Groth Wine Dinner at Chianina

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

First time back at Chianina after the disastrous wine dinner in March. www.chianina.com  Happy to report the chef has redeemed himself. There seems to have been numerous changes at the restaurant itself. New floor manager which I like . The person who replaced Jacob was just didn't have it for me. He only hobnobbed with the "elite". Never came around to any of the "lower" tables. Glad he is gone. New manager is Alex and he has a good personality and is very "customer" friendly. He came from a corporate steak house background.  My only issue now and probably the "females" will vilify me for it but it just seemed to me that they were a lot of female servers at the restaurant now. Very professional female waitstaff I have no issue with but when I get the "chatty" ones it drives me up the wall. I am paying good money for a high end dinner and I have to stop every 5 minutes because Chatty Cathy keeps stopping by to see how everything is. Please don't interrupt me when I am eating. If something is wrong I will call you over to let you know. The restaurant isn't that big that I can't see you. We're not at Norms or Dennys.

The winemaker from Groth, Michael Weis was in attendance. He made  a point on a quick check  with us on every glass of wine. Also the pours were really good size. Bigger than what we are used to.

We started out with a Hamachi Crudo, avocado, very thinly sliced cucumber, preserved lemon and crispy shallot. Very good hamachi, fresh, subtle  and the extremely thin sliced cucumber added a nice crunch to the bite.  A 2018 Groth, Sauvignon Blanc was served. A bit to acidic for me and way too citrusy.  Not my style. My dining companions liked it.

Second course is a Chitarra Al Nero Di Sepia,  baby squid, pickled ramp, English peas. The Chitarra (Guitar String) pasta was made with squid ink. Cooked not quite "al dente". But I think that any softer and it would distract from the flavor of the squid ink.. Excellent dish and paired with a 2016 Groth, Hill View Vineyard Chardonnay. A bit too oaky for me but it was fine with the food. I did not finish this wine.

Up next is the Superior Farm lamb loin and belly with chickpea panelli ( similar to polenta, cut in squares and fried), Medjool date, roasted baby carrot. Yes this was a real baby carrot. Not manufactured. It was the shape of a real carrot and had the top still on. Flavor of lamb was excellent.. Paired with a 2014 Groth Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon served from a magnum. Good wine, well balanced. I did not get the herbaceous notes that I normally do with Groth Cabs. 

Main was a Grilled Chianina Striploin steak with spring onion soubise  (bechamel sauce with pureed onions), black trumpet mushroom. asparagus and Bernaise. Steak was tender and had good flavor. A touch of salt would have helped a bit to enhance the flavor. Very good dish.  A 2014 Groth, Oakville, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon was poured. Big, bold loads of dark fruit. Well balanced but a soft touch to it

Dessert was a dish of Harry's Berries, Strawberries with a rhubarb granita. Not sweet but very refreshing after a heavy meal.  They served a glass of Tokay with the dessert.

A good dinner tonight. Hope they keep the trend up.  I did let Michael Dene (owner) know that I enjoyed this dinner. If I can complain to him then I can give the compliments also.