Cellar Room Dinner at Delius

Thursday, December 19, 2013

6 of us dined tonight in the Cellar Room at Delius in Signal Hill.  "Deliusrestaurant.com, ".  Room holds 6 people and has a window into the kitchen to watch your meal being prepared. This is a 10 course dinner for $95 plus whatever wine you select to have with your meal.

Since I dine at Delius frequently, I let the others pick the wines for dinner.

This was the first time I had the chef come in and ask for food  preferences. Margie was happy since she is the picky one. But there was only one dish they had to do a substitution on which worked out well.

We started out with a plate of cheeses, pate, meats, pickles, bread,  etc. That could have been my dinner. Cindy picked a Vionat Albarino to pair with the first dishes. We ended up ordering 2 bottles of this wine. It did pair well with all 3 dishes.

Second course was Goat Cheese Souffle. This was excellent.

Third course was Scallop with Beluga Lentils, Spanish Chiorizo and Fennel. Scallops are cooked perfectly and this dish had lots of flavors going on with it. Margie got a ball of Buffalo Mozzarella as a substitution.

Next it was time for Paul & Margie to pick the wine for the next few dishes. After what it seemed like numerous selection were out of stock (Dave was expecting 70 case delivery the next day, but that did not help us now), we tasted a few wines and turned them down. We all have good cellars so it is hard to pick and drink a mediocre wine.  Ended up with a 2007 Christom Sommers Pinot Noir.

Fourth dish was Pork Cheeks with Apples and Fennel. Meat was very tender and had good flavor.

Fifth course - Risotto with Farro and Farm Vegetables, Everyone agreed this dish was outstanding.

Now it was time for Jan & Bob's wine selection, This went much better than the Pinot selection. A Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon from Oak Knoll AVA in Napa was selected. Nice wine. 

Sixth course was a Crispy Skinned Duck Breast with Sweet Potato Gnocchi. Again a very good dish with loads of flavor.

Seventh course was the palate cleanser - House made Raspberry Sorbet.

Eight course - Beef Filet encrusted with  Peppercorns on a bed of Cauliflower Puree with White Truffle, Roasted Brussel Sprouts and a Peppercorn demi glaze.

Ninth course was a cheese plate with a very good selection.

Tenth course was dessert - a  Flourless Chocolate Cake with House made  Vanilla Ice Cream.

By time you get two thirds through the dinner you are stuffed. Portions are small but rich

Again another really good dinner at Delius. They do not rush you which makes the dining experience nice.  We were the last ones out the door.