Lunch with the Boys at Cambalache Grill

 Thursday, May 27, 2021

The restaurant Cambalache Grill in Fountain Valley was recommended by a fellow wino. 

www,CambalacheGrill.com.   Three of us decided to try it today for lunch. Sat outdoors in the tent as we still have Covid restrictions. There were several diners sitting in the outdoor patio area. Have no idea what the interior of the restaurant looks like but we will be going back soon perhaps for a wine dinner.  Service was excellent.

The Chef /Owner is Italian descent born in Argentina. Hence the food from two countries. Menu is very extensive. Anything over 3 items I cannot make up my mind what I want.  So we just let CJ do the ordering. 

Started out with a trio of Empanada's. Two Spinach and one Chicken. The dough was very tender and flaky. A good selection.

Next we had a Prosciutto di Parmacon Rusa. Freshly sliced , paper thin Prosciutto which was excellent and a potato salad that had interesting vegetables added to it.  I put my Prosciutto on top a a piece of house bread with a thin layer on butter on the bread. It was delectable.

 A dish called Scampi Cambalache was next. Very large, tender, succulent scampi with fresh steamed broccoli, zucchini and carrots. Cubed potatoes that were very crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. An excellent dish.

Last we had a Rigatoni Cambalclache.  Large Rigatoni with a marinara sauce, sliced sausage and meatballs. At this point I was stuffed so I did not have any of this dish. The boys said everything was good except for the meatballs. Their opinion was that they were tough. It was like someone forgot to add something to the meat mixture.   We let the waiter know our opinion and he said he would let the chef know.

I brought a 2008 Stolpman degli Angeli Sangiovese. Decanted it for about an hour, A lot of sediment in the bottle so I used a filter pourer. Started out drinking very nicely but seemed to loose something after about an hour. Still good but you could tell it was not feeling well.  I will drink the last of the bottle tomorrow night and see what has transpired.

The two other wines were a 2018 Decoy, Cabernet Sauvignon.  Young wine but really started opening up after about an hour. The 2009 Clos Pepe, VS Pinot Noir was drinking very well but there was a light halo and very slight color loss. The bottle was probably just beginning to go downhill. Glad we rescued it from its decline.