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Wining and Dining at Picasso

By on January 14, 2012 in Las Vegas, Restaurants, wine

One of our favorite restaurants in the world is Julian Serrano’s Picasso, located in Las Vegas’ Bellagio hotel. Over the last few years we’ve become friendly with its sommelier, Robert Smith MS, who makes sure that the wines accompanying our meal are its equal in beauty and quality.

Another reason we love this restaurant is the availability, upon request (and not widely promoted) of a completely vegetarian tasting menu. Having a multi-course vegetarian feast at a AAA Five-Diamond restaurant is a true joy.

Yes, the room is gorgeous and filled with a dozen Picassos and a field’s worth of blossoms. But the food, wine and service manage to outshine the ambiance. The words dont do justice to the beauty and flavor of the meal, but heres what we ate and drank last night:

Vegetarian Menu

Heirloom Tomato Salad
Gazpacho Sauce
2007 Riesling, die Leidenschaft, Weinhof Andorfer, Kamptal, Austria

*****

Farcie
Sautéed Artichokes, Zucchini Sofrito, Pepper and Sautéed Onions
2007 Cuvée Roucaillat, Hautes Terres De Comberousse, Coteaux Du Languedoc, France

*****

Butternut Squash Ravioli
Brown Butter and Wild Sage
2005 Vouvray, Moelleux, Cuvée Château Gaillard, Vigneau-Chevreau, Loire Valley, France

*****

Vegetable Ragout
Symphony of Vegetables with Court-Bouillon Sauce
2009 Enamore, Allegrini + Renacer, Bodegas Y Viñedos Renacer, Mendoza, Argentina

*****

Fromage
2009 Chambolle-Musigny, Vieilles Vignes, Frédéric Magnien, Burgundy, France

 

Disclosure: Absolutely none. We paid for all our food and drink, with pleasure.

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Super-Tuscan Extravaganza

By on August 15, 2011 in Charity, wine

Last night I was priviliged to be among the guests invited to a spectacular wine tasting dinner. The meal, prepared by Chef Craig Strong (Executive Chef, Studio, Montage Laguna Beach), was paired with three decades of each of the four Super-Tuscan wines: Ornellaia, Sassicaia, Solaia, and Tignanello.

The dinner was donated by philanthropists Hal and Sharon Lampert as a live auction item at the Vintage Hollywood event, with the proceeds going to OPCC. The winning bidders were kind enough to include my husband and me on their guest list, and that’s how I came to be part of such an extraordinary evening.

To my surprise, I conistently favored the Ornellaia, even in a blind test (we weren’t told which wines were which for the pasta and lamb courses until after we’d tried them). Having said that, all the wines were absolutely spectacular, and the food was delectable from start to finish.

Here’s the menu:

Hors d’oeuvres
Mini Caprese
Saffron Arrancini
Country pate on crostini
Mini onion and carraway tart
Brandade croquette with basil aioli
Paired with: Krug Grand Cruvee NV

Tableside presentation of Japanese Hamachi
Himalayan pink salt with caviar lime dressing
Didier Dagueneau Silex 2004

Farm-raised rabbit in prosciutto
Tuscan white beans, tomato, fine herbs
Antinori Solaia 1988
Antinori Tignanello 1988
Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1988
Teunta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia 1988

Hand Rolled Pasta with Wild Mushrooms
Fresh Australian black truffles, foie gras butter sauce
Antinori Solaia 1998
Antinori Tignanello 1998
Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1998
Teunta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia 1998

Superior Farms Grilled Lamb
Fava beans, baby fennel, artichoke ragout, lamb jus
Antinori Solaia 2004
Antinori Tignanello 2004
Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2004
Teunta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia 2004

White Chocolate Amaretto Mousse
Apricot and lemon verbena ice cream

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Links of the Day 4.4.11 and 4.5.11

By on April 6, 2011 in Gadgets, Health, Links 'O The Day, Travel, wine

Catching up on two days worth of notable links:

April 4

April 5

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How To Face Down the Wine List and Win – The Awl

By on June 28, 2010 in wine

A great post by The Awl on how to order wine in a restaurant and leave with both your dignity and wallet intact!

How To Face Down the Wine List and Win – The Awl.

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Vintage Hollywood 2010

By on May 1, 2010 in Charity, Restaurants, wine

I’m a founding board member of a non-profit called Vintage Hollywood Foundation, which raises money for charitable organizations that work to improve the health and well-being of Southern California’s diverse community.

Our flagship annual event, Vintage Hollywood, will be held on Saturday, June 12 (just 6 weeks away!) from 6:30-9:00pm. It features two dozen prestigious wine producers, each represented by its winemaker and/or proprietor; a dozen of L.A.’s top restaurants and purveyors including Artisan Cheese Gallery, The Foundry, Jar, Joe’s, and Tavern; and live and silent auctions. Our celebrity auctioneer this year is the brilliant Kevin Pollak; our emcee for the evening will be KNX Newsradio afternoon host Jim Thornton.

Vintage Hollywood is a relatively intimate event – we admit a maximum of 350 guests – held outdoors, this year at the home of Mr. Ray Leonard and Mrs. Bernadette Leonard (boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard) in Pacific Palisades.

Our primary beneficiary for 2010 is JDRF / Los Angeles Chapter. JDRF’s mission is to find a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDRF is also committed to developing new and better treatments to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes in the near term, and keep them healthy while they advance toward a cure.

Tickets for Vintage Hollywood are $200 apiece, and can be purchased at the Vintage Hollywood website. Sponsorship opportunities, including a private June 11 “dinner with the winemakers,” are also available; for more information, contact Annie Aft at (310) 559-6325 or email VH2010 (at) vintagehollywood (dot) org.

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