We had another spectacular dinner at The Whole Ox Deli last weekend! For those who haven't visited recently, they did stop their breakfast service : ( but continue with both lunch (9:30am to 3:00pm Mon to Sat) and dinner service (5:30pm to 9:30pm Tue to Sat) but are still closed on Sundays. They also revamped their dinner menu a little - the superlative pork shanks still aren't on the regular menu since the Shinsatos are still only breeding four legged pigs - but the fried potatoes are now available for dinner service along with multiple sides since the menu is now ala carte. We first started with a bottle of 1999 Pol Roger Winston Churchill... can you say "rich and creamy" Champagne? Actually to the umpteenth degree!
We then sampled several starters including the Malama Farms Pork Cappicola with arugula and pickled watermelon rind
The Porchetta di Testa with pickled peppers on fired pai'ai (dare I say it was as good if not better than Chef Kenney's head cheese)
The Mezze Platter of fava hummus, baba ghanoush and cherry tomatoes with hot pita bread (this replaced the Fried Kale and Hamakua Mushroom platter since Chef McGee wanted a non-fried selection)
And the Crispy Polenta under braised Makaweli beef (previously it was offered as a main course)
We then uncorked a 1999 Salon Le Mesnil... yes, life is good! VERY GOOD! Especially shared with wonderful company!
I then decanted a 1997 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte that had loads of tobacco and gravel with a perfect seamless palate flow!
With the special Flap Steak (again, perfectly cooked and as tendah as buttah!)
The Half Roasted Jidori Chicken with crispy skin
Assorted sides included the Mao Farms Sassy Greens
And Potato Leek Pierogies with Kim Chi Cream
Roasted Mao Roots and Tops with yogurt sauce
And the always great Johnny Aloha Lucky Fried Potatoes
These were washed down with a 2006 Silvio Giamello Vicenziana Barbaresco
A 2007 Leonetti Walla Walla Sangiovese
A 2000 Giuseppe Quintarelli Rosso Ca Del Merlo
And to finish the meal, a Poetic Justice Beckstoffer To Kalon as "dessert"
Of course as is now traditional with the group, "dessert" started with a 21 day dry aged burger with foie gras
Then Vanilla Panna Cotta
Lemon Curd
And Gingerbread Donuts
Once again, I can't say enough about the quality of food Chef McGee and staff crank out of that kitchen. We'll definitely be back... in short order!
And since we weren't ready to call it a night at 9:30pm, we mosied over to Vino for last call with a bottle of Jacques Selosse Initial Brut
Then Chuck uncorked a 1997 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fil Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets
And of course, we'll be back to Vino in the near future!
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