The New Wine Cellar

 

Thanks to Goose and Sonia & Rob, we now have a 28 bottle Vinotemp to keep some of our wine at the proper temperature!  I set it up in a corner of the living room and quickly loaded it with our best wine.  It is very quiet, even when the compressor is running, and seems to do a great job of keeping the wine cool.  After a day, I began to think that keeping our best/oldest wine in the Vinotemp might not make the most sense.  Those first growth Bordeauxs and old Napa cabs get opened so infrequently that they would just sit in the Vinotemp for years, with no guarantee that they are still good in the first place!  They have been stored in the closet for so many years that they might be vinegar already. 

So, I decided to keep only the premier cru Bordeauxs and a couple bottles of each flight of Napa Cabernet in the cooler, along with some bottles of our “everyday” wine.  This way, we can grab a properly chilled bottle of dinner wine or a special occasion wine and replace from the closet.  It’s so exciting!

The Black Cat Bistro

After a day of kayaking and a delicious shore lunch, Beth and I headed back to the Sea Otter for a relaxing afternoon including naps and more cigars, cold beer and sunshine in the deck chairs.  Since it was our honeymoon, we did want to have at least one nice meal.  In the lobby, I had leafed through some local menus and The Black Cat Bistro had jumped out at me as sounding very intriguing.  We made it there around 6 pm and were seated in the cozy main room in a corner table with padded bench seats along the wall.  The atmosphere was relaxed and romantic, but the real treat was yet to come.  Jason was our waiter and the maitre d’ and explained that there were three people in the front of the house and three in back.  Beth ordered the seared scallop appetizer followed by the prime beef filet and I ordered the corn pudding and crab app. and the beef shortribs for dinner and a bottle of 2005 Justin Cabernet.  All I can say is wow!  The food was awesome!  Every dish seemed to have three distinct flavor profiles that complimented each other perfectly!  If you ever find yourself on the Central Coast of California, do yourself a favor and make a giant effort to go to this restaurant!  Our bill came to about $130 for two people with one bottle of wine and no desserts.  (Jason did bring a complimentary plate of Goat and Cow blue cheese with slices of fig!)  I will copy from the menu for you foodies.

Seared Sea Scallop:  Parsnip puree, grapefruit vanilla beurre blanc, watercress, crispy shallots

Sweet Corn Pudding & Wild Red Alaskan Kind Crab:  Tomatillo butter, wonton strips, cilantro, chipotle oil

Sous Vide Boneless Beef Shortribs:  Creamy goat cheese & mascarpone polenta, kale, crispy shallots

Natural Prime Beef Filet:  Boniata mash, house-made Moroccan mole, mushrooms, fresh cilantro, chile lime butter, red cabbage lime mojo slaw, toasted almonds

The Honeymoon

  Well, Sunday morning came early enough, but for some strange reason, I must have limited my alcohol consumption the night before to a reasonable level.  I was actually functioning pretty well and managed to have a nice brunch with my college buddies Steve “Money” Moy, Chris Soucey and Sonia Simpson.  We polished off some bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon with the help of Joan Moore’s famous Gin Fizzes!  Steve made a good call when he asked if there was any caviar left over from the bilini appetizers and sure enough there was a little bit of American Osetra to top our bagles.  All to soon, Chris and Sonia had to take off for SFO and I took Steve to SJC.  Ed and Marianne headed off to the coast to spend the day and Beth and I left for the coastal town of Cambria.

It took about 3 1/2 hours to drive down and find our hotel.  The Sea Otter Inn is really just a glorified motel, but it was a very nice stay!  I had booked our room months ago, apparently splurging on one of the two ocean-view rooms.  The decor was nice and looked very “sea-side cottage”.  Outside, under our ocean facing window, there were two big, comfy deck chairs with wide armrests that must have been designed for easily holding cigar, cutter, lighter, a glass of single malt scotch and a jar of olives from Whole Foods.  Why?  Because that’s what I put on there while we watch the waves come in and the sun go down. 

After all the “fancy” food of the wedding week, including Ed, Marianne, Beth and I using Steve as our “culinary guide” and going to David Kinch’s Los Gatos eatery Manresa, we were ready for something a little more ordinary.  After driving the main drag in Cambria, we spotted a sign for “Woodies” pizza parlor.  Atop a hillside we found a small pizza place with a “heavy” pizza.  We ordered the combo and took it back to the Sea Otter where we watched the Patriots dominate and the Red Sox hold on to beat the hated Yankees!  What a day!  Oh the pizza was “heavy” because it was so thick with toppings, my favorite being slices of homemade meatballs!!

For Monday, I had booked a 1/2 day Kayaking tour of Morrow Bay.  We got up and made the 15 mile drive south to Morro Bay and found out we we the only clients booked for the tour.  After some quick instructions from our appropriately “cali” looking guide Ross, we we on the water taking in the sights. 

Let me explain something here; the weather was PERFECT!  There was no fog, even when we started driving at 8:30 in the morning.  It was in the low 70’s and sunny with mild breezes and it was like that the whole time!  The thing is, we got lucky with perfect weather for the whole wedding week!  Beth has mentioned a few times how someone up there is looking out for us, and I’m not sure if it is her late father Karl, or maybe my departed college buddy Nader, or maybe all of the people who love us, but it’s true!  Friday before the wedding, Ed, Bill, Steve and I played golf at Pacific Grove Muni and the weather was just spectacular!  Bill even claimed that it was the best weather he’s ever seen over there.  No fog, we could have played in shorts!

Back to the honeymoon.  There is a sandspit inside of Morro Bay that creates a sheltered “bay inside a bay” and that’s where we paddled around all morning.  Beth and I shared a tandem kayak since it was our first time and we enjoyed being so low to the water and so close to the wildlife.  Overall there was a ton of birds.  Pelicans, gulls, terns, plovers, cormorants, ospreys, many species of herons, and even a peregriene falcon.  The cutest critters were the harbor seals that were basking with there heads and back flippers raised out of the 1-2 foot deep water over a sand bar.

The Big Day!

Well, after months of planning (mostly Beth’s) and weeks of hard work and preparation, (again, mostly Beth’s) we threw a big party and got married at the same time!  I think the final count was 58 guests and I’m hoping everyone of them had a good time.

Although my parents would not budge on their decision to remain in Vermont with Sophie the overfed watchdog, my brother and Marianne came out for a whole week to help us celebrate!  Also, my second cousin Alex came down from his home in Menlo Park with his son William.  Wife Barbara was on the East Coast visiting her family.

Of course, Beth’s side of the family was there in full force, even if Scott and Ryan had to arrive late after finishing their duties with the Sobbrato High marching band which was performing prior to the San Jose State v. Stanford game.

Overall, the night was a huge success, and I give much of the credit to our friend Linda Tsuchimoto, who performed her first wedding ceremony to perfection in Joan’s beautiful, backyard setting, complete with thousands of white lights.  (I will take credit for helping to string 400 feet of those x-mas lights!)  Paul’s hard work produced a lovely, white wooden bridge spanning the pool and the floating candles completed the scene.

The food was good and the wine plentiful and everyone survived the evening without any reported injuries or sickness!  No one even took a plunge into the pool!  The night finally wound down after consuming a few glasses of Glenfiddich 15 year Solera vat, and Romeo Y Julieta Rothschild en Tubos and playing a couple hours worth of “One up, one down”.

Just Married!!!

What better time to start a blog than after a life changing event?  The basic premise (at this time) for this blog, is to share things of interest in our lives.   I forsee many reviews of California bistros, big red wines and oily wrappered cigars!!!