Because I actually went to work for about 4 hours on the first day of my stay-cay, the Mrs suggested a trip to Vino to make it feel like an actual vacation. They surprisingly still had tables available though we were seated right between two large holiday parties. Since the special menu looked, we only ordered the specials...
Starting with 3 Fresh Capital Oysters from WA state with tomato, chili pepper water and Maui onions...
of course we need some vino with our food so I selected the 2012 Littorai B.A. Thieriot Vineyard Chardonnay... not cheap so Chuck didn't want us to order it but my rationale was we have one bottle in storage and wanted to know how it was progressing... ripe but not cloying fruit with a touch of oak and hints of earth... the Mrs was quite happy with this selection...
Followed by the Ahi Nicoise Salad with sered chuu toro ahi, Kalamata olives, pickled haricot vert, artichokes, OK Poultry egg, black olive puree and cured cherry tomato and vinaigrette... I always love this perfect combination of tuna, olives, beans and potatoes...
We then moved on to the Housemade Truffle Chicken Pate with roasted Roma tomatoes and crostini... I've been known to make my own chicken liver pate and this variation was superb... and very large, so large that it needed a little more crostini...
And since I was on vacation (the Mrs hasn't earned enough vacation time yet), we ordered another bottle for our mains, Vino's last bottle of a 2006 Whitcraft Morning Dew Ranch Morning Wood (supposedly it's so good, you wake up with... ) Pinot Noir... if you didn't know any better, you wood (pun intended) think it was New World winemaking from Burgundy... loads of funk and earth and a seamless palate flow...
Our mains included the Duck Confit Pizza... the ABSOLUTE BOMB! and perfect with the Whitcraft Pinot Noir... it included Crimini mushrooms, San Marzano tomatoes, pickled red cabbage and a Port wine reduction...
Along with the House Smoked Pork with curried cavatelli, Roma tomatoes, Crimini mushrooms and OK Poultry egg... and not just any smoked pork... smoked pork belly...
So though I did spend the start of my vacation at work... at the end of the day, it was ALL GOOD!
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