Châteauneuf du Pape at La Croix

A godsend from the wine loving Popes Clement V and John XXII, the wines from this appellation have at all times been my foremost favorites. It was hard to turn down the opportunity to attend a dinner featuring Chateauneuf wines with food by one of the city’s most innovative young chefs, Jason Cichonski.

The Doctor Professor Tourist Tree studying the menu and the background of each wine with the same intensity as doing her research at work.

We were handed a refreshing glass of champagne as soon as we walked into the restaurant. Its crispiness completely washed away the heat and humidity that we came in with.

Amuse Bouche: Thai Lobster Custard.

Picture this: A light lobster bisque with a nice hint of basil but in a consistency of a custard. The tiny spoon scoped out something that looked like a darker color crème brulee; but when it hit your mouth, it’s lobster bisque. Yes, the brain did go into overdrive to interpret this first bit before all the neurons would all scream, “It’s delicious!” The champagne went very well with the dish; unfortunately I never got its name from the sommelier.

Watermelon, Razor Clams, Chat Masala, Peanut Puree.

Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc, “Clos de la Roquette”, Frédérick & Daniel Brunier, 2005.

Where do I start? The watermelon was refreshing. Razor claim, just poached slightly. Chat masala, nice. Peanut butter, excellent with its light creamy flavor. Each component was very nice on its only. They became more interesting when I started to mix and match them. Peanut butter and watermelon with a touch of the chat, why not? It’s the chef’s intention for us to experiment with his play of four most unlikely paring of food.

I am embarrassed to admit. Although I love the wines from this region, I had only drunk white Châteauneuf wines a handful of times. They are not widely available in stores and only a small number of knowledgeable and a bit daring sommeliers put them in restaurants. This wine was creamy, slightly but not overly sweet with nose of apricot and lemon. Although this small production (7000 bottles) wine had spend some time in oak barrels, there was an obvious absence of “oaky-ness” that usually would turn me off. I liked this wine very much with the watermelon. It’s a nice summer pairing.

Softshell Crab, Kohlrabi, Rhubarb, Wasabi.

Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc, Domaine du Grand Tinel, 2003.

I love softshell crab. I love softshell crab very much when it is in season. For this dish, a nicely crispy, lightly fried piece sat on top an interestingly minty and slightly sour tasting apple kohlrabi puree with a watercress rhubarb salad next to it. A wasabi apple foam with ginger and basil sat on top to one side of the crab to accent the taste while contrasting the texture meat and the well seasoned batter. It was Chef Jason’s intention to make the seasoning and the batter an imitation of the KFC version as this was his homage to the KFC fried chicken. Initially, I thought there was a bit too much salt with the crab. However, it all made sense to me after he explained his purpose to us. The pieces did remind us of the KFC chicken. I very much enjoyed biting through the crispiness of the batter followed by the juice and the softness of the meat releasing into my mouth. The citrus-ness of the foam provided a very nice palette refresher in-between bits.

The wine is from another small producer with only 4.5 acres of vineyard. A nose of white grape was followed by a stronger liquorish and slightly tart taste. It worked very well with the fried food.

Ducking, Shishito Peppers, Lobster Mushrooms, Caper-Gooseberry.

Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge, Domaine Lucien Barrot, 2000

Tourist Tree had two consecutively bad duck dishes of late at area restaurants; would this duckling break her bad luck or would the curse continue?

The meat was perfectly prepared. It was tender. It was seasoned right. I like the fact that it was not drowned in a heavy sauce which would otherwise shroud the natural flavor and the quality of the meat. The gooseberry and the duck made an excellent combo with the peppers and mushrooms being a nice companion.

The wine is from a producer that has been making wine in the ultra-traditional method since 1690 with grape bunches not destemmed before pressing, and grapes crushed and fermented in concrete vats, then aged in foundres.

I was greeted by the typical sweaty sock in a locker room nose of a traditional old world wine. It had lots of berries. It had a nice spicy after-taste. It was yummy. It was delicious. It was like biting into a very juicy steak.

Tourist Tree was very happy that she finally got to enjoy a well prepared duck dish.

Red Berry Charlotte, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Bean.

Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge, Domaine Le Soustet, 2005.

This charlotte had the dark chocolate mousse filling in the middle. It was topped with toasted meringue, strawberries, cherries, and little pieces of gold foil. The sauce was made with vanilla, crème anglaise with pistachios and cassis.

This dessert was delicious. Not heavy, not too sweet. Spongy followed by smoothness of the mousse. The sauce was wonderful with strong hint of the cassis. The sponginess of the charlotte became very useful in soaking up the sauce.

It was a very daring move for the sommelier to pair a red wine with a dessert. I have found that sometimes when you contrast a pairing instead of complement one; you are rewarded with the most unexpected delight. I found this wine full of strawberry and cherry. It was definitely lighter and fruitier than the previous wine. It happened to go very well with the cassis in the sauce. Alcohol and alcohol; what else could you ask for?

No meal is complete without a few pieces of petit fours. It took us no time is finishing those.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It was a lovely evening with this delightful dinner. We were tucked into a semi-private table at one end of the dining room which allowed us to look out to the tree tops in the park outside through the large windows. Our locale however did not prevent the service from not keeping our water (and wine) glasses filled, bread basket replaced with warm breads from the oven, empty wine promptly glasses removed, and table being kept neat. Our side of the dining room was pretty full with diners for this dinner. The staff did a very good job in serving everybody within a reasonably short time for each course. I had an opportunity to talk with Chef Jason a while back about how he would handle large parties. He told me that his kitchen make everything fresh even for large banquets. No pre-cooking and reheating or sitting in warmers for hours. Timing and team work is everything. The sommelier also did personally pour every single wine at each table just before the course come out. Again, timing is everything.


We enjoyed all of the dishes. The watermelon first course was an interesting experience; although I am not too sure if I would order it again. The softshell crab was one of the best I had this year. It’s too bad the season for the fresh crab is almost over. Tourist Tree truly enjoyed her duck, and so did I. I was happy that we did not have a heavy dessert which would put us over the top. The wines were wonderful. We were happy that this dinner gave us the opportunity to experience a few Châteauneuf whites which we typically do not have the occasion to encounter. Kudos to Sommelier Eric Simonis who runs a very nice wine program at the restaurant.

Chifa

  

When I was growing up, I had a Chinese friend who spoke fluent Spanish but Cantonese with an accent. I knew she was born and raised in Peru and her brother was the Honorary Consul representing that country. It never occurred to me that there had been a significant connection between Peru and the Chinese until I read about Jose Garces opening a new restaurant which would highlight the uniqueness a cuisine born out of two totally different cultures with considerable histories. He named the restaurant with the phonetic pronunciation of the Chinese words for eating a meal.

The design of the interior reminded me of an upscale opium den done 21st century. Many bloggers have already dissected the food since the restaurant opened last summer but few have taken the time to study the intricate decoration with the little touches around the place.

Enjoying a Rogue Mocha Porter while waiting for the many small dishes coming. “The food comes in small bits and are meant to be shared…” I hate that when somebody lectures me how I should eat my food when I am hungry and want my own very big mount of food just in front of me.

The complementary bread.

It arrived just in time when I was ready to start chewing on my napkin. Three small bun-like balls of bread with a thin layer of crust sprinkled with what looked like minute pieces of melted cheese served warmed. I have heard so much about this bread before this visit. It was fluffy, indeed delicious, and extremely additive. The restaurant had to downsize this bread after its initial opening since too many people were filling up with it before dinner. The dipping sauce was made with Sriracha sauce, guava butter, and Peruvian black vinegar. Awesome was not a word good enough to describe it. I was at one point eating it with my fork until Tourist Tree told me to stop.

Scallion Pancake.

They had a very interesting slightly mushy consistency inside but a crispy crust outside. The pancakes were served with slightly pickled cauliflower which cut into the greasiness nicely, and small pieces of crispy peanuts and what I believed to be ginger sauce drizzled over. This is a dish that need to be eaten piping hot. The pieces get soggy and hard when cold. I would call this dish “interesting”, not something that I would order again. They were definitely not the traditional flaky scallion pancakes from the old country.

Pork Belly Buns.

Grilled tender pork belly glazed with hoisin sauce, topped with pickled daikon and carrot togarashi mayo, sandwiched between two pieces of pillow soft bread. This combination of taste and texture was simply delicious and much additive. The Tourist Tree compared it to eating the traditional Peking duck, gone upscale and with pork belly instead.

 
 
 

 

 

Desayuno.

Braised oxtail with an egg and tissue-thin bacon pieces on top, sitting on a piece of arepa bread. The panca emulsion was made of roasted black pepper and tasted slightly sweet. I really liked the thinly sliced bacon that added dimension and texture to the dish. Unfortunately, the dish did not wow me despite its taste. May be nothing tasted just quite as good after the pork belly buns.

 
 

 

Duck Noodles.

Duck wontons with slices of muscvy duck breast in a “Peking” broth. The wontons were made with a thicker skin much like the qweilo version but they had consistency more like raviolis and were done al dente, nicely holding the ground duck meat inside. The clear broth was excellent with its depth of flavors and heavy dose of soy. The pieces of breast were tender, tasty and could stand on their own very well without being part of a dish.

Aji Mushroom.

Mixed mushroom in aji cream sauce under a thick flaky pastry cover. I loved the pastry and the different textures from the variety of mushrooms swimming in this light cream sauce slightly enhanced by the aji pepper. Personally, I could use more heat in the sauce and I definitely did not like the small pieces of tofu and potato in it. They were more of a distraction than enrichment to this dish.

Congee.

Ginger congee with glazed veal cheeks, Chinese broccoli and red chili. The veal cheeks were awesome! They were soft. They were tender. The sweetness from the glazing on the meat played very well with the slight kick of the ginger in the congee. The dish was presented to us with the meat in the bowl, with the waitress pouring the congee into it at the table. OK, that’s too much drama!

 

 

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Banana Picarones.

Pumpkin banana funnel cake, honey anise lace, spicy peanut sauce, banana sorbet. Everything that Tourist Tree likes in one dish (except the anise) and it’s a dessert! The honey anise lace was more a crisp. The sorbet was not too sweet; just the way I like it. The peanut sauce was awesome. Just give me a spoon. I can eat it straight out of a container, thank you! This slightly strange but interesting combination worked very well with the pumpkin banana funnel cake which itself was pretty awesome!

 

The Treat.

I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.

The Treat.


I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.