Sebastatini's

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Attended a Stonestreet wine tastting this evening at a small local place owned by a brother and sister from Peru. This is an Italian themed restaurant but they do show their Peruvian roots in some of the dishes.

Stonestreet is a label from the big wine producer Kendall-Jackson. It is made by Jess Jackson whose middle name is Stonestreet.

We startede off with Grilled Scallops with sager butter and a grilled radicchio salad. The wine was a 2007 Alexander Valley Chardonnay. Too oaky for me but with the food the sage butter did cut the oak quite a bit. I was surprised that it also paired well with the salad.

Next was Sausage (spicy) Ravioli with a roasted pepper sauce which was spicy also. I scraped the sauce off which made the ravioli eatable. Paired with a 2006 Fifth Ridge Red Blend. It was a good pairing.

Third course was a Smoked Pork Loin with a cabernet and shallot reduction. Also on the plate was a baby argula, panchetta and carmelized onion. This was served with a 2007 Alexander Valley Caberent Sauvignon.  OK pairing but I have some Fifth Ridge left and tried that and it made a big difference. The smoked pork took too much of a ham like taste. I think I would had preferred to have it non smoked. They missed the boat on this dish both the food and ainw.

Main dish was Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with a horseradish potato gratin, carmelized brussell sprouts and a Caberent reduction.  Paired with a 2007 Monument Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon.. Pairing was ok bit the one chop that I decidced eat was tough.  I would have preferred only one chop but much better quality on the plate. It should always be quality over quantity. I took the rest of this dish home to see what I can salvage from it.

Dessert was a dish of Cherry Walnut Ice Cream.

A decent dinner but I felt it was priced between $5 and $10 to high for the quality of the food. I have done dinners at this restaurant before and have the same basic sentiment each time. I only do wine dinners here when the menu looks interesting.