Thursday. July 26, 2018
Another sold out wine dinner for Arte Cafe in Cerritos.. At $45 it is the bargain of the area. I had never heard of Hanna Wines before. Small family owner winery in the Sonoma area represented by Teralta.
First wine poured was a Hanna Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. Very citrusy, tropical frunits etc., same as most California Sau Blancs. Not my style but it pair very well with the Mango Shrimp, lemongrass and Thai basil. Shrimp well cooked correctly, not tough or mushy, served cold. I am not a fan of lemongrass or basil but the flavors lended themselves to the wine.
Second course is a Pan Seared Halibut with a beurre blanc sauce and "summer vegetables". Sauce was excellent, halibut tasted like it might have been frozen, a bit on the mushy side. Vegetables were cauliflower, brussel sprounts and diced carrots. I am sorry folks but cauliflower and brussel sprounts are not summer vegetables. These are considered a winter crop. I know in California we are a bit different but summer veggies are corn, tomatoes, summer squashes, green and yellow beans , peas and asparagus. The wine paired with this dish is a Hanna Russian River Chardonnay. A bit oaky but the beurre blanc sauce cut the oak. But I did not want a second pour of this wine and got it anyway.
Third course served is a Balsamic glazed steak rolled with vegetables and wild rice. The steak had no flavor aside from the balsamic vinegar on it. Rice and vegetables were good. A 2014 Hanna Red Ranch , Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon was the wine selection. Decent cab but nothing spectacular
Dessert is a Pineapple cake with whipped cream and fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce. Cake was a bit dry and on the dense side. Did not get much of a pineapple flavor.
This was not the best dinner that Arte Cafe has done. They are capable of much better. We will see what happens in a couple of weeks when they do the Daou wine dinner.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Spago's
Wednesday. July 18, 2018
It is Dine in LA week and we picked Spago's , www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3635. in Beverly Hills for this outing. The tasting menu was specifically for the Dine In LA event.
We started out with 6 "amuse bouches" .
Spicy Tuna Tartare in a Seasame Miso Tuille Cone. The cone had a sweetness to it and it offset the spicy tartare nicely. Two bites and it was gone.
Savory Parmesan Marshmallow. Have no idea how this was made but it was soft and spongy like a marshmallow sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Looked like coconut. This was a one biter.
Sesame Ball, Dungeness Crab, Thai Curry Spice and Sakura Shrimp. Served on a folded piece of paper held together at one end with a teeny, tiny clothespin.
Heirloom Carrot-Kaffir Lime Puree and Chili Oil. served in a tiny galvanized pail with "dirt". Looked like you just pulled a tiny carrot from the garden and put in in your pail.
Yorkshire Pudding, Whipped Beef Tallow with Bresacla. Looked like a white disc topped with a dark cherry sitting in a wood bowl full of cocoa nibs.
Maple Macaron, Bacon (pork belly), Egg Yolk Jam sitting on tiny roasted coffee beans.
All the amuse bouches were excellent . Loads of flavor.
6 courses for dinner:
"The Egg", corn custard, caviar and corn water in a small egg shell sitting on a wrought iron stand Room temperature and a very delicate flavor.
Olive Oil Poached Ora King Salmon, beet ponzu, red bulls blood leaves. I would venture a guess that this was "sous vide" Delicate flavor on the salmon and the beet ponzu gave it a very tangy twist.
Charred Octopus in a Coconut Bowl, lime, harbanero aguachile and avocado puree. You were supposed to scrape the inside on the coconut bowl to get fresh coconut into the dish. Personally I like my octopus not swimming in a liquid.
Baled Bone Marrow, Santa Barbara Uni with Manila clams, capers, chorizo and homemade sour dough toast. I really liked this dish, wish I had more of it.
Hand Made Agnolotti with summer truffles, sweet white corn and parmigiano reggiano. Brought to the table under a glass cloche with smoke inside. Impressive presentation
Grilled Plank Snake River Farm's Wagyu Beef with burnt mustard-miso and red sorrel. I would not have taken this piece of beef as wagyu. No marbling, no fat inside. Tasted more like a high grade Black Angus. I have eaten a lot of Wagyu beef in the last few years and this was not the same.
2 Desserts:
Nectarines with Muscovado Caramel and lemon verbena sorbet. Light and very refreshing.
Maracaibo Creole Grand Cru "Cocktail", whiskey, lime Espuma. A thin chocolate bowl filled with the Espuma. Interesting and a delightful finish to dinner.
We also had a tray of the housemade breads along with a yogurt sauce. We asked for butter. The yogurt bit just did cut it for bread.
We had 4 bottles of wine tonight. Corkage is $50 if you bring your own which I did. Stan bought a bottle and brought a bottle. Wine list is not for the faint hearted. Wines ranged from about $70 to $21,000. But do not bring a bottle that is on their list.
2005 Dom Perignon, Rose Champagne, 1998 Rochioli , Russian River Valley, Pinot Noit, 2005 Croix de Beaucaillou Bordeaux, and a 2008 Domaine de Montille, Pommard, 1st Cru, Les Pezerolles. All were excellent. I preferred the Pommard and the Champagne.
All the food was excellent. Some I liked a bit more than others. I was very impressed with the staff and how efficient the restaurant was run. Tonight they had a staff of 100 people. 50 in front and 50 in the kitchen. Everyone at the table received their food at the same time. We got a tour of the kitchen which was massive. Pizza oven burns at 600 degrees and takes 3 minutes to cook a pizza. The clientele were for the most part dressed very casual. The staff was dressed far better then the patrons. I will say I was impressed with the restaurant.
We had such a good time we were talking about coming back to Spago's for al la carte. This was my first time but Stan has been there several times. Quality of food and service makes this a real gem. My only complaint is when it gets dark outside it gets dark in the restaurant. Too dark for me. The pictures I took of the food showed the difference in light. The restaurant seems like a high end neighborhood place to go. Not that pretentious.
It is Dine in LA week and we picked Spago's , www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3635. in Beverly Hills for this outing. The tasting menu was specifically for the Dine In LA event.
We started out with 6 "amuse bouches" .
Spicy Tuna Tartare in a Seasame Miso Tuille Cone. The cone had a sweetness to it and it offset the spicy tartare nicely. Two bites and it was gone.
Savory Parmesan Marshmallow. Have no idea how this was made but it was soft and spongy like a marshmallow sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Looked like coconut. This was a one biter.
Sesame Ball, Dungeness Crab, Thai Curry Spice and Sakura Shrimp. Served on a folded piece of paper held together at one end with a teeny, tiny clothespin.
Heirloom Carrot-Kaffir Lime Puree and Chili Oil. served in a tiny galvanized pail with "dirt". Looked like you just pulled a tiny carrot from the garden and put in in your pail.
Yorkshire Pudding, Whipped Beef Tallow with Bresacla. Looked like a white disc topped with a dark cherry sitting in a wood bowl full of cocoa nibs.
Maple Macaron, Bacon (pork belly), Egg Yolk Jam sitting on tiny roasted coffee beans.
All the amuse bouches were excellent . Loads of flavor.
6 courses for dinner:
"The Egg", corn custard, caviar and corn water in a small egg shell sitting on a wrought iron stand Room temperature and a very delicate flavor.
Olive Oil Poached Ora King Salmon, beet ponzu, red bulls blood leaves. I would venture a guess that this was "sous vide" Delicate flavor on the salmon and the beet ponzu gave it a very tangy twist.
Charred Octopus in a Coconut Bowl, lime, harbanero aguachile and avocado puree. You were supposed to scrape the inside on the coconut bowl to get fresh coconut into the dish. Personally I like my octopus not swimming in a liquid.
Baled Bone Marrow, Santa Barbara Uni with Manila clams, capers, chorizo and homemade sour dough toast. I really liked this dish, wish I had more of it.
Hand Made Agnolotti with summer truffles, sweet white corn and parmigiano reggiano. Brought to the table under a glass cloche with smoke inside. Impressive presentation
Grilled Plank Snake River Farm's Wagyu Beef with burnt mustard-miso and red sorrel. I would not have taken this piece of beef as wagyu. No marbling, no fat inside. Tasted more like a high grade Black Angus. I have eaten a lot of Wagyu beef in the last few years and this was not the same.
2 Desserts:
Nectarines with Muscovado Caramel and lemon verbena sorbet. Light and very refreshing.
Maracaibo Creole Grand Cru "Cocktail", whiskey, lime Espuma. A thin chocolate bowl filled with the Espuma. Interesting and a delightful finish to dinner.
We also had a tray of the housemade breads along with a yogurt sauce. We asked for butter. The yogurt bit just did cut it for bread.
We had 4 bottles of wine tonight. Corkage is $50 if you bring your own which I did. Stan bought a bottle and brought a bottle. Wine list is not for the faint hearted. Wines ranged from about $70 to $21,000. But do not bring a bottle that is on their list.
2005 Dom Perignon, Rose Champagne, 1998 Rochioli , Russian River Valley, Pinot Noit, 2005 Croix de Beaucaillou Bordeaux, and a 2008 Domaine de Montille, Pommard, 1st Cru, Les Pezerolles. All were excellent. I preferred the Pommard and the Champagne.
All the food was excellent. Some I liked a bit more than others. I was very impressed with the staff and how efficient the restaurant was run. Tonight they had a staff of 100 people. 50 in front and 50 in the kitchen. Everyone at the table received their food at the same time. We got a tour of the kitchen which was massive. Pizza oven burns at 600 degrees and takes 3 minutes to cook a pizza. The clientele were for the most part dressed very casual. The staff was dressed far better then the patrons. I will say I was impressed with the restaurant.
We had such a good time we were talking about coming back to Spago's for al la carte. This was my first time but Stan has been there several times. Quality of food and service makes this a real gem. My only complaint is when it gets dark outside it gets dark in the restaurant. Too dark for me. The pictures I took of the food showed the difference in light. The restaurant seems like a high end neighborhood place to go. Not that pretentious.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Sunday Lunch at Seafood Palace
Sunday. July 15, 2018
Henry called at the last minute and wanted to have lunch today. My housework and laundry will keep to another day. Four of us. Seafood Palace does not do Dim Sum anymore. The Dim Sum cooks quit and they have not replaced them. Do not think they plan to. So we will be checking out a few local places for Dim Sum. Driving to the San Gabriel Valley is too time consuming and Henry's wife now has many physical health issues that it is hard for him to plan too much ahead of time.
We decided to go big and have the stir fried lobster. 3-1/2 pounds. So much meat along with the noodles we only had one other dish. Chinese Broccoli with sautéed shrimp. A bowl of soup and rice rounded out the meal.
I brought a 20-08 Kosta Browne, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir. A dynamite wine. Others brought a 2016 Schloss Liesees, Thomas Hagg, Riesling, Spatlese-Trocken, 2015 Anselmi, San Vincenzo, white blend and a NV Antech, Limoux, Brut Nature
Henry called at the last minute and wanted to have lunch today. My housework and laundry will keep to another day. Four of us. Seafood Palace does not do Dim Sum anymore. The Dim Sum cooks quit and they have not replaced them. Do not think they plan to. So we will be checking out a few local places for Dim Sum. Driving to the San Gabriel Valley is too time consuming and Henry's wife now has many physical health issues that it is hard for him to plan too much ahead of time.
We decided to go big and have the stir fried lobster. 3-1/2 pounds. So much meat along with the noodles we only had one other dish. Chinese Broccoli with sautéed shrimp. A bowl of soup and rice rounded out the meal.
I brought a 20-08 Kosta Browne, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir. A dynamite wine. Others brought a 2016 Schloss Liesees, Thomas Hagg, Riesling, Spatlese-Trocken, 2015 Anselmi, San Vincenzo, white blend and a NV Antech, Limoux, Brut Nature
Margie's Monthly Dinner at Picarelli's
Saturday, July 14, 2018
This month Margie chose Picarelli's Cucina Italiana, www.picarellis.com, for our monthly dinner. Weather has been warm but today was great. We had 16 people today and sat on the outside patio. Lots of umbrella's for shade. Picarelli's does offer free Uber rides home if you live within 5 miles. Nice touch
A very diverse menu and a bit of everything seemed to have been ordered. I started out with the tomato basil soup which was refreshing. It was slightly warm but that made the freshness of the tomatoes stand out. I do not eat raw tomatoes by like them cooked. A touch of grated Parmesan on top was a nice added touch.
My main course was grilled lamb chops with roasted potatoes and mixed summer vegetables. I was given 5 chops, and asked for them medium rare. They turned out medium well. I would have preferred 2 thick chops that could have been cooked properly. They did have good flavor but had to much grizzle in them. Made them difficult to cut. Not the best showing. In retrospect I should have ordered the scallops.
Had a very nice cannelloni for desert but should have ordered the tiramisu.
Basket of bread was put on each table ( 2 tables of 8) along with butter and olive tapenade. Never saw it after the waiter set it down. Apparently it was sent down to the other end of the table for the duration. Probably best so I didn't O'ded on it. People did me a favor my hoarding it.
But my entire day has been screwed up. From timing, having to backtrack and leaving one of my wine glasses at the restaurant.. And I can't blame Mercury being in retrograde because that doesn't happen until the 26th.
Wines were a strange assortment. Some peoples selections I could not understand. I brought a 2012 Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, Sparking Brut Pinot Rose. It was bad. Had to dump it. My other wine was a 2009 Roar, Santa Lucia Highlands, Garys Vineyard, Pinot Noir. Spot on, well balanced soft tannins, nice restrained cherry/berry fruit. Beautiful wine.
Other wines brought were:
2013 Basalt, Columbia Valley, GSM - went very well with the lamb chops
2014 Tobin James, Paso Robles, Reserve Port - always a good choice for after dinner
2009 Tablas Creek, Paso Robles, Roussanne - did not taste but then I am not fond of most white Rhone grapes wine
2009 Gushon Bachus Zephyus, Zinfandel - did not taste
2017 Chroma Vera, San Luis Obispo, Albarino - this was a nice wine
2014 Abacela, Roseburg, Oregon, Dolcetto - did not taste
2016 Anthill Farms, Tina Marie, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir - did not taste
2016 Weingtut Sprehzer4, Riesling - did not taste
NV Graham Beck, Brut Rose - this is always good
2015 Talley, Edna Valley, Pinot Noir - did not taste
2015 Chateauneuf-du-pape - did not taste
2017 DiBruno, Santa Barbara County, Pinot Grigio - did not taste
2014 Abacela, Fiesta Albarino - nice wine
Bellissimma Prosecco DOC Brut - nice sparking
2013 Carpineto, Classico Riserva, Chianti - did not taste
2016 Paco & Lola, Rias Baixis, Albarino - did not taste
NV Roederer Estate, Anderson Valley, Brut Rose - again always a good choice
This month Margie chose Picarelli's Cucina Italiana, www.picarellis.com, for our monthly dinner. Weather has been warm but today was great. We had 16 people today and sat on the outside patio. Lots of umbrella's for shade. Picarelli's does offer free Uber rides home if you live within 5 miles. Nice touch
A very diverse menu and a bit of everything seemed to have been ordered. I started out with the tomato basil soup which was refreshing. It was slightly warm but that made the freshness of the tomatoes stand out. I do not eat raw tomatoes by like them cooked. A touch of grated Parmesan on top was a nice added touch.
My main course was grilled lamb chops with roasted potatoes and mixed summer vegetables. I was given 5 chops, and asked for them medium rare. They turned out medium well. I would have preferred 2 thick chops that could have been cooked properly. They did have good flavor but had to much grizzle in them. Made them difficult to cut. Not the best showing. In retrospect I should have ordered the scallops.
Had a very nice cannelloni for desert but should have ordered the tiramisu.
Basket of bread was put on each table ( 2 tables of 8) along with butter and olive tapenade. Never saw it after the waiter set it down. Apparently it was sent down to the other end of the table for the duration. Probably best so I didn't O'ded on it. People did me a favor my hoarding it.
But my entire day has been screwed up. From timing, having to backtrack and leaving one of my wine glasses at the restaurant.. And I can't blame Mercury being in retrograde because that doesn't happen until the 26th.
Wines were a strange assortment. Some peoples selections I could not understand. I brought a 2012 Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, Sparking Brut Pinot Rose. It was bad. Had to dump it. My other wine was a 2009 Roar, Santa Lucia Highlands, Garys Vineyard, Pinot Noir. Spot on, well balanced soft tannins, nice restrained cherry/berry fruit. Beautiful wine.
Other wines brought were:
2013 Basalt, Columbia Valley, GSM - went very well with the lamb chops
2014 Tobin James, Paso Robles, Reserve Port - always a good choice for after dinner
2009 Tablas Creek, Paso Robles, Roussanne - did not taste but then I am not fond of most white Rhone grapes wine
2009 Gushon Bachus Zephyus, Zinfandel - did not taste
2017 Chroma Vera, San Luis Obispo, Albarino - this was a nice wine
2014 Abacela, Roseburg, Oregon, Dolcetto - did not taste
2016 Anthill Farms, Tina Marie, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir - did not taste
2016 Weingtut Sprehzer4, Riesling - did not taste
NV Graham Beck, Brut Rose - this is always good
2015 Talley, Edna Valley, Pinot Noir - did not taste
2015 Chateauneuf-du-pape - did not taste
2017 DiBruno, Santa Barbara County, Pinot Grigio - did not taste
2014 Abacela, Fiesta Albarino - nice wine
Bellissimma Prosecco DOC Brut - nice sparking
2013 Carpineto, Classico Riserva, Chianti - did not taste
2016 Paco & Lola, Rias Baixis, Albarino - did not taste
NV Roederer Estate, Anderson Valley, Brut Rose - again always a good choice
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Final Dinner at Delius
Saturday, June 30, 2018
After 22 years Delius Restaurant abruptly decided to close operations. I have had a lot of good food and wine over the past 18 years. Originally it was a dinner for 36 people in Prix Fixe room. But with a waiting list of over 100 Dave decided on Friday to open up the main dining area for those on the wait list. I arrived at 6:30 for the 7:00 dinner and the parking area was packed as was the bar and main dining area. Those dining in the Prix Fixe Room had a special menu, the other diners ordered off the regular menu if the item was still available. The back bar was starting to look very barren.
Louise cooked tonight. She has been handling the catering for the past few years. At the end of dinner when she came out was an emotional experience for all of us. Louise had a very hard time keeping her composure. It was a tear jerker. But she did say they planned on doing popup dinners at the catering kitchen several times a year. She will cook and we will bring wine.
All the dishes we had in the Prix Fixe room were classic Delius dishes. Louse even made Shallot bread for us.
Started out with the Double Baked Goat Cheese Souffle with melted leeks, corn and pancetta. Perfect as always aired with a 2015 Jermann, Venezia Giulia, Pinot Grigio. I am not a fan of this grape but I say this wine was different and I liked it. Perfect pairing.
Second course was the famous Mushroom Walnut soup. I did think this soup was not quite as creamy as in the past but the heavy mushroom flavor was there. A 2016 Patz and Hall, Sonoma Coast, Chardonnay was the wine. A bit oaky for my taste but it was a good compliment to the creamy soup.
Third course was Crispy Skin Duck Breast. Delius has always had a real knack with cooking duck. This was on a bed of sweet potato-carrot-ginger puree and topped with rhubarb gastrique. A perfect pairing. 2015 EnRoute, Russian River, Pinot Noir. A nice bigger style Pinot with bold fruits, Very well balanced wine.
Main course is Louise's classic Beef Wellington with parsnip puree and red wine mushroom sauce. My beef was cooked perfectly. Nice and red. But I did think it needed a bit of salt. The favorite wine of the night is a 2011 Schweiger Vineyards, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon. This was a really nice wine.
Dessert is the Russian Cream with mixed berry coulis and assorted shortbread cookies. This recipe came from the original owners of Delius. Two Swedish sisters back in the 60's and 70's had the restaurant and it was one sitting for dinner at 7:30. They locked the doors at 7:30 and if you were late to bad. At that time it was a 6 month waiting time to get into the restaurant.
My big criticism of the way this dinner was handled is the way the reservations were taken. They posted the notice on e-mail to everyone and it sold out in 30 minutes. I think the investors should have been given first shot at it. They are the ones that put up the money for the new place 11 years ago. One of the investors was sitting at our table, he had been on the wait list and when someone dropped off they called him. He said he thought he was way down on the list but glad they bumped him up because of the investment he made. I hope so also. I just feel that people who were not real regular customers should be the last to get into the "last supper" And there were some of those that night. No one should have been able to reserve more than 2 spots. But this was at the last minute and I am sure certain thoughts did not cross peoples mind.
So a very bittersweet evening. They are opening a new restaurant in downtown Long Beach on the Promenade but it is a way different concept than what has been in the past. I will go in when they have their soft opening to check it out but I am not much of a "downtown" person.
After 22 years Delius Restaurant abruptly decided to close operations. I have had a lot of good food and wine over the past 18 years. Originally it was a dinner for 36 people in Prix Fixe room. But with a waiting list of over 100 Dave decided on Friday to open up the main dining area for those on the wait list. I arrived at 6:30 for the 7:00 dinner and the parking area was packed as was the bar and main dining area. Those dining in the Prix Fixe Room had a special menu, the other diners ordered off the regular menu if the item was still available. The back bar was starting to look very barren.
Louise cooked tonight. She has been handling the catering for the past few years. At the end of dinner when she came out was an emotional experience for all of us. Louise had a very hard time keeping her composure. It was a tear jerker. But she did say they planned on doing popup dinners at the catering kitchen several times a year. She will cook and we will bring wine.
All the dishes we had in the Prix Fixe room were classic Delius dishes. Louse even made Shallot bread for us.
Started out with the Double Baked Goat Cheese Souffle with melted leeks, corn and pancetta. Perfect as always aired with a 2015 Jermann, Venezia Giulia, Pinot Grigio. I am not a fan of this grape but I say this wine was different and I liked it. Perfect pairing.
Second course was the famous Mushroom Walnut soup. I did think this soup was not quite as creamy as in the past but the heavy mushroom flavor was there. A 2016 Patz and Hall, Sonoma Coast, Chardonnay was the wine. A bit oaky for my taste but it was a good compliment to the creamy soup.
Third course was Crispy Skin Duck Breast. Delius has always had a real knack with cooking duck. This was on a bed of sweet potato-carrot-ginger puree and topped with rhubarb gastrique. A perfect pairing. 2015 EnRoute, Russian River, Pinot Noir. A nice bigger style Pinot with bold fruits, Very well balanced wine.
Main course is Louise's classic Beef Wellington with parsnip puree and red wine mushroom sauce. My beef was cooked perfectly. Nice and red. But I did think it needed a bit of salt. The favorite wine of the night is a 2011 Schweiger Vineyards, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon. This was a really nice wine.
Dessert is the Russian Cream with mixed berry coulis and assorted shortbread cookies. This recipe came from the original owners of Delius. Two Swedish sisters back in the 60's and 70's had the restaurant and it was one sitting for dinner at 7:30. They locked the doors at 7:30 and if you were late to bad. At that time it was a 6 month waiting time to get into the restaurant.
My big criticism of the way this dinner was handled is the way the reservations were taken. They posted the notice on e-mail to everyone and it sold out in 30 minutes. I think the investors should have been given first shot at it. They are the ones that put up the money for the new place 11 years ago. One of the investors was sitting at our table, he had been on the wait list and when someone dropped off they called him. He said he thought he was way down on the list but glad they bumped him up because of the investment he made. I hope so also. I just feel that people who were not real regular customers should be the last to get into the "last supper" And there were some of those that night. No one should have been able to reserve more than 2 spots. But this was at the last minute and I am sure certain thoughts did not cross peoples mind.
So a very bittersweet evening. They are opening a new restaurant in downtown Long Beach on the Promenade but it is a way different concept than what has been in the past. I will go in when they have their soft opening to check it out but I am not much of a "downtown" person.
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