Dinner Out

A local favorite restaurant closed temporarily and just reopened with a scaled down menu and a more casual atmosphere.  Like a number of small, non chain restaurants rising rent was a problem.  The food is still wonderful and so is the service, and Tuesday nights feature a wine tasting menu.

I opted for the duck confit pictured above.  Done as a hash with Yukon gold potatoes, a few shallots and a dark sauce, it was finished with a fried egg on top.  Wonderful, rich stuff that totally disappeared from my plate along with every bit of the sauce, soaked up with a crusty roll.

The wine with the confit was a 2012  Bousquet Des Papes, Chante le Merle, Vielle Vignes, Chateauneuf de Pape - a name as mouth filling as the wine itself.   The wine's medium color was not an indication of how rich this wine was.  Bright red fruit flavors sat on top of a dark base of flavor - tart cherries on top of ripe black plums and berries if you will.  There was nothing shy about this wine, and that wasn't surprising considering it's 15.5% alcohol content.  I was most pleased with the acid in the wine as it kept the wine from overwhelming the food.  One glass was enough with driving involved.