Crushcake Cupcakery, Santa Barbara

Finally Santa Barbara has it's own cupcakery like so many other cities. One can wonder what took Santa Barbara so long...
I had the privilege to step into Crushcake Cupcakery yesterday afternoon, their very first day open. As to not overeat I had already decided that I could only get two cupcakes for myself, so imagine my thrill when discovering that they offer mini cupcakes. That meant that I could get four of them instead, perfect for trying multiple flavors. I headed home with bag in hand and decided that I had to try all four of them so I could blog them right away. Needless to say I could not limit myself to one bite out of each and after a few minutes there was only a few crumbs left where a moment earlier four pretty cupcakes had been.


These are the four flavors I tried.
First one to disappear from the plate was the Chococlate Chocolate. A moist dark chocolate cake topped with chocolate frosting with a note of coffee. Very nice indeed.
Second up was the Chocolate Bliss, the same moist chocolate cake, but this time topped with a delicious vanilla frosting. Perfect if chocolate on chocolate is to heavy for you...
The Strawberry Blush was surprisingly enough my favorite of them all. I am as you know a full blown chocoholic and expected the two previous ones to be on the top of my list. The cake in this one was amazingly moist with a light, sweet, taste of strawberry. The pink frosting was out of this world, with a delicous, more intense, strawberry flavor. I can only imagine how popular this one will be for bridal and baby showers...
Last but not least I had their signature cupcake, the Crushcake. A red velvet cake topped with a white sourcream frosting. Crowned with a chocolate heart (made a perfect little treat at the end) and a rain of red sprinkles. The perfect little treat for Valentines Day.

Delicious cakes, friendly staff and a good location (right on the corner of Anacapa St and Arlington Ave). I know I will return for more of the same in the near future.

Crushcake Cupcakery
1315 Anacapa St
Santa Barbara
(805) 963-9353


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Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards wine tasting

Spending the weekend in Santa Barbara I decided to go to the Alma Rosa wine tasting at East Beach Wine Company last night. Stepping into the shop the place was packed and it took a minute before we reached the counter and could pay for two tastings and get our glasses. To our delight the owners, Thekla and Richard Sanford was there themselves, with their daughter Blakeney, to pour and talk to the customers. Nothing beats the opportunity to talk to either the owners or wine maker as you taste a winery's wine. Both Thekla and Richard where very nice and pleasant, and spent quite a bit of time with us. It was a true pleasure to talk to them, and you could tell how passionate and excited they are about their wines.

A short bio: Richard Sanford was the first to plant Pinot Noir in Santa Rita Hills in 1970. 1981 him and Thekla started Sanford Winery, and after parting with it in 2005, they founded Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards at the location of their old winery. All grapes are grown organically with sustainable agricultural methods.

The tasting started of with the Alma Rosa 2006 Santa Barbara County Pinot Gris. A light crisp white with pear, citrus and notes of honeysuckle. Nice acidity and minerals on the finish.
Next up was the Alma Rosa 2006 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Blanc. This wine showing creamy citrus in a dry, still very crisp wine.
The Alma Rosa 2006 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay was fermented in partially new French Oak and then aged in stainless steel tanks, not undergoing malolactic fermentation. I really enjoyed this clean, crisp chardonnay, with notes of tropical fruit. Perfect poured chilled a warm spring or summer day.
The Alama Rosa 2005 El Jabali Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay went through a different process. It was fermented in stainless steel tanks and then aged in 20% new French Oak. The grapes comes from a older vineyard then the 2006 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay and you can tell the difference. This wine is heavier/denser in the fruit on the palate, with ripe tropical fruit, white fragrant floral, and round oaky vanilla notes. Still on the lighter side and with good fresh acidity, but the first Chard was my favorite.
On to Pinot Noir, which is what I really came for.
The Alma Rosa 2005 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir has light bright fruit with raspberry, red cherry, and notes of oak/vanilla. All wrapped in good acidity and integrated, but slightly woody, tannins.
The Alma Rosa 2005 La Encantada Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir shows darker, deeper fruit with black raspberry, cherry, blueberry, herbs, and spice. While the 2005 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is made from all six clones in La Encantada vineyard this is only made from two of them. In this case resulting in a more concentrated Pinot.

Find all these wines at Alma Rosa's website.

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Young sommeliers setting the trends

I just read an article in Sacramento Bee today regarding the annual Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, the largest conference of the year for the U.S. wine industry.

It talks about the explosion in the last couple of years of young sommeliers in restuarants, and how they are influencing the future trends of what we drink. Sommeliers are responsible for only a fraction of wine purchased for consumption, but has a considerable influnce over the wine trends that are set. So what rocks these young sommeliers? The answers seems to be rare, obscure, "boutique", regional, rich-in-history wines. Any of these ingredients rise the flag of interest for this younger generation of wine professionals.

It also discusses the steadily increasing retail wine sales where imported wine market share is on the rise. Not surisingly the imported wine has a higher market share in restaurants, where 43% of the wine puchased is imported and 57% is domestic, then in retail, where 31% is imported and 69% is domestic.

Read more about all of this in the article at SacBee.com.

Pessagno 2005 Lucia Highlands Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

We went to check out the newly opened Total Wine and More (an all beverage super maket) in Roseville last Sunday, and after spending more than 40 minutes walking through the seemingly endless ailes of wine and other alcoholic beverages, we left with three bottles of wine.

We opened the first one, the Pessagno 2005 Lucia Highlands Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir, a couple of nights ago for a glass of wine before dinner.

It showed a dark garnet color in the glass.

The nose had red ripe berries and fruit with massive cherry, red currant, light strawberry, and dried herbs/grass.

On the palate the cherry dominated, with blueberry and ripe currant backing it up with some smokey and grassy notes. This wine has a round mouthfeel with a spicy, hot quality to the finish. Good acidity and slightly edgy tannins.

At the amazing value of $11.99 at Total Wine and More I can't deem this anything but a good-great value. Normally retails for around $ 26-32 according to winery and other website. You can also find it at BevMo.com for $14.99.

FYI: Won Silver Medal at the 2007 Long Beach Grand Cru Wine Competition.

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Pahlmeyer and Vineyard 29

Sunday night we had dinner with good friends and had two bottles of really good wine.


We started of with a bottle of Pahlmeyer 2003 Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine. Winemaker Erin Green made this from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petite Verdot, and 0.5% Malbec.
This wine shows a dark garnet color in the glass.
On the nose, dark fruit and berries with oak and a smokey note.
The palate exudes dark plum, black cherry, black currant, and again notes of smoke. The wine is surprisingly smooth for being relatively young. Rich in fruit and full bodied, with good acidity, and velvety well integrated tannins. All this and a long beautiful finish make this a great bottle of wine.


Next up was Vineyard 29 2005 Cru Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes were sourced from six vineyards across Napa Valley, hand sorted and gently processed in the full gravity flow winery. Aged 18 months in French Oak, 60% new.

This wine has a dark, ruby red/purple color in the glass. The nose screams of ripe, dark fruit and berries, dark cherry, and vanilla.

The fruit on the palate is equally lush with dark cherry, black currant, and coffee. All with a spice note. The acidity is sufficient and the tannins soft. This wine is young, but very approachable and drinks nicely. It's lush and fruity with a lengthy finish and I can't wait to revisit it in the future.

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Roar 2005 Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah

Roar 2005 Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah shows a vibrant dark garnet color in the glass with a purple hue.

The nose is dominated by blackberry with vivid dark fruit and notes of floral and violet.

The palate is again all blackberry upfront with dusty earth, coffee, and black cherry at the finish.

This rather complex, medium to full bodied Syrah has great acidity and tannins that create a perfect backbone for the lush, creamy, fruit and berries.

I found this wine exciting and, although young, still very approachable. I would however like to revisit this wine in a couple of years and hopefully find it even more in harmony and balance, without having lost that "big and lush" quality.

Find this wine at Wine-Searcher.com and WineZap.com from $39.99.

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Epiphany Restaurant and Bar in Santa Barbara

My brother is visiting from Sweden and last night we had reservations for dinner at Epiphany Restaurant and Bar while in Santa Barbara over the weekend. We have been there a couple of times in the past for a drink in the bar, but never for dinner.

The restaurant is located at 21 W. Victoria St, and the building in which the restaurant is located, was built in the 1800's. The decor is warm and modern with rustic architectural feature like the brick archways in between the small intimate dining rooms.

After arriving, being seated, and presented the menu, we were served an Amuse Bouche, White Asparagus Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette on Endive. Very light with subtle flavors. The salad also contained Granny Smith apples which added a juicy, sweet/tart crunch to the dish.

Warm, rosemary foccacia was placed at the table with olive oil and balsamic vinegar prior to our starters arriving.

For starter I had the California Halibut Ceviche ($12) which was served in butter lettuce cup. The halibut was tossed with citrus segments in a citrus/sesame marinade, and topped with semi dried, grated, carrots. Wonderfully fresh and delicate, with quite a bit of punch in the flavor. The serving was huge and would have been sufficient as a lunch, or even lighter main course.


The Dungeness Crab Cake ($14) my brother ordered was a big hit with him. Served with a cucumber/radish salad and a chipotle butter sauce. I had a bite and the cake was dense with fresh crab and the sauce added a nice spicy note.


My husband's Celery Root and Cauliflower Soup ($8) was also great according to him.

For main course I just had to have the Cracked Pepper Filet Mignon with Chive Mashed Potatoes ($32). Served with a cognac shallot cream sauce, topped with mushrooms, and on the side tender green beans and carrots. This dish was very satisfying. The filet was cooked exactly as ordered and the meat was incredibly tender and flavorful. A great dish!

Both my husband and brother had the Pan Roasted Herb Chicken ($25) with roasted golden potatoes, green beans and carrots, and natural jus. They both agreed that the chicken was moist and delicious. Not the best they had ever had but pretty darn good...

At this point we were all stuffed, but upon finding out that there was a chocolate souffle on the dessert menu, we decided to order one for the table. The Fire and Ice Molten Chocolate Souffle ($9) with vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry coulis was warm, gooey, outrageously good, and way to small, we realized as we fought over the last crumbs.


Now you can't have a good meal without a good bottle of wine, and last night was no exception. We had a bottle of the Demetria Estate "Jours de Bonheur" Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Unfortunately I forgot the vintage but I suspect it was a 2005. The wine showed medium bodied qualities with dark cherry and raspberry with good acididty and well integrated, relatively smooth tannins, and a nice earthy complexity. Quite nice wine that worked well enough with the whole meal (although I would have preferred a big Cab with my steak).

The service was attentive, but relaxed, throughout the dinner and the staff was knowledgeable when asked questions about the wine list. I love when they actually have tasted the wines and can speak from first hand experience.
We will definitely put Epiphany on our list of restaurants that we return to frequently.

Taz 2005 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir

Today I am starting of with a fun little trivia: The name of the winery, Taz, is short for Tasmanian devil, which is winegrower Robert "Taz" Steinhaur's nickname.

The grapes for the Taz 2005 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir comes from Northern Canyon Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, and Fiddlestix Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. 1/4 of the wine was aged in new oak and the rest in neutral barrels.

This wine shows a clear, bright, ruby red color in the glass.
On the nose red berries, red currant, a hint of blueberries, vanilla and some floral notes come through.
When tasting the wine darker berries emerges with dark cherry, ripe raspberry and spice. The acidity is good and tannins, although slightly light and tart, are also there in sufficient amount.

This wine is relatively light and lacking a little in complexity, but despite that I really enjoyed it. Bright, fruity and with the slight spice it is a great wine considering I only payed $14.99 at Costco. Normally price at $25 at the winery, this was a real find and a great value.

You can also find it at Wine-Searcher.com and WineZap.com from $17.95.


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Fiddlehead Cellars 2003 Lollapalooza Santa Rita Hills Fiddlestix Pinot Noir

Only 312 cases was made of the Fiddlehead Cellars 2003 Lollapalooza Santa Rita Hills Fiddlestix Pinot Noir.
Lollapalooza is an old English word for "the best of its kind".

A clear, dark, ruby color, with a touch of purple, meets you in the glass.
The nose shows dark cherry, raspberry, spice, and from 15 months in French oak, vanilla and oak.
The palate has similar character with dark cherry, ripe red currant, raspberry, nice, light spice, and brandied cherries at the very finish. Great acidity and well integrated, silky tannins, with a firm touch at the finish makes this wine a winner.

We had this wine about a year ago in a restaurant and picked up a bottle to enjoy it again at home at a later time. It is as good as I remembered it to be and wish I had picked up some more... Great balance between the fruit, acidity and tannins. The fruit is supple, beautiful, and not overwhelming. This is a great wine to enjoy with a meal, or by its own as we did.

Hard to find online but available through WineZap.com from $50, which is a good price for this bottle.


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Amador Foothill Winery 2005 Shenandoah Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Another half bottle from my local grocery store that I had to try... The 375 ml bottles are convenient and perfect when you just want a glass of wine and don't want to pop open a whole, 750 ml, bottle.

The Amador Foothill Winery 2005 Shenandoah Valley Sauvignon Blanc is made from 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon.
It has a golden, light, straw color in the glass, and the nose shows prominently apple, but also citrus and green pear.
The wine has a round mouth feel with apple, citrus, slight spice, and touch of minerals. The finish is long and carries good acidity.

The very round mouth feel made this wine feel slightly to rich for my preference, considering it is a Sauvignon Blanc. I prefer a more lighter and crisper style. However if this is not the case for you I would deem this to be a good wine at a great value, available at Wine-Searcher.com from $9.60.

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Marshall Family Wines 2006 Barry's Blend California Pinot Noir

The Marshall Family Wines 2006 Barry's Blend California Pinot Noir is made from grapes from Russian River Valley and Mendocino, and was aged in French oak prior to bottling.

The color in the glass is dark ruby red and slightly cloudy.

The nose shows dusty berries of cherry and raspberry, earth, and floral notes.

On the palate medium to full bodied, with a meaty quality, cherry, dark raspberry, earthiness, and spice. Good acidity and young, green tannins on the relatively long finish.

This Pinot Noir can be found at Wine-Searcher.com from $19.95 or at the winery's website for $25.

This pinot has a slightly different style than I prefer. The more fruit forward tend to be my favorites but this was certainly not a bad bottle at all. For $20 I would say it's a good value, although I would most likely pick another bottle for that price range.

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Pisoni Vineyards and Winery 2004 Estate Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

Last night we opened a bottle with dinner that I had very high expectations of. I have had several vintages of the Pisoni Vineyards and Winery Estate Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir before, and they have always been great. I assumed and hoped that the 2004 wouldn't let me down either.

The color in the glass is a vivid deep garnet.

The nose exudes black cherry, dark raspberry, notes of blackberry, sweet violet, and a touch of tobacco (?).

On the palate big, broad fruit and berries with ripe cherry, dark raspberry, vanilla, an earthy touch, and slight tart fruit at the finish. The acidity is plentiful and the tannins integrated with a young edge to them. This wine has a great backbone and complexity, and I wish I had another bottle to open up in a year or two to see how it develops.

As you understand this wine did not disappoint me what so ever and I would say that this is one of the more complex vintages of this wine. The earlier ones that I have had have been even more ripe, lush and fruit forward but perhaps lesser in depth and complexity.

My first encounter with this wine was the 2001 vintage at The Kitchen restaurant in Sacramento and I distinctively remember saying out load as I had my first sip: -This tastes like liquid blueberry pie! This vintage definitely does not warrant that expression but definitely shows its fair share of beautiful fruit and berries.

Find it while you can at RobertsMarket.com for $64.99 or at BlackTieWines.net for $76.99.

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Trecini 2005 Vicini Vineyard Russian River Valley Sonoma County Merlot

It is not very often that I buy a Merlot but when I saw the Trecini 2005 Vicini Vineyard Russian River Valley Merlot as a half bottle I had to give it a try.

Trecini Cellars was founded in 1999 by John and Cathy Vicini and their son David. Originally from Tuscany, Italy, John comes from a long tradition of wine, actually around 150 years. In 1994 the family started growing grapes in Russian River Valley and after that it was only a natural step for them to start their own winery. They are offering five varietals at this point, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Merlot Rose, Zinfandel, and Syrah.

This Merlot shows an intense ruby red color in the glass.
The nose offers ripe red fruit, herbal notes and rather heavy vanilla with creme brulee character.
On the palate, bright fruit with slight tartness, black cherry, boysenberry, plum, and vanilla. The long finish has plentiful fruit, decent acidity, and round, soft tannins with an ever so light green edge at the finish.

I was pleasantly surprised by this Merlot considering the price point ($14 for a 375 ml bottle). Many times I find Merlot to be gray and boring, but this has nice fruitiness, with enough structure to back it up and make it interesting. I would say this wine has a potential to be a crowd-pleaser at any gathering. Try it out and see how pleased you are?!

Find it at SophiesCellars.com for $24.99 or visit the wineries website where it's sold for $28.


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A Swedish Christmas Eve in America

Spending Christmas in the States this year I asked my husband if he wanted a Swedish or American Christmas. He responded without hesitation -A Swedish Christmas! That meant that I cooked and served up the traditional Julbord, the Swedish Christmas Smorgasbord, at Christmas Eve. Since there is just to much food involved for two persons to even come close to finish, I invited our good friends and neighbors to join us.

I thought I would share a photo with you of what the Julbord looked like this year.

The Julbord is a buffet with traditional Swedish food like pickled English cucumber, sausage, deviled eggs, cold smoked salmon with dilled creme fraiche, oven baked omelet with mushroom sauce, Swedish meatballs, mustard glazed ham, creamed spinach, potato au gratin (usually you julienne the potato and add anchovies to make Janson's Temptation, but I knew that would be a slightly odd one for our guests so I opted for a simpler, more familiar version, a potato au gratin with thyme, Parmesan and Gruyere), bread and crispbread, salami, Herrgards cheese, and instead of the pickled beets I did a slight update by serving roasted beets over arugula with Chevre. A few really traditional dishes like pickled herring, red cabbage salad, liver sausage, and our Christmas bread, Vortbrod, were missing at my table. They are all very hard to find here, and not all of them a favorite, so we did without.

For dessert we had Ris a la Malta with strawberry sauce. This one and only acceptable dessert for Christmas Eve is a rice porridge sweetened with whipped cream, confectioners sugar, vanilla and orange segments.

With the meal I served white and red wine, a variety of Christmas brews, and the infamous Aquavit, the traditional Swedish snaps that is accompanied by a song or two...

Our friends had never experienced the Julbord before but assured me that everything was delicious. I know that I felt like I was home in Sweden for a couple of hours Christmas Eve...

Hope you all had a fantastic holiday and enjoyed it as much as I did!


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August West 2005 Rosella's Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

We ordered half a case of the August West 2005 Rosella's Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir after a restaurant visit this summer and having a bottle with dinner. We are now down to our last bottle and I thought I better review it before it is all gone!

It has a beautiful dark, clear, ruby red color in the glass.

The lush nose reveals raspberry, ripe cherry, sweet vanilla, and notes of herbs.

The palate follows with black raspberry, cherry and spice. The fruit carries nicely all the way through the long finish, with a hint of red liquorice at the very end. The acidity is sufficient, and the tannins are well integrated and matches the ripe fruit nicely.

Medium to full bodied, this wine is sure to not disappoint. We have not been as you can see, with only one out of six bottles remaining, although I planned to cellar a few... Oh well, very enjoyable right now.

Find it at WineZap.com from $45.

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Jayson 2003 Napa Valley Red Wine

A short review on a wine we had with dinner tonight.
Jayson 2003 Napa Valley Red Wine is produced by Pahlmeyer, and is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. It is made from the grapes/juice that is left over after producing the "big brother wine", Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red.

The wine is dark ruby red in the glass. The nose shows black cherry, plum, blackberry, and vanilla. The palate follows in it's path with black berries, oaky vanilla, and relatively smooth tannins that however shows notes of green wood. The nose is a step above the palate, which is a little thinner in the fruit at the finish then you are lead to believe.

Find this wine at Wine-Searcher.com from $ 59.99. For the price it is a pretty decent bottle, but there are certainly better wines in that price range out there.


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Robert Craig 2002 Mt. Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

I went over to my neighbors last night to give them some homemade Christmas treats and I got a treat right back in form of a glass of Robert Craig 2002 Mt. Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
I have had the Robert Craig Affinity (their Bordeaux blend) at several occasions before and always enjoyed it, but this wine was definitely a notch up.

The color in the glass is a deep red garnet color. Big ripe berries, black cherry and black currant meets you at the nose with oak and vanilla notes. The palate is equally lush with dark berries, black currant, and a long finish with violet candy, black liquorice notes, and supple, well integrated tannins with matching acidity.

This was a really good glass of wine and as soon as I finished my glass I wished I had a bottle waiting at home. The quality of the wine very much matches the price tag; available from $60 at Wine-Searcher.com. I would happily spend my money on this wine any day.


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Barham Mendelsohn 2003 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

This wine is made by winemaker Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat. His only bottling from Russian River Valley. 800 cases produced.

It shows a medium dark ruby color in the glass with medium dark berries, floral perfume, tea notes, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla oak on the nose. The palate shows young red fruit/berries, tart red currant, earthy spice, and a hint of black liquorice (?) and minerals at the very finish.

This medium bodied wine has good acidity but slightly harsh, still green tannins that shows on the the full length of the palate. The nose unfortunately promises more fruit than the palate carries.

Nice effort but, to me, not worth the $35 I paid for it. At $20 I could have seen it as a good value. The tannins and the tartness of the fruit did not quite fit my palate. It might however be the perfect match for someone else... I would love to hear your opinion if you have had it, and agree or disagree.

If you are interested in giving it a try it can be found at Winerz.com for $28.80.

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Valhalla Cellars 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

I could not resist picking up a bottle of Valhalla Cellars 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon when I saw it on the shelf in the local grocery store. Being from Sweden with our heritage of Norse Gods and Valhalla I just had to try this wine that I had never heard of before. I just loved the label with the viking ship!

Valhalla Cellars was founded in 2001 by Todd Martin and Madeleine Beeler Warner, both of Scandinavian decent. Therefore the name of their label. They are small producers that buy grapes from top vineyards in areas that produce the best quality grapes for the wine they intend to produce.

This wine was fermented in open top fermenters with the cap punched down 3 times daily. It was then aged for 21 months in 60% new and 40% two year old French Oak. Only 70 cases produced.
The wine has a very dark dense ruby color in the glass with slight cloudiness. Red cherry, dark red currant, liquorice and vanilla meets you on the nose. It is relatively smooth on the palate with red fruit, spice, vanilla, good acidity, and young, slightly tart tannins that step in at the very finish.

The color of the wine through me off a little bit to start with. I expected more darker nuances in the fruit and berries, but they are young and red. Never the less, I enjoyed this wine and for $23 I would not hesitate to long to get it again.

The only site I can find it at online is at the winery's web site for $28. They do not have a store online but I am sure you can contact them to purchase and have it shipped.

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CraftSteak at MGM Grand Las Vegas

While in New York earlier this year we dined at Tom Colicchio's CraftSteak. My husband loved the meal and I thought it was very good as well, and when given the opportunity to dine at CraftSteak in Las Vegas we had to try out this "sibling restaurant".

The restaurant is located next door to Emeril's, Fiamma and other fine dining restaurants at the MGM Grand. The space is contemporary and has a sleek, clean look with dark wood, leather, stainless steel, warm colors at the walls, and a large bar at the entrance.

As a party of six we got seated promptly at arrival. We all started of by sharing some starters as the portions are huge and more than enough for two. I had the Roasted Baby Beets, red and pink beets slowly rated in the oven and served over a few micro greens. Simple, flavorful and delicious. I also tasted the Arugula Salad tossed in a simple vinaigrette. Fresh and light. The third couple had the Romaine Hearts "Caesar" and gave it thumbs up.

For entree I choose the Rack of Lamb and my husband and friend shared the Porterhouse for Two. When I ordered my lamb I was recommended to order it medium as it is two thick pieces of meat that will come out more like medium-rare, my usual preference. I ordered as suggested and to my disappointment, cutting into it upon arrival at the table, it actually came out as a true medium. Never the less a very nice cut of meat with great flavor. The Porterhouse came out as ordered and was juicy, tender and full of flavor as well.

We shared an array of side dishes at the table. Trio of Mushrooms, a blend of roasted chantarelles, hen of the woods, and baby shitake was my favorite, along with the Yukon Gold Puree, the most delicious, rich and creamy potato puree I have ever tasted (I do not even want to think about all the butter that went into that dish). The top pick at the table as it did not last long.
Other good side dishes were the Green Beans topped with almonds, and theFries that was perfectly seasoned and crisp.

Moving on to dessert we were all stuffed but me and my friend had to try a couple of them and we picked the Liquid Chocolate Cake with Persian Mint Chip Ice Cream, and the Pumpkin Cheesecake. Both wonderful although the chocolate cake disappeared of the plate very quickly.

When it comes to the wine selection I started by ordering the Brewer-Clifton 2005 Cargasacchi, Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, which I have enjoyed before and turned out to be a great start for the meal.
For the entree I selected the Barnett Vineyards 2002 Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon. Big and chewy with plenty of fruit and balanced tannins, this was a "crowd pleaser" at the table, and went perfect with our steaks.

Over all everybody in our party thought that the dinner was great, and I was very pleased to see that the quality in service and food that we experienced in New York also made it to the Las Vegas location, which is unfortunately not always the case when a restaurant branches out. If you are looking for a good steak house next time you are in Vegas this one should definitely be on your list.

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