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It's been a couple of weeks, but our good friends the Birdiegolfs still wanted to celebrate my birthday with me. I wasn't very particular about the venue this year, but when
Locanda was suggested as one of the choices, I immediately asked whether they could still serve the black truffle carbonara that I had missed out on right before my birthday. Ahleeso checked with the chef, and happily reported back that they were still able to do it.
Locanda is a restaurant that Foursheets and I like well enough, but somehow we don't go there enough because it doesn't pop up in our heads when we think of places to go. That needs to change. We also need to make our first visit to
Aedes Wine and Pasta Bar next door.
Gavin had forgotten that we are friends with Ahleeso, so he was a little surprised to see me walk in tonight. I hope that makes up for not answering his call on the black truffle dinner.
Culatello di Zibello D.O.P. - we needed something to go with our Champagne, and this is always a good idea.
Crispy flatbreads - always crunchy and tasty, and great with the tomato ricotta.
Olive sourdough
Stuffed baby squid with squid ink sauce, zucchini flower tempura - this looked very pretty, and very Mediterranean. There was nice acidity in the squid ink sauce.
The squid came with slices of baby zucchini on top. And stuffed with a vegetable ragù made with onions, capers, and endives. Very refreshing.
Ahleeso loves
mussels and apparently these had just arrived right before we did. Very nice.
These
potato croquettes had liquid centers with bits of ham. Very nice. Another off-menu item we would never have known about had we not come with regulars.
Spagetti con bottarga di Muggine - I did not ask for this, but I loooooooove
bottarga, especially with pasta. It's something I used to make at home for myself.
I just love the flavors... that slightly bitter aftertaste. And I always enjoy the way
bottarga sticks to the teeth a little.
BABY, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR.
Homamade fettucine carbonara, winter black truffle, wattle seeds - OK, I wasn't expecting the plate to be completely covered in black truffle shavings, but then again, it's hardly surprising.
Carbonara is my favorite pasta, and I especially love the presence of
guanciale, but in this case... the balance was off thanks to waaaay too much black truffle here. I could no longer taste the true flavor of carbonara. That's not to say I didn't appreciate all the beautiful and fragrant truffle we had, of course... but I'd really love to have Steve's carbonara "as is".
Gyeongju Hanwoo beef striploin, pink lady apple purée, fried potato, marsala wine sauce - Hanwoo is always a good idea, and the pairing with apples with acidity was interesting.
We were originally going to take it relatively easy tonight, as I brought just one bottle of red. Ahleeso was very generous and brought two bottles of Champagne for my label drinker...
Pascal Henin L'Appel de la Forêt, dégorgée à 11 Octobre 2022 - the non-vintage version, which was different from the bottle of 2014 I tasted 2 months ago. Nice and toasty on the nose, and also a bit oily. There was a decent amount of depth on the palate, with good acidity.
Romain Henin Galip'ette, dégorgée à 10 Mai 2023 - the nose was pretty sugary, a little caramelized, with a hint of sugar cane. The palate did have the acidity, and was a little sharp on the attack but then softened up a little. For some reason the nose reminded me of
kir royale, and there was a shade of cough syrup, too...
1970 Latour - mid-shoulder level. Tasted almost 1½ hours after opening and just after decanting. CORKED. Got that green vegetal and wet cardboard nose. Still corked an hour later. It was drinkable with smoke and a bit of grilled meats on the nose. Showed some graphite notes about 5 hours after opening. But what a disappointment!
Decided to open another bottle of red since the only one I brought was corked, so I picked something from the restaurant wine list.
2007 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin - got that acidity I expected from Barolo. Interestingly the color of the wine was lighter than the Latour nearly 40 years older! Smoky nose with some nice fruits.
No dessert for us, but we finished with a shot of
limoncello made in-house.
Once again I am very, very grateful for Mr and Mrs Birdiegolf for the treat. Unpretentious and delicious food, plus Champagne that made the label drinker happy. Need to return the favor sooner rather than later.
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