Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Sierra Nevada Eating

One never visits Lady Di without eating extremely well. We were wined and dined the whole time we were there. On our last night, they recommended going to a restaurant, Moody's Bistro, that is noted for its own made cured meat products (charcutrie). They also had a really good wine list.

While there were tons of California wines as one would expect, that's not where my knowledge lies. I know that Steve and Diana love champagne so I started with a bottle of that.Then my eye fell on a real find, a 1993 Chateauneuf du Pape at what I thought was a very reasonable price. It's hard to find wines with that kind of age in restaurants at a price that I would even think of paying. It was really nice with the fruit still there even after 16 years.
One of the dishes up front was a very nice beet salad.
And of course there was the fabulous selection of house made cured sausage, pates and rilletes.
Steve had a pork scallopine and I had short ribs and we were both very happy with our dishes. The ladies had a halibut dish that bluntly was way over cooked. I asked that they bring out another and it was still too well done. So we were a bit frustrated. But our waiter, who was very well schooled, brought out for us a free dessert (rasberry tart) and gave everyone a nice glass of house made limoncello (awesomely good) which smoothed over any bad feelings. Very classily done.

9 comments:

Lakeview Coffee Joe said...

Well good for you on finding a good wine. No way I could have taken that risk on a 16 year old wine.

WeaselMomma said...

I always enjoy your food posts and laugh because I would never eat anything (or very of it, I am way to finicky a eater).
At Chez Weasel one of the most popular dishes served it double breaded fried chicken served with a side of buttered noodles and steamed broccoli. You'll have to try it and do a review someday.

de-I said...

WM - I would NEVER turned down fried chicken, buttered noodles, and steamed broccoli, all favorites :)

stef said...

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned from you about eating in restaurants is to always give the restaurant an opportunity to correct their mistake. Too many people are afraid to speak up and just leave thinking "what a terrible halibut dish. I'll never go back!" Although it is a shame that the chef didn't seem to know how to cook it properly! ;)

Xani said...

champagne and charcuterie-- yum!

Anonymous said...

I'm always afraid to send something back to the kitchen. But I also haven't been to many classy restaurants so maybe it is a different thing :)

Working in a hotel, I am a big fan of being proactive and training the desk agents on problem resolution. Issues will always arise in restaurants and hotels no matter how proactive people are, but it's all in how these things are handled. I am very glad to hear that your waiter was knowledgeable and able to smooth things over for your table.

*Is there any food you haven't tried??

terri said...

I doubt there are many waiters who could save the day the way yours did. Pretty cool!

Mike said...

Heh... I've been anxiously awaiting the food post for your trip. Once again... none of it looks like anything I've ever eaten (surprisingly enough).

alexis said...

that is great about the service. I wonder if that would ever happen here in Amsterdam