Yesterday was the worst day I've had in quite some time. In between normal work and ice scraping, I apparently managed to drop by wallet by parking meter not far from office. When I realized, it was gone - though some scattered business cards, Metrocard, etc made it clear someone had found it. I had gotten extra cash to cash checks for parttime workers, so out about half-week's pay- as well as drivers license, credit cards, etc. What a sucky day.
However, dinner partially made up for it. Some friends had given me a gift certificate to Alto for my 50th this fall. Betsy will be away Valentine's Day, so this was our early celebration. We drove down, found easy parking, and entered the attractive restaurant. We then proceeded to have the best meal I've had in a while.
OK, the food. The amuse was a shot glass of warm cauliflower soup with chives and salmon roe. Betsy got mushroom soup surrounding a mound of ricotta accented with truffles. My starter was squab breast with what reminded me of the best Boston baked beans I've ever had. My pasta was a large ravioli filled with truffled cheese and a beautifully runny egg, with mushrooms and sweetbreads. Betsy got pasta with mussels in a saffron cream sauce, and they gave us a bonus pasta dish- Betsy called it chitarra with shaved broccoli, uni, and clams. My main was branzino in a rich sauce with sautéed spinach and crispy cauliflower bits; Betsy could only make a dent in a huge veal chops with a cream sauce and cardoons. Betsy enjoyed chocolate gelato and pomegranite sorbet, but adored the roasted pear sorbet, I finished with goat cheese (Selles sur cher) . Everything was delicious, if one closed one's mind to any concerns re cholesterol - this was rich stuff!
As to the wine….I'm a geeky wineguy, and usually have fun choosing my wine, though after my disaster I reduced my mental budget a bit. Decided to go with a bottle of white, and eyed an Aligote, a couple Rieslings, a Pieropan La Rocca, a Verdicchio. But I realized our sommelier was Levi Dalton, who had made great by the glass suggestions when we were at Convivio (same group of restaurants). So I said "I'd like a bottle of white, we're having the prix fixe with some seafood but also some richer stuff, I'd like to keep it in the $50-75 range, and I'm really geeky and would like to try something new." He suggested an Alto Adige white, the 2009 Kuen Hof Silvaner. OK, I'll admit, Italian Silvaner is not something I'd ever think of. But this guy knows (and praises) the wine, and knows the food. And the fact I'd have never chosen it myself is kind of the point, right? So let's try it.
2009 Kuen Hof Silvaner Lean, tensile, minerally. Citrus fruit, a saline edge. A really lovely wine that spanned a lot of complex dishes well, and opened/changed throughout evening. He gave me choice of keeping on ice or on table, I chose former which might have been a mistake, as a glass that sat for a while filled out with air and warmth. I'd never have chosen this wine on my own in 20 tries, but now it's something to look for. Ranks with the absolute best Franken silvaners I've ever had. A-
So, the suggestion was a great success. But there was a surprise (wait, 2!). Since I had described myself as geeky and expressed interest in something different, all of the sudden he shows up with a bottle of the 1996 Francis Cotat "La Grande Cote Cuvee Speciale." Said since I was geeky I might like to try this, a wine from a superhot vintage that the Cotats (I think the brothers were still sharing cellar at this point?) let retain some residual sugar. Very cool and funky wine, with a HUGE exotic nose. Spearmint, fig, tropical fruits, Fresca. Despite the big ripe body, lots of chalky minerality showing on finish. As Betsy succinctly put it "I've never tasted anything quite like this." She saved some and it did well with the chevre (I stole hers). I alternated between loving this and being perplexed by it. B+/A- ?
And that wasn't the end of it. When Betsy's veal arrived, he showed up again with the remainders of a half bottle of 2006 Vernay Condrieu, saying the Silvaner wasn't quite big enough for the veal. The Condrieu certainly was, a rich full wine replete with floral/musky notes. Very interesting wine, though probably my least favorite of the three, unlike the Sancerre the ripeness seems to overtake the acidity, a bit fat (though for Condrieu this had reasonable acidity). I've enjoyed a lot of Condrieu, but never found one I'd want to pay the fare for - but this one was free! : B/B+.
All in all, my incredibly s***ty day was made much better by a innovative and generous sommelier (and an attentive service staff and creative kitchen). The bonus pours were amazingly generous, but really the best part was trying a wine that went beyond my expectations and that was out of my comfort zone. Sometimes it pays to put aside one's geeky control self and learn from someone who really knows their stuff. Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.