Not sure whether to put this in wine talk or steak porn, but here goes. I’m up in the Seattle area for a memorial service tomorrow so I contacted Andrew Kotowski and asked him if he wanted to get together for dinner and some wine.
A few texts later and there are 6 of us 10 bottles of wine and a pile of great beef. Many thanks to Andrew and his lovely Wife for hosting us and turning this visit into a special event.
Well Done! No women? Great set of wines.
Sorry to have missed this AK / Brian!
Next time!
Which vintage of Pac Sonoma Hillsides was that?
2016
I recognize that mac n cheese 
Definitely a great time, and I’m glad we could pull it off on a Wed night! Was a fun mix of wine and steak friends, including Sean from Preservation Meat Collective. Love the guy, and the work his team has done to support WA farmers while changing the Seattle food scene. Didn’t hurt to have him pulling purebred wagyu steaks out of a Yeti as we went, either.
Wines were:
2021 Pascal Henin Champagne Grand Cru L’etang de nos Souvenirs
2018 Lurquin Coteaux Champenois Rose
2001 Jamet Cote Rotie
2013 Bedrock Weill a Way Vineyard
2013 Reynvaan Stoneessence
2016 Pax Sonoma Hillsides
2019 Kobayashi Extended Barrel Age Syrah
2023 L’Anglore Le Ruisseau
1960 Riversaltes Riveyrac Vin Dox Naturel
Corked: 2016 Gonon St Joseph (doh!)
Steaks:
Flannery hanger steaks
Morgan Ranch skirt steaks
Pure Country Rib Eyes (PMC)
Pure Country Toro steak (PMC)
Bar R Ranch Oyster/Spider and Merlot steaks (PMC)
For the local Seattle crew - you’ve likely had the PMC meat before - the guys distribute into Beast & Cleaver and Rainshadow, as well as a bunch of local places (Bateau, Tomo, Hamdi, etc.) If you see “Pure Country” or Bar R, it came through Sean and team. They’re also doing some awesome stuff with poultry right now!
Worth buying the book just for that recipe! (I add bacon to it, of course!)
I was struggling last night to keep my eyes open and not typo every word.
Andrew killed it. When I arrived he was prepping the mac ‘n cheese and the cream cheese that he put in the smoker then topped with bacon onion relish. Fucking amazing. He also had a chimichurri that was tasty but was overshadowed by Sea’ns Cambodian Crack that was a mixture of lemon and lime juice and hot peppers that he said should have been hotter but for me was perfect with the different cuts of beef.
Morgan Ranch Skirt Steak
Flannery Hangers
A few interesting cuts from Preservation Meat Collective. An Oyster Steak (from the hip similar to oyster from chicken or turkey)
A Merlot (maybe 12oz total weight which he said he stumbled across while breaking down a carcass. Encased in a large piece of fat that usually gets ground up. Super beefy flavor.
Then a Toro which comes from the belly. Ultra rich and dripping with flavor.
Followed by dino bone-in ribeyes. Quite possibly the most tender ribsteak I’ve ever eaten.
Then there were the wines which all showed well short of the corked Gonon. Great time, great group of guys and I git a picture with the legendary cutting board!
Amazing. Y’all are legends.
Nope! We have done several steak dinners with the wives (including one with @Carrie_Morgan and husband), but mid-week was just too much for more than a small group. I made them eat off a cutting board outside for most of the night, as it was 
Out if all the great wines this L’Anglore stood out from the pack. Bright juicy Mourvèdre that was a nice break from all the heavier Syrahs. I think Carter brought this and his sparkler was legit as well.
Brian made it for a friend and I. It was amazing
Really wish I could have been there!!!
What is that in the baking sheet with aluminum foil?
Bacon out of the smoker
Impressive
Candied bacon (brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, cayenne, thyme) that has been smoked with hickory at 225 for 30 mins and then cooked in the oven.
How did the Kobayashi EBA show?
I’m a homer on this one, so would defer to @Brian_Tuite or @Carter_Y for an unbiased opinion. I thought it was fantastic, with more complexity driven by the extended oak. Not sure that I’d compare it to some of the online hype re: LaLa, etc, but was delicious, imho. Couldn’t let Brian come up here and not open a bottle of Kobayashi, given the Syrah theme… and I knew Travis wasn’t going to bring his own juice
