Piccolo - October 28, 2015
I have a confession to make, and it seems I’ve started more than one of these with a confession, I’ve never eaten any of the food on Piccolo’s menu. I’ve dined in the building on four occasions, but it was either for Erik Anderson’s Brut pop-ups or for these wine dinners. I have plans to try to remedy that with frequent dining companion and fellow diner sometime in the near future.
I enjoyed the first wine dinner at Piccolo greatly, but since I’ve become fond of wine centric dinners that focus on a place. I won’t wax poetic about how it’s like a vacation without leaving home. To me it’s interesting to see the variety of a place as decided by the mechanism of export. I’ve attended dinners focused on the Piedmont region of Italy, and a region of Austria southeast of Vienna. I’ve heard rumors of another coming up that’s going to focus on South American wines.
This time we were treated to Alsatian Wines, primarily from the Trimbach Family winery.
Before the meal we were given a flute of a sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, & Chardonnay grapes that was prepared in the traditional method of its better known cousin Champagne. It was enjoyably effervescent, slightly sweet, and finished dry. A good pre-meal beverage.
First course - Chilled seafood with fall crudité and citrus (Trimbach, Riesling, Ribeauville, Alsace, France, 2010): Lobster, razor clams, and octopus make up the aforementioned chilled seafood, shaved celery the crudité, and Meyer lemons the citrus. The Riesling wasn’t as sweet as Rieslings usually trend, this was important because it let the sweetness of the seafood shine. If you’ve read more than one of these things you know I’m all about textures, it’s not some weird fixation, it’s for a reason. The texture on the razor clams was chewy yet yielding, the flavor was still oceanic, heightened by the lemon. The lobster was sweet and yielding. The texture on the octopus was revelatory, probably some of the best I’ve had, not chewy, not grainy, perfectly yielding. There was a subtle jalapeño flavor that was a great undercurrent to the dish.
Second course - Ricotta gnocchi with burgundy truffles, elderflower, and chervil (Trimbach, Pinot Gris Reserve, Ribeauville, Alsace, France, 2006): Made with potato flour/starch, these were great, not too soft, not too much tooth to them. The loaminess of the truffles was serviced very well by the minerality of the wine, the combination was really good. The elderflower wasn’t overpowering, and paired well with the truffle.
Third Course - Monkfish with charred cabbage, foie gras, and chestnuts (Trimbach, Gewurztriminer, Ribeauville, Alsace, France, 2009): This was really good, some of the best monkfish I’ve ever had. It had the texture of properly prepared pork belly, Crispy on the outside, firm, and slightly succulent on the inside. I’m becoming a big fan of charred vegetables in general apparently, it’s not limited to just eggplant. The chestnuts paired really well with the wine revealing a not unpleasant astringency when tasted together.
Fourth Course - Aged squab breast with prunes, violet mustard, and lemon balm (Trimbach, Riesling, Clos Ste. Hune, Ribeauville, Alsace, France, 2004): These were wrapped in beef suet and dry aged for 30 days. Then the racks (of ribs) were separated and used to make a jus. The flavor and texture of the squab was amazing, but the real star of the dish was the prune. Reconstituted in the stock made from the cages, it took on an amazing flavor. The textures of this dish were great ranging from the treacly prune, firm yet moist squab, and the violet mustard had that nice pop. The wine was really special - I’d never had an aged Riesling before, it was really good. Not overly sweet, it took on some complexity with its age.
Fifth Course - Apple pavé, onion caramel, quince puree, sour ice cream (Domaine Zinck, Cremant d’ Alsace, Brut Rosé, Eguisheim, Alsace, France, NV): I’m unaware if I’ve ever had a pavé before, but the layering technique in this desert was fascinating. The apple seemed like it was its own layered pastry, if that makes sense. Flavors were great, the sour ice cream complemented the sweetness of the apples and the savory yet sweet onion caramel. The wine had a really interesting body.
Overall a great dinner. While I would have preferred reds, I’m glad I experienced some whites that are drier and unconventional compared to most expectations of the grapes. Manager and Sommelier James said next dinner is going to focus on the Rhone, which is predominantly reds, so I’m going to keep my eyes open for that one.