Wednesday Betsy and I went to 5 Feet, a Chinese-fusion restaurant in
Laguna Beach. A nice place we had been before (easy walk from her
grandmother's). I had inquired about corkage ($25, one bottle limit)
and brought along a bottle from a Winex visit so I wouldn't need to
lug back on airplane.

Some very good kimchee was brought out as we perused the menu. Betsy
started with oysters, I had short ribs as an appetizer. The Kumamoto
oysters were fat and juicy (more creamy than minerally), and contrasted
well with the roe (flyingfish? looked like salmon, but smaller) and a
citrusy mignonette sauce. The ribs were tender and flavorful, with a
hoisin sauce and accompanied by a delicious slaw of peppers and green
papaya.

The 1997 Fougeray de Beauclair Bonnes Mares was a very creditable
effort for the vintage. Fat and round, earthy with a strong orientation
towards red fruits. Some remaining tannins and just a hint of spicy
oak. More acidity would have made it more food-friendly, but there was
a nice core of raspberry and cherry fruit over some forest-floor
aromas,and a nice minerality on the finish. B+

For her oysters, I had ordered a glass of Chalone Graff Vineyard Pinot
Blanc -which then reminded me of why I don't usually buy Pinot
Blanc. Soft, innocuous, anonymous. A little bit of oak, with apple and
white peach fruit. Tasted like flat low-acid Pinot Gris. B-/C+

We had drunk half a glass of the Pinot Blanc when the hostess came over
and topped up the glass- with my Bonne Mares. Luckily I noticed before
more than an ounce or two was poured. The hostess apologized, I said it
didn't matter as we probably wouldn't have drunk the rest anyway (I
regretted the loss of the Burg more than the PB being spoiled).

For main courses Betsy got a squab accompanied by a large salad, while
I got the duck two ways- leg and breast meat, with some porcini ravioli
and some Brussels sprouts with bacon. Everything was pretty good,
though I prefer my duck breast with a bit of rareness. Burgundy/PN was
certainly the way to go, good match with both the squab and the duck
(and the mushroom ravioli). Although a smoky Northern Rhone would have
been interesting, too.

Betsy got a crème brulee topped with berries for dessert. Overall we
were pleased with our meal. When the check came I noticed that I had
been charged $11.50 for a glass of "Graff Viognier" instead of the
$8-9 that the Pinot Blanc was listed at. Now, lots of time at the end
of a nice meal I probably wouldn't have said anything over a couple
of dollars. But since the hostess had actually wasted some of MY wine
as well as the btg white, I really didn't want to pay extra for that
btg glass. So I called over waitress, who apologized and took bill
back. 5 minutes later she returned- and set down the exact same bill.
OK, now I was irritated. I called waitress back, pointed out the bill
still was listing the $11.50 viognier (and mentioned we hadn't
finished the PB, and that some of our wine had been wasted- she
wasn't there when the hostess made her mistake). This time the bill
came back correctly.

Normally if I'm paying corkage I tip 20% of what the bill would have
been if I had ordered a moderately priced bottle (in a place like
5'0", I'd probably add say $35 mentally to the $25 corkage, there
are plenty of bottles in that range there) or add the retail price of
the bottle. While service started pretty good, we never saw our actual
waitress between order being placed till the bill incident (runners
brought the dishes), the hostess just said 'oops" after her pouring
mistake, and it was irritating that I had to point out a billing
error twice. If service could equal food (the short ribs and papaya
salad were as good as I've had anywhere), I'd return every time I'm
in Laguna. This time I just tipped 20% of the (finally corrected) bill.


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.

"DaleW" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> We had drunk half a glass of the Pinot Blanc when the hostess came over
and topped up the glass- with my Bonne Mares.

=>8^O

So. How _was_ the rosé? I assume you tasted it. I certainly would have.
:^)

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com