Another Fund Raiser

Posted on April 20, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The other day I went as a guest to another political fundraiser to a restaurant that I used to frequent years ago.  The original restaurant and location did not have a liquor license, but when they opened their new location they had also had a liquor license.

 MI LaPita Logo

La Pita in Dearborn originally opened up, when Arabic cuisine first burst upon the scene and they did a very good business and have continued to this day.  The restaurant had a fine buffet dinner for all of the people at this fund raiser.  There was fresh fruit, salads, hummus, lamb sausage, chicken kebabs, pilaf and assorted pastries.  The spread was appreciated by all that attended, as most of the people there had probably eaten at this restaurant for years.

 La Terre Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot

They also were pouring wines from La Terre wines, and the choices were Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and White Zinfandel.  I had never heard of this wine producer.  They are part of Constellation Brands, which has many different brands of wines.  This line La Terre has targeted the “on-premise segment of business,” so I must presume that they cater to the restaurant trade instead of the wine shop business.  I tried a glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon and found it lacking the qualities of what I appreciate from that particular varietal.  Hence I shifted to the Chardonnay, which is something I tend to do when I am offered “generic” wines from catering companies.  The wines suffice for what they are, and they just deliver a tease, as far as I am concerned of what the wine should be.  As I have stated before, wines of this nature, hopefully may get an individual to try another wine later on, and find wines with more nuance and craft.

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Commerce Grill in Commerce, Michigan

Posted on April 19, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The other day I was talking to someone and they mentioned that they live in Commerce, Michigan and it made me smile.  The third member of the conversation was not aware of the community per se and asked where it was.  I jokingly said at the corner of Commerce and Commerce.  It also made me remember a delightful evening we spent at a restaurant called the Commerce Grill.

My Bride and I met another couple for dinner there one night, because I had heard good comments about the food that they served.  So we decided to meet there, as it was kind of in the middle ground for both couples.  I really liked the restaurant’s layout as the dining area, was entirely in the front, and behind a wall was the bar area with a television screen.  I really dislike televisions in dining rooms, as I want to enjoy good food and fine conversations with no diversions.  We all started off enjoying some Escargot done in a classic butter and garlic sauce.  Three of us ordered filet medallions, while my Bride ordered a salmon dish.  We were having a wonderful time of the evening and the hours just passed easily.

 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta La Fuga 2003

We started off with cocktails and then we had a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 2005 by Tenuta La Fuga.  This wine made south of Florence in the Tuscan region is made entirely of the Sangiovese varietal, originally it was believed that this was a separate wine grape called the Brunello, or Little Brown One, but it was proven later to be Sangiovese.  Tradition being what it is, the wine is still called Brunello di Montalcino, and it is a way to differentiate it from other Tuscan wines.  This is a full bodied wine that pairs very well with steaks, and my Bride will attest that she enjoys it with salmon as well.

What is most memorable about the evening is that, while we were all enjoying a good meal, wine and a great conversation, we were getting ready to order coffee and dessert.  The waiter came by and took our order for Banana’s Foster, which is a favorite for the four of us.  The waiter returned promptly and said that we would have to place an alternative as they were out of bananas.  We just laughed and told him to bring the ladies some coffee as we were going to leave them as hostages, and we left the restaurant, got into our car and drove a block or two to a super market and bought a large bunch of bananas and returned to the restaurant and our stranded spouses.  We gave the waiter the bunch of bananas and informed him that we could now have Banana’s Foster.  The dessert came and we were enjoying it, during that time, the owner of the restaurant appeared and heard of what happened.  She came over to our table in tears to apologize for the lack of business sense among her staff, claiming that they should have done what we did.  We informed her, that it was no big deal and only took a few minutes, because we wanted to continue enjoying the evening.  She then offered us a round of vintage port to finish off our experience, told us that she could not charge us for the dessert, and then she handed both us two gift certificates to come back at another time, to enjoy another dinner with out any hassle.  We were very impressed with her largesse and requested for her to take back the gift certificates as we thought she was too generous for such a small snafu, that was easily remedied, but she insisted.  We did have dinner there again, and with out the above problem, but it was not as memorable as the first outing, though the food was just as good.

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Twenty Years

Posted on April 18, 2013 by thewineraconteur

It is hard to believe that my Bride has put up with me for twenty years, but we were celebrating the evening that we met.  We have had a lot of trips, dinners and wines and uncountable memories since that first evening.  She said that she wanted to have some Roasted Garlic Soup, so I knew where she wanted to have dinner.

 Petraio Primitivo 2010

We made another trip to Pizzeria Biga in Royal Oak; it is at this location that the famous “soup” is still offered.  We used to get this soup at Fonte D’Amore in Livonia and when the family closed this great restaurant, we thought that we would never enjoy this dish anymore.  The original Pizzeria Biga does not offer this soup, but the second location is now serving it and it is worth the extra traveling time.  My Bride ordered a Margherita pizza and I had the Rigatoni Bolognese.  As much as I enjoy a pizza on occasion, I felt like having some comfort food and this would be the place to have some.

 LaMaialina Gertrude Toscana 2010

Since we were just having a light meal, we decided to just have a glass of wine with our meal.  My Bride surprised me and ordered a large glass of Petraio Primitivo 2010.  The Primitivo varietal is a similar clone to the Zinfandel and this wine is from Puglia, Italy (if you think of the map of Italy, Puglia is in the heel of the boot).  The wine had a little more of a fruit forward taste, than she normally would order, but it did go very well with her pizza.  I tried a large pour of La Maialina “Gertrude” Toscana 2010.  This was a very nice, what I would call a “poor man’s” Super Tuscany.  It is made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese varietals and it had a very smooth finish and good nose.  I would recommend this wine to anyone, and it is not even expensive in a restaurant.

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Sodaro Estate Winery

Posted on April 17, 2013 by thewineraconteur

We had the good fortune to win one of the silent auction lots at the fund raiser we just attended.  I have to admit, that I was not aware of the winery, and I did not even “Google” them to check it out.  All of the other wine lots that I had bid on, I was not as fortunate, not that we needed more wine at the house, but that was not the point.  What intrigued me was that the fancy wooden presentation case held three bottles, yet only two bottles were in the auction lot.  The immediate questions that struck me were:  “what was the third bottle?” and “did the consigner taste the first bottle and decide that he did not like the wine?”

 Sodaro Estate Winery Box Lid

After winning the lot and taking it home I looked up the winery which is in Napa Valley.  The winery was started in 1998, and the first planting was in 2000.  The first harvest was 2003, with a following harvest in 2004.  The first wines were released in 2006.  The varietals planted were Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.  It appears from the plantings that the winery was going after a Bordeaux style wine, but since they were not calling any of the wines a Meritage, they had not joined the society to use that designation.   Also from studying the postings of the winery, I am surmising that the missing bottle was a Felicity Malbec either 2006 or 2007.

 Sodaro Estate Winery Box Open

The first bottle that I researched was the Sodaro Felicity 2006.  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.  From the winery’s timeline this was the first use of the Cabernet Franc harvest.  The wine had received a “91” from the Wine Spectator.  This wine had a total of 1,350 cases in production.

 Sodaro Felicity Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

The other bottle was a Sodaro Estate Blend 2007 which was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot.  I could not find a Wine Spectator rating, though I did find other ratings listed from an “89” to a “94” which made me happy.  This particular wine was only had a much smaller production of 487 cases.

 Sodaro Estate Blend 2007

I must say that so far from my research, I would venture to say, that it sounds like my winning bid is positive.  I can not answer my one question, as to whether the consigner liked the wine or not, time will tell when the bottles are actually opened up and tried.  When that occurs, I will write about these wines again.

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The Detroit Golf Club

Posted on April 16, 2013 by thewineraconteur

The other night we were guests at the Detroit Golf Club for a celebration of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law 100’th Anniversary.  While I did not go to the School of Law, UDM is my alma mater.  It was a lovely affair and the Detroit Golf Course was a wonderful venue for this event.  The Detroit Golf Course is located in the historic district of Palmer Park in the City of Detroit, not far from the campus of the University of Detroit.

 MI The Justice Fellowship Bklt

We were regaled with a good time from the moment we walked into the building.  There was a pianist playing before we even went into a room to register.  There was a “Barbershop Quartet” singing and representing a certain era of the first hundred years.  There were also individuals dressed in different attires of the past hundred years as in The Roaring Twenties, World War II and even the Flower Power Generation.  These individuals not only roamed the rooms, but explained how the School of Law functioned during these periods.

 MI The Justice Fellowship Auction Bklt

The event had a strolling dinner, and certain areas of food had different themes centered upon the City of Detroit.  The appetizer section had one table that celebrated “Mexican Village” area with Fajitas, while the other appetizer table in another room celebrated “Greek Town” with the flaming cheese and stuffed grape leafs.  The “Italians” were celebrated with a fine spread of a Caprese Salad with fresh mozzarella cheese.  Another room was about “Soul Food” with chicken and macaroni and cheese.  There was a beef carving station, but there was no “theme.”  There was also dessert station that celebrated Detroit with Boston Coolers, and hot fudge cream puffs.

UDM Law School Glasses

Beyond the scope of the food, there were silent auction items, as well as a live auction.  My Bride was in heaven as she wrote bid after bid on probably thirty different offerings.  She was bidding on a doll house, gift certificates at about twenty different restaurants, office equipment and gift baskets.  I bid on a couple of different offerings on wines.  We ended up with a few wins, and I must say that my Bride was so caught up in the activities that I could not find her.  She had volunteered to help the staff on a computer collating the winning bid sheets.  She also told me that she good heartedly mentioned to the other winners, if they had out bid her.  When she finally finished her volunteer work, one of the members asked if they could do anything for her and she just smiled and said an “Honorary Law Degree” would be fine, she said that they just didn’t get her joke.

      Sodaro Estate Winery Box Lid    Sodaro Estate Winery Box Open

Finally I must mention that there was a cash bar for the adult beverages with a fine selection of liquors.  They also had a selection of beers, and the wine drinkers also had a selection of five different wines.  All of the wines were in magnum size bottles.  Four of the wines were from Mondavi of California and they were; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and a White Zinfandel.  The fifth wine was a Johan Klauss Piersporter Michelsberg from the Mosel in Germany.

UDM Wine Selection

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Opus One Restaurant in Detroit, Michigan

Posted on April 15, 2013 by thewineraconteur

You know that a restaurant will be stellar when they name themselves after a great wine, because they know that comparisons will be forthcoming.  Opus One, the restaurant, is a third generation of restaurateurs, so there is plenty of experience of fine dining and quality service.  The building itself was designed by the same man, who designed the Fisher Theater in Detroit, but through the years it had changed hands, and at one time ended up being a garage facility for the City of Detroit.  On one of our trips there I had taken my Father there for dinner, and he argued with me, that there was no restaurant at that particular location.  As he worked for the City of Detroit, he had spent many a time at the location when the City had the property.  I joked with him that he was like a farmer in the city for the first time, as he was trying to make the two buildings coincide in his mind’s eye.

MI Opus One MB

The restaurant over the years had been the recipient of many awards and accolades, and rightfully so.  There was a dish called Shrimp Helene that was one of my favorites either as an appetizer or an entrée.  The dish was always properly prepared with shrimp wrapped in phyllo dough and topped with Sauce Béarnaise.  Another perennial dish that I had to have was the house salad with their house made Creamy Garlic dressing, that was homage to another era, and I would have to buy a jar or two of it, to take home, and I am not a fan of salads.  We have had Dover Sole, Filet Medallions, Lamb dishes and many others over the years, without a bad choice.  The dinner always ended with a three tiered cart that was wheeled over to the table with a presentation of all of the desserts made that day.  One of my favorites was the Banana Bread Pudding, there was a Chocolate Pizza and you always had to have some of the finest cookies ever made. Birthday recipients received a house made Chocolate Bar with the logo of the restaurant on it, and it was a very large bar, that a party of four would have trouble eating it all at one time.  Then there were some great after dinner drinks from the Spanish Coffees to the Classic Hummer and they always asked for your selection of liquors for the drinks.

 Opus One 1996

The wine list was worth a few minutes of careful studying.  The basic list carried all of the basic wines that one would expect from California and Italy, plus there were specials of ours from St. Supery, Hess, Duckhorn and Cosentino.  They also had a nice selection of splits, magnums, ports and dessert wines.  Then there was the Reserve Wine List to tempt the wine lover.  There one could order “Private Reserves” from several top wineries and some of the best Meritage wines from Cain Five, Quintessa, Dominus, Insignia and of course Opus One.  That is the reason for repeated trips to this fine restaurant, as there was too much to appreciate and try in a single trip.

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Bravo Cucina Italiana

Posted on April 14, 2013 by thewineraconteur

I am always leery of going into national chain restaurants, especially Italian restaurants.  I have this fear that it will be a homogenized American version of what an Italian dish should be, and it is usually bland.  I was very surprised and happy when we tried Bravo Cucina Italiana.  I am not saying that the food is four stars and should be Michelin rated, but it is far superior to a lot of “Italian” eateries that I have been to.  The other thing that endeared me is when I asked if something could be replaced with another item, the server did not say “let me go see” and responded with a “yes.”  For an example, I do not tolerate Romano cheese, for some reason I always smell and taste soap (I know that it sounds silly, but it is a peccadillo of mine, and I just refrain from that cheese).

 MI Bravo Cucina Italiana MB

We do not make it a habit of constantly dining at one particular restaurant, but we have dined at this establishment a few times, and if necessary I know that it would be a safe choice when we are out of town and this may be one of the existing choices, though I do prefer trying local talent when it is possible.  Be that as it may, there are a few dishes that we know we enjoy.  They have a Sangiovese Braised Beef Ravioli that is very tasty.  Another dish that we enjoy is a Shrimp Far Diavolo Campanelle which is done in a “Palomino” style tomato cream sauce, the Campanelle refers to the special pasta that is used in the dish.

 Duckhorn Paraduxx Napa 2006

I am also impressed with their wine list.  A couple of times we have ordered a Duckhorn Vineyards wine like the Paraduxx 2006.  I think that it is a play on words for the winery because the common thinking was that a wine that is a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, while all of these varietals grow very well in the Napa Valley it is a paradox of a blend.  Since they are Duckhorn, it is Paraduxx and the labels usually show a different pair of ducks each year, as in 2006 they showed Cinnamon Teal Ducks.  I find that this wine works very well with robust foods, especially with a tomato sauce basis.  I feel that a good Zinfandel can work as well as a Sangiovese based wine.  The funny thing is that I am not a major fan of Zinfandel, but when it is blended I find it very appealing.

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MacKinnon’s Restaurant in Northville, Michigan

Posted on April 13, 2013 by thewineraconteur

Downtown Northville is a quaint five or six blocks of Victorian style buildings and for years there was a wonderful restaurant and bar called MacKinnon’s.  Tom MacKinnon was the chef and he was one of the original stars of the culinary world in the Metro Detroit area.   He was also a character that liked to work the front half of the restaurant as well as the back half, as he walked around in a Hawaiian print shirt and chino pants, as I think about it, I don’t ever recall seeing him in the white coat of a chef, he had his own style.  The bar was probably as busy as the restaurant and people always tried to request the tables up front near the windows to watch the pedestrian traffic carrying their bags from all of the local merchants.

There were some great memories of the food from MacKinnon’s starting off with a great jumbo shrimp cocktail and his cocktail sauce was so good that I used to eat the greens that lined the fancy serving piece just to enjoy as much of the sauce as I could after the shrimps were gone.  One of the dishes that were very popular was the Scotch Grill which had a lamb chop, salmon and duck.  I think our favorites were the Beef Wellington that was done in the classic interpretation and his “Blown-up Duck” which was his own version of a Duck Confit and done in a Raspberry Reduction Sauce.  Of course we would also have to save room to share a Banana Wellington with a Caramel-Walnut Sauce and some great coffee at the end.

Domaines Bar de Rothschild RS B

He would always have a Bordeaux wine or two on his list, and even though they were not ranked wines of the 1855 Classification of the Medoc, they were good and very reasonably priced.  One time we enjoyed a Domaines Baron de Rothschild Reserve Special Bordeaux 1993 which we really enjoyed.  In fact the next time we were there I looked for it again, but it was sold out and we had to try another wine, which is just as good, because it is fun to try new wines.

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The Plymouth Crossing in Plymouth, Michigan

Posted on April 12, 2013 by thewineraconteur

This is a restaurant that my dinner club meets at a couple of times a year.  They have a private room in the back that works for us, and we always have a choice of three different entrée dishes to choose from.  My Bride and I also frequent this restaurant, especially if we are attending one of the many events that are held in downtown Plymouth.  This restaurant is just far enough away from the downtown area, which most people don’t think about it, which is fine for us.  One of the most unique aspects of this restaurant is the building and its history.  It started out as the Markham Manufacturing Company and one of the many items that they made was the Markham Air Rifle.  On the other side of the railroad tracks which run alongside of the restaurant was the Plymouth Iron & Woodmill Company and they created the “Daisy” Air Rifle.  At one time the two companies had a meeting of the minds, and then one bought out the other, and the building became the production facility for the “Daisy” Air Rifle.  In the back room where my club meets there are posters and displays of this history.  In the front of the restaurant are a bar, and a regular dining area, with a patio during the nice weather off of the bar.

MI The Plymouth Crossing BC

 

The Executive Chef had worked at La Bistecca also in Plymouth before settling in to this restaurant.  Not only do they have a great grill, but they also have some very nice Italian dishes on the menu.  My Bride enjoys the Chicken Tuscany and I am a fan of the Veal Marsala.  With the salads and the sides and the fresh bread, there are many a time when we have to skip dessert.

Marcus James Cabernet Sauvignon Vale Aurora 1992

 

One evening we tried a Marcus James Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 from Vale Aurora in Brazil.  This was about the time, when the South American wines were first making inroads in the states.  My palate did not notice any great differences from this wine and most of the domestic wines that we had enjoyed up to that time.  It was a good wine, with good color and good nose, but I would not be able to say that this Cabernet Sauvignon was from Brazil, but I could tell you immediately that it was a well made Cabernet Sauvignon.

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El Barzon in Detroit, Michigan

Posted on April 11, 2013 by thewineraconteur

Just a little Northeast of where I grew up is a very unique restaurant that just packs them in.  I say unique because of the culinary offering; one side of the menu is true Mexican food and the other side of the menu is classic Italian food.  This comes about because the chef and his wife are Mexican, but he spent eight years as a chef at Il Posto Ristorante that I have talked about before.

MI El Barzon BC

While this may sound schizophrenic, I have friends that rave about each side of the menu, and they travel from all over the Metro Detroit area to go this restaurant in Detroit.  In fact, for a year after they had opened my Bride and I had not gone there, and one of my friends kept telling me he was going to get me a gift certificate, if I delayed it any longer.  Since then we have been happy with our choices.  I remember that my Bride ordered a Grilled Sea Bass from the Italian side of the menu, because she knew that was I was going to order from the Mexican side of the menu, when she saw that they had Mole Poblano.  I know that I have stated before that I deem the quality and integrity of a Mexican restaurant by their having or not having a Mole dish on the menu.  Most restaurants do not, because they are catering to the American concept of Mexican food.  I can never get enough of the Mole sauce with its creamy smooth mixture of Mexican chocolate and hot spices; trust me if you have never had Mole sauce it is not sweet.

Tommasi Viticoltori Ripasso Valpolicella 2005

The restaurant has a very nice selection of wines that they have picked to pair with some of the dishes on the menu, and it is not the run of the mill choices that one usually finds.  To compliment the two diverse dishes I selected a Valpolicella wine that is made from the three grape varietals Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara.  It was a Tomassi Viticoltori “Ripasso” Valpolicella 2005.  This wine is known to have a light, but full bodied wine and since the Sea Bass was done in a Mediterranean flavor, I thought it would work there and with the Mole sauce.  Sometimes the wine decision may be the hardest part of selecting the dinner.  Thankfully it worked well with both and we left very happy.

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