Tercero Wines & Restaurant Christine

Monday,  March 10, 2014

Restaurant Christine. www.restaurantchristine.com is a new place for me. Within a 10 minute drive from work but not in my normal geographic location for dinners. I tend to stay away from the South Bay area because it is so freeway challenged. I had some very good reviews on this restaurant and when Larry Schaffer from Tercero wines was scheduled to do a dinner there I decided to go for it. Apparently Christine and Larry have known each other since they were toddlers.

They had originally said 4 tables of 10 but it came down to 4 tables of 11. At the table I sat at half were fans of the restaurant and did not know anything about the wines. The other half just the opposite.

We started out with 3 hors'd'oeuvre's. Sweet Corn Tartlets, Havana Barbeque Shredded Pork with Queso Blanco & Scallions. (outstanding) , Vegetable Shu Mai Dumplings with Thai Glaze (outstanding), and Petite Caprese salad Tartlets, Grape Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Basil & Olive Oil (very good) Paired with a 2012 Tercero Grenache Blanc. I do like this wine a lot.

First Course: Spicy Shrimp Bisque, Scallop Quenelle and Truffle Creme Fraiche. Excellent bisque, just the right about of bite to it.  Wine was a 2012 Tercero Viognier. I am not a big fan of Rhone white wines but this Viognier was not overly floral and very food friendly. Good choice with the soup.

Second Course: Slow Braised Duck Leg Confit with Three Mushroom Risotto, Natural Jus. Duck was flavorful and I could cut it with a fork. Risotto was excellent. Wine  poured was a 2010 Tercero Mouverdre. Good pairing

Third Course: Szechuan Pepper Dusted Hanger Steak with Asiago Soft Polenta, Brown Butter Broccolini and Beurre Rouge.  My dis on the dish was the steak was sliced way too thin. It was cooked very well. But I could not get any taste of the Szechuan Pepper. The Polenta was "rustic". I prefer softer and I could not get the taste of the Asiago cheese. Flavor was good but the least favorite dish of the evening. A 2009 Tecero Cuvee Loco was paired with this dish. Ok pairing  but somehow I found something lacking here.

Dessert was a wonderful Warm Apple Strudel with Salted Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream. This dessert was very good and I did eat every morsel. I did notice that there was an inconsistency in the size of the portions on peoples plates.  But I wish we had a lighter dessert after having a rich bisque, risotto and polenta. Seemed too heavy a dessert after having all the starches. Frankly I would have loved to have this in the morning when I read my newspaper.

But a very successful dinner with good solid wines. I would be interested in attending another wine dinner at Restaurant Christine.

Looking forward to the Tercero Wine dinner at Delius Restaurant on the 28th. It will be an interesting comparison.