September 2, 2017

An Italian-Californian birthday

I got a ping from My Favorite Cousin a couple days ago, telling me that her parents were coming into town this weekend.  Apparently it was my aunt's birthday, so even though I desperately needed break from eating out, I sucked it in and headed to dinner at Giando tonight.

Thankfully we can order à la carte and have an easy evening.  But My Favorite Cousin - being the greedy piggy that she is - decided to over-order... so I had to help her mop up the leftovers.

Insalata di ovuli, tartufo estivo e bottarga - it's hard to resist mushrooms in season, and even tougher when I see the word 'bottarga'...  Pretty fragrant, and overall nice and light.

I had a few spoonfuls of burrata come in Puglia, which was very creamy and delicious.

Fettucine al ragu di volatili - game season is starting, so it's nice to see some game meats on the menu.  You've got pheasant and guinea fowl alongside duck and chicken here, but I guess once the meat is made into ragù, it's no longer easy to taste the gaminess.  Still, this was pretty nice.

Costata di vitello alla Milanese con rucola e pomodorini - Milanese-style veal chops are not usually small, and this one that My Favorite Cousin ordered to share was pretty sizeable.  Nice and crispy breading, and generally not bad.

Sorbetti agli agrumi Siciliani - I was pretty full thanks to the veal chop, but I couldn't pass up these citrus sorbet flavors.  We've got Sicilian mandarin, Sicilian blood orange, and Sicilian grapefruit.  All of them were delicious.

Since it was a birthday dinner, I brought along some wine to help with the celebrations.

1997 Dominus - opened and decanted immediately prior to serving.  Drinking very nicely without much aeration.  Showing good fruit with leather and forest notes.  Smooth on the palate while still full-bodied.

2000 Beringer Nightingale -lots of honey and nutty notes, with raisins, lemon, and acetone.

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