#75 - Hot Spanish Tapas With Three Wines

Last night was our first hot tapas-style meal since starting this here bloggy-type thing.

Odd, that. We love our hot tapas. Hot tapas be tasty and hot tapas always satisfy.

I can't stop saying hot tapas!

Efforts to cram a wine into shrimp, potatoes and oranges were short and quick. We just drank some wines we were interested in and might be in a very large ballpark of an acceptable pairing.

Food: Garlic shrimp and Bulgarian sausage, patatas bravas, roasted ramps and a chard, orange, nuts, olives and onion salad

Shrimp sautéed in garlic, olive oil, salt, bay leaf, parsley and dried chile. Bulgarian sausage added later. I don't know what's going on but we've had shrimp in various forms five times this year. That probably beats the amount of times we had it in the five years previous. Just frozen shrimp but cooked perfectly and we Loved it.

Patatas bravas is a longtime favorite. Spicy tomato sauce made with olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, chili flakes, paprika, white wine, peri-peri sauce and tons of parsley. Ever so subtle kick of heat made it delicious. Almost tasted like piquillo peppers were the base but no piquillo pepper were added. Light and bright.

Ramps cooked in the style of calçots charred under the broiler. Tis the season and these were quite good. Creamy with a mild onion hit and a nice black char contrast.

A modified salad recipe from this month's Food & Wine. It's a main course salad from Charlie Parker's Cellar Door Café, except without the turnips and subbing chard for spinach. Originally, Mrs. Ney was going to do the turnip roasting but the size of our kitchen and the need to get everything out at the same time made that seem like a ridiculous amount of work. Came out rustic but light on its feet. Substantial but very clean with the oranges keeping it from becoming too heavy. We'll be having this again. Good stuff.

A pretty great meal. Everything we could ever want was there and we could pick here and pick there for what ended up being a couple hours.

Wine: 2009 Raventos i Blanc Perfum de vi Blanc ($20 - Red & White), 2007 Albariño Do Ferreiro ($28 - Cellar Rat) & NV Lini 910 Lambrusco Bianco Sparkling ($19 - Cellar Rat)

All the wines came from Monday's wine shop trip as we tried to kill time before going to The Bristol.

Like The Saldo Zin, The Perfum de vi Blanc has been missing from Chicago wine shops for awhile but there it sat at Red & White. One of Mrs. Ney's favorite whites, I didn't love it until one day I had it and said, "Crap! This is awesome!"

60% Macabeo and 40% Muscat from the Penedès region in Catalonia, it may be the perfect apertif wine. Great pre-dinner, late afternoon drinker and that's what we did with it for this meal. Tons of rose petals with a marshmallow-mandarin orange fruit salad quality. Not dense or sticky, it's low in sugar, on the dry side, great, lighter acidity throughout and finishes with a silky orange blossom note. Everybody - even people who don't like white wine - would love it.

Similar in many ways to the Torres Viña Esmeralda but more refined and pretty and probably worth $8 more. The Perfum de vi Blanc is sort of limited in pairing options but, like the Torres and Crios, would most likely be great with seafood sausage.

The 2007 Albariño Do Ferreiro is a more polished albariño showing pear, lime and some orange fruits all surrounded by a huge minerality and a touch of herbs. Lighter and more stylish than any albariño I've ever had. It's 100% organic and was quite tasty. But it wasn't $28 tasty. Low $20 tasty for sure, but $30 after tax brought a more critical eye and wasn't twice as good as the Orballo Albariño. We like albariño to be a bit more rough and tumble, though.

The sparkling white Lambrusco was too irresistible to pass up. We never had such a thing. While we wouldn't buy it again, it has its moments. Tastes like a sparkling Amontillado sherry with tons of nuts and nice bubbles. Very little fruit here. Never got out of the 'interesting to try' category but we were okay with that.

Pairing: 86 The food by far won the night but the wine helped a bit

Everything kind of went according to Hoyle with the pairings. We didn't have high expectations. It was more of a "let's try these wines we just bought" kind of night.

The albariño with its sage/herb elements was awesome with the patatas bravas sauce that had copious amounts of parsley and white wine involved. The nuts in the chard salad worked quite nicely with the Lini Lambrusco sherry quality. Nothing really helped the shrimp along, but oddly, I didn't mind the albariño with the Bulgarian sausage. Don't have a clue as to why.

What was left of the Perfum de vi Blanc was DOA with the food as expected.

Pretty great food with some interesting wine made for a fine meal.

#74 - Beef Brisket & Cornbread With '08 Orin Swift Saldo

The Orin Swift Saldo Zinfandel had been absent from Chicago wine shops for about a year or so.

We had the 2008 before at Bar Cento in Cleveland last month after being a bit shocked to see it on the list. Unfortunately served at the same 80 degree temperature as the restaurant, we nonetheless still enjoyed it.

On a whim, I asked our favorite wine person at WDC if she has seen it and she said they were actually coming in the next week. We bought four and drank the first one last night.

Food: Beef Brisket, cornbread and snap peas with mint

Beef brisket stewed in two bottles of root beer, a boatload of five-spice and a mystery BBQ sauce from the freezer that may have been from January's beef brisket.

Wasn't light, wasn't heavy. It struck a nice balance.

Really, the entire meal was predicated on the idea that we wanted cornbread and Saldo. Beef brisket was a vehicle to get there due to its ease of cooking. After Mother's Day flower week at Mrs. Ney's place of employment, no meal involving copious amounts of work was on the docket.

The cornbread was great but the brisket certainly held its own with everything playing at a pleasant mid-weight level, nothing too sticky, nothing too dense, nothing too delicate.

Felt like good picnic food.

Wine: 2008 Orin Swift Saldo Zinfandel ($26 - WDC)

Grape: 88% Zinfandel, 8% Syrah, 4% Petite Syrah

Vineyard: Culled from multiple vineyards in five counties

Dark purple in the glass, alcohol mixed with wild berry and smoke on the nose. The fruit is a little hidden with this one. Not really that jammy at all. More like a under-sweetened pie filling quality right now. Very herbal with a background of indistinguishable wild berry, some oak, soft tannins and low acid with a good amount of alcohol at the front and back end. Bordering on the more simple right now but with a year or so, the fruit should move to the front of the line and everything should become more complex.

Given all of that, we liked it. Hints of licorice perked up on occasion and the 15.5% alcohol was certainly present but not in an unpleasant way in the least. Nice vanilla from the oak, a tiny smoke and coffee-like element throughout and a finish that was long and smooth with a pleasing alcohol burn right at the end. But what probably saved it was the pairing.

Pairing: 90 Right in the wheelhouse

With the brisket, the Saldo became much thicker, almost port-like and butterscotchy. Just when we thought it was going to become too much, it tailed off into a great herbal finish.

More fruit came out with the cornbread but it was still pretty much buried. The smoke-butterscotch-coffee-vanilla-dark berry character, though, was right in line with the brisket's root beer and five-spice preparation.

The Saldo was maybe too young. The brisket was thrown together for the most part. Both were made more delicious with each other on the table (or coffee table, actually).

So...a success.

A good meal and more enjoyable on many levels than Monday's trip to The Bristol.

#73 - The Bristol With Josmeyer Pinot Blanc

It's "Try New Restaurant" Summer in our house.

When I say 'new', I mean restaurants that opened during the last two years - a period of time when we sort of stopped trying new places.

Mostly, that's due to the fact that we eat very well at home. But it also has to do with the bevy of new openings over the last two years being cut from the casual-chic model that mimic high-end food without ever touching the realm of surprise.

I also blame our third trip to Otom about two years ago, which was just abysmal. It felt like the chef walked out two weeks ago and nobody was steering the ship. And I ask nothing from a server, being one myself. I don't need/want unbridled enthusiasm. I only request that you present yourself as if it's marginally okay that we entered your world and did so to drop hundreds of dollars. That's all.

Mado hasn't helped the situation either. It's delicious food and we can pick the wine instead of someone imposing their current wine jag on us. On that. Yes, I get it. You think Zweigelt, sustainable Malbec and biodynamic Carménère have been criminally underappreciated in today's world. But the entire menu?

With Mado, Urban Belly, Indie Café and Semiramis as BYO options, the impulse to check out the place between high-end and BYO/good low-end just hasn't been there.

Which brings us to The Bristol, a place I've been infinitely curious about since before it even opened.

Food: A collection of small plates

Monkey Bread

Tarentaise - Aged cheddar

Scotch Olives

Pastrami

Vitello Tonnato

Bone Marrow

Duck Fat Fries

Chocolate Sabayon with homemade Nutter Butters with Lavazza Espresso

The good: Everything was tasty to one extent or another. This is good food. We were full and pretty happy (or happy enough) when we left.

But nothing...really...resonated. There wasn't much in the way of surprise - like a spectacular sauce or a wonderful side of jam or a ridiculous little crumble or something accompanying an item that made us rethink things. It's all very straight-forward. And a little safe.

I guess, in the final analysis, it seems like there were a few missed opportunities. Everything was salted properly (very well, actually) and nice attention was given to acid levels. But...

To be specific, the tonnato, while quite tasty with a little arugula, pecorino and a mayo with a hint of herb, but the tuna taste itself really didn't come through. The scotch olives tasted like great family get-together, deep-fried treats but never jumped out of that realm. The aioli with the duck fat fries, which were fine with a pleasant hit of lemon zest, was throat-stickingly thick.

I was somewhat excited about the bone marrow while being suspicious of the $12 price tag. Good bone marrow isn't so low in my brief dalliance with the gelatinous goodness. I'll say it again, after Lola's, no other bone marrow has a chance. This was bone-in and the marrow itself was borderline great. But the accompaniments just...weren't good. The shallot jam was flavorless and the parsley had an antiseptic quality to it. No sea salt or lemon, which seemed odd.

The chocolate sabayon suffered from the heavy hand of egg yolks, not allowing any sort of original chocolate flavor to come to the fore, making us miss the chocolate bark and shortbread from Mado a bit.

A lot of criticisms, sure. This was good food, just not anything that jumped above the world of "Yeah...good...fine" at any turn. It was the Luol Deng, Mark Teahen or Ryan Theriot of restaurant experiences.

Wine: 2008 Josmeyer Pinot Blanc Mise du Printemps ($47) & Alcyone Tannat Dessert Wine ($12)

But the wine list is something to be lauded. Almost everything is under $60, if I recall correctly, and the variation is commendable. It had a good amount of wines we've had before but nothing is really easy to get around town and the mark-up sits at just under 2 1/2 times retail. At the price points, that's right and proper helped by the "just under" part. A nice nod to sustainable and biodynamic small producers without screaming "Look at how obscure we are!"

The 2008 Josmeyer Pinot Blanc is mostly citrus fruits backed by a nicely fat texture. Deft touch of acid and a finish that might have turned almost banana-like. Vacillated between being sleek and perky and offering a touch of oil and smoke with herbs. Light on its feet. A very nice wine that plays above most $47 wines at most restaurants. We were quite happy with it.

Tannat as a table wine is typically a very soft, black fruited and herbal adventure that's become the national grape of Uruguay. The dessert version here was simply delicious. Huge caramel on the nose that followed through on the palate with some vanilla bean and toast and a nicely honeyed texture that tailed off gracefully. Great stuff and clearly outplayed the sabayon it was supposed to play well with.

We had two cocktails to start: the Smoke Sicilian Manhattan and the Rustic Rose. Both, along with the rest of the cocktail list, made us convinced that the mixologist used to work at Otom, a place we had two great experiences before that ill-fated third trip. The cocktail menu was eerily similar and pretty wonderful.

Pairing: 85 The Pinot Blanc did its best given the wide variation

We didn't really give the wine a chance to pair well with the "spraying to all fields" food we ordered but it performed admirably enough. Oddly delicious with the pastrami, which we never would have guessed in a thousand years - something about the pepper bringing out a little oil and smoke in the wine. Terrible with the scotch olives, which was expected.

But overall, there wasn't much wincing going on at all. It adapted quite well. More Alsatian wine must be bought. They're just damn good.

I reserve judgment on a return trip to The Bristol. If I had to guess, with Mado a few blocks over, I'd rather go there any day. We originally were going to Avec and figured to give The Bristol a try. Some regrets there as well, I guess. So...probably not.

We just weren't jolted out of the process of "consuming nice enough food" by anything surprising.

#72 - Indie Cafe with Dr. Loosen Riesling and Orin Swift SB

I've blathered on about Indie Café in Rogers Park enough here. It's great food, fresh and clean, BYO, great staff and always a spectacular time.

Wine pairings at Indie, though, have been a bit dicey.

Nothing ever hit all the right notes. Japanese and Thai, especially dishes with a little heat, need a bit of sugar and acid to cut through the spice while still revealing the wine's flavors and simultaneously allowing the food to shine. We've done that in the past but nothing ever wowed us.

Last night, Dr. Loosen Riesling was the answer.

Food: Indie Café

Nam Sod - Spicy ground chicken salad special

Salmon Special Appetizer

Spicy Tuna Maki

Crab Rangoon

Spicy Blu Crab

Mexico City - tuna and whitefish maki

Green Tea Ice Cream

I've run out of adjectives to describe the wonderful combination of goodness and cheapness for Indie. Great stuff for the 40th time will have to do. With two cups of coffee and a special Ginger Dragon Drink, the bill was $65. C'mon!

Wine: 2009 Orin Swift Veladora ($22 - Binny's) and the 2008 Dr. Loosen Riesling ($12 - Trader Joe's!)

The Orin Swift is mostly sauvignon blanc with a bit of muscat and semillon. There was a hope that the muscat would help. It didn't.

Typical California sauvignon blanc, a little big with a cornucopia of tropical fruits (a bit too much, actually) and some grapefruit with a lot of grass. Not too bad by itself. Pleasant enough. Brought half the bottle home and drank it later. All pineapple juice.

The Loosen Bros. QbA Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Dr. Loosen Riesling (freakin' German wine labels!) was #62 on the WS Top 100 and is available at Trader Joe's (Lakeview one at least). We cracked it pretty quick after realizing the ordinary nature of the Orin Swift.

Shimmering and sprite-like in the mouth, a touch of lime and background apricot-mango-something flavors. Deft touch of sugar, letting it alternate between off-dry-like and a straight-up bargain riesling with its standard sugar. Light on its feet but the strength to let its personality come through.

Great little wine. Simply great wine for $12.

Pairing: 91 We found a wine for Indie!

We opened the Orin Swift first and started with the salmon special appetizer. It worked. Good stuff together. The crab rangoon followed by the spicy tuna app put the Orin Swift to bed, though. Terrible finish.

After cracking the Dr. Loosen and trying it without food immediately on our palate, we knew it was going to work. Just had that nice lift to it, jumping all over the place while keeping its core goodness and retaining its center. We were shocked how well it did, though.

With the food, it was just right. Held up to the spice, played with the tuna and crab in great ways and, most importantly, worked great with the soy sauce, something that has been impossible to make happen at Indie for us.

It enhanced the food by cleansing the palate but left the good essences of the food around to linger while bringing the right touch of fruit and sugar to make everything wash down in great ways and not be too heavy.

We found a good wine for Indie. It's $12. You can eat like a king for $60. So...under $100 for a great night out (if you take out the Orin Swift).

That's something that's becoming increasingly rare in the city.

#71 - Beef Filet & Pan-Roasted Potatoes With '89 Clos Fourtet

It's important to keeping learning as you age in life.

Last night, we learned to never play a drinking game involving a new mother looking for a house on House Hunters. We had a drink every time she mentioned her son's name "Jackson". Seemed innocent enough, except we ended up plowing through a 20 year-old Bordeaux in the process.

"Jackson would love to play on this carpet. He's used to hardwoods." "Jackson would love to play in this backyard." "This would be a good place for Jackson's toys." "I love this open kitchen. I could cook and keep my eye on Jackson."

Jackson was two.

Coupled with a lunch drinking game involving Sandra Lee on Semi-Homemade saying "great fla-vor," we've come to the conclusion that drinking games result in wasting wine.

Food: Beef filet with shallot-parsley butter, pan-roasted potatoes and arugula and parsley salad

Beautiful beef filet from Paulina Meat Market cooked perfectly. Just pretty-looking stuff. Simple salt and pepper rub roasted in the oven and seared off in the cast-iron skillet. A shallot-parsley compound butter to French it up for the wine. Potatoes pan-roasted in salt, pepper and rosemary with mayo for dipping. I don't know why arugula and parsley together is so tasty but it is. Get a bit of meat juice bleeding into the salad on the plate and it's a taste explosion - clean yet almost a meal in itself.

The entire meal was created for the wine. It was wine first, second and third in the preparation thought process. Simple French was the goal with a tilt toward smooth, mushroomy, earthy, vanilla Right Bank Bordeaux.

And it was delicious.

But the pairing fell a bit short.

Wine: 1989 Clos Fourtet ($80 - Knightsbridge)

Grape: 90% Merlot 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (15 months in oak)

Region: Saint-Émilion

Vintage (WS): 98 Drink or hold - Bold, dramatic fruit character, tannic and long-aging

1988 through 1990 was a great vintage string in Bordeaux. Clos Fourtet, up until that point, was mired in a prolonged period of producing somewhat mediocre wines. Two things coincided, though. The favorable vintage string hit and Clos Fourtet had just started a modernization of the winery. Not too much info on the web as to the drinkability of the '89 but at $80 (at least $20 below most other places) and within driving distance to buy, why not?

(On Knightsbridge, they're currently carrying the 2005 Gourt des Mautens Rasteau for $60. Very difficult wine to find. Best high-end wine shop in the area and it's not even close.)

Drinkable Clos Fourtet? Not...really. Some life but it was a few years past its window.

Opened for about a half-hour total before drinking. An old look in the glass with brown edges and a tired red. Mushroom, vanilla, dust and faint berry on the nose. Dusty and weedy initially on the palate. The dust blew off but the weedy element hung around a bit. Plenty of mushroom and vanilla but the fruit was limp. The former essence of the wine could be grasped, though. Very smooth. Very Clos Fourtet. We've had enough Clos Fourtet to pretty much know it blind and this had it - that Clos Fourtet-ness, that Clos Fouret-vapor. This '89 was not unpleasant, it was just hanging on for dear life...and losing the battle.

Pairing: 80 Had its moments but not enough to change our opinion of the wine

The good: paired best with the potatoes and mayo and perked up with a pepper-intense bite. At times, the red fruit showed up, bringing it into the realm of acceptable and almost good.

The bad: felt worn out overall. Too much vanilla clouded everything. Needed more lively fruit and more tannin to separate the flavors out of its muddled mess.

The wine started to get a bit thicker as the meal went on but the fruit didn't improve and the meal needed it to do just that, along with a longer finish. On the finish, it was one that got progressively shorter. Right out of the bottle, some nice lingering earth and a wee hint of heat. That disappeared rather quick.

A French meal bordering on the rich with a Merlot-based wine probably wasn't the best choice for a nearly 80 degree day, either. That's on me. I wanted to try it.

A few notes (playing catch-up):

Mahi Mahi tacos with jalapeño sour cream, Mexican slaw and guacamole with purple corn sangria on Monday nearly reached the perfection that was #27 in January. My Golly, this is good. Easily one of our favorite meals. The purple corn sangria wasn't as deep in flavor but that was fine with us.

And it was a god-send after lunch. We had a quick smoked duck with mahon, aged cheddar, blackberry jam, roasted garlic onion jam and baguette. Cheap wine seemed appropriate and we started with the 2006 Eric Ross Carignane. Nothin'. Dumped it. Thought it was the wine and opened the 2005 Pirramimma Shiraz. Nothin'. The 2003 Pirramimma Shiraz. Nothin'!!!! The 2007 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe "La Crau"!!!!!! NOTHIN"!!!!!

Most bizarre thing we've ever experienced. Something in something destroyed something! We settled on the smoked duck. Some sort of chemical reaction killed our palates. Screw you, smoked duck. You ruined four bottles of wine. Your fault, not ours for freakin' opening them. The "La Crau" had its usual fantasticness the next day.

One last note. Trader Joe's Spinach Pie with 2008 Trenza Blanco. A Californian blend of Albariño and Grenache Blanc, the Trenza is an interesting blend for where it comes from that isn't anything spectacular for the price. At $16 (WDC), better wines in that "let's try an odd blend for California" category are out there.

#70 - Curried Wine Can Chicken & Spinach Pie With '05 Huët Clos Du Bourg Demi-Sec

This...was...stupid good!

There's been a general feeling in the Ney house recently that we've hit a bit of a lull when it comes to pairings that approach great.

We've had good, borderline great food. And we've had some good, if not great wines. The two just never seemed to come together for a great food and wine pairing.

In fact, before this meal, the best pairing we probably had in the last month was seafood sausage, rice cakes and bok choy with the 2009 Crios Torrontes. Nothing against that pairing. It was glorious. But given everything, we seem to have been in a bit of a pairing rut lately. Tons of "perfectly fine" pairings, a few "that'll work"s and a lot of "take or leave"s.

Until tonight. Until...Tonight!

Food: Curry Can Chicken with a raita, chicken glaze on the side and spinach pie

Chicken prepped the night before using twice the recommended salt along with pepper and baking soda rubbed all over it and stuck in the refrigerator overnight. Soda can stuffed with the crappy Alois Gross Muskateller from Monday with ginger and garlic and stuck up its rump.

Chicken glazed with butter, orange marmalade, "hot" curry powder, lemon zest and sambal oelek, a sort of hot pepper paste popular in Southeast Asia, then thrown in the oven.

Came out Beaut-i-ful! The extra salt intensified the curry, sambal oelek and marmalade to such a degree that every flavor continued to linger in such a glorious way long after we swallowed. Wasn't hot. Came off more like a deep honeyed char with orange hints and a perfectly-pitched curry with oodles of depth. Best wine can chicken yet. With the glaze on the side to remoisten everything, there really was no contest. Best ever.

Chicken was over a raita, an yogurt-based Indian condiment usually used as a cooling agent for the heat that comes with things like a curry. This one was yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, onions, mint, fennel fronds and toasted coriander and white pepper. This was probably the glue to the meal. While the chicken glaze wasn't hot enough to need a cooling agent, it served as something to cut any richness that the glaze offered while serving as a bridge to the feta in the spinach pie.

It's just frozen Trader Joe's spinach pie but Mrs. Ney really didn't feel like cooking after the last two days and the thought of another green salad or prepping another starch seemed like way too much work. Didn't need anything else in the least. I've said it before and I'll say it again, best frozen product along with seafood sausage at Trader Joe's by far. Flaky, fresh, not too feta-y, not salty in the least and just all around freakin' weirdly delicious.

So we had wine can chicken with frozen spinach pie. On paper, before eating it, it would have seemed like a fine enough meal, tasty and good. Perfect with a catalogue wine. Easy-peasy and we would have moved on, happy enough.

In reality, it was the best meal we've had here in a few months.

And the wine played as big of a part.

Wine: 2005 Domaine Huët Clos Du Bourg Demi-Sec Vouvray ($30-ish - WDC?)

Grape: 100% Chenin Blanc (biodynamic)

Region: Vouvray

Vineyard: Clos Du Bourg (Le Haut Lieu and Le Mont being Huët's other regular vineyards)

Vintage: 93 - warm, dry season and ideal weather at harvest; low yields led to concentrated, balanced wines (WS)

It's been sitting in the cellar, laid on its side right in the front, staring at me for over a year. I constantly thought, "Just drink the damn thing. It's probably only marginally cellar-worthy anyway."

Straw yellow in the glass. Lightly honeyed nose. On the palate, white peach to peach with honeysuckle, a bit of minerality and a glorious underlying floral note that wasn't overly pronounced but served as a beautiful base throughout and made everything seamless. Just kept giving with great precision. Straight-up off-dry. Vacillated between being almost rich and being lifting and light, walking a great line. Faint secondary and indistinguishable tropical fruit notes. A graceful acidity that wasn't bracing or overt but was enough to allow everything to play nice and come through. Medium to slightly short finish propped up mostly by the acid, keeping it from being a ridiculously good wine and maybe the best white wine I've ever had. If longer, it would have made the wine almost perfect. Long life to this one. By golly, this is pretty!

We'll be doggedly following this vineyard of the Huët line. Maybe not this exact vintage, but more will be bought and soon.

Pairing: 94 Simply great

All the soldiers lined up and saluted. This would have been a pretty great meal without wine. With this wine, it approached perfect. It made us think if the finish to the wine was a wee bit longer, it would have been. And would have sat right alongside the Asian beef filet with Yalumba and dry-aged beef with '94 Heredia pairing. For now, it slides right below those since I started this blog.

The white peach and honeysuckle in the wine danced with the feta and raita with the graceful touch of acidity frolicking beautifully with the chicken glaze.

The meal itself had some great bridges that surprisingly stayed right in the same range of weight and spice and the wine filled in any gaps that weren't bridged. Everything was so fluid, flowing and effortless.

It was a thrown-together Wednesday night meal for the most part and it ended up feeling like something quite unique and pretty remarkable.

#69 - Tri-Tip & Yuca With '05 Ondalán Graciano

It's rare to see a 100% Spanish Graciano.

Typically used as a blending grape in Rioja to add structure (and aging potential) to a wine, a guy at Binny's said it was the first time in five years he's seen a Spanish 100% Graciano on the shelves at the store.

We had a Californian Graciano back in January that was surprisingly delicious, made more delicious by the $8 closeout price tag.

Last night's Graciano never got out of the "that was interesting to try" territory, though.

Food: Saffron-marinated tri-tip beef and tapenade with yuca fries and mayo for dipping

Mediterranean/Latin food with a Spanish hue. Medium-rare tri-tip (bottom of the sirloin cut) beef marinated in saffron, onions, yogurt, ginger, lemon juice and olive oil. We've had it before on many occasions and it's just the tops. An almond, gaeta olive, caper, parsley, sherry vinegar, paprika, garlic and olive oil tapenade glop over the top of the beef. It's one of our favorite beef preparations.

Yuca fries with a sherry vinegar mayo for dipping with an arugula salad.

The marinade got into the beef without saturating the beef to death. A good point. We may like it more with flank steak as it's a tad brighter and plays with the saffron and yogurt better but it was still quite tasty.

All of it was tasty. And Spanish Graciano should have slid right into the meal but...

Wine: 2005 Bodegas Ondalán 100 Abades Graciano Rioja ($25 - Binny's)

Grape: 100% Graciano

Region: Rioja

Vintage: 92 - Lively, balanced and graceful, firm yet expressive (WS)

Medium red in the glass. Smoke and wild berry on the nose that followed through on the palate. A sweet plum element that served as the core with loads of stones and a lingering dark berry note. Medium to short-ish finish. Enough acidity but nothing particularly graceful or vibrant and moderate tannins. If given blind, I might have thought it was something from around Ribera but not Ribera itself.

In the end, while pleasant enough, there wasn't anything in particular that stood out. No background prettiness or graceful entry and exit. Wasn't rough or clunky, just wasn't anything we'd want to revisit. At $25, marked down from $40, even with the markdown, something unique would have been nice. This wine spent 15 months in French oak while being Graciano so it should have shown better five years out. May have been stored improperly or something and that may have been the reason for the markdown. Some reviews talked about a brilliant violet/floral note, minerality and a vibrancy that just wasn't there in this bottle.

Pairing: 84 If we got what everybody else got, might have been quite good. We didn't.

The wine was too easily manipulated by the food. Granted, there was a lot going on with the supplementary flavors to cause such a thing, but we've had plenty of wines with similar food preparations that transitioned more gracefully at a lower price point (Crasto, Meandro, Cubillo).

If it had that floral note and minerality coupled with the nice sweetness the wine did offer, that may have happened. But it showed more as a wine trying to keep its head above water with the food than anything else. I got some cherry notes with the beef and the body briefly showed some lighter gracefulness at times only to quickly disappear. The stony quality was too rough around the edges to get over, though.

It played with the food rather than playing well with the food, like a kid dropped off at a new daycare just waiting for his mom to return. Sure, he played with the blocks and even participated in a little hide-and-seek, but his eyes were always on the door.

#68 - Seafood Sausage Lunch With Asprinio, Grüner & Musketeller

I've talked about the infinitely tasty Trader Joe's seafood sausage before.

They may become an endangered species soon so just go buy them. I'm begging.

And don't just microwave or boil them. Gussy them up. Make them delicious.

Just pick better wines than we did this time.

Food: Seafood sausage with sun-dried tomato-basil-shallot pesto with mâche and baguette

Grilled seafood sausage with a sun-dried tomato, basil, shallot, olive oil and white wine vinegar pesto. The seafood sausage is a frozen product that, if treated right, tastes entirely delicious. Do crap to it, people. It's a $4 package for four sausage links.

The entire meal was concocted in every way to accompany our first Asprinio. Seafood, even red pizza is considered good pairings with Aspirino. But there was problem...

Wine: 2005 Villa Carafa Asprinio di Aversa ($20 - Knightsbridge), 2006 Alois Gross Muskateller Steirische Klassik ($8 - WDC) & 2006 Stift Goettweig Grüner Veltliner Gottschelle ($15 - WDC)

The Asprinio was all done, finished, over. Dark yellow in the glass. Not unpleasant in that sense, but all sherry-like notes. We've had worse in the "dead-dead-dead" category. I knew before buying it that Asprinio should be drunk young but with their insane rarity and one available in the area, it seems worth trying. Asprinio is genetically identical to Greco yet the vines are latched onto huge poplar trees so they grow way up in the canopy, thereby getting the sea breezes that create their unique character. Wasn't technically good by itself but had a dead fruit, nuts and sherry quality that wasn't awful, really. Interesting to try but didn't in any sense reveal any true nature.

The Gross Musketateller was simple in the worst sense. Almost water in the glass with the faintest green hue. Notes from WS were "celery-like aromas following through on a palate that doesn't add up to much." Ding. Not good. Added up to nothing.

The Stift Goettweig is a bargain favorite of ours. Pretty, glimmering light yellow in the glass. By itself, more exotic fruit with a touch of creamsicle (wee bit less this time). Nice lively acidity, good balance and refreshing finish with some lees left over in the glass. Nice little wine that for the price gives a great representation of the grape while adding a little something unique with its great vitality. WDC is currently selling the Stift Geottweig Riesling for $8. I'm sure we'll be having it very soon.

But none of them were even close to good with the food.

Pairing: 75 No thanks

Great food with wine that was terrible with it. But let's be frank ("Who's Frank"). the Asprinio was dead, the Musketeller was awful by its very nature and the Grüner got lost in the sun-dried tomato-basil mix. No surprises, really. The meal was made on the assumption that the Asprinio would be somewhat more alive than it was. After that, we just grabbed the open bottle of Grüner in the refrigerator to get rid of it and tried the Muskateller before it become cooking wine (the result of buying bargain-shelf wine without knowing what we were getting into).

Not. Good. Food = pretty great. Wine = mixed bag. Pairing = ick.

#67 - Semiramis With Saumur & Champagne

Dinner at Semiramis.

Great place, always love it, always feel clean afterwards, has spectacular Arabic coffee and trying to figure out a wine to go with the food can be brutally annoying.

We had a Pinot Nero last time that did nothing for the food but I have fond memories of that wine by itself. Before that, I believe it was an Edna Valley Pinot Noir. Meh. Before that, a Syrah, I believe. Meh-meh. All three were tasty wines. All three didn't do much for/with the food.

We gave white a go this time.

Food: Hummus, Fattoush, Falafel and Dolmas

See the menu for descriptions. Best hummus in town. Best dolmas I've ever had (I've only had four different ones so...), solid, if not great falafel but they basically served as the "meat" in our small-bite visit this time and the fattoush is just so clean and good. It's open Monday (straight through), it's BYO, has a charming little atmosphere and we love the hell out of it.

Wine: NV Gaston-Chiquet Brut Tradition ($26 - WDC) and 2007 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur ( $28 - Red & White)

A great value Champagne along with being a pretty great little wine by itself, the Gaston-Chiquet will be the benchmark to work from for Champagne when and if we start getting into Champagne. Maybe a wee bit less complex than the last time we had it, this was still quite pretty. Loads of green apple and yeasty notes with nice finesse and tiny, tiny, mouth-saturating bubbles. Soft and round with a pleasing acidity. Nobody wouldn't like this.

The Domaine Guiberteau was a bit of a revelation, though. Very lithe and dry. Graceful notes of lanolin, beeswax, nuts and some sort of spring flower dancing in the background. Just an insanely intriguing wine. Everything was there with a fine finish I hated to see go away and it was nothing like the chenin blanc from Vouvray we're used to. The body was much more slender. Saumur has intrigued us. More will be bought soon.

Pairing: 86 Hit and miss EXCEPT FOR THE HUMMUS!

Saumur and hummus! Saumur and hummus! Well, this Saumur and hummus anyway. The hummus intensified with the wine, picking up a nutty note in the wine, making it taste almost like peanut butter was mixed in in the best way. The wine with the hummus was glorious, letting all the flavors pop out so pure and defined with exceptional balance. Tasted like liquid gold and the hummus tasted like hummus on steroids.

The fattoush, while not the best with the Champagne (which was good but never great with the entire meal - more of a "bring it for the bubbly fun" type of thing), made the sumac-laced juice stick in the lining of my mouth in a great way. The dolmas turned the Saumur a tad weird, bringing out more of a motor oil quality. The falafel was D.O.A. with both wines. Overall, good enough for us with one spectacular bite and sip.

So...what did we learn?

Saumur is good. Saumur and hummus is great. Semiramis continues to be awesome.

#66 - Grilled Thai Hanger Steak, Tostones & '05 Schild Shiraz

Pairing wine with Thai beef can be trickier than we originally thought.

A shiraz seemed right and proper but the best sips with the food last night came when the acid and tannins became even more muted in the wine and a fruit burst pushed its way to the front of the queue (I'm practicing my British).

While the food was solid and the wine was tasty, something was lacking. And that something might have been some sort of big sparkling dark berry notes in the wine to lift the Thai flavors a bit.

We might have been better served with a bigger, rounder, fruity-bomby type of a wine (I...can't...believe...I'm saying that) or the Rumball Sparkling Shiraz.

Food: Thai-grilled hanger steak with red curry rice, tostones and mâche/basil/mint with ponzu and sesame oil

From a Food & Wine recipe taken from Trinchero Winery Kitchen in California, substituting hanger for skirt steak. Beef marinated in sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, cilantro, peanuts, scallions, lime juice and chili oil and cooked on the more rare side. Tasty hanger with a good char that Mrs. Ney thought might have been too much but it didn't detract and even added something for me.

Tostones were the star, though and probably what we wanted most. Everything else was a vehicle for the tostones. Dipped in mayo flavored with the essence, that certain something, that je ne sais quoi of the Thai beef marinade and boiled down. Best part of the meal and we were okay with that.

White rice cooked in red curry paste that was full of flavor but might have been a wee bit superfluous with the tostones on the plate.

A huge pile of mâche, basil and mint drizzled with ponzu and topped with toasted sesame seeds. As always, good capper to the meal with mint and greens being inarguably delicious. Don't argue because you will lose.

Scallions and toasted sesame seeds sprinkled over everything.

And topped off with buttermilk bacon-maple gelato and waffle galettes again, this time with fancy maple syrup drizzle.

Happy eats. Nothing wrong with it.

Wine: 2005 Schild Estate Shiraz Barossa Valley ($25 - Sam's ?)

Schild shiraz got a ton of press right when we were getting somewhat heavily into spending on Australian shiraz. #16 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 list of 2007. It was a highly recommended bargain wine among a slew of overpriced shiraz on the market at the time.

Dark red in the glass. Some grilled meat, spices and plum on the nose. It started and continued with dark cherry and plum on the palate with very smooth tannins and a background acidity that made it fall into the 'smooth shiraz' category along with bit of chocolate that rounded everything out. Sufficient depth and a nice cascading burn to the finish. A nice, smooth, roundish, medium-bodied shiraz that really didn't bring many surprises. Never gets out of the realm of "a good representation" of Australian shiraz.

And that is why, while pleasant enough, it didn't hold up to the food.

Pairing: 83 Needed more

Paired best with the tostones and mayo, oddly. Something about the egg yolks in the mayo completely knocked out the tannins and acid, intensifying the fruit to large degree. Not at all what you want from a pairing but that's the best moment of the night for the Schild. We were scratching for a surprise and that had to suffice. In the end, I was fine with that.

The Schild had a great little finish by itself. Went on for 30 seconds at least with a nice residual burn that was pretty seamless all the way down. But with the beef, the mid-palate hollowed out completely. From a flavor standpoint, nothing became disjointed but it simply disappeared halfway down and came back for a last quick hit. We know from experience that other Australian shiraz with Thai beef-type dishes doesn't do that. This basic pairing worked great before in our world, making me think that a shiraz that brings more complexity and abundance of fruit - including some berry, especially blackberry - would have been a better fit.

It wasn't the ginger. It wasn't the soy. It wasn't the scallions.

It was the wine. It straddled the line of being too simple with not enough complexity to change into a different beast when more distinctive food flavors came into play. Bet it would be great with simply seared beef and no expectations.

We had some.

#65 - Rabbit With Sauerkraut Pierogis & Two Alsatians

What the hell do you pair with rabbit in mustard sauce with sour cream, bacon, fennel, onions and sauerkraut pierogis...and a freakin' gremolata?

I mean...what the hell?

What do you jam into this?

Red was right out (though I think a funky Pinot Noir might have been at least intriguing). A dry white? Nope. Not a chance. It would get buried.

Our thought process started with bringing some sugar from the wine to deal with the sauerkraut and mustard. Seemed like the right place to start.

We weren't necessarily wrong.

Food: Rabbit in mustard sauce with lightly-smoked bacon, sour cream and herbs with sauerkraut pierogis and asparagus

Recipe from David Tanis, a chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley (a good day for us two years ago - Chez Panisse for lunch and French Laundry for dinnner).

The rabbit came out a little tough but nonetheless delicious. Lightly sweet, a little gamey and more tasty as a baseline flavor for the rest of the ingredients. A fennel and onion accompaniment helped things along quite nicely and a fennel green, mint, lemon zest and walnut oil gremolata brought some great bite.

Came off a bit cassoulet-ish in a great way, even if the amount of meat offered by the rabbit fell a bit short.

The sauerkraut pierogis from West Side Market in Cleveland had a shockingly mellow sauerkraut punch that was more welcomed than I anticipated. With a bit of the gremolata or a little of the fennel-onion-sour cream-bacon sauce goop, they were something that I'll be craving a week from now out of the blue at some random hour on a Tuesday.

We didn't touch the asparagus. Enough fiber came on Tuesday with the tuna Niçoise.

Wine: 2002 Dirler-Cade Tokay Pinot Gris ($33 - Cellar Rat) & 2008 Cuvée Michel Léon Gewürztraminer ($10 - Trader Joe's)

Tough call. A well-crafted Riesling (2006 Prager Bodenstein?) might have befit the meal better. The meal played slightly above the wine. But we brought the sugar.

The Dirler did just that. We could tell it was on the downslope but it still brought sufficient vibrancy. Dryish with a backbone of sweetness showing some apricot notes and hints of lemon meringue. Some honey and white tea with a pleasing mouthfeel that coated just enough. A solid wine in the best sense. Danced on the tongue while still tasting a wee old.

The Trader Joe's Gewürztraminer, for its price, played in the same range. It was half as good at less than a third of the price. Sure, it was all gewürztraminer-y but it pulled back on that at the right points and had a pleasant citrus-spice candy quality to it. This comes from the same private label that supplies Trader Joe's with the excellent-for-its-price Muscadet and Pouilly-Fumé. By itself, it wasn't great.

With the food...

Pairing: 88 Much better than expected

As I said, tough call. I liked the Dirler 14% better. It was right and proper, well-crafted, lively and went well overall with everything. But the Gewürztraminer was better with the sauerkraut pierogis. That wee bit more sugar played more friendly with the sauerkraut. And actually, on the whole, it settled down the cloying notes that came when drank by itself after food was offered.

We tried the Stift Goettweig Grüner Veltliner (my idea) but it didn't last ten minutes with the food.

But the subtle dryness offered from the Dirler made for a bit of a struggle with the food compared to the basic sweetness of the Michel Léon that cut through a lot in a nice way.

I think I'd always pick the Dirler if given the choice. It had that 'it' factor while being borderline elegant. But before trying this gewürztraminer from Trader Joe's, I wouldn't have given it a chance.

Really, it's not bad at all, especially with food.

Check that. Only with food because who wants to drink Gewürztraminer by itself.

#64 - Tuna Niçoise And A Bandol vs. Bulgarian Rosé Beatdown

Tuna Niçoise has increasingly become the follow-up meal to the un-follow-up-able (my high school English teacher just rolled over in his grave. Is he dead? Crap. Now I have to find that out).

It followed Blackbird last October. It followed dry-aged filet with the 1964 Heredia, the best wine I've ever had, in February.

It follows things of that level because it would be silly to try to match them or try to follow them up in the least. Tuna Niçoise's deliciousness lies in the freshness along with the gargantuan mountain of food on the plate that takes two hours to eat.

You can pick and choose from 5,000 different combinations of bites. It's all very democratic.

In that democratic vein, two rosés to taste, sample and compare seemed appropriate.

Food: Tuna Niçoise

Same preparation as in February:

"Clean you out!"

Seared rare tuna with cherry tomatoes, black olives, capers, green beans, potatoes on arugula with olive oil drizzled everywhere and two hard-boiled eggs for me.

Just a big abundance of food that never gets old. Acid from tomatoes, bitterness from arugula, brininess and earthiness from the capers and olives, carb hit from the potatoes with great, fresh Whole Foods tuna and lots of it.

We have it six to twelve times a year. Kind of resets the food clock with its mountain of fresh goodness.

This time, it was served with "Seeduction" bread from Whole Foods, a hearty, dense, dark wheat bread with a big, nutty flavor. Didn't go with the tuna niçoise but we didn't care. It's great stuff.

Topped off with bacon-maple gelato from Gene's, made in Indiana with bacon cured in-house at Gene's and served with waffle galettes. That's good eatin'.

Wine: 2008 Domaine de la Bégude Rosé Bandol ($20 - Vineyards Wine Mercant - Cleveland) & 2006 Slavyantsi Rosé Rose Valley Bulgaria ($12 - Gene's Sausage Shop - Lincoln Square)

The Bandol rosé had the typical, well-crafted rosé color in the glass. Shimmered a bit. A nose of strawberries and raspberries. On the palate, it was what Bandol rosés are, sort of the essence of red wine stripped down and lightened up. Meaty with an almost sanguine quality. Dry, long finish that kept changing as it went down, ending with a meat juice and alcohol note. Nice, pleasant, lighter, a bit different. Liked it. Bandols are good and we should drink more of them.

But the Bulgarian rosé (no info or pic on the webby-webs) was oddly more interesting, probably because it was Bulgarian, came from Gene's Sausage Shop, was a four year-old rosé and didn't suck in the least. Very dark pink in the glass. Green olives on the nose with a huge alcoholic hit right away. Made from cabernet grapes, it opened up nicely as it was given some air. Probably liked it better because of what it did with the food.

Pairing: 86 A flurry of food and wine choices to pick from

By itself, the Bulgarian rosé wasn't anything special. With the food though it turned into strawberry shortcake with every bite. Surprised us completely. Any combination of the tuna Niçoise, be it the bitterness of the arugula, the brininess of the capers and/or olives, the acidity of the tomatoes, it was strawberry shortcake. The wine had a cabernet backbone and was still kicking quite nicely for a four year-old rosé...from Bulgaria...bought from a sausage shop.

We reached for that much more than the Bandol even as the Bandol was an entirely pleasant wine that was probably better from a technical wine standpoint. It just didn't offer us much in the way of surprise. Paired nicely, didn't get thrown off its game in the least but we couldn't let go of the Slavyantsi that offered strawberry shortcake where there previously wasn't strawberry shortcake.

#63 - Blackbird

We love Blackbird because it's delicious.

We love Blackbird because the staff is spectacular.

We love Blackbird because it always surprises the hell out of us.

For us, when discussing the best restaurants in Chicago, it begins and ends with Blackbird.

Last night reaffirmed those notions and may have even upped the ante. Best experience yet.

Starter bubbly: French brut rosé

A gift. Weren't told the specific wine. Strawberry notes with a nice delicacy and vibrant bubbles. Not on the list.

Amuse Bouche: Asian carp with black garlic

I'm guessing Asian carp (from Google searches). Didn't hear what it was and didn't ask. Very soft fish with a refined punch of black garlic. Tasty.

Appetizers: Crab tail and duck sausage with mortadella

Alaskan king crab tail with ricotta mayo, sunchokes, smoked paprika and pickled parsley paired witha glass of 2007 Regis Cruchet Demi-Sec Vouvray

Charcuterie plate of duck sausage and mortadella with lobster roe vinaigrette and almond yogurt (?) paired with a glass of 2008 Domaine Ostertag Alsace Riesling

The Vouvray was different than other demi-secs we've had. Solid fruit with very pleasing dried flowers but it seemed to enter and finish in the opposite order than other demi-secs in my experience, starting with dried flowers and finishing with an expanding fruit and honey note. Good stuff and a solid pairing. But freakin' genius with a parsley bite.

The Alsatian Riesling had a stylish and elegant purity to it that felt almost ethereal. Flowery with candied stone fruit notes and only a wee hint of sugar. Minerals and a hint of herbs. Loved it. And liked it well enough with the duck sausage (which was spectacular) and mortadella (which was the best I've ever had - can't beat fancy bologna).

Intermezzo: Half-order of crispy black bass with green papaya, dandelion greens, walnuts and charred beef vinaigrette

A gift. Great browning on the fish and terrific, julienned green papaya. We were hesitant to order it as an entrée, mainly due to the dandelion greens, which we had a few times during a very brief phase about a year ago and went "those are awful!" These were hidden. Iffy to say if we would have loved it as an entrée but both of us thought it was insanely balanced and infinitely tasty. The sort of glazed walnut clusters really elevated it as well.

Paired with a Napa Chardonnay that our server - who shall remain nameless but is our favorite server in the city by far, always gives us interesting recommendations, lets us try stuff, gives us way too much free stuff and is just overall 50% of the reason Blackbird rules - was trying at the bar and gave to us in a futile attempt to get us to open up to Chardonnay. Nope. Still don't get the allure.

Entrées: Lamb Saddle and Wagyu Flat Iron

Roasted colorado lamb saddle with white asparagus, vermouth, fromage blanc and spring pea falafel

Grilled wagyu flat iron and warm bone marrow with pickled cippolini onions, caraway crumble, chickweed and pomegranate molasses

Lovely lamb, mild and sweet and gamey and lovely. Beautifully-prepared piece of tender meat and the best quenelle-ish falafel Mrs. Ney has EVER had (and the second time in a week we've had sweet pea in some modified form). We prefer the bone-in, more gnarly lamb incarnation but it was tasty nonetheless.

Different preparation of wagyu than I've had. A smokiness reminiscent of spectacular BBQ by itself and more dense, less buttery style. But eaten with the shockingly wonderful caraway crumble (I wanted to have its babies), some onion and a little green, I'd probably put it in the top 20 of the best bites ever (that list now has about 72 things on it). The bone marrow was a tad superfluous (and didn't have a chance after Lola's bone marrow appetizer).

Entrée Wine Pairing: 2005 Domaine Gourt de Mautens Rasteau

We're relative Rhône novices and had never drunk a Rasteau before. Recommended by our server to pair with the entrées, it's predominantly Grenache with a touch of Mourvèdre. Small producer, impossible to find.

Rasteau mainly grows Grenache and is located just east of Carianne and north of Gigondas in the Rhône valley.

Purple in the glass with blue edges. Medium-bodied. Meat and pepper right away but after ten minutes or so, this exploded with huge blueberries and a quality background of violets, some earthy grit and a hint of sweet herbs. Kept subtly changing with the intensity of the blueberries fading in and out, changing over to red fruits at times. In its blueberry phase, I would have thought it was strange, wonderful and less dense Syrah. Overall, it was delicious and liked it even more after the bottle was finished and had some time to process it.

If this is Rasteau, I want more Rasteau. It wasn't great with the lamb due to the fact that the lamb preparation was more on the delicate side with softer flavors that didn't match up with the earth and herbs in the wine. Fell just on the other side of the fence of being too big for the dish. With the wagyu, it fell right in line with nearly every note. Heck, the wine could even had been a bit bigger with this preparation of wagyu. Mrs. Ney thought the exact opposite with the lamb being a much better pairing than the wagyu.

Pre-dessert: Rhubarb sorbet with quinoa

A gift. Quinoa and sorbet? Yes. And it's good.

Dessert: Hazelnut and chocolate

Hazelnut dacquoise with espresso, crispy chicory caramel and apricot kernel sherbet

Criollo chocolate with cupuaçu, milk meringue and tonka bean ice cream

The dacquoise (funny word to say) was the better of the two but the chocolate dish had elements like the tonka bean and cupuaçu that I've never had before with everything having a pleasant wild grittiness to it.

But that dacquoise. Wow! Like butter.

The hazelnut dessert was paired with a 2006 Francis Tannahill "Passito" Oregon Gewürztraminer while the chocolate was paired with a darker sparkling rosé, probably a French bubbly left on the skins a bit longer, that wasn't on the list. Both gifts. Had them before and liked them enough.

Everything topped off with double espressos and a Grappa made from Barolo. See you in five years, Grappa. Still don't get you.

But Blackbird, oh Blackbird! See you very soon. Much sooner than the six months in between the last two visits.

And the window seat on a slow night made it that much better.

#62 - Ham & Cheese On Syrian Bread With '08 Orballo Albariño

Sandwich Day Friday brought a nice surprise this week.

We've let our Albariño love wither on the vine over the last three years (Bah! Wine humor!).

More will be drunk this summer, I sure.

Food: Ham & cheese on Syrian bread with cherry tomatoes and arugula

Deli ham with herbed-up cream cheese on toasted Syrian bread topped with artichokes, cherry tomatoes, arugula with some olive oil and a little balsamic.

Light and fresh with a nice herbal kick. Bright with the ham, nice acid with the tomatoes, creamy/earthy depth with artichokes, a sort of herbes de Provence hint that played off the subtle toastiness of the Syrian bread with everything cooled off by the cream cheese and freshened up with the peppery arugula.

Was it a flatbread? Was it an open-faced sandwich? I tend to steer away from the flatbread description as it's a bit too trendy (well...a year ago). Sandwich Day is always a great day. Nothing can go wrong in the world when it's Sandwich Day.

Wine: 2008 Orballo Albariño ($15 - Binny's)

Grape: 100% Albariño

Region: Rías Baixas

Located in the far west of Spain on the coast, just north of the Portuguese border, Rías Baixas grows a bevy of local grapes for local consumption (including Torrontes, which I didn't know) but Albariño is the star export wine. Known as Alvarinho in Portugal for the bottling of Vinho Verdes in the Minho region just (and I mean just) over the border.

A nice wine. Maybe not as game-changingly good as a few sites say but we'll be buying more. A good wine to have around in the fridge to pop anytime.

Straight yellow in the glass with maybe a hint of green. Tons of lemon rind to start with a bit of creamy almond and maybe a little pineapple (some other fruit I couldn't figure out). Solid acidity, good balance, a little tinge of bubbly that danced on my tongue. Even a little depth as well. Just nice stuff.

Sure, Albariño falls in the Muscadet/Vermentino category for the most part as wines that border on the simple, but like those, if you find a good one that hits you just right, they can be utterly delicious, even showing a unique character and bring a surprise or two.

Pairing: 89 Refreshing and good

Every bite had all the food elements in it. With that, the wine cut right through the food and cleansed the palate. I caught a change with the wine as the lemon rind note turned to pure lemon juice, especially with a bigger bite of arugula.

Everything became better with a bit of balsamic and even that wee hint of creamy almond in the wine showed up on occasion with the food.

The open-faced sandwich had everything we needed to be happy. But something about having it with a wine that brought some pleasing lemon notes and a balanced acidity to play off the herbs in the cheese and arugula made it that much better.

It was just a sandwich and a decent little Albariño...but it felt like a full-fledged, sit-down, use a napkin sort of meal.

#61 - Skirt Steak with Almond Potatoes & '06 Torres Celeste

Tonight was another case of the food outshining the wine.

But again, no real complaints.

We just wouldn't do this exact pairing again while both of us would eat the same exact food tomorrow. It was that good.

Food: Skirt steak with paprika butter and almond potatoes with arugula mixed with parsley and mint

If we had to only eat one sort of cuisine for the rest of our lives, it would be Spanish...hands-down.

Medium-rare skirt steak marinated in a purée of onions and olive oil. I took a bite after it rested for a few minutes and it was one of the best bites of beef I've had in a long time. Extremely juicy with a distinct onion overtone.

Paprika butter was whipped up and put on the side to drizzle over everything. Butter in a hot pan with smoked paprika, garlic, rosemary and a little lemon juice to brighten things up. The butter breaks, turning the entire mixture into a sort of a jus with a burnt orange color and an unctuous quality that stuck in my cheeks in a great way.

Almond potatoes that screamed Spanish were a mixture of almonds, garlic, saffron, sherry vinegar, bread, olive oil, parsley and black pepper. The result is like a hot potato salad with a clingy goop that coats everything. Great eats and with the paprika butter, it covers many of the critical flavors present in authentic Spanish food.

I could eat a huge bowl of arugula, parsley and mint with the paprika butter and remnants of the meat juice and be a full and happy person.

This meal was exactly what we freakin' love about Spanish-influenced fare.

Wine: 2006 Torres Celeste ($20 - Binny's)

Grape: 100% Tempranillo

Region: Ribera Del Duero

Wine Spectator vintage score: 90 (Fresh and firm with bright fruit and good balance)

Miguel Torres makes more than 50 different wines in three different countries. We've had probably ten or so of them, two since November - his Chilean Cabernet and the Viña Esmerelda. His Santa Digna line in Chile isn't too shabby and his Xarel.lo-based Nerola white from Catalonia is quite tasty as well.

From Torres wines, you get solid representations of the respective region, serving as a good starting point when you don't know anything about a region or style of wine, as his name on the label did for us.

The Torres Celeste is no exception.

Dark ruby in the glass. Muted nose. Cherry and espresso right away. Left it open for close to an hour before drinking. No decant. The fruit, a mix of blackberry and darker cherry, was muted on first sip and that continued throughout the meal. A hint of spice with pleasing tannins and nice balance. Medium body and medium finish.

Mostly, it had that sweet smoke characteristic of Ribera Del Duero. For $20 ($12 at Wine Library right now and used to sell in the mid-teens in Chicago), you get something very typical of Ribera. If you like it, you're probably going to love Riberas. If you hate it, you can probably move on.

Nothing spectacular but worth my $20. When it was around $16, it was a ridiculous bargain. I THINK we had the 2005 (better vintage - 95 WS) a couple years ago and liked it more. I seem to remember this being a bit larger.

And the bottle is just so pretty!

Pairing: 85 Fine enough but no surprises

A problem arises when you have great food and merely good wine and this is an example. Nothing plays off each other in new or intriguing ways. A Ribera wine should have been right in this meal's wheelhouse but there just wasn't enough chutzpah in this particular Ribera to step to the plate and take some hacks.

We were glad a solid wine was present. And the wine certainly qualified as a solid little wine. But other wines like a higher quality Ribera or the Heredia Cubillo (weird we haven't had this since November) would have been a better pairing.

An even more intriguing match might have been a Australian Shiraz/Albariño blend, the First Drop Two Percent. A bit more fruit with a sparkly roundness might have been wonderful.

Heck, even if it was just skirt steak, breaking out the big boys wouldn't be out of the question. The food was that flippin' delicious.

#60 - Shrimp, Bacon & Black Bean Ravioli With A Northwest Wine Bent

Sort of an impromptu Northwest wine tasting for Tuesday.

Much cussing came from the kitchen for this meal as timing three items to be finished at the same time in our crackerbox of a kitchen is Freakin' Annoying.

Two items? Fine. Three? Breaking point and shouldn't be expected from any rational, breathing individual.

Food: Carrot and chipotle-marinated shrimp with black bean ravioli and a thai-lime cashew pesto and chard

So much for revisiting shrimp a few years from now. Maybe shrimp has been given short-shrift in the Ney house. I can see the appeal. Still more as a vehicle for a good sauce (or maybe needs a spectacular sauce) but there's a place for that, certainly more than I ever wanted to concede before the last few weeks (stupid seafood sausage - it's a gateway drug!).

Shrimp done in a carrot tropical juice blend and chipotle pepper reduction that was pretty hot when we tasted it by itself but mellowed out in the cooking process. In fact, it was what tied everything together in my book. Slightly overcooked shrimp. Initially, they were supposed to be wrapped in bacon but that went to hell as the bacon was of the thick-cut sort (from Czuchraj's Meats at West Side Market in Cleveland) and became soggy. Mrs. Ney crisped it up and put it on the side. Shrimp eaten with a piece of the crispy, smoky, meaty, charred bacon was quite delicious.

Black bean ravioli also from Ohio City Pasta at West Side Market in Cleveland were pretty tasty and, if they were available in town, would be consumed by the dozen. Nicely subtle spice. Thai-lime-basil cashews from Trader Joe's turned into a pesto sauce with sesame oil, extra virgin olive oil (ain't writin' EVOO), rice vinegar and cilantro then put over the ravioli.

The pesto worked well with the ravioli but oddly was better with the simply prepared wilted chard with a little onions.

Mrs. Ney gave a warning right before eating, saying, "We might be ordering a pizza."

Piffle. Turned into a quality meal. Tasted very Northwest with its jumble of sllightly disparate flavors that oddly work together. And that, rather accidentally, played right into the wine.

Wine: 2008 Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling ($20 - Binny's), 2007 Gypsy Dancer Pinot Gris ($19 - Binny's) and 2007 Acabela Albariño ($17 - Online)

First off, the owner of Gypsy Dancer winery in Willamette Valley, Oregon (and founder of Archery Summit), Gary Andrus, passed away in January of last year.

Personally, I was just getting into his Gypsy Dancer Pinot noir line and both of us really liked the Pinot gris. I first had the Pinot noir on our first trip to Lola and, while it maybe wasn't worth the price tag, I always distinctly remember everything about it. Wonderfully big dark fruits with an underlying earth note but clean, minty finish. Huge and round.

I couldn't remember exactly if I liked the Pinot gris as I hadn't had it in probably a year. Upon first sip, I remembered. Good stuff. Big peach flavors here with a touch of apricot maybe and a solid acidity and quite graceful. Right now, it's dying with an almost brown tint showing up in the glass. The previously vibrant peach has turned to dried peaches. No syrupy quality and still quite elegant, maybe more elegant than before in many ways. Just when you think it's going to become too big or out of whack, it playfully pulls back. Still alive. It's too bad this is our last bottle.

We waffled back and forth on the best wine of the night between the Pinot gris and the Eroica Riesling. This Riesling is a 10-year collaboration between Washington's Chateau Ste. Michelle winery and Dr. Loosen, the revered German winemaker from the Mosel region with the vineyards in Washington state. Their 2000 select release received rave reviews (along with a huge price tag), including a 98 from Wine Spectator and Parker declaring that Eroica is the finest non-dessert Riesling produced in the U.S.. I first read about it only a week ago. Very faint green/yellow in the glass, almost watery. Done in the Kabinett style so the sugar wasn't expected to be pronounced. Off-dry but very tight. Reviews say this should blossom and I can see it. Right now, it's very restrained but elegant with a faint hint of pears and flowers and some sort of 'it' factor that demands a bit of respect.

We weren't blown away by it but buying one more and giving it a couple years might be a good idea. It's just so tough when Prager, a Riesling we know and love, has a decent amount of options sitting in the basically the same price range and show a more mineral quality and more interesting fruit. Nice change of Riesling pace, though. Very clean.

The Abacela Albariño from the Umpqua Valley in Southern Oregon fell short of expectations. It's done. This was a Mrs. Ney favorite right after release while I didn't have any feelings about Albariño until a bit later (read: Didn't know enough about them). The acid was gone (especially with food) and the fruit was simple (turned into watery lemonade with food).

Overall, it was nice to get back to Northwest whites. Something about them scream spring with their pure, clean and pretty fruit.

Pairing: 86 Worked just fine trying each one with a different bite

Both of us settled on the Riesling as the best pairing with the shrimp and bacon while the Pinot gris showed best with the ravioli and pesto. A mixed bag otherwise but still interesting to try all three with each flavor on the plate. The food turned out to be dating below its level of attractiveness with the wine (funny given the pizza salvo) but we were full, happy and pleasantly tipsy by the end.

No complaints at all.