Plenty of times a restaurant’s location determines where we are going to dine, when we are trying to find someplace halfway, since the price of petrol has become expensive again in the last couple of years.  We were meeting at Andiamo Bloomfield, which was the old Machus Red Fox, when I was young.  Harris O. Machus opened the restaurant in 1965.  It became infamous on 30 July, 1975 when James R. Hoffa disappeared, and closed in 1996.  I found some examples of matchbooks from the Machus Red Fox and I still think that they were the best form of advertising to this day;  and they had one of the best pastry shops around.  After renovations Andiamo Bloomfield opened in 1997.  

We were having a nice dinner, and we were the guests, as our son and his wife were treating us for dinner.  We shared a couple of appetizers on the table.  Carciofi alla Giudia or fried long-stem artichoke heart, done in olive oil, garlic aioli and sea salt.  There was also a charcuterie plate, their Salumi e Formaggi Meats and Cheeses with crostini, dried stone fruits, truffled honey, Marcona almonds and an olive tapenade.  My Bride and I both had the same dinner entrée of Pesce Bianco alla Siciliana or Sicilian-style Whitefish, with Italian potatoes, vegetables and an Almandine sauce.  For dessert there was Tiramisu and Macarons. 

It was easy to select a wine for our dinner and we went with Sella & Mosca La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna DOC 2021.  Sella & Mosca (Sella e Mosca) is the largest wine producer in Sardinia, featuring local varieties and “international” varieties.  The winery was founded in 1899 by two Piedmontese businessmen.  Their I Piani estate is one of the largest wine estates in Europe with five-hundred-twenty hectares of contiguous vineyards.  Vermentino di Sardegna DOC was granted in 1988 and covers the entire island.  The history of Vermentino on Sardinia is vague as to whether it is from Liguria in Italy where it is known as Pigato, Provence and the Languedoc of France where it is known as Rolle or from Spain, where it is barely seen anymore.  Internationally, the lion’s share of Vermentino is Italy.  There is not a lot of information about the wine, outside of soft pressing, cold settling, fermentation and short aging in Stainless Steel.  A pretty golden color offering notes of citrus fruit, florals and minerals.  On the palate the wine has tones of fresh fruit, a soft and balanced wine with a nice finish of terroir and a touch of iodine.  I may be biased, but I thought the Vermentino paired very well with the Whitefish.