was a wonderful compliment to the bitters of the greens and liked this rather simple dish a lot. The second course was a fennel risotto with cured lemon and Parmesan cheese. Knockout! I loved this...creamy and still a touch al dente with a fresh taste that's uncommon in usually heavy risotto dishes.
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The next dish was the entree with a choice of either the braised beef short rib with smoked potato puree, port wine and prosciutto or the roast Atlantic sablefish with cremini mushrooms, rock shrimp and dashi. I choose the fish while Alan selected the short ribs.
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I'll start with my dish...wonderful! Sablefish is a smooth, delicate white fish with a super silky texture that reminds me of the white tuna sushi I love. It was cooked perfectly, flaking easily with a fork. The light sauce it was in had a warmth to it (taste wise, as well as temperature) that added to the experience and it was salted enough to give the fish the support it needed to keep from being too bland. The cremini mushrooms were heavenly and the shrimp flavorful. Alan's short rib didn't quite live up to the expectation. After hearing that this was the signature dish of the chef, we were both hoping for something akin to Cook in St. Helena or Daniel's duo of beef short rib...but it wasn't.
It seemed to be overpowered by the port wine reduction and not as tender as one would hope for.
The dinner wrapped up with chocolate mousse with orange syrup and vanilla ice cream served with teas and coffee. A really nice evening with great company, fun conversation and pretty decent food overall. Not sure this restaurant can hold a candle to it's NYC and San Francisco counterparts, but a lovely experience all the way around.
Jenn's rating: 87
Zagat's rating: 27-28-28
We arrived promptly at 7pm to find a group already in the private dining room with attached outdoor veranda overlooking the 18th green and waterfalls. The bar was open but Alan spied a waiter in the process of decanting an older Cabernet (Pahlmeyer) and expertly navigated into place to be able to sample a glass for him and a glass for me. While we stood around outside chatting with one of our hosts amid the beautiful surroundings and the perfect temperature, I tried many of the h'ors deurves passing by. The ones I remember were a delightful, warm Gruyere pastry with an actual liquid cheese center and little spoons of crab, honey and tarragon that I loved and probably snatched half a dozen of. I'm having trouble recalling others but there were maybe five or six in total.
When called into the dining room, we took up places at a table near one of the fireplaces and close to the veranda glass doors. There were six people to a table and six tables in total. Each table consisted of at least one host (someone from IBM, CrossView or Sterling) and guests of the conference and their significant others. Our table had a most wonderful couple from Plano Texas (Teneka who works at JC Penney & her hilarious husband, Tom), Jason from Portland, Oregon and one other woman. The conversation was fast and funny, covering a wide range of topics. The chatter at the table was so engaging that I didn't pay as much attention to the food as I usually would, but remembered to snap a few pictures and grab one of the menus they had at each place setting.
Our first course was a salad of seasonal greens with shallot confit, glazed beets and Cabernet dressing. I thought the confit's sweetness was a wonderful compliment to the bitters of the greens and liked this rather simple dish a lot. The second course was a fennel risotto with cured lemon and Parmesan cheese. Knockout! I loved this...creamy and still a touch al dente with a fresh taste that's uncommon in usually heavy risotto dishes.
It seemed to be overpowered by the port wine reduction and not as tender as one would hope for.
The dinner wrapped up with chocolate mousse with orange syrup and vanilla ice cream served with teas and coffee. A really nice evening with great company, fun conversation and pretty decent food overall. Not sure this restaurant can hold a candle to it's NYC and San Francisco counterparts, but a lovely experience all the way around.
Jenn's rating: 87
Zagat's rating: 27-28-28
Whole Foods Parking Lot
FIRST POST!!! This video was emailed to me last week. Very funny. Very appropriate.
Grilled Romaine Lettuce Leaves
Copied with permission of Nancy Anderson from her Facebook post...
Grilled Romaine Lettuce Leaves
A couple of years ago we visited the Outer Banks, NC and sampled the grilled romaine lettuce appetizers. They were delicious, different and had a nutty flavor. It didn’t seem too difficult to copy the recipe so we tried it at home and the results were great. There are a number of variations but I wanted to stick with the one that I remembered. It is very easy to include grilled romaine to your other barbecue favorites.
This quick recipe is:
Wash as many whole romaine leaves as you will need and baste them with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill the leaves for about 2 minutes per side or until they are wilted and a bit crunchy on the ends.. Remove leaves from grill and top them with a mixture of crumbled blue cheese and chopped pecans or walnuts. Drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette dressing and enjoy!
Grilled Romaine Lettuce Leaves
A couple of years ago we visited the Outer Banks, NC and sampled the grilled romaine lettuce appetizers. They were delicious, different and had a nutty flavor. It didn’t seem too difficult to copy the recipe so we tried it at home and the results were great. There are a number of variations but I wanted to stick with the one that I remembered. It is very easy to include grilled romaine to your other barbecue favorites.
This quick recipe is:
Wash as many whole romaine leaves as you will need and baste them with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill the leaves for about 2 minutes per side or until they are wilted and a bit crunchy on the ends.. Remove leaves from grill and top them with a mixture of crumbled blue cheese and chopped pecans or walnuts. Drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette dressing and enjoy!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wines while in San Diego
Jenn and I were out in San Diego for a couple of days so she could attend a business conference (and I could tag along and golf). As is our customary habit, we brought out a couple of bottles of wine to enjoy during our downtimes. Additionally, we try to pick a couple of good restaurants to eat at and see what the local wine lists are like. Here are my notes from the week.
Ruinart NV Rose Champagne – While having dinner at Market in Del Mar, we bought this wine off the restaurant list. Relative to the quality, it was reasonably priced and one of the dozen or so champagnes that they had on their list. Every bottle of Ruinart I have has to fight the memory of the first two experiences Jenn and I had with their wines. Both of those were prior to 1999, and both were horrible. One was at home, and one was at the Bubble Lounge in NYC (with Susan and Rich). Those wines were completely devoid of fruit, and had a skunkiness to them that I can’t forget. I wrote the producer off completely…even so much that I wouldn’t even entertain the possibility of visiting them in Champagne when we visited. That’s a sad comment given that they have a fantastic reputation and are one of the older producing houses, and that some of their older vintage wines are supposedly terrific. After reading a lot of notes about how good their wines are, I have been making a conscious effort to retry their wines, and I’m glad I did.
This Rose was a great combination of the last two sparkling Roses I wrote about. It was mostly pink, with just a drop of orange in the coloring. The mousse was very fine, and the bouquet fragrant. It had both fruit, floral, and mineral notes on the palate, along with a fresh and bright acidity that made it a great food wine. It was much more balanced than either the Roederer Estate and the Argyle Roses previously written about, but also more expensive than both of those. However, the quality to price ratio was not out of line. We drank this bottle with our appetizers (poached egg & bacon and soft shell crab) as well as our entrees (duo of beef and scallops with Dungeness crab stuffed prawns). It was great with both. It had enough body and acid to handle the beef, but light and fresh enough to go with the seafood. Grade of B+.
Rivers-Marie 2006 Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir – This is one of my favorite California Pinot Noir producers, and matched with a Sonoma vineyard like Summa, they turn out great wines. This wine is a dark pinot, with the color being a reddish-purple, with just a bit of rust. Nose and palate are well matched showing aromas and flavors of sassafras cola, cherry, orange peel, and spice. The initial taste carries enough acid to be a food wine, and the finish shows a bit of tannin as well. I thought this wine was still a bit young and in a bit of an awkward phase (not fresh, but not mature either). This can sometimes work, but for this specific bottle, I was looking for a bit more of either direction. Still not bad and I’m glad I have more. Grade of B.
Hourglass 2006 Blueline Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – Jeff Smith and Bob Foley make some terrific wines at Hourglass. The Blueline vineyard, which is just north of Saint Helena on the east side of the Silverado trail, borders the Switchback vineyards (a vineyard Foley knows well as he makes their wine as well), and houses the new Hourglass winery. 2006 was the initial vintage for the Blueline wines and complements the regular Hourglass bottling (which comes from the Hourglass vineyard on Lodi Lane). While more subtle than the regular Hourglass wine, there is nothing overtly subtle about this wine. Fragrance of cherries, blackberries, and vanilla, influenced by the oak, jump from this glass and fills the room. The palate is more of the same, where a nice balance of currants, raspberry, cherry, spicebox, herbs, vanilla, and oak coat your tongue. This is a dark, full bodied California cabernet, that can be a meal by itself without being filling or too overpowering. It borders on ‘fruit-bomb’, but not in a negative connotation kind of way. Just delicious to drink now, yet should stay this way for a while. Grade of A-/A.
Cedric Bouchard NV Inflorescence Val Vilaine Champagne – Cedric Bouchard is one of the up and coming producers in Champagne and well worth trying if you come across his wines. Interestingly, all his wines are vintage wines, but for some reason are labeled as non-vintage. Just one wide generalization about them, they need time in the bottle, or decanting (yes, you can do that with Champagne as well). This bottle was from his first production vintages imported into the US, which I believe was 2006 for the Val Vilaine. It still shows very young with the key aspect being the acid attack on the tongue, followed by some citrus, butter and bread flavors. These wines are a fuller style, much like a Meursault white burgundy with bubbles. Jenn and I had this wine with some Boar’s Head Camembert cheese, and a fresh baguette, which worked reasonably well. Grade of B-, but shows potential to be higher.
Andre Clouet NV Cuvee 1911 Champagne – Jenn and I took this wine down to the outdoor firepit at the Grand Del Mar Hotel which overlooks the third hole of the golf course. The beautiful setting was only matched by the beauty of this Champagne. This bottle had everything one could want…or at least I would want. The wine was straw yellow colored with a fine mousse and tiny bubbles. The initial nose had a touch of lemon zest, bread dough, and honey. The palate was full of flavor, by not heavy. It had hazelnuts, lemon, orange rind, and toast. The acid was enough to make your mouth water, but not astringent or biting. The finish lasted 20 seconds or so, if you could wait that long for your next sip. To me, this is clearly past that initial phase of fresh and bright, but not yet into the phase of rich and honeyed. Thus, it’s really showing aspects of both. I recently bought a couple more bottles of this wine, and I’m thinking I should go back and get more. Grade of A.
Pahlmeyer 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon – They say that timing is everything, and timing came into play twice in regards to this wine. This wine was selected by our hosts at the vendor sponsored dinner wrapping up Jenn’s conference. Jenn and I had arrived just as they brought the decanted wine out to the group, and thus, were lucky enough to each get a reasonably sized glass…a lot of folks missed this wine completely (good timing #1). The wine had a dark garnet color with just some slight bricking on the edges. Regardless of the bricking, this wine is drinking great right now (good timing #2). I tend to like wines with a bit of age, and this wine hit home for me. The fruit, mostly blackberry, currant and cherry, was complemented by a touch of oak, some cinnamon, and a hint of leather. The wine was still well structured, showing grip from smooth tannins on the finish. Only had one glass of this wine, but boy, was it good. Grade of A.
Chateau Montelena 2007 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon – This was the main wine of the evening for the vendor dinner. Still young and a bit closed yet, it showed some promise. The nose was muted, but did show some signs of dark berry and tobacco. The medium-bodied palate was a combination of earth, black currants, blueberry, blackberry, and spice, along with some oak and cigar box cedar. This was more of an elegant wine than a fruit-bomb. Despite the flavors, it didn’t come off as big, or overwhelming. A wine that’s very easy to drink several glasses with and without food. Grade of B.
Ruinart NV Rose Champagne – While having dinner at Market in Del Mar, we bought this wine off the restaurant list. Relative to the quality, it was reasonably priced and one of the dozen or so champagnes that they had on their list. Every bottle of Ruinart I have has to fight the memory of the first two experiences Jenn and I had with their wines. Both of those were prior to 1999, and both were horrible. One was at home, and one was at the Bubble Lounge in NYC (with Susan and Rich). Those wines were completely devoid of fruit, and had a skunkiness to them that I can’t forget. I wrote the producer off completely…even so much that I wouldn’t even entertain the possibility of visiting them in Champagne when we visited. That’s a sad comment given that they have a fantastic reputation and are one of the older producing houses, and that some of their older vintage wines are supposedly terrific. After reading a lot of notes about how good their wines are, I have been making a conscious effort to retry their wines, and I’m glad I did.
This Rose was a great combination of the last two sparkling Roses I wrote about. It was mostly pink, with just a drop of orange in the coloring. The mousse was very fine, and the bouquet fragrant. It had both fruit, floral, and mineral notes on the palate, along with a fresh and bright acidity that made it a great food wine. It was much more balanced than either the Roederer Estate and the Argyle Roses previously written about, but also more expensive than both of those. However, the quality to price ratio was not out of line. We drank this bottle with our appetizers (poached egg & bacon and soft shell crab) as well as our entrees (duo of beef and scallops with Dungeness crab stuffed prawns). It was great with both. It had enough body and acid to handle the beef, but light and fresh enough to go with the seafood. Grade of B+.
Rivers-Marie 2006 Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir – This is one of my favorite California Pinot Noir producers, and matched with a Sonoma vineyard like Summa, they turn out great wines. This wine is a dark pinot, with the color being a reddish-purple, with just a bit of rust. Nose and palate are well matched showing aromas and flavors of sassafras cola, cherry, orange peel, and spice. The initial taste carries enough acid to be a food wine, and the finish shows a bit of tannin as well. I thought this wine was still a bit young and in a bit of an awkward phase (not fresh, but not mature either). This can sometimes work, but for this specific bottle, I was looking for a bit more of either direction. Still not bad and I’m glad I have more. Grade of B.
Hourglass 2006 Blueline Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – Jeff Smith and Bob Foley make some terrific wines at Hourglass. The Blueline vineyard, which is just north of Saint Helena on the east side of the Silverado trail, borders the Switchback vineyards (a vineyard Foley knows well as he makes their wine as well), and houses the new Hourglass winery. 2006 was the initial vintage for the Blueline wines and complements the regular Hourglass bottling (which comes from the Hourglass vineyard on Lodi Lane). While more subtle than the regular Hourglass wine, there is nothing overtly subtle about this wine. Fragrance of cherries, blackberries, and vanilla, influenced by the oak, jump from this glass and fills the room. The palate is more of the same, where a nice balance of currants, raspberry, cherry, spicebox, herbs, vanilla, and oak coat your tongue. This is a dark, full bodied California cabernet, that can be a meal by itself without being filling or too overpowering. It borders on ‘fruit-bomb’, but not in a negative connotation kind of way. Just delicious to drink now, yet should stay this way for a while. Grade of A-/A.
Cedric Bouchard NV Inflorescence Val Vilaine Champagne – Cedric Bouchard is one of the up and coming producers in Champagne and well worth trying if you come across his wines. Interestingly, all his wines are vintage wines, but for some reason are labeled as non-vintage. Just one wide generalization about them, they need time in the bottle, or decanting (yes, you can do that with Champagne as well). This bottle was from his first production vintages imported into the US, which I believe was 2006 for the Val Vilaine. It still shows very young with the key aspect being the acid attack on the tongue, followed by some citrus, butter and bread flavors. These wines are a fuller style, much like a Meursault white burgundy with bubbles. Jenn and I had this wine with some Boar’s Head Camembert cheese, and a fresh baguette, which worked reasonably well. Grade of B-, but shows potential to be higher.
Andre Clouet NV Cuvee 1911 Champagne – Jenn and I took this wine down to the outdoor firepit at the Grand Del Mar Hotel which overlooks the third hole of the golf course. The beautiful setting was only matched by the beauty of this Champagne. This bottle had everything one could want…or at least I would want. The wine was straw yellow colored with a fine mousse and tiny bubbles. The initial nose had a touch of lemon zest, bread dough, and honey. The palate was full of flavor, by not heavy. It had hazelnuts, lemon, orange rind, and toast. The acid was enough to make your mouth water, but not astringent or biting. The finish lasted 20 seconds or so, if you could wait that long for your next sip. To me, this is clearly past that initial phase of fresh and bright, but not yet into the phase of rich and honeyed. Thus, it’s really showing aspects of both. I recently bought a couple more bottles of this wine, and I’m thinking I should go back and get more. Grade of A.
Pahlmeyer 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon – They say that timing is everything, and timing came into play twice in regards to this wine. This wine was selected by our hosts at the vendor sponsored dinner wrapping up Jenn’s conference. Jenn and I had arrived just as they brought the decanted wine out to the group, and thus, were lucky enough to each get a reasonably sized glass…a lot of folks missed this wine completely (good timing #1). The wine had a dark garnet color with just some slight bricking on the edges. Regardless of the bricking, this wine is drinking great right now (good timing #2). I tend to like wines with a bit of age, and this wine hit home for me. The fruit, mostly blackberry, currant and cherry, was complemented by a touch of oak, some cinnamon, and a hint of leather. The wine was still well structured, showing grip from smooth tannins on the finish. Only had one glass of this wine, but boy, was it good. Grade of A.
Chateau Montelena 2007 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon – This was the main wine of the evening for the vendor dinner. Still young and a bit closed yet, it showed some promise. The nose was muted, but did show some signs of dark berry and tobacco. The medium-bodied palate was a combination of earth, black currants, blueberry, blackberry, and spice, along with some oak and cigar box cedar. This was more of an elegant wine than a fruit-bomb. Despite the flavors, it didn’t come off as big, or overwhelming. A wine that’s very easy to drink several glasses with and without food. Grade of B.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Grand Del Mar, California: 2011
Alan and I are spending his pre-Birthday week in Del Mar, California at the absolutely gorgeous Grand Del Mar Resort & Spa. Located just north of San Diego in the cliffs and just a few miles in from the dark blue Pacific Ocean. I have no idea how expensive this resort is to stay at out-of-pocket, but when on a business paid conference trip, it's just the perfect location.
Our room is on the third floor and our balcony looks over one of the courtyards as well as the third hole of the on-property golf course. The room itself is one of my favorites of any resort - very spacious with a monstrous king size bed, a wonderfully comfy L-shaped sofa with ottoman, two desks and a huge bathroom featuring a walk in dressing room & closet. It's also got one of the most important aspects to a truly wonderful hotel room - a beautiful, large, glass enclosed shower with the most fabulous water pressure. Powerful, streaming a nonstop flow of hot, hot water. So nice after a long plane ride or a brutal round of golf. As we sit here once again after hitting the links, with our balcony doors wide open watching the Yankees play the Reds we hear the not infrequent sound of navy F-15 fighter jets flying overhead....and for the second time in one day, a little sparrow flies into our room, hops around as Alan gently shoo-shoos it back out the balcony doors. I wanted to feed it but Alan said no, sternly. He doesn't want a repeat of the banded mongoose fiasco of 2002.
But this post is about food...and hopefully wine since I'm thinking Alan will add an addendum to talk about the five bottles packing snugly in our luggage that made the trip out here with us on Continental from Newark.
Our first on resort food experience was the California sandwich they made at the Cafe. Really, really great chicken breast sandwich. Big (enough for two of us to share), warm (heated in a panini press), wet with an olive oil mayo and perfectly accompanied with fresh tomato, bacon and avocado. The bread was a french style baguette, fresh and doughy. Served with crunchy pickles.
Second taste was breakfast from the same Cafe to take To Go out to Torrey Pines with us. We get two toasted bagels - mine plain with cream cheese and Alan's a cinnamon-raisin with butter. They added little fruit cups into our To Go boxes that was a welcome surprise. The bagels were what they should be.
The next dining experience is a last minute trip down to the in hotel restaurant, Amaya. It's a combination of indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the lovely Aria lawn. This is a wide expanse of perfectly manicured lawn surrounded by blooming flora and a large Italian style, open aired pavilion that I know from the Travel Channel is a favorite wedding location. What it means when we're there, a place for every child in the place to run about screaming...interestingly in this case, the kids don't both me or anyone else and are even a bit amusing to watch them chase, tag and tumble all over each other.
I ordered a Caesar salad to start that was nicely prepared with that heavy anchovy taste that I'm particularly fond of. Alan had the short rib cannelloni with beech mushroom ragout and I ordered the crab & lobster pappardelle with tarragon, mushrooms and Parmesan. Alan liked his cannelloni quite a bit. I very much liked the flavor of my dish but between the bottle and a half we already drank and my overall exhaustion after walking the course at Torrey Pines, I ran out of steam after eating only a quarter of my dish.
The next morning (today, actually as I post this), we decide to go for a sit down breakfast since we're not teeing off until 12:30pm in a shot gun start. Back to Amaya we go. Once again sitting outside and once again treated to children running nonstop on the grand Aria lawn. It's a most beautiful morning.
A nice menu, we opt for a mixed seasonal fruit plate to share plus I get the egg white frittata with spinach, tomato and goat cheese served with toast and Alan's breakfast burrito with Parmesan cheese, prosciutto and carameliz onion served with breakfast potatoes. Oh, joy!! My frittata is wonderful - the goat cheese adding that twang of flavor to jazz up the eggs and blend so nicely with the freshness of spinach and tomato. Alan's burrito was good but could have used more meat and less tomato and needed a little salt. The fresh fruit was perfect.
Next up for food - a boxed lunch provided on our golf carts for the tournament. A big box, it held a giant turkey, tomato & lettuce combination in sun dried tomato wrap with a seasoned ranch dressing, a bag of jalapeno chips, chocolate brownie and cold pasta salad.YUMMY. Matched up with unlimited drinks, it made for a perfect golf day lunch! So far, so good!! Hope to be able to post good things about our dinner tomorrow night at Addison.
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Market Restaurant, Del Mar, CA: June 2011
When Alan and I are going to be heading off together, vacation or work / play combination, I usually research restaurants in the area and make reservations - often picking places we haven't tried. San Diego is no exception. Using a combination of friend's recommendations, Zagat, Yelp, Michelin's guides (if an option) and Opentable.com, I put an eating itinerary together.
This trip I knew we'd already be eating at Addison, the top rated restaurant in the San Diego / Del Mar / La Jolla area. It's not going to be a perfect representation of Addison since we're doing a vendor sponsored, large group format...but nonetheless, no reason to repeat. The next top choice was a place called Market Restaurant - just a few miles from our hotel. Using the common formula of fresh ingredients and a farm to table mantra, we were hoping for the best.
We had 6pm reservations - early but I thought since it was the day we arrived in California, we'd be hungry early due to the time change. I didn't factor in being STARVING by 4pm and having to grab something to tie us over. Plug here for the little cafe in the Grand Del Mar...they made us a chicken breast, avocado & bacon on a french baguette, pressed and served warm with pickles. Holy Awesome Sandwich, Batman!!! Back to Market...
After our fabulous gourmet sandwich, we weren't all that ready to rush off to dinner. I called Market and asked if they could accommodate moving our reservation back by an hour or so. They have good news! If we're willing to be seated in their "red room", an enclosed atrium off the main dining room that they described as intimate, we can have a 7pm slot. Excellent - that's the new plan!! Getting there was easy enough thanks to my super cool Navigation app on the Droid.
We are promptly lead to the small red room which turns out to be an enclosed porch that they have draped the three exterior windowed walls with thick, lustrous red curtains creating a dark and almost romantic feel. Taking away from the ambiance is the fourth wall which is all glass looking into the main dining room. Being only a pane of glass away from main room diners staring back at you is a little odd.
Alan orders a bottle of champagne for us and we peruse the menu...which looks fantastic. Small but every choice looks as incredible as the last. Our hopes are high now!!!! I opt for the soft shell crab tempura with greens and mango. Alan had the poached egg, mushrooms and thick cut bacon. My crab was nicely prepared but as I pointed out to Alan, the flavors of my dish were nice by themselves but didn't blend well when put on the fork together. The meld wasn't happening. Alan's was better - the bacon was tender, chewy and a bit like a pork belly - the egg was wonderful.
For entree, I ordered the duo of beef shown below...a fillet served with french beans and a type of light hollandaise sauce and a red wine infused, slow booked short rib with onion whipped potatoes. Alan had the day boat scallops with dungeness crab stuffed, butterflied prawn. Alan's course was too sweet, favors didn't meld and was a disappointment. Mine was really good. Alan said the short rib was a top three and I loved the rich flavor of the fillet.
Overall, service pleasant and attentive, ambiance a bit odd and the food was hit or miss. If you hit, wonderful, if you missed it was a lackluster showing of what could have been brilliant.
Jenn's rating: 85
Zagat: 29-22-26
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This trip I knew we'd already be eating at Addison, the top rated restaurant in the San Diego / Del Mar / La Jolla area. It's not going to be a perfect representation of Addison since we're doing a vendor sponsored, large group format...but nonetheless, no reason to repeat. The next top choice was a place called Market Restaurant - just a few miles from our hotel. Using the common formula of fresh ingredients and a farm to table mantra, we were hoping for the best.
We had 6pm reservations - early but I thought since it was the day we arrived in California, we'd be hungry early due to the time change. I didn't factor in being STARVING by 4pm and having to grab something to tie us over. Plug here for the little cafe in the Grand Del Mar...they made us a chicken breast, avocado & bacon on a french baguette, pressed and served warm with pickles. Holy Awesome Sandwich, Batman!!! Back to Market...
After our fabulous gourmet sandwich, we weren't all that ready to rush off to dinner. I called Market and asked if they could accommodate moving our reservation back by an hour or so. They have good news! If we're willing to be seated in their "red room", an enclosed atrium off the main dining room that they described as intimate, we can have a 7pm slot. Excellent - that's the new plan!! Getting there was easy enough thanks to my super cool Navigation app on the Droid.
We are promptly lead to the small red room which turns out to be an enclosed porch that they have draped the three exterior windowed walls with thick, lustrous red curtains creating a dark and almost romantic feel. Taking away from the ambiance is the fourth wall which is all glass looking into the main dining room. Being only a pane of glass away from main room diners staring back at you is a little odd.
Alan orders a bottle of champagne for us and we peruse the menu...which looks fantastic. Small but every choice looks as incredible as the last. Our hopes are high now!!!! I opt for the soft shell crab tempura with greens and mango. Alan had the poached egg, mushrooms and thick cut bacon. My crab was nicely prepared but as I pointed out to Alan, the flavors of my dish were nice by themselves but didn't blend well when put on the fork together. The meld wasn't happening. Alan's was better - the bacon was tender, chewy and a bit like a pork belly - the egg was wonderful.
For entree, I ordered the duo of beef shown below...a fillet served with french beans and a type of light hollandaise sauce and a red wine infused, slow booked short rib with onion whipped potatoes. Alan had the day boat scallops with dungeness crab stuffed, butterflied prawn. Alan's course was too sweet, favors didn't meld and was a disappointment. Mine was really good. Alan said the short rib was a top three and I loved the rich flavor of the fillet.
Overall, service pleasant and attentive, ambiance a bit odd and the food was hit or miss. If you hit, wonderful, if you missed it was a lackluster showing of what could have been brilliant.
Jenn's rating: 85
Zagat: 29-22-26
Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Recent Wines at Home
One of the things I hope that this blog facilitates is more wine notes. To that end, here are a couple of wines I've had recently at home, and one we had with Steve and Mary at Buddakan in Atlantic City.
2000 Corison Kronos Vineyard Cabernet – Corison is a Cabernet producer that is solid overall, and a nice group of people. Located right on Highway 29 in Oakville, it has a beautiful estate vineyard called Kronos. This vineyard is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and produces a high quality wine made in an elegant style.
Typical of this style, the 2000 Kronos had dark fruit, plum, leather, and a hint of licorice. As this was not a great vintage, the wine was open and showing relatively well. An elegant wine that is more Bordeaux than over the top California, it’s solid, albeit a bit pricey. Grade of B- due to price.
2007 Argyle Brut Rose Dundee Hills, OR (52% Pinot Meunier, 48% Pinot Noir ) – Jenn and I first had this wine out in Santa Monica in 2010. Returning home, I decided to buy some for the cellar. The wine is pink/burnt orange, vibrant with good acidic, but not bracing. It has a bouquet and palate of strawberry, orange zest, mandarin, and white roses. It’s an interesting wine since it doesn’t have any chardonnay, so doesn’t provide some of those toast flavors, and is more floral than mineral. I expect that it may have a slightly high dosage level, since it can come off as a bit sweet as it warms. Grade of B.
Buddakan – NV Roederer Estate Brut Rose, Anderson Valley – Tight acid with typical red fruits. It has more mineral notes than floral notes, to the point of some bottles seeming austere. Still, I like this wine with food as it can cleanse the palate and provide an enjoyable flavor profile. Grade of B-.
2000 Corison Kronos Vineyard Cabernet – Corison is a Cabernet producer that is solid overall, and a nice group of people. Located right on Highway 29 in Oakville, it has a beautiful estate vineyard called Kronos. This vineyard is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and produces a high quality wine made in an elegant style.
Typical of this style, the 2000 Kronos had dark fruit, plum, leather, and a hint of licorice. As this was not a great vintage, the wine was open and showing relatively well. An elegant wine that is more Bordeaux than over the top California, it’s solid, albeit a bit pricey. Grade of B- due to price.
2007 Argyle Brut Rose Dundee Hills, OR (52% Pinot Meunier, 48% Pinot Noir ) – Jenn and I first had this wine out in Santa Monica in 2010. Returning home, I decided to buy some for the cellar. The wine is pink/burnt orange, vibrant with good acidic, but not bracing. It has a bouquet and palate of strawberry, orange zest, mandarin, and white roses. It’s an interesting wine since it doesn’t have any chardonnay, so doesn’t provide some of those toast flavors, and is more floral than mineral. I expect that it may have a slightly high dosage level, since it can come off as a bit sweet as it warms. Grade of B.
Buddakan – NV Roederer Estate Brut Rose, Anderson Valley – Tight acid with typical red fruits. It has more mineral notes than floral notes, to the point of some bottles seeming austere. Still, I like this wine with food as it can cleanse the palate and provide an enjoyable flavor profile. Grade of B-.
Benoit NYC
I’ve been to Benoit three times now…once when I left HRG in 2008, once in 2010, and in 2011. It’s a recreation of a famous French restaurant that was converted from a pharmacy into a bistro, and owned by the Alain Ducasse restaurant group. The restaurant has three distinct areas…the bar, which has outside seating, the main dining room, and private rooms upstairs, which look like you walked into an old school pharmacy. (By the way, you have to take a very small elevator up to the private rooms, but it’s worth asking about taking a peek at them).
The evening started in the bar with an unremarkable glass of Chenin Blanc from the Loire valley. That was followed by a much more interesting glass of Lanson Brut Rose Champagne. This was a lighter style rose clearly meant as an aperitif. I hate to categorize champagnes that way as I believe them to be incredibly versatile, but I could not see this holding my attention with food, and there are too many other champagnes that I like better. Grade of C.
My dining partner, Sean, and I were greeted at the bar by Andre, the current Sommelier. Sean has known Andre for years, but I met him originally at Alain Ducasse’s signature restaurant in NY, called ADNY. He’s a terrific Somm, and a nicer guy. After ADNY, I also had the pleasure of seeing him at meals at Adour, and now at Benoit. If you go, and have any questions about wine, spirits, or general liquids, don’t be afraid to ask Andre. He’s that good, and his recommendations are spot-on.
As I was picking out the wines for the meal, and Andre knew Sean, he brought us over the Reserve wine list. This is a ledger style book where the pricing is hand-written for all the wines, of which there are many. Unfortunately for me, the Reserve list was a bit too Reserve for me (read expensive), so I asked for a recommendation. As per our normal, Sean and I were looking for a white to start, and a red with the entrees. We finally decided on two wines, the 2009 J. Mellot le Montarlet Sancerre from the Loire and the 1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine La Chapelle Hermitage.
I didn’t have any expectations on the J. Mellot. I was just looking for something to go with the appetizers, and something that wasn’t overly heavy. What we got was a terrific wine, and a very good value. Sauvignon Blanc often times has a grassy/hay nature, along with a characterization often referred to as “cat urine”. I hate saying it, much less thinking about it or tasting it. However, this wine was bright, full of acid (but not overly so), had lovely citrus flavors and mineral notes. Terrific…Grade of A- based on delivery versus expectation.
Then came the Hermitage. I’ve never had a Jaboulet, much less an aged one. Professional notes on this wine say it has great potential, but is quite backwards and tannic and thus may never really open. We didn’t have that problem with this bottle. The wine was a deep red color and had a bouquet that was actually quite fragrant and floral, with clear notes of red fruit. On the palate the wine was a nice combination of concentrated fruit, showing both smooth tannins and some acid, with flavors of dark berry cassis, grilled meats, pepper and spice. Showing quite well and open, it matched with the food well. A solid experience for me as I usually don’t like syrah-based wines, but the Rhone valley is really a different animal from California in this regard. Grade of B+.
On to the food. Benoit has a lot of starters to choose from, but what caught our attention was a small piece of paper and a golf pencil on the table with our menus. On this paper were about 9 appetizers, and you had the choice of either selecting 3 or 5 choices. Think of it as an Appetizer tasting menu, or a selection of Amouse Bouches (at least in terms of size). I choose a Crab cocktail with avocado & grapefruit, Egg mayo, and the Crispy Pied de Cochon (mostly because I didn’t know what it was).
The Crab cocktail was very good. The sweetness of the Crab was offset by both the smoothness of the avocado, as well as the tartness of the grapefruit. The Egg mayo was one egg split and prepared two different ways. The first was like a deviled egg. I don’t like deviled eggs, but this was quite good. The second was like a hard-boiled egg, but covered in a semi-hard shell made of what seemed to be hollandaise sauce. It was more interesting than great.
Lastly was the Crispy Pied de Cochon. As I mentioned, I didn’t know what this was, but I knew that it would be crispy, which means fried and I like fried, and that it came with tartar sauce. I honestly was thinking that it was fish based. Well, not exactly. Pied de Cochon is actually pig trotters, or to further translate, pig’s feet. I didn’t find this out until I got home and looked it up. All in all, I’m glad I got it, although not because it was great. They were very good and interesting, but the experience was more valuable.
For my entrée I ordered the Duck breast with daikon radish. For those of you who know me, I love duck. Additionally, my personal opinion is that you always get the best duck dished in authentic French restaurants/bistros. When in France, if Duck confit is on the menu, I’m all over it. In any case, this course furthers my theory. The dish was two strips of duck breast, each about four inches long, 1½ inches wide, and 1½ inches thick, served with triangles of daikon radish. The duck had been cooked medium in the center, with the skin still on and crispy. Yum is all I will say.
While I don’t remember what Sean ordered for his appetizers, he ordered the steak frites as his entrée. I expected the steak to be a hanger steak, but it looked like a rib-eye when served. It was done to perfection (ordered medium rare). The frites, which came out in a big bowl, where also excellent. Honestly, not as good as the ones at DBGB the prior week, but still very good and we finished every last frite.
While Sean and I don’t typically do desserts when we dine together, Alain Ducasse’s restaurants often have one of Sean’s favorites…Rum Babba. This is a moist piece of cake smothered in fresh cream, and Rum. At ADNY, when you ordered the Rum Babba, they brought over to the table a Rum cart that would rival any cheese cart for its number of selections of Rum. Not being the fan of Rum that Sean is, I ordered a Chocolate soufflé. I must say that I really enjoy Chocolate soufflé, or soufflé of any type actually. This one was served with vanilla ice cream, but no sauce poured into it. Good, but not great.
Overall, Benoit is a cool place. Not cheap, but the food is top notch French bistro fare. Keep it in mind if you are in mid-town.
The evening started in the bar with an unremarkable glass of Chenin Blanc from the Loire valley. That was followed by a much more interesting glass of Lanson Brut Rose Champagne. This was a lighter style rose clearly meant as an aperitif. I hate to categorize champagnes that way as I believe them to be incredibly versatile, but I could not see this holding my attention with food, and there are too many other champagnes that I like better. Grade of C.
My dining partner, Sean, and I were greeted at the bar by Andre, the current Sommelier. Sean has known Andre for years, but I met him originally at Alain Ducasse’s signature restaurant in NY, called ADNY. He’s a terrific Somm, and a nicer guy. After ADNY, I also had the pleasure of seeing him at meals at Adour, and now at Benoit. If you go, and have any questions about wine, spirits, or general liquids, don’t be afraid to ask Andre. He’s that good, and his recommendations are spot-on.
As I was picking out the wines for the meal, and Andre knew Sean, he brought us over the Reserve wine list. This is a ledger style book where the pricing is hand-written for all the wines, of which there are many. Unfortunately for me, the Reserve list was a bit too Reserve for me (read expensive), so I asked for a recommendation. As per our normal, Sean and I were looking for a white to start, and a red with the entrees. We finally decided on two wines, the 2009 J. Mellot le Montarlet Sancerre from the Loire and the 1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine La Chapelle Hermitage.
I didn’t have any expectations on the J. Mellot. I was just looking for something to go with the appetizers, and something that wasn’t overly heavy. What we got was a terrific wine, and a very good value. Sauvignon Blanc often times has a grassy/hay nature, along with a characterization often referred to as “cat urine”. I hate saying it, much less thinking about it or tasting it. However, this wine was bright, full of acid (but not overly so), had lovely citrus flavors and mineral notes. Terrific…Grade of A- based on delivery versus expectation.
Then came the Hermitage. I’ve never had a Jaboulet, much less an aged one. Professional notes on this wine say it has great potential, but is quite backwards and tannic and thus may never really open. We didn’t have that problem with this bottle. The wine was a deep red color and had a bouquet that was actually quite fragrant and floral, with clear notes of red fruit. On the palate the wine was a nice combination of concentrated fruit, showing both smooth tannins and some acid, with flavors of dark berry cassis, grilled meats, pepper and spice. Showing quite well and open, it matched with the food well. A solid experience for me as I usually don’t like syrah-based wines, but the Rhone valley is really a different animal from California in this regard. Grade of B+.
On to the food. Benoit has a lot of starters to choose from, but what caught our attention was a small piece of paper and a golf pencil on the table with our menus. On this paper were about 9 appetizers, and you had the choice of either selecting 3 or 5 choices. Think of it as an Appetizer tasting menu, or a selection of Amouse Bouches (at least in terms of size). I choose a Crab cocktail with avocado & grapefruit, Egg mayo, and the Crispy Pied de Cochon (mostly because I didn’t know what it was).
The Crab cocktail was very good. The sweetness of the Crab was offset by both the smoothness of the avocado, as well as the tartness of the grapefruit. The Egg mayo was one egg split and prepared two different ways. The first was like a deviled egg. I don’t like deviled eggs, but this was quite good. The second was like a hard-boiled egg, but covered in a semi-hard shell made of what seemed to be hollandaise sauce. It was more interesting than great.
Lastly was the Crispy Pied de Cochon. As I mentioned, I didn’t know what this was, but I knew that it would be crispy, which means fried and I like fried, and that it came with tartar sauce. I honestly was thinking that it was fish based. Well, not exactly. Pied de Cochon is actually pig trotters, or to further translate, pig’s feet. I didn’t find this out until I got home and looked it up. All in all, I’m glad I got it, although not because it was great. They were very good and interesting, but the experience was more valuable.
For my entrée I ordered the Duck breast with daikon radish. For those of you who know me, I love duck. Additionally, my personal opinion is that you always get the best duck dished in authentic French restaurants/bistros. When in France, if Duck confit is on the menu, I’m all over it. In any case, this course furthers my theory. The dish was two strips of duck breast, each about four inches long, 1½ inches wide, and 1½ inches thick, served with triangles of daikon radish. The duck had been cooked medium in the center, with the skin still on and crispy. Yum is all I will say.
While I don’t remember what Sean ordered for his appetizers, he ordered the steak frites as his entrée. I expected the steak to be a hanger steak, but it looked like a rib-eye when served. It was done to perfection (ordered medium rare). The frites, which came out in a big bowl, where also excellent. Honestly, not as good as the ones at DBGB the prior week, but still very good and we finished every last frite.
While Sean and I don’t typically do desserts when we dine together, Alain Ducasse’s restaurants often have one of Sean’s favorites…Rum Babba. This is a moist piece of cake smothered in fresh cream, and Rum. At ADNY, when you ordered the Rum Babba, they brought over to the table a Rum cart that would rival any cheese cart for its number of selections of Rum. Not being the fan of Rum that Sean is, I ordered a Chocolate soufflé. I must say that I really enjoy Chocolate soufflé, or soufflé of any type actually. This one was served with vanilla ice cream, but no sauce poured into it. Good, but not great.
Overall, Benoit is a cool place. Not cheap, but the food is top notch French bistro fare. Keep it in mind if you are in mid-town.
Marea Wine Addendum
Like DBGB, I wanted to add a couple of things to Jenn's Marea post. I hope that Jeff and Dana will as well...especially about their Fran Drescher sighting. But I digress.
Jenn and I have now been to Marea twice. Overall, I like Marea, but to add to Jenn’s post, here are some things to know. The bar area can be fun for a pre-dinner drink, pending some celebrity type showing up to eat dinner there. The service is relatively typical NY…they don’t expect you’ve had much gourmet dining experience, so treat you accordingly, and are over-attentive at points, because they turn the tables (as fast and as much as possible to pay the high cost of rent on Central Park South). The wine list is a bit frustrating as it has a lot of unknown wines, is comprised primarily of young wines, and either has cheap bottles or extremely high priced bottles. Selections in the “sweet-spot” of $100 to $150 are slim pickings. That said, the food is excellent, especially the pasta. However, I think it’s a high Tier 2 restaurant (with Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernadin, etc. being the Tier 1 set).
NV Pierre Gimmonnet Belles Annees Blanc de Blancs – straw colored with a noticeable mousse, it had a bouquet full of citrus, particularly lemon, and apples. Bright and fresh, with excellent acidity, this was a lighter style champagne. Didn’t have the aged notes of bread yeast or toast, nor was it overly complex. However, a great match for the fish crudos and it provided a nice palate cleansing and good flavor, but didn’t over-power any of the subtle flavors of the fish and their complements. I think I liked this better than the others. A perfect pool-side champagne as well. B+ based on value.
2006 Daniel Rion Vosne Romanee Les Beaux Monts – Bright red colored…subtle bouquet that grew as it sat in the glass. Elegant wine with notes of strawberry, plum, spice, and maybe a touch of oak. Medium bodied that provided a nice match for all the pastas, which were varied and included both butter/oil based sauces, as well as a red sauce. Professional tasting notes are not favorable on this wine, but I liked it quite a bit. Grade of B+
Jenn and I have now been to Marea twice. Overall, I like Marea, but to add to Jenn’s post, here are some things to know. The bar area can be fun for a pre-dinner drink, pending some celebrity type showing up to eat dinner there. The service is relatively typical NY…they don’t expect you’ve had much gourmet dining experience, so treat you accordingly, and are over-attentive at points, because they turn the tables (as fast and as much as possible to pay the high cost of rent on Central Park South). The wine list is a bit frustrating as it has a lot of unknown wines, is comprised primarily of young wines, and either has cheap bottles or extremely high priced bottles. Selections in the “sweet-spot” of $100 to $150 are slim pickings. That said, the food is excellent, especially the pasta. However, I think it’s a high Tier 2 restaurant (with Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernadin, etc. being the Tier 1 set).
NV Pierre Gimmonnet Belles Annees Blanc de Blancs – straw colored with a noticeable mousse, it had a bouquet full of citrus, particularly lemon, and apples. Bright and fresh, with excellent acidity, this was a lighter style champagne. Didn’t have the aged notes of bread yeast or toast, nor was it overly complex. However, a great match for the fish crudos and it provided a nice palate cleansing and good flavor, but didn’t over-power any of the subtle flavors of the fish and their complements. I think I liked this better than the others. A perfect pool-side champagne as well. B+ based on value.
2006 Daniel Rion Vosne Romanee Les Beaux Monts – Bright red colored…subtle bouquet that grew as it sat in the glass. Elegant wine with notes of strawberry, plum, spice, and maybe a touch of oak. Medium bodied that provided a nice match for all the pastas, which were varied and included both butter/oil based sauces, as well as a red sauce. Professional tasting notes are not favorable on this wine, but I liked it quite a bit. Grade of B+
DBGB Wine Addendum
I wanted to add a quick addendum to Jenn's DBGB food notes that focused on wines.
First off, the restaurant has a really large and interesting beer list. To the point that they can even do match beers to a "tasting menu" type food approach. Thus, if you like beer, and want to try beers that you probably haven't heard of or seen otherwise, put this place on your list.
When we arrived at the restaurant, Jenn and I were a bit early, so we started off with a glass of wine at the bar. Jenn had a glass of Rose, which was quite nice, but I don't remember any of the details. I was looking for a glass of white wine, but something interesting. I decided to try the Mas Cal Demoura L’Etincelle Grenache Blanc/Roussanne blend from the Languedoc. It was just Ok. Actually, maybe less than Ok. It was a bit flabby, as I would have liked more acidity even though I was drinking without food. The aftertaste was a bit bitter as well...just not what I was hoping for. Oh well. Grade of D.
With dinner, I decided that I'd like to have a bottle of red burgundy, since the courses we were having were quite mixed. I picked the following, which was listed as "a rare gem".
2008 Gagnard-Delagrange Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru – When poured the wine had a nice bouquet that jumped from the glass which showed red fruits, floral notes and a touch of spice, which had me quite excited. However, the palate didn’t follow through. It was a bit dry and tannic, showing little fruit, a bit of earthiness, and some minerality. May have needed more time, but the bouquet led me to believe otherwise. Grade of C+.
Lastly, here's the email I sent to the group regarding the food...for posterity sake.
We liked it...wasn't fantastic, but some of the courses were really interesting and good. The atmosphere was kind of cool as well.
The three of each started with a salad. I had the Iceberg & Blue (good, but missing something to make it great), Jenn had the Chop-Chop with Lobster (she said was awesome), and Patty had the Butter Lettuce & Chive (too plain for any restaurant to serve).
Second Course: Jenn had the Asparagus and Fried egg (terrific), and Patty and I shared the Thai (awesome) and Beaujolaise (very safe and ok) sausages.
Entrees: Patty had the Mussels & Frites (good but got cold fast), Jenn had the Pappardelle Bourguignon (which was good, but really good today for lunch...needed time to integrate flavors), and I had the Piggie Burger (excellent, but how could it not be with a beef burger topped with pulled pork!). Mine also came with Frites, which really stole the show. They were awesome.
Dessert: we all shared a Baked Alaska, which had vanilla & verbena ice cream with Raspberry sorbet, almond cake-like stuff, topped with meringue that was flambeed. Great looking, although the flavors didn't match well IMO. All of us liked parts, but not sure about the whole.
First off, the restaurant has a really large and interesting beer list. To the point that they can even do match beers to a "tasting menu" type food approach. Thus, if you like beer, and want to try beers that you probably haven't heard of or seen otherwise, put this place on your list.
When we arrived at the restaurant, Jenn and I were a bit early, so we started off with a glass of wine at the bar. Jenn had a glass of Rose, which was quite nice, but I don't remember any of the details. I was looking for a glass of white wine, but something interesting. I decided to try the Mas Cal Demoura L’Etincelle Grenache Blanc/Roussanne blend from the Languedoc. It was just Ok. Actually, maybe less than Ok. It was a bit flabby, as I would have liked more acidity even though I was drinking without food. The aftertaste was a bit bitter as well...just not what I was hoping for. Oh well. Grade of D.
With dinner, I decided that I'd like to have a bottle of red burgundy, since the courses we were having were quite mixed. I picked the following, which was listed as "a rare gem".
2008 Gagnard-Delagrange Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru – When poured the wine had a nice bouquet that jumped from the glass which showed red fruits, floral notes and a touch of spice, which had me quite excited. However, the palate didn’t follow through. It was a bit dry and tannic, showing little fruit, a bit of earthiness, and some minerality. May have needed more time, but the bouquet led me to believe otherwise. Grade of C+.
Lastly, here's the email I sent to the group regarding the food...for posterity sake.
We liked it...wasn't fantastic, but some of the courses were really interesting and good. The atmosphere was kind of cool as well.
The three of each started with a salad. I had the Iceberg & Blue (good, but missing something to make it great), Jenn had the Chop-Chop with Lobster (she said was awesome), and Patty had the Butter Lettuce & Chive (too plain for any restaurant to serve).
Second Course: Jenn had the Asparagus and Fried egg (terrific), and Patty and I shared the Thai (awesome) and Beaujolaise (very safe and ok) sausages.
Entrees: Patty had the Mussels & Frites (good but got cold fast), Jenn had the Pappardelle Bourguignon (which was good, but really good today for lunch...needed time to integrate flavors), and I had the Piggie Burger (excellent, but how could it not be with a beef burger topped with pulled pork!). Mine also came with Frites, which really stole the show. They were awesome.
Dessert: we all shared a Baked Alaska, which had vanilla & verbena ice cream with Raspberry sorbet, almond cake-like stuff, topped with meringue that was flambeed. Great looking, although the flavors didn't match well IMO. All of us liked parts, but not sure about the whole.
Friday, June 17, 2011
My Favorite Bites From Trader Joe's
One of my favorite grocery stores is Trader Joe's. I always find something new to try every time I go and they usually have stickers for Amelia at the register to help her get through the last couple of minutes of shopping. On my last trip, I found the cutest little treat; mini ice cream cones. They are only 70 calories each and the perfect ending to a day. Here is a pic:
Paul loves the Mochi Ice Cream for his dessert.
Some of our other go to items from Trader Joe's are frozen falafel, frozen naan, frozen fried rice....yes our freezer is full!
Paul loves the Mochi Ice Cream for his dessert.
Some of our other go to items from Trader Joe's are frozen falafel, frozen naan, frozen fried rice....yes our freezer is full!
Another One Bites the Dust
Yesterday something that has never happened before occurred. I got to work and realized I didn't have my wallet. No money, no credit cards. And while I quickly dismissed the fact I had just driven into the city without a license, I was crestfallen when it dawned on me that no money meant no lunch. Surviving on what candy and granola bars I had tucked into various drawers, come end of day...starving! So the inevitable conversation with Alan about what to get for dinner ensued. I wanted something quick to calm the loud, obnoxious sounds coming from my grumbling stomach. So we agree that it's a good night for Chinese. We could use the leftovers to get us through the following day as well.
I called our local Empire Cafe, the take out place we've been frequenting for going on eight years now. And what do I hear on the other end of the phone? Why, this number has been disconnected! I refuse to accept that my favorite little Chinese place is no longer in business and promptly dial 411. Nope, no such business listed in Marlboro. Ugh!!
No warning...no personal message to me, a loyal customer...no sign on the door, just closed. I am sad...but still super hungry.
Empire Cafe is now a distant memory as we rack our brain for another close Chinese take out establishment to try. It takes a few minutes and come to realize, we've got like four others to choose from in a two mile radius from the house. Ah, there's hope!!! We settle on the one we think we remember the name of and call it in.
Long story short - pretty damn good take out Chinese food. Goodbye Empire Cafe, hello Hot Wok!!
I called our local Empire Cafe, the take out place we've been frequenting for going on eight years now. And what do I hear on the other end of the phone? Why, this number has been disconnected! I refuse to accept that my favorite little Chinese place is no longer in business and promptly dial 411. Nope, no such business listed in Marlboro. Ugh!!
No warning...no personal message to me, a loyal customer...no sign on the door, just closed. I am sad...but still super hungry.
Empire Cafe is now a distant memory as we rack our brain for another close Chinese take out establishment to try. It takes a few minutes and come to realize, we've got like four others to choose from in a two mile radius from the house. Ah, there's hope!!! We settle on the one we think we remember the name of and call it in.
Long story short - pretty damn good take out Chinese food. Goodbye Empire Cafe, hello Hot Wok!!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Official 2011 Michelin Ratings
The 2011 Michelin Restaurant Ratings:
Which have you been to? I've checked off (some of these with many of you) Aldea, Aureole, Bouley, Cafe Boulud, Eleven Madison Park, Gotham Bar & Grill, The Modern (bar), Veritas, Marea, Daniel, Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin & Per Se...French Laundry, Masa, Redd, L2O, Alinea, Charlie Trotter, Topolobampo, Auberge, SolBar, Bouchon, Farmhouse...
____________________________________________________________________
Which have you been to? I've checked off (some of these with many of you) Aldea, Aureole, Bouley, Cafe Boulud, Eleven Madison Park, Gotham Bar & Grill, The Modern (bar), Veritas, Marea, Daniel, Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin & Per Se...French Laundry, Masa, Redd, L2O, Alinea, Charlie Trotter, Topolobampo, Auberge, SolBar, Bouchon, Farmhouse...
____________________________________________________________________
| City | Restaurant | Rating |
| Chicago | Alinea | ««« |
| Chicago | Avenues | «« |
| Chicago | Blackbird | « |
| Chicago | Boka | « |
| Chicago | Bonsoiree | « |
| Chicago | Charlie Trotter's | «« |
| Chicago | Crofton on Wells | « |
| Chicago | Everest | « |
| Chicago | Graham Elliot | « |
| Chicago | L2O | ««« |
| Chicago | Longman & Eagle | « |
| Chicago | NAHA | « |
| Chicago | NoMI | « |
| Chicago | Ria | «« |
| Chicago | Schwa | « |
| Chicago | Seasons | « |
| Chicago | Sepia | « |
| Chicago | Sixteen | « |
| Chicago | Spiaggia | « |
| Chicago | Takashi | « |
| Chicago | Topolobampo | « |
| Chicago | Tru | « |
| Chicago | Vie | « |
| New York City | A Voce Columbus | « |
| New York City | A Voce Madison | « |
| New York City | Adour Alain Ducasse | « |
| New York City | Aldea | « |
| New York City | Annisa | « |
| New York City | Aureole | « |
| New York City | Blue Hill | « |
| New York City | Bouley | « |
| New York City | Café Boulud | « |
| New York City | Casa Mono | « |
| New York City | Corton | «« |
| New York City | Daniel | ««« |
| New York City | Del Posto | « |
| New York City | Dovetail | « |
| New York City | Dressler | « |
| New York City | Eleven Madison Park | « |
| New York City | Gilt | «« |
| New York City | Gordon Ramsay at the London | «« |
| New York City | Gotham Bar and Grill | « |
| New York City | Gramercy Tavern | « |
| New York City | Jean Georges | ««« |
| New York City | Kajitsu | «« |
| New York City | L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon | « |
| New York City | Le Bernardin | ««« |
| New York City | Marc Forgione | « |
| New York City | Marea | «« |
| New York City | Oceana | « |
| New York City | Per Se | ««« |
| New York City | Picholine | «« |
| New York City | Public | « |
| New York City | River Cafe | « |
| New York City | Rouge Tomate | « |
| New York City | Saul Restaurant | « |
| New York City | Seasonal Restaurant and Weinbar | « |
| New York City | Shalezeh | « |
| New York City | SHO Shaun Hergatt | « |
| New York City | Soto | «« |
| New York City | Sushi of Gari | « |
| New York City | The Modern - Dining Room | « |
| New York City | Veritas | « |
| New York City | Wallsé | « |
| New York City | wd-50 | « |
| San Francisco | Acquerello | « |
| San Francisco | Alexander's Steakhouse | « |
| San Francisco | Ame | « |
| San Francisco | Aziza | « |
| San Francisco | Baumé | « |
| San Francisco | Boulevard | « |
| San Francisco | Campton Place | « |
| San Francisco | Chez TJ | « |
| San Francisco | Coi | «« |
| San Francisco | Commis | « |
| San Francisco | Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton | « |
| San Francisco | Dio Deka | « |
| San Francisco | Fleur de Lys | « |
| San Francisco | Frances | « |
| San Francisco | Gary Danko | « |
| San Francisco | La Folie | « |
| San Francisco | Luce | « |
| San Francisco | Madera | « |
| San Francisco | Manresa | «« |
| San Francisco | Masa's | « |
| San Francisco | Murray Circle | « |
| San Francisco | One Market | « |
| San Francisco | Plumed Horse | « |
| San Francisco | Quince | « |
| San Francisco | Saison | « |
| San Francisco | Spruce | « |
| San Francisco | Village Pub | « |
| Wine Country | Applewood | « |
| Wine Country | Auberge du Soleil | « |
| Wine Country | Bouchon | « |
| Wine Country | Cyrus | «« |
| Wine Country | étoile | « |
| Wine Country | Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant | « |
| Wine Country | French Laundry, The | ««« |
| Wine Country | La Toque | « |
| Wine Country | Madrona Manor | « |
| Wine Country | Mirepoix | « |
| Wine Country | Redd | « |
| Wine Country | Restaurant at Meadowood | ««« |
| Wine Country | Santé | « |
| Wine Country | Solbar | « |
| Wine Country | Terra | « |
| Wine Country | Ubuntu | « |
| Wine Country | Wakuriya | « |
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