Cave dining

Tonight I was invited to dine with some friends, old and new, by a gentleman in his new "man cave".  He had decided to convert a unit inside an industrial warehouse into his new hideaway, and generously invited us for the very first "boys night" in his cave.  It was a curious collection of car guys, watch guys, and food guys.

The gentleman of impeccable taste had managed to get dinner catered by Chef Antimo "Animal" Merone from L'Altro.  It's not exactly everyday that you find a chef with macarons putting together food in your kitchen…

Foie gras torchon with mango - pretty nice, but would be even better with a couple of grains of salt to season the foie that was marinated in Calvados.

Confit lobster, Jerusalem artichokes puree and chips - the lobster was confit'ed at 90°C for a few minutes and was pretty good.  The Jerusalem artichoke purée was nice, the artichokes chips were better, and of course the shavings of white truffles took the cake.

Delamotte Blanc de Bancs - surprisingly ripe on the palate and not that acidic.  Pretty enjoyable.

63°C Japanese egg, cauliflower cream and porcini mushroom - the egg was done perfect at 63°C for an hour, and the beautiful reddish orange yolk was a sight to behold.  Nice to have both porcini and white truffles together…

2010 Colin-Deléger Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Demoiselles - pretty ripe and sweet on the nose, with citrus, a bit of orange and minerals.  Ripe on mid-palate with acidity coming up on the finish.

Risotto Miramonti with white truffle - VERY good.  Prepared with 3 different types of cheese and done very al dente.  We were joking that if we could still see the risotto, then we weren't getting enough white truffle shavings…

1999 Gaja Costa Russi - smoky, ripe fruits, a little stewed, a hint of spices.

M8 wagyu striploin and red onion marmalade, traditional 25 year balsamico - the wagyu was very, very tender thanks to the fat and the flawless execution.  The red onion marmalade was done with sugar and butter, and slow-cooked for 4 hours.  Very, very yummy.

2009 Geantet-Pansiot Charmes-Chambertin - big nose of forest, pine needle, sweet but very cool fruit.  Still a little sharp and will need more time to soften, but pretty enjoyable.

Tiramisu - a lighter version with Marscapone foam, coffee jelly and chocolate soil.  With white truffle shavings on top, of course!

Finally we have the petit fours, which were:

Chocolate with balsamico

Fruit jelly - I think this is supposed to be mango, but I thought it tasted more like pineapple

Hazelnut choux

Passion fruit macaron with chocolate ganache

And ending the evening with a Partagas Serie D N° 5… I honestly can't remember the last time I had a cigar… Must have been a couple of years ago!

Good food, good wine and good company… Many thanks to the owner of the Chan Cave for this evening.