Dinner With The Boys at Flavors of Punjab

 Tuesday. April 27, 2022

Flavors of Punjab is a non-descript restaurant in a strip mall on Second St in Naples.  Saw it when we did a wine tasting at Wine on Second. Thought we would give it a try but we were a bit concerned at it never seemed busy. Good reviews on Yelp but that is not always indicative of much.  Interior is very plain and not much to get excited about. But the food turned out to be very good. We were there at 5:00 when they opened for dinner. 

We started out with Onion Bhaji which is basically pieces of onion, battered and deep fried. Dish was good but need to eat fast while it is still hot. 

Next we had Vegetable Pakoras. Which are basically mixed vegetables. fritter style and deep fried. This dish I did not care for. I have had much better other places. 

All the other dishes came out at the same time which really made the small booth crowded with all our wine glasses and bottles. 

Chicken Mushroom with Curry Sauce. Very good.

Lamb Do-piaza. Chunks of lamb in a sauce with extra onions and spices.  Lamb was tender and this again was a good dish.

Shrimp Saag, spinach and spices. Shrimp was OK but overcooked. Sauce was very good.

Navratan Korma. Mixed vegetables with nuts and spices. Another very good sauce.

Garlic Naan and Basmati Rice rounded out the meal.

While we were eating I noticed a lot of take out going through the door. I can understand because of the crappy parking situation here. There had to be at least 20 take out orders while we were there. Toward the end of our dinner a party of 8 came in and sat down.  And this was a Tuesday which generally is a slow night for restaurants. 

We will go back. We found the sauces were exceptionally good. Ambiance is so so but food is worth it.

Wines tonight were a NV Louis Roederer, Collection 242, Champagne. It was OK but nothing special. A NV La Raimbauder, France,  Sancerre  which was very nice and went well with most of the dishes. A 2012 Clos Pepe. Sta Rita Hills, Pinot Noir. Paired well . A 2019 Felino. Mendoza, Malbec. Wine was nice but bold and needed time. 

Lunch With The Boys at CJ's Pad

 Monday, April 18, 2022

CJ decided to host lunch at his house today instead of going to a restaurant. I suspect it was due to him wanting us to try his endeavor at cooking Pho. We all brought appetizers and CJ had Chinese food delivered from a local restaurant.

I will say his attempt at PHO was very good. Soup had layers of flavors and he offered bean sprouts, basil, mint and cilantro as adds to it.

Henry cooked his shrimp appetizer in a wok on CJ's stove so the shrimp were very succulent and fresh. Greg brought Shrimp Birds Nest  and I brought a baked pastry covered Brie with Fig Compote. 

For our mains we had Beef and Broccoli, White Fish with Green Beans and Chicken Kung Pao.

Dessert was the obligatory Almond Cookie and a Indian Butter Cookie which was very good. 

We started out with a NV Mumm's Brut Prestige sparkling which was really nice. Then onto a 2009 Clos Pepe, Sta Rita Hills, Pinot Noir. One of my favorite wines but this bottle was starting to flatten out. Just not as vibrant as it should be. A 2016 L'Hortus de bergerie, Pic Saint Loop Rose was showing quite well and really went well with most of the food dishes. A 2017 Swanson, Napa Valley, Cabernet  Sauvignon  rounded out the list. Big wine and needs a few more years cellaring. 

Margie's Monthly Dinner at Prime Cut

 Saturday, April 9, 2022

14 of us tonight for the April edition of dinner. Tonight it is at Prime Cut in Orange. Known for their Prime Rib and Steaks, They have a private room off the dining area which we always have our dinners in. Makes it nice and the noise level is better than sitting in the main dining hall.

I decided to go out of the box and order the Beef Bourgogne. It is supposed to be Julia Child's original recipe.  The liquid part of the dish was very good. Great, deep flavors. I could have sopped it up with bread if there had been any left. The bread hogs were at it. I did have mashed potatoes to help it along.  But the meat itself was very dry and stringy. Big disappointment.

I split an appetizer of Frito Misto which was very good. Very light touch on the batter and frying.

Had the Creme Brulee for dessert. It is always light so it is a go to for me. Do not like heavy, overly sweet or rich dishes after a meal. 

Since I knew beforehand that I was having the beef bourgogne I decided to bring a 2012 Roar, Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir.  Even though I had decanted it for a few hours it was tight went I first poured it. But after about an hour it really opened up. Not a drop left in the bottle at the end of dinner. People seemed to really enjoy it especially one of the female diners. She thought is was so delicious.  Not all the wines were passed down the table. It is difficult to get up and walk around the table and look at the bottles to decide what you want to try.  Especially in a tight room and with mobility issues. I only look at the list of wines the next day when I type them up for everyone. Then I am surprised at what was brought and I had  not seen  on the table.

2017 Denner, Dirt Worshipper - did not taste

2017 Castoro, Due Mila Quattordici - did not taste

2016 Firestone, Petit Verdot - did not taste

2017 Firestone, Gewurztraminer - did not taste

NV Marie Forget, Premier Cru, Extra Brut, Champagne - interesting

2017 J. Bucher RRV, unoaked Chardonnay - did not taste

2015 Ridge, Monte Bello - did not taste

NV Fess Parker, Traditions, Port Style Red - nice for a sweet wine, not overly complicated

NV Domanie Caneros Brut Rose - did not taste

2019 Paul Hobbs, Goldbrook, Pinot Noir - Did not taste

2020 Daou, Rose - did not taste

2018 Dewitt Vineyards, Barbera - liked this one

2007 Le Vigne Domenico, Cabernet Sauvignon - did not taste

2011 Redmon, Red Wine Blend - nice, really liked it

2002 J.Lohr, Grenache Rose - nice and light

NV Louis de Sacy, Rose Champagne - nice and bright

2005 McKeon Phillips, BPR, Cabernet Sauvignon - showed it's age. A bit flat but still had something going for it

Lunch With The Boys at Sushi Nikkei

 Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Decided to try a new sushi place in the Bixby Knolls area. Sushi Nikkei.   A lot of good hype coming from people regarding this establishment.  Run by a brother and sister who are Japanese descent and born in Peru. If you do not have a reservation, you just cannot get in on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. We went on a Tuesday and were parked in front before they opened. At 10 minutes to 5:00 there were people standing in line waiting for the doors to open. Only open Tues thru Sat from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Small establishment. Some outdoor dining tables.   This place did not disappoint. Some of the best, freshest sushi I have ever had. Not cheap but good sushi anyplace is not inexpensive. 

We started out with the Sushi Nikkei Tasting plate. 2 pieces each of Sweet Salmon with Parrillera sauce, cream cheese, crispy, tare.  Tuma Power, Blue Fin Tuna, Parrillea sauce, aji amarillo, chalaquita. Parmesan Scallops, scallops, parmesan, butter lemon. Asian Shiromi, white fish, asian sauce, quinoa pop, lemon.  I was particularly taken with the scallops. So tender and just melted in your mouth.

We ordered a dish of their Peruvian Ceviche. Outstanding. Mixed fish (catch of the day) tiger milk, aji  amarillo, concha (toasted corn) and sweet potato. 

Ordered 3 "specialty rolls". All were hits with us. 

Acebichado,  crispy shrimp, avocado topped with tuna, acebichado sauce, togarashi and green onions.  This was my favorite of the 3.

Dusty Roll, crispy shrimp, avocado topped with octopus in ninja sauce, parmesan, tare. This roll came in 2nd place with me and 1st place with CJ.

Crab Salmon, blue crab, salmon and avocado.

Small surroundings and not much sound absorbing materials, By 7 pm the noise level was going up. That would be my only, very small negative. 

We opened a 10 year old bottle of Camille Saves Champagne which paired exceptionally well with everything.

We are already planning our next dining experience at Sushi Nikkei.