L'Aventure

Nothing quite like bonding over food and wine! I went on a road trip to central coast California to check out the wineries in the region (Justin, Tablas Creek, L'Aventure, Linne Calodo) with my in-laws over the holidays. We wanted to check out Californian vineyards beyond the usual Napa/Sonoma, and drove south to El Paso de Robles (Spanish: the passage of oaks; the locals call it Pass-O Row-Buls ). During the summer, the temperatures in the region reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and drop back down to the 50s and 60s in the evening. This hot summer sun gives the grapes a high sugar level, which then results in a high alcohol content in the wines from the region. Almost all the reds that we sampled had an alcohol content between 15% to 16%! Perfect for the lush in me! The only other region that I know of which produces delicious smooth red wines with such a high alcohol content is in Salta, Argentina (Salta wines beat out Mendoza Malbecs anyday. Just ask any Argentine you know.) As far as I can tell, the only downside to the high alcohol content is that these wines should be drank within 5-7 years and cannot be keep in the cellar for years and years (unlike the French Bordeaux). At least, that's what the people at the vineyards were telling me. Of the Paso Robles vineyards that we visited, my favorite was L'Aventure which was founded by Stephan Asseo, a self-proclaimed "maverick" vigneron who left France and came to California so that he can pursue his dream of making a wine that blends Cabernet Sauvignon with Syrah. And how lucky we are that Monsieur Asseo decided to pursue his dream! His L'Aventure wines have received scores of 95+ and 97+ from Robert Parker. Delicious (but pricey)! I wonder how much restraint I can exercise in restraining myself from opening these wines and drinking them in the next few days. Discipline! Discipline!

Artisan

We also tried out a couple of excellent farm-to-table restaurants in el Paso de Robles! Artisan was just mouthwateringly yummy. I had two appetizers - the Cayucos Red Abalone with abalone mushrooms and sunchoke, and also the Chanterelle Toast, topped with bacon, soft poached egg, and crème fraîche, and they were both DELICIOUS! Chanterelle mushrooms are in season right now, so that toast was especially umami-fully delish! I wish we had enough time to go back for another meal. Sigh.

Thomas Hill Organics

The other farm-to-table restaurant we went to was Thomas Hill Organics, where the atmosphere was more casual than at Artisan, but the food was just as fresh and solidly good and wholesome. I especially loved my light dish of grilled sea bass on a plate of stir-fried bok choy and mushrooms. My brother-in-law tore down his plate of braised Colorado lamb shank vindaloo, root vegetable puree, arugula, Buddha hand yogurt, with flat bread like there was no tomorrow.

Farmstand 46, the perfect pitstop

Serving wholesome organic goodness in the form of hot soup, fresh sandwiches, cold sodas and hot tea and coffee to tipsy winetasters along highway 46. Oh, and they have fresh Chanterelle mushrooms for sale as well ($14/lb).

Iberian Pig

Pork Cheek Tacos. Super crispy taco shells filled with melt-in-your-mouth soft braised pork cheeks topped with a generous amount of gooey avocado, corn, cilantro, peppers. Yum! Oh, and the Iberian Pig serves jamon iberico and jamon iberico de bellota, too! I am such a sucker for that delicious nutty complex-flavored ham cured from meat from those acorn-fed free-range Spanish pigs. I still think Chef Mateo in New York City serves up the best Pata Negra on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. But hey, I'm in Atlanta now, so I'm grateful that the Iberian Pig does a damn good job as a stand-in for my favorite East Village wine and jamon/tapas bar.

The WaterShed

A deceptively simple but incredibly rich and delicious tomato basil soup that had both me and Andrew wanting to lick the very last drop off the bowl. The inconveniences of dining in public! The Sapelo Island littleneck clams were perfectly steamed with a little white wine, leek, tomato, house-cured bacon, and a healthy amount of garlic. And finally, Mac-n-Cheese that is almost (almost) as good as that made by Beecher's in Seattle. Oh, and the restaurant is owned by The Indigo Girls!

Peter Chang's

We found out that Peter Chang is (maybe) settling down in Atlanta (for the time being) via UrbanDaddy Atlanta and that the opening of Peter Chang's was this Sunday. Worried about the throngs of Changians (Chang groupies) descending upon the new restaurant of the infamously peripatetic chef, we called on Saturday morning to make a reservation for two for lunch at noon on Sunday. When we arrived, there was a good number of Chinese and non-Chinese customers already eating and more arrived as we lunched our way through the menu. I am ecstatic that I have finally found authentic Chinese food in Atlanta! We ordered the dan dan mien (Szechuan ma-la noodles), xiao long bao (steamed Shanghai soup dumplings), shui zou yu (Szechuan fish boiled in oil), and stir-fried pea-pod stem. I really hope Peter Chang will stay a awhile (at least for the next two years while I'm here in ATL), as I miss real Szechuan food with the delicious ma-la numbing spice. We later found out that we were the FIRST ones to make a reservation at Peter Chang's first restaurant!!!! I wonder if I will ever bump into Calvin Trillin at Peter Chang's, and if so, would I have the cojones to ask him for an autograph? His ode to Peter Chang was published in the March 1st, 2010 issue of the New Yorker