Restaurant Files: Davanti Enoteca, Rama Thai and Sushi Ota in San Diego
In my previous San Diego post, I gave you my version of a perfect day in San Diego, where of course the food was a very important part of the experience. Today, I want to add a few more of the restaurant suggestions, just to expand your cuisine selection.
Let’s start with Davanti Enoteca in the Little Italy neighborhood. The restaurant is appropriately Italian for the Little Italy area – but if the word “Italian” brings up an image of mozzarella sticks or a pasta with meatballs, shoo those images away, as they have nothing to do with modern, exquisite, creative Italian dishes served at Davanti Enoteca.
When you look at the Davanti Enoteca restaurant on outside, it is hard to tell what to expect. Inside, the restaurant is nice and welcoming, and offers a number of sitting options including [unexpectedly large] completely enclosed patio, which creates a great dining atmosphere.
So you are situated inside, and it is the time to eat. How about some Focaccia di Recco (Ligurian style baked focaccia, fresh soft cow cheese…must add honeycomb) for the starter? Very different from what you might expect, this one comes with the layer of soft cheese baked into a paper- thin crust. Addition of honeycomb on top increases “deliciousness” ten-fold. When you take a bite of that focaccia, the foodie’s climactic moan can be easily heard at the table. To keep the excitement level high, how about some Mascarpone Polenta with pork ragout – every morsel as delicious as the Focaccia. And then how about some Bruschetta? No, not the traditional tomato and onion, but may be a Creamy Avocado Mousse Bruschetta will do? Very unique and different again. Keep in mind that both Bruschetta and Mascarpone Polenta might have different toppings on different nights – but I’m sure they will be every bit as tasty as the ones we had.
When you look at the list of entrees, one thing becomes clear – it will not be easy to make a choice. You definitely got options. For instance, a Polpo con Rafano (seared octopus, warm fingerling potato salad, marcona almonds, finocchiona, fresh horseradish aioli) – perfectly cooked octopus (not an easy task in itself), absolutely delicious with all the little condiments there on the plate – every bite makes you happy. Spada Davanti (grilled swordfish, toasted bread crumbs, calabrian chili, brussel sprouts, calabrian chilies, mint) – another home run.
Craving meat? Davanti Burger (special blend beef burger, bacon jam, roasted tomato, cheese curd, arugula, roasted garlic mayo, shoestring fries) – it is just a wow on the plate. I had a pleasure to experience the famous Boulud Foie Gras Burger – this Davanti Burger will give it a good run for the money, it is so juicy and delicious (and those shoestring fries are addictive!). And if you are in a mood for a steak – Bistecca con Cippolini e Funghi (grilled hanger steak, cippolini onion, grilled oyster mushroom, saba, salsa verde) is just what doctor ordered – succulent meat and great combination of flavors.
You know I have to talk about wine, right? Wine list at Davanti Enoteca is not large, but it has a good amount of interesting selections at reasonable prices. Focus is mostly on the Italian wines as one would expect. We had two wines that evening. 2012 Attems Sauvignon Blanc Venezia Giulia had an excellent herbaceous profile, both on the nose and the palate, with some notes of fresh cut grass and hint of grapefruit skin, only a delicate hint, and perfect acidity. Definitely very nice wine. Our choice of red, 2012 La Fiera Montepulciano d’Abruzzo was fresh and lovely, with the very pronounced, but soft tart cherry profile and a hint, a whiff rather, of a cherry pit – light and simple, and very versatile food wise.
When it came to the dessert, I honestly stopped paying attention to what exactly did we order – I know that I tried a few different desserts and they all were very tasty.
Let’s continue. So far, considering both San Diego restaurant posts, I offered to your attention mostly restaurants with European cuisine. I think it is time to change the direction and go towards Asia.
Rama Thai Restaurant is located in the Gas Lamp Quarters, a primary dining destination for people living in San Diego and visiting from afar. From the moment you set your foot inside the restaurant, you are transported – you know I like to use this term a lot when I talk about wines, and it simply means that your experience affects your emotional state, the way you feel at the moment. This is definitely the case with Rama Restaurant. The ambiance, lighting, decor, the music, pictures on the walls, muted sound of creek-running water, statues of Buddha – all of it puts you in a different mood.
And then, to our delight, the food perfectly matched the overall atmosphere. We started with the few appetizers. Satay Skewers (chicken and beef with peanut sauce and cucumber salad) was perfectly done, with peanut sauce being simply delicious. Same goes for Fresh Spring Rolls, which were super fresh and crunchy, also served with similar peanut sauce, with just enough heat to make it very tasty. The Pot Stickers (pork, ginger soy sauce) were not necessarily unique, but cooked just right.
For the entrees we went with a very nice selection of the dishes. While Pad Thai is generally considered “The Dish” in the Thai restaurants, my personal favorite is Drunken Noodle (flat rice noodles, thai basil, tomato, chili garlic, kai lan) – for me, it has some homey delicious feeling, this is my ultimate Thai comfort food, which I’m ready to eat any day. The next wow dish was called Garlic and Pepper (crusted chicken, beef or shrimp, sweet and spicy reduction) – we had the chicken version, and every bite was perfectly crunchy and just right spicy – I can highly recommend this dish. Salmon Panang curry (ka‑r lime leaves, green beans, cherry tomatoes) was very well balanced dish, with Panang curry flavors being present, but mild enough. Last, but not least were Pan Seared Sea Scallops (with sautéed spinach, chili sauce) – you know, when the scallop is seared and done just right, it needs no explanation to any scallops aficionado, so this was our case. All in all, great meal, and I can’t recommend this restaurant high enough as a whole experience, with ambiance being a big part of it (and great service). Sorry, have no pictures for you – to get the pictures, I would have to use the flash, and I really didn’t want to disrupt the atmosphere…
Last but absolutely not least for today is the Japanese restaurant called Sushi Ota (yes, we are continuing to explore the Asian cuisine of San Diego). Sushi Ota is considered to be one of the very best sushi restaurants in San Diego (4.5 stars based on 1676 reviews on Yelp, very impressive), so one would probably expect to find such a restaurant again in the Gas Lamp district or may be somewhere in downtown, surrounded by many other restaurants. When you drive to Sushi Ota, you take the highway exit, and the very next thing you do is start thinking if you had the right address written down, as you clearly see that you are in the area of car dealerships and small business offices, far away from the perceived “hot dining setting” by all means. But then GPS tells you that you have arrived, and you barely notice the name “Sushi Ota” on the sign of the tiny strip mall. Yep, you actually arrived to the one of the very best sushi joints in San Diego. I also hope you actually made a reservation at least few days in advance, because otherwise, you will need tremendous amount of luck to score even single sit by the bar.
At 5;30 pm, when the restaurant opens for dinner, it instantly gets at least half full, and it is a full house at 6 pm. What matter is that you got your table, so it is time to eat.
As a starter, we took a Tuna Tartar dish. This is not your average Tuna tartar – it is presented on top of tempura eggplant, and each one of the 4 pieces has different topping. This dish was done more of a single bite style (a big bite, I have to say), and really delicious.
Next up – Clam Miso Soup. It is a “kicked up” Miso soup as it contains a few clams in the traditional aromatic broth – definitely a nice touch.
Our next selection (highly recommended) was the Spanish Mackerel sashimi. What you get is essentially the whole fish, with all the meat cut up in the small sashimi pieces. I like Mackerel sashimi in general, but it never tastes like the one we got at Sushi Ota. Typical mackerel sashimi is rather on the dry side, and can be even chewy. The one we had at Sushi Ota was succulent, sweet, soft and was literally melting in the mouth. Take a look at how it is served:
As you can see, you do get literally the whole fish. Wonder why you are get served the bones too? Well, once you done with the sashimi, the plate is taken away from you, only to be brought back in about 20 minutes after that fish skeleton was deep fried to the point that you can literally eat it like the potato chips! It is so tasty you literally can’t leave anything on the plate! Here you are:
And then, of course, we had sushi. We got a few different rolls and Uni (uni, a.k.a., sea urchin, you can eat only when it is super-fresh, and that’s the way it is at Sushi Ota). For the rolls we got Double Double Tuna, which is a combination of spicy tuna and regular tuna on top, as well as Eel Roll – fresh and delicious. And to finish the meal, of course, the mochi ice cream – green tea and mango. All in all, an outstanding meal, which makes you to leave the restaurant with the promise to self to come back as soon as possible.
That’s all I got for you for today – more choices for your possible San Diego trip. If you have already or will visit any of these place, I would love to know what do you think. And until the next time – cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #104: Grape Trivia – Blends, Part 8
The Wine Quiz series is not meant to intimidate. The whole idea here is to have fun and learn something new. When answering the questions, it is fully encouraged to use all available sources of information, including Google or any other search engine. There are no embarrassing answers – the most embarrassing thing is not giving it a try…
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
We are continuing our grape trivia series, focusing on the blends, even if it is a blend of 1. White, Red, Rosé, Sparkling, Still, Fortified and Dessert – all goes. Oh yes, and we will blend in some regions and even wineries as well, just to make it more fun.
We talked about red wine blends last time, so how about white grapes for today? Hearing no objections, let’s proceed.
Q1: Some of the most expensive (on release, not at the auction) white wines in the world are made from one and the same grape. Can you name that grape?
Q2: I’m sure you know Spanish red wines, but how well do you know Spanish white wines, which are equally delicious and exciting? Try to pair the white grapes below with the regions you think they best represent:
| a. Albariño | 1. Rioja |
| b. Hondurrabi Zuri | 2. Penedes |
| c. Verdejo | 3. Rias Baixas |
| d. Viura | 4. Txakoli de Bizkaia |
| e. Xarel-lo | 5. Rueda |
Q3: What is common between Seven Daughters White, Middle Sister Wicked White and Pancake Cellars Big Day White? Don’t dig too dip on this question, I’m only looking for a simple answer.
Q4: When it comes to the white wines, this country is best known for its Riesling, Chardonnay and Semillon wines. If we will replace Semillon with Sauvignon Blanc, we will move to another country with these grapes being the best known trio. From which country to which country we are traveling here?
Q5: As you [most likely] know, the soccer (which is known as football for all living outside of US) World Cup will open up in less that 2 weeks in Brazil. This famous producer made a special version of its very well known blended wine just for the sparkling festivities of the great game celebration. Can you name this famous producer?
Good luck, enjoy the quiz and your weekend! Cheers!
Daily Glass: California Gamay? How about it!
The process of selecting of the bottle to open sometimes can be very daunting – may be this? But I just had it few days ago. Than that? Well, today is not special enough day? Then what about that one? Nope, doesn’t feel right. In the end of the day (not literally), you just bite the bullet and say “this is it”. So the end result of my nerve wrecking selection process today was a bottle of … California Gamay from Field Recordings.
Now, class, who had the opportunity to taste California Gamay – raise your hands. Yep, I thought so. It is not that often that you hear about California Gamay. It is not even too often that you hear about Gamay been grown anywhere in US. Beaujolais? Of course, Gamay is one and only. Loire? Sure, also quite popular. Switzerland? Lesser known outside of Switzerland, but still – yes, it does quite well there. But California?
Well, so as they say, there is a first time for everything. Today was my first time to taste the California Gamay. 2013 Field Recordings Gamay Noir Rancho Real Vineyard Santa Maria Valley, California (13.9% ABV, 100% Gamay Noir, 6 month in Neutral Puncheons, 50% carbonic, 50% destemmed, 140 cases, Bottled: 04.19.2014) – very interesting. The nose was reminiscent of the Beaujolais Nouveau, but with the fruit being more mature and restrained, not as grapey. Very delicious and pronounced, similar to all other Field Recordings wines I had so far. And the palate… The palate was puzzling. It had a lot of fresh, ripe raspberries, good acidity and good balance, but there was something else which took me a while to figure out. And then it came down to me – the wine was still coming together. It was very similar to the Chenin Blanc which I had directly from the tank at the winery. Fermentation or not (I’m not a winemaker, so I can’t tell you exactly what it is, I can only describe to the best of my abilities), but this wine still needed time. This is why I highlighted above the date when the wine was bottled – so I was having the wine which was bottled only a bit more than a month ago – and it was noticeable. The wine was not bad by all means – but it would be very interesting to know, how would it taste when it would finally come together as a whole. Note to self – for the young wines, try to read the labels before, not after. Anyway, it was an interesting experience, and I will have to go with Drinkability of 7+, as the wine was still pleasant. Oh yes, of course it was my one and only bottle.
Have you had California Gamay before, or any US Gamay for that matter? What do you think? Also, have you had the wine which wwas not done yet? Comment away and cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Photo Quiz Answer, What to Drink In Casual Restaurant, Cost of Everyday Wine, Restaurant Wine List 101
Meritage time!
Last Saturday, instead of a traditional wine quiz, we had rather a photo quiz – I came back from San Diego, and asked if you can figure out what was pictured here:
Of course the question seems easy when you actually know what it is, but in reality – probably not so much. Two people came very very close to the right answer – mimi suggested that this is a picture of the ship, and vinoinlove offered a “San Diego Harbor” as his guess. What you see in this picture is a reflection of the boats in the San Diego harbor. The picture is “undoctored”, no photoshop or anything, it is just the reflection of the boats standing in the dock. Here is the picture where you will see both the boats and the reflection – it attracted my attention first, and then I realized that the reflection would make it into a perfect picture on its own:
Boats on the Marina, San Diego
As this was still a quiz, I would like to declare both mimi and vinoinlove as winners! Great job!
Here are few more pictures from the San Diego trip which I hope you will enjoy:
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
Let’s start with an interesting analysis of the wine selection at the casual restaurants. When you go to the places like Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday or Red Lobster, wine is probably not on top of your mind. However, all of those restaurants offer the wine lists, and W. Blake Gray took upon himself to analyze them by using the information available on the restaurant web sites, to see what is good, what is bad, what makes sense and what doesn’t. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it is interesting to see that Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling is one of the best common white wines among 4 different wine lists analyzed. I think this is an interesting read, so for all the details I suggest that you will take a look at the post here.
If you remember, last week I brought to your attention an interesting analysis of the prices of the wine which people would consider to be acceptable for the everyday wines. The post had a survey in it, which by now concluded, and based on the results of that survey the most popular price range for the everyday wines is … $5 to $12! This is how I voted, and this is exactly what I expected – but for more details and the analysis of the voting results, please visit the original blog post here.
Last for today, continuing the subject of restaurant wine lists, here is an excellent in-depth discussion of the restaurant wine lists done by one of my all time most favorite wine writers, Matt Kramer. Matt provides rationale for the wine lists to be composed the way they are, and also makes a suggestion on how you can navigate any wine list to find what you want to drink at the price you will be willing to pay. Definitely worth your attention, if you ask me.
And we are done here. The glass is empty – but the refill is on its way! Cheers!
A Perfect Day In San Diego
When I travel on the plane, I often skim through the airline magazine, such as Hemispheres on United, before I get to my beloved sudoku page. One of the articles I often pay attention to is “Three perfect days in a particular town”, which describes how you can potentially spend three days at some town, starting from the lodging, talking about attractions and dining options. Over the past 3 month, I was in San Diego in California twice, and came across a few places which I found worth talking about, thus I decided to come up with the similar post to those I mentioned before. Writing about 3 perfect days might get a bit too intense, so let me compose for you just one, potentially perfect, day. Here we go.
Let’s start with the place to stay. San Diego has no shortage of the hotels, of course. The reason for me to recommend the two hotels below is because I personally stayed in both and liked them very much. First option is the Residence Inn San Diego Downtown, located at 1747 Pacific Highway. Yes, it is the part of the chain of Marriott hotels, and while it is not unique, it nevertheless offers a great convenience of stay for the family, with all rooms being suites with kitchenettes. It is also located within walking distance from Little Italy area (lots of great restaurants!) and the number of attractions right by the water, like USS Midway Museum. This hotel is within 20-25 minutes walking distance to the Gas Lamp Quarters (lots of restaurants and great night life), and it is easy to get to and from the highway.
The second hotel I can recommend is called Kona Kai Resort and it is located on on 1551 Shelter Island Road. Even taking into account that hotel was undergoing renovation during my stay there, the location and the views were absolutely spectacular. Yes, I stayed at many beach-front hotels before, however, in case of Kona Kai, the combination of marina with numerous boats and the hill covered with the houses was one of the most tranquil settings I ever experienced in the hotel. Just sit in the chair and be transported away in the dreams… Small private beach, lots of different water sport activities, bonfires – the hotel definitely offers a lot for the very enjoyable stay.
Kona kai Marina View at Kona Kai Resort
Now, let’s talk about few things you can do. Of course San Diego Zoo, as well as Seaworld need no introduction, so I will not be talking about them. Also, if you are traveling with kids, don’t forget that Legoland is only about 40 minutes away from San Diego. However, I would like to bring to your attention a few of probably lesser known places. After breakfast (please see below for recommendation), head out to the Cabrillo National Monument. While you can think basedon the name that this is only a single structure, Cabrillo National Monument is actually a park, which offers stunning views of San Diego and San Diego harbor, the Lighthouse, a small military history museum and the number of hiking trails – you can easily spend a few hours there.
Depending on how much time you will spend at the Cabrillo National Monument, you might or might not be ready for lunch – in any case, you will find my suggestion below. After lunch, I have few more places for you to visit. First, the Balboa Park, which is a very interesting collection of botanical gardens, beautiful grounds and lots of different museums. Depending on how much time you will have available, there will be no problems to spend not only half day, but pretty much the whole day in the Balboa Park. One of the most stunning images for me was the Towering Moreton Bay Fig tree, with the root more resembling a dinosaur’s foot and towering crown disappearing high in the sky:
Towering Moreton Bay Fig Tree at Balboa Park
One feels really humbled walking around these magnificent trees.
Once you are done with the Balboa Park, I have the last attraction for you to see for the day – Sunset Cliffs. This is also a park, which offers stunning views of the ocean, as well as opportunity to surf and hike. To me, just sitting down and watching the waves, is enough of attraction on its own. And I would also guess from the name that the best time to visit the cliffs is during the sunset, but I didn’t have an opportunity to check this myself.
And now, let’s talk about food! As we are talking about the perfect day, I would like to share three recommendations with – yes, we are talking breakfast, lunch and dinner.
And now, it is time for lunch. I hope you are craving seafood, as the place I want to send you to is a fresh seafood heaven, very much resembling the New England, or rather even Cape Cod seafood joints, the hallmarks of the fresh seafood restaurants. With its unassuming and non-pretentious simplicity, Point Loma Seafoods reminds you of many of the Guy Fiery’s triple-D worthy establishments – inexpensive, always filled with people, offering great variety of seafood which is as fresh as it can be, with different styles of preparation. In the mood for sashimi? You got it. A plate of fried oysters or clams? No problems. A whole clam sandwich (this is what I had)? Here you go. Fresh fish, salads, soups, oysters, crab cakes – definitely there is a variety to chose from. Make sure you will allocate time, both to find parking and to wait in the line – but the wait is very manageable, the service is quite quick and efficient. I highly recommend you will include Point Loma Seafoods into your travel itinerary.
After all the walking, climbing, and may be swimming, kayaking and sun bathing, you probably feeling tired and reading for an exciting dinner. Your wish is my command. Let me suggest that you will take a short trip to Coronado Island, and find the place called Chez Loma (yep, we are going French again – how about that!).
Again, an interesting parallel with New England, as Chez Loma restaurant is located in the regular house-looking structure. Simple ambiance and chanson music definitely add to your mood. And the food… Well, before we talk about food, few words about the wine. The wine list has reasonable size and very reasonable prices, with most of the selections coming from California, France and New Zealand. For no particular reason, we started with NV Scharffenberger Mendocino County, California – simple wine, with nice touch of toasted apple on the nose, and good weight on the palate. This wine had a bigger body than typical NV Champagne would have, with the same toasted apple being a main theme. Overall, easy to drink and refreshing. Our second wine was delicious 2012 Matua Pinot Noir Marlboro New Zealand (13% ABV) – smokey nose, vibrant acidity, tart cherries on the palate, excellent balance – the wine was perfectly complementing the variety of dishes we had for dinner.
And then, there was food. For the appetizers, we went with the few different options. Ceviche “Verde” (rockfish, tomatillo sauce, avocado) was somewhat “off the beaten path”, very refreshing, with the avocado and tomatillo sauce adding an interesting touch. Escargot (mushroom, sweetbread, asparagus, garlic butter) was probably the best I ever had – somehow, all the elements worked together creating literally a sublime experience. Tartare of Beef (hand cut beef, shallots, horseradish, parsley, pomme frites) was another great appetizer. I fell in love with this dish in Paris, and ever since, when it is on the menu in the restaurant which I would trust to serve me a raw beef, I would go for it. This version was very nicely done, with the perfect flavor profile. And lastly, the Three Beets (yellow, striped and red, thyme vinaigrette, Bucheron goat cheese) was simply a music for the eyes – bright, colorful, and most importantly, very tasty! Perfect texture on the beets – not too hard and not mushy, just right, and an excellent pairing with very gentle goat cheese.
Couple of entrees I want to bring to your attention. Peppered Filet Mignon (tenderloin, black pepper crust, brandy sauce, potato puree, haricot vert) was perfectly cooked, with very fresh cracked black pepper, simply a perfection on the plate. And the Sea Scallops (vanilla infusion, cauliflower puree, bacon crisp, orange sauce) were perfectly done, with the right texture and delicious textural enhancement of cauliflower puree and bacon bits. Again, one of the best Sea Scallops dishes ever, and I have to tell you that 3 times out of 4, if the menu has Sea Scallops on it, this would be the dish I would take. For dessert, we shared Gingerbread (orange-caramel sauce), which was mostly a nicely done bread pudding. All in all, a great dining experience and I can’t recommend this restaurant high enough.
After leaving the restaurant, see if you will be able to get a quick tour of the historical Hotel del Coronado – it definitely worth a few moments of your time – seeing all the wooden paneling and lavishly appointed hallways. Note – you might have to look for the way to sneak in as a registered guest. Upon return to the hotel you are staying at, spend a few moments admiring San Diego and marina nightlights. It was a long day, but I hope it was a good one.
Here you have it, my friends – my version of the perfect day in San Diego. Whether you visited any pf the places I mentioned or not, I would love to know what you all think. Cheers!
Just For Fun, A Little Photo Quiz
I just came back home after a long business trip to San Diego, so I really don’t have time to come up with a good wine quiz for today. Instead, as I know that many of my readers love not just wine, but photography as well, I have a simple photo quiz for you. Take a look at the picture below, and let me know what do you think this is. The answer will come out on Wednesday, as usual.
Have fun, enjoy your weekend, and if you are in US – enjoy your long Memorial Day weekend, and say “thank you” and think of all the people who fought for our freedom. And if you have a chance, raise your glass as well. Cheers!
Another “How Do They Do It?” Set of Trader Joe’s Wines
On the multiple occasions, I wrote about Trader Joe’s wines in this blog. I generally only can taste them when I travel, as Trader Joe’s stores in Connecticut can’t sell wine. Thus if I’m in the close proximity of the Trader Joe’s store, and schedule allows, I always make an effort to taste something new.
While Trader Joe’s wine selection generally includes wines at the different price levels, my focus is always on the most inexpensive wines. The rationale is simple – at $9.99 and above, there is a great selection of wines in my neighborhood wine store. At the same time, there is practically nothing in the $4.99 – $6.99 price range, thus it is very interesting how good (or how bad) such wines can be.
In general, I can’t complain about Trader Joe’s wines. My typical “success rate” is somewhat of the 3 out of 4 ratio – if I would taste 4 wines, at least 3 of them would be at “I want to drink it again” level. But this time, while in San Diego, California, I was simply blown away – 6 out of 6, 3 wines at $4.99 and 3 at $5.99, where perfectly drinkable wines which I would gladly drink again on any day! This was definitely a “how do they do it???” moment, as I would never expect, for instance, Rosé or Zinfandel from California to have such a QPR, to taste as good as they did considering the amount of money I had to pay for them.
Without further ado, let me present to you my 6 out of 6 set of “how do they do it?” wines from Trader Joe’s.
2012 Pancake Cellars Big Day White Paso Robles, California (13.5% ABV, $4.99, 37% Chardonnay, 23% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Viognier, 15% Pinot Blanc, 10% Muscat Canelli) – I can only guess this is modeled after the Conundrum, only this wine I actually enjoyed (and it costs 1/4 of the Conundrum)! Very nice and refreshing nose of white fruit with herbal undertones. On the palate, nice, round, good acidity, white fruit, white apples, very good balance. While not the most complex, definitely very enjoyable! Drinkability: 7+/8-
2013 Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles Rosé Paso Robles, California (13.5% ABV, $4.99, Mourvedre 49%, Grenache 26%, Syrah 25%) – you can safely assume that I had zero expectations opening a bottle of Rhone-style Rosé from California which cost $4.99. Boy, was I wrong. The wine was simply outstanding – bright, cheerful, full of strawberries and cranberries, perfect acidity – get it by the case to make your summer days super enjoyable. Drinkability: 8-
2013 J.L. Quinson Cotes de Provence AOP (12.5% ABV, $5.99) – same as the one above, zero expectations for Provence Rosé for $5.99 – sorry, the internal snob is speaking. First sniff and sip – wow, I’m convinced. Perfectly restrained, mineral, light, refreshing acidity – as classic as Provençal Rosé gets, only at half price or even less, depending on the bottle. Another case buy for the summer, in case you need my recommendation. Drinkability: 7+
2012 Oreana Wines Project Happiness Syrah California (13.5% ABV, $5.99) – see the happy face on the label? This is what this wine is – happy. No, this is not the most thought provoking Syrah you can drink, but it is simple, easy to drink, round and balanced, good fruit on the palate, a tiny bit of pepper. Throw in a little barbequed meat – and your face might look exactly as the one on the label. Drinkability: 7
2011 Symington Family Estate Tuella Douro DOC, Portugal (13.5% ABV, $5.99) – Douro wines are slowly but surely gaining their international reputation, so this is definitely a good deal of a very solid wine which you can also age. It was showing a little tight, with reserved fruit expression, but good overall balance and acidity. At this price, if you got some space in the cellar, forget a few bottles there – you might thank me in a 3-4 years. Drinkability: 7
2012 Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel Paso Robles (13.5% ABV, %4.99) – the first smell exhorts the “wow”. Good Zinfandel at $4.99 didn’t sound to me even as a remote possibility. And then this Grower’s reserve comes in – perfectly open, with clean smokey raspberries and blackberries, very round fruit expression on the palate, with the same smokey berries being very present and well matching the nose – the QPR on this wine simply goes through the roof. No, this wine doesn’t have the richness of Turley or Carlisle, but then you don’t need to cellar it for 10 years before you can really enjoy it. If you like Zinfandel – this is definitely the wine you have to experience. Drinkability: 7+/8-
I tip my hat to whomever is responsible for sourcing the wines for Trader Joe’s stores – to say “well done” is almost to say nothing – great job, and please keep doing it over and over again, to the delight of all the wine lovers out there. Cheers!
Cozymeal – A Unique Dining Experience
What I want to share with you today is a guest blog post written by Nanette Wong and Samad Nasserian, presenting unique and interesting dining concept Cozymeal. I like the concept, and I think it nicely expands your Friday (or any other) night dining options. Cozymeal is available today only in San Francisco and Northern California, but they plan to expand to East Coast very soon. Please read below and feel free to comment. Cheers!
Picture this: It’s Friday night, and you’ve made reservations at the hottest new restaurant in town. When you arrive, you still have to wait a little bit, despite making reservations. No big deal (sort of). Finally, you’re seated and everyone’s ordered. The food comes out, and it’s pretty good, but it’s a tiny space and you keep bumping elbows with everyone. It’s a little noisy too, so it’s hard to carry on a normal conversation. On the way out, splitting the bill gets complicated and everyone is a little frustrated with how it’s done. Does this scene sound familiar at all?
We’ve all experienced situations like this before, and that’s where Cozymeal comes in. Cozymeal is offering a new way of eating and enjoying the benefits of a restaurant, without the not so pleasant parts. Also, you can have the cooking classes with the chefs, so you can even eat the delicious foods you cook. Pretty cool right? It’s a complete foodie experience.
Here is how it works. Cozymeal is a trusted community of food lovers and home chefs who share their passion for food. In order to enjoy a Cozymeal, all you need to do is to browse through the offered Cozymeals, find the dining style you like (or a cooking class) and the date which works for you (or you can request the new date), book it and then come to enjoy a great evening of great food and conversation in cozy and comfortable setting – it is as easy as that!
There’s a wide array of meals offered. From Peranakan Food on a Boat to Old Style Nordic Cuisine to a French Country dinner, there’s a meal to fit everyone and anyone’s taste buds. And that doesn’t even cover all the cooking classes offered as well!
One of the most popular cooking classes currently offered is James’ Italian Comfort Meal cooking class, where you learn to make your own, fresh pasta! Located in the colorful Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, professional chef James will teach class participants how to make a scrumptious egg tagliatelle, topped with slow cooked pork sugo.
And that’s not even the main course. The main course is a slow-cooked beef brisket, simmered in white wine and milk. The whole meal is rounded off with a creamy La Quesada (think if cheesecake met flan) and fresh, local berries.
Another unique dining experience is Desiree’s Peranakan Dinner on a Boat. With Desiree, you can enjoy a sunset dinner on her boat docked at the Berkeley harbor.
She is half Hainanese and half Peranakan, and offers an authentic fusion meal for Cozymeal diners. The meal starts off with crispy sardine puffs, followed by chicken nut stew and jasmine rice. A simple yet flavorful and traditional tofu dish also appears on the menu. And of course, can’t forget dessert, which are a sweet, fluffy Kaya puff.
What’s most interesting about the whole experience is that professional chefs, or really talented home cooks, not only put the effort into creating this meal, but they also welcome you into their home. You get to interact directly with them, chat about how they cooked the meal, and pretty much ask them whatever you want! (Can’t guarantee they’ll spill all their secrets though). This is also being a great benefit for travelers. How often had you traveled abroad, hoping to taste the authentic food of the nation, but are limited to restaurants. And let’s face it, the restaurants are probably catered to tourists. Now that we think about it, it’s kind of being in Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, where you’re Guy Fiery and the chef is sharing his food with you in his own home! Pretty awesome. Anthony Bourdain ain’t got nothin on you.
Cozymeal is growing rapidly and will be expanding to the East Coast very soon. If you are interested in becoming a Cozymeal host in the East Coast, West Coast or anywhere else, reach out to us by visiting our host page.
Check out Cozymeal here, or visit us on Facebook.
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Cost of Everyday Wine, National Chardonnay Day, What the MS Do?
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer to the wine quiz #103, Grape Trivia – Blends, Part 3.
For the long time, the grape trivia series was focused on the single grapes. But now we are stirring things up, so all the questions in the quiz are about blends (well, even if it is a blend of one ), as most of the wines in the world are actually blends. This quiz’s focus was on the red grape blends, and as usual, it consisted of 5 questions.
Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: As you know, Merlot is one of the Bordeaux stars. Below are some of the best Merlot wines Bordeaux can produce, but only some of them are made from 100% Merlot. Do you know what wines are those?
a. Château Le Pin, b. Château Petrus, c. Château Hossana, d. Château Certan Marzelle
A1: It really wasn’t a tricky question – I believe if you carefully read the question itself, it should be clear that more than one answer is possible. Another reason that this was not a tricky question is that two Châteaux from that list of four are growing only Merlot grapes thus they never produce a blended wine. So the correct answer is a and d – both Château Le Pin and Château Certan Marzelle grow only Merlot grapes thus their wines are always made out of 100% Merlot.
Q2: What is common between the following 3 Bordeaux producers: Château Trotte Vieille, Château Belle Assise, Château Le Bel
A2: While very unique and different for Bordeaux, all three of these Châteaux produce wines made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes.
Q3: Wine lovers around the world are well familiar with so called GSM wines and their great range of expression, coming from Rhone valley in France, Australia, US and may other places. If we are to replace the Syrah in GSM blend with the Cinsault, which will produce powerful, dense, concentrated, long living red wines, where do you think such a wine most likely will come from? You need to name not just the country, but the exact region in order to get a full point here.
A3: Bandol! Mourvèdre grape is the star in Bandol, with Grenache and Cinsault often added to the blend, thus we can say that the abbreviation for the Bandol blend should’ve been MGC.
Q4: Sangiovese is a star grape of Italy, used in many regions and producing great range of wines. Montepulciano is another well known red Italian grape, most often associated with juicy, delicious and versatile wines made in the region of Abruzzo. If the wine is made as a blend of Montelpuciano and Sangiovese, often in 50/50 proportions (doesn’t have to be always 50/50), can you name the region where these wines would most likely come from?
A4: Rosso Piceno is the red wine from the Region Marche which is often made out of the 50/50 blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese.
Q5: Below is the [partial] list of grapes which I personally call “Power Grapes” (I’m contemplating the blog post under the same name for a while). When used on their own (at a 100%, no blending), these typically black-skinned grapes produce powerful, dense, extremely concentrated wines, often with gripping tannins. For each grape below, can you identify the region(s) and the country(ies) making best known wines from those grapes? You don’t have to name all countries and the regions, one per grape is enough:
A5:
a. Alicante Bouschet – Alentejo in Portugal, Valencia in Spain
b. Sagrantino – Sagrantino is the unique grape in Montefalco DOCG in Umbria, Italy.
c. Saperavi – Georgia. Actually Saperavi has a wide range of expression, but it is very much capable of producing extremely dense and concentrated wines.
d. Tannat – Madiran in France and Uruguay
e. Vranec (or Vranac) – Macedonia and number of other Balkan countries.
When it comes to the results, all the respondents voiced their concern with the level of difficulty of the quiz. It was definitely unintentional, but I still can’t promise that “I wouldn’t do it again”. Anyway, the Wayward Wine came the closest to the winning with 4 correct answers out of 5, and I would like to acknowledge both asueba and vinoinlove for their great effort. Well done everyone!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First, I want to bring to your attention an interesting post and the poll at the Wine Curmudgeon blog, pondering at [almost] an eternal question – how much the everyday wine should cost? Yes, of course it all depends, but assuming that you drink wine as it gives you pleasure, what do you find to be a reasonable price of the bottle of wine? In this post, you will find both an analysis and the poll to share your opinion. The poll will be closed on May 22 and the results will be published on May 24th, so make sure to have your say before.
What kind of wine to you plan to open on Friday, May 23rd? Well, you can open any wine, with one condition – it have to be the Chardonnay! On Friday, May 23rd, we will be celebrating the National Chardonnay Day, so it is obvious that Chardonnay for Friday is in order. California, Virginia, Washington, New York, Chile, New Zealand or Burgundy – you got plenty of choice and no excuses not the celebrate the noble white grape.
[Updated after the original post date] It appears that it is Thursday, May 22nd that is an actual date for 5th Annual #ChardonnayDay celebration. As explained by Rick Backas, who started the celebration, the #ChardonnayDay is always celebrated on the last Thursday before the Memorial Day holiday in US, which this year is on the May 26th, thus #ChardonnayDay falls on the 22nd. My take? You get to drink Chardonnay for two days now. Yay!
Last for today, an interesting article by W. Blake Gray, conversing on the subject of the MS and what they do. As you can guess, considering that this is the wine blog, MS stands for Master Sommelier, one of the most educated group of people in the world of wine (at the moment, there are only 214 MS in the world). The blog post analyzes how many of the Master Sommeliers actually work the floor and help people to have best possible wine experiences in the restaurant. Take a look the post, it is an interesting read – and, as usual, don’t forget to read the comments section.
And we are done here. The glass is empty – but the refill is on its way! Cheers!
Lots of Wines, Zero Pretense – Enjoying Wine at Wine Steals in San Diego
I love restaurants and wine bars, no questions (well, who doesn’t?). Yet every time I go to the restaurant where I expect to be ordering wine, I go out of my way to find the wine list beforehand and see what is there. No, it is not because I need to play the wine snob and see that a restaurant carries the wines worthy of my exquisite taste. Fine, I’m lying – I will give you 10% on that reason. But the rest of the 90%? I want to see if there is a wine which I can afford and still enjoy drinking at the same time. Yes, I’m a cheap bastard, and no, I’m not willing to pay any price to get what I want. If worst comes to worst, I have enough wine at home – I can just drink water at the restaurant. Considering that restaurants in many cases want to charge triple or more versus retail, I find this atrocious and not wiling to support it. So if I can see the wine list ahead of time, at least I know what to expect.
But – wouldn’t it be nice if the wines would be reasonably priced at the restaurant? Let’s say, the retail plus the fixed markup? I read about some of the restaurants which have this model, but I never been to one. Until now.
Enters Wine Steals San Diego (cue in happy music). No, this is not the place where you can learn how to steal wine or buy the illegal Screaming Eagle for 5 on the dollar. Wine Steals is actually a wine retail store, slash the wine bar. And quite honestly, I want to call them a “concept bar”, as for the sake of all of the oenophiles who don’t get to enjoy the wine in the restaurant because they can’t afford it, I really hope that the concept of Wine Steal will catch like a wild fire and the Wine Steals outlets will pop up all over the country. What is the concept, you ask? In a few words – honest, simple and perfectly reasonable pricing of the wine in the bar/restaurant setting. You can get the wine by the glass – okay, this is not unique, agreed. But you can also buy a bottle of wine at a very reasonable price (how about a bottle of 2005 Toro for less than $16), and have it served to you right at the restaurant for only $6? Yep – buy any bottle at a very reasonable and competitive retail price, and pay only $6 extra to have it served to you. And of course, whatever you will not finish, you can take home with you. So that almost feels like a steal to me – in the best possible sense of the word. How about that for the concept? Would you welcome Wine Steals in your neighborhood? I know I would, gladly and giddily.
While the most fun part (which you don’t get to do in a restaurant) is simply walking around the floor and simply choosing your bottle, we started from the two glasses of wine. Manorossa Negroamaro Lizzano DOP was definitely a fun wine, with perfect acidity, good fruit and enough depth to support the conversation. And then 2005 Dama de Toro Crianza Toro DO was simply spectacular – herbs and spices on the nose, nutmeg, lavender, sage, red and black fruit on the palate, more herbs, soft tannins and perfect balance – this was once delicious glass of wine (I liked it so much that I had to grab a few bottles to take them back home with me – as I said before, at around $17 with the tax, simply a [Wine] Steal). We also had 2010 Mahoney Vineyard Pinot Noir Carneros (about $20 for the bottle), which was just what you expect from the California Pinot Noir – hint of the smoke on the nose, nice dense dark fruit on the palate, concentrated and well balanced. And we finished the evening with Hidalgo Pedro Ximenez, a great value at $17.49 for the bottle – sweet plums on the palate, hint of dried figs, not overly sweet with nice balancing acidity.
Wine Steals also offers a very nice food menu, with various dips, cheese and meat boards, sandwiches, salads and pizzas. We had a cheese board and trio of the deeps which were simple but very tasty.
That concludes my exciting report. I hope the Wine Steals will become a concept, and will catch on everywhere. I think this is really a great way to enjoy wine worry-free in the bar setting, also knowing that you are getting a great deal. What do you think? Would you want to see a Wine Steals store open up around the corner? Comment away! Cheers!
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