We didn’t really make a plan for our anniversary this year, grabbed a last minute reservation at the bar at Txikito in Chelsea and drove down on a rainy night.
Hot jida smoked Japanese sausage, guindilla pepper, pickled onion, mustard
Egg and cheese kroketas
octopus carpaccio
chicory salad
Arroz Meloso -bomba rice with shrimp and enoki in a tomato/uni sauce
mar y montana -pork/shrimp "noquis" (meatballs) in a matsutake/nardello sauce with squid ink
Really enjoyed everything (especially the shrimp rice). Fun friendly service.
Betsy had a cocktail, I had 2 BTGs
2023 Zarate Albarino
Fresh, crisp, with limey citrus, a saline mineral note, and a topnote of lemongrass.Maybe not the complexity of the upper end Zarates, but perfect for a BTG pour and very food friendly. B+
2023 Gaintza ‘“Bixigu” Rosado (Getariako Txakolina)\
Midbodied fairly brawny rose, sweet fruit and a touch of herbs, only a hint of salinity to indicate Txakoli, but decent enough BTG pour. B-/B
As we were leaving ran into a wine acquaintance at other end of bar. He said he was having a wine I’d consider evil. While I wouldn’t say “evil. I confess SQN Grenache has no appeal to me (especially with Basque food!).
Fun night with Betsy (with easy drives)
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
