Monday, October 22, 2018
Henry called late last night and wanted to do lunch today. Evan , his wife was having lunch with her lady friends so Henry could escape for a few hours. With her health issues they both have a lot on their plates.
So only 3 of us today. The Seafood Place has been bought out by a group that has several Chinese restaurants. They were doing some remodeling in the area where they host large functions. Our dining area had been reconfigured and they had the beautiful drapes and the pink trees hanging with crystals in it.
Menu is till the same for the time being. It will change. Mai the server is still there but some of the other servers no longer are.
I do hope the bring back Dim Sum. We really miss it. We will wait and see.
Started off with the complimentary spicy, sour soup. Then onto Garlic Shrimp with special soft, round noodles. Made like the lobster dish but Mai didn't recommend the lobster today. Nice thing about having servers that like you. They will let you know if something is not up to snuff that day.
A dish of garlic sauteed scallops and orange beef were our other selections. Scallops were great. The beef was good but not quite the caliber it was last time.
I brought a 2013 Beringer, Napa, Quantum, A red wine blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petite Syrah.. Hence the name Quantum because of the 5 grapes. It was very dark, big mouth feel, a bit of a zing to it. A nice wine.
The other two wines were a 2013 Acacia, Carneros, Pinot Noir and a 2016 Angeline, Reserve Pinot Noir. These two wines balanced out the Quantum.
So we will see what happens in the next few weeks with the Seafood Palace. Do not know if there will be a name change, or big menu change. Always wonder when a "chain" comes in. Granted they only own a few other restaurants but the banner said something about "Diamond" group.. This place is so convenient for everyone to get too. Don't have to fight that traffic in Little Saigon.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Dinner at 555 East Steak House
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Time for a really good steak again. 5 of us tonight. Karen was ill, caught a bug in France so she stayed home. That left me with the guys. Reservations at 555 East in Long Beach. www.555east.com.. Great steaks and best of all no corkage. Sat at the same table as we did last time we were here. Quiet and out of the traffic pattern. CJ requested our server to be Rachael and she was a gem and very wine wise.
Stan and I split the 23 ounce, 45 day dry aged bone in Rib Eye. Huge piece of meat. As it was I still took half of mine home. Came with baked potato and baked tomato. Added a side of sauteed spinach and I was set. Had a few mushrooms off of CJ's side dish. This was one of the better steaks I have had.
You pick your "aged" steaks off of a blackboard. They "X" them out when ordered. Only a small number of them available each day. Sold by the ounce. So this particular steak was close to $70. But it was worth it.
Wines were a mix but all exceptional. I brought a 2008 Saxum, Paso Robles, Broken Stones, Mainly Syrah, Big, jammy and paired well with the meat.
I also had a 2014 Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, Chardonnay. Needed a white to go with the oysters I had to whet my whistle while waiting for the steak to appear. Had 2 each of the Bay Water, WA, Island Creek, MA and Coromandel from New Zealand. Island creek were the smallest of them. All good.
A 2008 Fallet Dart, Millesime, Champagne also helped with the oysters. Excellent champagne. A real find.
For dessert we ordered a cheese plate. This is not on their menu but the chef made it up for us. We had a 2000 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port to help us with this dish. Very good port. Smooth and sexy. A real yummy wine.
Other wines on the table tonight are 2004 Conn Creek, Napa, Anthology, Red Blend. Very dark, fruity, velvet mouth feel and plush.
1997 Chateau Lynch Bages, Gran Cru, Pauillac. Light wine, medium dark fruit, soft tannins.
1997 Robert Mondavi, Napa Valley, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon. Very big wine, hearty nose, big dark fruit.
2002 Flora Springs, Napa Valley, Holy Smoke Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium nose, chocolate and leather.
So another great dinner at 555. Will try and get another in before the end of the year.
Time for a really good steak again. 5 of us tonight. Karen was ill, caught a bug in France so she stayed home. That left me with the guys. Reservations at 555 East in Long Beach. www.555east.com.. Great steaks and best of all no corkage. Sat at the same table as we did last time we were here. Quiet and out of the traffic pattern. CJ requested our server to be Rachael and she was a gem and very wine wise.
Stan and I split the 23 ounce, 45 day dry aged bone in Rib Eye. Huge piece of meat. As it was I still took half of mine home. Came with baked potato and baked tomato. Added a side of sauteed spinach and I was set. Had a few mushrooms off of CJ's side dish. This was one of the better steaks I have had.
You pick your "aged" steaks off of a blackboard. They "X" them out when ordered. Only a small number of them available each day. Sold by the ounce. So this particular steak was close to $70. But it was worth it.
Wines were a mix but all exceptional. I brought a 2008 Saxum, Paso Robles, Broken Stones, Mainly Syrah, Big, jammy and paired well with the meat.
I also had a 2014 Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, Chardonnay. Needed a white to go with the oysters I had to whet my whistle while waiting for the steak to appear. Had 2 each of the Bay Water, WA, Island Creek, MA and Coromandel from New Zealand. Island creek were the smallest of them. All good.
A 2008 Fallet Dart, Millesime, Champagne also helped with the oysters. Excellent champagne. A real find.
For dessert we ordered a cheese plate. This is not on their menu but the chef made it up for us. We had a 2000 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port to help us with this dish. Very good port. Smooth and sexy. A real yummy wine.
Other wines on the table tonight are 2004 Conn Creek, Napa, Anthology, Red Blend. Very dark, fruity, velvet mouth feel and plush.
1997 Chateau Lynch Bages, Gran Cru, Pauillac. Light wine, medium dark fruit, soft tannins.
1997 Robert Mondavi, Napa Valley, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon. Very big wine, hearty nose, big dark fruit.
2002 Flora Springs, Napa Valley, Holy Smoke Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium nose, chocolate and leather.
So another great dinner at 555. Will try and get another in before the end of the year.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Epicurean Wine Dinner at Arte Cafe
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
This was the first "Epicurean" wine dinner that Arte Cafe in Cerritos has done. Wines came out of the owner/chefs private cellar. It was priced at $140 plus tax & tip which made it very price. The wines were the deciding factor to do this dinner. Dinner was limited to 30 people. Festival seating. I was the first in my group to get there so I picked seats on the end of the table. Good choice.
We started out with appetizers, cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto , Ahi tuna with aoili on a crisp and grilled shrimp. Served with a Caymus sparkling Conundrum. They very very generous in the pours. My glass was filled at least 4 times. So far the start of dinner is good.
First course is a Stuffed Cabbage Wrap with garlic noodles and lobster. Unusual dish, very good flavor, loads of lobster. There was a white sauce over it but it could have been a bit thicker. Looked a little on the very thin side. Paired with a 2106 Starmont Sauvignon Blanc. Nice well balanced wine and not to acidic. A good pairing.
Second course is a Pan Seared Diver Scallop Buckwheat Blini . Scallops were cut in thin slices and stacked with the buckwheat blini. A dollop of caviar on top. Scallops were cooked perfectly. Richard has a way with seafood. Wine is a 2013 Kistler, Sonoma Coast, Chardonnay. Kistler is known for oaky chardonnays and this was right in there. A few sips with the scallop and the rest went into Doug's glass.
Third dish of the night is a Seared Duck Breast with Foie Gras Butter. Duck was cooked correctly and the butter was an excellent touch to the meat.Dinner so far has been excellent. A 2013 Kistler, Russian River, Pinot Noir was the wine. A good wine and showing well for 5 years old.
Fourth Course is a Trio of Mixed Grill Ribeye with a trio of Cabernets. USDA Certified Prime, Wagyu and 30 Day Prime Aged Dry. I was so looking forward to this dish and I was so disappointed. The 30 day aged had the best flavor. But to take such beautiful beef and overcook them is a sin. Not only were the pieces thin but hardly any color except gray on the inside. They meat was on one long plate and the second long plate was for the accompaniments. First they came around with mashed potatoes, then a second trip for the creamed spinach and a third trip for green beans. By time the beef came everything else was luke warm. This dish and presentation were so far off. But the wines were good. A 1999 Napanook, second label of Dominus, 2004 Stags Leap, Fay Vineyard and a 1996 Far Niente. All quite good but the Far Niente was a show stopper.
Dessert is a House made fresh berry crepe with Grand Marnier cream. Light and a nice touch to a heavy meal. Big mistake was serving it with a "Epicurean" Lowland Blended Scotch. They picked this because of the name to go with the dinners name. Was not a good scotch. It was rough.
Pros and cons on this dinner. Wine was great. most of the dishes were also. Beef was not to my liking at all. Not sure if it was worth the money compared to other wine dinners I do. Will have to really think about it if they do another. Richard is a genius with seafood, duck and lamb but he falls way short when it comes to beef.
This was the first "Epicurean" wine dinner that Arte Cafe in Cerritos has done. Wines came out of the owner/chefs private cellar. It was priced at $140 plus tax & tip which made it very price. The wines were the deciding factor to do this dinner. Dinner was limited to 30 people. Festival seating. I was the first in my group to get there so I picked seats on the end of the table. Good choice.
We started out with appetizers, cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto , Ahi tuna with aoili on a crisp and grilled shrimp. Served with a Caymus sparkling Conundrum. They very very generous in the pours. My glass was filled at least 4 times. So far the start of dinner is good.
First course is a Stuffed Cabbage Wrap with garlic noodles and lobster. Unusual dish, very good flavor, loads of lobster. There was a white sauce over it but it could have been a bit thicker. Looked a little on the very thin side. Paired with a 2106 Starmont Sauvignon Blanc. Nice well balanced wine and not to acidic. A good pairing.
Second course is a Pan Seared Diver Scallop Buckwheat Blini . Scallops were cut in thin slices and stacked with the buckwheat blini. A dollop of caviar on top. Scallops were cooked perfectly. Richard has a way with seafood. Wine is a 2013 Kistler, Sonoma Coast, Chardonnay. Kistler is known for oaky chardonnays and this was right in there. A few sips with the scallop and the rest went into Doug's glass.
Third dish of the night is a Seared Duck Breast with Foie Gras Butter. Duck was cooked correctly and the butter was an excellent touch to the meat.Dinner so far has been excellent. A 2013 Kistler, Russian River, Pinot Noir was the wine. A good wine and showing well for 5 years old.
Fourth Course is a Trio of Mixed Grill Ribeye with a trio of Cabernets. USDA Certified Prime, Wagyu and 30 Day Prime Aged Dry. I was so looking forward to this dish and I was so disappointed. The 30 day aged had the best flavor. But to take such beautiful beef and overcook them is a sin. Not only were the pieces thin but hardly any color except gray on the inside. They meat was on one long plate and the second long plate was for the accompaniments. First they came around with mashed potatoes, then a second trip for the creamed spinach and a third trip for green beans. By time the beef came everything else was luke warm. This dish and presentation were so far off. But the wines were good. A 1999 Napanook, second label of Dominus, 2004 Stags Leap, Fay Vineyard and a 1996 Far Niente. All quite good but the Far Niente was a show stopper.
Dessert is a House made fresh berry crepe with Grand Marnier cream. Light and a nice touch to a heavy meal. Big mistake was serving it with a "Epicurean" Lowland Blended Scotch. They picked this because of the name to go with the dinners name. Was not a good scotch. It was rough.
Pros and cons on this dinner. Wine was great. most of the dishes were also. Beef was not to my liking at all. Not sure if it was worth the money compared to other wine dinners I do. Will have to really think about it if they do another. Richard is a genius with seafood, duck and lamb but he falls way short when it comes to beef.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Jagerhaus for Oktoberfest
Saturday, October 6, 2018
For Octobers dinner Margie picked out the Jagerhaus in Anaheim. www.jagerhaus.net. The restaurant has been there for 38 years and this was a first time for me. An extensive menu and they are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 13 of us tonight in a semi-private area. Plenty of room for all of our paraphernalia. Stuart walked in in his Lederhosen which just added to the Oktoberfest feel. Almost all the wines were either German or German grapes.
We started out with the appetizers. I chose the Goulash soup which was quite good. Just the right amount of spice to it. For my dinner I had looked at the menu online so I could make a quick selection. Anything more than 3 items I have a hard time making a selection. Chose the braised rabbit with red cabbage and spatzli. Rabbit was cooked nicely. 3 large pieces. The red cabbage had just the right amount of sour to it. Took most of the dinner home since I had the soup which filled me up. Opted for Apple Strudel for dessert. Good flavor but I do like my strudel with a bit more crust. A couple of people opted for the Elk and raved about it. Non adventurous people had the sausages. Safe selection for them
Nice dinner in a interesting atmosphere. Close to Disneyland and the Phoenix Club which is a German social club.
I brought a 2009 Huber, Sta Rita Hills, Dornfelder. California winemaker but German grapes. Norman brought them over from Germany when he bought the property in the Sta. Rita Hills area of Lompoc when he came to the United States. I also had a 2014 Huber "Hafen" which is a port like wine made from the Dornfelder grape. Can't use the word port to describe the wine in California so he chose Hafen which means port in German. These are both dark, rich, heavy flavored wines.
Other wines brought.
2011 Erbacher Marcobrunn, Riesling Kabinett. A bit on the sweet side
2009 Rosenhof, Gruner Veltliner, Ice wine - rich but not nearly as sweet as the Riesling
2014 Windstream, Chardonnay - did not taste
2016 Dr. Heideman's Bergweiler, Rielsing - did not taste
2017 Hart Winery, Temecula Valley, Arneis - did not taste
2010 Gloria Ferrer, Anniversary Cuvee, Sparkling - very nice, clean wine. Used to toast Paul & Margie on their 47th wedding anniversary
NV, Henkell, Germany, Brut Sparking - I like this wine, a very refreshing quality to it
NV Relax Bubbles, Germany, dry sparkling - another clean tasting sparkling
2017 Villa Wolf, Germany, Pinot Gris - typical Pinot Gris but not off putting to me as some of the gris are
2013 Bercker Brekheimer, Spatburgunder - did not taste
2006 Dr. Heidemanns, Dornfelder - much lighter in color, viscosity and flavor than the Sta Rita Hills Dornfelder
2016 Dr. Heidemanns, Riesling - did not taste
2015 Meyer-Nakel, Spatburgunder - typical German Pinot, light in color and tatste
2014 Trimbach. Gewurztraminer - nice fruity, spicy white
2015 Brooks, sparkling Riesling - I believe from Oregon, interesting wine
Next month we are off to a Japanese restaurant that Margie has chosen for Novembers dinner.
For Octobers dinner Margie picked out the Jagerhaus in Anaheim. www.jagerhaus.net. The restaurant has been there for 38 years and this was a first time for me. An extensive menu and they are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 13 of us tonight in a semi-private area. Plenty of room for all of our paraphernalia. Stuart walked in in his Lederhosen which just added to the Oktoberfest feel. Almost all the wines were either German or German grapes.
We started out with the appetizers. I chose the Goulash soup which was quite good. Just the right amount of spice to it. For my dinner I had looked at the menu online so I could make a quick selection. Anything more than 3 items I have a hard time making a selection. Chose the braised rabbit with red cabbage and spatzli. Rabbit was cooked nicely. 3 large pieces. The red cabbage had just the right amount of sour to it. Took most of the dinner home since I had the soup which filled me up. Opted for Apple Strudel for dessert. Good flavor but I do like my strudel with a bit more crust. A couple of people opted for the Elk and raved about it. Non adventurous people had the sausages. Safe selection for them
Nice dinner in a interesting atmosphere. Close to Disneyland and the Phoenix Club which is a German social club.
I brought a 2009 Huber, Sta Rita Hills, Dornfelder. California winemaker but German grapes. Norman brought them over from Germany when he bought the property in the Sta. Rita Hills area of Lompoc when he came to the United States. I also had a 2014 Huber "Hafen" which is a port like wine made from the Dornfelder grape. Can't use the word port to describe the wine in California so he chose Hafen which means port in German. These are both dark, rich, heavy flavored wines.
Other wines brought.
2011 Erbacher Marcobrunn, Riesling Kabinett. A bit on the sweet side
2009 Rosenhof, Gruner Veltliner, Ice wine - rich but not nearly as sweet as the Riesling
2014 Windstream, Chardonnay - did not taste
2016 Dr. Heideman's Bergweiler, Rielsing - did not taste
2017 Hart Winery, Temecula Valley, Arneis - did not taste
2010 Gloria Ferrer, Anniversary Cuvee, Sparkling - very nice, clean wine. Used to toast Paul & Margie on their 47th wedding anniversary
NV, Henkell, Germany, Brut Sparking - I like this wine, a very refreshing quality to it
NV Relax Bubbles, Germany, dry sparkling - another clean tasting sparkling
2017 Villa Wolf, Germany, Pinot Gris - typical Pinot Gris but not off putting to me as some of the gris are
2013 Bercker Brekheimer, Spatburgunder - did not taste
2006 Dr. Heidemanns, Dornfelder - much lighter in color, viscosity and flavor than the Sta Rita Hills Dornfelder
2016 Dr. Heidemanns, Riesling - did not taste
2015 Meyer-Nakel, Spatburgunder - typical German Pinot, light in color and tatste
2014 Trimbach. Gewurztraminer - nice fruity, spicy white
2015 Brooks, sparkling Riesling - I believe from Oregon, interesting wine
Next month we are off to a Japanese restaurant that Margie has chosen for Novembers dinner.
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