It was boys night out last Wednesday as the girls were traveling so we set a reservation at Che Fico in SF. My first time there and I thought the food to be terrific. Mostly Italian with Influence from Israel.
The wine list is also creative with lots of choices across different price points. We brought the Brovia with us.
Red fruit aromas, cherry some strawberry and floral rose petal. Flavors continue the red fruit thing with sour red cherry, wild strawberry, tar, pine, mushroom and balsamic notes. Shows nice concentration, very juicy with good acidity and mild tannins. Pretty good match with some assertive flavored Italian food.
If you are in SF, give Che Fico a whirl, you won’t be disappointed.
Nice note. 2001s are starting to reveal themselves as true beauties. I recently opened the 2001 E. Grasso Casa Maté and it was stunning. Early in its maturity curve but delicious, intense and complex.
Che Fico on the other hand … I ate there right after it opened. Food was good, but service (poor), volume (extreme) and prices (high) didn’t add up for me. Maybe good for a large boisterous group.
Thanks for the report, Tom. I have Brovia’s '01 Villero and Rocche, and their Barbaresco Rio Sordo, so it’s nice to know how the '01s are coming along.
It’s interesting, too, that the Ca’Mia showed so well. It’s from a site in Serralunga, where the wines typically are more tannic and backward. Rosenthal’s website says these vines were planted in 1955.
Rich, thanks. I agree it seems like the 01’s are starting to hit a groove. On Che Fico our food and service was really good. The noise level is high but we had a corner table which was a good place for less noise. On the service maybe they were working out the opening kinks.
Thanks for that info John, did not know that. The Ca’Mia is entering a good phase and certainly has room to evolve but the tannins were not aggressive and were right in line with the acid side of the wine’s structure.
John, I have 2001 Ca Mia. Maybe we can put together a 2001 Brovia or Piedmont thing for the fall or winter. I have a couple other interesting 2001s as well.
Interesting. That’s what Kerin O’Keefe says in her book, and the Slow Food Atlas of the Langhe doesn’t list Brovia among leading producers from Fiasco. But the importer (Rosenthal) says it’s Fiasco:
Barolo Garblet Sue: The grapes for this formidable “cru” are from the Garblet Sué vineyard (also referred to as the “Fiasco” vineyard) in Castiglione Falletto on south/southeast slopes at an altitude of 250 meters with soil that is predominantly limestone.
The 2013 label – after the official vineyard designations were in effect – still said just Garblet Sue, with no other vineyard name. That’s odd, given that the Ca Mia now appears in smaller letters below Brea. Perhaps Garblet Sue was somehow grandfathered in under the rules.
visited Che Fico several months ago
good table in corner for 6. alleviated the quite loud din but noise still a significant issue.
food mostly good and interesting. some misses.
service was close to worst i have seen in a upscale highly touted spot. there was simply not enough staff to fit the needs of the throngs. reservation team was great!
sense we got was it is a place to be seen. and talk loudly.
hard pressed to want to return, even just to give a second chance. unanimous call by our group
