Interesting little tastes here and there.

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. We've been short staffed at POP, and I haven't had much down time. It's a good thing. We have been really busy with hundreds of new customers.

Last weekend we hosted two after parties for the Action On Film Festival in Pasadena. It brought in a lot of film industry people and it was quite interesting. We even had the pleasure of hosting a couple of celebrities. Ron Perlman enjoyed our "Irish Flatbread" but not our red wines, joking about the cabbage. Kim Coates enjoyed our red wine and Perrier Jouett for his guests. It was a great weekend.

This week was equally busy but under-staffed. We hosted a wedding party and many soccer fans in town for the Barcelona Galaxy game. I even provided quarters for the uber-sexy Denzel Washington and his signature melting smile (probably the first time I have been *struck*). Sunday was the return of the Joel Porter Quartet and they did a lively set of jazz standards, can't wait to have them again. Our Speakeasy Sunday went so well that we started running out of things to pour at the end of the evening.

Matt came up with a new promo for Thursdays and so far it is going great! 33-thirsty-Thursdays! 33% off ALL bottles every Thursday at 33. E Union! A great excuse for some bubbles during the week.

We celebrated Chef Emily's 25th birthday in style at LudoBites (post coming soon), and at Montrose Bowl.

So as I said things have been busy, so busy in fact that I haven't had a chance to write about some fun tastes I have had lately.

Bagrationi Sparkling Wines (Georgia - the country not the state)- Brut - using native grapes, it produced a steely, green fruit mildly acidic sparkling wine. The Extra Dry - as Ralph described it was reminiscent of Korbel Brut.

I was really curious about these wines, and I know that they make more cuvees, I would love to try those. We probably won't add them at this time, but it doesn't hurt to taste (most of the time).

S. Anderson Blanc de Noirs 1999 -

This had all the richness and toastiness on the nose of a well aged sparkler but it fell apart on the palate. I could smell that wine all day, but once I tasted it I knew it was over the hill. It lacked balance it had a hint of blackberries/strawberries and a little brioche but the acidity was off and it was very muted in the mouth. I think it was good a few years ago.

I hadn't hear of S. Anderson before, and haven't seen anything since, but maybe we will find some soon.

Independent Champange & Sparkling Wine Invitational

I am SO excited. I recently found out about an amazing upcoming event...the FIRST EVER, Independent Champagne & Sparkling Wine Invitational. It will be in New Orleans in 2010. I hope hope hope I can go.

They just did their first press release. They will have independent producers from all over the world, as well as experts. Three days of bubble lovers!

More to come soon.

Great Video Blog on Wine Tasting

Our former sommelier at POP, and great friend Nancy, posted a great video blog on how to taste wine. She shares our humble philosophy on wine, and we hope you enjoy her approach!

Cheers.

http://theprofoundandmundane.blogspot.com/2009/07/winefood-blog-1-you-biggest-boss-that.html

POP Updates.

So it has been awhile since my last post. Things have been going well at POP. Restaurant Week brought a lot of new guests, and staffing changes kept Matt and I busier than ever. Things seem to be mellowing a little, all positions have been filled and we are looking toward the rest of summer and how to get people in here.

Katie our "hostess with the mostest" has been promoted to server but will still be making occasional chalking appearances, here is some of her last work as host. Nallely our new hostess is luckily eager to chalk it up as well, so when she starts I will post some of her work as well. We have new bussing staff and a new cook who will make our cheese & charcuterie even more amazing, so stay tuned.

Music has been going well, we had a musician booked every Sunday in June and I think it worked out well.

Our first Sunday we had Jessica Fichot, a wonderful artist who sings in many languages and styles. She is a great performer and super fun, her music transforms you to a smoky Parisan cafe and makes you want to dance, champagne in hand. We will definitely have her back sometime this summer.

Our next group was Tom Farrell with Ms. Julia Gottlieb. Again a fantastic group, they brought their own following from the Westside and I would love to have them again. A great match for our bar, Julia's voice was rich and reminiscent of singers from the 40's but with a modern flair.

For Make Music Pasadena, the second annual free music festival we had Shawn Kirchner and Ryan Harrison Duo. Together they perform jazz standards and croon the night away, transforming our bar into a 2o's speakeasy.

Our last Sunday in June we had Dafni, she is great. I cannot wait to have her perform again, she played mostly original material and has a folk/blues/jazz feel. I highly recommend purchasing her music.

So June was a great month for POP, we got a lot of new exposure and quietly celebrated our six month anniversary. We instituted new changes as well.

We now have Speakeasy Sundays. Between 8-10pm every Sunday we give guests with the password $5 glasses of bubbles, it could be Champagne, Prosecco, California, Cava and more. In order to get the password you must follow us on Twitter. It is gaining a following and I can't wait till the bar is filled with whispers of Mumm and Krug.

We have also changed our Sunday Brunch to Bottomless Bubbly & Beer Brunch. For set prices including an entree you can now get bottomless i.e all you can drink, sparkling wine, draft beer or champagne. I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning!

July has started out a little slowly for us. We opted to be open on the fourth, because it is better to know than not know if we would be busy. We were slow but had some fun playing with bubbly cocktails. Ralph created a Sauternes Sour, POP Island Iced Tea and Mojito di Asti they were delicious and may make it onto the menu soon. Emily made amazing 4th of July specials such as "Red White & Blue Pie", a slice of cherry pie & blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream, you can seem them baking above! We also had a delicious firecracker burger with red, white & blue potato salad, and an apple pie soufflé. We offered 40% off all domestic bottles, and sold a bunch! I have never felt more festive!

Our first Sunday in July we had a great duo perform, Shangani . They sang in French and English, and even performed La Vie En Rose for my mom. We will have them back as well. Because it was a slow weekend we decided to make the most of our Sunday as our family was all there. We enjoyed three prestige cuvées, Schramsberg J Schram 2000, Pommery Cuvée Louise 1998, and Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvée 1998. It was an overwhelming experience and I will write about it later. After our third glass a group of 35 walked in, so we had to get back to work! Goodbye bubbly buzz!

With the warmer days and summer nights comes menu changes. We have new slider flavors; chorizo, and goat cheese with date (a must try). We will have a pie of the week, inspired by Emily's farmers market visits. Our new dessert is roasted peaches with champagne sabayon, delicious, and our new summer soup is a chilled roasted tomato with cucumber.

We are looking forward to later nights filled with new guests chilling out with cold bubbles. Cheers for now.

Matt's Birthday Dinner at XIV

I recently subscribed to champagneguide.net, and highly recommend it! I can't wait to explore the site, but I must admit I am a bit jealous of Peter Liem.

For Matt's birthday last week we decided to go to Michael Mina's XIV. We arrived Monday evening, '98 Comtes de Champagne in tow.

It is a beautiful restaurant, much how I picture we would do POP in Vegas, when the time comes. The decor is very French salon, with a fireplace, chandeliers, bookshelves, wing-back chairs, fur, and sexy couches. We had a simple two person table. We began our evening with a glass of Krug Grand Cuvée MV, and Henriot Rosé Millésimé '98. The Krug was of course rich and delicious with roasted nuts, vanilla, and buttered brioche wafting about. I really enjoyed the Henriot, it was a rich rosé with cherry and strawberry notes, but a lot of toasted bread, cream and nuts. I could have had it all night.

For dinner we decided to go with the 14 by xiv, we let the chef choose, and told them Matt couldn't have dairy. They were more than happy to accommodate.

Our first course was Michael's Caviar Parfait, which had caviar, smoked salmon, egg, creme fraiche (for me), and a crispy potato cake on the bottom. It was delicious and great with the Krug and Henriot.

Second course, still with the delicious Henriot was the Ahi Tuna Tartare with Ancho Chiles, Pears, Mint, Pine Nuts and Sesame Oil. It was perfect with the Henriot, and very refreshing with hints of spice. (if anyone knows how to upload photos so that they are throughout my post, please let me know? !?!? I'd love to have put the photo here.)

Third course was definitely one of my favorites of the evening, Hamachi Sashimi with pickled strawberries, grains of paradise and green onion. It was simple, clean flavors but the strawberries were such a delightful surprise they really completed the dish. I savored my last bit of Henriot with this dish.

Luckily some time went by after the third course and we were able to digest. We had the server open our Taittinger Comtes de Champagne '98. It is a rich, toasted Blanc de Blancs that is very full bodied and creamy, but nothing like the Krug, completely different!

I loved our fourth course as well- Heirloom beets, Burrata (for me), Wild Arugula, Aged Balsamic, New Olive Oil. While it didn't go well with the champagne I really enjoyed it. I could eat this dish everyday.

Our fifth course felt like a palate cleanser, it was mixed baby greens, artichoke, grapefruit, radish and Zamarono cheese (except for Matt's). It was clean and refreshing, and did not pair with the Comtes.

We had another break, thankfully and then realized we still had NINE other courses and we were full at this point!

Our sixth course, Asparagus Risotto, squash blossom, chervil, meyer lemon, castelmagno cheese (except for Matt's), went really well with the champagne. It was rich, creamy and flavorful, I really liked mine, and Matt loved his.

At this point we ran out of Comtes de Champagne and ordered another bottle for Matt's birthday. They have a great deal on Mondays where any bottle over $100 is 50% off, so we ordered the Pierre Peters Cuvée Reserve. It was delicately refreshing, with great minerality and acidity. It went well throughout the rest of the meal.

The seventh course, was sea scallops, and isn't on the menu. I love scallops and these were delicate and buttery, a great pairing for the Pierre Peters.

The eight course, was another highlight, Liberty Duck Breast, Seared Foie Gras, Leg Confit, Pineapple, Star Anise. My dish had a pineapple upside down cake, while Matt's had some fresh pineapple. This dish was rich, flavorful and playful with the acidity and fruit of the Pierre Peters.

Ninth course- Tai Snapper, Tapioca-Crusted, Broccoli Rabe, White Soy Vinaigrette. Perfectly cooked, our server Tai's favorite dish!

The tenth course was our final savory dish, and it was amazing with our champagne, Filet Mignon, Short Rib Tortellini, Marinated Vegetables. I loved the short rib tortellini, I want more!

The next few courses, we challenged the pastry chef with Matt's dishes, as I had two cheese courses.

The eleventh course for me was a cheese, that I sadly can't recall. Matt had Mandarin Sorbet with some sort of Sasparilla cream soda bits, that were nostalgic and delicious.

The twelfth course for me was another delectable cheese, covered in edible wild flowers, and for Matt it was cacao sorbet with violets, it was beautiful and bright!

The thirteenth course was my first dessert course, was brandied bananas, jasmine ice cream (YUM), cashew shortbread and english toffee, so good!

Our fourteenth and final course was chocolate cake, coconut sorbet, crunchy peanut. Sadly Matt, the birthday boy didn't get chocolate cake. Matt had his with marzipan, one of his favorites. These were great dishes, the peanut butter was the best.

For dessert we enjoyed tastes of Niepoort Colheita Port 1976 (bottled 2007) it was nutty and rich with a long finish, Rare Wine Co. "New York" Malmsey Madiera which was sweet and raisiny, I had wanted Matt to try a Malmsey for a long time and he really enjoyed it, and Chateau Rieussac Sauternes 2004 which was honeyed with tropical fruits and apricots. All were great. Because they didn't have their famous birthday candles, Tai had us choose a glass of the dessert wines we liked instead. We had the Malmsey, and it was a great finish to a great day.

Overall it was a lovely birthday for Matt, we had a great time and great service. We shut the place down and not once did we feel pressure to leave. We can't wait to go back!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!

Krug Dinner at Mélisse

I have lagged on this post, because much like Krug it is a big undertaking.  It was a little over a week ago that we attended the Krug dinner at Mélisse in Santa Monica, and it was such an overwhelming experience that I am just now done processing it.

Matt told me about the dinner over a month ago, and we decided to go as a late birthday gift to me, and an early one to him from my lovely mother, my dad tagged along too.  Ralph and Emily wanted to come but after numerous harassing calls and name dropping, there was simply no room.  I'm glad we booked when we did.

The kitchen told us that dinner began at 7:30, but we had a sneaking suspicion that hors d'oevures started earlier, sadly we were right and we were also late.  We arrived at the restaurant at 7:30 and everyone had Krug in hand, we scrambled to find the nearest server in order to savor some delicious bubbles.  We started with glasses of Krug Grand Cuvee NV, and bites of Duck Confit Croquette, Rolled Goat Cheese with Grapes and Pistachios, Smoked Salmon Blini with Créme Frâiche and Caviar, and Luna Oyster Champagne Gelée.  All of it was amazing, I am going to try to make the Grapes with Goat Cheese and Pistachios.  The best part of course was the Krug. So rich and creamy, I was so happy to have my dad taste it for the first time, he was very impressed.  I was so curious, and still am, about who everyone was at the dinner, I kept wondering have they had Krug, are they already involved in Krug's intoxicating trance, what kind of world am I about to enter?  

After about ten minutes we sat out our table, a lush booth perfect for four.  I chose the seat where I could best see the middle of the room, where the special guest Olivier Krug would be.  

We continued with Krug NV, which is richly aromatic with notes of vanilla and lemon curd wafting from the glass. It was so creamy and full in the mouth but well-balanced with refreshing acidity and a little earthiness and spice lingering in the background.  Throughout the whole evening my mom stated that this was her favorite.  We enjoyed the Grand Cuvee with an amouse bouche of orange gelée, pistachio flan and creme, it was nutty and delicious, though I am not sure my dad was a fan! While receiving refills on our Krug Grand Cuvee, we enjoyed the unique bread selection; Olive, Bacon, Brioche, and Basil Brioche.  Needless to say Matt was a big fan of the bacon and enjoyed it throughout the night.

For our first course, we had Santa Barbara Prawn Ravioli, Morel Mushrooms and Shellfish Jus.

This was perfect with the Grand Cuvee, it brought out the earthiness of the champagne, and cut through the cream of the ravioli.  

After our first course Olivier got up to speak to all of us, he is a sweet French gentleman who told us the story of Krug.  He said that the Krug we drink today, is the same as that his great great great...grandfather created years ago!  He said that the Grand Cuvee is the flagship of the house, and the one they are most proud of.

Our second course was Washington State Halibut "Braised in Champagne", Porcini Mushrooms, Brown Butter Jus.  The halibut melted in your mouth like butter it was the best fish I have ever had.  My parents had never really been a halibut fan until now, realizing they just never had it cooked so perfectly.  With our second course we enjoyed the newly released Krug 1998 Vintage.  Who would have thought that an 11 year old champagne would seem too young?  It does need more age, and I can see that in a few more years it will be mellow and rich and ready to enjoy.  It had a strong vanilla butter nose, with flavors of roasted nuts, very crisp acidity, and hints of upcoming chocolate and mushrooms, that will most likely show in a few years.  Olivier agreed that this champagne was just a tad young.  

Olivier then came around to our table and we told him about POP, he seemed very impressed by our trip to Champagne and our passion for his wine.  We told him about our plans to pour Krug by the glass, and he was pleased.  I would love to sit down and drink Krug with him all night!

The third course Spring Veal Loin and Braised Shank, Crisp Potato-Leek Fritter, Spring Onion, Champagne Braising Jus.  The star in this course was the Krug 1985 Collection.  This is by far...wait for it...wait for it...

MY

FAVORITE 

CHAMPAGNE THAT 

I HAVE EVER 

TASTED!

This is a huge statement I know, but it really is.  Now I am only 25 so there are plenty of vintage bubbles yet to come in my life, but for now 1985 Krug has stolen my heart in a big way!  Olivier told us that during 1985 he was at college and there was a major frost, which limited yields, creating such a focused wine.  It is incredibly rich, with a nose that reminds me of vintage tawny Port!  Notes of chocolate, caramelized almonds, amaretto.  It was so deeply golden in color.  It still had a lot of refreshing mouth watering acidity, yet it was creamy, nutty, with a LONG caramel and coconut finish. I am still dreaming about having more, and seriously considering saving up for some.  I was lucky enough to get a refill on this Champagne, thanks to knowing the sommelier of the evening.  

While in my post 1985 bliss, the chef came over to our table.  We apologized for our harassing phone calls trying to get our friends in, and thanked him for the wonderful meal and for accommodating our dairy free need.  He was very nice and laughed about our semi-stalking of his restaurant!

For our last course we had Vanilla Yogurt Strawberry Coulis and Sorbet.  The yogurt was so thick and creamy, it was like a custard with so many vanilla beans!  We enjoyed the Krug 1982 Collection with our dessert.  This one was still rich, but definitely more muted than the 1985, it had a bouquet that hinted of nuts, lemon peel, a little smokiness, and vanilla.  On the palate it echoed the bouquet with smoky earthiness, a little pineapple and surprising acidity.  I recommend trying this one now, as I am not sure how much longer it has.

On another note I recently had a taste of 1976 Krug as well.  This was super earthy on the nose, reminiscent of what I like to call stinky cheese, or Tallegio.  It was light and delicate yet creamy with hints of nuttiness, lot's of mushrooms, nice acidity and a long finish.

Godmé Pere et Fils Blanc de Noirs Brut

I think I am catching birthday fever, I am surrounded by gemini whose birthdays are all this week. So we decided to bring home some bubbles to continue the spirit. We only have three bottles of Godmé Blanc de Noirs at POP, so we wanted to try it before it was gone.

It is a grand cru Blanc de Noirs from Verzenay. Godmé Pere et Fils is an RM.

It is a light golden Champagne with fine bubbles. The nose is very aromatic, with aromas of blackberry jam, vanilla, and something floral.As it warmed up in the glass I sensed what I like to call a stinky cheese nose, similar to that of Tallegio. Matt wasn't a fan of the palate, but I enjoyed it. It is creamy, and fruit forward with flavors of blackberries, strawberries and currants, Chantilly cream, and a little roasted nuts and bread dough with some hints of herbs and lemon peel. It is well balanced with refreshing acidity, mild-med. tannins and a medium finish. I think it is certainly a drinkable Champagne worthy of attention and a second visit.

100%Pinot Noir.