Had dinner at Veritas last night, where the food was excellent, service was great, and the wine is 25% off till the end of the year.
I ordered a btl of 2003 Aubert Chardonnay Quarry Vineyard. This was probably the worst btl of Aubert Chardonnay that I have ever had. Over oaked, and maybe too much sulfur or something, this was a very strange wine. Over two hours, the wine calmed down (we did decant it), but it never lived up to the billing.
A wine that did live up to its hype was 1998 Domaine de la Mordoree CDP Reine des Bois. This wine was off the charts. Even if I had never tasted it, the smell screamed amazing, but the palate was just as awesome. I wish I had a magnum, rather than just just a 750ml. Holy shit, I think I can still taste the wine today.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Dinner in Newport, RI-The best $30, three course meal ever?
Went up to Newport, RI for one night this past weekend. It was restaurant week, so I had low expectations. I made a reservation at Spark for Saturday evening. It came highly recommended amongst internet chatter.
I called for a rezzie. The answering machine (where you can leave a message) asks you to call the owner's cell phone, where you leave another message. Shortly thereafter, I got a phone call back. I got a reservation, but they told me it was restaurant week. Simply put, restaurant week in New York SUCKS. Restaurants participate with a half assed menu, as a way to get unsuspecting souls in the door. Once there, the menu is limited, and none of the "good" stuff is offered. So, naturally, I asked if the regular menu would be offered. She told me no, but that I could look up the menu for restaurant week online.
This is the menu that I stared at...
http://www.gonewportrestaurantweek.com/PDFs/Restaurants/52.pdf
Wow, it almost wanted me to pay $60 and order twice as many things!
One cool thing about Spark is that it is BYO. They charge $2.50 per person for the luxury of doing so. While the man next to us brought a pint of Dewar's, I opted to bring a half btl of 2003 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin. In addition, Spark, as per their website, tells its future patrons, that they can order a btl of vino from Vicker's Wines, a Newport staple, and have it delivered, just in case you forget to bring something. Well, I knew Vicker's has a decent selection of older stuff, so I figured I would try out this "delivery method." I called Vicker's at 7 pm, told them to deliver a btl of 1995 Guigal Ch D'Ampuis ($74.95 price) for my 8 pm reservation. Well, my btl was at the restaurant waiting for me when I arrived at 8 pm.
The Rousseau was an easy "suck down" wine. Simple, yet delicious, I might have been able to finish off a magnum on my own. The fruit was still all there, this was an outstanding btl of "inexpensive" 2003 red Burgundy.
The Guigal was, as you would expect it, funky. Near pristine condition, I tasted it and opted not to decant it. I think that was the right decision. As, by the end of the meal (2 hours) the wine was not as good as it was during the middle of the meal. Still, a great effort. It went perfect with my Cassoulet.
They brought out some bread to start. It was warm focaccia. An interesting choice. Not crazy about it, but the honey butter that went with it was awesome.
For a starter, wifee did the Pea soup. They insisted it was just a touch of cream. It looked more like a milk shake upon arrival. She liked it. I am not a pea soup fan, so I defer to the experts.
Our server recommended the Sweetbreads over the Frog's Legs to start. Who am I to argue? Possibly the "flakiest" sweetbreads I have tasted, it came with Kalamatta Olives, Roasted tomatoes (that were to die for) and capers. It all just worked. A high recommendation from me.
My wife did the filet steak and I did the Cassoulet for dinner. The steak came with their own version of Cowboy ketchup. They added chipotle and bbq sauce to the ketchup. The best part of her dish was the green beans. Very fresh, just crisp enough, with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic. The steak was very good as well.
My cassoulet was good as well, if you go for good Cassoulet.
For dessert, we nibbled on the Chocolate Peanut Butter Spring Rolls and the Warm Tart of Apples. The Spring Rolls were very rich. The tart utilized cheddar and bacon in it. Not sure that that worked for us, but we had no room for dessert anyways.
Our bill, before tip, was $70!!! Astonishing, for first class food! Kudos to Spark!
I called for a rezzie. The answering machine (where you can leave a message) asks you to call the owner's cell phone, where you leave another message. Shortly thereafter, I got a phone call back. I got a reservation, but they told me it was restaurant week. Simply put, restaurant week in New York SUCKS. Restaurants participate with a half assed menu, as a way to get unsuspecting souls in the door. Once there, the menu is limited, and none of the "good" stuff is offered. So, naturally, I asked if the regular menu would be offered. She told me no, but that I could look up the menu for restaurant week online.
This is the menu that I stared at...
http://www.gonewportrestaurantweek.com/PDFs/Restaurants/52.pdf
Wow, it almost wanted me to pay $60 and order twice as many things!
One cool thing about Spark is that it is BYO. They charge $2.50 per person for the luxury of doing so. While the man next to us brought a pint of Dewar's, I opted to bring a half btl of 2003 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin. In addition, Spark, as per their website, tells its future patrons, that they can order a btl of vino from Vicker's Wines, a Newport staple, and have it delivered, just in case you forget to bring something. Well, I knew Vicker's has a decent selection of older stuff, so I figured I would try out this "delivery method." I called Vicker's at 7 pm, told them to deliver a btl of 1995 Guigal Ch D'Ampuis ($74.95 price) for my 8 pm reservation. Well, my btl was at the restaurant waiting for me when I arrived at 8 pm.
The Rousseau was an easy "suck down" wine. Simple, yet delicious, I might have been able to finish off a magnum on my own. The fruit was still all there, this was an outstanding btl of "inexpensive" 2003 red Burgundy.
The Guigal was, as you would expect it, funky. Near pristine condition, I tasted it and opted not to decant it. I think that was the right decision. As, by the end of the meal (2 hours) the wine was not as good as it was during the middle of the meal. Still, a great effort. It went perfect with my Cassoulet.
They brought out some bread to start. It was warm focaccia. An interesting choice. Not crazy about it, but the honey butter that went with it was awesome.
For a starter, wifee did the Pea soup. They insisted it was just a touch of cream. It looked more like a milk shake upon arrival. She liked it. I am not a pea soup fan, so I defer to the experts.
Our server recommended the Sweetbreads over the Frog's Legs to start. Who am I to argue? Possibly the "flakiest" sweetbreads I have tasted, it came with Kalamatta Olives, Roasted tomatoes (that were to die for) and capers. It all just worked. A high recommendation from me.
My wife did the filet steak and I did the Cassoulet for dinner. The steak came with their own version of Cowboy ketchup. They added chipotle and bbq sauce to the ketchup. The best part of her dish was the green beans. Very fresh, just crisp enough, with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic. The steak was very good as well.
My cassoulet was good as well, if you go for good Cassoulet.
For dessert, we nibbled on the Chocolate Peanut Butter Spring Rolls and the Warm Tart of Apples. The Spring Rolls were very rich. The tart utilized cheddar and bacon in it. Not sure that that worked for us, but we had no room for dessert anyways.
Our bill, before tip, was $70!!! Astonishing, for first class food! Kudos to Spark!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday Night Meatloaf, Part II!
This past Monday evening, 7 "Burgheads" found their way to Apiary, Scott Bryan's new haunt on the Lower East Side of Manhattan (well, just south of Union Square to be exact). A few notes on the restaurant. The food is excellent. My second time there, and the pork chop is off the hook. This time, I started with scallops and we all did a half portion of risotto. All excellent. Mondays offer free corkage. We all paid $80, which seemed to include a very healthy gratuity. Negatives on this night was the service. Glassware was hard to come by, and water service was slow. Still, I would go back to the restaurant. I would almost prefer to pay corkage on another evening, as long as a dozen wines are not being opened.
Onto the wines...
1) 1990 Henriot Cuvee Enchanteleurs (Magnum): KA must find it difficult to go without bubbles, so he brought this one. I liked it a lot. Very crisp and extremely youthful, I would like to see this evolve for another decade...or two.
2) 2000 Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc: This was served blind and compliments of David. I find this wine painfully young. Lots of acid. Needed more air time.
3) 2002 Leflaive Batard Montrachet: Not a good sign when your WOTN comes so early, but this wine was outstanding! I cannot really say much more than, WOW! Bill, you da man! Or, as Robert Kenney once said of Jay S. Miller, "You're my boy, blue!"
4) Louis Jadot Chassagne Montrachet Abbaye Morgeot: Others said this was too young. I am not a buyer. I am generally a fan of Jadot wines, but this wine is a pass for me. The fruit was just out of balance with the acid. Never came around.
5) 1988 Ponsot Clos St Denis: Thank you, David. This wine was very good. Probably the best nose of the evening. I would not age it any longer, as my best sips were my first sips. Still, quite impressive given the vintage.
6) 1990 Jacky Truchot Charmes Chambertin: Someone referred to this as "cheesy." I wanted to like this wine, but although it got better as the night carried on, it was just never all that enjoyable. KA brought it, as he really wants to become a wine geek. Looks like he will have to wait to be inducted into that hall of fame. I think he hated more than anyone at the table.
7) 1990 Louis Jadot Ruchottes Chambertin: Ian brought a winner as well. This was quite a nice wine. When I heard the price it is selling for, I may not be a buyer, but still a nice drink.
8) 1996 Louis Remy Chambertin: The wine was flat and ininteresting. Lifeless would give it too much credit. If you own this, sorry.
9) 1996 Robert Arnoux Romanee St. Vivant: It was not talked about much, but I quite liked this wine. Pretty juicy on the palate. It showed pretty well.
10) 1995 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot: No shock that Leo brought Jadot. Does he own anything else? As the night went on, this wine got better and better and better. I decided the order and put this towards the back of the pack, as I thought it might need time. Good wine, in a difficult vintage.
11) 1996 Dujac Bonnes Mares. My contribution, dbl decanted by a member of my staff. Upon opening at arrival at the restaurant, I announced (shamefully) that the wine was corked. A couple of the others disagreed. So we poured it out. We poured it a couple of hours later and KA said it was corked. Doh!
12) I could not go without contributing a red wine, so I ordered a 2001 Gaja Sperss, and got it decanted as quickly as possible. I really enjoyed this wine. Clearly not an "elegant" Nebbiolo, but it sure was tasty. Most at the table really liked it and I was "saved."
Good food, good wine, and a fun group of people (except for Leo). Looking forward to the next dinner!
Onto the wines...
1) 1990 Henriot Cuvee Enchanteleurs (Magnum): KA must find it difficult to go without bubbles, so he brought this one. I liked it a lot. Very crisp and extremely youthful, I would like to see this evolve for another decade...or two.
2) 2000 Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc: This was served blind and compliments of David. I find this wine painfully young. Lots of acid. Needed more air time.
3) 2002 Leflaive Batard Montrachet: Not a good sign when your WOTN comes so early, but this wine was outstanding! I cannot really say much more than, WOW! Bill, you da man! Or, as Robert Kenney once said of Jay S. Miller, "You're my boy, blue!"
4) Louis Jadot Chassagne Montrachet Abbaye Morgeot: Others said this was too young. I am not a buyer. I am generally a fan of Jadot wines, but this wine is a pass for me. The fruit was just out of balance with the acid. Never came around.
5) 1988 Ponsot Clos St Denis: Thank you, David. This wine was very good. Probably the best nose of the evening. I would not age it any longer, as my best sips were my first sips. Still, quite impressive given the vintage.
6) 1990 Jacky Truchot Charmes Chambertin: Someone referred to this as "cheesy." I wanted to like this wine, but although it got better as the night carried on, it was just never all that enjoyable. KA brought it, as he really wants to become a wine geek. Looks like he will have to wait to be inducted into that hall of fame. I think he hated more than anyone at the table.
7) 1990 Louis Jadot Ruchottes Chambertin: Ian brought a winner as well. This was quite a nice wine. When I heard the price it is selling for, I may not be a buyer, but still a nice drink.
8) 1996 Louis Remy Chambertin: The wine was flat and ininteresting. Lifeless would give it too much credit. If you own this, sorry.
9) 1996 Robert Arnoux Romanee St. Vivant: It was not talked about much, but I quite liked this wine. Pretty juicy on the palate. It showed pretty well.
10) 1995 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot: No shock that Leo brought Jadot. Does he own anything else? As the night went on, this wine got better and better and better. I decided the order and put this towards the back of the pack, as I thought it might need time. Good wine, in a difficult vintage.
11) 1996 Dujac Bonnes Mares. My contribution, dbl decanted by a member of my staff. Upon opening at arrival at the restaurant, I announced (shamefully) that the wine was corked. A couple of the others disagreed. So we poured it out. We poured it a couple of hours later and KA said it was corked. Doh!
12) I could not go without contributing a red wine, so I ordered a 2001 Gaja Sperss, and got it decanted as quickly as possible. I really enjoyed this wine. Clearly not an "elegant" Nebbiolo, but it sure was tasty. Most at the table really liked it and I was "saved."
Good food, good wine, and a fun group of people (except for Leo). Looking forward to the next dinner!
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