Inaugural Wine Girl Wednesday at Scape

As a long time fan of STLwinegirl, I couldn't wait to for her next set of events...Wine Girl Wednesdays!

The first Wednesday of every month, the Wine Girl will pick a restaurant for happy hour 5:30-7:30pm where you can get a glass of wine and appetizer pairing for a discounted price. There were THREE different pairings to choose from if you prefer a specific wine or appetizer, but you know, I went ahead and got ALL THREE because everything was so delicious.

WineGirl Wednesday Menu

The Deviled Eggs and Caviar was the RICHEST deviled egg I have ever had. Perfectly paired with the Moet champagne to help cut through the creaminess.

Deviled Eggs & Caviar with Moet & Chandon Imperial, Epernay, France

And you know I loved the second pairing, since Kung Fu Girl Riesling (2012 Washington) was featured with the Ahi Tuna Tacos. The shell was crispy and you got a big taste of fresh tuna. So wonderful!

Ahi Tuna Tacos with Kung Fu Girl Riesling, 2012, Washington

Even though it was a bit warm for the Cotes du Rhone glass of red wine, it was amazing with the Braised Beef Bruschetta, which was my favorite appetizer of the night! 

Again, with the high humidity, we finished off the night with a discounted glass of the Spatburgunder Rose Trocken 2013 from Germany. Spatburgunder is really pinot noir and the rose was quite refreshing. 

I cannot wait for the next one on September 3rd at Element!!! Here is more information:

https://www.facebook.com/events/410242575774575/

Resources:

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com/

Scape Bistro = http://www.scapestl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

PW Pizza Six Row Beer Dinner

Another month and another new beer for us! I found the beers very wheaty, but the dishes really stood out!

Menu

We started with a very unique Watermelon salad, which was more like a caprese with something extra. The vinaigrette dressing mellowed out the sweetness of the watermelon.

Watermelon Salad

The chicken and peach pizza also used a balsalmic reduction to chill out the sweetness of the peach but had a very fresh flavor, and was my favorite. I found it went well with the lighter Whale Ale, which is a mix of wheat and pale ale styles.

Chicken & Peach Pizza

The cajun shrimp pizza only had a little kick to it and it tasted more like catfish to me. The Arch Nemesis was similar to an Imperial Stout.

Dessert was a total standout since fresh strawberries were paired with a whipped goat cheese. Oh my it was intense and I had to take a bite of the goat cheese with a strawberry each time!

The Killer Whale is hard to get (only available at PW Pizza and the brewery) and is a strange mix of an IPA style with some sweetness mixed in.

While a lot of people said it wasn't the best pairing, I thought the sharpness of the beer helped to cut through the goat cheese.

Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Goat Cheese

Resource:

Six Row Brewing Company = http://sixrowbrewco.com/

PW Pizza = http://pwpizza.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Sidney Street Cafe 2014

I wasn't going to post about my latest trip to Sidney Street Cafe because I had been there once before and you don't really need me to tell you how wonderful it is.

So I apologize that I didn't note what everyone had, but the pictures came out so amazing, that I just had to share.

Greens

Squash soup

Pork tamales

Lamb with meatballs

Scallops

Creme Brulee

Resources:

Sidney Street Cafe = http://sidneystreetcafe.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Wine Merchant Cheese Class July 2014

Since the Wine Merchant had already covered the top countries for cheese production so far this year, this month's theme was "party"! Sounds like fun right? Really, the class could have been called "how best to pair wine and cheese" since Simon, the cheesemonger at The Wine Merchant, really covered that aspect quite well.

Simon picked a really nice wide variety of wines and cheeses and a lot of them "grew together" so you know that they'll "go together" well.

While Simon pointed out that typically, one would serve hunks of cheese with a small cheese knife on a wooden (cutting) board to allow your guests to serve themselves, I laughed to myself for a couple of reasons. (During class, our plates are prepared with individual slices, so he pointed out that is not the norm when serving cheese.)

I wonder if this is not common knowledge and he had to point it out? But then again, I AM a cheese snob. Anyway, I have found that the best way to serve cheese (in the most accessible manner), is to cut it up in about 1 ounce cubes (well...some kind of shape). This way your guests can easily grab a piece (one handed if they're holding a plate or glass) with their fingers, fork, or toothpick. I also think they feel less guilty grabbing a handful of cheese if it's in a smaller piece...

The other important aspect to serving cheese is labeling! People want to know what it is they are eating before they'll grab. People love to know they're eating some unique cheese or that it's local. And I've met quite a few people who can only eat goat cheese. I used to leave the labels hanging off but that looked quite crude and cheese signs don't stand up in cut up cheese, so now I use a Sharpie to write the info on the edge of a paper plate. When I do use a cheeseboard, I sometimes make little sign tents as well.

Anyway, some of the highlights from this cheese class:

Cheese Plate

Gruyere is often paired with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir since they're in the same region. The Alpage Gruyere that we had was from Burgandy area.

Cabot cheese is actually a co-op of about 300 dairy farmers. I am definitely a big fan of the Vermont dairy's cheddar for sure. (Possible siteseeing someday?)

My favorite was the Langres since it reminded me so much of Epoisses.

The Sottocenere and Truffle Gouda were a bit strong for me, but luckily they were paired with a Ogier Syrah d'Ogier so as not to be too overpowering. Simon said he liked the Sottocenere on grilled cheese!

Since the class was completely full, we got to enjoy some higher end wines and cheese, and Simon even threw in some venison pate, which was new to me as well.

Menu

Resources:

The Wine Merchant = http://www.winemerchantltd.com

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Prime 1000

Unfortunately, Prime 1000 has closed.

Thanks to some wine friends wanting to meet up and get together for dinner, I finally got to try Prime 1000. I had been meaning to take my Dad there for a while since he always loves a good steakhouse, but now I know for sure that this would be a fantastic place for him. Going during the middle of the week also makes it easy to get in and it was very quiet. I’m sure it depends on the convention schedule in the area though.

We waited in the bar for our friends and was really blown away by the bar menu. We had a very hard time choosing a beer just because they had such a great selection.  Since we went during the week, there was even happy hour pricing. I would have been fine ordering a few apps off the bar menu and having a delicious meal right there.

Since we were meeting friends for a real dinner and wine, we just ordered the fish tacos, which were light in tasting, yet quite filling, and went great with a beer.

Fish Taco

Once we sat down at the table, the wine list is quite lengthy and you really have to focus on that for quite a bit before you can even start to study the food menu. I was a little overwhelmed. I didn’t pick out the first wine, but I was tasked with the second bottle and was a little nervous. It is times like these that I am thankful for what wine knowledge I do have.

Peppoli Cianti Classico 2010

There are no menus online to study in advance so the pressure is on at the table. Luckily, it is the type of restaurant where you can linger as your meal will probably take a few hours. The dinner menu was actually very concise and easy to manage and I assume that the menu is not online since it changes frequently. It’s always better to go with the freshest seasonal selections.

The waiter patiently explained the types of cuts of beef that were available and there are instructions about picking your sauce and sides that come with your dinner. I was happy to see there were grass-fed and bison options and those were the popular choices at our table. 

8oz Grass-Fed Filet

Patience ordered the scallops, which came with a few mussels so that was a winner as well, although the creole rice was a little weighty in comparison to the rich scallops.

Day Boat Scallops with Creole Rice, Mussels, Okra, Spicy Tomato Jam

You can see that our filets came out simply, topped with roasted garlic on top. No flash needed as the filets were perfectly cooked. The sauces were amazing as well, not that any was necessary.

I’m not sure where we found room, but I could not resist the chocolate cake goodness that followed either.  

Chocolate cake and granche

A completely decadent meal, top notch service (both at the table and in the bar)…certainly worthy of any special occasion. 

French and Italian reds were the highlight of the evening

Resources:

Prime 1000 = http://www.prime1000.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon