Last night six of went to 315 Restaurant & Wine Bar for dinner: Lois & Gary Lewis, our friends who are visiting from New York, Laura Chancellor & Larry Archibald, and Carollee & I. We started with a lovely, fruity, and complex 2000 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet ‘Champ Canet’ while we were deciding on our meal selections. We were offered a tasting menu, but we and the Archibalds thought that would be too much the day after Thanksgiving. Carollee ordered the Charcuterie Plate and Steak Frites; Gary had the lamb pâte and a braised lamb shank; Laura had the beet salad and large scallops; I had the seafood special, mussels, clams & shrimp in broth and grilled salmon on mashed potatoes; Lois had the seafood special and lamb shank; and Larry had three starters - the seafood special, a nice squash soup, and the charcuterie platter.
Before we got our initial courses, the chef sent out a complimentary amusée of a slice of rich foie gras terrine with a tomato relish and a slice of grilled bread. The amusée was enjoyed with a 2001 Chateau Filhot Sauternes, fairly sweet with good acidity and nice with the foie gras. Then we got our starters and a bottle of 2002 Chave Hermitage Blanc. Everyone seemed to enjoy the rich, complex White Hermitage with their starters. Then we got three wines to have with our mains - 1988 Chartron & Trebuchet Pommard Epenots, 1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco, 1989 Jaboulet Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’. Amongst the White Hermitage and the three reds, there was a wine match for each main course. I enjoyed the Pommard and the Barbaresco with my rich salmon; and the La Chapelle was very good with a couple bites of Lois’ lamb shank.
The Pommard was less complex than the two we had with the Thanksgiving Turkey, but still had nice fruit and acidity for the salmon. The Giacosa was still a bit tannic, which the fruit with the salmon helped overcome. The La Chapelle was best of the last two or three we’ve had; rich dark fruit. good balance, and a long finish.
Then some of us had a dessert. I had the cheese plate- Morbier, Sheep’s milk brie, & a harder sheep’s milk cheese. All was good with both the remains of the Sauternes and with a 2000 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin (village).
This made a great start for Lois & Gary’s visit here.