Halloween at Phil Trani's

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Festival seating was the norm for tonight's dinner at Phil Trani's in Long Beach. The old Trani's restaurant in San Pedro was a hangout for the old LA Rams football team along with many other sports teams. The restaurant in Long Beach still has a large collection  of sports memorabilia in the bar / lounge area. Most of the items are signed by the people that they at one time belonged to.

Some people tonight came in costume. I wasn't a costume person when I was a kid and still don't get into it. But they were some interesting people tonight.

The wine being poured tonight is from  the Michael David Winery in Lodi.  These are middle of the road wines. Some quite good. I did get a new wine opener to add to my collection.

We started out with a Pumpkin Ravioli paired  with a 2011 Chardonnay. Oaky wine but did pair decent with the ravioli. Flavor of the ravioli was good but the dough was not as tender as it could have been.

Blackened Seared Ahi was next. This could have been cooked a bit shorter. It was too done for my particular tastes. Had good flavor. Wine was a 2011 Ancient Vines Cinsault. I found this wine to be the best of the evening.

Two entrees were served. A Peppered Flat Iron Steak with Wasbi Mashed Potatoes and a Stuffed Pork with Feta Cheese and Carmelized Onions. Steak was good and cooked correctly. The wasbi was overkill. The stuffed pork had good flavor. Paired with a 2011 Freakshow Caberent Sauvignon.

Dessert was a Chocolate Raspberry Tart paired with a Lust Zin. I found the tart dough was too much on the heavy side. But the flavor of the chocolate. raspberry combination was good.

In spite of a few hiccups in the dinner at $60 inclusive it was hard to beat and I gor a wine opener.  Pours were generous and numerous, Food was good portions. The company at the table was great and a good time was had by all.