'Field Trip Fridays'
Posted by Her on February 13, 2010
Friday night was double date night and to start the evening off right our pals brought over a bottle of “Sinister Hands” by Owen Roe from their local wine shop, Colorado Wine Company. (The store is terrific and We inadvertently left it off the list of where to buy wine for next Sunday’s Salon–thanks for the reminder, Ceci Sipper.) We just had a few sips before the cab pulled up to take us down the hill to Loteria Grill. We didn’t have the time or the inclination put “Sinister Hands” through our regular tasting regime (note color and then a whole lot of swirls, smells, and slurps), but I did notice the wine was thinner and lighter than I would expect from a Châteauneuf du Pape blend. On the palate it was showing it’s youth: the wine was tight and a bit sharp, with somewhat muted flavors of candied strawberry, some tar, and lots of spicy black pepper. Very enjoyable, but still young and acidic and missing the juiciness I enjoy in these style of wines. I want to try it again after it’s had some time in the bottle.
Our cabbie weaved in and out of the crazy Hollywood Boulevard traffic and we finally arrived at Loteria just in time for our reservation. The place was packed and LOUD, two qualities I usually don’t mind in a restaurant but the sound bouncing off the walls and echoing in the vaulted ceiling required us basically shout at each throughout the dinner.
Taking a cue our friends who had been before, we we immediately ordered a round of Tamarind tequila “martinis” from our goofily enthusiastic server. The pretty orange concoction was a bit sweet for my taste, but it was pleasant enough. Next up was the Probaditas, a platter of 12 tiny tacos. The one’s I had were tasty, and I especially enjoyed the fresh, green flavors of the cactus taco. The problem with the dish is that it is hard to share a taco with anyone else–they are single bite size. Next up for me was the special fish, a mahi mahi with mole. And a round of Cazadores shots for the table. My fish was disappointingly over-cooked. I enjoyed the sauteed greens and the mellow but flavorful sauce it was generously covered with, but the protein seemed secondary on the plate. He felt equally underwhelmed by his Cochinita Pibil burrito. The spices (not peppers, but what seemed like clove and/or nutmeg) overwhelmed all other flavors.
We’ve heard a lot of hype about Loteria, so our expectations were high and we had been looking forward to the dinner all week. Turns out that it’s not for us. We still had a fun time because of the great company (and tequila), but, as He said this morning, I’d rather get a taco from a truck downtown.
After the meal we walked across the street to the beloved Musso and Frank, taking the back entrance and heading straight for the bar. Turns out the dining room was shut down but the bar was still mixing cocktails (they just recently started staying open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights). Three of us had Manhattans and He ordered a Millers gin with a cucumber. Ruben, the legendary bartender, looked pained and said, “What…you want a salad?” There was a very funny exchange back and forth and finally Ruben handed Him a Miller High Life with a slice of cucumber on the side. Oops. He reordered: Hendricks gin with a lime, please. Everybody had a sweet tooth so I gigantic piece of cheesecake was ordered with cherries and a strawberry compote on the side. It lasted about 2 minutes. We marveled at how they got the cake so tall and with such a lovely no-crust crust.
We headed back out to Hollywood Boulevard, and it was hopping: lots of bare legged and barely dressed kids (they were like 16, those girls, right?) lined-up in front of various clubs. Traffic was horrendous, but we easily hailed a cab and headed back to the Eastside. We said our goodbyes and…promptly went to bed. Slept like babies. After last nights’ festivities we lazily spent this sunny Saturday morning with some tasty and much needed French press coffee.
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Posted by Us on January 29, 2010
This week on Wine Web Wednesdays He wrote, “There are a lot of things I hate about Twitter…” but here is something We love about it: connecting with people like Erika Kerekes. We’ve been following her for a while on Twitter (and you should too) and were intrigued by a tweet she posted a couple of weeks ago:
Hell yeah, We do…
A few DM’s later and We got ourselves an invitation to a tasting at Pourtal, a wine bar we had been reading about in Santa Monica. Their by the glass program that involved a fancy “enomatic” machine that kept bottles fresh and allowed tasters to try rare, unusual, and expensive wines (along with more common, reasonably priced wines) by the ounce intrigued us. Dominus? By the glass. Oh yeah, we’re there.
Our date was set for Janurary 26th. It was a rather gloomy, rainy night but we braved the traffic from our lovely Silverlake pad to the Westside. We arrived a bit early and felt haggard from the drive, so it was very nice to walk into such an inviting, warm spot with a friendly host.
The bubbly demeanor of the bartender inspired us to have a glass of Champagne and a few snacks before Erika arrived. The Rare Wine Company’s “Le Mensil” Champagne was gorgeous and a rarity to see on a wine list. It paired incredibly well with the creamy, rich burrata and stuffed grape leaves we chose from their menu. The rich snacks complimented the yeasty yet refreshing wine.
Every time the door to Pourtal would swing open, we stared…was it Erika? Having only exchanged a few tweets and messages, we weren’t sure if we’d recognize her just from her avatar. It had been a couple of weeks since we had set the tasting date, and she admitted:
Luckily for us all, the place wasn’t too crowded, so when she arrived we took our last gulps of the tasty Le Mesnil and walked over to make our introductions (and exchange names). Erika is a delight and easy to talk to (which may explain why We did so much of it). We exchanged our backgrounds in food and wine and then got down to what we were there for: tasting wine.
The night’s theme was Zinology, consisting of a zinfandel, and, as the very knowledgeable wine steward Helena explained, two of their close “couzins:” primitivo and palvac mali. It would be an old world/new world slurping session matched with some house made treats. Helena guided through the tasting with a short spiel before each tasting.
Our new friend asked us, out of earshot of Helena, if We could tell if a wine “expert” was bullshitting. (Although Erika might not have used that term.) She replied “yes…usually I know at least something about what is being tasted or the region that I can tell when they are using the right or wrong language.” He admitted that He didn’t know enough about wine to know if they were bullshitting or not, “…but I can read bullshit pretty well.” She assured them both that Helena was right on the money and the bonus was that she presented the information in such a non-pretentious, friendly, and easy to understand way.
Our notes from the tasting are below. She had explained to Erika the rules We have been following when tasting: make note of the color, swirl the wine and take some deep sniffs, slurp, swallow, and savor…and no talking. Wait a few moments and then compare notes. In general we followed this method.
Plavac Mali, “Peljesac Peninsula,” Dingac Winery, 2007 (Croatia)
She said: Translucent around the edges, slight brown tinge. On the nose: licorice, tar, some kind of spice like allspice/nutmeg, and brambly earthy notes. Soft, medium tannins in the mouth. Earthiness but not many berry or other fruit flavors. Would not guess the wine was zinfandel related. Whole mouthfeel is soft and pleasant, uncomplicated. Paired with Cypress Hill goat cheese which was dried and slightly crystallized. Nice pairing. The cheese added richness to the wine. Found it amusing the front label declares in prominent type: “Quality Dry Red Wines.” 
He said: Translucent and watery around the perimeter, no idea what color; it’s dark, and to repeat, I’m colorblind. Right away there is licorice on the nose, followed by baking bread, earth, and that smell you get when opening a bag of balloons. Very light bodied in the mouth and dirty, in a good way. Light to medium tannins. A little heat in the finish with a short aftertaste. Easy and uncomplicated, nice with the cheese. Wouldn’t necessarily serve it, but would definitely drink it. 
Primitivo, “Rudiae,” Vigneti Reale, 2006 (Pulgia)
She said: Dark, purplish red. Nose reveals dark red berries, raspberries, cassis, tar, licorice. Definitely smelling more like a zinfandel. In the mouth there is a kind of heaviness on the palate. Hints of white pepper, medium high tannins. Flavors of cassis, dark fruits, prunes. The finish is hot and a bit sharp and acidic. Bottle reveals it is over 14% alcohol. Overall a very drinkable wine with some umpf. Matches surprisingly well with the spanakopita, but that’s probably because the spinach has been baked with so much butter and really nice not too salty feta. They make the cheese in house, we were told. Could have just a couple of hunks of it with the wine.
He said: Guess what? I don’t know the color, and didn’t note it so I may have not even tried. On the nose is black cherry, blackberry and what I think is some kind of creamy pastry; smells like Paris. Much more fruit than the previous wine. The nose gives no hint of the pepper and spice in the mouth. And, this will get you drunk: 14% alcohol. Hello. Light tannins and spice, spice, spice… I like it. 
Zinfandel, “Clockspring,” Mountain View Vintners, 2006 (Amador County)
She said: Deep, opaque red purple color. Similar nose to the previous wine: cassis, tar, licorice, dark berries. Really big mouthfeel; a bit cloying and syrupy. Spice, pepper, root beer flavors. Medium to high tannin. Lingering finish of Cassis and licorice. A bit to big, rich, and candy like for my taste. Matched with a delicious pork belly sandwich that had hints of orange. Good pairing, again.
He said: No color again, get used to it. Cherry on the nose with light licorice. This wine is more elusive than the last one; but maybe that’s just because the last one got me kind of drunk. Maybe a little yeast on the nose here too. It’s very creamy in the mouth, like cream soda. And peppery, like Dr. Pepper. The pork belly sandwich was great. This was my least favorite of the night, but it was still good.
Sipping our last drops of wine, Helena brought out some small vials to test our smelling capabilities. For the first round we both got 3 of 4 right, but failed miserably on the second round; 0 of 4. The power of suggestion is just that: powerful. On the first round three of the scents had been mentioned at some point during our tasting. The second round consisted of smells that were nothing like the wines we tasted. It was challenging and very fun. Where do you buy those little vials of smell? We want some.
We all had a terrific, tasty time.
Thank you to Helena for being our educator for the evening. And thank you Pourtal: We loved it. Everyone was warm and welcoming (and it actually seemed sincere), both food and wine were tasty. We will be back; it’s a very good reason for us to venture to the Westside. Cheers.
And a special thanks to Erika for this invitation…and a promise for another one:
Our reply: Hell yeah. We’ll bring bottles.
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Posted by Him on January 9, 2010
Here is a recollection of everywhere we ate on our road-trip to and from Texas. It’s long, I know, but we ate a lot. For lunch we usually ate sandwiches or 
fruit & veggies from the cooler in our backseat. We didn’t want to eat crappy road food on our long drives so we stocked up at Whole Foods. I really recommend this over eating gross fast food and gas station junk. And it was cute watching Her make us sandwiches in the front seat. At night we treated ourselves to a good dinner. Bon Apetit!
Butterfieds Stage Co Steak House. Holbrook, Arizona.
This was our first stop for food, a steakhouse a block away from our wigwam. The decor is “heroes and villains of the Wild West” (which would be a perfect precursor to a few things we would see in subsequent days). A nice steak sounds great after a long day of driving, and so does a Maker’s Mark to warm us up, it’s 25º outside. She ordered a T-Bone with a baked potato and cole slaw and I had a Porterhouse with mashed potatoes and I don’t remember. The meal and service were just fine. The big problem in my head was that we had been listening to The Omnivore’s Dilemma on CD, and this really isn’t the kind of place to have “Niman Ranch” written on the menu. I am trying to eat only grass-fed beef, but let’s just say mostly instead of only. Butterfields is a little overpriced for what it is, I think we paid $75 for our 2 steaks and whiskey’s.
Café Pasqual’s. Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This place is why Yelp is such a good thing. Neither of us had any idea where to eat in Santa Fe, and went here purely because of the reviews on the site. We are very happy we did. We already wrote about our experience here in detail, so I won’t rehash it. All I will say is that if you are in Santa Fe, go to Pasqual’s. But make a reservation, this place gets packed.
The Kettle. Childress,Texas.
We got into Childress at 8:30PM and noticed a few steakhouses and a lot of fast food chains. After checking into our hotel we decided to head to one of the steakhouses. Uh-oh, it’s 9PM and everything in Childress is closed, except for McDonald’s, Sonic and The Kettle. We chose the lesser of 3 evils and walked into the Kettle, filled with truckers and some rough looking locals. She ordered the Catfish and I got Biscuits & Gravy. The place was kind of dirty and gross, so we took our food to go and ate in our hotel room. My B&G were disgusting so I could only imagine how bad her Catfish was. Imagine my surprise when She proclaimed that She actually liked it. Get to Childress early, the town closes at 9.
Hannah’s. Denton, Texas.
I had eaten at Hannah’s about 8 or 9 years ago and remembered it as a very nice restaurant in a quaint little space on the square in Denton. Time has changed part of that; Hannah’s has moved into a very large space. Denton is a great town for music (2nd only to Austin as Texas’ musical epicenter) and home to 2 major universities. [Sidenote: If you haven't listened to Will Johnson & Centro-matic, check them out]. It’s nice to see a “fine dining” restaurant thrive in this little college town. After a long drive on remote roads, we sat outside (73º, but it would snow the next day) and She had a glass of Pine Ridge viognier/chenin blanc blend, while I had a glass of Château Bonnet Bordeaux blanc. We shared a few tasty small plates and ordered a bottle of the Château Bonnet.
Dragonfly. Dallas, Texas.
I had read about the Dragonfly for a couple of years and when our free Trolley rolled by, I was excited to go in. Unfortunately, our experience here would foreshadow a spate of terrible service that would (mostly) haunt us for the rest of our trip. To put it bluntly, the bartender was an inattentive bitch. A note to all waiters and bartenders: you work on tips, and if I am (over)paying for food & wine, the least you can do is feign good hospitality. We thought our experience would improve when a second bartender arrived, but it didn’t. Combined with the very loud cursing drunk guy at the bar (it was like 4:30PM), I couldn’t wait to get out of this place. We drank our glasses of red wine as fast as we could and got the hell out of this place. I really hate complaining about service, but this was really, really bad. We left without eating. Suck it, Dragonfly.
The Idle Rich Pub. Dallas, Texas.
We walked a couple of blocks after leaving the Dragonfly and stumbled upon this place with a name we both loved and aspire to. We sat at the bar and were greeted by smiling, knowledgeable bartenders who had food and whiskey recommendations. She ordered a Mark West Pinot and I had a Redbreast Irish whiskey. Our early dinner was a smoked salmon salad for Her and truly great fish & chips for me. According to Yelp, this place gets filled with obnoxious fratboys on Friday and Saturday nights, but our experience was quiet and lovely. And they were playing Wilco.
Charlie Palmer at the Joule. Dallas, Texas.
Already went into detail about this place too. We totally enjoyed out time at The Joule, but by this point we may have to sell all of our belongings to pay for our food & wine adventures.
Churchill’s. McKinney, Texas.
I frequent this place when I stay in McKinney, a good place to get a drink, and shoot some darts and pool. It used to be called The Londoner, which I think is a far superior name, but oh well. The fish & chips are just fine, though nothing to blog home about. The highlight was having a cigarette out front in the snow when a drunk, limping cowboy joined us and told us a story: Two nights prior he had accidentally left his shotgun in his truck, and while drunkenly going to retrieve it he slipped on a patch of ice and shot a hole in his truck. Hence, the limp. A note to all the children out there: If you accidentally leave your shotgun in your truck while you are wasted, watch out for ice. A note to everyone else: watch out for drunk cowboys carrying guns in the suburbs.
Delaney’s. Mckinney, Texas.
Not much to say about this gigantic place in a strip mall in the suburbs. It’s exactly what you expect, but a damn good place to have a drink and watch football on the 14 large plasma screens throughout. Highlight: they are open on Christmas.
Big Tony’s. Mckinney, Texas.
My dad took us to this dive bar for pizza. The pizza is really good, thanks Dad.
Café Malaga. McKinney, Texas.
My mom took us here on our last day in Dallas. I had been in this space before (2 owners prior), and it is a great old building just off the square in McKinney. We ordered tapas for the table and a bottle of tempranillo. It was snowing hard outside, and the food and wine were both lovely. One complaint: server dude, learn how to open a bottle of wine. You must first cut the foil. Our bottle had an aluminum Bart Simpson haircut when he placed it on the table.
Uchi. Austin, Texas.
She had eaten here a couple of times before and raved about it. We sat at the bar and had very great, attentive sushi chefs taking care of us. We enjoyed 2 bottles of 2008 Huber ‘obere steigen’ grüner veltliner while we ate almost the entire menu, we must have had a whole bluefish tuna. By the time our dessert (jizake creme caramel with brown butter sorbet and ginger consomme) arrived we were both pretty drunk. That’s when I tried to steal the menu. It was a nicely designed corkboard book, and for whatever reason, I really wanted it. As I mentioned, we were sitting directly in front of 2 chefs, but also right by the service door to the kitchen; not exactly a dark corner. I thought I was being sly trying to stuff a large menu up my sweater. The waitress came by, gave me a strange look, and I removed the menu from my sweater with an embarrassed smile. She politely told me I could take the paper out of the book, but please leave the cover. Fair enough. Oh yeah, we loved this place, the best sushi we have ever had.
Maiya’s. Marfa, Texas
The hotel attendant at the Thunderbird recommended Maiya’s and got us a reservation. We arrived early, assuming we could get a seat at the bar. As we walked in a couple were leaving the bar, and we were told that we could sit there and they would clear it for us right away. 10 minutes later the remnants of food on plates was still in front of us while we watched the bartender fumble and attend to everything, except the customers sitting at the bar. Seriously, change the paper in the POS system after you clear these plates and take our drink order (or ask the host who is just standing there to do it for you). More on this later. The space is great, minimalist (duh) and clean, the square wreath on the door was a nice, thoughtful touch. When we finally ordered our drinks we both had Hendrick’s on the rocks (hers with a splash of tonic). We started with the Antipasto Plate and Black-eyed Pea soup, a southern New Year’s good luck tradition, both were excellent. For dinner, She had the Grilled Rib Eye Steak with red skinned mashed potatoes and I had Pasta Bolognese. Our meal was unbelievably good, one of the best of our trip. I ate all of my pasta and probably half 
of Her delicious, tender, perfectly cooked steak. It’s just…this…damn bartender. Doing dishes while our glasses have been empty for minutes. Attending to his servers before his bar patrons; dude, we are tipping you more than they are, I guarantee it. We weren’t alone in our dismay, we could see it on other customers faces. And we watched as twice he delivered the wrong plates to the wrong people (there was no more than 8 of us at the bar). When he did come over to us, he would say that “it would just be a minute,” “they weren’t used to this rush,” and a million other excuses. There are not more than 50 seats in the restaurant, and they had 2 servers, a host, and a bartender. It wasn’t exceptionally busy, and the amount of time we were made to wait and the inane excuses are unacceptable. Luckily for Maiya’s their food is exceptionally good. We totally 100% recommend this place, but that bartender (and his dumb toddler tie) has to go.
Jett’s Grill. Marfa, Texas.
Conveniently located in the Paisano Hotel, our lodging for the night. We began with 2 glasses of “Marfa Red” while we perused the menu. The decor was strange, highlighting the fact that until a few years ago, this hotel was in disrepair. We started with a caesar salad. For dinner She ordered Shrimp Alfredo and (against my better judgment and lack of Tums) I ordered the Pistachio Fried Steak with Jalapeno Gravy, way too intriguing for me to pass up. After enjoying our “Marfa Reds” we ordered a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. It did take a very long time for our food to come out, but we were happy and in no hurry, so no complaints. When it arrived, I was overwhelmed by how large the steak was and the fact that there were whole pistachios fried onto the steak, looking like little barnacles on a whale. It was actually quite tasty, but I could only eat about 1/3 of it. Her shrimp alfredo was fine, if a bit mediocre. After we finished, the waitress came over and apologized for taking an hour (was it really that long?!) for us to get our food and that the bottle of wine would be comped. That was very nice, and though we really had no complaints, that is the way you make up for poor service. She should speak to that bartender at Maiya’s.
Café BellaLuca. Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
Before our soak in the healing waters, we wanted to grab a bite in little T or C. All of our guidebooks and websites we read raved about this surprising little place. It is so great to find a spot like this in what is really the middle of nowhere. After all the fast food chains we passed, for there to be an alternative for the citizens and visitors alike, is refreshing. But, oh no, the server has already messed up our salads. There are a total of 8 customers in the restaurant right now. When it was corrected, our Capri Salad and our Arugula Salad were both fresh, vibrant and delicious. Tonight She ordered the White Calzone (roasted garlic sauce, three cheese blend, spinach) and this time I had the Shrimp Alfredo. Both of our meals were great. The shrimp were huge and meaty and the calzone (which I finished off) was better than any calzone I can remember (though, admittedly, I can’t really remember many calzones). With our meal, we drank a 2007 Sauvion Sancerre. Everything was delicious, but when we were finished we sat for 10 minutes before having to track down our server at the POS station to pay our bill. I’m tired of complaining about service, but the food was excellent.
Nancy’s Silver Café. Silver City, New Mexico.
There aren’t a lot of choices in this weird little place (Vicki’s is out of business, and 1zero6 isn’t open for lunch). We stumbled upon Nancy’s because it was the first place we saw open. The service was prompt, but a strange and a little mean even; a lot of grunting and throwing plates down. We both had a combination plate of enchiladas, a taco, and the best chile relleno I have ever had. This is really just a hole in the wall place, but they serve excellent traditional mexican food. A highlight was introducing her to the sopaipilla, which She had never heard of and I ate tons of as a child. I used to love these little honey-filled fried pastries, and they are still tasty, I just try to eat a little healthier these days. As we were walking away I said to Her, “I don’t think they liked us very much.” A couple of days later when we got home, I read some reviews of Nancy’s that said the staff is “racist” and “gringos not welcome.” I really don’t think it was a race thing, there were plenty of white locals chatting and laughing it up with the staff. I think maybe Nancy’s dislikes tourists. I don’t know, but the food was good and I have enough friends.
Kazimierz. Scottsdale, Arizona.
She writes about it in depth here. This place has the craziest wine list I’ve ever seen. 3200 wines! Perusing the list is like trying to read Homer in the dark, but, you know, fun. Aside from the wine, Margo Reed was the highlight here. What a singing voice on a little woman with a somewhat froggy speaking voice. My favorite is when she talks to the audience she ends with “Okie Dokie? (beat) Okie Dokie Fine.” We had a really nice night here.
Amapola Café. Blythe, California.
Our final stop before we get home. Amapola is situated in front of a dilapidated motel on the main street in Blythe. The sign out front reads “Since 1950.” Wow. She had another sort of combo plate and I had a chimichanga, both paired with Diet Cokes. I am so tired of writing this very long post that I will cut to the chase: the food ain’t bad and it’s a nice stop between Phoenix and LA.
And the winner is….. Uchi. Hands down, the place we both enjoyed the most. Amazing Sushi, great service. If you are in Austin don’t miss it. Oh, and sorry about trying to steal the menu, it won’t happen again. I really hope I’m not banned.
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Posted by Us on December 12, 2009
Today we ventured out in the rain to Hollywood for what He (for whatever reason) thought was the annual Barney’s Warehouse sale. When we arrived at the locale, Siren Studios, He mentioned something about Barney’s to which She replied:
“We’re not at Barney’s. This is the James Perse sample sale.”
“Oh. Then why the hell did I come?”
“Duh…He makes men’s clothes too.”
“Oh, OK.”
And all was seemingly fine… except for the fact that the sale is next weekend. We’ll try again.
Since we were in Hollywood, we decided to explore a little bit. He had been intrigued by the Hollywood Canteen since he drove by it a few months ago and She had never heard of it, so that was our first try. It was closed. But we’re intrigued by this little out of the way place tucked in between a million studios. We’ll try again.
After some back and forth about where to go next (this is the most organic, unplanned Field Trip Fridays ever), She told Him about Mercantile, a new wine bar He had never heard of, so He tried to make a B-Line for The Well. It was closed. We’ll try again.
Where can you get a drink in this town on a rainy Friday afternoon? After driving around for a few more minutes He gave in, and we were off to Mercantile. [This is He talking: I don't know what my trepidation was about going to Mercantile, I really don't. But I didn't want to go.]
The Mercantile
Image from Yelp.
Upon entering we were both a bit confused. Do we seat ourselves? Where do we order? Can we get wine at the counter too, or do we order that at the bar? Luckily, a waiter handed us a menu on a clipboard and told us to order at the counter. The food looked delicious. He still wasn’t convinced.
Half of the aesthetic of the place was good, half bad; the blue & white wallpaper still makes us both scratch our heads. The industrial part of the place’s design is great. The faux French/Italian café part is not. He, as an architect, likes the unfinished pine and plywood and the metal screwed to the bar top. [This is She talking: Okay, Arrogant. You don't have to be an architect to appreciate the beauty of unfinished pine. And, did I mention, as a graphic designer, I really disliked the clipart graphics on the menu?]
We sat ourselves in the corner of the bar after ordering a Croque Monsieur (for Him), Poached Ahi Salad w/ Frissé (for Her) and Potato Salad (for Us). He still wasn’t convinced.
We had only quickly browsed the wine list before ordering, because we saw it at the last minute. We both ordered reds. When we had more time to consider and peruse the list, He exclaimed excitedly “Txakolina!” We had been offered a taste of this exact same wine by Steve at Palate a few months ago and it had been kind of a Romancing The Stone treasure hunt for Him to find it again. Nobody in LA seems to have Txakolina after the summer.
His whole mood changed.
He got up to see if they sold the Txakolina by the bottle, which in fact they did for $20. Sold. Then the food came. Totally fantastic, His sandwich and Her salad were both great, and they had dueling forks in the potato salad. Then the bartender, Paul, saw that we had a bottle of Txakolina in front of us and came over to talk it up. When he found out we had tasted it before and actually knew a thing or two about it, he poured us both a complimentary taste, and talked to us about his time at Bar Pintxo and all of the other Txakolina we should try. (A rosé? We had no idea.)
The food, the wine selection, and Paul the Bartender were great enough to erase any questions we had about the place. He was totally convinced.
As we were leaving we saw Paul making everyone who worked at the restaurant taste the Txakolina, including the chef, who she thought was hot. [Him speaking again: I sometimes don't get her taste in men. She likes the uber-hot young model untouchable types, but also the heavyset, bearded, interesting (but, not "hot") looking types. Of the chef she said "I believe his smile." I think that is a very nice thing to say, and thank whatevs I don't get jealous. He does have a nice smile. And I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle of the uber-hot and the heavyset-interesting.]
Back to Paul for a minute. We just want to say “Thanks.” It’s very nice to find an engaging, intelligent, welcoming young bartender in this town. Not saying they don’t exist, just saying it’s nice, and he (along with the wine and food) really made us enjoy our experience. We’ll try it again.
2006 Bodegas Neo “Sentido” Ribera de Duero, Spain ($9/glass)
He said: Very dark in color with blueberry, cassis, tobacco and cedar on the nose. My first sip wasn’t that impressive; not bad not good. After Paul poured us Txakolina, I let this wine sit for about 45 minutes. When I drank it again it was terrific. I don’t know if it just needed to open up, or if it was the food, or my mood change, but now this wine was terrific. Milky, creamy, chocolate and coffee textured with a nice vanilla finish. Great tannins (that lightened nicely over the course of the meal.) I think I am becoming a fan of Spanish wine. Salud! 
2007 St. Innocent Pinot Noir, Yamhill ($8/glass)
She Said: Bright ruby color and thin, as is typical. Aromas of sour cherries, a bit of under brush, and dried flowers. No real spice sensed. In the mouth the wine has high acid, is a bit tightly wound, but finish is long and luscious. Not an overly complex or brambly, big fruit-forward pinot. Rather it is elegant with supple, approachable tannins. Highly enjoyable. Would have chosen differently with my salad, which had a pretty acidic dressing.
2008 Talai Berri Getariako Txakolian Hondarribi Zuri, Basque Country ($20/Btl)
She Said: His excitement and passion for this wine is infectious. And I love it that He has been able to make strong declarations about what He enjoys and doesn’t in a wine’s flavor profile. This is real progress. I’ve been drinking Txakolinas for years…Manfred Krankl had it on the list at Campanile when I was his assistant. For a hot summer day they can’t be beat–bright, bracing acidity, low alcohol, refreshing, mild apple and unripe pear flavors, and with a slight, zingy fizz. Turns out the wine is great with poached ahi tuna as well…should have ordered this wine with my salad. At $20 a bottle I can’t say it’s a bargain…there are plenty of delicious, quality whites for under that price out on the wine market. But Txakolina is fairly rare and I’m sure not the easiest thing to import. The price does knock down the score for me.
He said: This wine is meant to be poured into the glass from a certain height, and when Paul poured it I could see why right away. It bubbles like the Basque Ciders I remember having a few years ago. Very lemony on the nose. So refreshingly dry in the mouth with some fizz. Very high acid and again totally reminds me of drinking Cider from barrels in the wall in the Basque hills (think: bite). It should be noted that I am a Basque-o-phile. I have studied the place for years, visited on several occasions, met the greatest people, and had some of the best food of my life there. It is intrinsically connected to my life; the place is why I am an architect. I’ll just say it: I love this wine. It may be my favorite white wine I’ve ever had. It’s great by itself and I think it would be great with seafood. I can’t wait to go back to the Basque Country and visit the Museo de Txakoli, and try this in some of my favorite San Sebastian restaurant. Postscript: this morning some friends twittered us saying they were going to Mercantile and wanted recommendations. Of course, I said to try the Txakolina. They re-tweeted to say the wine was perfect, and they too bought a bottle. I really just love this wine. 
The Drawing Room
He used to frequent this mini-mall bar semi-regularly and had just been on a recent afternoon with His architectural partner. (A business meeting with cocktails.) At night it’s the Silverlake/Echo Park/Hollywood crowd. (Sidenote: Let’s all stop saying “hipster” to describe this crowd. It’s vague, blanketed and a little ridiculous. We’re tired of it.) It’s a much different place during the day when the place is full of quite serious day-drinkers. So we ordered as such: She had a Maker’s on the rocks, He had a Absolut+Tonic.
One of the daydrunks offered us some pizza, when we declined he opened two pizza boxes sitting on the bar to reveal they were empty. Thanks, Cocksucker. By the way, you aren’t Bukowski, get a job.
The bartendress, in between coughing, would sing along to the music on the jukebox and we were both struck by what a beautiful voice she had. We both knew we were just having one drink here. It is a nice neighborhood bar, a little dingy and scary, but everything shouldn’t be clean and safe…that would be boring.
Back Home
The rain has put a damper on our SoCal lifestyle. We tend to do most of our drinking/writing/living on Her beautiful deck ‘neath the orange tree. But the rain 86’s that. We trekked up to the cabana by the pool to light a fire and make some Hot Toddy’s while we wrote and read. Not bad for a backup outdoor office:
Not bad at all…
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Posted by Us on December 4, 2009
Stop #1: Heath Ceramics
We have uber-talented friends who make delicious things… Libations and general festiveness began at Heath Ceramics for “Artisans United,” a collaboration between the exquisite ceramics studio, Valerie Confections and Patz and Hall. Wine, chocolate, cheese, preserves, meats…all presented on the most beautiful pottery you’ve ever seen. The event was food blogger/Yelper/Twitterer heavy. (So we fit right in.)
We sipped three wines from Patz and Hall:
Dutton Ranch Chardonnay
Chenoweth Ranch Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
No notes were taken on our slurps. All were delicious and were thoughtfully paired with exquisite chocolate and amuse-bouche prepared by VC.
(She takes full credit for this event coming to fruition, by the way. Both VC and PH are old friends and She introduced Chocolatiers Valerie Gordon and Stan Weightman to the winemakers Anne Moses and James Hall at Her birthday party. Free samples is all the payment She asks for. You know our address.)
Stop #2: LACMA
We try to be good citizens and support our local art institutions, so we are LACMA members at the avant garde level. Aside from feeling pleased with ourselves for being good people, we get invited to really, really cool private things. This time it was a special screening of Tom Ford’s film A Single Man.
We arrived early and went to the museum’s courtyard restaurant Pentimento for a pre-film drink. She had a Tanqueray & Tonic and He ordered a Rioja red. They were out of the Rioja so the bartender recommended a 2004 Celler de Capcanes “Mas Donis” Barrica from Montsant, Spain. Thank you, Bartender: it was excellent.
Before the film Ford took the stage to say a few words, and naturally he was the best dressed man in a very well-dressed room. He demurred at our enthusiastic applause, thanked David Geffen (also in attendance), and the curtain came up. Here is our review:
He Said: Totally beautiful to look at, that’s undeniable. Although the cinematography was beautiful, the music was beautiful, it kind of felt like watching a 90 minute perfume commercial (think dramatic music, soft focus on exquisitely dressed super-hot people in the snow). About 15 minutes before it ended, I was ready for it to be over. The story is nice, but not all that engaging. It’s nice for a film to show a loving relationship between gay men, but I wonder how the story would hold up if this film was “A Straight Single Man”. I imagine it would be a little cliché. The acting was terrific and Colin Firth was top-notch as usual. Also, I was happy to see a more subtle John Lautner house in a movie. Although I didn’t love it, I liked it, and would recommend seeing it, simply because it is really, really nice to look at. (And I assume that critics that recommend films get some kickbacks and I definitely want some Tom Ford Menswear.)
She Said: The film is visually gorgeous. Every single shot, vignette, scene is meticulously constructed. It is as if the pages of W Magazine have come to life. This said…Ford is a complete fetishist. He focuses on small (albeit beautiful) details that do little to progress the story. Close-ups of heavily made-up eyelids, a naked man being tossed around in water (that has the color and look of Mountain Dew), the hairy, tan legs of a young girl. And all those pretty, pretty boys. (Must they have such pink, plump lips? Gives a chick a complex.) All of this is complete eye candy, no doubt about it. But what is it’s purpose? There is nothing ugly (other than some characters attitudes about war, gays, and literature) in the entire film. The cars are pristine, a Pyscho poster looks like a Richard Prince painting that should be hanging in the Guggenheim, the men’s suits and ties are perfect, as are the pruned orange trees inside Julianne Moore’s mansion. And speaking of homes, really Lautner’s Schaffer Residence is the star of the film. I. Want. To. Live. There. A few other thoughts: the film reminded me of Sodenberg’s The Limey, both structurally and all that visual obsession; the final bedroom scene was straight out of Blue Velvet; the swimming scene and shots of the lovers on the cliff are straight out of From Here to Eternity–or maybe Herb Ritts’ Madonna version. My eyes got tired of all that glorious beauty after about 45 minutes, I had no sympathy for any of the characters, and thought the story was overly clichéd–but, damn–is A Single Man a looker.
Stop #3: Lou Winebar
(Image from Bestor Architecture)
Lou occupies a special place for us because it is where we went on our first “official” date. We had, of course, already had sex and all that, but it was are first time really sitting across from one another at a table.
When we arrived, we were seated between a 6-top and a cuddling/groping 2-top. We asked if we could move to the bar because we felt a bit crowded and, frankly, we just prefer to sit at the bar. We’re glad we did. Lou was behind there sniffing and slurping a variety of wines which he would then tell us about. Enamoring him tonight was a Croatian white with a nearly unpronounceable name. Upon sipping it, one of the servers said, “it’s contradictory in the mouth,” an assessment we both appreciated.
We began our drinking (or rather, continued) with a very pink Cava of which we have forgotten all information. This said, Lou: update your wine list on your website. For food we started with the Market Salad and Charcuterie and Cheese plate. Both were excellent, but wow, the charcuterie plate included the best cheddar cheese either of us have ever tasted (Hooks from Wisconsin–not England).
About a month ago we had signed up with Blackboard Eats for a free bottle of wine at Lou, and tonight we cashed that in and ordered a La Cabotte from the Cotes du Rhone. Lou remarked that it was a light-bodied red that would go well with both of our entrees (Her, the clam and chorizo, Him, the pulled pork sandwich), but he did pour us a glass of Pinot Noir that “is perfect with the pulled pork.” This is another reason why we love sitting at the bar.
Our dinner was wonderful. It was the perfect end to a fun, busy evening. You should all go to Lou, don’t be alarmed that it’s in a mini-mall next to a laundromat (where, coincidentally, we both used to do our laundry–before we ate here, or had sex with each other). It’s really fantastic.
2007 Domaine d’Ardhuy Côtes du Rhône La Cabotte (Price: We forgot, because it was free)
He Said: Doing this from memory because I took no notes. I remember it almost bubbling after it was poured. Blackberry and pepper on the nose gave way to a very straightforward, light-bodied wine with hints of cola. Very nice compliment to the pulled pork sandwich. Not knowing the price, I can’t really do an honest valuation, but for free it was fucking excellent.
She Said: Deep ruby color. Pepper, earthy nose with an underlying gaminess. A slight frizzante on the tongue. Not as heavy or overly earthy in the mouth, which I was grateful for. Dark fruit, pepper, spicy wood, a little clunky, but pleasant and silky. Fine and easy drinking. And what a value: FREE!
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Posted by Us on November 28, 2009
We’re in Santa Cruz County for a Thanksgiving holiday mini-break…a seemingly perfect venue for Field Trip Fridays. We tasted through ten wines in about an hour and a half on a late, rainy afternoon. Our assessments are below. As usual, Her reviews tend to be a bit more serious (boring?) and His tend to use swear words (funny?).
Although we had ambitions to get up early and hit four or five tasting rooms, we, well, slept-in. It was the day after Thanksgiving…enough said. But despite not leaving the house until 3:30p, we did manage to hit two venues: Beauregard and Bonny Doon. Interestingly enough, Beauregard’s tasting room is Bonny Doon’s old tasting room. There is a hint of this in the skid stickers on the porch: aliens amongst the wine bottles.
We headed up the coast to Beauregard first. Driving there, we really felt like we were in a different place. The ocean was on our left for about 20 minutes before we crept up a winding road into a rainy Redwood forest. Even if the wines were to be bad, the experience was already terrific.
She had visited the site of Beauregard a dozen years ago when it was the Bonny Doon tasting room. It’s a charming space that keeps the vibe of it’s original purpose: an out of the way roadside dive bar. The room was packed when we arrived and oddly there were half a dozen kids milling about (including two crawling on the floor). One of them kept bumping into Him and pleading her mother to smell the soap in the bathroom.
The woman who poured our wines was efficient, but maybe too much so: her spiel was robotic. Still, it was a pleasant experience, especially for the price: just $5 to taste five wines, which is refunded on any bottle purchase. And purchase we did: we chose the very reasonably priced Santa Lucia Highlands chardonnay.
The five wines we tasted:
Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands, 2006 ($12.00)
She said: Clear, pale yellow color. Light wood on nose with vanilla, lemon, and pear. Good acidity in the mouth with definite wood, but not overwhelming. Tasting Bartlett pear and Red Delicious apple. Warm, silky texture, but light bodied and refreshing. Very pleasant and a terrific value.
He said: Clear yellow color. Vanilla and oak on the nose with a little apple. The nice acid travels nicely from front to back with a long finish, and maybe a little tingling frizzante. This was my favorite of the 5 we tasted here. If I was going strictly on value I would rate this a 4, but I feel I need to reserve high ratings for completely outstanding wines. Which this was not, but it was very good.
Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, 2006 ($22.00)
She said: Warm yellow color. Nose reveals lime, citrus, tropical notes like pineapple and mango all somewhat overpowered by oak. In the mouth the wine is lush, but like SLH chard has nice acidity. Medium to heavy bodied. Peach and oak flavors…I prefer less oak, but it is a lovely wine. Of the two chards the SLH is more to my liking, but this one shows greater complexity.
He said: Am I smelling air freshener? It has that spray air freshener smell, like a tangy lime Plug-Ins. More acid and oak than the previous chard. I usually prefer a nice oaky, creamy chard, but this one felt out of balance. Not bad, not good; I prefer the previous.
“The Lost Weekend” NV (blend: 34% sangiovese 2008, 41% merlot 2005, 25% merlot 2006; $15.00)
She said: Muddy ruby color. The nose is dirty barnyard…nothing pretty or elegant about it. Currants, smokey bacon on the palate. Mid palate is harsh but it is bright in the finish. Seems out of balance and clunky. 
He said: Cherry on the nose, heavy tannin in the mouth. Didn’t really like it. I think this is also the one where the kid kept bumping me.
Pinot Noir, Bald Mountain, 2006 ($45.00)
She said: Very pale, translucent and bright ruby color. Classic bacony pinot nose with notes of cherries, and cocoa. In mouth flavors of sour cherries, an earthiness, barny, herbaceous, pine. Not as elegant or tightly wound as I wish it was, but this does make it easy drinking, although I think the palate has an undesirable heaviness. Originally rated the wine 3/5, but for this price I’m changing to:
He said: Heavy spices in the nose, cinnamon and peppery. In the mouth it is earthy, spicy again. It smells and tastes like my memories of Christmas as a child; the cooking, the fireplace and the pine tree. I have been trying to avoid reading the tasting notes provided by the bartender. After I made my notes I read “showing cola” which I totally got, maybe even root beer. I also read “hints of celery root” which I have no fucking idea what that means, I think I need to go lick some celery root. I did really like this wine, but it’s not a $45 wine.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountain, 2005 ($35.00)
She said: Dark ruby color and bright like all the previous wines. Pretty plum and dark fruit in the nose with a hint of allspice. Structure is nice and strong with serious acid and tannin…I enjoy this type of profile although it is a bit too hot in the finish, nonetheless is an elegant wine. Have to lick my teeth after each slurp. 
He said: Whoa, plum. A lot, it’s nice. I’m also smelling soap, maybe Irish Spring. Did that kid bring soap over here for her mom to smell or is this in the wine? I’m distracted, and I need more “practice” with reds. I was always a predominantly red drinker, but now that I am concentrating, the flavors and aromas in whites are much more familiar to me. I still can’t remember what black currant tastes like. The tannin in this wine sucked my mouth dry like that thing at the dentist’s office. Even 30 minutes later while driving my mouth was dry. But, I did like the wine.
We headed back down the hill and along coast, back into town. Bonny Doon’s new digs are slick and huge in a new warehouse building which houses several other, smaller tasting rooms. The signage and displays look a bit contrived (Disneyland-esque?), but the space is impressive with it’s flying saucer, barrel booths, and wine bottle light fixtures. And…we’re huge fans of Randal Grahm. He’s a witty, terrific winemaker.
Unfortunately, our experience in the tasting room wasn’t that great. We came through town a few months ago and really enjoyed our time here, but on this trip we had an overly hovering wine steward. After each pour she just stood there staring at us…no dialog, no story about the wine, no questions about our opinion on the wines… just an uncomfortable stare. Creepy even.
Bonny Doon’s tasting fee is $7 for five wines, refunded with a wine purchase over $35. We didn’t buy any wine this time around. And the steward didn’t push it…she just stared.
The five wines we tasted:
Orange Muscat, Ca’ del Sol, 2007 ($17.00)
She said: Mmm… made no notes? What I remember: citrus nose, residual sugar, flabby, not my thing. 
He said: Very floral on the nose, even potpourri. Orange, obviously. Not so much acid and kind of tastes like an orange Starburst. I actually really like this, and I didn’t think I would.
“Metamorphosis I Aurora,” Eclectic White Cuvée, 2007 (blend: viognier, loureiro, treixadura; $22.00)
She said: Warm, light yellow color. Honeyed, warm nose with tropical fruit. Zingy in the mouth, but also very rich with peach and apricot flavors. Nice balance between the lush fruit, wood, and acid. Very enjoyable if uncomplicated…which also makes it overpriced.
He said: A lot of apricot in the nose along with citrus and butter. More apricot in the mouth with a nice acid throughout. I feel a bit insecure with the pourer staring at me while I make my notes. Kindly go away until I’m done.
Sangiovese, San Benito County, 2006 (blend: 77% sangiovese, 16% freisa, 6% syrah, 1% grenache; $12.00)
She said: Darkish ruby color. The nose is gamey, funky, dirty. Mouth continues this trend…very brambly but also with sour cherries and herbs. Has high acid and tannin in the mouth, showing tons of structure. Enjoy the movement from funk to astringency. Priced well.
He said: Black cherry and earthy/dirty aroma. Also, smells like a wet dog after a bath, and I mean that in a good way. Very dry and chalky in my mouth, like a black cherry Flintstone’s vitamin. Tannic with a lot of acid in the finish.
Le Cigare Volant, Red Rhone Blend, 2004 (blend: 38% grenache, 35% syrah, 12% mourvedre, 8% carignane, 7% cinsault; $30.00)
She said: Opaque, dark ruby color. Nose reveals dark fruit, black licorice, currants. High acid and tannin in the mouth. Like the Sangiovese it is tightly wound and has an appealing duality of dark and light notes. Would have been nice with Thanksgiving dinner.
He said: Hard for me to wrap my nose around this one.. earthy? peppery? I didn’t make very good notes, I think I was getting tired.
Angel Paille, 2007 ($20.00)
She said: Golden yellow, viscous texture. Floral nose with almond and peach notes. Disappointing in the mouth: utter lack of acid to balance all the richness of the ripe fruit, making it too sweet. That said, it is a nice ending after tasting the tight, tannic reds. But not my style of dessert wine…I like apricot, not honey. 
He said: Peaches on the nose, honey and marmalade in the mouth. I think this is the second time I have had a dessert wine (the first was this same wine at this same place a few months ago). It’s kind of gross, I can’t imagine really wanting to drink this. I won’t give up on dessert wines, but maybe these just aren’t for me. 
(Bonny Doon photo via SFwineblog.)
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Posted by Him on November 21, 2009
Disclaimer: writing this post through quite the hangover.
My day began without Her as I was meeting with a client for my “real job”. After the meeting my partner and I went to The Drawing Room and I had a Vodka on the rocks. On the weekends, The Drawing Room is filled with your usual Hollywood/Silverlake/Los Feliz crowd, so it was kind of nice to see it full mid-day with some very Bukowskian Barflies.
Then I went home.
The only wine that was drunk was some leftover red from Big Mac’s (that actually tasted better than when it was opened three days ago).
Last night was the finale of the Battle at the Berrics 2. For a crowd of 600 skateboarders, there was obviously no wine. Instead there was Fireman’s Brew Beer, which was completely gone by 9:00; skaters like their beer. The event was excellent with four of the best young skateboarders competing in the final matches (I can’t reveal who won as it isn’t posted on the Berrics yet). There was also an In & Out truck, and She had her first ever In & Out Burger (she was a vegetarian for a long time). She, of course, loved it.
Afterward we headed to Edendale Grill, another good neighborhood bar. We each had a cocktail, She had a Citron rocks and a large Pellegrino, I had a Greyhound, which was very unnecessary as I was already tired and Fireman drunk. Edendale is a great space, but I prefer it on weekday evenings when it isn’t quite so packed.
The next thing I know it’s morning and I wake up still wearing my windbreaker from the night before. I almost forgot what beer hangovers felt like.
[Update] Still totally hungover.
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Posted by Her on November 16, 2009
Sometimes Field Trip Fridays last the whole weekend..We’ve just returned from a lazy, hazy, boozy three days in the desert oasis of Palm Springs.
Our intentions (beyond relaxing in the sun and checking out all the Mid-Century Modern goodness) was to continue The Wine Education, but, it turns out, Palm Springs wasn’t a wine destination for us.
Parched and hungry from the drive (wonderfully close, under two hours), our first stop was The Parker, a swanky, kitschy hotel just down the road from where we were staying. What to drink? The wine list offered at Norma’s, the hotel’s daytime dining spot, was tiny and uneventful.
Our choices limited, it was a mimosa for Him, Bloody Mary for me. The Bloody was spicy and delicious. The mimosa, not so much. The oj appeared to be from concentrate and the bubbly had a dull, indistinguishable flavor–our guess was an inexpensive Cava or Prosecco. The lunch itself was lovely and large. I asked to take my half eaten Lox and Bagel plate with me and was very disappointed to later discover they had only included the bagel–what’s the point of that?
Surprised that a reputable boutique hotel would have such a mediocre wine list, I later looked up that of their fine dining restaurant. I was delighted to see they had an excellent, somewhat eclectic selection. Was it not available at Norma’s?
Although the mimosa was middling, we were in good spirits–who cares, it was vacation. We drove down the road and checked into our hotel and were instantly charmed by The Ace. We surveyed our retro-camping-army/navy-chic room, unpacked, and headed out. He had read about a wine shop downtown that was supposed to be good–we needed supplies.
PS Wine gets positive, three and four star reviews on Yelp, but we found it dark and depressing. The wine selection was nice (included some favorite California producers like Paul Hobbs and Patz and Hall), but the sports on tv, upended tables and chairs, and bizarre displays (like the Cupcake Vineyards rack featuring a gigantic plastic cupcake) turned us off. We politely browsed and then got back out into the Palm Springs sunshine.
Next stop: a liquor store. We decided to follow Julia Child’s advice who, when asked what was her favorite wine, replied “gin.” It was a big bottle of Tanqueray Rangpur for us. A bartender told me once it was gin for beginners, but I love it’s limey and smooth flavors.
We drove around a bit and then got back to the hotel for some relaxing and gin drinking, poolside. The sun went down, the temperature cooled and we opted for dinner in our cool room–delicious burgers while watching the Lakers (sadly) lose a basketball game.
The next day we planned our architecture and design tour over breakfast at a popular spot downtown: Pinocchio’s. The place is lively, loud, and friendly. We recognized several (and equally hungover) fellow Ace Hotel-ers. And…Hello, what’s this: $3.95 bottomless “Champagne.” I mixed my “fresh squeezed” from concentrate grapefruit juice into the overly sweet Wycliffe sparkling wine and had a few palatable glasses from the screwcap bottle.
Breakfast itself is basic diner fair. Nothing fancy, just good.
After breakfast we had a terrific self-guided architecture tour of the city. (See the pictures posted at our design site’s blog.)
We got back to hotel mid-afternoon for more poolside lounging (and gin and naps). Then it was time to clean up (what, oh what to wear– yes all those choices and for our two night stay).
We were off to Viceroy, another sweet boutique hotel, for dinner. This time we planned on ordering a nice bottle of wine. But again we we’re not wowed by the selection, especially since they were out of our first two choices. We settled on a bottle of Casa LaPostelle merlot from Chile. We did not take notes, we did argue about Mid-Century Modern architecture and wolf down our delicious meal.
The next morning came too soon. We turned on some football and hastily packed. For breakfast it was The Ace’s own King’s Hwy, which looks like a fancy Denny’s (which it actually was) with way better fare. We drank water. After the great meal we hit the road and headed back to our normal daily slice of paradise in Silverlake. It was a terrific trip. Next time we’ll try harder on The Wine Education. And there is definitely going to be a next time very soon.
(A Post Script: Coincidently NotCot was staying a few doors down from us…she has some great pictures of The Ace on her site. Check them out.)
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Posted by Us on November 13, 2009
We typically enjoy wine at our homes, at friends’, or at a handful of our favorite dining spots. It’s a routine we love, but we decided we should branch out–there’s a whole lot of wine to drink out there and a whole bunch of places to slurp it. And it’s a perfect excuse for Field Trip Fridays.
Last Friday we did a Culver City crawl, starting at Bottle Rock. It was about 2p when we got there and the place only had two other tables occupied. The interior is a bit stark and reminded Her of a chain restaurant, like Chili’s or Red Lobster or something like that (not that she has ever been to those places); a bit too clean and generic. But the server was all smiles and sunshine and immediately made us feel welcome and let us know how the place works. It’s really a great idea: Bottle Rock will open any bottle they sell and serve it by the glass, you just have to order two glasses. Cameo (our sunny server) also offered to discount wines which had been opened the night before. We enjoyed two different whites (reviews below), a delicious butter lettuce salad with candied kumquats (misspelled on their menu), a good truffle grilled cheese sandwich (more truffles, please), and a Reuben (Her first ever).
We moved down the street to Ford’s Filling Station. It was the first time either of us had been there. She knows Ben Ford from way back when he was a newbie at Campanile and sees him at the Farmer’s Market. The place is very comfortable, like the hotel lobby of western hotel, complete with upright piano. Were we on the set of Deadwood? The menu looked really delightful, be we were still stuffed from Bottle Rock sandwiches. We decided bubbly would be perfect and enjoyed a glass of Schramsberg. Refreshing. We didn’t take notes, we just sipped and smiled.
Next door is Fraiche, but unfortunately (and why, why?) they close in between lunch and dinner service. So we stopped in at Kay ‘n Dave’s, a Mexican joint down the street. Time to regroup…with a margarita. It was happy hour, after all. And how good did those free, warm chips and a delicious fresh salsa taste. The bartenders were incredibly nice and eager to keep the tequila coming. We indulged in a few and then decided a walk around the neighborhood would do us some good.
On the drive back to the Eastside She said, “Wouldn’t caviar be nice? Let’s go to the Hungry Cat.” So we did. It was early still (how could this be? felt like mindnight) so there were stools available at the bar. Danielle is one of our favorite bartenders in L.A. and lucky for us–she was there. Oh, the greyhounds are gorgeous. We started with this refreshing cocktail and moved on to a carafe of Muscadet to compliment the caviar. We were feeling good. This is a nice ritual we’re starting, Field Trip Fridays.
Saturday morning came too soon. Advil was consumed. Here’s what we tasted:
Maipe Torrontés, Salt, Argentina 2007 $27/9 (Bottle Rock)
She said: The color is a pale yellow with a hint of green. Very tropical in the nose. If the tasting was blind I would have guessed a viognier, marsanne, roussanne blend. No significant hints of oak, but the fullness and richness of nose and mouthfeel may indicate it. Lovely tropical flavors of mango, guava, and pineapple, some peach. Ultimately light and refreshing on the palate although I initially thought it would be too cloying. Nice long finish–really a lovely wine.
He said: Very apparent pineapple on the nose, but I think I “forgot” to look at the color. I wonder why? Light tropical flavors and full-bodied in the mouth. I’m also getting some vanilla and something flowery. To my knowledge, this is my first taste of this grape. Getting a long finish in my mouth (that’s what she said). I have “nice” written twice in my notes. You would think I never studied architecture; if you ever said “nice”, “good”, or “I like it” in a presentation it was suicide. “Nice” means absolutely nothing when you review your notes, I need to know why I thought it was “nice”. Anyhow, I liked it, it was nice and good.
Sans Liege, “Cotes du Coast,” 2006 $34/11 (Bottle Rock)
She said: Very golden and rich in color. Tons of peach and heft in front palate. Finish not as long as I would think for such umpf up front. Oak on nose and everywhere. Not very well balanced–a bit too rich in the mouth with a lack of acid, but this is characteristic of the blend. When comparing to the Maipe Torrontés, prefer the Argentinian wine.
He said: I have an inexplicable aversion to Viognier. I don’t mind the taste so much, there is just something about the feeling that reminds me of drinking Boone’s Farm in the late 1980’s. Like maybe I’m going to have a fucking piercing migraine very soon. But I refuse to give up on it, because I hear people rave about it. I got a lot of peach on the nose. In the mouth I can definitely make out the Viognier, plus peach and pear. The other grapes balance it, but still very sweet, bring on the headache.
Muscadet, Domaine de la Pépiére, 2007 $31/16/8 (The Hungry Cat)
She said: Took no notes but ordered it purposefully to go with shrimps and caviar. Which I think I remember it did. Of course it did–it’s a crisp, dry, stony white. That goes down really easy.
He said: Did we go to The Hungry Cat? This was after many bottles of wine, some bubbly, a margarita or few… I may have to review this wine later because I have no notes or taste recollection. The trials and tribulations of having a wine blog; sometimes you get really drunk.
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