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.