Cafes & Wineries

Bar Americain seems to be drawing us back - repeatedly - wondrous menu - Flay does know what he’s doing - plus - great brown spirits collection - even served if you’re not standing at the bar - i.e - sitting at a table for supper - 16 year old Black Maple Hill Bourbon - great starter -

Everyone ordered fish - polling our group - "white ?? - red ??" - one voted to stay with her Martinis - one voted neutral - one quietly said "red" - repeating it when I underlined that everyone was having fish - I loved her sense of biased democracy -

Great list - as an aside - yet another restaurant with Screaming Eagle - this time - $2,400 - Maitre’d   with the "wine knowledge" conveyed dilemma of putting a price on such a special bottle - like us all - he looked it up on the web -

Back to the task at hand - spotted - Copain “Cerise” 2004 Anderson Valley - on the Pinot page - ironic timing - a friend has just raved about a Copain - although it turned out to be second label - L’Automne -  one of my fav’s -

Cerise was cherries - the richness of the Russian River - winemaker’s notes mention &quotwet stone&quot - a taste I cannot get a handle on as I live in a city paved in asphalt - well constructed - priced with a reasonable markup - worth every drop - a second note suggested laying it down for a few years - not too usual with a Pinot - can only imagine the final product as it improves -

Celebritory dinner at The Modern’s Bar Room - creative menu set up - extremely parsed wine list - until you read the fine print and request the full list - they call it award winning - and it is -

What to select -

The list had tremendous depth - many verticals - even Screaming Eagle at $1875 - which is actually a "great" price as It was recently seen at a Westchester wine merchant - on the shelf at $1,999 -

Despite being in the presence of Calder and Picasso - had to remain a mere mortal in my wine selection -

Scanned the Pinots - Patz & Hall - Burnside Vineyard - 2003 - right there on the first page - turned forward - backward - a few Pisonis - lots of great Cabs - several other Pinots that grabbed my attention - but the Burnside had a story that deserved competition-

Three years ago - working an industry tasting - I took a tour away from my client’s table - happening upon Donald Patz of Patz &amp Hall - shaking hands - conveyed the experience we had had at past Thanksgivings with the Patz and Hall Pisoni - simply the best wines of the nights - proven again and again - one of those drinking experiences that everyone who sampled it - vividly remembered -

What was the Pisoni like this year - I asked - Try the Burnside - he replied - Don′t you have any of the Pisoni - I asked - again - Try the Burnside - he replied  - again -

Frustration - as the Burnside just raved about - was not at the tasting - and - never appeared in any of my frequently frequented wine merchants -

Seeing it on the Modern’s list - had to go for it -

Huge nose - massive - rich aromas of fruit immediately assault the senses - the restaurant had changed our stemware from a standard chardonnay glass to a massive Bordeaux glass - allowing one to fully engage the olfactory system -

An initial sip offered by the attentive sommelier - amazing -

The flavors were fruit forward - sour cherry - full bodied - you’d never know it was a pinot - more like Russian River richness on steroids - maybe 10 degrees off the Pisoni refinement scale -

Took another deep inhale from the wide brimmed glass - another sip - home run - awesome - thank you Donald

Food-wise - needed the server for a quick course map&nbsp -

• Menu One (appetizers) -
• Menu Two (appetizers) -
• Menu Three (half sized entrees) -

Most people order three - she advised - there were four of us - we ordered 13 items including desserts - winners in our group’s selection -

• Modern Liverwurst with four pickled vegetables - have to go with the oo’s and ah’s at the table - personally hate all things liver -
• Arctic Char Tartare - a.k.a. - char tartare - cool - fresh - clean - tasty
• Tarte Flambee - awesome - presentation and taste - must order - even as a stand alone
• Wild Mushroom Soup with toasted chorizo ravioli - wonderful taste - ravioli were an interesting contrast - just short of same soup - rough cut - Washington DC
• Slow Poached Farm Egg “In a Jar” with Nantucket bay scallops, roasted salsify, and sea urchin froth - absolute creativity in cooking - served with tiny bits of lobster - have to get pass the froth before you can savor the tastes
• Grilled Muscovy Duck Breast - small portion that brought forth - half a dozen - "oh my god" - it was that good
• Roasted Garlic Gnocchi with wild mushroom, sage and crispy sweetbreads - yum
• Beer Braised Pork Belly with sauerkraut and ginger jus - consumed in silence - she didn’t even offer to share
• Beignets with maple ice cream, caramel and mango marmalade - perfect capping

Summmay of the evening - a fantastic bottle of wine - beautiful room that is one step removed from the formal dining room - liked the app format of the menu - lots of different tastes - combined with the super wine list - wonderful balance - add favorite dining companions - great night -