Viognier is not just a wine!

The wine tasting group that Jeffrey, Bill and I belong to (and you may remember Bob from our cookbook club in this photo!) has an annual dinner. Locating a restaurant that provides gourmet food, private dining room and a general manager and sommelier who will work with a demanding group is always hard to find. In the past, we’ve dined at Sent Sovi in Saratoga and worked successfully with Josiah Slone and his team. This year, I found an old favorite of ours, Viognier in San Mateo. If you are a foodie, you’ve been to Draeger’s Market there. . .the only gourmet grocery store with an escalator! Their gift shop upstairs is unparalleled.

Viognier has been around since Draeger’s San Mateo store opened their doors many, many years ago. They’ve had some wonderful chefs over the years, the most notable being Gary Danko who left them to open his own restaurant in the City. I love “discovering” new chefs whose cuisines appeal to me and who are fun to work with. Preston Dishman, the executive chef has been in a kitchen since he was 14, growing up in South Carolina. He and his wife, Nicole (who is the general manager and sommelier), sold their restaurant in Sonoma, The General’s Daughter, to work at Viognier since 2008. Lucky us!

Our first course was served with Bob’s 2002 Dom Perignon that lived up to its reputation as a rich, well-structured, champagne, creamy with a great depth. The appetizers of Roasted Summer Squash Flatbread; duck confit; broccolini; caramelized onion; Crescenza cheese; Smoked Salmon Flatbread with smoked cream and caviar; and Charcuterie Platter was over the top! I could have made a meal of the wonderful appetizers and loved the duck confit! Each item went well with the champagne. The Dom Perignon was clearly deserving of its reputation as a perfect champagne. Thank you Bob!

After 30 minutes of noshing, waiting for everyone to arrive, saying hi to spouses who joined us for this dinner, we started with our first course. Preston prepared a Seared California King Salmon with Roe, Braised Endive, Warm Bintje Potato Salad, Fin Herb Froth. As you can see from the photo, his portions are generous. Fresh California King Salmon just can’t be beat! My brother is a fisherman and brought some King Salmon to us a few weeks ago and it was divine. This dish was no exception, seared to medium rare, topped with a few jewels of roe that burst with flavor. I love the color of salmon roe, so bright and shiny! The Bintje Potatoe (Bintje, pronounced “ben-jee,” is a potato variety from the Dutch with great flavor) salad was more of a mashed potato salad that was the right complement to the salmon and the herb fin broth brought a touch of the ocean to the dish. We accompanied this dish with two wines: Jeffrey and Ellie’s 1996 Mount Eden Chardonnay and a 2007 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere that David and Michelle shared. Jeffrey’s wine exemplified all that is perfect with California Chardonnays; fruit, elegance with depth and a wonderfully well-integrated balance with a lingering finish that went on and on. The white burgundy was, what can I say, a white burgundy! It was a dry, elegant burgundy, with the richness, complexity and structure that is so typical of one of my favorite wines. Each of these wines went well with the Salmon. It was fun (and delicious) to compare and contrast the two wines.

Our next course was a Fried Pork Trotter, served with Brussel Sprouts, Watercress and Aioli. I’m not sure how he did it but it was so creamy and soft inside with a crispy exterior and as you can see in the photo, perfectly square! I cleaned my plate and enjoyed every bite. As you know, pork trotters are pig’s feet and have become more popular in the US. I used to eat them when I was a child because it was a cheaper cut of meat, like the tongue, kidneys or liver but today it’s a gourmet entré. . . and Preston prepared it to perfection. The item sitting atop the fried trotter was fried pork skin, a Chicharrón, as a humorous touch to the dish. We were fortunate to pair this dish with John and Ann’s 1995 Mazis-Chambertin from Maume. A very refined burgundy that was soft, elegant with dark fruit and floral elements, nice acid balance. It was perfect choice that offset the rich trotters!

Our main entré was a dish to remember! It was a Grilled Boneless Short Rib, Summer Squash, Spinach and Natural Jus. None of us could believe how thick the short rib was. I was amazed with how tender it was with its caramelized crust. I asked Preston to come to our dining room so the group could meet him and thank him for the fabulous meal. One of the questions he was asked was "How did he create this masterpiece?"

His secret was the sous vide (a culinary technique in which vacuum-sealed food is immersed in a water bath and cooked at a very precise, consistent temperature) so the short rib was cooked in its own juices and then grilled to get the caramelized finish. And, of course, as a restauranteur, he has his own meat purveyors that as “mere plebeians” we have no access to. . .boo hoo. We accompanied this course with two wines. Martin shared his 2003 Brunello, La Velona and Einar and Cammy brought a 2006 Domaine de Chevalier. This Brunello was not tannic as many Brunellos can be, but very smooth, fruity and well-balanced and was the perfect wine to pair with the 2006 Bordeaux, with its black currant fruit intermixed with subtle notes of earthy spices. Bravo!

By the time we got to our dessert, I was pretty full but couldn’t pass up the Pain Perdu with Nutella Gelato, Blueberry Jam, Feuillitine Crunch and Peanut Butter smear. We had the pain perdu at our test dinner several months ago with John and Ann and loved the dessert so I requested it for this evening’s dinner. It was made with raspberries at our first dinner and I think I liked the tartness of the raspberries over the sweetness of the blueberries.

On Friday, the pain perdu proved to be the right dessert to go with Bill’s 2001 Chateau Clos Haut-Peraguey. Everyone enjoyed the caramelized flavors with hints of dried of apricots, good acid, lingering fruit on the palate and a lovely nose that is one of the reasons we love sauternes. What a wonderful way to end a wonderful evening filled with wonderful food, wines and friends. And before I end my post, I want to complement our server, Julio, who was the quintessential server and Michael Tupac the Asst. Manager who made sure everyone was happy. We shall return every year!!

If you have a chance to dine out some evening, take the short drive to San Mateo and return to Viognier to taste Preston’s creations and then do some grocery shopping or visit Draeger’s fabulous gift shop. I could spend some serious money there!