La Fenêtre Wine Dinner at Grace Restaurant
Where to start with La Fenêtre? Let's see, a year or so after my wife and I had our first girl Zoe my parents came over to stay and volunteered to babysit while my wife and I went out on one of our first real date nights post baby ; after painstaking research we selected Sona on La Cienega Blvd. David Myers was a chef that Amy had been following for a while and the menu just looked fantastic. Off we trotted and had one of the best meals ever (David's tasting menu was spectacular, the service was entirely out of this World - and still is today) ; a tasting menu with wine pairings - mostly for me, but Amy had a taste of each. The sommelier that night was a chap by the name of Josh Klapper, he came over and introduced himself and chatted about the fabulous wines that the restaurant was serving. Josh was an amazingly friendly and likable chap and during the course of the meal we got talking more and he let us into his deep, dark secret - he was now making his own wines and asked if we'd like to try his first Pinot. With no further ado on such a magical night Josh brought his Pinot out and frankly it was remarkable. I gave him my contact details there and then and asked for him to email me when I could buy a case. We've remained friends ever since, his wines have gone on to get better and better and today he's making great wines at excellent prices across a range of blends. You can find out more here.
Fast forwarded some four years and Josh sent us a note to say that he'd partnered up with Grace Restaurant and its fabulous chef Neal Fraser for a wine tasting evening. Well we didn't need much persuasion to find a babysitter for that event, and fortunately my mother-in-law was in town from Alabama too so off we set for a nice set dinner and some fabulous wine. What Chef Fraser had prepared for us was a light (note this Fabio Viviani) five course tasting menu, each course set to highlight Josh's wine that the fantastic Waitstaff kept topped up most of the night on our table.
It started off with a little Amuse Bouche ; a toast point with a sphere of fois pate to accompany Josh's latest A COTE Chardonnay (literally straight from the barrel). Beautifully presented, seasoned, taste was perfect.
To follow, King Crab, toasted cous cous with summer truffles, this time with Josh's more complete 2007 and 2004 Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnarys. The crab was lovely, paired with the cous cous and the Chardonnay (and I'm not a huge Chardonnay fan) it all came together beautifully.
The next dish was definitely the most ambitious of the night, not just in terms of preparation but for my wife. The concept of eating rabbit was a stretch for her, but not only did she do so 'gamely' (sorry, had to) but it turned out to be the biggest success of the night by far for both of us. Bacon wrapped saddle of rabbit, anson mills polenta, pea tendrils, thyme infused game stock - the rabbit was stuffed beautiful with sausage meat (we think!) that held the flavors together like perfection. I'm not sure Amy will let me cook rabbit, but she won't mind eating Neal Fraser's again! Josh's 2007 Calmant Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2007 Le Bon Climate Vineyard Pinot Noir added to the enjoyment.
The final course of the evening was a Grilled New York Steak with white carrot puree, summer corn and violet mustard. Again the presentation of the dish was delightful, it was three bites of perfectly cooked steak with the white carrot puree standing out beautifully. As a bit of a parsnip puree maker in the past we had to do a bit of pondering at first - perhaps it was the coloration that led to it but we were convinced it was parsnip at first. Ah, the things the eyes will tell you and the mind will wander to. Josh's 2007 La Fenêtre "Alisos Vineyard" Syrah and 2006 La Fenêtre "Elevage Reserve" Syrah set off the steak and the mustard combination especially well.
This fabulous meal was brought to a close with a little Hazelnut Camembert Twinkie, bayleaf creme fraiche ice cream (yes, seriously, and it was amazing) with some port soaked plums. Again the creativity and whimsy of the chef came through, it was a wonderfully light and elegant finish to the meal, married to a 2007 A Cote Red Blend.
Overall the meal was a delight, in fact our only complaint (in inverse proportions to Cafe Firenze) was that perhaps there wasn't quite enough on each plate to fill us up. Personally I think the fact that I left wanting more was a good thing, I think we will certainly return to Grace again and see what Neal Fraser's tasting menu is like in its full glory.
Fast forwarded some four years and Josh sent us a note to say that he'd partnered up with Grace
It started off with a little Amuse Bouche ; a toast point with a sphere of fois pate to accompany Josh's latest A COTE Chardonnay (literally straight from the barrel). Beautifully presented, seasoned, taste was perfect.
To follow, King Crab, toasted cous cous with summer truffles, this time with Josh's more complete 2007 and 2004 Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnarys. The crab was lovely, paired with the cous cous and the Chardonnay (and I'm not a huge Chardonnay fan) it all came together beautifully.
The next dish was definitely the most ambitious of the night, not just in terms of preparation but for my wife. The concept of eating rabbit was a stretch for her, but not only did she do so 'gamely' (sorry, had to) but it turned out to be the biggest success of the night by far for both of us. Bacon wrapped saddle of rabbit, anson mills polenta, pea tendrils, thyme infused game stock - the rabbit was stuffed beautiful with sausage meat (we think!) that held the flavors together like perfection. I'm not sure Amy will let me cook rabbit, but she won't mind eating Neal Fraser's again! Josh's 2007 Calmant Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2007 Le Bon Climate Vineyard Pinot Noir added to the enjoyment.
The final course of the evening was a Grilled New York Steak with white carrot puree, summer corn and violet mustard. Again the presentation of the dish was delightful, it was three bites of perfectly cooked steak with the white carrot puree standing out beautifully. As a bit of a parsnip puree maker in the past we had to do a bit of pondering at first - perhaps it was the coloration that led to it but we were convinced it was parsnip at first. Ah, the things the eyes will tell you and the mind will wander to. Josh's 2007 La Fenêtre "Alisos Vineyard" Syrah and 2006 La Fenêtre "Elevage Reserve" Syrah set off the steak and the mustard combination especially well.
This fabulous meal was brought to a close with a little Hazelnut Camembert Twinkie, bayleaf creme fraiche ice cream (yes, seriously, and it was amazing) with some port soaked plums. Again the creativity and whimsy of the chef came through, it was a wonderfully light and elegant finish to the meal, married to a 2007 A Cote Red Blend.
Overall the meal was a delight, in fact our only complaint (in inverse proportions to Cafe Firenze) was that perhaps there wasn't quite enough on each plate to fill us up. Personally I think the fact that I left wanting more was a good thing, I think we will certainly return to Grace again and see what Neal Fraser's tasting menu is like in its full glory.
Magnificent!
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