Keltish plays Euro Bistro
Having become a keltish groupie by default, I showed up at Herndon's Euro Bistro for their latest performance and a European wine dinner. (They're on SL tonight if you missed it!) The performance was marvelous, even before the band hauled Ginger Rose up to lead "Captain Jack and the Mermaid."
Dinner last night started with an Austrian Grüner Veltliner (Andon Bauer Rosenberg, 2006), crisp and refreshing, ending with a haze of gentle pepperiness, not unlike my cologne of choice. The first course, with the same wine, was "Green Spargel Westfaller Schinken," which is green asparagus in butter with Westphalia ham. The wine did a great job of bridging the fresh green taste of the asparagus to the salty julienned ham, and the butter added a note that would have been missing from the wine otherwise.
The second course was served with a Spanish blend of Grenache, Tempranillo, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon (Ludovicus Red Terra Alta, 2004). It was full-bodied and loud, but great for $10 per bottle. This was paired with lamb ravioli in a (veal, I think) reduction sauce with roasted garlic and fresh rosemary. This was another dish that was perfect when you put it all together. Each of the pieces was quite nice, but it wasn't until you got the fresh rosemary and the wine together over the base of the roasted garlic, ravioli and sauce that it became a perfect jazz chord.
Third course was roast pork, stuffed with sun-dried tomato and Spanish olive, haricots verts and saffron rice. This was paired with a French blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah (Pesquier Gigondas, 2003). This was, to my tongue, the finest wine of the evening (and the most expensive, at $26 per bottle), but then I'm known to be partial to reds with attitude. It was everything I wanted in a dinner wine, and stood up very well to the tomato and olive stuffing. Ginger Rose & I argued at length over whether the wine went with the pork or not. She liked it with the rice, which I thought flattened the wine out too much. I like my reds bossy, undiluted.
Dessert was a tiramisu with fresh raspberries, paired with an Italian frizzante (Garetto Moscato D'Asti, 2005). The frizzante was sublime, particularly with a raspberry in it. It was sweet (almost too sweet) and perfumy. It reminded me of lavender, but not quite. The tiramisu wasn't as good as mine, it was too light. But with the berries and wine, I can see why the chef went light. The drunken raspberry at the end was the perfect punctuation to end the meal.
Dinner last night started with an Austrian Grüner Veltliner (Andon Bauer Rosenberg, 2006), crisp and refreshing, ending with a haze of gentle pepperiness, not unlike my cologne of choice. The first course, with the same wine, was "Green Spargel Westfaller Schinken," which is green asparagus in butter with Westphalia ham. The wine did a great job of bridging the fresh green taste of the asparagus to the salty julienned ham, and the butter added a note that would have been missing from the wine otherwise.
The second course was served with a Spanish blend of Grenache, Tempranillo, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon (Ludovicus Red Terra Alta, 2004). It was full-bodied and loud, but great for $10 per bottle. This was paired with lamb ravioli in a (veal, I think) reduction sauce with roasted garlic and fresh rosemary. This was another dish that was perfect when you put it all together. Each of the pieces was quite nice, but it wasn't until you got the fresh rosemary and the wine together over the base of the roasted garlic, ravioli and sauce that it became a perfect jazz chord.
Third course was roast pork, stuffed with sun-dried tomato and Spanish olive, haricots verts and saffron rice. This was paired with a French blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah (Pesquier Gigondas, 2003). This was, to my tongue, the finest wine of the evening (and the most expensive, at $26 per bottle), but then I'm known to be partial to reds with attitude. It was everything I wanted in a dinner wine, and stood up very well to the tomato and olive stuffing. Ginger Rose & I argued at length over whether the wine went with the pork or not. She liked it with the rice, which I thought flattened the wine out too much. I like my reds bossy, undiluted.
Dessert was a tiramisu with fresh raspberries, paired with an Italian frizzante (Garetto Moscato D'Asti, 2005). The frizzante was sublime, particularly with a raspberry in it. It was sweet (almost too sweet) and perfumy. It reminded me of lavender, but not quite. The tiramisu wasn't as good as mine, it was too light. But with the berries and wine, I can see why the chef went light. The drunken raspberry at the end was the perfect punctuation to end the meal.