I'm not sayin' that Vino is endin' its Spring Menu. To the contrary, the Spring Menu just started. It's just that over the past 2 weeks, we've now sampled every item in the Spring Menu. In fact in certain cases, we've had it more than once...
As usual, the Mrs started the evening with a glass of Prosecco while I sampled a Pinot Noir from Sancerre (the usual wine from Sancerre is Sauvignon Blanc) which had an elegant fragrance like German Pinot Noirs, a Tempranillo and a full bodied Italian red.
Since we were here to sample Chef Keith's Dungeness Crab ala Chitarra and the Agnolotti with Rock Shrimp, I was about to order a bottle of white which is unusual since we usually have a Sangiovese, Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir based wine (all reds) assuming that lighter seafood dishes would pair better with a fragrant white. Before I could order the white, Chuck brought out a red (already in the decanter) for us to sample blinded. Loads of earth bordering on Bandol funk but with touches of tobacco, pebble and a hint of grilled meat. The color was also on the lighter side so I immediately thought either Burgundy or Grenache. But the nose was way too earthy for Burgundy... Rhone perhaps! But the color was too light for a Syrah.
On the palate there was dried red fruit and a seamless flow over the palate with a subtle but long finish. What the hey? Aged Bandol? That was my final answer to Chuck. Nope. It was a 2000 Michel Ogier Cote Rotie. Drinking glorious right now!
We started with the Dungeness Crab ala Chitarra - chitarra referring to the guitar-like contraption used to cut fresh pasta often used by the original Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe. This dish was the BOMB! Buttery Dungeness Crab with perfectly cooked pasta in a lobster-uni butter sauce - the Mrs usually shies away from buttery sauces but dug in like a trouper!
Vino also offered an Olive Oil Poached Mahimahi - flaky white meat served with yellow beets, haricot vert, toamtoes and olives. The "sauce" was the perfect dippin' vessel for the bread.
Finally we also sampled the Agnolotti with Rock Shrimp with cheese filled pasta and a load of shrimp.
We ended the meal with a Strawberry Tiramisu, macerated fresh strawberries and adzuki ice cream. I now need to come up with my own recipe for strawberry tiramisu... or at least the strawberry cream part...
The only downside (if you want to call it a downside) was that the Cote Rotie wasn't the perfect partner to the food. But I would have that wine all by itself... and we can always return to sample the Spring Menu again, this time with a Vermentino or Friuliano or Cassis or...
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