Lunch with the boys at Seafood Cove # 1

 Thursday, March 24, 2022

Last minute call from Henry for lunch so just 3 of us today at Seafood Cove # 1 in Westminister.

We started out with the normal serving of the hot, sour soup. Today it seemed to have more robust flavor and bit more bite to it. Different chef. 

Then onto Fried Whole Fish with Two Sauces. Nice crispy skin and flesh was very delicate and moist

String Beans with Garlic and Shredded Pork. Crisp green beans and the pork was shredded and fried so a very nice crispy bite. 

Shrimp with Garlic Sauce, Black Fungi and thinly sliced bamboo shoots.  Very tender, flavorful shrimp and the fungi was very thin. Would have liked to have seen what it looked like before it was cut. Looked like a large flower petal.

Thai Style Beef with String Beans and Thai Noodles.  We overdid the string beans today but they were all plump and fresh. Much better quality than I have been getting at the grocery store lately.

Dessert was Mung Bean Tapioca.

Our wines today were 2018 Schafer-Frohlich, Spatburgunder, Weissherbst, Trocken Rose. The hit of the day. Went with all the dishes we ordered.  2013 Tercero, Larner Vineyard, Grenache. Lighter red that paired well with the food also.  2019 Angeline, Mendocino, Reserve, Pinot Noir. Opened up quite well after 30 minutes or so. A lighter style Pinot from a cooler climate. 

Highlight of the day is when the restaurant got in their shipment of live lobsters for the weekend. 3 different tanks for the different size crustaceans. Some were huge. Interesting how the owner stood there and looked at every one and he did reject a few. Probably because they were not moving enough, a sign that they are not long for this world.  They get $34 per pound for cooked lobster so some of those large ones had to weigh 5 to 7 pounds each. Their claws were as large as some of the smaller lobsters. 

Margie's Monthly Wine Dinner at Wine on 2nd

 Wednesday, March 9, 2022

A different take this month on the wine dinner. A wine tasting with optional dinner at Wine on 2nd in Naples.  15 in attendance tonight.  Tasting consisted of appetizers and 5 wines. Service was good with a few glitches. I don't think they are used to serving a large group along with having to handle the other walkins.  Everyone in the group seemed to have a good time and I am sure a few will be back. 

We started out with a dish of olive and eggplant tapenade with crostini along with a charcuterie plate of salami, prosciutto, cheese, honey, figs. The appetizers were very good. A plate of each set on each table of 4. We lucked out as there were only 3 of us at our table.  I felt the quantity was a bit scrimpy since it was supposed to be shared by 4 people and last through 5 wines.  The tapenade was the same size we ordered off the menu a few nights before when there were 3 of us. I am assuming that it is a one size fits all on the menu. Their normal wine flight consists of 3 wines. So no adjustment for 5 wines. 

Optional dinner was a choice of shrimp with pasta or chicken breast. Neither of those appealed to me as I cook that at home. Not what I want when dining out.  I opted for an appetizer of rolled steak around peppers with a salad. Flavor was good. Greens and vinaigrette were very tasty. Meat was good but they gave a butter knife to cut. It took a bit of back and forth to cut through the meat. The meat was tender but when a slice is rolled with ingredients on the inside a sharp knife would have made a big difference.  But we were also in a wine tasting establishment not a restaurant per say.  

The wines served tonight were:

NV   J Laurens Brut Cremant de Limoux Languedoc-Roussillon, France

2018 Portia Verdejo, Rueda, Spain

2017 Benton Lane, Willamete Valley, Oregon, Pinot Noir

2019 Faustino, Rioja, Spain, Tempranello

????  Mazzolada, La Cantina Del Falco, Venezia, Merlot

Dinner at 555 East Steakhouse

 Saturday, February 26, 2022

Six of us tonight for dinner. Did start out on the right foot. Open Table did not relay to the restaurant that a 7th person was added several days prior to the reservation. Also they had us sitting at a table for 4 that they had tried to convert into a 7 seater. It couldn't accommodate 3 bottles of wine much less the 9 we had with us.  It was outside in the tented area. Wind was blowing, it was cold even with the heaters and the noise level was atrocious. Complained to the floor manager. She said she couldn't do anything to move us inside until someone emptied a table and that would be over an hour wait. The 7th person left because of the hassles.  Restaurant manager finally came out and heard our tale of woe. He gave us a table inside that was set up for 6 within 15 minutes. 

I ordered raw oysters to start. 2 each of Kumamoto, Fanny Bay and Wellfleet. Always good and fresh at 555.

One person ordered a filet and the rest of us had the dry aged Chateau Brion which was cooked to perfection. A few orders of mushrooms and potatoes filled the plates. 

2007 Stolpman,  Angeli (Syrah and Sangiovese blend)

1997 Venge, Oakville, Napa, Cabernet Sauvignon (excellent - bottle was emptied quickly)

2012 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne

2012 Revelation, Blanc de Meunier, barrel aged, Champagne

2013 Palmaz, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon

2006 Shafer, Napa Valley, Relentless, Cabernet Sauvignon

1996 Pahlmeyer, Napa Valley. Merlot  (This was the wine of the night)

All the wines were excellent. A nice group to do dinner with because of the quality of the wines brought and a fun bunch or people with good conversations. 

Dinner at Detention in The Trust Room

 Tuesday, February 22, 2022

The Playground restaurant in downtown Santa Ana has been renamed Detention. Detentiondtsa.com. The 2.0 Room is now called Trust. Other than name change everything is the same with some improvements. Same chef's, same owners, same format. Trust still sits 18 people at a long bar with cooking and plating in front of you. Only difference now in the serving of the food, instead of one plated shared by 3, it is one plate (different sizes) for the number in your party. I would assume tied into Covid somehow.

Justin Werner has taken over the reins at Trust and owner and chef Jason Quinn is concentrating on enlarging the back room and hosting different venues.  Justin's style of cooking is different than Jason's.

The dinner tonight was a winery dinner, Stolpman out of Santa Ynez. Jessica Stolpman was the host and she did a great job but personally I was extremely disappointed that neither Tom nor Peter was in attendance. 

We started out with a cocktail made of Italian rose vermouth, gin, cucumber water, prickly pear and orange liqueur. Very tasty. Then onto the 13 courses and 5 wines.

A fresh baked brioche bun with house made cultured butter. Perfect. Frash from the over, still soft and steamy. 

A salad of mixed greens, croutons and a very light, exceptionally good vinaigrette. 

Arancini with ramp vinaigrette. Light and so freshly made.

Very thin sliced beets with citrus, nuts. The slices were so thin, cut on a mandolin then piled high. Yummy.

Hush Puppy loaded with seafood and served with Old Bay Aioli.  A real winner.

Grilled fresh swordfish with a leek and caper salsa. Again excellent.

House made Gnocchi with beurre monte and very thinly grated parmesan. So light, like eating marshmallows.

Beef pasta with spinach and pine nuts in a cream sauce. Excellent flavors

Escarole and Farro soup with breadcrumbs. Had good flavor but was not my thing.

Duck breast with grilled endive and smoked cherry sauce. To die for. 

A5 Wagu beef slices Picanha, (top sirloin cap) chimichurri and fried potatoes. Meat was like butter. Potatoes were crisp outside and soft on the inside.

Chocolate Swiss roll with Creme Angelaise. Decadent.

Poached pear with chocolate, crisp pastry and almond whip. Excellent.

Hazelnut cake with semi fredo. Good ending to a fabulous meal.

Our wines tonight were: 

 Stolpman, 2021 So Fresh, Rose, Love you Bunches. Not my style and I just did not like it. I thought it was flat and non-discript. 

Stolpman , 2017 Rousanne, L'Avion. Tom Stolpman's favorite wine. I am not into white Rhone varietals. But it did pair well with the food. If you like white Rhones you would love this wine. 

Stolpman, 2016  La Croce, a blend of Sangiovese and Syrah. My favorite of all the Stolpman Wines. But a 2016 it is too young to drink.

Stolpman Estate Syrah. For some reason this wine never made it to the end of the room we were at. Did not see the bottle until we were leaving. 

La Cuadrilla, Syrah Blend "El Padrino". This wine is made by the crew that works the Stolpman Vineyards. A certain section of vines is set aside for them. They get to split the profit from the sales. This was a1.5 liter bottle, do not know the year but it was a bit harsh and way too young to be drinking.

Food was great as usual, always top quality ingredients, very disappointed in the selection of wines brought tonight. Do not who chose them but with all the wines they produce a few of these should have been kept at home. 

Will be doing another dinner at Trust in a few months. They price always includes food, beverages, tax and tip inclusive. But not inexpensive but well worth it.