Saturday night (1/27) was my first time at Studio Kitchen. I had heard so much about Shola Olunloyo’s food that I doubted the experience could live up to the hype. Well I was wrong. The meal was spectacular, and with lots of friends around the table (all to Celebrate Joe Huber’s birthday!) and plenty of fantastic wine, it was an evening I doubt I will ever forget.
We opened with a surprising 1st course. It was a terrine of foie gras with a “simulated olive”. The simulated olive was a pickled black grape, but until I bit into it I had no idea what it was. There was also an exotic sugar (didn’t get the name at my end of the table) on the plate that added some sweetness. We matched the foie with the following wines:
2001 La Tour Blanche
1988 Rieussec
1988 Coutet
For me (and several others) the Rieussec was the wine of the flight. It had some development, and was very spicy with great acidity, though it could certainly stand (need?) more cellar time. The La Tour Blanche was very young, with lots of honeysuckle and powdery floral notes. Way too young, but very easy to drink. The Coutet was the most developed, and showed the nuttiest and most candied to my palate. A very good flight.
Our second course was my favorite of the night. It was roasted potato gnocchi with crab, a slow cooked egg (just past soft-boiled stage in terms of done-ness), porcini and truffle. The aromatics were stunning, and the flavors even better. I was sad when it was all gone. With this dish we had a flight of Chardonnays:
2004 Aubert Ritchie Vineyard
2001 Kistler Cuvee Catheleen
2002 Kitsler Dutton Ranch
I’m not much of a California Chardonnay fan, but I was impressed by these offerings. The Ritchie was not shockingly the most fruit forward, and I also found it to have the most obvious oak. Still, for me, there was good fruit/oak balance, though I would prefer to let it rest a couple of years to integrate more. The first Kistler was wonderful, mineral driven Chardonnay. Delicious stuff. The Kistler Dutton Ranch could not stand up to the competition of the Cathleen, but acquitted itself well, with plenty of mineral backbone, just a tad too much oak for my taste (remember I’m an oakphobe).
The next course was roasted hamachi with a ridiculously delicious boned chicken wing and lentils. I could eat this dish each and every day. The lentils made the dish match decently well with our flight of Pinot Noirs.
2001 Sine Qua Non No. 6 (Shea Vineyard)
2004 Roar Rosella’s Vineyard
2002 Kistler Kistler Vineyard Cuvee Cathleen
I had the Sine Qua Non not too long ago, and this bottle was similar in its impressions. It’s very elegant, which is a bit of a shock given the rep of SQN, but that just shows how talented Manfred Krankl is. He’s more than just a one-trick pony. Very fine fruit definition, and lightness of touch on the finish. The Roar was flawed by reduction (consensus of others) and also very alcoholic. I’m not much of a fan of 2004 California Pinot (though I’m loving 2005 so far), and this was another data point for that analysis. The Kistler was very, very good, with elegant red fruit, good earth and mineral notes, and a long, long finish.
The final “main” course was another winner: slow roasted pork belly in an apply-yuzu broth. The pork had delectable, crispy skin, and the meat was succulent. Fabulous, and sort of like a Peking duck done with pork. The accompanying wines were equal to the task, if a bit heavy for the dish.
2000 Brunel Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire
2000 Pegau Cuvee Reservee
2001 Domaine de Beaurenard ‘Boisrenard’
This flight could only have been better if the wines were more mature. As it was the Pegau was the most open, with the best balance, and purest expression of Chateauneuf. The Brunel Centenaire was the most closed. It needed time in the glass to come out and play, but when it did there was tons of fruit, but very little Chateauneuf-ness. It needs some serious time. The Boisrenard was also very open, and also the most fruity and spice of the bunch. The wood was integrated, but also still added the noticeable vanilla and spice to the deep fruit. All three were extraordinarily delicious.
Dessert was a sort of apple “French toast” with a wine sorbet. The sorbet had a touch of tartness, which enabled the dessert wines to shine. We had an eclectic trio of wines.
1997 Lingenfelder Freinsheimer Musikantenbuckel Riesling Beerenauslese
2005 Rombauer ‘Joy’ (Chardonnay)
2001 La Spinetta ‘Oro’ (Moscato)
It’s not often that a Beerenauslese is the driest wine in the flight, but it was this night. It’s still very immature, but a touch of nuttiness is starting to show to go along with fresh apricots and honey. The ‘Joy’ was all peaches, but a bit soft for my taste. I really liked the ‘Oro’, as it was intensely floral, and had a very long, fruity finish. This was a very nice flight, but after the excellence of the Chateauneuf flight I think anything short of a trio of d’Yquem would have been a letdown.
All in all the Studio Kitchen experience lived up to its billing and then some.