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Yes - I've been to Barbuto before -
No - I did not follow Frank Bruni's advice to order the best Roast Chicken in New York -
Instead - I ordered a single grilled Scallop on a bed of swiss chard garnished with roasted pistaccio nuts -
Yes - It was perfect -
Bordeaux in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria -
Annual tasting of the Grands Crus de Bordeaux -personal focus this year - Pomerol & Sauternes et Barsac - 16 wines in a little over 1/2 hour - lengthly masterfully crafted tasting notes replaced with check-marks and one/two word summaries -
Rain - Sauvignon Blanc - 2007 - purchased a bottle at the OUEST bar instead of an opening bourbon - classically NZ -
Got the great grass - grapefruit - citrus - supposed to have gooseberry but I couldn't ID - crisp - cutting - refreshing - nice acid - thumbs up from all who tasted at supper -
Well priced - 30s at the restaurant - as low as 12.99 on-line - great bang for the buck - i.e. - pick some up -
8:00 - rain pouring - we arrived at Alex Urena's - Pamplona - expecting to experience his take on - "casual" - Spanish cuisine - heading back uptown around 10:00 - he had other plans for us - keeping us going until "Round Midnight" -
From the first Sopa de Castanas (cheese fritter) of the Chef's Tasting Menu through the last Buñuelos de Chocolate (chocolate fritter) - with each of the nine courses - plus a perfect Priorat - everything was - Just Spectacular -
Hadn't enjoyed Coturri in a while - too long - what better way to get back in the groove than to slip a favorite into a brown bag for the Thursday night tasting ritual -
Coturri Founders Sangiovese 2003 - proved a stumper -
Shared tasting notes with the winemaker - Tony Coturri - who himself had some thoughts to add on a great bottle of wine -
Campbell - Rutherglen - Muscat - NV - Australia - 100% Ruthenglen Muscat grape - Campbell uses solera method to update/blend current/past wine and attain consistency -
Dark - dark amber - lots of raisins - very big - almost thick - could not get pass glass and a half (minis) - group liked but was not overwhelmed - listed at 17.5% alc but absolutely no heat -
On the "official" website - suggestion to put it into the freezer - pour over vanilla ice cream - could definitely see this as a possibility -
Sip of Charles Ellner Seduction Brut 1999 - bite of American Hackleback Caviar atop homemade toast points - another sip of Champagne - its New Years Eve -
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