Italian Dinner at the Watertable

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Watertable restaurant at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach hosted a "Best of Italy Wine Dinner". We had a table of 8 tonight. Dined "al fresco" and the weather  and the view could not be beat.  It had been super hot during to day so this was a perfect ending to the day. 

Prosceo was poured freely before dinner along with the appetizers which have always been good.  About 6:45 we were seated for dinner. 

Now if  you are having Italian wine and the menu is "Italian" you would think the chef would have some idea on how to cook it correctly and not have his own personal spin to the dishes that made them so "non-Italian". We also were told that these wines were only available to restaurants but I found them on line through winesearcher.com

First course was a Friuli Forest Mushroom Risotto, parmesan, crispy proscuitto, chives, lemon scented olive oil. It had good flavors blended in. Best dish of the evening, but personally I think that the rice should have been cooked a bit longer. Risotto should have a  very creamy texture.   Wine served was Tenuta Ca'Bolani, Aquilis Sauvignon from Fruili. Wine was very acidic and citrusy but the fattiness of the cheese cut the acid quite nicely. A good pairing.

Second course served was a Tuscan Heirloom Tomato Panzanella,  pickled cucumbers, rustic bread, capers, arugula, bocconcini, tomato water dressing. Which simply put is bread salad. In Italy they use their leftover bread as a filler in a salad with tomatoes. The bread soaks up the juices from the tomatoes. The chef used large croutons. Why I cannot fathom. You could not get a fork into the crouton. You never would be served a Panzanella in Italy like this one. It looked pretty but it ended there. The wine served with this did not pair well at all.  A 2011 Rocca di Montemassi, red blend. Way to heavy for this salad.  Wine was tight and had a  metallic taste mid palate.  None of these wines had been decanted. 

Third course was a Piedmont Spring Pea Gnocchi, fresh peas, smoked enfuso oil, percorino cheese, pea tendril salad. This was the worse attempt at Gnocchi I have ever tasted. It was more like fried mashed potato puffs. Gnocchi is a "dumpling". A mashed potato, flour combination rolled in a long round rope and cut into approximately 1 inch pieces then boiled in salted water until they float. Usually served with a brown butter sauce or a marinara sauce. If you can't make them correctly don't bother. To me it shows a chef that hasn't a clue about Gnocchi.  Paired with a 2010 Poggio Le Coste Barolo from Piedmonte. This wine was a better pairing with the salad and the red blend was better with the "fake gnocchi".

Main course plated was a Sicily Pan Roasted Lamb Loin, eggplant puree, braised fennel and green olive coriander lamb essesnce.. Lamb was tender but had no flavor. Very bland .  Touch of salt before cooking would have enhanced this dish tremendously. The saving part of this dish was the sauce which was excellent.  It also was warm not hot. The lamb took a long time to get to the table. I have an idea that the kitchen got over whelmed and couldn't plate fast enough for service.  A 2012 Nero d'Avola, Sicily was paired. This wine was the best of the evening The funky nose blew off after I sloshed the wine between two glasses to open it up. I did this with all the reds wines and it helped a lot.

Dessert was a Pistachio Cannoli. chocolate ganache, afforgado ice cream. Ice cream was good, the filling in the cannoli was good. The cannoli itself was way too thick. Made a big mess when you tried to break into smaller pieces. Only way to eat it without destroying the plate was to pick it up with your fingers in one piece and eat it. You should not have to do this. And why did they have a small pile of micro greens on top of the ice cream ? I did not taste them but it looked really dumb. Maybe it was mint or something but I pulled mine off and set them aside. A 2007 Vin Santo, Tuscany wine was paired with this dish. The wine reminded me a lot of a Pedro Ximinez sherry. Rich without being cloying sweet. A very nice wine.

The wine dinners at the Watertable have always been a hit or miss. One time they are excellent and the next time mediorce. This dinner fell into the latter category. And I cannot believe that the person in charge of the wine did not decant them in the morning. These wines needed a minimum of 5 hours decanting time. You do not need fancy decanter . Large water pitchers work well. That is why I asked for an extra glass and took my glass of  red wine and poured it back and forth 5 or 7 times to open it up. It made a huge difference in the taste and mouthfeel of the wine. The Watertable has such a great outdoor eating area, ambiance is good, pours of wine are generous, service is awesome but why can they not be consistent with food prep for special dinners ?