Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Justin wines out of Paso Robles was the featured wine tonight at Arte Cafe in Cerritos. Not expecting their hi end wines as the dinner is only $49. The restaurant was packed on the inside and a lot of full tables on the outside patio area. I think way to many people. I think that when the winery hosts have to go in and out two different areas to give their spiel it distracts. Food service takes longer, the wines being poured are delayed. Arte had three additional servers tonight but it wasn't enough to have a good flow. And the noise level was deafening.
The kitchen suffered also. The first people who got served were finished with their food before the last people got theirs. It had to be very hectic inside that kitchen tonight.
We started out with Wild Board Spring Rolls. This was the best dish of the evening. Very good flavor, the dough wrapper was soft but now falling apart. No cracking of dough when you bit into them. The staff was poring two different sparklings. I chose the Rose which was a 2017 "Numdrum by the Wagner Family which is Caymus. Pleasant wine, nice light rose flavor, went very well with the spring rolls.
First course is a Cilantro Ginger Halibut. Fish was cooked perfectly but I could not get the taste of the cilantro nor the ginger. I felt that this dish was underseasoned. A new wine by Justin was featured. JNSQ Sauvignon Blanc. Too acidic for me.
Second course is a Lemon caper salmon. Salmon was very soft so it was probably frozen at one time. Again this dish really needed seasoning. Paired with a JNSQ Rose Cru. Way to much "strawberry fields forever" for me.
This JNSQ line form Justin is a lower end line. I think made to appeal more to the masses. The bottles that they were in were extremely heavy decanters. I would venture a guess and say at least half the price of the wine was for the bottle itself. I was not impressed with either wine. But I liked the heavy decanter style bottle. They did give away the emptied bottles to those who wanted them
Main dish was Beef Kabobs. Richard has really been ding well with beef lately but this fell down like the other dishes tonight. Meat had decent flavor but was a bit tough. Potatoes had absolutely no salt at all. Very bland. Paired with a lower end Justin Cabernet Sauvignon. This was was good, not great but good.
Dessert consisted of chocolate ice cream with fresh blueberries. Can't go wrong with ice cream. But by time the main entree plates were taken away and the ice cream was served was way too much time. Quite a few people had left already.
All in all a disappointing dinner and wine selection. I think that having twice as many people in attendance really hampered Arte from having a really good evening. I was told that Richard has hired an event manager. I expect to see some interesting things coming up hopefully for the better but I am not betting on that. When people go for numbers over quality something ends up giving and not always for the best.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Chez Lomita Wine Expo ll 2019
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Big party at private residence. A lot of bodies mingling around. Everything was basically set up in the pool area. Beautiful looks but not much passing room.
A wide array of food. I concentrated on the Ahi sliders as they were closet to the end of tables lined up. These food tables were set up on one long side of the pool. I did not venture down that path as it was less than 2 feet wide. Too close to water for me as I do not know how to swim and when walking I have this tendency to veer off the straight and narrow. I have no idea what was on the food dishes so no comments on that.
The wine table was set in a corner near the back door. Big congestion area. I did not leave that area much at all. To walk to the other side of the pool area there was a huge rug and I looked at that as an obstacle for me. People were tripping over the edges all evening.
A lot of good wine came through that door. Some I got to taste and others disappeared before I got to them. I monitored my intake as I was not eating much and did not want the wine getting to me. I do remember a 1990 Caymus Cab that was excellent. I did leave earlier than most so missed out of some special wines that were brought out by the host from his cellar.
Weather was perfect for an outdoor event. Lot a small tables and chairs lined up. Pool was beautiful with its blue lining. Very festive decorations for a fun and very sober evening.
Big party at private residence. A lot of bodies mingling around. Everything was basically set up in the pool area. Beautiful looks but not much passing room.
A wide array of food. I concentrated on the Ahi sliders as they were closet to the end of tables lined up. These food tables were set up on one long side of the pool. I did not venture down that path as it was less than 2 feet wide. Too close to water for me as I do not know how to swim and when walking I have this tendency to veer off the straight and narrow. I have no idea what was on the food dishes so no comments on that.
The wine table was set in a corner near the back door. Big congestion area. I did not leave that area much at all. To walk to the other side of the pool area there was a huge rug and I looked at that as an obstacle for me. People were tripping over the edges all evening.
A lot of good wine came through that door. Some I got to taste and others disappeared before I got to them. I monitored my intake as I was not eating much and did not want the wine getting to me. I do remember a 1990 Caymus Cab that was excellent. I did leave earlier than most so missed out of some special wines that were brought out by the host from his cellar.
Weather was perfect for an outdoor event. Lot a small tables and chairs lined up. Pool was beautiful with its blue lining. Very festive decorations for a fun and very sober evening.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Adventures in Seafood at The Playground
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
I did this dinner a few months ago at the Playground. and was impressed. I knew the food dishes would be completely different so I signed up again. This is my favorite restaurant for food. Wish I could afford to eat here more often. They have a walk in restaurant but I always book dinners in the 2.0 Room. Holds 18 people and all the dinners are specialized. I have never had a bad dish served to me. Some may not have been my personal preference but the food is always top notch. A new wine steward and I think I like his taste in wine better than the last person. All a matter of personal preference. I am not going to make additional comments about the food or wine. Just a list of 12 courses and 3 desserts. I can add nothing to the descriptions except that it was all extremely good.
www.playgrounddtsa.com.
We started out with a cocktail made with Blinking Owl Gin, Cointreau, Kiwi, Lime and black tea.
Fish head and liver terrine, Tasmanian pepperberry, butter, mustard, lemon and herb salad
Hose made grilled focaccia
Fish eye chips with a crème fraiche (addicting)
Kampachi belly, house made soy, fresh grated wasabi, buckwheat rice
Heirloom tomatoes dressed with sardine garum (fermented fish sauce), lime, offal, XO, crispy shallots, crushed peanuts and mint
Battered John Dory, yogurt tartare sauce
Peaso-garlic grilled mackerel
Rice wine vinegar cucumbers
Twice fried octopus, tikka masala, lime cilantro, puffed rice
Baja Bay scallops, grilled corn, old bay butter, caramelized fennel, lemon
White sea bass, bone sauce, smoked fingerling potatoes
Lemon grilled broccolini, puffed wild rice
Melon sorbet with freeze dried raspberries
Plums and plum custard, hose made granola
Pistachio molten cake, plum whip
Domaine Roger Neveu, Sancerre
Salwey RS, Pinot Blanc
Albert Boxper, Edelzwicker, Reserve, blend of muscat, rielsing, pinot blanc and chasselas
2015 Caimille Giroud, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, Au Cretal
2015 Roda, Rioja
2014 Robert Sinsky Vineyards, Los Carneros, Late Harvets, Pinot Noir
I did this dinner a few months ago at the Playground. and was impressed. I knew the food dishes would be completely different so I signed up again. This is my favorite restaurant for food. Wish I could afford to eat here more often. They have a walk in restaurant but I always book dinners in the 2.0 Room. Holds 18 people and all the dinners are specialized. I have never had a bad dish served to me. Some may not have been my personal preference but the food is always top notch. A new wine steward and I think I like his taste in wine better than the last person. All a matter of personal preference. I am not going to make additional comments about the food or wine. Just a list of 12 courses and 3 desserts. I can add nothing to the descriptions except that it was all extremely good.
www.playgrounddtsa.com.
We started out with a cocktail made with Blinking Owl Gin, Cointreau, Kiwi, Lime and black tea.
Fish head and liver terrine, Tasmanian pepperberry, butter, mustard, lemon and herb salad
Hose made grilled focaccia
Fish eye chips with a crème fraiche (addicting)
Kampachi belly, house made soy, fresh grated wasabi, buckwheat rice
Heirloom tomatoes dressed with sardine garum (fermented fish sauce), lime, offal, XO, crispy shallots, crushed peanuts and mint
Battered John Dory, yogurt tartare sauce
Peaso-garlic grilled mackerel
Rice wine vinegar cucumbers
Twice fried octopus, tikka masala, lime cilantro, puffed rice
Baja Bay scallops, grilled corn, old bay butter, caramelized fennel, lemon
White sea bass, bone sauce, smoked fingerling potatoes
Lemon grilled broccolini, puffed wild rice
Melon sorbet with freeze dried raspberries
Plums and plum custard, hose made granola
Pistachio molten cake, plum whip
Domaine Roger Neveu, Sancerre
Salwey RS, Pinot Blanc
Albert Boxper, Edelzwicker, Reserve, blend of muscat, rielsing, pinot blanc and chasselas
2015 Caimille Giroud, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, Au Cretal
2015 Roda, Rioja
2014 Robert Sinsky Vineyards, Los Carneros, Late Harvets, Pinot Noir
Miura & Clos Pissarra Wine Dinner at Taste
Monday, August 19, 2019
Had not to Taste in quite awhile. I forgot how noisy this place is. Hard surfaces and no acoustics at all.www.taste-wbk.com, But was interested in this winery so I ventured again. Wine maker / owner Emmanuel Kemiji was in attendance and I found him to be a very interesting speaker
We started out with a Corn "Risotto", sweet yellow corn, parmesan cheese and mascarpone. No rice in this dish but the flavors were very good. Corn was extra sweet and soft and the cheeses made a delicious sauce. The wine with this dish is a 2016 Miura, Clos Pissarra, Grenache Blanc, Llum. Perfect pairing.
Second course is Pan seared scallops with a creamy tomato sauce, chorizo oil , wilted garlicky chard. Scallops are cooked perfectly. Lots of flavors going on. Paired with a 2017 Miura, McIntyre Ranch, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir. Another excellent pairing. I liked this wine well enough to buy a couple of bottles.
Up next is a Lamb Bolognese, Cavatella pasta and house made ricotta and herbs. Least favorite dish of the evening. I am not a fan of cavatelli pasta. It always has a "gummy" taste to me. I did not think there was sufficient Bolognese sauce on the pasta. Flavors were OK buy nothing knocked my socks off. A 2013 Clos Pissarra, Monsant, Aristan was the wine. A blend of 70% syrah and 30% Grenache. A good wine that paired well with the food.
4th course is a Plum Barbecue glazed pork loin with smoked grits and grilled okra. Sauce was great, pork was dry. Grits were great along with the okra. I did not finish this dish. I asked for it to boxed up to take home and it never returned to my table. Paired with a 2010 Miura, Clos Pissarra, Priorat, Clos d'Oc. Blend of 75 % cabernet sauvignon and 25% Grenache. Another good pairing. Tonight's pairings are spot on.
Dessert is an Orange and Spice cake with roasted golden plums, pistachios and white chocolate ice cream., Interesting flavors in the cake but the highlight is the ice cream. Delicious. The wine is a 2012 Miura, Clos Pissarra, Priorat, El Nord. Blend of Grenache and carignane. Grapes come from 70 to 80 year old vines.
I like the food at Taste and the wine pairings are usually good but the noise factor is such a big turn off. To have to yell at the person sitting next to you to be heard is not my thing. This effects how often I will dine here.
Had not to Taste in quite awhile. I forgot how noisy this place is. Hard surfaces and no acoustics at all.www.taste-wbk.com, But was interested in this winery so I ventured again. Wine maker / owner Emmanuel Kemiji was in attendance and I found him to be a very interesting speaker
We started out with a Corn "Risotto", sweet yellow corn, parmesan cheese and mascarpone. No rice in this dish but the flavors were very good. Corn was extra sweet and soft and the cheeses made a delicious sauce. The wine with this dish is a 2016 Miura, Clos Pissarra, Grenache Blanc, Llum. Perfect pairing.
Second course is Pan seared scallops with a creamy tomato sauce, chorizo oil , wilted garlicky chard. Scallops are cooked perfectly. Lots of flavors going on. Paired with a 2017 Miura, McIntyre Ranch, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir. Another excellent pairing. I liked this wine well enough to buy a couple of bottles.
Up next is a Lamb Bolognese, Cavatella pasta and house made ricotta and herbs. Least favorite dish of the evening. I am not a fan of cavatelli pasta. It always has a "gummy" taste to me. I did not think there was sufficient Bolognese sauce on the pasta. Flavors were OK buy nothing knocked my socks off. A 2013 Clos Pissarra, Monsant, Aristan was the wine. A blend of 70% syrah and 30% Grenache. A good wine that paired well with the food.
4th course is a Plum Barbecue glazed pork loin with smoked grits and grilled okra. Sauce was great, pork was dry. Grits were great along with the okra. I did not finish this dish. I asked for it to boxed up to take home and it never returned to my table. Paired with a 2010 Miura, Clos Pissarra, Priorat, Clos d'Oc. Blend of 75 % cabernet sauvignon and 25% Grenache. Another good pairing. Tonight's pairings are spot on.
Dessert is an Orange and Spice cake with roasted golden plums, pistachios and white chocolate ice cream., Interesting flavors in the cake but the highlight is the ice cream. Delicious. The wine is a 2012 Miura, Clos Pissarra, Priorat, El Nord. Blend of Grenache and carignane. Grapes come from 70 to 80 year old vines.
I like the food at Taste and the wine pairings are usually good but the noise factor is such a big turn off. To have to yell at the person sitting next to you to be heard is not my thing. This effects how often I will dine here.
Monday, August 12, 2019
Mama's Comfort Food
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Margie's pick for this months wine dinner is Mama's Comfort Food. www.mamason39.com. We went to the restaurant in Los Alamitos. I had been there once before and was not impressed. Almost everything on the menu is fried or sauced. A couple of fresh seafood dishes but in a place like this I would be suspect on how they handled the fish.
That being said when I first walked in there were some of the dinner party already there. One person of our dinner party was cleaning the table and the chairs. First it shouldn't have had to be cleaned, secondly someone on the staff had to see her cleaning. They should have come over and finished it themselves. Part way through our dinner I saw a staff person cleaning a table with diners seated at it, when finished she threw the cleaning cloth on a table with clean items.
Needless to say I will never go back.
I had ordered the ball cut sirloin steak. I did not eat it tonight. Took it home and had it the next day It was good, not great but good. Nice flavor, very tender and cooked to rare the way I requested. Came with a medley of vegetables but way too many pieces of green bell pepper. Not my thing. I did make a mistake when I ordered the parmesan french fries in lieu of the mashed potatoes. The serving was large and I ate about one fifth of them. If I had mashed I could have taken them home. The fries had good flavor. Dinner came with a choice of soup or salad.I opted for the soup which was a tomato bisque and was very good. But it was a bowl not a cup and that was my dinner.
The servings at Mama's are huge. I found the amount of food obscene. Most of the diners I saw were in the age group of late 20's to 50's. This is a place for people who like fried and huge. No fine dining here.
Small group tonight, 8 of us including the cleaning lady. A mixed bag of wines since there really was no theme on food so it was pot luck on wine selection. I tasted all but the chardonnay. They were all good. Nothing spectacular but good solid wines.
2015 Stolpman, Ballard Canyon,"Carbonic" Sagiovese
NV Maysara, Oregon, Sparkling Pinot Noir Rose
2015 Turley, Paso Robles, Ubberoth Vineyards, Zinfande'
2017 Cowhorn Spiral 36, Oregon, White Table Wine
2017 D'Alfonso-Curran, Santa Barbara County, Vermentino
2014 Addendum, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon
2017 Big Table Farm, Williamette Valley, The Wild Bee Chardonnay
NV 14 Hands, Columbia Valley, Brut Rose Sparkling
2017 Runcaris, Italy, Soave
2017 Terrasse du Sud de France
Margie's pick for this months wine dinner is Mama's Comfort Food. www.mamason39.com. We went to the restaurant in Los Alamitos. I had been there once before and was not impressed. Almost everything on the menu is fried or sauced. A couple of fresh seafood dishes but in a place like this I would be suspect on how they handled the fish.
That being said when I first walked in there were some of the dinner party already there. One person of our dinner party was cleaning the table and the chairs. First it shouldn't have had to be cleaned, secondly someone on the staff had to see her cleaning. They should have come over and finished it themselves. Part way through our dinner I saw a staff person cleaning a table with diners seated at it, when finished she threw the cleaning cloth on a table with clean items.
Needless to say I will never go back.
I had ordered the ball cut sirloin steak. I did not eat it tonight. Took it home and had it the next day It was good, not great but good. Nice flavor, very tender and cooked to rare the way I requested. Came with a medley of vegetables but way too many pieces of green bell pepper. Not my thing. I did make a mistake when I ordered the parmesan french fries in lieu of the mashed potatoes. The serving was large and I ate about one fifth of them. If I had mashed I could have taken them home. The fries had good flavor. Dinner came with a choice of soup or salad.I opted for the soup which was a tomato bisque and was very good. But it was a bowl not a cup and that was my dinner.
The servings at Mama's are huge. I found the amount of food obscene. Most of the diners I saw were in the age group of late 20's to 50's. This is a place for people who like fried and huge. No fine dining here.
Small group tonight, 8 of us including the cleaning lady. A mixed bag of wines since there really was no theme on food so it was pot luck on wine selection. I tasted all but the chardonnay. They were all good. Nothing spectacular but good solid wines.
2015 Stolpman, Ballard Canyon,"Carbonic" Sagiovese
NV Maysara, Oregon, Sparkling Pinot Noir Rose
2015 Turley, Paso Robles, Ubberoth Vineyards, Zinfande'
2017 Cowhorn Spiral 36, Oregon, White Table Wine
2017 D'Alfonso-Curran, Santa Barbara County, Vermentino
2014 Addendum, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon
2017 Big Table Farm, Williamette Valley, The Wild Bee Chardonnay
NV 14 Hands, Columbia Valley, Brut Rose Sparkling
2017 Runcaris, Italy, Soave
2017 Terrasse du Sud de France
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Charcoal - A Love Affair Dinner at The Playground
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
A new concept for dinner at the Playground. www.playgrounddtsa.com. Everything done with charcoal, either grilled, smoked or infused. Jason was inspired by a restaurant in Spain that does this concept. Turned out to be a smashing hit among the diners tonight. 13 courses and 2 desserts
Started out with a cocktail made from bourbon, black tea, lemon and ginger. Exceptionally good.
Then on to a charcoal flat bread brushed with smoked butter. Good flavor but a bit hard on the crusty bottom.. That is what happens to bread on a grill.
Grilled eggplant dip with pom molasses, pine nuts, mint, aleppo pepper and urfa pepper. I am not an eggplant fan but this particular dish was outstanding. Much better than the Baba Ganouj I have had in restaurants. I spread it on the flatbread. A Domaine de la Taille aux Loups."Triple Zero", Cremant de Loire Rose was the wine that accompanied these dishes. Very light. Made from the Gamay grape.
A plate of albacore sashimi with charcoal oil dressing, buckwheat, wasabi and arugula was next. the albacore was perfect, a slightly bold flavor but not overly. The buckwheat really added a nice component.The dressing was also exceptional
Then grilled asparagus with buttermilk gooseberry seed dressing, which was the bomb, and bubu which is a spice. Went back for seconds on this one.
Grilled octopus. Started out raw, not boiled ahead of time, with roasted pepper harissa, a bit of a bite to it but damm good, olive oil and lemon. Octopus was slightly "al dente". A bit of a chew but not much. Flavors were spot on.
Wine served with these 3 dishes was a 2014 Castell d'Encus, "Ekam", Albarino/Riesling bland, Catalan Pyrenees, Spain. I wasn't overly taken with this wine. Not sure if it was the blend or ?
Then onto double grilled corn cut off the cob with almond miso butter.lime and togarashi pepper. This dish was outstanding. I finished the bowl. I have never had corn taste this good. Grilled with the husks on then grilled without the husks.
A plate of Milliken Farms Japanese sweet potatoes with scallion and chile garlic crack. Japanese sweet potatoes are more white in color and have a completely different taste than our American sweet potatoes have. Another vert tasty dish.
A piece of grilled white sea bass with smoked fish beurre monte. Beurre Monte is is just melted butter with a very small amount of water added to it. Fish was succulent and tender,Skin was nice and crispy. The skin was my favorite part of the dish.
A 2016 Chateau Bouscaut, Sauvignon/Semillon blend, Graves, France. Wine paired very well with the last 3 dishes.
Mottainai Lamb ribs was next. They even had the authenticity stated on a certificate. Beautiful flavor. Cooked perfectly. A bowl of smoked Aaron Choi tomatoes accompanied the lamb. The tomatoes are covered with herbs then smoked so the herb flavor infuses the tomato. I even ate on of the yellow tomatoes. I am not a raw tomato fan. But these were very good in you are into tomatoes. A 2016 Clos Bellane, Chateauneauf-du-pape, Rhone, France was the wine selection, A decent wine but I was not enamored with it.
We had two plates of A5 Wagu beef served that were not on the original working menu. One was the Rib cap. Both plates of meat were very good examples of A5 wagu. Top of the line. Runs about $300 a pound.
Desserts were a Cherrywood smoked milked ice cream. Ice cream had no eggs in it but did have milk and cream. They took a large hunk of fire red cherrywood and with a tong put it into the mixture for a bit of time and infused the liquid with that smoke flavor. Then into the ice cream maker. Served in a metal bowl to keep it solid and poured freshly juiced red beets over it. Beets are naturally sweet and the combination was a huge success. Also a Charcoal cream rice pudding. not you gramma's rice pudding, with a flat set budino, pecan wood smoked caramel and grilled pecans, So light and so decadent.
Last wine of the day was a 2011 Anselmi, "I Capitelli, Veneto, Italy. Made from the Garganega grape. A very light finish to the evening.
Another outstanding dinner at the Playground. They really out do themselves with the food. I will be doing another seafood dinner in a few weeks and a "Road Trip" Italy next month. The set up of the restaurant and how they serve is not for everyone but it is perfect for me and the food is the best I have had.
A new concept for dinner at the Playground. www.playgrounddtsa.com. Everything done with charcoal, either grilled, smoked or infused. Jason was inspired by a restaurant in Spain that does this concept. Turned out to be a smashing hit among the diners tonight. 13 courses and 2 desserts
Started out with a cocktail made from bourbon, black tea, lemon and ginger. Exceptionally good.
Then on to a charcoal flat bread brushed with smoked butter. Good flavor but a bit hard on the crusty bottom.. That is what happens to bread on a grill.
Grilled eggplant dip with pom molasses, pine nuts, mint, aleppo pepper and urfa pepper. I am not an eggplant fan but this particular dish was outstanding. Much better than the Baba Ganouj I have had in restaurants. I spread it on the flatbread. A Domaine de la Taille aux Loups."Triple Zero", Cremant de Loire Rose was the wine that accompanied these dishes. Very light. Made from the Gamay grape.
A plate of albacore sashimi with charcoal oil dressing, buckwheat, wasabi and arugula was next. the albacore was perfect, a slightly bold flavor but not overly. The buckwheat really added a nice component.The dressing was also exceptional
Then grilled asparagus with buttermilk gooseberry seed dressing, which was the bomb, and bubu which is a spice. Went back for seconds on this one.
Grilled octopus. Started out raw, not boiled ahead of time, with roasted pepper harissa, a bit of a bite to it but damm good, olive oil and lemon. Octopus was slightly "al dente". A bit of a chew but not much. Flavors were spot on.
Wine served with these 3 dishes was a 2014 Castell d'Encus, "Ekam", Albarino/Riesling bland, Catalan Pyrenees, Spain. I wasn't overly taken with this wine. Not sure if it was the blend or ?
Then onto double grilled corn cut off the cob with almond miso butter.lime and togarashi pepper. This dish was outstanding. I finished the bowl. I have never had corn taste this good. Grilled with the husks on then grilled without the husks.
A plate of Milliken Farms Japanese sweet potatoes with scallion and chile garlic crack. Japanese sweet potatoes are more white in color and have a completely different taste than our American sweet potatoes have. Another vert tasty dish.
A piece of grilled white sea bass with smoked fish beurre monte. Beurre Monte is is just melted butter with a very small amount of water added to it. Fish was succulent and tender,Skin was nice and crispy. The skin was my favorite part of the dish.
A 2016 Chateau Bouscaut, Sauvignon/Semillon blend, Graves, France. Wine paired very well with the last 3 dishes.
Mottainai Lamb ribs was next. They even had the authenticity stated on a certificate. Beautiful flavor. Cooked perfectly. A bowl of smoked Aaron Choi tomatoes accompanied the lamb. The tomatoes are covered with herbs then smoked so the herb flavor infuses the tomato. I even ate on of the yellow tomatoes. I am not a raw tomato fan. But these were very good in you are into tomatoes. A 2016 Clos Bellane, Chateauneauf-du-pape, Rhone, France was the wine selection, A decent wine but I was not enamored with it.
We had two plates of A5 Wagu beef served that were not on the original working menu. One was the Rib cap. Both plates of meat were very good examples of A5 wagu. Top of the line. Runs about $300 a pound.
Desserts were a Cherrywood smoked milked ice cream. Ice cream had no eggs in it but did have milk and cream. They took a large hunk of fire red cherrywood and with a tong put it into the mixture for a bit of time and infused the liquid with that smoke flavor. Then into the ice cream maker. Served in a metal bowl to keep it solid and poured freshly juiced red beets over it. Beets are naturally sweet and the combination was a huge success. Also a Charcoal cream rice pudding. not you gramma's rice pudding, with a flat set budino, pecan wood smoked caramel and grilled pecans, So light and so decadent.
Last wine of the day was a 2011 Anselmi, "I Capitelli, Veneto, Italy. Made from the Garganega grape. A very light finish to the evening.
Another outstanding dinner at the Playground. They really out do themselves with the food. I will be doing another seafood dinner in a few weeks and a "Road Trip" Italy next month. The set up of the restaurant and how they serve is not for everyone but it is perfect for me and the food is the best I have had.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)