Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Eight tonight for a small holiday dinner at the Seafood Palace in Westminister. Traffic was extremely heavy tonight for some reason. Took me over and hour to drive from Torrance to Westminister. Others had the same issue. Glad we had a few bottles of bubbly to take the stress out of the driving.
We started out with Salt and Pepper Calamari. Very tender calamari tonight. Just the right amount of salt. This dish was polished off quickly
Then the big platter of Peking Duck. I just eat the duck, especially the crispy skin. I don't want to fill up on the buns that you are supposed to wrap the duck meat in. Nice moist meat and extra crispy skin.
Our complimentary bowl of spicy soup was set before us. This is always good but tonight for some reason seemed better. That could be the cook or the occasion.
The treat of the evening arrived . Stir fried lobsters with special noodles. Very long , thin, round noodles that absorbed all the juices. Two lobsters tonight and I was surprised I was the last to have the platter in front of me and still managed to get a very large claw.
Last seafood dish of the evening is sauteed shrimp and green beans. Fresh, crispy green beans and succulent shrimp.
Then we had beef french style. Had to have something to go with all the red wines tonight. Very tender beef with just the right amount of seasonings.
Dessert was almond pudding with fruit cocktail. I wonder what would the Chinese have done if America had not managed to concoct a bunch of small pieces of fruit in a syrup and call it "fruit cocktail". Probably would have fresh fruit instead
Interesting selection of wines tonight.
2013 Baehner-Fournier, Vogelzand Vineyard, Happy Canyon, Sauvignon Blanc
2007 Williams Seylem, Sonoma Coast, Pinot Noir
2014 Stags Leap, Napa Valley, Petite Syrah
2015 Dr.Loosen, Mosel, Blue Slate, Riesling, Kabinett
2013 August Kesseler, Pfalz, Qualitatswin, Dry Riesling
2015 Sanford, Loma Alta, Sta, Rita Hills, Pinot Noir
1998 Flowers, Pisoni Vineyards, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir
2008 Moet Chandon, France, Grand Vintage, Brut, Champagne
2001 McKeon-Phillips, Santa Barbara County, Leonardo (blend)
NV Domaine Allimant-Laugner, Orschwiller, France, Cremant D'Alsace
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Arte Cafe and Ken Brown Wines
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Sold out house tonight which was a complete turn around from last years dinner. Last year Arte Cafe did not out out any notification of the dinner until 2 days before. This time we had about 10 days notice and it showed. Not an empty table and the tables were crowded together.
We started out with multiple pours of the 2016 Vin Gris Rose which was quite pleasant. Paired well with the Albacore Tartare with citrus vinaigrette. Nice flavor and a really good dish. Fish was solid not mushy.
Next was a Wild Mushroom Cappuccino with truffle oil. Good flavors but this dish was serve cold. It would have really enhanced the flavors it it had been warm. It did not need to be hot but warm would have been nice. The restaurant did this soup a big disfavor . Best wine of the night was paired. A 2015 Voglezang Vineyard, Happy Canyon, Sauvignon Blanc. My style of Sau Blanc. Not over citrus, acidic. Soft mouth feel. Paired well with the dish and also the Vin Gris. I had some left and tried both with the cappuccino.
Third course set in front of us is a Roasted Duck, frisee lettuce and apple salad with lemon salsa. Duck was pink inside which is a plus. I do not eat frisee. I really do not like pieces of food hanging out my mouth and that is what happens with these type of greens. They are not "date night" foods. The apple was great as was the lemon salsa. A 2014 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir was poured. I did not think that this was the best pairing. Went back to the sau blanc and vin gris and both were better choices. Maybe the kitchen thought duck = pinot, but not in a salad. I also was not a fan of this Pinot. Ken Brown makes fabulous Pinots but I think this is a low end one. 6 different vineyards were blended in this. I also look at this type of wine as leftover fruit, lets get rid of it. It had Rio Vista, Lafond, La Encantada, Radian, Buona Terra and Rita's Crown. All good vineyards but I personally didn't think this worked by putting them all together. I thought is dull.
Main course served is a Petite Filet Mignon with roasted garlic, corn and mash potato Filet was tender and flavorful, corn was whole kernel's in a cream sauce. Potatoes were just potatoes. Wine was a 2014 Santa Barbara, Cuvee Syrah. A blend of Thompson and McKinley vineyards with a touch of viognier. Nice wine, nothing spectacular.
Dessert is a Green Tea and ginger ice cream with mixed berries. A refreshing end to the meal.
Dinner was $55 exclusive. Well worth the money. Compared to dinner last week at Utopia at $60 exclusive this was far superior.
Sold out house tonight which was a complete turn around from last years dinner. Last year Arte Cafe did not out out any notification of the dinner until 2 days before. This time we had about 10 days notice and it showed. Not an empty table and the tables were crowded together.
We started out with multiple pours of the 2016 Vin Gris Rose which was quite pleasant. Paired well with the Albacore Tartare with citrus vinaigrette. Nice flavor and a really good dish. Fish was solid not mushy.
Next was a Wild Mushroom Cappuccino with truffle oil. Good flavors but this dish was serve cold. It would have really enhanced the flavors it it had been warm. It did not need to be hot but warm would have been nice. The restaurant did this soup a big disfavor . Best wine of the night was paired. A 2015 Voglezang Vineyard, Happy Canyon, Sauvignon Blanc. My style of Sau Blanc. Not over citrus, acidic. Soft mouth feel. Paired well with the dish and also the Vin Gris. I had some left and tried both with the cappuccino.
Third course set in front of us is a Roasted Duck, frisee lettuce and apple salad with lemon salsa. Duck was pink inside which is a plus. I do not eat frisee. I really do not like pieces of food hanging out my mouth and that is what happens with these type of greens. They are not "date night" foods. The apple was great as was the lemon salsa. A 2014 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir was poured. I did not think that this was the best pairing. Went back to the sau blanc and vin gris and both were better choices. Maybe the kitchen thought duck = pinot, but not in a salad. I also was not a fan of this Pinot. Ken Brown makes fabulous Pinots but I think this is a low end one. 6 different vineyards were blended in this. I also look at this type of wine as leftover fruit, lets get rid of it. It had Rio Vista, Lafond, La Encantada, Radian, Buona Terra and Rita's Crown. All good vineyards but I personally didn't think this worked by putting them all together. I thought is dull.
Main course served is a Petite Filet Mignon with roasted garlic, corn and mash potato Filet was tender and flavorful, corn was whole kernel's in a cream sauce. Potatoes were just potatoes. Wine was a 2014 Santa Barbara, Cuvee Syrah. A blend of Thompson and McKinley vineyards with a touch of viognier. Nice wine, nothing spectacular.
Dessert is a Green Tea and ginger ice cream with mixed berries. A refreshing end to the meal.
Dinner was $55 exclusive. Well worth the money. Compared to dinner last week at Utopia at $60 exclusive this was far superior.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Consilience Wines at Utopia
Thursday, December 7, 2017
We decided to give Utopia one last chance. www.utopiarestaurant.net We were so disappointed in the last wine dinner that we said we would never go back. But after having a regular dinner and we were happy with it when this wine dinner came up we decided to chance it again. But another disappointment.
We started out with a Crab cake with blue cheese and garlic cream sauce. Crab cake was dry, had decent flavor but no moisture at all. Paired with a 2014 Consilience, Santa Barbara Chardonnay. A bit oaky but paired well with the crab
Next was a Grilled Romaine lettuce with goat cheese, toasted pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. They took a half of a Romaine lettuce and grilled it. Made the upper part of the leaves very limp. Not pleasing to the eye at all. Best think about is was the dressing. I ate 2 bites and shoved it aside. The wine was no better a 2015 Consilience Converge Red. A blend of everything in the cellar. Mainly Syrah, Petite Syrah and Sangiovese with 3 or 4 other wines thrown in.
Third course looked great. Lobster ravioli with garlic, red peppers in a brandy cream sauce and topped with grilled shrimp. Difficult to taste the lobster. the pasta was luke warm and the shrimp were over cooked and dry. The wine was no better. A 1024 Consilience, Santa Barbara , Pinot Noir. It sucked. Thin and non-descript.
Best of the evening was dessert. A souffle with Quady's Starboard Batch 88 port style wine.
Perhaps Utopia has a problem with getting the dinners out when they have to cook, plate and serve 40 people at one time. During a regular dinner people come and go so the food orders come in randomly. But they have problems so we will no longer come back.
We decided to give Utopia one last chance. www.utopiarestaurant.net We were so disappointed in the last wine dinner that we said we would never go back. But after having a regular dinner and we were happy with it when this wine dinner came up we decided to chance it again. But another disappointment.
We started out with a Crab cake with blue cheese and garlic cream sauce. Crab cake was dry, had decent flavor but no moisture at all. Paired with a 2014 Consilience, Santa Barbara Chardonnay. A bit oaky but paired well with the crab
Next was a Grilled Romaine lettuce with goat cheese, toasted pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. They took a half of a Romaine lettuce and grilled it. Made the upper part of the leaves very limp. Not pleasing to the eye at all. Best think about is was the dressing. I ate 2 bites and shoved it aside. The wine was no better a 2015 Consilience Converge Red. A blend of everything in the cellar. Mainly Syrah, Petite Syrah and Sangiovese with 3 or 4 other wines thrown in.
Third course looked great. Lobster ravioli with garlic, red peppers in a brandy cream sauce and topped with grilled shrimp. Difficult to taste the lobster. the pasta was luke warm and the shrimp were over cooked and dry. The wine was no better. A 1024 Consilience, Santa Barbara , Pinot Noir. It sucked. Thin and non-descript.
Best of the evening was dessert. A souffle with Quady's Starboard Batch 88 port style wine.
Perhaps Utopia has a problem with getting the dinners out when they have to cook, plate and serve 40 people at one time. During a regular dinner people come and go so the food orders come in randomly. But they have problems so we will no longer come back.
Champagne Fest at Wine House
Sunday, December 3, 2017
115 Champagnes and sparkling's being poured today at the Wine House if Los Angeles. Lots of interesting appetizers. Tried numerous wines. Ranged from $480 a bottle to $18.
I tried the most expensive champagne being poured. A 2006 Salon Brut Blanc de Blancs "LeMesnil Grand Cru - disappointed, expected much more. Maybe it is just too young.
One of the ones I liked the best was a NV Allimant Laugner Cremant d'Alsace Rose at $18.
Tasted 33 out of the 115 - too numerous to list. But a great tasting and glad I had a driver.
115 Champagnes and sparkling's being poured today at the Wine House if Los Angeles. Lots of interesting appetizers. Tried numerous wines. Ranged from $480 a bottle to $18.
I tried the most expensive champagne being poured. A 2006 Salon Brut Blanc de Blancs "LeMesnil Grand Cru - disappointed, expected much more. Maybe it is just too young.
One of the ones I liked the best was a NV Allimant Laugner Cremant d'Alsace Rose at $18.
Tasted 33 out of the 115 - too numerous to list. But a great tasting and glad I had a driver.
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