Trying something different

There are NO Vietnamese restaurants in our sleepy burg, so we went on a trek to try one. Neither of us has any experience with this cuisine. Don't expect any profound insights here. Anyway, Xanh restaurant in Mountain View, CA was a pleasure.

Our wines were a somewhat assertive Trimbach Pinot Blanc and a more restrained Bonny Doon "Cigare Blanc" (made from Roussanne and Grenache Blanc).

The papaya salad with poached shrimp went well with the Trimbach's aromas of peach and lime; Frau Feinschmecker couldn't get enough of the nuoc cham vinaigrette. The Cigare had better balance with our "crab martini"; the Trimbach had a little too much personality for this dish. Finally, catfish in a clay pot with cilantro, ginger and chiles worked very well with both wines. Only being in public kept us from licking the plate clean.

Our waiter provided service that was exemplary, friendly and natural. In other words, I would hire him away in a second.

By the way, this is not the more distant restaurant I mentioned. Still working on that, likewise on some consistent formatting.

Good eats

Highlights of some fine recent meals:

at Fandango in Pacific Grove, CA
Their cassoulet was wonderful as always. If you can't spend all day (and more) in the kitchen to make your own cassoulet, get Fandango to do it.
The wine: 1999 Corton Clos Du Roi, Vincent Girardin. It was everything I hope a Burgundy will be. And so civilized that it's available in half bottles.

at Passionfish, also in Pacific Grove
Appetizers: fried oysters, then butternut squash soup with bacon (swoon). The kitchen split both of these for us without prompting.
Main: mahi with black pepper/rum sauce, cucumber salad, green onion rice
Wine: a Chablis Grand Cru by - oops, didn't write that one down. More nervy and elegant than the 2006 Petit Chablis by Roland Lavantureux we had last week.

Thoughts on a more distant restaurant soon ...