They packed the house and everyone was happy that the dinner started at 8pm after the VP candidates' debate.
Everyone was in great sprits, the restaurant was loud in a warm and cheerful way, the wines showed beautifully, and exploded with the food.
There's nothing like German Riesling and Asian food, I don't know why, but I just cannot drink dry wines with this type of food, and that bit of RS (residual sugar for those of you who don't use the jargon) and some great balancing acidity just does the trick.
I'll save my dry wines for the European influenced meals!
Okay, this evening, I'm off to Whole Foods, where friend Yvonne, the buyer and I will be hosting a German wine tasting. Super fun! We'll have a bunch of Rieslings from dry to sweet (of course), and a Gewurztraminer too!
Weeee!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Whatever! .... and a great wine dinner tonight coming up!
This day gets a giant "Whatever!" from me. Started off just fine, as this week was starting to seem kind of fun compared to last, but after a few incidents today (including, but not limited to, a B.S. parking ticket for $75), you just gotta wonder if the stars are not quite aligned. Of course, I'm not alone in this - the whole country and the whole world seems to be suffering a bit right now...... the only decent entertainment and escape seems to be making fun of Sarah Palin...
Anyway, chin up, gotta be at a wine dinner in a couple of hours. Part Two at Benley Restaurant. Part One was last week and ended up quite successful, with many happy diners enjoying the pure pleasure of pairing German wines with Vietnamese-French food. Gotta love that fusion.
I expect more of the same tonight, so I'm pretty relaxed about it - the food will be excellent, the wines will be excellent, and the guests will be happy. I know the wines like the back of my hand, so there is no stress there.
Wines to be served tonight:
2007 Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste Riesling Kabinett - always a winner. Medium-dry with a great body, a perfect apertif or food wine, goes with almost everything! Here, it is going with a light dish of mini rice crepes topped with shrimp flakes and scallions.
2003 Milz "180" Neumagener Nusswingert Riesling Kabinett - A Kabinett from a warm vintage, this wine shows some smoky brown sugar/candy qualities along with a slightly aged Riesling profile. Actually pairs quite nicely with the second course, which is braised duck on shaved white cabbage salad with citrus-ginger dressing.
2002 Milz Trittenheimer Felsenkopf Riesling Spatlese - Rich and balanced Spatlese from the Mosel, great acidity off-setting the sweetness - pairs awesomely with the deep-fried soft-shell crab nestled on rice vermicelli.
2006 Becker Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) - My favorite little German Pinot Noir, nice and fruit-forward without being overbearing, to be paired with the diced filet mignon on celery root puree & potato cream, all dressed with a red wine reduction.
Yum!
Anyway, chin up, gotta be at a wine dinner in a couple of hours. Part Two at Benley Restaurant. Part One was last week and ended up quite successful, with many happy diners enjoying the pure pleasure of pairing German wines with Vietnamese-French food. Gotta love that fusion.
I expect more of the same tonight, so I'm pretty relaxed about it - the food will be excellent, the wines will be excellent, and the guests will be happy. I know the wines like the back of my hand, so there is no stress there.
Wines to be served tonight:
2007 Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste Riesling Kabinett - always a winner. Medium-dry with a great body, a perfect apertif or food wine, goes with almost everything! Here, it is going with a light dish of mini rice crepes topped with shrimp flakes and scallions.
2003 Milz "180" Neumagener Nusswingert Riesling Kabinett - A Kabinett from a warm vintage, this wine shows some smoky brown sugar/candy qualities along with a slightly aged Riesling profile. Actually pairs quite nicely with the second course, which is braised duck on shaved white cabbage salad with citrus-ginger dressing.
2002 Milz Trittenheimer Felsenkopf Riesling Spatlese - Rich and balanced Spatlese from the Mosel, great acidity off-setting the sweetness - pairs awesomely with the deep-fried soft-shell crab nestled on rice vermicelli.
2006 Becker Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) - My favorite little German Pinot Noir, nice and fruit-forward without being overbearing, to be paired with the diced filet mignon on celery root puree & potato cream, all dressed with a red wine reduction.
Yum!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Report on Vegas from Vegas - including the Lotus of Siam report!
Ah Vegas. The lights, the sounds, the smoke-filled rooms, the hustle and bustle that greets you from the early hours to the.... early hours the next day... the conventioneers, the body builders, the hustlers, the scorching heat, the big payouts, the chips flying.... what is there not to love? There's no place like it!
I have been to Las Vegas about 10 times in my life, and I don't feel a stranger to the place. The first time I was here - this brings back memories - was when I was a kid not old enough to gamble. I remember being here with my family, my grandmother in particular, who was impressed and awed by the glitz and glitter, the big hotel we were staying at on the strip (the Flamingo, if I recall).... it was a great time, even though I was a kid not old enough to gamble. Later on, when it could, it just got better. There's no other place in the world to play these awesome games.
Anyway, back to the current time. I'm here with my hubby and two of his guy friends - initially, there were other women coming but they couldn't make it. We've been having an awesome time - I'm blending in enough to get into the guy talk which is totally hilarious. And the gambling - freaking awesome! I'm up 200 bucks and lovin' it!
Now to the food -
I don't think Vegas has really great food. I wouldn't really come here for the food - I would go to Europe or Asia for that, or even cities like San Francisco, New York, Vancouver. But all this talk about Lotus of Siam that I have heard in recent years have really gotten my juices flowing.
We went last evening and it met all of my expectations! No, scratch that, it EXCEEDED my expectations! Great little almost divey place in a strip mall, with the lights basically OFF on their sign on Sahara Blvd, practically telling the world "Don't come here, we don't really need your business, unless you REALLY REALLY are committed to it."
The food menu was so huge and overwhelming with authentic Northern Thai cuisine that I let my 3 male dining companions deal with it while I attacked the wine list. And what a wine list! Here's how this neat and tidy binder looked like: the first page has on its heading German Riesling by the Glass, then lists about 7 German Rieslings followed by Try a flight of German Rieslings which gives you an option of trying three German wines by the glass! Wow! Amazing.
The next few pages list other wines by the glass, giving the reader almost an impression that this was it for German wines. But behold! A bottle list which starts off with a listing of German Wines. The first page has the subheading Dry and Off-Dry Rieslings with about 14 wines to choose from, followed by another heading Qualitatswein Rieslings, which then breaks out Rieslings from the Rheingau, Mosel, Nahe and a few other regions. Next is 2 pages of Kabinett Rieslings, followed by 3 pages of Spatlese, and then 3 pages of Auslese! After the pages of Auslese, the book goes into Other Wines and starts to list Californian wines, French wines and some others.
I have never seen this before outside of Germany. I don't even think I have really seen this within Germany, but I might have! Freaking amazing. And this is an Asian restaurant! Most Asian restaurants I have experienced have either no wine list, or a wine list that shows complete lack of comprehension about wine. I practically had my ass thrown out of the last Asian restaurant I approached with the idea of German wine because they were way too happy with their bottom of the barrel Southern Wine and Spirits Merlots and other grocery store level wines.
And don't get me started about wine lists in restaurant where they believe they know tons of wines (read: European or Californian restaurnats) where German wines are relegated to a squishy little portion of the wine list after 5 pages of Californian wine, 3 pages of French wine, 3 pages of New World wines from various places such as Aussieland and Chile and Argentina........ then you see 3 crappy German wines on there that are probably advertising bottles that have sat there for 5 years not moving because no one cares about them..... ARGG.
Ranting aside, we ended up ordering 2 very delicious appetizers and then 4 even more outstanding mains, which we all shared. I got to say hi to Lotus of Siam sommelier Bank who took very good care of us and recommended 2 of the mains we enjoyed, including a sea bass on noodles dish, which was my favorite, and a crispy duck skins dish, which was okay but still great..... or other dishes included a pork dish in a coconut curry sauce called Kow Soi, and a northern Thai spicy sausage.... we also had some pork larb and some crispy rice...... the food was excellent and I would go there just for that in a heartbeat!
The wines - I ordered two bottles for the table, the 2007 Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste Riesling Kabinett, which was one of the wines in the Benley wine dinner I just helped to host the previous evening, the 2005 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese. Unfortunately, they were out of the Oberhauser Brucke Spatlese, so Bank recommended the 2004 Donnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese, which totally fit the bill (even though my favorite vineyard that Donnhoff makes wine from is Oberhauser Brucke, based on the very little that I know and have experienced).
Both wines were awesome, of course, but what made me really light up was having Johan's friend say "Hmmm maybe I should give German Rieslings another look!" This is coming from a wine enthusiast who has been coming to tastings at The Wine Country and avoiding all German wines and basically not wanting anything to do with so-called sweet wines. Well, honestly, who wants sweet stickies???? I don't! But these Rieslings are a totally different animal, and I got the chance to do my sales pitch mid-meal. That Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste is a completely off-dry number, with awesome, peachy-clean fruit and the driest finish. Fantastically refreshing as an aperatif wine that we could sip on before the food hit the table, and pairing so well with the mildly seasoned appetizers.
The Spatlese, though with some bottle age on it, still reflected a significant amount of residual sugar, which made said friend seem to question whether he would really like it. Friend #2 already was raving about it, how it was totally different from the Gunderloch, and that he liked it more - I put words into his mouth to describe that it was weightier and had more depth and concentration (as well as more sweetness).
Later, with the main dishes, of course the wine sang. Everyone was a happy camper, stuffing our faces and washing the food down with some pretty fabulous and fairly priced German Rieslings.
The pricing on this list was completely fair and it made me feel that there is no reason ever to bring one's own wine to this restaurant. The list is comprehensive, has some excellent producers, and even some older vintages to enjoy. I didn't really order anything too aged, but maybe next time.
What an awesome experience! I'm so happy I finally got to go to Lotus of Siam. This place really sets the standard for what a restaurant can do.
I'll aim to turn a few places into a Lotus of Siam-type place in the near future!!!!!
I have been to Las Vegas about 10 times in my life, and I don't feel a stranger to the place. The first time I was here - this brings back memories - was when I was a kid not old enough to gamble. I remember being here with my family, my grandmother in particular, who was impressed and awed by the glitz and glitter, the big hotel we were staying at on the strip (the Flamingo, if I recall).... it was a great time, even though I was a kid not old enough to gamble. Later on, when it could, it just got better. There's no other place in the world to play these awesome games.
Anyway, back to the current time. I'm here with my hubby and two of his guy friends - initially, there were other women coming but they couldn't make it. We've been having an awesome time - I'm blending in enough to get into the guy talk which is totally hilarious. And the gambling - freaking awesome! I'm up 200 bucks and lovin' it!
Now to the food -
I don't think Vegas has really great food. I wouldn't really come here for the food - I would go to Europe or Asia for that, or even cities like San Francisco, New York, Vancouver. But all this talk about Lotus of Siam that I have heard in recent years have really gotten my juices flowing.
We went last evening and it met all of my expectations! No, scratch that, it EXCEEDED my expectations! Great little almost divey place in a strip mall, with the lights basically OFF on their sign on Sahara Blvd, practically telling the world "Don't come here, we don't really need your business, unless you REALLY REALLY are committed to it."
The food menu was so huge and overwhelming with authentic Northern Thai cuisine that I let my 3 male dining companions deal with it while I attacked the wine list. And what a wine list! Here's how this neat and tidy binder looked like: the first page has on its heading German Riesling by the Glass, then lists about 7 German Rieslings followed by Try a flight of German Rieslings which gives you an option of trying three German wines by the glass! Wow! Amazing.
The next few pages list other wines by the glass, giving the reader almost an impression that this was it for German wines. But behold! A bottle list which starts off with a listing of German Wines. The first page has the subheading Dry and Off-Dry Rieslings with about 14 wines to choose from, followed by another heading Qualitatswein Rieslings, which then breaks out Rieslings from the Rheingau, Mosel, Nahe and a few other regions. Next is 2 pages of Kabinett Rieslings, followed by 3 pages of Spatlese, and then 3 pages of Auslese! After the pages of Auslese, the book goes into Other Wines and starts to list Californian wines, French wines and some others.
I have never seen this before outside of Germany. I don't even think I have really seen this within Germany, but I might have! Freaking amazing. And this is an Asian restaurant! Most Asian restaurants I have experienced have either no wine list, or a wine list that shows complete lack of comprehension about wine. I practically had my ass thrown out of the last Asian restaurant I approached with the idea of German wine because they were way too happy with their bottom of the barrel Southern Wine and Spirits Merlots and other grocery store level wines.
And don't get me started about wine lists in restaurant where they believe they know tons of wines (read: European or Californian restaurnats) where German wines are relegated to a squishy little portion of the wine list after 5 pages of Californian wine, 3 pages of French wine, 3 pages of New World wines from various places such as Aussieland and Chile and Argentina........ then you see 3 crappy German wines on there that are probably advertising bottles that have sat there for 5 years not moving because no one cares about them..... ARGG.
Ranting aside, we ended up ordering 2 very delicious appetizers and then 4 even more outstanding mains, which we all shared. I got to say hi to Lotus of Siam sommelier Bank who took very good care of us and recommended 2 of the mains we enjoyed, including a sea bass on noodles dish, which was my favorite, and a crispy duck skins dish, which was okay but still great..... or other dishes included a pork dish in a coconut curry sauce called Kow Soi, and a northern Thai spicy sausage.... we also had some pork larb and some crispy rice...... the food was excellent and I would go there just for that in a heartbeat!
The wines - I ordered two bottles for the table, the 2007 Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste Riesling Kabinett, which was one of the wines in the Benley wine dinner I just helped to host the previous evening, the 2005 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese. Unfortunately, they were out of the Oberhauser Brucke Spatlese, so Bank recommended the 2004 Donnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese, which totally fit the bill (even though my favorite vineyard that Donnhoff makes wine from is Oberhauser Brucke, based on the very little that I know and have experienced).
Both wines were awesome, of course, but what made me really light up was having Johan's friend say "Hmmm maybe I should give German Rieslings another look!" This is coming from a wine enthusiast who has been coming to tastings at The Wine Country and avoiding all German wines and basically not wanting anything to do with so-called sweet wines. Well, honestly, who wants sweet stickies???? I don't! But these Rieslings are a totally different animal, and I got the chance to do my sales pitch mid-meal. That Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste is a completely off-dry number, with awesome, peachy-clean fruit and the driest finish. Fantastically refreshing as an aperatif wine that we could sip on before the food hit the table, and pairing so well with the mildly seasoned appetizers.
The Spatlese, though with some bottle age on it, still reflected a significant amount of residual sugar, which made said friend seem to question whether he would really like it. Friend #2 already was raving about it, how it was totally different from the Gunderloch, and that he liked it more - I put words into his mouth to describe that it was weightier and had more depth and concentration (as well as more sweetness).
Later, with the main dishes, of course the wine sang. Everyone was a happy camper, stuffing our faces and washing the food down with some pretty fabulous and fairly priced German Rieslings.
The pricing on this list was completely fair and it made me feel that there is no reason ever to bring one's own wine to this restaurant. The list is comprehensive, has some excellent producers, and even some older vintages to enjoy. I didn't really order anything too aged, but maybe next time.
What an awesome experience! I'm so happy I finally got to go to Lotus of Siam. This place really sets the standard for what a restaurant can do.
I'll aim to turn a few places into a Lotus of Siam-type place in the near future!!!!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
I am now a resident! of Chateau Petrogasm
Check this out. The new blog I have added to the left - Chateau Petrogasm.
Just found this blog tonight and I'm totally impressed. Using imagery to describe a wine, instead of words. I should use imagery more often. To express what I am trying to say. I typically rely on words. But images are much more fun and potentially more powerful.
I reviewed my first wine!
Sipping on Silvaner
Well, another long day!Good thing I have some Silvaner left in my bag that I won't be using tomorrow. Mmm mmm - delicious 2006 Hans Wirsching Estate Silvaner Dry - I can't believe why this wine isn't more popular - it is fantastic and delicious and beats Sauvignon Blanc (for me) and certainly Chardonnay. It has some great weight that would appeal to Chardonnay drinkers, without the oak, and tons of citrus and orange blossom and yellow grapefruit - makes me crave a slab of the best raw yellowtail sashimi... ahhh.
Another winner that I took out with me today was the 2006 Becker Pinot Noir. This wine knocks it out of the ball park - a German Spatburgunder that is enough new world in style that it appeals to even those who like California Pinot Noir. Imagine! Something that Californian Pinot lovers can dig that isn't 14.5% alcohol and full of wood! Seriously, an elegant fruit-forward Pinot Noir with some earthiness and forest floor there to make it interesting. A great fall wine with all those roast chicken and roast turkey-type dishes.
Well, like I mentioned above, it was a long and tiring day, but now that I'm enjoying my wine by the computer, the place all quiet because the hubby is out at a hockey thing where they pick their hockey tickets that they want from a shared season's pass group thing, I'm thinking, damn, it was a pretty successful day. I got 2 of my wines at Lucques and one of my wines at AOC, and 2 of my wines at the SkyRoom in Long Beach, and soon, I'll have some wines at Walt's Wharf. Not bad!
World domination is soon to be mine! :P
Ah, if only it were so easy.......
Monday, September 22, 2008
Looking forward to the Mecca in the Desert: Lotus of Siam
As I said in my previous post, it has been a rough week. Every day last week was spent working, either at my new job, selling wine on the street, to restaurants, wine stores, grocery stores, you name it, or at my old job, selling wine in the beloved retail store. Every day was busy in its own way. And today, Monday, I start again.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Yes, yes, there is the light that I will learn the new job better and everything will flow easier and smoother, but an even brighter light, from a future not so far away is that I'll be in Vegas this coming weekend. Yes! Leaving Thursday evening at 9:30 pm, after I do a wine dinner at Long Beach's premier Vietnamese fusion restaurant, Benley, I will be whisked away by my hubby and his friend and we will make the 5 hour drive through the dark valley and into the dessert of many sins.
And in this dessert sits a cult restaurant whose name is so known among the wine-loving and foodie world, that it is abbreviated to simply LOS. Lotus of Siam - a bastian of authentic, mouth-searing, flavor-exploding Thai cuisine paired with fine wines, many of them German Rieslings.
I first heard about this restaurant when I was working and hosting my first wine dinner more than 2 years ago at a great Long Beach sushi restaurant called Yen. A few customers walked in and started telling me about Lotus of Siam and even gave me a business card for the place. Raved about how great it was, and since I didn't know of it, I didn't think much of it - after all, the name is much like any other Thai restaurant - sounds just like King of Siam, The Lotus Restaurant, etc. The customers did regail me of stories of how the walls of the restaurant were adorned with the sommelier's pictures that he had taken with various famous German winemakers.
Later, Rudi Wiest, who was at this wine dinner, saw the card on my table and asked me if I had been there - I told him no - and he said this was a must-go-to place. Later, more evidence - some archived newsletters from The Wine Country told the story of a former employee who had gone to Germany with Lotus of Siam's sommelier, Bank. The story grew in my head.
Slowly, more evidence of this LOS' special aura - talks of it on many of bulletin board, with members talking about making special trips there. A coworker even attended a huge dinner there with fellow parker board members, and posted a video of it on You-Tube.
I met Bank this year, in Vienna of all places. He was quiet, humble. I expected him to be extroverted, exuberant, jubilant. His reputation preceded him, and was bigger than him. To be so famous and yet in real life so quiet. Wow! We exchanged a few words and he was very kind. But after the short conversation, I didn't see him again. Many wine folks on the trip I was on knew him, and commented also that they saw Bank once and not again. He was certainly a celebrity who eluded us.
Who knows if when I am there this Friday if he will remember me. He probably will, since he seems a smart guy. I look forward to tasting his restaurant's fine dishes and pairing them with some great stuff off his wine list. Hopefully, I'll have enough to tell that I can write a decent post about that here.
The moral of this story is that when a restaurant does really well with wines of some obscurity, and by that I mean wines not sold by Southern Wine and Spirits or Youngs Market, the tales of this restaurant travel far and wide. Another one that comes to mind is The Slanted Door in San Francisco. Another restaurant with an Asian focus, tons of great wines (German Rieslings, Austrian Gruner Veltliner, French wines from the Loire) and another restaurant I have yet to visit, but have heard so many great things about.
May Benley of Long Beach become a restaurant like that, that will plough through palettes of German Riesling, Austrian Gruner Veltliner, and Loire whites. And become a destination for wine geeks and foodies alike.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Yes, yes, there is the light that I will learn the new job better and everything will flow easier and smoother, but an even brighter light, from a future not so far away is that I'll be in Vegas this coming weekend. Yes! Leaving Thursday evening at 9:30 pm, after I do a wine dinner at Long Beach's premier Vietnamese fusion restaurant, Benley, I will be whisked away by my hubby and his friend and we will make the 5 hour drive through the dark valley and into the dessert of many sins.
And in this dessert sits a cult restaurant whose name is so known among the wine-loving and foodie world, that it is abbreviated to simply LOS. Lotus of Siam - a bastian of authentic, mouth-searing, flavor-exploding Thai cuisine paired with fine wines, many of them German Rieslings.
I first heard about this restaurant when I was working and hosting my first wine dinner more than 2 years ago at a great Long Beach sushi restaurant called Yen. A few customers walked in and started telling me about Lotus of Siam and even gave me a business card for the place. Raved about how great it was, and since I didn't know of it, I didn't think much of it - after all, the name is much like any other Thai restaurant - sounds just like King of Siam, The Lotus Restaurant, etc. The customers did regail me of stories of how the walls of the restaurant were adorned with the sommelier's pictures that he had taken with various famous German winemakers.
Later, Rudi Wiest, who was at this wine dinner, saw the card on my table and asked me if I had been there - I told him no - and he said this was a must-go-to place. Later, more evidence - some archived newsletters from The Wine Country told the story of a former employee who had gone to Germany with Lotus of Siam's sommelier, Bank. The story grew in my head.
Slowly, more evidence of this LOS' special aura - talks of it on many of bulletin board, with members talking about making special trips there. A coworker even attended a huge dinner there with fellow parker board members, and posted a video of it on You-Tube.
I met Bank this year, in Vienna of all places. He was quiet, humble. I expected him to be extroverted, exuberant, jubilant. His reputation preceded him, and was bigger than him. To be so famous and yet in real life so quiet. Wow! We exchanged a few words and he was very kind. But after the short conversation, I didn't see him again. Many wine folks on the trip I was on knew him, and commented also that they saw Bank once and not again. He was certainly a celebrity who eluded us.
Who knows if when I am there this Friday if he will remember me. He probably will, since he seems a smart guy. I look forward to tasting his restaurant's fine dishes and pairing them with some great stuff off his wine list. Hopefully, I'll have enough to tell that I can write a decent post about that here.
The moral of this story is that when a restaurant does really well with wines of some obscurity, and by that I mean wines not sold by Southern Wine and Spirits or Youngs Market, the tales of this restaurant travel far and wide. Another one that comes to mind is The Slanted Door in San Francisco. Another restaurant with an Asian focus, tons of great wines (German Rieslings, Austrian Gruner Veltliner, French wines from the Loire) and another restaurant I have yet to visit, but have heard so many great things about.
May Benley of Long Beach become a restaurant like that, that will plough through palettes of German Riesling, Austrian Gruner Veltliner, and Loire whites. And become a destination for wine geeks and foodies alike.
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