I was having trouble with gifts for Betsy this Christmas besides a few
things she had mentioned, so stuck a "gift certificate" for a date
night at one of her favorite places (Blue Hill at Stone Barns) in her
stocking. Last night was the night, and we had a lovely dinner. The
location (old Rockefeller barns) is really nice, and the food was
excellent.

We were each getting 3 courses plus dessert, I ordered us each a glass
of white and then a half bottle of "Pavelot Savigny" (the waitress
mumbled back "oh, sabany" or something close, but I assumed that she'd
figure it out).

There were a couple of amuse bouches to start, a little shot glass of a
rich vegetable soup topped with homemade "cranberry marshmallow" (quite
interesting) and little crisp/chips of beet and celeriac. Good rolls,
too.

Betsy started with a salad of greenhouse greens and herbs, topped with
mushrooms and a panko-crusted soft egg ("this morning's egg"). She
truly loved the salad, while pondering how it's possible to get a crust
on an egg and still have it soft-cooked. She actually said it might be
the best salad she's ever had in a restaurant- what are the chances of
saying that in January?

2005 Soellner "Wogenrain " Gruner Veltliner - Pretty identifiable GV
character, with white pear fruit with a sash of white pepper and a
little lentily note. Light-bodied, with just a little edge of spritz.
Not profound or long, but a nice light wine to start the meal. B

My starter was a lovely crabmeat salad, a nice scoop in a pool of a (I
believe) lime and fava bean puree,with a little dollop of a citrus
sorbet. The 2005 Roulot Bourgogne Aligoté was quite an excellent
example of the grape, with bright and lively acidity giving it
character. The fruit is mostly citrus (lemon) with just a hint of green
apple, and a very satisfying mineral finish. If you don't fear acid a
very satisfying and versatile white (it went well with my trout also).
B+

Another amuse appeared, a sandwich of thin dark chocolate around foie
gras. My second course was grilled brook trout, on a bed of Brussels
sprouts leaves dressed with pistachios and a sauce of squash and
pumpkin seed. Betsy's gnocchi with riccota cheese, sweet potatoes,
chestnuts and parmesan was good, too.

About that time the sommelier presented a half bottle of Barolo - I
said no, I ordered the Pavelot Savigny (I think the Barolo was Paulo
Scavino, I can see the waitress scanning the half bottles and thinking
that's what I said). He apologized, brought the 1999 Pavelot
Savigny-les-Beaunes. I nodded, he took away (and changed glasses to
Burgundy stems), returned with the decanted bottle. I sniffed- uh oh-
then sniffed again. I was on the fence, and told him that I thought I
got some TCA first whiff, then not on second. He said "you know, I
thought I did at first too, then convinced myself it was just bottle
funk.- will be right back." Second bottle was totally different- no
must, but tons of earth and a little brett (Betsy said "barnyard?", and
I said yes but the little accent I like, not the "I stepped in a
pile"). This 375 was quite lovely, rather masculine and meaty for a
Savigny, with big black cherry fruit and a long finish. Really enjoyed,
B+/A-

Went well with our main courses: I had the Stone Barns Berkshire pig
with guanciale, Brussel sprouts, chick peas, and shell beans; Betsy
had the
grass-fed lamb with a stew of local mushrooms, parsnip purée, hubbard
squash and sunchoke broth. There was a bonus side of squash for us.

I nursed the Savigny through the cheese course (fine examples of
Tallegio and Cabrales, plus an excellent Virginia cheese called Grayson
and a blue from Rogue Creamery in Oregon- idea was pairs of New and Old
World). Betsy enjoyed a filled bread pudding with coffee ice cream and
her Darjeeling tea.

Really nice meal. Food was good (and portions too, except for a
mysteriously small serving of gnocchi-what a funny thing to skimp on)
and service friendly but not intrusive. he original mistake on the wine
was my fault, I should have said "the '99 Pavelot Savigny le Beaune, "
or at least reconfirmed when I saw waitress wasn't certain. I can't
blame the sommelier for the first bottle, we've all had those "is this
right?" moments.
Overall the wine service was well done, with nice stems (and nice
little mini-carafes for the BTG wines, so you could keep as much in
your glass as you wished). Fun night, with my favorite person in the
world.


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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.