Soba & New Years

I just had my soba noodles and it seems like the right way to start this particular new year. It's got me thinking that maybe my New Year's resolution will be to have soba once a month. There's a simplicity that is so grounding -- in a way that you realize you don't need anything else but that moment and soba. It'll aso give me a reason to find good soba noodles and either make or find a good tsuyu (dipping sauce).

Soboku -- a quality Japanese people treasure that means to be simple, natural, modest and elegant in an unadorned way

Bringing in the new year with soba is a Japanese tradition, LA Times, December 30, 2009

May your family be happy, well, and peaceful

May your enemies be happy, well, and peaceful

May you be happy, well, and peaceful

Wine list - in process

Sauterne (from night before) 89
Montrachet 02
Quientessa 95
Pichon Lalande 85

Tenderloin- To Do List

Bodega Bistro, 607 Larkin Street, San Francisco

Wanda's recommendations
#1 NOM- Papaya salad and beef jerky
#29 COM BO LUCK LAC  - shaking beef and rice
#39 BO LUC LAC - beef

And for fun, some minor food violations. 

Mangosteen, 601 Larkin Street, San Francisco

Eggplant Lasagna & French Pinot Noir - To do

PAIRINGS

Eggplant Lasagna — Bourgogne rouge and Chianti
By Lynne Char Bennett, Chronicle Staff Writer

Choosing just one wine for dinner can be challenging, especially when there are several dishes at the table. Versatile Pinot Noir is the hands-down favorite red wine for such occasions because it has minimal to soft tannins and bright acidity — important food-friendly characteristics. Bourgogne rouge, from Pinot Noir grown in Burgundy, has an extra measure of acidity. Some bottlings are so tart that the wine needs to be enjoyed with food before it will show its best.

Another food-friendly red wine — Chianti, which is a Sangiovese from Tuscany — shares similar characteristics. Since Chianti pairs well with tomatoey sauces and cheese (think pizza and red-sauced pasta), a dish with those ingredients could also partner with Bourgogne rouge.

The wine's acidity stands up to the simple tomato sauce, which is flavored with onion, garlic and fresh herbs, while the cheese tempers both. Eggplant's earthiness echoes loamy notes in the wine.

A Cote du Rhone - nice!

Vieux Clocher, Ventoux, 2007 $8

 

Without thinking too much -- drinkable, and bringable. But hard to find. Got it at Vino Wine store on 4th Street in Berkeley, went back the next day and they're out. Also very hard to find online. To me it's the reason why a lot of the wine review websites and apps that try to be a comprehensive resource face an uphill battle. What a let down when you go to the site and nothing but the name of the wine there. It's like, uh, I have that part. But you can see the visionary pitch -- we'll dominate the world, users will generate reviews, and others can comment, and well have all these users and they'll buy wine. Like nearby Mount Ventoux -- the giant hill famous for the Tour de France. Not everybody is going to make it to the top, even the best.

Champagne in New Mexico - To Do List

Gruet

From Snooth:

While I still rank Schramsberg as the best domestic producer they face increasing competition from many of their neighbors as the industry as a whole recognizes that vineyards that are best suited for the production of sparkling wines. While there are many great wines being produced in California, one producer vies for the tile of “greatest domestic sparkling wine producer” each year, and they hail from New Mexico!

Yup that’s right New Mexico, the mountains of New Mexico to be precise. During a visit to the States in the early 1980’s, Chapagne producer Gilbert Gruet found the mountains of New Mexico, and felt they offered great promise from the production of Sparkling wine. In 1982 Gruet planted vineyards of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at his 4300 ft high vineyard and thus began one of America’s greatest wine success stories.

The wine’s of Gruet are both affordable, delightfully so, and delicious with real class and elegance. They might not yet reach the heights of the best bottlings from producers like Schramsberg, but they do consistently best many producers products, and at half the price. No easy feat.

Sparkling Wine Tasting

Random notes. The non-vintage sparking wines were mostly about texture - were the bubbles aggressive? did it feel sharp or creamy. The vintage 2002, Deutz was noticably refined, understated, and interesting. Not much notes here as a I started getting toasted. Something about Champagne.

1. Cabriz, Dao, Portugal, non-vintage, 12% alcohol, Espumante Bruto style, $15




2. Bodegas Raventos I Blanc, Peneds, Spain, 2005, 12% alcohol, Brut Cava




3. Borgo Magredo, Gravel Del Fruili, Italy, non-vintage,11.5% Prosecco, extra dry $13.

4. Ariola, Emilia, Italy, non-vintage, Lambrusco style, $13.

Fresh, fruity, kind of like Beaujolais. Good every day.

5. Mumm Napa, Napa Valley, CA, non-vintage, 12.5%, Brut $20.

House style. Creamy, full, round.



6. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Reims, France, non-vintage, 12%, Brut style, $45.
Yeasty.

7. Deutz, Ay, France, 2002, 12%, Rose, $75

Age, delicate, strawberry, richer wine.



winemaker's notes:

The 2002 Brut Rosé is made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes. Eighty percent of the grapes come from the Montagne de Reims area, and the remaining 20 percent are grown in the Marne Valley. The specific style and color is obtained by the addition of 9% of red wine, whose Pinot Noir grapes come from two plots on the Aÿ hillside called "La Côte" and "Meurtet"—both having perfect exposure. After 4 years ageing in our cellars, its aromas have perfectly blended, and the Brut Rosé has a very subtle nose and a palate that shows remarkable power.

The color is a deep salmon pink, with its brightness heightened by fine and lively bead. The nose is fine and expressive, with seductively fruity aromas. The wine shows harmoniously on the palate from the start to the finish, with flavors of raspberries and wild cherries. The texture is rich and silky. It is clearly a vintage with ripe and healthy grapes that have plenty of concentration and style. Its finish shows quite delicious flavors.

This is particularly recommended for drinking with a meal. It would go perfectly with salmon in a mushroom sauce, beef carpaccio, duck with blueberry sauce, lamb cutlets, or a number of young, creamy cheeses such as Chaource or Brillat Savarin.
critical acclaim:

"The 2002 Brut Rose is simply beautiful. Well articulated aromas and flavors emerge with notable class as this fresh, vibrant Champagne grows in the glass. Medium in body, the wine possesses outstanding length and a silky, refined finish. The Rose is made with the addition of 8% still Pinot from Ay. This is a terrific effort. "

92 Points

The Wine Advocate

"Pale salmon hue with a persistent mousse. Inviting scents of raspberry and pear with secondary nuances of ginger and allspice. Sweet, juicy flavors of cider, raspberry and pomegranate. Impressions of vanilla in the creamy close."

93 Points

The Wine News

"100% Pinot Noir. Almost obvious in its cherryish cast to lightly candied, lightly citrusy aromas with surprisingly quietly stated autolysis impressions, this wine is foamy and frothy with fairly big bubbles and a full, juicy flavor profile. It is a very enjoyable quaffer."

89 Points

Connoisseurs' Guide

"Light pink. Suave, understated red berry and mineral scents are impressively precise. Clean, bracing and fresh, with deep but poised redcurrant and raspberry flavors and excellent persistence. I like this elegant style."

91 Points

International Wine Cellar

"A vinous style, with emphasis on the vibrant structure. The flavors evoke whole-grain toast, ginger and dried berry, with a smooth texture and a chalky sensation on the finish. Drink now through 2010. 280 cases imported."

89 Points

Wine Spectator


8. Moet & Chandon, Nectar Imperial, Espernay, France, non-vintage, 12%, demi-sec style, $48.

Remember - wine sweeter than the food.

Good intentions -- Cafe Grattitude

Deep sigh. Like many things - I appreciate the fact that someone goes to the effort rethink the established ways of doing things and actually delivers something new and unproven, but there is something about Cafe Grattitude and it's rule-based structure that is stifling. Deep down, all this vegan, sauces-that-tastes-like-dairy-but-isn't seems to be going in the wrong direction - far away from happiness. It's a little bit like the earthy crunchy version of breast implants. You can't be angry, sad or disappointed or unknowing. Instead you see yourself bigger than you are. Indeed, the options are: I am beautiful, I am effervescent, and I am worthy (kale, beet, celery, apple & ginger tonic). So unBuddhist. But maybe that's not what they are shooting for -- and if so, that's a good thing.

Other than that, the food was good, and reasonably priced (except for the price of the soup and that's my bias -- personally I just don't understand how a bowl of soup is $9. Come on guys, it's soup). The "I am passionate" pizza with side salad was satisfactory. And there is a nice fireplace, and they serve alcohol. But I have to admit, there's something more human and real about going to a Vietnamese restaurant and seeing families eat pho together -- not saying much, a bit bored with each other, but eating. Just regular folks eating, and that I like, and am grateful for.

South Wine and Food Bar

Braised pork belly with pumpkin puree, figs + crispy onion salad. Fat from belly light and fluffy. Flavorful. Balanced.

Fish and chips -- fries light with a little crunch, with wasabi mayo.

Deep fried brussle sprout leaves -- a carrier for salt, savory and oil. Like tiny green translucent potato chips.

The restaurant will close their doors tomorrow. Sigh. Next best thing, follow chef Luke Mangan.

Quince, Fleur dy Lys and some crazy good wine.

- found out i love sweetbreads. (but also realize it's a once year kind of thing).
- quinces' pasta delicate
- raw egg ravioli in a butter sauce (what's not to like)
- pasta with honey, walnut and cheese - we had it for pre-dessert. a good-couple-of-bites dish.
- montrachet
- new space seemed better, yet less like-someone-you-know-in-a-formal-would-you-like-still-or-bubble-water kind of way. the main waiter guy was still formal, yet seemed distracted and burdened by the bigger space.

fleur de lys
- watermelon with balsamic vinegar(just made some yesterday)
- amuse busch (sp?) cucumber thing -- very nice, warm madelines with black pepper
- more sweetbreads
- truffles
- foie gras -- last year in sf, then it's banned.

Spices Restaurant - Go to the one on 8th

294 8th Ave, at Clement, San Francisco

A vortex of laziness and luck -- went to Spices Szechuan restaurant on 8th. Intended to go the one on 6th with the bright yellow awning just two streets away, but in the rain and cold it felt miles away.

The calamari salt and pepper appetizer -- one of the best calmari dishes I've had and something like 6 bucks. Tender, lightly battered on a bed of Jalapenos and onions with Thai basil mixed in. Good beer food. A nice break from the heavily battered and deep fried variety -- turns out that most calamari is a pre-battered Sysco food product -- even nice-ish places like Nova on 2nd use the stuff. They top theirs with fried parsley -- which I like. Love fried herbs. So if I were Nova I'ld do the same, but Spices' calamari is dish-destination worthy.

Had my go-to #163 Mapo Tofu rice plate - fluffy tofu, flavorful and completely satisfying after a cold rainy day on the water.

Other. This 8th street location is also noticably better (less oily) than the one in downtown Oakland, which I still like and recommend.