Recon at the OC India Grill

Tuesday. November 4, 2014

Time to recon the dishes at OC India Grill to help Margie get her menu set for her upcoming wine activity dinner.

Five of us were here to critique the food. We have been here before but needed to talk with Sanjiv and get some prices set.

Started out with two appetizers, Paneer Pokoras - housemade cheese in a dough then fried and Vegetable Pokoras. I preferred the Paneer. The cheese came through more than the vegetables.

Then on to main dishes. We tried the Lamb Chau Chau, which is pan fried noddles with chunks of lamb and vegetables. I always like this dish.

Next was a Nirvana Chicken , new dish for me.  White meat in a coconut curry. Quite good. Then a  Shrimp Masala. Shrimp were very fresh and cooked perfectly. The Masala sauce is always a winner.

Our vegetable dish was Vegetables Korma. Mixed veggies in a creamy cashew curry. This is one of my favorites. The sauce is so good.

We had garlic naan and onion kulcha. The kulcha was new for me. Onion stuffed naan, very good but a bit spicy . It did have really great flavor.

We topped the dinner off with Gulab Jumun which are deep fried dumplings of creamed milk in a saffron syrup. Just the right size to end the meal with. Not overly sweet.

Of course we had our wine bottles on the table - no dinner is complete without wine. So tonight we had.

2008 Rusack, Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir. This wine was drinking nicely. Not overly extracted but not a light weight either.

A 2009 Louis Latour, Marsannay, Burgundy. Much lighter than the Rusack but a beautiful wine.

2011 Clos Pepe Sparkling of Pinot Noir. Always a winner. First bottle emptied.

2012 Montagne, Sierra Madre, Pinot Blanc. For a Pinot Blanc it was a good wine. Not my favorite varietal

2006 Faust, Rutherford, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon. I think this wine needed a few more years and it also would have been much better with a different type of food. Just did not go well with the Indian cuisine.

So we had had numerous dishes here at the India Grill and now Margie must come up with her menu items. Glad its her job and not mine.