{"id":111599,"date":"2026-02-14T08:24:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T13:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=111599"},"modified":"2026-02-14T08:24:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T13:24:59","slug":"california-grill-february-3-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=111599","title":{"rendered":"California Grill February 3, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Tuesday February 3, Sandy and I convened at the Contemporary Resort\u2019s California Grill for my Birthday Dinner. It has become a mini-tradition.  Hold the phone!  Why Feb 3, when everyone<\/em> knows that the anniversary of my birth falls on  Feb 2? Answer:  Walter doesn\u2019t work on Sundays and Mondays.  You may ask, \u201cWho is Walter?\u201d  Answer: the superb server at Cali Grill who has an assembled pack of patrons who wouldn\u2019t accept a table outside of his section. {Side note: preferred seating in the Cali Grill is a window table that offers a primo view of Disney\u2019s nightly fireworks extravaganza over Cinderella\u2019s Castle]. On Tuesday Walter was assigned a less favorable location. No matter, we go where Walter goes. It\u2019s that simple. Now, to the dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Martini Course
<\/u><\/strong>It is with great relief that after a 2yr hiatus Tanqueray Gin has returned to the bar.  And specifically it\u2019s Tanqueray\u2019s flagship Gin: No. 10. In 53yrs of drinking Martini\u2019s I can attest that Tanqueray 10 is without peer. I ordered it \u201cup\u201d with blue cheese stuffed olives, a bit dirty (with 3 extra olives on the side for a Sandy snack<\/em>).  By the way, Cali Grill takes \u201cdirty\u201d seriously & Walter gave me the skinny<\/em> and I have been sworn to secrecy not to reveal  its mystical essence. [for a deeper dive into my appreciation of Martini\u2019s  http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=110700<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Course: Duck Thai Curry
<\/u><\/strong>Smoked duck, fragrant rice, red coconut curry and Napa cabbage salad. It was a perfect blend of smoke tinged shredded duck and rare duck breast over flavorful curry sauce.  The Napa Cabbage provided a wonderful fresh crunchiness to the dish.  I loved it.  And the Merry Edwards Pinot carried the course.  Rich layering of flavor that didn\u2019t overtake the complexity of the duck, but stood beautifully alongside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wine: Merry Edwards Pinot Noir \u201923 (Russian River, Sonoma County)
<\/u><\/strong>The 2023 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley matured for nine months in 37% new French oak. It has slowly unfurling scents of cranberry, rhubarb, Earl Grey tea leaves, forest floor and dried herbs. The full-bodied palate offers concentrated, autumnal flavors. It\u2019s structured by fine-grained tannins and mouthwatering acidity and has a long, layered finish. 92pts Wine Advocate;<\/em> 93pts James Suckling; 92pts Wine Enthusiast<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Second Course: Venison Strip Loin
<\/u><\/strong>Roasted beets, herbed beet gnocchi, pomegranate gel, parsnip pur\u00e9e and glazed baby turnips. I\u2019ve enjoyed Venison many, many times over the years; but none can equal the pure tenderness of Cali Grill\u2019s iteration. The lush flavor literally melts on your palate.  The veggies & sauce add a dimension of texture and taste that raises the level of the dish to extraordinary<\/em>. The Groth Cab added music<\/em> to this course.  Perfectly scaled, scent, texture and depth of flavor were balanced to a \u201cT.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wine: Groth Cabernet Sauvignon \u201922 (Oakville, Napa)
<\/u><\/strong>An impressive value for an Oakville AVA Cabernet, Groth’s 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a bit reticent and slow out of the chute, but aeration brings out nice aromas of black cherries and subtle cedar notes. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, it’s medium- to full-bodied but streamlined and silky, showing impressive length and elegance for the vintage. The new-oak component comes in at 45%, imparting just enough structure to ensure a decade’s worth of drinkability. 92pts Wine Advocate<\/em>;
92pts James Suckling; 95pts Decanter<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Third Course: Flourless Chocolate-Espresso Cake
<\/u><\/strong>Spiced chocolate cr\u00e9meux, ancho chile-caramel sauce and candied nut crumble. I\u2019m not a huge fan of chocolate; but I am fond of flourless chocolate cake which I find less sweet and if it had been my choice I would have wedded this dessert to a cocoa dusted Cali Cab.  I found the Tokaji was misplaced alongside this dish.  I thought the wine would have been better with any of the other dessert options on the menu. The wine itself was glorious, and in my opinion the best of the 3 wines served. Long before Ch. d\u2019Yquem and the wines of Sauternes earned their fame, the wines of Tokajiwere recognized by European royalty as the bees\u2019 knees <\/em>for sweet (dessert) wine. There is one wine for chocolate based desserts that I love: Late Harvest Monastrell (Mourv\u00e8dre) from Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Royal Tokaji Asz\u00fa 5 Puttonyos \u201918 (Tokaji, Hungary)
<\/u><\/strong>Bright and beautiful, this harmonious version integrates mouthwatering acidity with a rich range of pureed apricot, dried raspberry and orange marmalade, with hints of praline, crystallized honey and sea salt. There’s a plushness to the texture without being weighty; this is long and expressive on the finish. Furmint and H\u00e1rslevel\u00fc. Drink now through 2038. 93pts Wine Spectator<\/em>; #66 Top 100 Wines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On Tuesday February 3, Sandy and I convened at the Contemporary Resort\u2019s California Grill for my Birthday Dinner. It has become a mini-tradition.  Hold the phone!  Why Feb 3, when everyone knows that the anniversary of my birth falls on  Feb 2? Answer:  … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sandys-table"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111604,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111599\/revisions\/111604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}