The UnTourist

Sorry for the silence, but the day job has taken some interesting twists of late, and the charity work has taken most of the time not claimed by the jungle/lawn. That said, I do have some new to share after a trip this weekend, so stay tuned.

One thing the weekend did was take me near both a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe’s. At the latter, I picked up several bottles of what used to be two-buck-chuck and is now three-buck-chuck.

Even with the price increase, three-buck-chuck may not be great wine, but it is a great value for the price. Against bargain wines it more than holds its own, and can do fair against some that sell for $10-$15 a bottle.

They are well worth checking out, and I’m glad I had the chance to try them again.

It probably shows my lack of experience in the full world of port, but I only recently seem to have become aware of Smith Woodhouse ports. At least I can’t find any references to it in my notes (nor can I find all my old notes, but that’s a different tale).

Given the introduction that was a bottle of their Lodge Reserve Porto, I will be exploring further. Despite my strong preference for vintage ports, this was an outstanding blend, full of good flavors and a maturity that I was not anticipating. So much so that I am contemplating splurging on a bottle of their vintage port to sample.

Worth exploring.

Sorry for the lack of posting, but between work and trying to file for 501(c)(3) status life is busy.

That said, last night brought about a treat to end the day. Some morel mushrooms unexpectedly arrived in my kitchen, so I decided to:

1. Roast two bulbs of garlic at 300 degrees for a couple of hours. Easy to do, just cut the tops off the bulbs, coat with olive oil, wrap in foil, put in the oven, and cut it on. Set time, walk away.

2. Already having a smoked pork chop for dinner, I cooked up some potatoes and mashed them with roughly one bulb of the roasted garlic, some cream, a bit of smoked salt and sea cream salt, and some sweet butter from Normandy.

3. Cleaned and sauteed the morel mushrooms in sweet butter from Normandy, sea cream salt, and a small amount of ultra-light flavor olive oil. These were fresh and at least semi-local, and the flavor was magnificent even before cooking. The goal is to enhance, not cover.

4. Carefully reheated some asparagus that I had wrapped in Prosciutto ham and grilled (froze the leftovers, what few there were, and saved for a time like now).

5. Enjoyed with a glass of Boggle Old Vin Zinfandel.

That’s the way to end a long day of a long week. More soon I hope.

My wine pusher has a special section that tends to get a lot of my business. Many of the items in it come with tags that detail the reviews and ratings of the wine. Then you have what I call the mystery bottles: bottles that simply are there, with nothing out to describe them. They quite often are well worth the try.

Last night, I stopped by and picked up one such bottle, a La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Ventoux Recolte 2007. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault (from the label), it struck me as something worth trying.

La Vieille Ferme

Tasting circumstances were not ideal, but it had a nice nose of red fruit and hints of old leather. The light to medium mouth builds, and red fruit continues from the nose and expands to a good medium to full-body. Spice notes of clove, anise, and cinnamon appear and lead to a clean finish that has leather and chocolate appear along with some other spice notes. The tannins really do come out on the finish, to the benefit of the wine.

While it is quite nice for sipping and enjoying, it should go well with food (nothing too heavy). A very pleasant surprise and a nice one to try.

Reposting a previous publication…

The inside of Le Peres et Filles

I’ve written earlier about one of my two favorite meals in France, and today it is time to talk about the second. Le Peres et Filles in the 6th arrondisment (St. Germain des Pres) at 81 Rue de Seine provided a delightful experience that I still don’t mention around Jenny (my dog) because of the entree. The decor and the down-to-earth attitude of the staff delighted me, and if the weather is nice, the second hardest choice you will make is where to sit: inside or out. Your hardest choice will be deciding what to eat and drink as the menu is solid and the daily specials showcased what was fresh and available.

A view towards the outside seating

Alas, my photo of my salade de chevre chaud did not turn out, but it truly did. It was very tasty, and the wine that I got for the meal worked well throughout, not just with the salad. The wine (Keynes pousses dpinard? notes not clear) was of light body, slightly tart, with strong notes of small red fruit, and a nice clean finish.

Rabbit on the menu

The entree was table de lapin au Porto peles de champeire, or rabbit with mushrooms and a port wine sauce. The rabbit was perfectly cooked, and the mushrooms were a true delight that complemented the rabbit very well. The seasonings were good, and the flavors solid. I’ve not had rabbit in years, and this meal reminded me of how good it can be when well prepared. The wine truly worked well with the dish, cutting it nicely and bringing out the best in the dish.

A Delightful Dessert

For dessert was clafoutis aux poires, and it was excellent. A small bit of the mint that came with it made the pears and flavors explode. The size was perfect as well, not too much for a lunch but substantial all the same.

For me, coffee was a good finish (and possibly start) to the meal. While not a light lunch at all, it also was not heavy and as such did not interfere with later activities. To be honest, I could have sat a while longer just to people watch, as the location is good and our position within the restaurant very nice for such.

No, it is not the fanciest place in Paris, and I am sure that there are better meals to be had, or at least more high end. However, the food was quite good, well prepared, and seasoned. Recommended.

Repost from previous publication

Interior of Fleur de Lys

I’m taking a break today from food in France, to talk a bit about food from France. Well, about a chef from France who has provided me with one of my ten best restaurant meals. That is a fairly select pantheon, for while the restaurants listed there run the range from high-cuisine to low, the fact is that the food that earned them the spot is simply great.

In this case, the food at Hubert Keller’s Fleur de Lys in Las Vegas took me to a new level of food appreciation. While I’ve had some very fine meals, the experience I had showed me new levels of flavor while increasing my appreciation of how things are done and presented.

Eager as I was, I arrived early and joined a few other early birds in a lounge at the front of the restaurant. While I sipped a drink, a staff member appeared with an amuse bouche to sample as I waited. Well before I anticipated, I was taken back to my table and seated. A variety of bread treats were offered, along with butter on a slab of rock salt to help me bide my time as I went through the menu. Being on a budget, I went with one of the prix fixe menu options (not all such options appear on the web site) and a glass of wine.

The service is, as one would expect, exceptional. My waiter was more than simply helpful, they engaged me to find out likes, dislikes, desires, and all the things that would help them make good selections. It was a conversation, and it resulted in an outstanding meal and experience.

My order made, I was presented with an off-menu amuse bouche as I finished my drink from the lounge. This was not the last addition to my experience, but merely a good start to a line of such.

My drink was a departure from my normal, being a green apple martini made from house infused apple vodka, fresh green apple juice, and the glass given a sugar rim with cinnamon. It was deceptively easy to drink, easy and refreshing, just the thing to move me into the evening.

A delightful mouthfull

The amuse bouche was a bite of black cod, fried, with a potato salad and cayenne creme fresh. I almost forgot to take a photo, and blame that on the aroma overwhelming me with a desire to eat rather than to document.

A delightfully different onion soup

My first course was an onion soup with a bite of duck crepe with a slice of truffle underneath, and truffle in the crepe batter. The soup was poured in over the crepe, and was a pleasant departure from traditional onion soup, being cream based and sweet. Onions have a huge amount of sugar in them, and the preparation brought out that aspect very nicely.

Ravioli

The second course was a veal ravioli that both brought out individual flavors while blending them into a harmonious whole. The use of potato and pea shoots truly made the dish.

Not your average filet

My third course delighted this carnivor’s heart: a filet with seared fois gras and a large amount of truffles. The puree beneath and the veggies added depth to the experience. The filet truly was like butter, and could be cut with the fork, and very flavorful. The truffles were almost too much taken by themselves; but, when the meal was eaten together as intended it truly did lead to that wonderful thing described as a foodgasm. I took my time and savored this dish as it richly deserved.

Adding to the experience was the wine selected with the outstanding help of my waiter. A merlot, it was a Pierson St. Emillion Bordeaux 2005 with a strong nose of leather and spice, and a high mouthfeel. Somewhat light at first and slightly acidic, the notes of fruit and spice (anise in particular), chocolate, and a hint of leather rounded out the flavors. The lightness changed dramatically with food, reminding me that some wines truly are meant to be paired to be enjoyed to the fullest. While it worked well with the ravioli, when paired with the filet it became truly outstanding, going from light to rich and robust with flavors.

Dessert Course One

Before my official dessert came, I was presented with a palate cleanser: a sorbet of passion fruit, coconut, and mango, with tapioca pearls and a citrus sauce. Delicious and it did cleanse the palate nicely so that I could enjoy the next course.

A bit of heaven

That course was the official dessert, and was a Grand Marnier souffle with Elderflower sorbet and creme anglais. The sorbet was perfect with the souffle, and the creme anglais was almost unneeded.

A good end

While I was sipping my after dinner espresso and enjoying the orange segment that came with it, one more item arrived for me to try. It is not fair to call it an amuse bouche, for it was several mouthfulls. The chef sent out a plate of petit fours for me to try. To say that I enjoyed them would be an understatement.

This review can’t begin to do justice to the experience. The total meal goes onto that special list, and the filet onto the list of the best beef I’ve ever had. If you are looking for an excellent fine dining experience in Las Vegas, you need to go to Fleur de Lys. Trust your waiter, and I recommend doing a full wine pairing if time and transport allow.

Highly recommended.

The oenophile in me is almost ashamed to admit this, but for many years now I’ve just not gotten the whole Beaujolais/New Beaujolais thing. Admittedly, some of what I tried when in college many years ago probably was not the best introduction. Then again, when trying what some earnest friends said was good, I had about the same reaction. Paint thinner was one description that came to mind, flat was another. I just didn’t find the joy, the profile, the complexities I had come to love from other wines and grapes.

Recently, my current local wine pusher had suggested that I try a Beaujolais. I was not real receptive, but adding the bottle to my order got me a discount almost worth the cost of the bottle, so I did so. Frankly, I put off trying it until this last week.

To my friends who pushed Beaujolais on me in the past: I get it.

The Joseph Droughin Beaujolais-Villages 2007 I tried was good. No paint thinner, not flat, and a flavor profile that was quite enjoyable. Light, at least when compared to truly complex wines, but very enjoyable on its own or with cheese. To be honest, I was so surprised (and had expected so little), I failed to take good notes. Well, any notes. Instead, I enjoyed the wine with a light snack, and forgot all about the notes.

Come pay day, I plan to add a couple of bottles to the cellar. I can admit when I am wrong, and this wine has shown me I was wrong in my perception of Beaujolais.

This is a repost from a wine tasting at Pauli’s in Huntsville/Madison, AL. There will be a series of these to go up, along with notes on individual wines.

Being posted on a Friday, no less. I wanted to post some quick notes on Frei Brothers Dry Creek Valley 2002 Merlot. I had this with dinner yesterday and was quite pleased with it. The nose is quite nice and full, with old leather, bramble, dark fruit filling and hints of spice up high. The mouthfeel is full as well, with old leather, and chocolate forming a core, dark cherries with wild berries high and on the sides, and a nice finish filled with spice. Not recommended for computers, just for drinking.

This is a repost from a wine tasting at Pauli’s in Huntsville/Madison, AL. There will be a series of these to go up, along with notes on individual wines.

My recent trip to Austria introduced me to a new variety of wine, Gruner Veltliner. It appears to be sort of the flagship wine of Austria, and shows a nice range of flavors and styles. It is a white, fairly dry wine, that goes well with a number of meals. It is dry enough that it can be used to cut through heavy flavors or even sweet in the mouth, yet is not so dry that it goes towards pucker factor. The flavors can range from floral to citrus to fruit and you will even find touches of sweet notes. Even the low-ends are well worth a try.

This is a repost from a wine tasting at Pauli’s in Huntsville/Madison, AL. There will be a series of these to go up, along with notes on individual wines.

Since I am not getting to the free wine tastings at Pauli’s anymore, the ability to do regular notes has been curtailed. That said, however, my cousins and I recently went to the Habersham Winery where I found some very pleasant surprises.

Their Creekstone 2002 Georgia Cabernet Sauvignon, was a very pleasant surprise. While not as full-bodied as some other Cabs, it was rich with fruit and spice, and was good with food. A little pricy for what you get, at least in comparison with other U.S. Cabs, but not bad and it bodes very well for the future of Georgia Wines

The Creekstone 2003 Georgia Viognier was an outstanding wine. There are lots of floral notes and light white fruits in the nose, but the taste is absolutely dry. The body was fair, and it paired very well with cheeses and even some meats. If you are looking for a very good example of what a Viognier can be, this is a wine to check out.

While not at Habersham, in the last few weeks I have also had the opportunity to sample A*MANO 2001 Primitivo Puglia (Indicazione Georgrafica Tipica). The Primitivo is the parent vine of Zinfandel (or so I am told) and it carries the robust flavors of that grape, but adds to it something a bit more. This was an excellent wine, particularly with the $7 price tag. Something well worth trying and it will stand up to medium foods quite well.

While it is not a wine, I did get to try a Rogue Imperial Pale Ale. Delightful, especially for warm weather, with strong hops providing a (very) sharp edge to a decent body. Who, me enjoying myself?