Saturday, September 9, 2017
Fuego Restaurant at the Maya Hotel
It was the perfect evening for dinner by the water. Still warm but not the oppressing heat that we have had lately. Fuego is in the Maya Hotel facings the Long Beach harbor. Margie has arranged dinner here for several years now. 15 of us winos tonight. Dinner was a preset menu with a couple of choices for each course. Gets you a better price when it is done this way. Corkage was zero and that is a big plus.
I chose the Chicken Tortilla soup. I find having two spaces in my mouth waiting for implants makes eating lettuce a little dicey. Would not have thought that but that seems to be the way it is. The other choice was a Beet salad which looked really good. The soup was good, full of flavor and not over spicy.
For the main dish I choose the "Lubina", Chilean sea bass with boniato puree (type of tuber like a sweet potato), chipotle Dijon aioli, pan roasted Brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Fish was cooked perfectly, very moist and sweet. This is my favorite fish to eat. The aioli gave it just a bit of heat. The pureed boniato was slightly sweet but did not give any competition to the sea bass. Other choices for the entrée were Chili Rubbed Chicken Breast, Brazilian Style Braised Shortrib and Sofrito Quinotto (all vegetables). All portions were good size. So much so you began to wonder if you could manage to eat dessert.
Desserts were a choice of Bread Pudding or Cheesecake. I opted for the cheesecake and took all but 2 bites home. It was a huge serving. Very good
Lots of wine tonight. Several people brought multiple bottles. Needless to day I did not get a chance to taste but a small portion of what was brought.
I brought a Moretti Proseco. Moretti is in the Sta Rita Hills but imports this wine from Italy. No bite to it, smooth with tiny bubbles. As good as I have had in Italy. I also brought a 2016 Buscador, Grenache Rose. Grapes from the Santa Ynez area. Newer winery. Tasted his offerings at the Wine and Fire a few weeks ago. Several people seemed to be impressed with this selection. Both wines hit the spot for a balmy evening by the water.
The rest of the line up consisted of:
2011 Cinquain, Paso Robles, Reserve Malbec - did not taste
2013 Windstream Santa Lucia Highlands, Sarmneto Vineyard, Chardonnay - did not taste
2015 San Simeon, Monterey, Chardonnay - did not taste
2016 Twomey, Sauvignon Blanc - did not taste
2012 Hyde, Carneros, Chardonnay - did not taste
2012 Stillwaters, Paso Robles, Chardonnay - did not taste
2016 Hungry Hawk, San Diego, Albarino - did not taste but had this wine earlier this year
nv Cava Conde de Carali, Blanc de Blanc Brut, Spain - clean, crisp
2014 Iron Horse, Russian River Valley, Chardonnay - did not taste
2014 Joseph Carr, Paso Robles, Cabernet Sauvignon - did not taste
2013 Sanford, Santa Barbara, Syrah - did not taste
2015 Dr. Loosen, Blue Slate Riesling Kabinett - did not taste
2004 Wild Coyote, Little Fawn, Zinfandel Port - rich and sweet
2013 Unanime Ovah Vinto Tinto Muscato - clear, slighty sweet
2014 Lando, Sonoma, Pinot Noir - way to young needs time
Nv La Tordera Brunet, Valpobbiadene, Proseco - rough
2012 Jordan, Alexander Valley, Caberent Sauvignon - did not taste
2014 Beringer, Napa Valley, Private Reserve, Chardonnay - did not taste
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment