We went to Valentine's Day dinner at Au Midi, one of very few French restaurants in this area. (Note to the trade - let's remedy that.) Nice service, flawless food. An oyster in aspic with salmon roe forced us to confront our, er, aspicphobia. A great experience in fishiness and texture.
The Princess broke her fish habit by joining me in having filet mignon with morels and potatoes galette. As a confirmed mushroom-skeptic, I make an exception for morels, which have wonderful texture and flavor. What does it take to get a paper-thin browned layer on the very outside of the beef, while leaving the entire inside warm-rare? A defter touch than mine, for sure.
The Dashwood pinot noir from New Zealand had an incredible forest-floor earthiness, bright cherry fruit and wonderful texture. Not like a burgundy but better than most burgundies I've had lately. Altocedro malbec from Mendoza had more body than most malbecs, powerful plummy flavors and enough fruit to balance the tannins. Against my expectations the pinot was a better match with the beef.
Sorry, no vintage dates. One doesn't take notes in such august company.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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