What you see in the photo are grilled quail quarters wrapped in jalapeño infused bacon and served on little pools of sweet chipotle sauce. This dish had a good balance of sweet, spicy, and salty, with a hint of sour. I could taste raspberry in the chipotle sauce, smokiness from the bacon, and a little spicy heat, though the heat does build as you eat. This excellent little dish was served to me at Corona winery in the largest wine grape growing area in Arizona. At 4,300 feet, the temperature gets up into the 90s in summer, not the 100s that I'm used to, and it cools down nicely at night; in other words, the climate is ideal for grapes, and Coronado produces some really good Cab, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Malbec.
Location: Coronado Vineyards, 2909 E Country Club Drive, Willcox, Arizona. Date: January 15, 2020.
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When I asked which sangria was less sweet, the red or the white, the answer was the one with sparkling wine. I'd never had sparkling wine sangria at home in the U.S., so this was new to me. Not only was it delicious and refreshing, but it was also very dry. This bubbly white sangria came with pieces of orange, lemon, pear, and green apple. I love it when drinks aren't too sweet, and this wasn't sweet at all!
Location: Lonja de Tapas, Placera Montcada 5, Barcelona, Spain. Date: December 23, 2018. The lunch place I chose was at the entrance to the ancient plaza in Vic; the sandy plaza and the narrow cobblestone streets around it took me back a thousand years or so. I ordered red wine with my menu of the day and got a whole bottle included in the already very economical price! Apparently, this is the norm in Spain. I started my lunch with seafood soup which contained pieces of various fish, a mussel on the shell, a large whole prawn, and croutons on the side; it was fishy but in a good way. For my main course I ordered a dish composed of two slices of salty ham and two slices of melty brie cheese. It was served with crusty bread and was simple but delicious. (Remember I'm going through a bottle of wine; this dish was perfect for that.) For desert I had “flan de la casa”, a smooth set custard with a bittersweet caramelized sugar sauce. During my meal, “One of Us”, a song I love, played over the sound system. It happens a lot in my life: a favorite song comes on at the best moment! This lunch was memorable. Location: Bar Sport, Verdaguer 5, Vic, Catalunya, Spain. Date: December 17, 2018. This wine shop is located on the enchanting plaza in Arcata, California. Here I ordered a glass of Marichal Reserve Pinot Noir/Tannat from Uruguay. I've certainly had my share of Argentinian wines, but I've had very few from Uruguay. This one was memorable, with a very nice sour cherry flavor. I ordered it with a salami and cheese plate that came with two kinds of Genoa salami, a lighter wet salami and a drier more intense one, and Dubliner Irish cheddar. The plate also came with smoked almonds, cornichons (tiny pickled cucumbers), grainy mustard, and French bread. Based on the price, I thought I was getting an appetizer with my glass of wine, but it turned into my evening meal, and a delightful one at that.
Location: Libation, 761 8th Street, Ste 1, Arcata, California. Date: September 12, 2018. Back at the Purple Room in Club Trinidad, I discovered another old school classic: the port poached pear. This one is presented as a salad, with arugula dressed with a pomegranate vinaigrette, spiced candied pecans, and goat cheese mousse. The pecans are sweet and crunchy, the mousse is like a special whipped cream, but it's the poached pear half, still firm, that's the star of the dish. The pear was purple and floral from the port, and the cavity where the seeds were hosted the mild goat cheese mousse. When I took a bite of pear, I could taste the alcohol from the fortified wine (but in a good way). The waiter came with a pepper grinder and ground some black pepper onto the salad; I'm not sure if this provided most of the spice I tasted or if it was due to the spice in the candied nuts. It may be old school, but a well done wine poached pear is always noteworthy.
Location: Club Trinidad Hotel, 1900 E Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: October 10, 2017. The Dodo Bon Pan Café in the old section of Panama City, Panama, advertised a free tapa with your glass of wine after 3pm. My tapa was baguette toasts with a savory tomato based spread, possibly flavored with Maggi or soy sauce, topped with a rolled up salami slice and a green olive. The plate was garnished with fresh dill and rosemary and came with a salsa of pickled cabbage and onion (a Spanish style sauerkraut?). The red wine, at 14% you know what, was a good Argentine malbec. It was a somewhat expensive glass of wine, but it was a fine price when you factored in the tasty tapa. The place was small and cozy. Close to me was a young couple with their very old grandmother. She was thin, with totally white hair, and she munched on galletas, very plain biscuits. My heart melted.
Location: Dodo Bon Pan Café, Casco Antiguo, Panama City, Panama. Date: November 15, 2013. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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