Carlton Rosé Dinner

Tuna Poke

This summer Lee Keuhn of Vintage Imports treated me to a five course summer rosé dinner featuring five rosés from all over the world. Rosé has made a serious comeback and until I met Lee several weeks ago at The Warren, I honestly had no idea just how much I liked rosé.

I have always thought of rosé as a sweet wine comparable to to a fruity white zinfandel. I was really surprised to find out that rosé  offers a wide range of flavors, many of which are dry and quite complex. Rosé is all the rage right now according to The Guardian  - I have to say that I totally agree. In the last two weeks I've noticed a bottle of rosé at almost every summer party I've been to and I even happen to currently have a bottle in my fridge as a friend left it here on the 4th of July.

When I mentioned the rosé dinner to my parents they explained that pink wine was real hip in the 70's. I suppose it is true, all things come back into style.

Pictured above was my favorite course of the evening, Tuna Tartare, Bamboo Rice, Pickled Red Cabbage, Papaya Slaw, Ginger Wakimi Salad, Honey-Sesame Miso Glaze. It was a great start to a wonderful night of fun and it matched perfectly with the escudoreal vinho verde from Portugal. (That wine was the favorite of one of my dining partners.)

Our Gracious Host Lee

Lee from Vintage Imports is the man. He can tell you basically anything that you need to know about rosé. During our dinner he gave a five minute lecture on the wine making process and some notes on what to expect from our wine samples throughout the evening. After attending both a tasting and a wine dinner with Lee, I basically feel like a rosé pro.  (Please note that I am actually a blithering idiot who is not a real rosé  pro.)

Burrata Caprese

Sea Salted Burrata Cheese with Heirloom Tomato Medley, Hydroponic Greens, Ice Wine Vinaigrette, Spicy Pesto, Savory Biscotti Croutons. - You cannot go wrong with burrata, that's what my Italian grandpa always used to say! This was a great salad, save the croutons and it was served with a cielo rosé from Italy.

Surf and Turf Trio

Lamb & Swordfish Skewer with Bloody Mary Glaze, Scallop Rumaki Bruschetta with Apple-Avocado Salsa, Feta Chicken Stuffed Shrimp with Cauliflower Puree & Mediterranean Vegetable Salad.

This was my second favorite dish of the night. The lamb in particular was so tender that I had to go get lamb again the following week. The dish was called "surf and turf three ways" and it sure did not disappoint. It was paired with a delicious Domaine Petronivin de Corse rosé from France - my favorite wine of the evening. 

Beef Char Siu

Pictured above is the Hoisin Glazed Teres Major (Petite Tenderloin) with Caramelized Yam Spätzle,
Grilled Fennel, Coriander Crème, Cilantro-Lime Oil paired with a wonderful Domaine Maby Primadonna rosé from France.

Not pictured was our awesome pear torte which was served with some great rosé from the state of Oregon.  The Carlton is always a great time, and it really can't be beat when their amazing food is paired with some fine wine. (I intentionally rhymed.) Special thanks to Vintage Wines, Lee and the Carlton for a great time!

Spork

Let's talk about BBQ brisket. Until recently, I couldn't even recommend a restaurant in Pittsburgh where you could get some decent brisket. (Sorry Squirrel Hill, I'm not talking about corned beef.) Within the last few years quite a few options have emerged, but I was shocked at the high quality of the brisket and other BBQ offered by Spork.

Now, there is an on-going debate in this country as to whether or not many of the items on my plate  can be considered BBQ. American purists argue that only pork constitutes real BBQ and the rest is just food you happen to cook on a grill. This is, quite simply put, outrageous. Any meat smoked on a grill is BBQ. Trying to craft narrow parameters for the definition of BBQ based on the prevalence of the hog in the American south two hundred years ago is just pompous.

Pictured above is the pulled pork, ribs, brisket, smoked turkey, greens and potato salad. While the pulled pork was excellent, the brisket really stole the show. My second favorite item was actually the smoked turkey and I have to say that the greens were very good as well. On Wednesdays and Saturdays Spork opens their backyard to serve BBQ. Even though the full BBQ menu is only available certain days, many of the items on the normal menu are clearly inspired by the awesome custom built BBQ rig you can check out in their backyard.

Spork has an extremely well rounded menu. In addition to the wonderful BBQ food I was very impressed by their charcuterie. In my photo collage you can check out the pate plate which came with pork rillettes, country terrine and chicken liver mousse for a paltry $8! That's a good price for offal.

Some of our other favorites were the meatball, the honey glazed pizza, the smoked wings and the brisket. (Yes, I really got to try all of those items. What's the point of starting your own happy hour if you can walk around the bar with a fork trying all of your friend's snacks.)

A few notes, Giles really liked the sauce coverage on smoked his wings, which we all know is essential to his inner happiness. I'm more focused on texture and flavor when I sample wings, both of which were outstanding.

Momo loved her brisket. So much, in fact, that she ordered it two separate ways.  Spork had a brisket, rice and beans plate on their happy hour menu for $8 and a brisket ravioli as an entree.

My recommendation is to be sure to stop for the happy hour as their small plate prices are unbeatable for the quality. 

Allegheny Wine Mixer - Lawrenceville

The Cheese Stands Alone

I can only assume that the Allegheny Wine Mixer took its name from the film, "Step Brothers" which featured an event known as the Catalina Wine Mixer. I judge bars by their name. I know this is bigoted and small minded, but I really do. I will admit that I had a bad attitude as I approached the bar at Allegheny Wine Mixer.

In my opinion, whenever a bar self identifies as a wine bar it generally means that everything is going to be very expensive, my abhorrent behavior won't be blissfully tolerated and the house music will likely consist of flamenco music and/or adult contemporary top 40.

My preconceptions of Allegheny Wine Mixer turned out to be entirely unfounded. For starters, the bar was surprisingly welcoming. The bartenders were very helpful and polite and I even enjoyed the music. They made a number of interesting drink suggestions to patrons throughout the night and mixed up a few cool grapefruit cocktails I'd never heard of before.

Drink and food prices were spot on. The delicious cheese plate which is pictured above was $5 during happy hour (5-7). I found the fruit arrangement to be rather strange, but I loved the copious amount of bread and flavorful cheese selections. The two cheeses were adelegger and chiriboga blue. The blue smelled of old socks and gym bags and tasted marvelous.

This is what they will serve at my wedding.

For dessert I had nutella and goat cheese on crusty bread paired with one of my favorite libations, Old German. I had no idea there could be such a thing as a perfect evening, but Adam Scott put it best.