I originally planned on staying home on the Eve since the holiday fell smack dab in the middle of the week and I worked the 2 days on either end. We knew the K's had a full day of sushi making, shuttling Mom, dinner at Mavro and ending the year at E's sister's place. And since the Eve fell on a Tuesday, Vino was closed. And it seemed like HASR Bistro was planning a load celebration (unlike last year) so I was perfectly content with my Champagne and pupus at home. But then the Mrs called me at work and said she wanted a quiet dinner at Hiroshi. As it turned out, Hiroshi was fully booked at 5:30pm so they used the Vino side for extra seating... which we took. We started with a bottle of bubbly we had Chuck select so he picked a 2000 Paul Bara Comtesse Marie de France Grand Cru Brut Milliseme with toasty brioche on the nose and nice mineral and citrus curd on the palate.
We started with the Rollatini of Kampachi with sesame and yuzu vinaigrette paired with a Birichino Malavasia Bianca.
We also had the Foie Gras Sushi which wasn't part of the special menu but the Mrs HAD to have...
Next up was the intermezzo of Salmon Skin Tofu Bite. Crisp salmon skin is one of my favorites whether it's in sushi or by itself... like fish bacon!
We then moved on to the Seafood Medley with crab, clams and shrimp on cake noodle with tomalley butter paired with a Domaine Skouras "Zoe".
The next intermezzo was a Seared Ahi with Compressed Watermelon - sweet and savory with a touch of basil.
I selected the Oven Braised Local Short Ribs with calamansi gremolata and pea puree with a Chateau Fontanes "Coteaux du Languedoc".
While the Mrs chose the Crispy Skin Kampachi with clams and saffron broth.
The meal ended with a Strawberry Frozen Mousse with banana butter mochi. The next time you make butter mochi, add some mashed bananas to the mixture. It's THE BOMB!
Then low and behold, the K's drop in for a drink before dinner so I uncork a 2000 Duval Leroy Femme de Champagne with ripe red fruit and mineral on the nose with seamless palate flow and a touch of mineral on the finish.
And for one of the very few occasions, we actually departed Vino with other diners stilll in tow! In fact, we got home before 10:00pm... which usually NEVER occurs... but then again, the Mrs did want an early celebration. So bright and early the next morning, I made my ozoni.
Along with my kuromame.
And the Mrs did purchase some gorgeous sections of o-toro from Marukai the day before. It did cost $51 a pound but it was every bit as good as Mitch's Sushi where just 2 pieces sets you back $20 to $25.
Along with some miso tako also from Marukai
Along with sushi the Mrs rolled with C the day before.
Of course we dropped off mini "bentos" for Dad then visited Mom's where I made a huge pot of nishime.
While sippin' "Baby Salon". The house of Launois gets most of its fruit from the Grand Cru vineyard of Le Mesnil where Salon also gets its grapes from hence "Baby Salon" at about 1/10 of the price.
So that's the two day New Years celebration we had. Yah, we're getting old coming home well before midnight, cooking on the day and not really having a major bash. But we do enough of that throughout the year so it balances out. May 2014 bring you health, happiness and peace of mind!
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