Sometimes A+ food and drink trump D- company
I could write about the three dates I had between Thurs night and Sat night, but there's not too much I'm interested in saying about them. Thurs night was a perfectly pedigreed prince, but he was angsting over the fact that he doesn't put on tefillin every day, whereas I still need to find a shul in Manhattan. Sat brunch was amusing and fit three of the five criteria and might even be worth tossing into rotation, but too terribly frat boy to spend much time with. And Sat night... well, let me put it this way: during the date, after I made a comment about how delicious the wine was, he asked if I'd be using the same superlatives to describe him to my friends. I ignored the question, but come to think of it, both deserve a wow. I've never met someone so close to 40 who had so little social skills: even the insane twinkies I knew at MIT were better adjusted. This is even ignoring the fact that his picture was old, from back when he had hair, and he's been getting bad advice on how to deal with that issue.
He suggested we meet at an unfamiliar bar in my neighborhood, but when I got there, it turned out to be a place on the corner that I used to pass on my way back from riding lessons. I was plotting how to use my get-out-jail-free card (I told him I was going to a housewarming after drinks and was dressed appropriately) when I saw the wine menu. They had wines by the flight, glass, half-bottle, and bottle and three of the seven flights were by vineyard! But best of all, two of those were Grgich Hills and Inniskillin. I desperately wanted to order the former, but I knew it's not nice to order the most expensive wine on the menu when you're on a date with an hr person you will never see again. Fortunately, my date was looking flummoxed by the menu, so the waiter recommended the Grgich Hills, Inniskillin, and champagne flights. Since my date quickly said he didn't like champagne or sweet drinks, Grgich Hills it was.
I've been reading the chapter on sauvignon blanc in my dreadful wine book and trying to figure out whether I like it. After trying the Grgich Hills, I'm positive I do. Wow. Wine Spectator says it is "Tart and complex, with green apple, hay, grass and herb that slowly smooth out on the finish, and for all its mouthpuckering acidity, it has a supple texture." Sure. That's more descriptive than anything I could say: I'd be mumbling about how it was dry but tasty and tangy. The chardonnay was also delicious and made me re-consider my ABC stance; it felt mellower and more muted. My date complained the zinfandel was too tart and I wasn't impressed; the cabernet sauvignon was similiarly unexciting.
I enjoyed the wine so much, I stayed for dinner, counting on my ability to chatter to keep the conversation going. It did and the dinner was delicious. My date picked the cobb salad, which was delicious (and easy to share), and the bbq swordfish was tasty even though the sauce tasted jarringly store bought. At the end o the meal, my date turned to me and asked, "Which wine did you like best?" and called for another half bottle of the fume blanc. It's really a pity he was so socially inept; I spent the rest of the meal trying to figure out ways of disinteresting him without being actually rude and I'm now praying he won't call me back. But I liked the second glass of fume blanc so much, I walked out of the restaurant with the empty bottle. And I'm definitely going back to North West, hopefully with better company.
He suggested we meet at an unfamiliar bar in my neighborhood, but when I got there, it turned out to be a place on the corner that I used to pass on my way back from riding lessons. I was plotting how to use my get-out-jail-free card (I told him I was going to a housewarming after drinks and was dressed appropriately) when I saw the wine menu. They had wines by the flight, glass, half-bottle, and bottle and three of the seven flights were by vineyard! But best of all, two of those were Grgich Hills and Inniskillin. I desperately wanted to order the former, but I knew it's not nice to order the most expensive wine on the menu when you're on a date with an hr person you will never see again. Fortunately, my date was looking flummoxed by the menu, so the waiter recommended the Grgich Hills, Inniskillin, and champagne flights. Since my date quickly said he didn't like champagne or sweet drinks, Grgich Hills it was.
I've been reading the chapter on sauvignon blanc in my dreadful wine book and trying to figure out whether I like it. After trying the Grgich Hills, I'm positive I do. Wow. Wine Spectator says it is "Tart and complex, with green apple, hay, grass and herb that slowly smooth out on the finish, and for all its mouthpuckering acidity, it has a supple texture." Sure. That's more descriptive than anything I could say: I'd be mumbling about how it was dry but tasty and tangy. The chardonnay was also delicious and made me re-consider my ABC stance; it felt mellower and more muted. My date complained the zinfandel was too tart and I wasn't impressed; the cabernet sauvignon was similiarly unexciting.
I enjoyed the wine so much, I stayed for dinner, counting on my ability to chatter to keep the conversation going. It did and the dinner was delicious. My date picked the cobb salad, which was delicious (and easy to share), and the bbq swordfish was tasty even though the sauce tasted jarringly store bought. At the end o the meal, my date turned to me and asked, "Which wine did you like best?" and called for another half bottle of the fume blanc. It's really a pity he was so socially inept; I spent the rest of the meal trying to figure out ways of disinteresting him without being actually rude and I'm now praying he won't call me back. But I liked the second glass of fume blanc so much, I walked out of the restaurant with the empty bottle. And I'm definitely going back to North West, hopefully with better company.