Pairing in Action and Done Well

Last night was a celebration dinner. We decided to try a restaurant in Atlanta that we had never been to previously. It was recommended by a friend and it was an outstanding recommendation. 

In the Candler Park part of the city, in the farthest east part of the city, sitting almost anonymously in a little parking lot, you'll find (I was given permission by the restaurant to identify them by name) a little place called Lazy Betty: https://www.lazybettyatl.com/ . They are on of those tasting menu type restaurants; that is, in their case, you may choose either a 4-course or 8-course menu with or without wine pairings. Beware that it is not for those with, shall we say, an unadventurous palate.

We were started with the traditional amuse bouche in this case a duck confit cigar and a little potato pastry. Because it was available, we paired it with the champagne we were married to, so to speak, Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle. The combination was a great awakening for the rest of the dinner.

The first "official" course was a Cucumber Canneloni with Horseradish Panna Cotta Borscht. Without realizing exactly what I was eating and apparently not having paid attention to our server's description, I remarked that the dish must have some wasabi (pretty close to horseradish in a lot of ways). The wine that was paired with it was the 2018 Domaine Lyrarakis Assyrtiko. Assyrtiko is the most popular white grape coming from the Greek isle of Santorini. Most of the vineyards are quite close to the sea and the wine has a natural salinity or one might say, brininess, to it. The wine, which we both thought to be somewhat boring on its own, was brilliant in the way that it brought out the flavor in the horseradish, but without the natural heat that it provides on the palate. On a scale of 10, this pairing deserves at least a 9.8. It was remarkable as was the dish.

We then moved on to what was labeled as a Cauliflower Bone Marrow, Vidalia Marmalade, Sourdough.  There was no actual bone marrow, but the dish was presented as a canoe (in the fashion of bone marrow) filled with the cauliflower mash topped with the marmalade. The canoe itself was a fine sourdough wafer. The dish needed a wine that was somewhat delicate, but with some fruitiness to enhance the sweetness of the vidalia. The 2016 Purecru White Meritage from Napa Valley is a blend of primarily Semillon with probably about one-third Sauvignon Blanc. A bit more tropical in nature than most Semillon-based wines I've experienced, this was a wine I would love to own. Paired with this dish, it was tremendous as was the food itself.

From there we moved on to Georgia Shrimp Causa, Avocado Mousse, Aji Potato Emulsion that was paired with 2018 Jules Taylor Gruner Veltliner from Marlborough (New Zealand). The dish was very interesting -- layered for presentation, but with the expectation of digging deep to get all of the layers in each bite. The combination of the shrimp and avocado was quite interesting in a very good way. They complemented each other much as they do in some traditional Mexican dishes, yet without the spicy Mexican salsas that normally accompany them. The Gruner was a bit more tropical in flavors than I am used. It was very interesting and an excellent expression of the terroir. Something, however, has to be my least favorite pairing of the night and while this one was good, I would have preferred a weightier white wine with this dish. I felt that the avocado mousse overwhelmed the gentle nature of the wine by just a bit.

Moving on, we were greeted with a beverage intermezzo. In this case, it was a grapefruit and lavender apertif made, we were told, in grain alcohol. An excellent refresher and palate cleanser.

Our next course was Corn Agnolotti, Yuzu Marinated Tomatoes, Preserved Lime and Tomato Nage. It was served with 2019 Babylonstoren Mourvedre Rose from the Western Cape region of South Africa. You may recall from some of our descriptions of wines from this region over the last several months that typical Western Cape wines are very expressive of the soil. And, not surprisingly, this was a somewhat earthy and smoky Rose while still being light and refreshing. The acidity from the soil paired marvelously with the naturally acidic food in the dish, particularly the tomatoes and lime.

From there, we moved on to the star of the night and I say this from a food standpoint, wine standpoint and pairing standpoint. Both the chef and wine director outdid themselves on this one. Halibut, Stuffed Squash Blossom, Pernod Brown Butter, served with 2016 Masseria Setteporte, Etna Rosso from Sicily. A blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, the grapes are grown on the southwest facing slopes of the famous Sicilian volcano, Mount Etna where the volcsnic soil adds a natural acidity.

The poached halibut was undoubtedly the finest halibut eithe of us have ever tasted. Indescribably tender and juicy and enhanced by the anise flavoring from the Pernod and the creamy texture from the butter, the light weight of the wine, often reminiscent of Pinot Noir, combined with the herbal earthiness, reminding us of Sangiovese, was an absolutely magical pairing. We had thought the the pairing from the first course couldn't be outdone, but this one was even better. While I would love this dish again by itself and similarly the wine by itself, in combination, this was an absolute treasure.

Nearing the end of this gastronomic delight, we move on to our final pre-dessert course: Dry-aged Duck, Koji-Asparagus, Kohlrabi, Black Garlic Jus paired with 2014 Bodegas Cyan Tinto de Toro (another name for Tempranillo). Customary for Tempranillo from this region, the wine showed itself to have the characteristic tobacco and leather along with reserved dark fruit. The duck was quite lean, for duck, and the wine was just tannic enough to cut through the remaining fat, and similarly, the fat softened the tannins. At the same time, earthyness went quite nicely with the garlic jus. 

Our final intermezzo was Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu, a lovely Sake served cold (we learned while in Tokyo that the finest Sake is served cold while the ones served warm are usually trying to mask some imperfections.

Dessert was a Raspberry, Yuzu Ganache, Lime Mousse, Raspberry Hibiscus Sorbet served on plates beautifully adorned to help in our celebration. Paired with it was a 2014 Castello di Ama, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico. A blend of Malvasia Bianco and Trebbiano, the wine was appropriately barely sweeter than the dessert with natural fruit flavors coming through to complement the raspberry emphasis of the dessert. It was a wonderful way to finish the evening.

To summarize, the food was consistently exceptional and the wines chosen generally magnificently to accompany the dishes. While one would expect at a "wine dinner" to have foods chosen to showcase the wines being served, here there were wine pairings to showcase the food.

When having a dinner of this sort, do not expect a bunch of big, bold wines as they will often overwhelm rather than complement the foods. Here, instead, the wines must play second fiddle, but barely in this case.

Undoubtedly, the highlights of the night were the Halibut and its pairing with the Setteporte, but almost all of the selections were not far behind. 

If you can get to Candler Park and need a way to celebrate something special, now you know where you might do it.