Text 21608, 93 rader
Skriven 2007-10-21 21:51:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: end o trip 322
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After that quick 150-minute lunch, it was back southward:
Palisades Parkway, Jersey Pike, and 301 to the Bay Bridge.

Somehow, we found ourselves at dinnertime in the vicinity of
a place Carol had wanted to show me - Lisa's Small Plates
and Wine Bar, in an ugly strip mall beside rte 50 just
before the bridge. She and her friend Eden had eaten there
not long ago on their way back from the beach, and I'd heard
much (mostly good, all amusing) about the place.

When we were seated, Carol asked about the specials, which
on this night, Ladies' Night, were $3 Martini drinks (Cosmos,
real or fancy Martinis, apparently anything in that shape
glass) and $3-a-glass house wine.

I ordered calamari with Thai dipping sauce, which turned out
to be a dish of slightly oily fried rings with the usual
thick sweet-hot vinegar sauce; decent, would have been
better if fried in hotter oil.

Carol countered with oyster sliders, one apiece for $7 -
a bit of hoagie bread, lettuce, tomato, and a big oyster,
also fried in not-quite-hot-enough oil; on the side
remoulade (decent), cocktail sauce (didn't try), and
something that was between Essence and Old Bay.

My duck breast on apple-cranberry chutney came rare as
ordered, plopped atop a bed of not-too-sweet, fairly tart,
not spicy at all fruit sauce: a nice dish even at $11 for
one breast half and no sides.

Chicken pot pie was definite comfort food, mildly seasoned,
the chicken and veggies in tiny tender bits, appropriately
gummable, the pastry also tender. Not my thing, but I guess
good for what it was.

We tried all the house wines but two (the Nathanson Creek
Sauvignon Blanc and the Modifier Noun Cabernet did not
seem to appeal).

Sycamore Lane Pinot Grigio was a totally neutral wine: one
could drink lots of this lemon water and not get buzzed and
perhaps not remember that one had been drinking at all. As
such, it washed down the food nicely but did nothing else.

I asked for the Sutter Home Moscato (yes, that Sutter Home).
The waitress asked if I was familiar with Moscato. I said,
yes, why? She said, some people find it a bit sweet. I said,
put it this way, what would you drink with fried calamari
with Thai dipping sauce? She said, point taken.

With the duck, the Leaping Horse Merlot was surprisingly
decent, with not only the expected massive amount of fruit
but a bit of tannin and structure as well.

Redwood Creek Chardonnay was lightly oaked, a little off
dry, and good with the chicken pot pie (neither of which
I ordered).

Desserts didn't call our name, so I asked for two glasses of
white Port.

Churchill was only a little sweet, quite acid, maybe a tad
corky. Searingly hot, and when I said it had a caramel
aspect, Carol said no, butterscotch, because of the alcohol.
Also white pepper, raisin stems, other harsh things.

Rozes was quite a contrast: unctuously sweet, very smooth,
no alcoholic kick. Flowers and fruits as opposed to spices,
and here was real caramel (we agreed). It was also crystal
clear, while the Churchill was rather turbid.

Halfway through our investigations, the waitress complicated
things by coming back with another glass - she said that
they'd found another bottle of Churchill in the back and had
tasted both, and they thought that the first one they'd
brought had gone off, so here was another. It was very
similar except that it was smoother and not so boozy - we
thought that the first one tasted like the second with a
tot of raw brandy added.

Turns out the specials for Ladies' Night are good only for
Ladies (duh!), and we were charged full boat ($6) for my
glasses of house wine. Not a great tragedy, except that
that brought the price of Sutter Home to $24 a bottle, a
bit much considering that the stuff retails for $5.

From there it was a mere hop, skip, and jump across the
Bay Bridge and home with the top down.

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