Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Dinner tonight was sold out. Big crowd in spite of the bad weather. Start time was 6:30 but we did not get a first pour of wine until about 6:40 - staff is running around ragged.
Started out with a Spinach salad with sliced almonds, goat cheese, Dijon vinaigrette and Tempura Shrimp. I did devour this salad. The dressing is what really made it. Paired with a 2016 The Snitch chardonnay. $35. Decent wine, bit oaky but not too much. It also had bit of Roussanne in the blend. Gave it a silky mouthfeel. Tasted like ripe pears.
First course is a Blackened Sea Bass with mushroom risotto. Fish was cooked perfectly. The risotto needed a bit more time cooking. Just a tad. A 2017 Saldo, A Zinfandel, $35, with some Petite Syrah and Syrah in it. Very dark in color and lots of dark fruit flavors. Bit of spice. Soft finish. I did not expect it to pair well with the Sea Bass but surprisingly it did.
Up next is a Roasted Cornish Game Hen (half) glazed with warm apple and pear jam. A bread stuffing and wild rice in the hen. Again the rice was a bit al dente. Good flavors. Served with a 2016 Cuttings, Napa, Cabernet Sauvignon. $55. Dark cherry, a bit of cocoa, coffee.
Third course is Prime New York medallions in a peppercorn sauce with mashed potatoes. Excellent flavors, tender, cooked perfectly. Paired with a 2017 Eternally Silenced, Pinot Noir. $50. Grapes were sourced from 5 areas in California. Very good wine. dark fruits, good structure.
Dessert is a Black Forest Cake with a cherry sauce. Good but not outstanding. I found the cake itself was very light.. I prefer denser cakes. A 2017 The Prisoner, $49, (red blend) was the paired wine. I do like this wine. A blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, Syrah and Charbono. Dark cherries, chocolate, fig.
Be interesting to see if Richard throws in another wine dinner during the holidays.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
What Jason Learned in Israel Dinner at the Playground
Tuesday. November 19, 2019
Interesting themed dinner at the Playground tonight. www.playgrounddtsa.com. Jason, owner and chef went to Israel for a wedding. He brought back an array of ideas from that trip. I have been looking forward to this experience tonight. 12 courses and 2 desserts. I was not disappointed.
Our cocktail tonight consisted of Vodka, spiced apple, Suze, (French Bitters) and lemon. Wonderful flavors. The tartness of the lemon with with spices was addicting.
We started out with a trio of "Salatim" (salads).
Shredded carrots with green chile, pickled lemon, amba (mango) and golden raisins. Very slightly sweet with a tiny bite to it.
Shredded beets with tahini and dill. Beets are on the sweet side but this was exceptionally good. Shredding the beets gave it a whole new dimension in texture.
Kohlrabi , radish and green apple, all paper thinned sliced with Israeli sumac and parsley yogurt. Tangy and sweet at the same time.
Two types of fresh house made bread were served. Druze Mountain and pita. Both were some of the best bread I have eaten. These breads were served with two dipping sauces. Hummus with crispy spiced oyster mushrooms, labne (yogurt cheese), dates and pine nuts. And a Tarama made with creme fraiche and smoked cod roe. Both were excellent. I favored the Tarama .
Lentil masbacha made with chick peas and olive oil, green chile, tomatoes, red onion and 7 minute eggs.
Slow baked Hawji ( wild carrot) marinated black cod, harissa yogurt, persimmon, arugula dressed with Sumac. Cod was exceeding tender and the persimmon was very thinly sliced. Perfect dish
Suckling lamb chops, (lamb never had anything but mothers milk) cooked to perfection, red just the way I prefer them and a pom molasses syrup.
Roasted whole cauliflower with cumin tahini, zhoung (cilantro pesto) and almonds Again loaded with flavor.
Roasted whole baby sweet potatoes, served the the skins on. Open them up and eat with the creme fraiche and gray salt. These potatoes are roasted for hours at 200* and them crisped at a 425* temperature.
Braised Wagu beef skirt steak with carrots and green tahini. Beef was moist and succulent.
Desserts were different. A Malbi (which means stew). It was cooked raspberries with peanuts and a cookie crumble. Not overly sweet but definitely heavy. The other was Knafeh made with buffalo mozzarella, pistachios and saffron syrup. More savory than sweet. Both were good but not what I would order in a restaurant. Neither knocked by socks off. But that is my personal preference.
Wines tonight were:
Tyler, Santa Barbara, Rose
2017 Judean Kills, (Kosher) Tzora Vineyard, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc blend
2017 Penville, Enz Vineyard, Lime Kiln Valley AVA, Monterey, Mouvedre
2018 Arnaud Lambert, Samur Champigny, Terres Rouges, Cabernet Franc
2008 Chateau Musar, Lebanon, Gaston Hochar, Red Wine
2014 Robert Sinsky Vineyard, Los Carneros, Late Harvest, Pinot Gris
Interesting themed dinner at the Playground tonight. www.playgrounddtsa.com. Jason, owner and chef went to Israel for a wedding. He brought back an array of ideas from that trip. I have been looking forward to this experience tonight. 12 courses and 2 desserts. I was not disappointed.
Our cocktail tonight consisted of Vodka, spiced apple, Suze, (French Bitters) and lemon. Wonderful flavors. The tartness of the lemon with with spices was addicting.
We started out with a trio of "Salatim" (salads).
Shredded carrots with green chile, pickled lemon, amba (mango) and golden raisins. Very slightly sweet with a tiny bite to it.
Shredded beets with tahini and dill. Beets are on the sweet side but this was exceptionally good. Shredding the beets gave it a whole new dimension in texture.
Kohlrabi , radish and green apple, all paper thinned sliced with Israeli sumac and parsley yogurt. Tangy and sweet at the same time.
Two types of fresh house made bread were served. Druze Mountain and pita. Both were some of the best bread I have eaten. These breads were served with two dipping sauces. Hummus with crispy spiced oyster mushrooms, labne (yogurt cheese), dates and pine nuts. And a Tarama made with creme fraiche and smoked cod roe. Both were excellent. I favored the Tarama .
Lentil masbacha made with chick peas and olive oil, green chile, tomatoes, red onion and 7 minute eggs.
Slow baked Hawji ( wild carrot) marinated black cod, harissa yogurt, persimmon, arugula dressed with Sumac. Cod was exceeding tender and the persimmon was very thinly sliced. Perfect dish
Suckling lamb chops, (lamb never had anything but mothers milk) cooked to perfection, red just the way I prefer them and a pom molasses syrup.
Roasted whole cauliflower with cumin tahini, zhoung (cilantro pesto) and almonds Again loaded with flavor.
Roasted whole baby sweet potatoes, served the the skins on. Open them up and eat with the creme fraiche and gray salt. These potatoes are roasted for hours at 200* and them crisped at a 425* temperature.
Braised Wagu beef skirt steak with carrots and green tahini. Beef was moist and succulent.
Desserts were different. A Malbi (which means stew). It was cooked raspberries with peanuts and a cookie crumble. Not overly sweet but definitely heavy. The other was Knafeh made with buffalo mozzarella, pistachios and saffron syrup. More savory than sweet. Both were good but not what I would order in a restaurant. Neither knocked by socks off. But that is my personal preference.
Wines tonight were:
Tyler, Santa Barbara, Rose
2017 Judean Kills, (Kosher) Tzora Vineyard, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc blend
2017 Penville, Enz Vineyard, Lime Kiln Valley AVA, Monterey, Mouvedre
2018 Arnaud Lambert, Samur Champigny, Terres Rouges, Cabernet Franc
2008 Chateau Musar, Lebanon, Gaston Hochar, Red Wine
2014 Robert Sinsky Vineyard, Los Carneros, Late Harvest, Pinot Gris
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Caymus Wines at Arte Cafe
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Arte Café in Cerritos hosted a Caymus wine dinner tonight. Loads of people but not quite sold out. A few empty tables. I have noticed since the price of the wine dinners went up about $10 some of the "regulars" are not attending anymore. Which is OK by me as they seemed more in talking and socializing throughout any talks given by the wine owners / distributors. Made it difficult to hear what was going on if you were sitting close to them.
Started out with a Shaved Pear & Goat Cheese Salad with roasted zucchini, mixed greens and a horseradish vinaigrette. Good flavors. Paired with a Emmolo Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Not to acidic better than most.
Second course is a Thai Curry Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. Excellent . The curry gave it just the right amount of punch. Wine is a Conundrum Rose. Very light wine. Not much to it but it did pair well with the curry.
Next is a Five Spiced Seared Duck Breast with braised greens, crispy parmesan polenta and ripe plum. Duck was a bit over cooked for me and part of the skin was not crispy. Flavor was there and amazingly the cooked plum added the right touch. The parmesan polenta was very good. A Emmolo Napa Valley Merlot was the choice. I am not a big fan of merlot but this was decent.
Main course is a Herb Crusted Roasted Lamb Chop with French lentils and charred Delicata Squash. Lamb was a tad over cooked for my taste. I like to see pink and there was none. The squash was quite good but I have no opinion on the lentils because I just plain do like them. It is a texture thing with me on lentils, lima beans etc., Paired with a Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Good pairing, wine was good.
Dessert consisted of Cinnamon Baked Granny Smith Apple topped with shipped crème fraiche and a pumpkin spice. Fall flavors big time. Wine is a Conundrum Sparkling Rose. I liked the pairing. The lightness of the wine offset the heaviness of the dessert.
These wines tonight are the lower end Caymus wines. But for the $65 price tag you can't expect the real high end wines. Dinner was good, wines were decent and we had a great time. Looking forward to the "Prisoner" wine dinner in a few weeks.
Arte Café in Cerritos hosted a Caymus wine dinner tonight. Loads of people but not quite sold out. A few empty tables. I have noticed since the price of the wine dinners went up about $10 some of the "regulars" are not attending anymore. Which is OK by me as they seemed more in talking and socializing throughout any talks given by the wine owners / distributors. Made it difficult to hear what was going on if you were sitting close to them.
Started out with a Shaved Pear & Goat Cheese Salad with roasted zucchini, mixed greens and a horseradish vinaigrette. Good flavors. Paired with a Emmolo Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Not to acidic better than most.
Second course is a Thai Curry Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. Excellent . The curry gave it just the right amount of punch. Wine is a Conundrum Rose. Very light wine. Not much to it but it did pair well with the curry.
Next is a Five Spiced Seared Duck Breast with braised greens, crispy parmesan polenta and ripe plum. Duck was a bit over cooked for me and part of the skin was not crispy. Flavor was there and amazingly the cooked plum added the right touch. The parmesan polenta was very good. A Emmolo Napa Valley Merlot was the choice. I am not a big fan of merlot but this was decent.
Main course is a Herb Crusted Roasted Lamb Chop with French lentils and charred Delicata Squash. Lamb was a tad over cooked for my taste. I like to see pink and there was none. The squash was quite good but I have no opinion on the lentils because I just plain do like them. It is a texture thing with me on lentils, lima beans etc., Paired with a Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Good pairing, wine was good.
Dessert consisted of Cinnamon Baked Granny Smith Apple topped with shipped crème fraiche and a pumpkin spice. Fall flavors big time. Wine is a Conundrum Sparkling Rose. I liked the pairing. The lightness of the wine offset the heaviness of the dessert.
These wines tonight are the lower end Caymus wines. But for the $65 price tag you can't expect the real high end wines. Dinner was good, wines were decent and we had a great time. Looking forward to the "Prisoner" wine dinner in a few weeks.
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