A six-course dinner with matching wine for $58 just sounds too good to be true! I figured this fits into the “die-die-must-try” category, so up along Sunset Way we hiked last Thursday evening.
The “Bathers' Café” turns out to be this cosy little joint, with a décor reminiscing of an Australian tea house before the cafés went all trendy-flashy. We were a party of thirteen seated on two long tables – indeed easy going and cosy.
Bubbly is served upon arrival – 2008 Summaroca Brut Cava, fresh and crisp with green apples and mineral notes. The sweetness in the yabbies+mayo+tomato-combo wipes the minerality and accentuates the fruit, in a sense rendering the Cava easier to drink. A rather nice pairing, if I may say so myself.
The minestrone has a similar effect, of reducing acidity and minerality and bringing out the fruit sweetness in the Cava, but my vote still goes to the yabby hor d'oeuvres and Cava pair. Because the food is also cold, the combo leaves a refreshing finish, teasing the appetite for some more!
Again, sweetness brings out fruit. The combination of chicken and cheese tones the typical bone-dry crispness of a young Clare valley riesling – the 2009 Pikes Riesling. A stereotype of its kind, it has the aromas of tropical fruits and minerals, with flavours of lemon and grapefruit. As in the previous courses, this roasted chicken quesadilla tones down the riesling's austerity, bringing out more fruit characters. But the highlight of this course for me was the spoonful of truffle paste on a cute wee tortellita shell – me lurves truffles!!! Gimme, gimme! Mmm... nomnomnomnomnom!!!
The 2009 Côte du Rhône by Roger Sabon displays characters of grenache on the nose – bright and youthful, bursting with red fruits – raspberries, I think. Its shiraz element comes at the end, with a spicey finish at the back palate. The muskiness of the wild mushroom salad brings out the earthy characters of the Rhône, and in return, the wine blends the garlic-and-mushroom flavours. There is synergy in this pairing!
For fish lovers, the seared barramundi would suit to a tea. It just looks so good, served with half a yabby on the side, holandaise sauce on top. As the chicken rice did to another NZ savvy a while back, the creaminess of the fish+sauce tones down the grassiness and crisp acidity of the 2009 Misha's Vineyeard Starlet Sauvignon Blanc. It is an elegant drop on its own right, with aromas of tropical fruits and hint of herbaceousness, and green pears in the mouth with the crisp grassy finish. With the fish, it is becomes more genteel.
I love a good slab of barra, but I must admit to being one of them feed-the-woman-steak kinda gal, so my choice for main is a no-brainer. I am impressed, the sirloin is served to me rare, just as I ordered. Attention steak-lovers: here is a place you can get steak as you like it, not cooked a minute or two extra for good (or not so good, as the case may be!) measure. And one of my faves – 2007 Peccavi No Regrets Cab Merlot, from Margaret River. Chewiness of tender, rare beef, blended with deep, black fruits flavours, with swishings of eucalyptus and cocoa.... ahhh... am in heaven! I have said this before, and I will say it again – je ne regrette rien!
This is the first time I taste an ice wine from south of the (Canadian) border. OK, just south, from Washington state. The 2008 Kiona Red Vineyards Ice Wine is just bursting with ripe mangoes and jackfruit on the nose, and more mangoes on the palate. But not just any mangoes – the green-skinned “Harum-manis” mangoes - luciously sweet with a tangy finish. I can't comment on the pairing, as being a non-dessert eater, I left the chocolate gateaux and just sipped the ice wine on its own. This wine needs no dessert, IMHO.
I don't know what to say – six-course-wine-dinners for $58 exist, with an evidence beyond the shadow of doubt. With truffles! Steak! Ice Wine! WHOA! Somebody stop them! It's like the TARDIS of wine dinners - there is more value than the price tag!
How to fit all these food and wine into this tiny little price? It must be magic! But one that The Local Nose CAN do. Another is already being planned – 7 May at Bonifacio's – wine with a feast of Filipino cuisine. Sign up now, and see you there!
