An Evening at Bar Lola
Last night Martha and I went out do dinner at a restaurant we'd both seen and heard great things about, but had not yet tried: Bar Lola on Munjoy Hill in the East End.
We arrived at 6pm, per our reservation, and though we'd more or less arrived with the intention of ordering the "Feed Me" option (more on that later), we did take a chance to look over the menu and wine list. The restaurant's culinary theme could best be described as fusion, with French, Italian, Spanish, and Thai influences predominating. The menu items and presentation are fairly adventurous without being over-the-top. Portions tend to be varying degrees of tapas-sized, with the menu broken up into parts: small, medium, salad and large. You.re meant to have a four course dinner.
Indeed, one of the options was the Prix Fixe, where you could select 1 item from each of the "sizes", constituting your full-course. Tempting as that was, we'd been advised by a couple of other people to order the "Feed Me" option, which was similar to the Prix Fixe, and did in fact have a fixed price, but the twist was that the chef's decided each course for you, sometimes including things not on the menu or putting an additional twist to things that were on the menu.
We did wonder, if two people ordered the Feed Me option, if they'd be served identical dishes. No, we were told, excepting a course or two perhaps, but generally we'd be served different things. "Sounds fun" I thought, and we both decided to go for it.
Now obviously, trying to select wines to pair with courses you won't know about until they're sitting in front of you would be difficult at best, so thankfully, they had an additional "wine pairing" option, where the staff would select a wine to accompany (almost) each course for you, to be served alongside each course. Martha and I likewise decided to go with that option, and I was curious to know what pairings the staff would select.
A short while after we'd ordered, we were both brought some fresh bread with dipping oil, which we devoured with our water. Then, while waiting for our first course, we were each brought a single piece of crostini. Martha's was topped with chicken liver pâté, and mine was topped with one of my favorite things ever: Duck Confit. Mine was also topped with sauteed raddish slices.
At this point, our first flight of wines came. I was given a glass of 2006 Slatestone Auselese Riesling (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer), and Martha a glass of 2006 Foris Pinot Gris from the Rogue Valley in Oregon. This was rather fitting as Pinot Grigio is one of her favorite wines, and I've been trying to introduce her to some cooler climate versions, as I feel they're much richer and flavorful (i.e. Alsace, New Zealand, Oregon). I had a sip of hers and thought it was really nice. My Riesling was also great, with a very crisp acidity, pronounced ripe peach, and a touch of lingering sweetness, all in good balance.
Shortly thereafter, of course, came our first real courses. I was given the Ricotta gnocchi with asparagus cream sauce, and Martha was served Ginger and Lemongrass broth with Shittake mushrooms and scallions. Hers had a decidedly Thai character to it with a mildly spicy aftertaste. In her case, the staff's choice of a classically Alsacian varietal to accompany an Asian-influenced dish seemed spot-on to me. I could have seen a dry Riesling or Gewurztraminer working well, also, or perhaps a Gruner-Veltliner.
My gnocchi was very good, and the asparagus cream sauce surprisingly flavorful. About half-way through, the owner (who brought us our wines) came by to ask us how we liked it, and I complemented her on her wine selections. I noted that I was aware that pairing Asparagus with any wine can be a nightmare, but in this case choosing a wine with sharp acidity to accompany a cream sauce was spot-on, and the Auselese level ripness helped to keep the wine afloat above the slightly pungent asparagus flavors that usually ruin drier wines. "As far as wine-pairings go, asparagus, vinegar, and artichokes are the bane of my existence! In fact, we forego wine with our salad pairings due to the vinegar."
So far, so good. The next course was indeed a salad, and as such was not served with wine. I was given the Ham salad with crème fraîche and peas, and Martha was given the chickpeas and cucumber with fresh herbs and pickled shallots. I didn't try hers, but I thought mine was really great, with just the right amount of crème fraîche mixed with the vinegar. My peas were raw and nicely sweet, just the way I like them.
For the next course, I was brought an impressively large bowl of their Casco Bay mussels with white wine pistou and pancetta. Martha was served a good portion of the Chicken Thigh Adobo with coconut milk and Thai chili. Once again, a Thai-theme for Martha! Our wines were brought immediately thereafter, and after setting them each in front of us, the owner (again) started to explain what mine was, as it wasn't on the wine list and was somewhat obscure. "This one is a varietal more often associated with the production of Armaganc." "Ugni-Blanc?" I asked. Looking mildy surprised, she answered in the affirmative.
As for Martha, she was served a red this time, a Portugese Toriga Nacional. The owner opted not to describe this likewise obscure varietal, perhaps because it was on the list and Martha could read about it herself, but after she was gone, I explained to Martha that she'd be quite familiar with the flavor profile as it's the principle grape used in the production of red Port. Indeed it has a nice pluminess that you associate with Ruby Port, but of course without all the sweetness or alcohol.
I went on to explain how making dry wine from Port varietals is a fairly recent development, and wanting to explain why, gave her a quick history lesson touching upon the English love-affair with Bordeaux, and the fact that frequent wars with the French required the Brits to look elsewhere for red wine on occasion, and the historical alliance between the British and Portuguese crowns, etc. Basically, dry Portuguese reds really sucked back in the day, and making things worse, often spoiled in transit to England on ships. To counter-act this, brandy was added to the wine barrels as a preservative, thus fortifying the wine.
Somewhere along the line, it was discovered that if the wine was left somewhat sweet prior to fortification, it tasted really good, and the wine we all know as Port was born. In modern times though, using modern wine-making methods, the Portuguese are able to make very good dry reds from these varietals as well, an example of which was now sitting in her wine glass.
I finished by saying that the story behind a wine called Madeira is even more interesting, but that could wait for another time. I love Madeira, and have been wanting to introduce Martha to it for awhile, in fact I tried to find a bottle at Old Port Wine yesterday to bring home and try, but they had none. Ok, end tangent...
The mussels, by the way, were divine! The white wine and pistou were perhaps the best mussel sauce I'd ever had. The wine worked well too, and probably wasn't something I'd have considered as a pairing option, mostly due to my limited exposure to Ugni Blanc. It was educational, which is always a welcome experience for me. I got to try a bit of Martha's chicken adobo and found it to be fantastic as well, at least as far as I could determine with one or two bites.
While waiting for the next course, I started to play a game where I looked at each item on the "large" section of the menu (as our next course would be coming from that), and trying to guess what wine from the list would be paired with each item. Only a couple pairings were obvious, but I did remark that if one of us got served the Organic Brined pork loin roast with braised fennel and jicama slaw, we'd also be getting a glass of the 2007 A to Z Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
Well, Martha was indeed given the pork, and my wine prediction was correct. I was brought the Seared market fish (ended up being Cod) with spring onions and romesco sauce. This was paired with a glass of A-Z Willamette Valley Chardonnay (also not on list). All white wines for me, and a largely Thai theme for Martha. Interesting.
For being an oaked Chardonnay, I actually thought it was pretty good. It didn't suffer from what I feel is the greatest defect of most oaked Chards, in that it wasn't given an excessive does of malolactic fermentation. I like my Chard to taste like peaches and apples, not movie popcorn butter. Thankfully, this one was tastefully done and did in fact pair quite nicely with the really tasty seared Cod. I made a point to look up "romesco sauce" later on, as I really enjoyed it. It turns out to be a Spanish seafood sauce, one that I'll surely try to make myself sometime as it was really, really good.
I believe that Martha likewise enjoyed her pork and Pinot Noir. I tried a small portion, and while it was good, I think I liked my fish better.
Last would be dessert, and I had some doubt about whether or not we'd be served a dessert wine with them, since none appeared on the menu. When the desserts were served, I was given the French cobbler with red cherries, and Martha was served an oval ramekin of Chocolate Custard with Sweet Cream.
To our delights, dessert wines were brought as well, and ironically, given my earlier mention of Madeira (and fruitless search for it earlier in the day), she was served a glass of 5 Year old Malsmey Madeira. As for me, I was given a glass of White Port infused with a twist of lemon zest.
I of course took the opportunity to tell her about Madeira, which is made in a similar fashion as Port, on the island of Madeira off the coast of Africa. I proceeded to tell her about how it was popular in the Colonies, and owing to the weight of the barrels, was used as ballast in the bottom of the ship's holds in transit to the New World, often spending weeks at the Earth's equatorial regions, positively cooking the wine. Having it sloshed around in the barrels also oxydized it heavily.
Either of these two things will ruin almost any wine, but in the case of Madeira, it actually seemed to mellow and improve it greatly, so much so that when word of this got out, even Madeiras intended for domestic consumption were sent on a trip around the world first before being brought back to be bottled. Eventually, they figured out they could just store the barrels outside in the hot sun and let some air in from time to time instead and accomplish the same thing, saving the expsense of sending the barrels on a trip on the hold of a ship. This is what they still do today, though sometimes hot attics are used also, and after being thusly treated for a few months or a couple of years, the barrels are stored in regular cool cellars.
Also, given that both things that can ruin a wine have already been intentionally done to it, and fortification inhibits any possibility of acetobacter being able to live in it, the wines are quite literally immortal, and good Madeiras can continue to mature and improve for centuries. It has been said that nobody has ever tasted a mature Madeira.
I found her glass of Madeira to be a bit sharp on the acidity, which tells me that it was somewhat young and perhaps the bottle was recently opened. It was nice though, but I didn't get to try it with her Chocolate Custard. My cherry cobler was tasty without being awe-inspiring, but I was intrigued by the infusion of lemon zest in my white Port. It actually worked pretty well!
All in all, it was one of the most fun meals I've had in quite some time, and none of the dishes were subpar. A couple of them were extremely good, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Feed Me menu with Wine Pairings to anyone else who's in the mood to splurge a bit! Given that their menu changes often, partially in accordance with what produce and seafood is in season, I will probably find my way back there sometime to try it again!
We arrived at 6pm, per our reservation, and though we'd more or less arrived with the intention of ordering the "Feed Me" option (more on that later), we did take a chance to look over the menu and wine list. The restaurant's culinary theme could best be described as fusion, with French, Italian, Spanish, and Thai influences predominating. The menu items and presentation are fairly adventurous without being over-the-top. Portions tend to be varying degrees of tapas-sized, with the menu broken up into parts: small, medium, salad and large. You.re meant to have a four course dinner.
Indeed, one of the options was the Prix Fixe, where you could select 1 item from each of the "sizes", constituting your full-course. Tempting as that was, we'd been advised by a couple of other people to order the "Feed Me" option, which was similar to the Prix Fixe, and did in fact have a fixed price, but the twist was that the chef's decided each course for you, sometimes including things not on the menu or putting an additional twist to things that were on the menu.
We did wonder, if two people ordered the Feed Me option, if they'd be served identical dishes. No, we were told, excepting a course or two perhaps, but generally we'd be served different things. "Sounds fun" I thought, and we both decided to go for it.
Now obviously, trying to select wines to pair with courses you won't know about until they're sitting in front of you would be difficult at best, so thankfully, they had an additional "wine pairing" option, where the staff would select a wine to accompany (almost) each course for you, to be served alongside each course. Martha and I likewise decided to go with that option, and I was curious to know what pairings the staff would select.
A short while after we'd ordered, we were both brought some fresh bread with dipping oil, which we devoured with our water. Then, while waiting for our first course, we were each brought a single piece of crostini. Martha's was topped with chicken liver pâté, and mine was topped with one of my favorite things ever: Duck Confit. Mine was also topped with sauteed raddish slices.
At this point, our first flight of wines came. I was given a glass of 2006 Slatestone Auselese Riesling (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer), and Martha a glass of 2006 Foris Pinot Gris from the Rogue Valley in Oregon. This was rather fitting as Pinot Grigio is one of her favorite wines, and I've been trying to introduce her to some cooler climate versions, as I feel they're much richer and flavorful (i.e. Alsace, New Zealand, Oregon). I had a sip of hers and thought it was really nice. My Riesling was also great, with a very crisp acidity, pronounced ripe peach, and a touch of lingering sweetness, all in good balance.
Shortly thereafter, of course, came our first real courses. I was given the Ricotta gnocchi with asparagus cream sauce, and Martha was served Ginger and Lemongrass broth with Shittake mushrooms and scallions. Hers had a decidedly Thai character to it with a mildly spicy aftertaste. In her case, the staff's choice of a classically Alsacian varietal to accompany an Asian-influenced dish seemed spot-on to me. I could have seen a dry Riesling or Gewurztraminer working well, also, or perhaps a Gruner-Veltliner.
My gnocchi was very good, and the asparagus cream sauce surprisingly flavorful. About half-way through, the owner (who brought us our wines) came by to ask us how we liked it, and I complemented her on her wine selections. I noted that I was aware that pairing Asparagus with any wine can be a nightmare, but in this case choosing a wine with sharp acidity to accompany a cream sauce was spot-on, and the Auselese level ripness helped to keep the wine afloat above the slightly pungent asparagus flavors that usually ruin drier wines. "As far as wine-pairings go, asparagus, vinegar, and artichokes are the bane of my existence! In fact, we forego wine with our salad pairings due to the vinegar."
So far, so good. The next course was indeed a salad, and as such was not served with wine. I was given the Ham salad with crème fraîche and peas, and Martha was given the chickpeas and cucumber with fresh herbs and pickled shallots. I didn't try hers, but I thought mine was really great, with just the right amount of crème fraîche mixed with the vinegar. My peas were raw and nicely sweet, just the way I like them.
For the next course, I was brought an impressively large bowl of their Casco Bay mussels with white wine pistou and pancetta. Martha was served a good portion of the Chicken Thigh Adobo with coconut milk and Thai chili. Once again, a Thai-theme for Martha! Our wines were brought immediately thereafter, and after setting them each in front of us, the owner (again) started to explain what mine was, as it wasn't on the wine list and was somewhat obscure. "This one is a varietal more often associated with the production of Armaganc." "Ugni-Blanc?" I asked. Looking mildy surprised, she answered in the affirmative.
As for Martha, she was served a red this time, a Portugese Toriga Nacional. The owner opted not to describe this likewise obscure varietal, perhaps because it was on the list and Martha could read about it herself, but after she was gone, I explained to Martha that she'd be quite familiar with the flavor profile as it's the principle grape used in the production of red Port. Indeed it has a nice pluminess that you associate with Ruby Port, but of course without all the sweetness or alcohol.
I went on to explain how making dry wine from Port varietals is a fairly recent development, and wanting to explain why, gave her a quick history lesson touching upon the English love-affair with Bordeaux, and the fact that frequent wars with the French required the Brits to look elsewhere for red wine on occasion, and the historical alliance between the British and Portuguese crowns, etc. Basically, dry Portuguese reds really sucked back in the day, and making things worse, often spoiled in transit to England on ships. To counter-act this, brandy was added to the wine barrels as a preservative, thus fortifying the wine.
Somewhere along the line, it was discovered that if the wine was left somewhat sweet prior to fortification, it tasted really good, and the wine we all know as Port was born. In modern times though, using modern wine-making methods, the Portuguese are able to make very good dry reds from these varietals as well, an example of which was now sitting in her wine glass.
I finished by saying that the story behind a wine called Madeira is even more interesting, but that could wait for another time. I love Madeira, and have been wanting to introduce Martha to it for awhile, in fact I tried to find a bottle at Old Port Wine yesterday to bring home and try, but they had none. Ok, end tangent...
The mussels, by the way, were divine! The white wine and pistou were perhaps the best mussel sauce I'd ever had. The wine worked well too, and probably wasn't something I'd have considered as a pairing option, mostly due to my limited exposure to Ugni Blanc. It was educational, which is always a welcome experience for me. I got to try a bit of Martha's chicken adobo and found it to be fantastic as well, at least as far as I could determine with one or two bites.
While waiting for the next course, I started to play a game where I looked at each item on the "large" section of the menu (as our next course would be coming from that), and trying to guess what wine from the list would be paired with each item. Only a couple pairings were obvious, but I did remark that if one of us got served the Organic Brined pork loin roast with braised fennel and jicama slaw, we'd also be getting a glass of the 2007 A to Z Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
Well, Martha was indeed given the pork, and my wine prediction was correct. I was brought the Seared market fish (ended up being Cod) with spring onions and romesco sauce. This was paired with a glass of A-Z Willamette Valley Chardonnay (also not on list). All white wines for me, and a largely Thai theme for Martha. Interesting.
For being an oaked Chardonnay, I actually thought it was pretty good. It didn't suffer from what I feel is the greatest defect of most oaked Chards, in that it wasn't given an excessive does of malolactic fermentation. I like my Chard to taste like peaches and apples, not movie popcorn butter. Thankfully, this one was tastefully done and did in fact pair quite nicely with the really tasty seared Cod. I made a point to look up "romesco sauce" later on, as I really enjoyed it. It turns out to be a Spanish seafood sauce, one that I'll surely try to make myself sometime as it was really, really good.
I believe that Martha likewise enjoyed her pork and Pinot Noir. I tried a small portion, and while it was good, I think I liked my fish better.
Last would be dessert, and I had some doubt about whether or not we'd be served a dessert wine with them, since none appeared on the menu. When the desserts were served, I was given the French cobbler with red cherries, and Martha was served an oval ramekin of Chocolate Custard with Sweet Cream.
To our delights, dessert wines were brought as well, and ironically, given my earlier mention of Madeira (and fruitless search for it earlier in the day), she was served a glass of 5 Year old Malsmey Madeira. As for me, I was given a glass of White Port infused with a twist of lemon zest.
I of course took the opportunity to tell her about Madeira, which is made in a similar fashion as Port, on the island of Madeira off the coast of Africa. I proceeded to tell her about how it was popular in the Colonies, and owing to the weight of the barrels, was used as ballast in the bottom of the ship's holds in transit to the New World, often spending weeks at the Earth's equatorial regions, positively cooking the wine. Having it sloshed around in the barrels also oxydized it heavily.
Either of these two things will ruin almost any wine, but in the case of Madeira, it actually seemed to mellow and improve it greatly, so much so that when word of this got out, even Madeiras intended for domestic consumption were sent on a trip around the world first before being brought back to be bottled. Eventually, they figured out they could just store the barrels outside in the hot sun and let some air in from time to time instead and accomplish the same thing, saving the expsense of sending the barrels on a trip on the hold of a ship. This is what they still do today, though sometimes hot attics are used also, and after being thusly treated for a few months or a couple of years, the barrels are stored in regular cool cellars.
Also, given that both things that can ruin a wine have already been intentionally done to it, and fortification inhibits any possibility of acetobacter being able to live in it, the wines are quite literally immortal, and good Madeiras can continue to mature and improve for centuries. It has been said that nobody has ever tasted a mature Madeira.
I found her glass of Madeira to be a bit sharp on the acidity, which tells me that it was somewhat young and perhaps the bottle was recently opened. It was nice though, but I didn't get to try it with her Chocolate Custard. My cherry cobler was tasty without being awe-inspiring, but I was intrigued by the infusion of lemon zest in my white Port. It actually worked pretty well!
All in all, it was one of the most fun meals I've had in quite some time, and none of the dishes were subpar. A couple of them were extremely good, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Feed Me menu with Wine Pairings to anyone else who's in the mood to splurge a bit! Given that their menu changes often, partially in accordance with what produce and seafood is in season, I will probably find my way back there sometime to try it again!