Sea Smoke Magnum Dinner at The India Restaurant

 Saturday, January 28, 2023

CJ sponsored this dinner. He has magnums of wine that need a crowd to share. This is the first of several dinners he plans on having to relieve his cellar of this big bottles.  The restaurant was packed all night long. Very popular in Little India area of Artesia. as the food is some of the best around. Eleven of us tonight.

I am still having digestion problems so I knew my selection of food would be very limited and I would need to watch my consumption of alcohol. Spicy and alcohol are top on the list of things to avoid.  

We started out with a couple of appetizers, Vegetable Samosas which are pastry stuffed with potatoes and green peas and then deep fried. I did eat one of these. It was very good. The other was Chicken Tandoori. White meat chicken marinated in yogurt, herbs and spices. I passed on this one. 

Next was Jeera Aloo. Sauteed potatoes with cumin seed, onion and tomatoes.  This I passed on. Others said it was very good.

Then a dish of Karahi Goshi which is diced boneless lamb cooked in spices with onion, bell pepper, ginger and garlic. I took one piece of lamb and had one bite. That was it for me. I knew my stomach was not going to be able to handle this one.

Chicken Tikka Masala was next. Boneless white met marinated in spices and yogurt, tandoored in a clay oven and served in a curry sauce This dish was very good, chicken was very tender and the sauce was tempered by the yogurt. I sopped up the sauce with Naan bread. 

Garlic Naan and Basmati Rice rounded out the meal. 

There were 4 magnum bottles of Sea Smoke, Southing, Pinot Noir, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. There were differences in opinions of what years were best, I personally liked the 2007 and 2010.  I had less than 2 ounces of each. And small pours of two champagnes.  Did not want to tempt problems.

Several Champagnes were on the table. Top for me was the 1998 Piper Heidsieck " Rare" Brut Millesime.  25 years old and was vibrant. Excellent bubby.

Also a Moet & Chandon, Ice Imperial. This champagne is specially made to be served over ice. A  Duval-Leroy, Brut Reserve.  There was another bottle of champagne on the table but I did not make a note of it. 

I found it difficult to take pictures tonight. Table was very long and the magnums are big bottles and hard to move around. I use pictures to remind me what we drank and the details of the bottle. Also the champagnes did not move down to my end of the table easily. A batch of hearty champagne drinkers at the other end of the table. A good dinner, glad to be able to attend.  Looking forward to the next one.