Tuesday, November 27. 2018
New theme for dinner at the Playground. www.playgrounddtsa.com. Arrived on time this trip but still took close to 2 hours from work to get here. At least going home it will be about 20 minutes. Anxious to sample the new food dishes that will be served with this dinner. All 15 courses.
Started off with a drink called "Killer Rabbit". Made with Mescal, Montenegro, Lime and a bubbly. Slight sour taste but this was really good but with the acid I could only drink one.
First up is a trio of dips. Guacamole with pistachio, jalapeno, figs and fried chicken skin. Apparently this is a version of guacamole that is served in the interior of Mexico. It was different and I liked it. Sikil p'ak which is similar to Hummus but made with pumpkin seed that has been ground up. A specialty of Yucatan. Then a smoked cashew and chile de arbol salsa. Bit of a bite to it but the color was beautiful and it was delicious once you got by the initial sting. All served with house made chips.
Then a plate of Quesco fundido sopes, rajas and carmelized onions. Fundido means "molten". So it was a "molten" quesco (cheese) sope (thick tortilla) with rajas (roasted poblano chiles" and caramelized onions. The tortilla had good flavor. I had one bite of of it and then scrapped the topping off to eat. I do not want to fill up on too much bread. I know how these dinners work. You can fill up on the first few dishes and then have no room for the balance of the dinner. Topping was excellent. It would make a good dip.
Albacore aguachile with strawberry jam (house made) was next. Fresh albacore "cooking" in a chile water with a dab of fresh, sweet jam. This was good after the heavier dishes before.
A beautiful salad of orange and red baby beets with orange slices, avocado, cotija, chile morita oil and lime. This was so tasty. I ate a bit more than I should have but it was so good.
A plate of Nopales (cactus) and purslane salad. Interesting salad. Long strips of nopales and the thick purslane was quite a contrast. Great flavor.
Infladita ( light, puffy tortilla) with refried bean puree and quesco fresco. Melted in you mouth.
Then a build your own taco - a very tender, moist white fish with tortilla. A side of Jicama slaw, limes and make your own. I had saved some of the guacamole and added that also. Best fish taco I have had.
Then a huge hunk of grilled pork belly with a citrus and black garlic mojo. No words- The mojo had such unusual flavor and smeared on the pork belly, I was in ecstasy
Vegetables came next, grilled, caramelized baby carrots, salsa macha, blood orange and almonds. Sweet and decadent.
A bowl of very crispy fried potato cubes, cooked perfectly, salsa tatemanda (all ingredients are charred over an open flame), scallions, pepitas and crusted goat cheese.. Beats tater tots any day.
Last dish before dessert was a "Wagu" beef, outside skirt steak taco with tamarind pasilla glaze, onion, cilantro and lime. Never had a taco made with Wagu beef. My new favorite although I think it will be awhile before I have another at the price of really good Wagu beef.
Dessert thankfully was light. An Arroz con leche with candied peanuts, abuelitas and dulce de leche.
Mexican rice pudding with chocolate caramel, whipped cream and cinnamon. I was so full I could only eat a small amount but my dining companions managed to eat everything.
Along with the Killer Rabbit cocktail we had a glass of Eagle Rock Tinder Brau.
Numerous wines.
Haart, Goldtropfchen Mosel, Spatlese.
Raul Perez, a cruz das animas, Atalier, (Albarino)
2005 Lopez de Heredia Vina Condonuic, Rioja,
2016 Condrieu, Les Chaillets (Viognier)
2014 Grgrich Hills, Violetta, Late Harvest (Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Rielsing).
Friday, November 30, 2018
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Francois Chidaine Brunch at Arte Cafe
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Wine Country in Signal Hill held a brunch at Arte Cafe in Cerritos. Wines were from Francois Chidaine. I have had these wines before. They are good and are reasonable in price
We started out with numerous pours of Vouvray Petillant ($20) along with Eggs Benedict with Country Ham. Good flavor to the ham, sauce was good but as normal the damm English Muffin had hard edges to it. This always irritates me with Eggs Benedict. Makes it difficult to cut. I know it's a lot of work for the kitchen to cut the edges but I really wish restaurants would do this. But a nice start to the afternoon.
Second course is a Fresh Diver Scallop with corn and Beurre Blanc sauce. Perfectly cooked scallop, sweet and the corn was awesome. Fresh, small kernels cut off the cob. This was my favorite of the day. A 2016 Chenin Blanc, d'Ailleurs ($19) was the pairing. Good selection for this dish. Wine was crisp without being too acidic. Nice, smooth mouthfeel. Could have another serving of this dish and wine.
Third course is a Arugula Salad with goat cheese, beets, oranges and a Dijon Vinaigrette. The Arugula got pushed to the side but the rest of it was very good. Beets were baby and sweet. One of my favorite Francois Chidaine wines were poured. A 2017 Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc. ($14) This is how a Sau Blanc should taste. Not like cat pee that the New Zealand Sau Blancs seem to favor.
Fourth course is a Braised Short Rib with sliced fennel, potato squares, baby turnips and whole grain mustard sauce. Meat was tender and moist. Sauce was dynamite. I am not a fennel fan but this was braised and had a nice sweet taste to it. Baby turnips were delicate. Another very good dish. Paired with a 2017 Touraine, Rouge. ($14) A Blend of Cabernet Franc, Cot (Malbec) and Pinot d'Aunis. Another good pairing.
Dessert was a Rose Poached Pear with caramel sauce, pistachios and whipped cream. A nice light, refreshing dessert to end the meal.
A very nice Sunday brunch at a reasonable price. Wish Richard would do more of these through the year.
Wine Country in Signal Hill held a brunch at Arte Cafe in Cerritos. Wines were from Francois Chidaine. I have had these wines before. They are good and are reasonable in price
We started out with numerous pours of Vouvray Petillant ($20) along with Eggs Benedict with Country Ham. Good flavor to the ham, sauce was good but as normal the damm English Muffin had hard edges to it. This always irritates me with Eggs Benedict. Makes it difficult to cut. I know it's a lot of work for the kitchen to cut the edges but I really wish restaurants would do this. But a nice start to the afternoon.
Second course is a Fresh Diver Scallop with corn and Beurre Blanc sauce. Perfectly cooked scallop, sweet and the corn was awesome. Fresh, small kernels cut off the cob. This was my favorite of the day. A 2016 Chenin Blanc, d'Ailleurs ($19) was the pairing. Good selection for this dish. Wine was crisp without being too acidic. Nice, smooth mouthfeel. Could have another serving of this dish and wine.
Third course is a Arugula Salad with goat cheese, beets, oranges and a Dijon Vinaigrette. The Arugula got pushed to the side but the rest of it was very good. Beets were baby and sweet. One of my favorite Francois Chidaine wines were poured. A 2017 Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc. ($14) This is how a Sau Blanc should taste. Not like cat pee that the New Zealand Sau Blancs seem to favor.
Fourth course is a Braised Short Rib with sliced fennel, potato squares, baby turnips and whole grain mustard sauce. Meat was tender and moist. Sauce was dynamite. I am not a fennel fan but this was braised and had a nice sweet taste to it. Baby turnips were delicate. Another very good dish. Paired with a 2017 Touraine, Rouge. ($14) A Blend of Cabernet Franc, Cot (Malbec) and Pinot d'Aunis. Another good pairing.
Dessert was a Rose Poached Pear with caramel sauce, pistachios and whipped cream. A nice light, refreshing dessert to end the meal.
A very nice Sunday brunch at a reasonable price. Wish Richard would do more of these through the year.
Williams Selyem Wine Tasting
Saturday. November 14, 2018
Small group in a private home for a Williams Seylem wine tasting. It was bring any Williams Selyem wine you want. No other theme
We had a large array of appetizers, I brought fresh Poke and the hosts made salmon for dinner and one guest brought dessert for Cream Pan. I had never heard of this place before. She shopped at the main store in Tustin and had such a large array of tortes, cheesecakes, etc., All individually wrapped and all extremely good. I went on line and Cream Pan has outlets in numerous Japanese stores. I definitely will be checking this out.
I did leave about 9:30 PM but apparently it was still going after midnight. Stan then brought out a bottle of 1997 Chateau St Jean, Cinq Cepages - not a theme but I did get to taste it on Sunday and it was outstanding.
All the wines were what you would expect from Williams Selyem except for a Rocholi Vineyard. Something was very amiss with this bottle. The most favored was the Precious Mountain Vineyard.
2008 Russian River Valley, Litton Estate Vineyards
2009 Russian River Valley, Rocholi Riverblock Vineyard
2009 Sonoma Coast, Hirsch Vineyard
2009 Sonoma Coast, Precious Mountain Vineyard
2009 Russian River Valley, Westside Road Neighbors
2010 Russian River Valley, Westside Road Neighbors
2010 Russian River Valley
2011 Russian River Valley, Block 10 - Mass Selection Estate Vineyard
2013 Russian River Valley, Estate Vineyard
2014 Anderson Valley, Ferrington Vineyard
2016 Sonoma Coast, Terra de Promissio Vineyard
Small group in a private home for a Williams Seylem wine tasting. It was bring any Williams Selyem wine you want. No other theme
We had a large array of appetizers, I brought fresh Poke and the hosts made salmon for dinner and one guest brought dessert for Cream Pan. I had never heard of this place before. She shopped at the main store in Tustin and had such a large array of tortes, cheesecakes, etc., All individually wrapped and all extremely good. I went on line and Cream Pan has outlets in numerous Japanese stores. I definitely will be checking this out.
I did leave about 9:30 PM but apparently it was still going after midnight. Stan then brought out a bottle of 1997 Chateau St Jean, Cinq Cepages - not a theme but I did get to taste it on Sunday and it was outstanding.
All the wines were what you would expect from Williams Selyem except for a Rocholi Vineyard. Something was very amiss with this bottle. The most favored was the Precious Mountain Vineyard.
2008 Russian River Valley, Litton Estate Vineyards
2009 Russian River Valley, Rocholi Riverblock Vineyard
2009 Sonoma Coast, Hirsch Vineyard
2009 Sonoma Coast, Precious Mountain Vineyard
2009 Russian River Valley, Westside Road Neighbors
2010 Russian River Valley, Westside Road Neighbors
2010 Russian River Valley
2011 Russian River Valley, Block 10 - Mass Selection Estate Vineyard
2013 Russian River Valley, Estate Vineyard
2014 Anderson Valley, Ferrington Vineyard
2016 Sonoma Coast, Terra de Promissio Vineyard
Friday, November 16, 2018
ZD Wines at the Hyatt Regency
Thursday, November 16, 2018
Eight of us tonight for dinner. I have not been to the Watertable restaurant at Hyatt in well over a year for a wine dinner. www.watertable@hyatt.com. Last dinner was such a disappointment I really did not want to go back. But the menu tonight looked good and I was not that familiar with ZD Wines that I thought I should try it. www.ZDwines.com.
Dinner and reception was held outside on the patio. Evening was a bit cool but very nice. They did have the overhead heaters for those who needed it. The appetizers were set up outside also. A two sided small bar table. At first they had two people opening and pouring the sparkling wine. But they were impeding the flow of people accessing the food. Finally someone got smart and had them move away from the line of people. But the line formed on both sides of the table and both sides had different items on it. This was not the best idea someone had. Two lines of people meeting in the middle and no one wanted to give. This was not a common sense approach to the situation. A start at one side, then around to the other and end up by the table where the sparking wines was would have been a much better solution.
But the goodies were very good, numerous cheeses, olive tapenade, nuts etc. This could have been my full meal. A 50th Anniversary Sparkling Cuvee ($75) was paired and to me it was probably the best wine of the night. Big negative was trying to get a second pour. Finally the wine rep came around and brought new glasses and poured us another glass. The waiters had said they were out of sparkling and took the original glasses off the table. To expect one glass per person was a bit short sighted on whom ever made that decision.
A plate of Grilled Tiger Prawns, gooseberry sauce, poached pear, chicories (greens) and red pepper tuile was our first course. Prawns were very good. I did like the sauce, The wine selected was a 2016 California Chardonnay ($42). Way too oaky for me. Took one sip and set the glass aside. Others at the table loved it. To each their own. I like fruit in my wine not wood.
Second course is a Roasted Pork Tenderloin, cherry demi sauce, morel mushrooms, charred onion and romanesco. Pork had good flavor but even though it was pink on the inside it was dry to me. Also needed a very tiny sprinkle of salt. The morels were good but cold. All the food was on the cool side. By time it comes from the kitchen and eating outside in fall weather at the beach something is lost. Paired with a 2016 Founders Reserve, Carneros, Pinot Noir ($82). I was really disappointed with this wine. It had a "candy" taste to it, very light fruit and to me no body. I couldn't get much on the front, mid or back palate. If they were trying to make a Pinot in the style of Burgundy they missed their mark. Pinot is my favorite varietal so it's not like I haven't tasted a lot before. Again others at the table thought it was great.
Main dish was a Pan Seared Duck Breast, fig port wine reduction, celery root puree, chorizo, crisp brussels sprout leaves. I was looking forward to this dish. The skin and fat underneath had not been rendered down enough and you could actually taste and see a layer of non rendered fat. Such a turnoff. I had one bite and had them pack it up to go. Delius and The Playground has such superior duck breast. Even Arte Cafe has better., A 2014 Reserve, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon ($230) was the wine selection. This wine was OK but for the price not too sure. I have had much better cabs at one sixth of the price of this one. It was NOT big and lush like Cabs usually are. I could get no tannins on it and at being only a 2014 there should have been much more structure to it. Tannis soften with age but these had already shivelred up and gone home. Fruit should have popped but is stayed hidden.
Dessert is a Honey and Thyme Pear Crumble, cranberry sauce, vanilla gelato, pear chip and toasted sliced almonds. This was a very pretty presentation and it was good Paired with a Rosa Lee Sweet Whim ($60). This wine is made from Petite Syrah, Petit Verdot, Zinfandel, Merlot and Chardonnay. Also wines from 2012 to 2015 were in this 2016 release. Finished in Cognac barrels. Not overly sweet but a rich wine. This and the sparkling were the highlights for me.
For the prices of these wines I had expected more. Apparently they just were not my style of wines. Food was better than the last time I was at the Watertable. Some flaws but on the whole a nice dinner.
Eight of us tonight for dinner. I have not been to the Watertable restaurant at Hyatt in well over a year for a wine dinner. www.watertable@hyatt.com. Last dinner was such a disappointment I really did not want to go back. But the menu tonight looked good and I was not that familiar with ZD Wines that I thought I should try it. www.ZDwines.com.
Dinner and reception was held outside on the patio. Evening was a bit cool but very nice. They did have the overhead heaters for those who needed it. The appetizers were set up outside also. A two sided small bar table. At first they had two people opening and pouring the sparkling wine. But they were impeding the flow of people accessing the food. Finally someone got smart and had them move away from the line of people. But the line formed on both sides of the table and both sides had different items on it. This was not the best idea someone had. Two lines of people meeting in the middle and no one wanted to give. This was not a common sense approach to the situation. A start at one side, then around to the other and end up by the table where the sparking wines was would have been a much better solution.
But the goodies were very good, numerous cheeses, olive tapenade, nuts etc. This could have been my full meal. A 50th Anniversary Sparkling Cuvee ($75) was paired and to me it was probably the best wine of the night. Big negative was trying to get a second pour. Finally the wine rep came around and brought new glasses and poured us another glass. The waiters had said they were out of sparkling and took the original glasses off the table. To expect one glass per person was a bit short sighted on whom ever made that decision.
A plate of Grilled Tiger Prawns, gooseberry sauce, poached pear, chicories (greens) and red pepper tuile was our first course. Prawns were very good. I did like the sauce, The wine selected was a 2016 California Chardonnay ($42). Way too oaky for me. Took one sip and set the glass aside. Others at the table loved it. To each their own. I like fruit in my wine not wood.
Second course is a Roasted Pork Tenderloin, cherry demi sauce, morel mushrooms, charred onion and romanesco. Pork had good flavor but even though it was pink on the inside it was dry to me. Also needed a very tiny sprinkle of salt. The morels were good but cold. All the food was on the cool side. By time it comes from the kitchen and eating outside in fall weather at the beach something is lost. Paired with a 2016 Founders Reserve, Carneros, Pinot Noir ($82). I was really disappointed with this wine. It had a "candy" taste to it, very light fruit and to me no body. I couldn't get much on the front, mid or back palate. If they were trying to make a Pinot in the style of Burgundy they missed their mark. Pinot is my favorite varietal so it's not like I haven't tasted a lot before. Again others at the table thought it was great.
Main dish was a Pan Seared Duck Breast, fig port wine reduction, celery root puree, chorizo, crisp brussels sprout leaves. I was looking forward to this dish. The skin and fat underneath had not been rendered down enough and you could actually taste and see a layer of non rendered fat. Such a turnoff. I had one bite and had them pack it up to go. Delius and The Playground has such superior duck breast. Even Arte Cafe has better., A 2014 Reserve, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon ($230) was the wine selection. This wine was OK but for the price not too sure. I have had much better cabs at one sixth of the price of this one. It was NOT big and lush like Cabs usually are. I could get no tannins on it and at being only a 2014 there should have been much more structure to it. Tannis soften with age but these had already shivelred up and gone home. Fruit should have popped but is stayed hidden.
Dessert is a Honey and Thyme Pear Crumble, cranberry sauce, vanilla gelato, pear chip and toasted sliced almonds. This was a very pretty presentation and it was good Paired with a Rosa Lee Sweet Whim ($60). This wine is made from Petite Syrah, Petit Verdot, Zinfandel, Merlot and Chardonnay. Also wines from 2012 to 2015 were in this 2016 release. Finished in Cognac barrels. Not overly sweet but a rich wine. This and the sparkling were the highlights for me.
For the prices of these wines I had expected more. Apparently they just were not my style of wines. Food was better than the last time I was at the Watertable. Some flaws but on the whole a nice dinner.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Valentino's and White Truffles
Wednesday, November 15, 2018
Long drive to Santa Monica, freeway was a crawl. Did get to Valentino's just a couple of minutes late. www.valentinosantamonica.com. Joined Stan and Karen for dinner. This place has been on my bucket list forever. Very pricey but well worth it.
Stan had ordered a 1990 Vietti Barolo off the wine list. Excellent choice. Since there was a bottle ordered from the restaurants wine list they did not charge us corkage for the other two bottles we brought. Corkage is $50 each. Plus Stan being a regular helps also. I brought a 2010 Kosta Browne, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir and Stan & Karen contributed a 2008 Pol Roger, Blanc de Blanc Champagne. All the wines found their place with the food dishes.
Started out with a plate of house made Parmesan Crisps. I make these at home but Valentino's obviously used a much better grade of Parm than I do. So thin and delicate.
Next was a Uovo Tartufo. House made sheet pasta wrapped around a very soft boiled egg with a delicate cream sauce and white truffles shaved over the top. Rich and decadent. The yolk just oozed out of the pasta when cut.
Then came the Risotto with white truffles. Perfectly cooked risotto, creamy and rich
Then onto the Tagliatelle with sauce and shaved white truffles. Excellent dish but we all agreed that the Risotto was the choice for us.
Our first non-truffle dish was an Grilled Octopus with squid ink infused Israeli couscous. Another excellent, rich dish.
Last we had a Mushroom Mousse. This is not on the menu. But they always have it if you know to ask for it. Rich mushroom mousse sitting on a pool of Saffron sauce. Perfect foil for the bread.
Valentino's flies their fresh pasta in every day from Italy. No wonder their prices are high.
All the food had high marks, all were extremely rich and I felt it. I will be having soup for lunch tomorrow to balance myself out.
After all these small plates we opted not to order a main course. No one could bring ourselves to eat anything more.
On the way out I saw a group in a side room. I spotted Bennett that used to work for Wine County and then left to become a distributor. It was his high end wine group getting together. Made a quick stop to say hello. Nice to see him after several years.
Valentino's will be closing after a run of almost 50 years. Should happen in the next 4 to 5 months. But the owner will be opening a new place in Newport Beach next year. New name will be Louie's of Newport. Anxious to try it.
Long drive to Santa Monica, freeway was a crawl. Did get to Valentino's just a couple of minutes late. www.valentinosantamonica.com. Joined Stan and Karen for dinner. This place has been on my bucket list forever. Very pricey but well worth it.
Stan had ordered a 1990 Vietti Barolo off the wine list. Excellent choice. Since there was a bottle ordered from the restaurants wine list they did not charge us corkage for the other two bottles we brought. Corkage is $50 each. Plus Stan being a regular helps also. I brought a 2010 Kosta Browne, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir and Stan & Karen contributed a 2008 Pol Roger, Blanc de Blanc Champagne. All the wines found their place with the food dishes.
Started out with a plate of house made Parmesan Crisps. I make these at home but Valentino's obviously used a much better grade of Parm than I do. So thin and delicate.
Next was a Uovo Tartufo. House made sheet pasta wrapped around a very soft boiled egg with a delicate cream sauce and white truffles shaved over the top. Rich and decadent. The yolk just oozed out of the pasta when cut.
Then came the Risotto with white truffles. Perfectly cooked risotto, creamy and rich
Then onto the Tagliatelle with sauce and shaved white truffles. Excellent dish but we all agreed that the Risotto was the choice for us.
Our first non-truffle dish was an Grilled Octopus with squid ink infused Israeli couscous. Another excellent, rich dish.
Last we had a Mushroom Mousse. This is not on the menu. But they always have it if you know to ask for it. Rich mushroom mousse sitting on a pool of Saffron sauce. Perfect foil for the bread.
Valentino's flies their fresh pasta in every day from Italy. No wonder their prices are high.
All the food had high marks, all were extremely rich and I felt it. I will be having soup for lunch tomorrow to balance myself out.
After all these small plates we opted not to order a main course. No one could bring ourselves to eat anything more.
On the way out I saw a group in a side room. I spotted Bennett that used to work for Wine County and then left to become a distributor. It was his high end wine group getting together. Made a quick stop to say hello. Nice to see him after several years.
Valentino's will be closing after a run of almost 50 years. Should happen in the next 4 to 5 months. But the owner will be opening a new place in Newport Beach next year. New name will be Louie's of Newport. Anxious to try it.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
India Grill Recon
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Time to help select the menu for Margie's January dinner at the India Grill. www.ocindiuagrill.com. We have been here numerous times but it is always good to find something on the menu that we have not had before. Tries several new items along with a few old ones. We will see what shows up on the January dinner menu.
But no dinner is without wine. Nice selection tonight.
2016 Stolpman, Ballard Canyon, Rose
2010 Williams Selyem , Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir
2015 Schlossberg, Alsace Grand Cru, Riesling
2014 Longoria, Santa Ynez, Grenache
NV Nicolas Feuillatte, Brut Reserve, Champagne
All the wines were very good and all went well with the food dishes we selected.
Time to help select the menu for Margie's January dinner at the India Grill. www.ocindiuagrill.com. We have been here numerous times but it is always good to find something on the menu that we have not had before. Tries several new items along with a few old ones. We will see what shows up on the January dinner menu.
But no dinner is without wine. Nice selection tonight.
2016 Stolpman, Ballard Canyon, Rose
2010 Williams Selyem , Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir
2015 Schlossberg, Alsace Grand Cru, Riesling
2014 Longoria, Santa Ynez, Grenache
NV Nicolas Feuillatte, Brut Reserve, Champagne
All the wines were very good and all went well with the food dishes we selected.
Monday, November 12, 2018
Monthly Wine Dinner at Mitsuyoshi
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Margie's selection for her monthly wine dinner for November is Mitsuyoshi Japanese Restaurant. This is the third time we have been here. www.mitsuyoshi-restaurant.com. After last years issue with the group being separated into 5 tables she opted to limit the attendees and have our dinner is a small private room.
A large varied menu but again I opted for the Bento box. It has a bit of everything and I do like variety. This is a large dinner so leftovers did go home with me. It seemed like everyone had a different dish they ordered. No complaints from anyone on the food. Everyone seemed to be happy with their selections.
Big variety of wines including at least six bubblies. A few of the wines I thought did not blend themselves to Japanese food but to each their own. I only tasted about half of what was brought.
A few of the standouts were the Williams Selyem, Dusky Goose and the Clos Pepe. But then I am partial to Pinots.
2015 Arbor Brook, OR, Vintners Select, Pinot Noir
2016 Ried Muhberg, Austria, Gruner Veltliner
NV Mio Sparkling Sake
2013 Dusky Goose, OR, Pinot Noir
2015 Dragonette, Santa Barbara, Sauvignon Blanc
NV Poema, Spain, Cava
NV Agrapart 7 Cru
2016 Hans Wirschimp, Silvaner
2014 Gainey, Chardonnay
2010 Wild Coyote, Paso Robles, Zin Port
NV Gloria Ferrer, Sonoma, Brut
NV Roederer,. Brut
2005 Williams Seylem, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir
2014 Clos Pepe, Sta Rita Hills, Sparkling Pinot Noir
2012 Clos Pepe, Sta Rita Hills, Pinot Noir
So this is the start of a very busy week for me. 4 dinners, 1 wine tasting, 1 Francois Chidaine brunch and a memorial service. Then the holidays kick in . I will be busy posting for the next week or so
Margie's selection for her monthly wine dinner for November is Mitsuyoshi Japanese Restaurant. This is the third time we have been here. www.mitsuyoshi-restaurant.com. After last years issue with the group being separated into 5 tables she opted to limit the attendees and have our dinner is a small private room.
A large varied menu but again I opted for the Bento box. It has a bit of everything and I do like variety. This is a large dinner so leftovers did go home with me. It seemed like everyone had a different dish they ordered. No complaints from anyone on the food. Everyone seemed to be happy with their selections.
Big variety of wines including at least six bubblies. A few of the wines I thought did not blend themselves to Japanese food but to each their own. I only tasted about half of what was brought.
A few of the standouts were the Williams Selyem, Dusky Goose and the Clos Pepe. But then I am partial to Pinots.
2015 Arbor Brook, OR, Vintners Select, Pinot Noir
2016 Ried Muhberg, Austria, Gruner Veltliner
NV Mio Sparkling Sake
2013 Dusky Goose, OR, Pinot Noir
2015 Dragonette, Santa Barbara, Sauvignon Blanc
NV Poema, Spain, Cava
NV Agrapart 7 Cru
2016 Hans Wirschimp, Silvaner
2014 Gainey, Chardonnay
2010 Wild Coyote, Paso Robles, Zin Port
NV Gloria Ferrer, Sonoma, Brut
NV Roederer,. Brut
2005 Williams Seylem, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir
2014 Clos Pepe, Sta Rita Hills, Sparkling Pinot Noir
2012 Clos Pepe, Sta Rita Hills, Pinot Noir
So this is the start of a very busy week for me. 4 dinners, 1 wine tasting, 1 Francois Chidaine brunch and a memorial service. Then the holidays kick in . I will be busy posting for the next week or so
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)