During my monthlong period of revelry, we made a side trip for a scheduled stop, we also had a night to entertain ourselves.

We ended up having dinner one evening at The Village Anchor, the last time I was there was seven years ago, but my Bride has had a few visits there without me.  We were in the charming village of Anchorage on the east side of Louisville, and the establishment is actually two businesses.  On the lower level, which is better accessed from another parking lot is the Sea Hag which features a thirty-foot copper bar with a built-in ice trough to keep your beverage of choice well chilled. They off sixty-two beers and fifty-five bourbons.  Of course, we entered from the other parking lot and we were in the Village Anchor, which also has the Anchor Bar, a charming place that has incorporated the original crimson red beer taps from Churchill Down’s Silks Bar.  The restaurant has the feel of laid back elegance with an eclectic mix of brick, dark wood, velvet, wrought-iron and beautiful paintings in frames above the dining room on the ceiling.

We started our dinner by getting a couple of appetizers that we could share.  They had a plate of Three Crab Cakes pan seared with Avocado Aioli, as well as an order of hand cut Sweet Potato Fries seasoned with vanilla and brown sugar accompanied with two dipping sauces; one that was light Bourbon and cayenne, while the other was Bourbon-marshmallow crème.  My Bride had the sesame-crusted Yellow-fin Ahi Tuna Salad with spring-mix lettuces, mango, avocado with a Ginger-cilantro Vinagraitte accompanied with Wasabi and Sracha.  I had the Wagyu Burger with caramelized onions, Cheddar Cheese, “Anchor Candied-bacon,” garlic-aioli and a side of Roasted Rainbow Carrots.  We then shared a Crème Broulee, which we probably didn’t need, but it seemed proper.  I also get a kick out of the fact, that the dinner bill is brought out in a well-thumbed paper-back Romance novel.

We also had a bottle of Kysela Pere et Fils Hugues Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet Les Costieres de Pomerols 2023. Picpoul de Pinet is not seen here that often and the name of the grape translates to “sting the lips” from the highly acidic nature of the wine. Kysele Pere et Fils Ltd was founded in 1994 by Sommelier Fran Kysela, and today he works with two hundred suppliers from fifteen countries.  Les Costieres de Pomerols is a group affair that was started in 1932 and today has about three-hundred-fifty growers in the town of Pomerols in the coastal region of the former Coteaux du Languedoc, now the much larger Languedoc-Roussillon. The average age of the vines from this association is about twenty years planted on clay and limestone and is now into sustainable farming practices.  The fruit is picked at night, pneumatically pressed and the free running juice is under inert gas to maintain freshness.  The juice is allowed to settle for forty-eight hours and then temperature controlled Stainless-Steel tanks for fermentation with no Malolactic Fermentation. This pale-yellow wine offered notes of white fruits, grapefruits, and juniper, rosemary, thyme and sage.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displays tones of white fruit, citrus (especially grapefruit), herbs and spices with zesty acidity and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and chalky minerals.  I find it very refreshing and a bit racy.