If you've been in the Boston area for a few years, you probably remember a forgettable Todd English place called Bonfire. It was located on the Boston Park plaza hotel. Well, apparently the location has some special kind of cursed vibe, because now there's a wine bar called Pairings, and it's almost as disappointing as Bonfire...
My wife and I heard about the place and were very excited. Finally! A proper wine bar in Boston! After checking out some great places in New York and California, we felt that finally Boston was getting its due. But alas, we were disappointed :( There's more variety and ambiance at the local wine shop's evening tasting than at this place!
The place is for all intents and purposes a wine bar, but with a name like pairings, you'd expect at the very least-well-pairings! If you consider a general-purpose listing of average American wines, a sprinkle of usual Napa names and a smidgen of other wines on two pages, followed by a tiny menu of bar bites "Pairings", then you've arrive at the correct place! I expected a proper wine bar and what I got was more akin to a wine expo: No character, just a pile of average wines to sample with a few recognizable names here and there.
We asked the bartender if there were any pairings with the wines, he replied: "no". Strike one. We then asked: "Do you offer wine flights?" and he replied "Flights? What's that?" (Strike two) We explained and then he retorted: "No". Strike three... Even after all that, we still decided to look over the wine list by the glass. We sighed, then walked out.
It's sad to see a business with so much unrealized potential go untapped. With a better rounded list, a quasi-knowledgeable staff, and actual pairings and other proper wine bar features besides a pretend cellar room, the place could be so much more. I am sure that the competition from restaurants doing their own feature wine nights offer options (and competition) for those of us that actually want to experience wine, so maybe I'm missing the point. Maybe what they're trying to do is to take the pub experience and apply it to wine: Provide some selection, keep margins high and get the average muck that sells cheap but rakes in a good profit.
All that ranting notwithstanding, maybe you like the place as-is, or we walked in on a bad day where the good staff was at home. Maybe, but I am certain that their chance for a first impression is long gone, and I will not make any effort to return there.
Later,
Showing posts with label wine bar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine bar. Show all posts
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
AOC: A good hangout in west LA
After yesterday's documented so-so foray, I was juggling between two choices: A comfortable choice like BLT Steak, or a new venture like AOC. I decided to take the one mile each way walk to AOC instead.
Being still in-between the east coast and west coast time, I showed up "early" at 7:30 for some eats and plenty of wine. They have a pretty good selection of wines by the glass, although I would have hoped a more extensive champagne offering and more mature vintages, overall the list is pretty good.
The place offers small sampler platters a-la tapas (many of them Spanish inspired) and they recommend about 3 per person. The prices are not exactly cheap, but definitely average for a typical tapas bar.
My starter was a fried squid, arugula, and radish salad with a garlicky remoulade that was actually quite good. I chose to have the Albariño (Cambiata), and it was a decent choice. The acidity and citrus notes worked well with the greens and even put up a fight with the garlic. I couldn't ask for more.
Next I chose to have a glass of a Cremant de Borgogne rosé (Parigot & Richard) offered in the sparking list. It was probably the first sparkling rosé I actually felt like I liked, For the most part, rosés are simply boring. They have a beautiful nose, but when it comes to flavor, they just don't seem to deliver. The next dish was roasted dates with parmagianno and bacon. I was shocked to see the cremant actually "survive" the dates. I've had a similar dish that is much stronger (serrano ham and cabrales cheese) which would have destroyed the rosé, but this one actually worked relatively well. A pleasant surprise.
Next was a half glass of Ribera del Duero (Valduero) that played okay with the figs.The structure and tannins actually stood up to the sweetness of the figs, but not as good as I hoped.
Next was a very good combination of tetilla cheese pan fried with membrillo (quince paste) and romesco. The cheese crisped very well almost to the point of making you believe it was bread. It gave you the illusion of a grilled cheese with all the other goodies. the romesco sauce seemed darker than I remember. I don't know if it bought anything to the taste buds, for overall the dish was good. I chose a Savigny les Beaune by Jean luc Dubois that had this nice floral nose and delicate flavor. The cheese actually didn't overpower it.
The waitress offered a suggestion of grilled mussel skewers with back fat (uncured bacon) that I chose to have with the rest of a rosé. She was nice enough to bring me a taste of a fumé blanc they had in the list that was amazingly good. Fumé blanc is not part of the wines I tend to request, but this one was a pleasant surprise. It had the strong mineral and petrol notes of a Riesling, but with a more pronounced citrus component. The acidity worked great with the mussels. The rosé had all the typical complaints: great nose, but average taste. I guess not for me :)
I had to push it and get dessert (good thing the place was a mile walk each way). I was really hoping they'd serve me a glass of Kracher #6, but alas, it was available only by the bottle. I had to switch gears and get a dark chocolate torte with a glass of LBV port. A very good match indeed. I would have hoped they had some Brachetto d' aqui(Rosa Regale), but no dice.
My only small "beef" is that all wines by the glass were quite young. I wish they had some mature offerings. Considering the price of glasses, I think it wouldn't be too bad of a stretch.
I even broke a sweat walking back to the hotel, but it felt good. I felt satisfied with the service, the food, and the ambiance. It was not a cheap dinner by any one's standards, but it was definitely fun. I could only wish my lady were here with me to enjoy...
On the way back, I waled by a sushi bar packed with Japanese people waiting to get in. Now, that sounds promising!
Later,
Being still in-between the east coast and west coast time, I showed up "early" at 7:30 for some eats and plenty of wine. They have a pretty good selection of wines by the glass, although I would have hoped a more extensive champagne offering and more mature vintages, overall the list is pretty good.
The place offers small sampler platters a-la tapas (many of them Spanish inspired) and they recommend about 3 per person. The prices are not exactly cheap, but definitely average for a typical tapas bar.
My starter was a fried squid, arugula, and radish salad with a garlicky remoulade that was actually quite good. I chose to have the Albariño (Cambiata), and it was a decent choice. The acidity and citrus notes worked well with the greens and even put up a fight with the garlic. I couldn't ask for more.
Next I chose to have a glass of a Cremant de Borgogne rosé (Parigot & Richard) offered in the sparking list. It was probably the first sparkling rosé I actually felt like I liked, For the most part, rosés are simply boring. They have a beautiful nose, but when it comes to flavor, they just don't seem to deliver. The next dish was roasted dates with parmagianno and bacon. I was shocked to see the cremant actually "survive" the dates. I've had a similar dish that is much stronger (serrano ham and cabrales cheese) which would have destroyed the rosé, but this one actually worked relatively well. A pleasant surprise.
Next was a half glass of Ribera del Duero (Valduero) that played okay with the figs.The structure and tannins actually stood up to the sweetness of the figs, but not as good as I hoped.
Next was a very good combination of tetilla cheese pan fried with membrillo (quince paste) and romesco. The cheese crisped very well almost to the point of making you believe it was bread. It gave you the illusion of a grilled cheese with all the other goodies. the romesco sauce seemed darker than I remember. I don't know if it bought anything to the taste buds, for overall the dish was good. I chose a Savigny les Beaune by Jean luc Dubois that had this nice floral nose and delicate flavor. The cheese actually didn't overpower it.
The waitress offered a suggestion of grilled mussel skewers with back fat (uncured bacon) that I chose to have with the rest of a rosé. She was nice enough to bring me a taste of a fumé blanc they had in the list that was amazingly good. Fumé blanc is not part of the wines I tend to request, but this one was a pleasant surprise. It had the strong mineral and petrol notes of a Riesling, but with a more pronounced citrus component. The acidity worked great with the mussels. The rosé had all the typical complaints: great nose, but average taste. I guess not for me :)
I had to push it and get dessert (good thing the place was a mile walk each way). I was really hoping they'd serve me a glass of Kracher #6, but alas, it was available only by the bottle. I had to switch gears and get a dark chocolate torte with a glass of LBV port. A very good match indeed. I would have hoped they had some Brachetto d' aqui(Rosa Regale), but no dice.
My only small "beef" is that all wines by the glass were quite young. I wish they had some mature offerings. Considering the price of glasses, I think it wouldn't be too bad of a stretch.
I even broke a sweat walking back to the hotel, but it felt good. I felt satisfied with the service, the food, and the ambiance. It was not a cheap dinner by any one's standards, but it was definitely fun. I could only wish my lady were here with me to enjoy...
On the way back, I waled by a sushi bar packed with Japanese people waiting to get in. Now, that sounds promising!
Later,
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