Friday, October 30, 2015

Antonello's & Ferrari-Carano Wine Dinner

Thursday, October 29, 2015

When I arrived in the parking lot in front of Antonellos, www.antonello.com,  I watched numerous people go into the restaurant but no one was going into the "event room" . I ventured over and the door was open so I went in. Apparently the first to arrive for the wine dinner. But then they informed me my name was not down on the list. Good thing I had my confirming e-mail with me and the names of both people I talked with in making the reservation. Seems that the first person I talked with did not relay the fact I was making a reservation for the wine dinner and they had my party down for the regular restaurant.  After some switching of seats at the various tables we were seated at the table with the Von's wine buyer and the winemaker, Sarah Quider.

Antonellos had 5 large groups in the regular restaurant tonight and that reflected in the service we were getting tonight. Good service but not the same caliber as the last dinner. The appetizers were not as abundant and it seemed that we had less staff wating on us.

Another very noticeable item was the fact they were not pouring wine as generously as before. One pour of each wine. Maybe this was because the winery did not provide as much as the last one. Sometimes that is an issue. I asked for a second glass of the Fume Blanc as I would not drink that over oaked Chardonnay they served. They did accommodate me on that one.

Food was good as usual for Antonello's.  We started out with a selection of Stuzzichini (appetizers).  A Cheese flatbread, ahi tuna and what they called fried ravioli. More like small empanadas. These were served with the 2014 Fume Blanc.

Antipasto was next - A Seafood Salad, puree of green fava beans (excellent) topped with marinated Spanish Octopus, Argentina Shrimp, Crab Claws and Lobster meat with micro greens. Also had pomegranate seeds mixed in. Good, tasty dish. Wine was a 2012 Reserve Chardonnay which I gave away and had a second glass of the Fume Blanc which went very well with the salad.

Primo - Ravioli Plin. Braised Veal Ravioli (very rich) with a light veal reduction (good) with sweet onions and Parmigiano. Again an  excellent dish.  Paired with a 2013 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Way to young. Needs several years.

Secondo - Lamb Shank, red wine braised Lamb Shank with Polenta seasoned with sage and rosemary and green beans. Falling off the bone tender. Very good flavor, very large. I ate a few bites and asked for the "doggie bag". I was stuffed and the Ravioli was so rich I just could not finish this dish. the wine was a 2012 "Tresor" red blend. Better than the Pinot.

Dolce - (dessert) A housemade apricot tart (butter crust) with vanilla gelato and a caramel sauce.. Rich but too much crust. 2009 "Eldorado Gold" sweet wine was paired. Way too much sweet on sweet. Both items were good but this was overkill on the "sweet". Cheese course would have made better sense.

Really not big complaints just the little things that seemed to reflect my attitude about the dinner. Lack of wait staff, scimpy on the appetizers and wine. Food was excellent as usual.  We all agreed on this. 

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Happy Hour at Bistro St. Germain

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Happy hour on Tuesday's at Bistro St. Germain in Seal Beach is an all day affair which makes it very convenient for me. Most HH end at 6:00 and that is about the time I manage to get anyplace when coming from work. I was surprised wen I got there that the establishment wasn't packed as it normally is on a Tuesday. Lots of empty tables. I was the first of my group to arrive so I snagged one off in the corner and away from the foot traffic.

I usually order wine off the wine list. Tonight I opted for the  chalk board specials. I only saw one red wine that I thought was worth ordering and that was the Peachy Canyon Zinfandel. Nice wine but nothing special. Next time I go back to the printed wine list.

We ordered a few dishes off the Tapa menu which are half price on happy hour.  The bacon wrapped shrimp was a bit of disappointment. Thought the bacon was overcooked. Shrimp Scampi is always good but I did notice that the size of the shrimp were a little smaller than usual. Vegetable Risotto was perfect. A Quiche Lorain with a salad was good. It was a chalkboard special tonight.  I do like my quiches a bit more dry. This was on the verge of being just a bit too moist. But good flavor.

I opted not to walk around Main Street like we normally do  I have been in the fast lane the last couple of weeks and there is no end in sight until after the holidays.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

If It's Monday It's Dim Sum

Monday, October 26, 2015

The boys and I met today at the Seafood Palace for Dim Sum and to finish some of the wine from Henrys event yesterday. Henry took and filled a few bottles up with the leftover wine from Sunday. They were all red Napa blends so it did not matter if they were blended some more.

I brought a Robert Moncuit Champagne so we would have something other than red wine.

Started off with the walnut shrimp, always good then onto the deep fried minced shrimp wrapped in seaweed. A new version of the big flat noodles wrapped around a filling. Instead of shrimp today it was BBQ beef with cilantro. I like the beef better. More flavor and it was not loaded with cilantro which I appreciated.

I asked for salt & pepper calamari because we have not had this in quite awhile. The lunch version is mostly baby squid. Dinner plate is more of the filet. Big difference on price.

Our "free" bowl of sweet, sour, spicy soup showed up. Always nice to have the extras when we are with Henry.

Beef with green pepper, onion fat noodles and black bean sauce was next on the agenda.  A plate of Chinese green beans with beef and scallions was next. Very good quality of beef. Loads of flavor. Last dish before dessert was salt and pepper pork ribs. Good dishes with the red wines.

Dessert was Daan Taat - egg custard tarts. We ordered these early because they have a tendency to run out.

Dim Sum today was a last minute decision by Henry last night. He wanted help in drinking up the wines that were left and fortunately I had the day off.  First we were going to have lunch at Henrys but then decided to do Dim Sum and have someone else do the dishes.  We had a great time today, a lot of jokes and laughter.

October Wino's Day

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Today's theme for the monthly winos gathering was Napa Blends 2002 to 2012. An interesting selection of wines today.

A couple I really enjoyed was the 2004 BV Tapestry, 2005 Blankiet, Prince of Hearts, 2008 Hendry and the wine I brought a NV10 Cain Cuvee (2 harvests).

The best wine of the night was non-conforming that Stan opened up. It was a 1995 which did not meet the criteria for the theme because it was too old. But it was very good, a 1995 St. Clement, Oroppas.

A nice selection of wines and some very good food. Henry had decorated his yard for Halloween and a good time was had by all.

Sparkler Event at K & L Wine Merchants

Saturday, October 24, 2015

8 of us met at Greg's house to await the "limo" to take us to Hollywood to K & L Wine Merchants for their annual Sparkler event. This was my first time attending. Normally I do not drive that distance for a tasting but with a limo involved it made the day so much easier.

We were dropped off about 45 minutes before the opening of the door. We were first in line and it was in the shade of the building so that helped. At 4 o'clock the door opened and we were ushered into the blocked off parking lot. 22 tables were set up for the wine reps and a couple of tables for food. They did have those tall bar tables to set your food (on napkins) and glasses on but no place to sit down.

The food was catered by Repulique and basically was cheeses, pates, bread and a few sauces. All the food was very good. I made sure I ate something in between each taste of bubbly.

I headed to the tables with the high end wines first before they ran out. usually at events like this they bring a limited number of expensive wines and when its gone its gone.

So first stop was table 10 which was Louis Roederer. Cristal was my first choice then 4 others at that table before moving on.  Others tasted doing the day were Lucien Albrecht, Deutz, Franck Bonville, Launois, Tattinger, Bollinger, Dom Perignon, Billecart-Salmon, Pol Roger, J. Laurens, Michael Dervin, Allimant.

I was quite taken with Drappier. Had not heard of this label before. They were pouring 3 wines. I particularly liked the Brut Nature Zero Dosage. Very dry. $99 a bottle. All three of their selections were good.

I did not have a sparking that I did not like. Some were really outstanding and the others were good.

At 6 o'clock the limo came back for us and we headed back to Gregs house for small bites and wine. We were treated to a 2005 Williams Selyem Allen Vineyards, Pinot Noir and a 2005 Thomas George Pinot Noir.

A nice ending a great day

Issara Recon

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Went to Issara tonight, www.issarathaicuisine.com. Margie wanted to try new dishes for her upcoming wine dinner at Issara. Don't know which dishes she will choose to be included in dinner along with a few old must have standards.

Chicken Wings, crispy and sticky, made with fish sauce, tamarind paste and palm sugar. Excellent
Roasted Duck Red Curry - another excellent dish . I  would expect to see these two dishes as they were standouts.

Other dishes tried tonight were a Cold Pork salad. Tofu with eggplant. Fettuccine with beef. A dessert and an appetizer rounded off the menu tonight.

Since it was a dinner of "tasting" I brought a 2012 Tercero Grenache Blanc that goes well with spicy food. The other wines were 2013 Palwhinnie"The Hut", Pinot Noir and a 2012 Williams Selyem, Limestone Ridge at Vista Verde Vineyard, Chenin Blanc. All good wines and all went with the Thai food.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Annual Passport Tasting at Delius

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Delius Restaurant in Signal Hill, www.deliusrestaurant.com,  hosts this "wine" tasting every year. Calling it "Passport" because of wines from around the world.  But this year I did not find  any from Australia or Portugal - maybe I just missed them. But I visited every wine rep today. There were several wines I would like to see Delius have on their wine list.

I was impressed with the French line up but not so much the Italian line up. Spanish wines are good also.

Food this year seemed better - don't know why , some of the items were they same as in the past but it just looked to me me like more variety.

Mist of the wines seemed to be a little above average and a few of them were really good. I did not take a wine list because I did not need to be tempted to buy. I have no room and too many wines. Now I think maybe I should have but  I need a reality check.

Crowd was quite different from years past. Not too many "oldtimers". That can be a good thing.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Donnafugata and Michael's on Naples

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Found a few people who wanted to join me for this dinner tonight. www.michaelsonnaples.com, Menu was interesting and the winery name intrigued me. Donnafugata.  An old Sicilian winery. Silvio Di Silvio was the winery rep from Italy. Charming man and got more so when I found out one of the wines tonight had 6 obscure grapes in the blend. This to me was worth the price of the dinner. I ended up getting 5 more new varietals for my quest. I now have 465. Really pushing to get to the 500 mark.

We started out with Arancino D'Aragosta, leeks and lobster stuffed rice ball. Good flavor but would have like a bit more sauce on the plate. Wine  was a 2014 Zibibbo Lighea, a dry muscat. Good pairing and nice way to start the meal

Second course: Spaghetti al Nero con Ricci di Mare, squid ink pasta with Santa Barbara uni. Slight fishy taste to the pasta, needed just a light touch of salt which I added . Uni was good but wished there was more of it. I thought the amount of uni was "chintzy".  A 2010 Chardonnay "Chiaranda". Unusual nose and taste. I would not have taken it for a Chardonnay. 6 months in stainless, 3 months in oak and then into the bottle. The bottles are not released for another 3 years. If I was in the buying mode I would have picked up a few bottles of this wine.

Third course: Tonno con Panelle, Smoked Ahi tuna with chickpea fritter, oven roasted cherry tomato and walnut pesto. Loads of flavor, tuna was perfect. Paired with a 2012 "Sedara", a Nero d'Avola. Again another very good match.

Main course: Agnello al Forno. Devils Gulch leg of lamb with artichokes, potato puree and eggplant caponata.  Had several bites and boxed it up to take home. I was pushing my full meter and we did have dessert coming up. Wine was a 2008 "Mille e' una Notte" a Nero d'Avola along with 6 other obscure grapes. Ninella, Vetriolo, Alzano, Nocera, Perricone, and Nerello-Cappuccio. I had the Perricone on my list already. But 5 new ones for me. I am a happy wino. This was a very good wine. a bit pricy but excellent pairing.

Dessert was a Panna Cotta alle Mandorle, almond milk panna cotta with almond cookies and blackberries. served with a 2013 "Ben Rye" which was a sweet muscat. Had faint wild strawberry with a touch of honeysuckle.

So a very good dinner, excellent wines and good company. My kind of night.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

If It's Sunday It Must Be Dim Sum

Sunday, October 12, 2015

Phone rang at 8:30 this morning and it was Henry looking for Dim Sum partners. 4 of us today at the Seafood Palace.    www.seafoodpalacerestaurant.com.   This was a semi holiday. Columbus Day. Only people that had it off were government, banks and a few schools.

Started out with a couple of items from the cart. During the week the carts are not as numerous as Sundays offerings. A plate of Chinese Broccoli for our vegetable requirement then Steamed Shrimp Balls , Pork Shu Mai and the Shrimp wrapped in very fat , wide noodles. Good flavor but really hard to eat with chopsticks.

A bowl of Sweet Sour soup was sent out by the kitchen. I ordered a quart of this soup to take home along with another dish.

Clams with Jalapeno's and Basil was next. Then onto Beef with Baby Bok Choy, Carrots and Fat Noodles. We rounded out lunch with Sauteed Scallops with mushrooms and greens.

We did get egg custard tarts for dessert this week.

I brought a 2012 Clos Pepe, Brut Rose which turned out to be really refreshing because of the weather.

Privada, Bodega Norton, Blend (Malbac, Merlot, Cabernet) - a little tannic, needs another year or so

2014 Jules Taylor, Sauvignon Blanc - not your typical New Zealand over done Sau Blanc - nice wine

2007 Paraiso, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir - Typical SLH pinot - showing well

And the winner today of the best wine on the table was a 29007 Casa Lapostalle, Cuvee Alexandre, Apalta Vineyard, Carmenere - Beautiful wine. Balanced,  soft mouth feel throughout the palate, nice muted fruit., dark berries. A pleasure to drink.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Aroma's Italiano Cafe

Saturday, October 20, 2015

This was Margie's choice for her October event. A lot of Italian restaurants now seem to have ":aroma" in their names. This place was in a shopping center near the racetrack in Cypress.  www.aromaitalianocafe.com,   Margie had checked out this place before with a few others and she was really up on the food.  11 of us tonight for dinner. We  were seated at one long table and then another small table for 3. Since I was the last one there that is where I sat with Kelly and Dimitry. So there was a disconnect in the seating, It was like 2 separate dinner parties. Apparently Kelly asked to have the tables split so she wouldn't have to crawl over people to get out of the back.

Food was served. We had pre-ordered what we wanted from a selection. We had one of the hottest weekends of the year so my selections were based on that factor. I took the Antipasto Della Casa which was prosciutto wrapped canteloupe. Those who had ordered that were served and then about the time we were finished with that dish the salad was served. And the salad was served to everyone

My main course selection, we had choice of salmon, canelloni or steak.  I chose the salmon, which said "Grilled Salmon and Prawns ". Came out it was two very small pieces of salmon about 1" by 1" and two medium shrimp on a skewer with loads of onions and peppers. Nothing on the menu said  "kabob". I never order kabobs anyplace. I am not a fan of them in any way. The potatoes and vegetable's on the plate were decent. Not great but just as good as most places.  Kelly took one look at her salmon plate and sent it back and replaced it with a steak.

I did not see any cannelloni so I cannot comment of that dish but the rib eye steak was another thing. It was very thin but apparently was good. I prefer a smaller steak but thicker so I know I am tasting meat.

Dessert was a choice of tiramisu or cannoli. I choose the tiramisu. It had been frozen so I doubt if the restaurant made it. It said "homemade" but did not indicate whose home. It did not say "housemade". It was ok but I have had much better.

Because I had been vocal about my main dish the chef/owner, Umberto came out to speak with me. I voiced my displeasure in the fact "kabob" was not mentioned on the menu. I had expected a filet of salmon. He seemed not to be overly concerned with the difference in terminology. He also had an attitude. Reminded me of the dickhead at Park Ave Grill. To top it off I misread the charge slip and did not see the tip was included. The lighting was not good but it was my fault for not catching it. So I tipped on top of that. But then no one at the table said, "be careful the tip is included". If I see that I always tell everyone because it is easy to not catch it. It was my fault but I think someone should have made a mention of that fact.

Needless to say I will not be coming back. Within a mile or so of this place is Franco's and I will go there in a heartbeat. This dinner was dis-jointed. Did not flow well. Seating sucked.

Wines were a mixed lot. A lot of reds. I passed on most. Too hot to drink reds. I become a wasteland in the heat. I brought a 2013 Tercero Rose of Mouvedre because I was ordering the salmon. Went well with the minuscule salmon I was served. I also brought a 2012 Huber Hafen (Dornfelder Port)

2010 Iron Horse, Russian Cuvee, Sparkling - I did not taste as I am not a fan of Iron Horse

2012 Iron Horse, Pinot Noir - again I did not taste

Stella Rose Proseco - this was good and refreshing

2013 Dusty Goose, Chardonnay - did not taste because I knew it was oaky

2010 Palmina, Alisos, (Sangio & Merlot) - I had a small taste and it was good. I have this wine at home

2012 Weins, Temecula, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon - did not taste

NV Graham Beck,  - always a good sparkling

1999 Puelles, Gran Reserva, Rioja - this was a good wine, well balanced and very drinkable

2010 Stolpman, Santa Ynez, Sangiovese - Starting  to show well

2012 Hearthstone Estate, Paso Robles, Pearl - did not taste , I have an idea this was the white rhone everyone tried to get me to taste

2014 Calaferia, Negroamno Tocmausca - did not taste

2009 Pondera, Columbia Valley Consehsio - everyone raved about this wine, I personally did not like it.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Tuesday at Michaels on Naples

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Have missed the last few monthly tasting at Michaels due to conflicts. This will probably be the last one for this year as the holiday season will be upon us, way to soon. In the lobby I ran into a wine rep I had dinner with a few months ago. Then upstairs was Bennett who used to work at the Wine Country.

I will say I was totally under whelmed with the wines. Winery was "Habit". Never heard of them altho I did find out that they did a tasting at Wine Country recently. Met the wine maker/owner. Jeff Fisher. Nice enough guy. Seems they source their grapes from the central coast / Santa Ynez area.

We strated out with a 2014 Habit, Jurassic Park Vineyard, Chenin Blanc. Weak, no back finish, slight grapefruit taste to it. Priced at $30 a bottle. No way. One, I would not ever buy this wine and no way was it worth that kind of money. You can get a really good bottle of French Chenin Blanc for $15 a bottle.

Next we were poured a 2014 Habit, Santa Ynez Valley, Gruner Veltliner. These grapes come from a vineyard off of Fig Road. They grafted onto Merlot root stock several years ago. Again a very weak wine with no finish. Might be because of the new vines but again I was not impressed and again at $30 a bottle. I can buy Baker and Brain Gruner for less money and it is a very good wine.

The best wine of evening was put into our glass. A 2013 Habit, Encantada Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir. Actually a good Pinot. Light but nice balance and nice finish. Price was $48 which is OK because I know what tonnage of pinot goes for in that area. But I can buy several better made pinots from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA at that price and maybe a few dollars more that are far superior.

Last wine poured was a 2014 Habit, Santa Ynez Valley, Cabernet Franc. Why too light.  Blind tasting I would not have taken it for a Cab Franc.  At $30 a bottle it was not a bargain.

Disappointing tasting. Did have a nice plate of mushroom ravioli and a glass of 2010 Saladini-Plastri, Rosso Piceno. Slight, soft tannins, opened up after awhile.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Boys and Dim Sum

Sunday, October 4, 2015

An overcast day sure brought the masses in for Dim Sum today at the Seafood Palace. Place was packed.  www.seafoodpalacerestaurant.com

Were in no hurry so we ate and drank for 3 hours. A nice way to have a lazy Sunday afternoon. We had a lot of our favorite Dim Sum dishes. Shrimp wrapped in Seaweed and deep fried, Sticky rice with Chinese sausage wrapped in Lotus leaves and steamed. Shrimp wrapped in fat noodles, deep Fried Baby Squid with Scallions.  Filet of Beef, French style, Spicy pork strips with chefs sauce (lots of garlic). Chicken with Bok Choy, vegetables and crispy noodles. Plate of Chinese Broccoli, Clams with Black Bean sauce and peppers . Had a Streamed egg tart which was different from the normal egg tarts we get for dessert. They ran out of those early. Just wasn't the same.

Wines were eclectic. I brought a Rumland, Cuvee Marie-Louise Brut (sket) a German sparkling 100% Pinot Noir. On the dry side and was emptied quickly.  Another sparkling, Aspasie, Carte Blanche a Brouillet, Champagne.  Greg was a little disappointed in this wine he brought. Did not seem to have a lot going for it.

Other wines were 2012 Stolpman Estate Syrah,  (drinking nicely but I would hold it for a few more years), 2007 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir, (had this numerous times, nice wine but I wonder is this bottle just was off a bit)   2013 Castellani, Di San Gimignaro, Vernaccia, (a nice light white went well with the seafood),  2010 Loring Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir (drinking very nice right now - need to find mine).

The winner this week was a 2005 BV, George de Latour, Private Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon. Complex, smooth, well balanced, good full mouth feel. A very nice wine.

I had a back up but did not open it as there was more than enough wines on the table. A 2004 Kenneth Crawford, Clos Pepe, Pinot Noir. Back to the cooler and will bring it out at another gathering .

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Happy Hour at The Daily Grill

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Made the trek out to Irvine at go to The Daily Grill, www.dailygrill.com. Donna's birthday and that is where she wanted to go. Not for dinner but happy hour. Saturdays and Sundays is all day happy hour. Long way to go but that is what she wanted. At least someone else drove.

We ate in the bar area because of happy hour. My preference would have been dinner but it was not my birthday.

I started out with deep fried asparagus. Good flavor but about half of the asparagus was edible. Not a good impression on me. I also had a crab cake that had excellent flavor but needed another minute or so cooking. Way too moist. Then onto Firecracker Shrimp. Again good flavor but I do think the shrimp had been frozen previously. Drank a couple of splits of Chandon.

Other dishes ordered were a HH special, Chicken Pot Pie. The 3 people that ordered it were all very happy. Deep fried chicken strips and a seared ahi sushi with fried spinach rounded out the selections.

We had a good time but I would not drive out there specifically to go to the Daily Grill. If I was in the area I might stop in. I found that the food service was slow. Granted it was Saturday night and they were packed.