Alfresco Wine Dinner with Tercero Wines

 Saturday, May 21, 2022

First Alfresco dinner at Dave & Louise's for this year.  38 people in attendance in the backyard.  Guest wine maker was Larry Schaffer owner and winemaker at Tercero Wines. Nice to see people from last year's dinners. 

Started out with a Ahi Poke and Avocado Tower with Crispy Wontons. Very light appetizer and good flavors. Paired with a 2021 Tercero Trilogia. A new white blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche and Gewurztraminer. Went quite well with the food but I would not be able to drink more than one glass of this on it's own. I think it is the Clairette Blanche grape that throws me off. 

Next is a Puree of Roasted Corn and New Potato Soup with a Parsley, Pecan Drizzle.  Excellent. Louise takes and roasts the corn.  Makes a broth with the ears after cutting the kernals off.  Adds roasted baby new potatoes and purees everything together. One of the best, flavorful soups I have ever had. The crushed parsley with the drizzle just added a bright element to the dish.  A 2016 Tercero Grenache Blanc was the wine selected. Good pairing and this wine is one of the ones I like best from Larry's portfolio. 

Third course is a Portobello Mushroom en Croute with Wild Mushroom Sherry Cream Sauce. Another excellent dish. Rich flavors from the mushrooms. Paired with a 2021 Tercero Nouveau Mouvedre. Another of Larry's newest wines. I was not a fan of this wine at all.  I would have preferred his standard Mouvedre instead. It would have been a much better pairing.

Entree is a Pepper Crusted Filet Mignon with Horseradish Butter, Broccoli and Potato Gratin. Meat was grilled to perfection, the horseradish butter was exceptional and  the gratin was so creamy and good.  Two wines with this dish. A 2021 Tercero Pommard Clone, Pinot Noir which is a new wine for Larry. Grapes sourced from Kessler Hawk. A nice Pinot. Also a 2019 Tercero Whitehawk Vineyard Syrah. Excellent wine and a great pairing for the steak.

Dessert is a Strawberry Meringue Roulade with Meyer Lemon Curd. A nice light refreshing end to a great dinner. 

No dinner in June as Dave and Louise will be in the UK visiting Louise's relatives. Next dinner is July  with Wes Hagen. 

Margie's Monthly Wine Dinner at Issara Thai Restaurant

 Saturday,  June 14, 2022

14 of us tonight for the June dinner organized by Margie. It has been a few years since we have met here. New Chef, new owner. 

II started out with a couple of appetizers.  Issara Chicken Wings with house special chili sauce. Had these before and remembered they were good. Not disappointed. 

Then onto Fried Calamari with two sauces, hot & spicy and sweet & sour.  Preferred the sweet and sour. Nicely cooked calamari rings.  I have had better but then I have had a lot worse. These were just average. Good.

Soup was Tom Yum Hot Pot with shrimp, tomatoes. lemongrass-kaffier lime broth, fresh mushrooms and cilantro bird eye chili. A very nice soup. Just enough tang to keep it interesting. Loads of flavor.

Main was Pompano Chu Chee. Whole Pompano fish, deep fried with red curry in coconut milk. Good flavors. Nice light white flesh on the fish and the sauce added a nice punch. 

Side was a plate of Tom Yum Dumplings, steamed in a spicy Tom Yum broth with egg noodles, coconut milk, chili paste, lime juice, crushed peanuts and green onions. This dish was mild compared to the other dishes I had. 

A wide assortment of wines tonight, most pairing well with the food. Have no idea what others ordered as we were each ordering off the menu individually.   I brought a 2020 Tercero, Outlier which is a dry gewurztraminer.  Pairs well with spicy foods. 

Other wines brought tonight:

2020 Broken Earth , Albarino - nice, clean wine

2020 Emma Reichart, Dry Riesling - did not taste

2021 Joel Gott, Sauvignon Blanc - did not taste

2013 Double Bond, Pinot Noir - did not taste

NV   Collet, Blanc de Blanc, Premier Cru - nice, light bubbly

2014 Kosta Browne , Koplen Vineyard, RRV, Pinot Noir - very good

2017 Kremstal Reserve, Riesling - did not taste

2018 Williams Selyem, Vista Verde Vineyards, Gruner Veltliner - did not taste

2020 J.Lohr, Grenache, Rose - did not taste

2019 Carol Shelton, Coquille Blanc - did not taste

2015 Guyomar, Monsigner Blend - interesting wine 

2021 Tablas Creek, Patelin de Tablas Rose - nice light wine

2021 Vento . Vermentino - went well with the food

2019  Connachigria Resilienza Benevutano, Falanghina - paired well with the food

2017 Doamine Sylvain Bailly, La Louie, Sancerre Rose - excellent wine

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.

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.