Coming Soon: Wine-pairing dinner with Pisoni at Restaurant 1833

Restaurant 1833 is hosting another wine dinner, a great opportunity to sample some great wine and great food for a very reasonable price. This month, Restaurant 1833 is teaming up with Pisoni. The Pisoni family—Gary and his sons Jeff and Mark—will present new releases from their vineyards in Monterey County’s Santa Lucia Highlands mountains. Chef Levi Mezick has prepared a four-course dinner to pair with Pisoni wines. Take a peek at the menu . . .

February 25th 2013
Seating is limited – reservations required – seatings at 6.45pm and 7.15pm
$85 per person 4 courses with wine pairings.
831.643.1833

1^st
Lucy, Pinot Noir Rose, Santa Lucia Highlands 2012
Onion Soup
Tarragon, Chili oil

2^nd
Chardonnay, Sobranes Vynd, Santa Lucia Highlands 2011
Scallops
Apple Jelly, Celery root, Poppy seed

3^rd
Pinot Noir, Pisoni Estate Vynd, Santa Lucia Highlands 2010
Pan Roasted Duck Breast
Vegetable Ragout, Potato, Duck Sauce

4^th
Syrah, “Susan’s Hill” Pisoni Estate Vynd 2010
36 month aged Farmhouse Cheddar
Honey, Strawberry, Radish

I attended Restaurant 1833′s last wine dinner featuring Barolo wines from Paolo Scavino. The food was superb, paired with some excellent wines. This month’s pairing dinner with Pisoni is sure to be just as tasty!

Restaurant 1833 is at 500 Hartnell Street in Monterey. 831-648-1833. www.restaurant1833.com.

Timewarp Tuesday: Cocina caliente

In case you missed it, I’m reposting reviews from my time at the Monterey Herald every Tuesday. Here’s my review of Pacific Grove’s Mando’s Restaurant that appeared in the Go! section of the Monterey Herald on November 14, 2012.

Have you ever noticed how much the weather sets the mood for your culinary cravings? When the mercury’s rising, I cool off with some sushi.

And when the temperatures drop, I crave French food — a piping hot bowl of French onion soup or a savory steak frites.

It’s fall, and a brisk breeze bathes Pacific Grove by night, so I’ve been craving soups and other hearty dishes to stave off the chill.

When the mercury drops, there’s nothing like a hearty plate of mole or steaming bowl of pozole to warm up!

When the weather outside is frightful, a steaming bowl of pozole is delightful. The menu at Mando’s Restaurant includes pozole and many other hearty options, perfect for fending off the cold outside.

On my first visit a couple weeks ago, I ordered chile verde — pork in a spicy green tomatillo sauce ($12.95).

The chile verde was spicy, the perfect remedy for the cold weather outside.

The plate was packed with tender chunks of pork, stewed in a spicy tomatillo sauce. With each bite, I felt the heat tickling my tongue.

Without any shame, I got a second order of fresh housemade tortillas to soak up the last bits of sauce on my plate.

Coming Soon: Valentine’s Day at La Creme Monterey

We’re just 9 days away from Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for a night out with that special someone, consider heading over to Crema Espresso and Wine Bar in Pacific Grove. For the evening, wine and tapas are taking the night off. Instead, La Crème Monterey catering—the wine bar’s big sister—will host a special wine-pairing dinner prepared by chef Jon Moser.

The five-course dinner is priced at $180 per couple, including wine pairings (tax and gratuity not included). Reservations for dinner are a must, as space is limited. Call 831-375-1300 to snag your seats. In the meantime, take a peek at the menu . . .

Valentine’s Day Dinner
La Crème Monterey

First Course:
Paired with Sofia Blanc de Blanc Sparkling

Shared Antipasto Platter
Marin Brie, Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Fiscalini Aged Cheddar with golden raisin chutney, wildflower honey and Marcona almonds
Meats from Boccalone Salumeria, Molinari and La Quercia: fennel salami, spicy coppa and traditional prosciutto with fresh fruits, grilled baguettes

Second course:
Paired with Mer Soliel Silver Chardonnay

Blood Orange & Almond Salad
County Line Farm lettuces, arancia rossa orange, toasted almond, aged Villa Manodori balsamic

Third course:
Paired with Etude Lyric Pinot Noir

Seared Day Boat Scallop
Celery root carbonara, micro herb salad

Fourth course:
Paired with Paraiso Wedding Hill Syrah

Filet of Angus Beef
Yukon potato & house-made mascarpone ravioli, sautéed cavolo nero, crisp carrot, natural jus

Dessert:
Paired with Sexual Chocolate Zinfandel/Syrah/Petite Syrah Blend

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
Preserved tart cherries, pinot noir reduction, pistachio croccante

Crema Espresso and Wine Bar, inside La Crème Monterey, is at 481 Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove. 831-375-1300. cremapg.com and lacrememonterey.com.

Food Fight: Sope Bowl

This week everyone’s been focused on the big game, I figured this installment of Food Fight should focus on sopes—it’s the Sope Bowl! (Sorry, I can’t resist such a good pun!)

Sopes are delicious small bites that start with a little round of fried masa topped with meat and vegetables. I headed to two of my favorite Mexican restaurants to see who makes a superior sope.

Round 1: Taqueria del Mar

Tucked away on Lighthouse Avenue, Taqueria del Mar makes some of the freshest and most flavorful Mexican food in town. I usually find myself here for lunch about once a week, usually enjoying a simple lunch of a taco and a limon Jarritos. But the other day I was looking for something different, so I opted for a chicken sope ($4.49).

The sope at Taqueria del Mar was piled high with shredded chicken and cabbage.

My sope arrived topped with generous portion of fresh vegetables—chopped cabbage and pico de gallo—and shredded chicken, with a touch of sour cream. When I cut off a wedge of the masa foundation, it was thick and doughy. Hmmm. This was certainly a change from the usual fried “cracker” in most sopes. Needless to say, I was a little skeptical how it would taste, but the masa was light, not gummy. It was seasoned on the grill, giving it a bit of chile flavor.

As I made my way through the heaping plate of food, I was impressed how such a large portion didn’t feel overly heavy. It was a great value for lunch.

Taqueria del Mar is at 530 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. 831-372-7887. www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-del-mar-monterey

You don’t know Jacks

January is traditionally a slow time for local restaurants—the quiet before the storm of the dynamic duo of the AT&T ProAM and Valentine’s Day in February. To lure locals out, many restaurants have been planning special events all month. Pairing dinners have proven especially popular—in the last two weeks, I’ve counted three beer-pairing dinners, two wine-pairing dinners, a mezcal dinner and a sake dinner. I’ve been able to attend some of these events, enjoying some delicious dinners and drinks. Most recently, I joined a friend for dinner at Jacks Restaurant at the Portola Hotel on Wednesday night for a wine-pairing dinner with Hess Collection wines.

This Wednesday, Jacks Restaurant paired select dishes from their new dinner menu with wines from Hess Collection.

Jacks hosted winemaker Stephanie Pope to pour Hess wines tableside for each course. Pope’s down-to-earth approach to pouring was disarming—a welcome change from the more formal (and stuffy) wine dinners that are so commonplace. The Hess wines were paired with dishes cherrypicked from executive chef Jason Giles’ revamped dinner menu, unveiled at Jacks Restaurant just a couple weeks ago. Under the auspices of general manager Sonny Petersson, Jacks Restaurant is trying to break the mold of the tired conference center hotel restaurant, with a menu that’s high-end but still accessible enough for hotel guests and conference attendees.

Dinner started with a duo of oysters.

Dinner started with a duo of oysters—a nod to the new raw bar. The duo featured a barbecue oyster—served in a smoky sauce with a hint of chipotle spice—alongside a classic Rockefeller preparation. I’m not really the biggest fan of oysters—try as I might, I’ve never really developed an affection for them. The Rockefeller oyster was my favorite—I was happy the sauce wasn’t overly rich, as is sometimes a risk with this preparation.

Friday Fromage: Gjetost

It’s that time again—this week’s Friday Fromage, a weekly look at cheese. Most Fridays, I try to taste new cheeses, but this week, I returned to an old favorite that I rediscovered during last week’s epic cheese tasting festivities.  Meet Gjetost.

Gjetost is a Scandinavian cheese, popular in Norway and Finland.

A friend of mine introduced me to Gjetost a couple of years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. But it’s a pretty obscure cheese, and came up on the list of unusual cheeses on the menu for our Sunday Funday at The Cheese Shop.

Gjetost is a Scandinavian cheese made with both cow’s milk and goat’s milk. It’s related to Brunost, a Norwegian cheese that’s gotten a lot of attention this week after the Great Norwegian Cheese Fire.

Gjetost doesn’t look like cheese, more like a block of caramel.

Gjetost doesn’t look like your average cheese, in fact, it doesn’t really look much like cheese at all. Instead of a creamy color, Gjetost looks like a block of gooey caramel. And this cheese tastes like it too.

I figured I’d try pairing Gjetost with prosciutto, blending sweet and salty.

Because it’s a sweeter cheese, Gjetost works a bit like a dessert cheese. I often pair it with membrillo (quince paste) and graham crackers for a playful twist on PB&J. But this time, I decided to try blending sweet and salty—Gjetost with La Quercia prosciutto on wheat crackers. The cured meat helped bring out the goaty flavors in the Gjetost.

If you’re looking for a more original cheese to pair with charcuterie, Gjetost is a great option that’s off the beaten path.

Timewarp Tuesday: Time for Thai

In case you missed it, I’m reposting reviews from my time at the Monterey Herald every Tuesday. Here’s my review of Marina’s D’Anna Thai Kitchen that appeared in the Go! section of the Monterey Herald on November 21, 2012.

From taquerias to trattorias, my reviews for The Herald have spanned the globe. But I’ve noticed a rather curious omission — Thai food.

So as the sun sets on my time at The Herald, I figured the time was ripe to visit one of the locals’ favorite Thai restaurants, Marina’s D’Anna Thai Kitchen.

Many locals vote D’Anna Thai Kitchen the best Thai in town.

Tucked away off Del Monte Boulevard, D’Anna Thai Kitchen has a fierce local following. Several of my foodie friends consider it the best Thai restaurant in town. After two dinners there this weekend, I’m starting to see why.

Among the appetizers, the fresh rolls — with grilled chicken and vegetables in rice paper ($7.95) — were my favorite.

The fresh rolls were so light and flavorful.

I appreciated that D’Anna Thai Kitchen omitted the clichéd chunk of cucumber and gave the mix of lettuce, Thai basil and mint the spotlight instead. The bold flavors teased the palate of great food to come.

The corn cakes were remarkably light for something deep-fried.

The deep-fried corn cakes ($4.95) were surprisingly light. I loved the texture — crispy outside, with pops of sweet corn kernels.