Chalk Hill and Phil Trani's

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

After the last dinner at Phil Trani's I was really looking forward to this one. Big disappointment. Last dinner the food was considerably better than it had been in the past. Not tonight. Mediocre at best.
And the wine pairing left a lot to be desired. All the portions of food were much smaller that previously. But at $65 inclusive,  that is Ok if the food is good.

We started out with a 2012 Chalk Hill Sauvignon Blanc paired with a Roasted Root Vegetable Salad. Not sure why peppers and tomatoes were considered root vegetables. Pairing was bad. Wine was way to acidic for this dish.  Also was not too impressed with the fact that when they set my plate down apparently there was quite a bit of food on the bottom underneath and it ended up on my place mat and menu.

Up next was a Linguini with Clams - sauce was very thin, needed something to thicken it. Like maybe parmesan cheese. But it was not offered. Taste was OK but nothing special. Have had much better numerous times at lesser restaurants. Pasta was just a bit more than al dente but not too overcooked. Pasta was "store bought" not housemade and it tasted like it. I would have preferred my clams to be a bit larger in size. They looked like they went through a meat grinder. Chopped would have been better but I have a suspicion that these came from a can. Wine was a Chalk Hill Chardonnay - way to oaky for me and there was not enough "fat" in the dish to balance out the oak. Poured my glass of wine into Kelly's.

A Pork Cutlet with Carmelized Onions and Feta Cheese was the third course.  Pork was dry. Onions were OK. The Feta Cheese did nothing for the dish.  A Chalk Hill Etate Pinot Noir was the wine selected for this course.  Went Ok with the pork but clashed with the Feta Cheese. The Pinot itself was alright but not stellar.

Main course was a Flat Iron Steak with Tarragon Sauce. Steak had a lot a grizzle. Not a good quality meat. Sauce was good. Mushroom on top was cold and raw. I could have had a better piece of meat at the 24 hour diner "Norms".  Wine paired with this dish was a 2010 Chalk Hill Estate Red Blend. Cabernet, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Carminere.  Best wine of the evening but a lot shorter pours of it that the other wines.

Dessert was a small chocolate "bundt" cake with raspberries.  A little dry but decent flavor. Reminded me a  cafeteria dessert. A Late Harvest Semillion was poured. We all know that I am not a sweet with sweet person. Overkill. Wine was very good on its own. But would have preferred a cheese plate with it.

Place was booked for the dinner. The price is what brings them in not the quality. I have had much better meals at Phil Trani's before. Don't know it its a new chef or a chef that is trying to be high end in a comfort food style restaurant. But its not working.