We did a last minute Date Night at Vino this past weekend and it's a lucky thing the Mrs actually reserved a table... Vino was packed! Chuck immediately asked me if I had any wines in tow - yes, but I left them in the cooler in the car since it only was the two of us. He insisted I uncork one of my bottles but I finally persuaded him to select a bottle from Vino's cellar for us. Of course, I started with a trio of tasters, a 2013 Clendenen Family Le Bon Climat Viognier, a 2010 Livio Felluga Sauvignon Blanc and a 2009 Marotti Castelli di Jesi Riserva Verdicchio "Salmariano".
We then moved on to our appetizers including the Uovo di Raviolo... ever since samplin' this dish from Chef Alex Alioto with that luscious runny egg yolk centered within a "wreath" of ricotta cheese and wrapped in a large ravioli... place on sage brown butter with a smattering of truffle oil...
The Mrs likes this so much, she ordered one each for the two of us (so much for that romatic sharing of dishes on Date Night)... you end up just soppin' the bread in the leftover brown butter and egg yolk...
Chuck selected a Chateau Fontanes Cyriaque Rozier "La Petite Serine" from the Languedoc. The serine clone of Syrah is considered one of the classic clones. It had an intense nose of mineral, red fruit and a touch of green tobacco but it wasn't heavy on the palate at all.
We also sampled the Shinsato Crispy Pork Belly with pork filled ravioli - the smoked tomato vinaigrette and sage chimichurri nicely contrasted the rich pork belly.
Along with two Hiroshi's specials, the Six Layered Tonkatsu - almost like a Kimukatsu tonkatsu stuffed with Brie and added umami from konbu.
And the Braised Mary's Chicken Okayu. Man oh man, this has GOT to go on the regular menu!
Because it's been runnin' in the 60s at night, a spicy chicken broth over rice complete with a runny egg and succulent chicken meat and crunchy chicken skin... If this appears on the menu again, I'm sure the Mrs will order two so we don't have to share...
I also did another sampler of reds with the 2009 Adobe Road Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, the 2009 Thibault Liger-Belair Hautes-Cote de Nuits Pinot Noir and the 2009 Poliserro "Nubiola" Barbaresco.
The Mrs finished Date Night with the Lemon Ricotta Crosata...
While I had my usual Negroni...
We actually vacated our table before 9:00pm which is virtually unheard of... When the full wine gang is present, we usually leave after most of the servers go home...
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