Avalon wine report

Always pleasant to spend a couple of days at The Lemon Drop in Avalon with my mother. And always wine around, too, making it even more pleasant, even if the weather largely was not.! A brief report:

Donnhoff Oberhausen Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2011
Safe to say I have never had anything else than an outstanding wine from Herrmann Donnhoff's brilliant domaine in the Nahe region of the Rhineland. This is a 'basic' wine of his, but one brimming with life. Pale, a tad sweeter than many Kabinett wines, with all of what the great Michael Broadbent likes to call "fruit salad" in the winem, and grapey, mouthfilling midpalate. Elegant and refreshing. Long, fruit finish, with a hint of austerity right at the end. 10 percent alcohol. A steal at $23. With Galatoire's Crabmeat Maison and a pork roast. Now-'2020. ****  (at the The Lemon Drop, Avalon, N.J. 3/2008).

Chateau Les Fromanteaux Clos du Poyet Muscadet Sevre et Maine "Vielles Vignes" Sur Lie 2010
Just perfect. Citrus yet earthy nose, some golden color, lemony and crisp and lots of complexity on the end from the "Sur Lie", I am sure. Palate-sweeping finish. All-purpose seafood wine, thought good with chicken too. Just 2 bottles left in my case - sigh. 12 percent, perfect for food. With deviled clams and Brad's Shrimp Tarragon. $16, a bargain. Just wish there were oysters. Now-2017. ***1/2 (at the The Lemon Drop, Avalon, N.J. 4/2008).

NV Ferriera Ruby Porto

Bought for a dessert  - peaches soaked in port, then ladled over ice cream -- and drank with it. Those used to aged tawnies, LBVs or Vintage Port will be disappointed here, but this is fine for the basic item: darkly purple color, spirity nose, not itensely sweet, satisfying fruit, good strong alcoholic, but not too much, finish, not cloying. Probably could pay less than the $16 I did at Fred's Avalon Liquors. Once opened, 2 weeks at then most. Good with English farmhouse cheeses or dark chocolate And with a dark chocolate Easter bunny -- always eat the ears first!. ** 1/2 (at the The Lemon Drop, Avalon, N.J. 4/2008).

Restaurant report: Bella Cena

It's hard to write about a friend's restaurant, usually, because you hate to say anything critical or that may be ill-received.
But this is a good time to write up Giancarlo Frusone's long-running Italian joint on Spruce Street in Center City Philadelphia, for two reasons: 1) he needs the customers and 2) it's going very well right now.
The place was shuttered for months due to a fire in an adjacent restaurant, and judging from the three tables occupied at 8:30 p.m. on a  recent Thursday, the word has not gotten out that 'Carlo', as he's well-known in the community, has re-opened.
The issue at Bella Cena has never been the food. Carlo buys good ingredients and his kitchen staff is always superb. The issue has been service -- long delays in getting food, mixups, etc. However, with the place not busy, this is much less of an issue, and one gets the idea that maybe the service issue has been fixed, anyway.
And this is a good time to drop in because Carlo's colorful brother, Sandro, is manning the stoves and the man can flat-out cook, especially seafood. I had a scallop appetizer to die for, three big sea scallops cooked a point with sauteed veggies and a light wine sauce, and a terrific piece of rare-ish salmon topped with a tangy livornaise sauce. The menu is full of Italian favorites, more Roman and Northern than Southern, pasta - the gnocchi are always good - and some big meat dishes such as rack of lamb or ribeye steak for carnivores.  
Sandro's creative too -- a mixed-green salad topped with fresh mango and a mango-laces dressing was worlds better than it sounds. I could have eaten a double portion. 
Desserts are basic, but Sandro's tiramisu is light and airy and his "chocolate souffle" -- I would call it a molten-chocolate cake -- was sinfully rich yet appealingly not-too-sweet. Espresso was fine, though it hasn't always been.
The Bella Cena wine list is pretty much Italian with a few U.S. bottles thrown in, which I would avoid. He has plenty of high-end Piedmontese and Tuscan reds at fair prices, and some decent quality value wines too; I'd avoid the house wines, though. I had a luscious, lemony and long 2010 Castellari Bergaglio Gavi Fornaci Gavi del Comune di Tassarolo, perhaps my favorite Italian style of white, at $39 a bottle. Served a little too cold, but still a refreshing and tangy bottle.
Service was fine except when Sandro yelled at my server for offering me black pepper for a dish, that he, Sandro, deemed it unnecessary for -- "that dish need-a nothing" -- Sandro is, um, shall we say, a gent who knows what he likes. And the bread could be a lot better in a city filled with quality bakers.
There's a pleasant and well-stocked bar to enjoy port or brandy in afterwards.
Near the Kimmel Center, you won't do much better for value or quality. The mercurial Sandro may not be around for long, but don't miss his cooking. He's special. And, right now, so is Bella Cena. 

Bella Cena, 1506  Spruce Street, Philadelphia, (267) 858-4600. Reservations at opentable.com. Dinner nightly.

Next P&P Tasting: Bargains of Bordeaux

Join us on Thursday, 2 May 2013  at 7:30 p.m., at the club, 1522 Latimer St. in Philadelphia as we taste four wines from Bordeaux that can fairly be called bargains from a region not well known for value.  

But as we will see, it''s not necessary to pay stratospheric prices to enjoy the distinctive and memorable flavors of my single favorite wine region in the world. 

Cost is $30 and includes appetizers. Sign up at the club or call (215) 731-9909.

We are back!!!!

Like I promised at the last Pen and Pencil Club wine tasting, the blog is back.

I have a series of posts coming on Des Moines, oxidized white wines, Donnhoff's brilliance, Portuguese wines, Chicago, restaurant reports, a new Pen and Pencil tasting, and more.

I also will be blogging on wine and travel every day on my upcoming trip to Montreal and New York. Check starting on 10 April for what I am up to.

Please spread the word that I am back!