Midnight Cellars Wine Dinner

So Last night we went to our monthly wine dinner at Park Ave. It was great. Only 10 of our party of 14 we reserved for showed up. The wine Host for the evening was Midnight Cellars.

Gabe and I walked over to Chris and Holly's place and met up with Mike and Karen and Toni and took a cab from LBC to Stanton.
We got there early so while waiting in the bar area The guys had beers..

Us Gals had water and soda
Ally soon got there ..I love the purple bar.

It was now time to be seated and move to the appetizers and Sangria being served out in the garden. For Appetizers they had servers walking around with silver trays of Salmon Tar tare (I was too chicken to try) Tomato Carpaccio ( cold tomato soup..It was really good) and a St. Louis Toasted Ravioli (also very good)..Now the Sangria was beautiful!! It was so delish!

The Guys

The Gals

After Sangria in the Garden it was time to move on to our seats inside. Sean finally showed up.

Holly wanted him to put his head under the lamp and read something as if he were at a hairdresser..that's the story of this pix

The first course was served with a chardonnay. It was a petite plate with a pinch of freshly cut Arugula from their own garden,Seared Tuna (just cooked on the outside edges raw inside) with a yogurt dressing and a little pita cracker for crunch ..It was good

Our next course was Osso Bucco. It was very rich and flavorful. Mike getting ready to conquer this battle

I caught Chris sticking his tongue out at Holly again..just like the last time

We had a lot of wine..by this time we just kept toasting to a bunch of different things..so I got to get a shot of one of the many toasts

For Dessert they gave us Poached pears stuffed with Marscapone cheese with chocolate sauce..It was pretty gross ..I don't think any of us ate it.

Well It was time to call the cab to take us back. We could not end the night though just like that. We went over to Mike and Karen's house and had a few bottles,sang some Beatles and had lots of convo. It was a nice time. When It was time to go home ( 2:40am) Gabe had to throw Toni over his shoulder though and carry to her front door.

It was a fun night. I love the wine dinners. They have a special one coming up in June but it will be the weekend when we are on our family camping trip but we will have plenty more to go to.

Coinky Dink??

So I got the notice today for the upcoming wine dinner at Park Ave and it just so happens That it reflects on my whole trip last weekend...We visited Gainey ..it was nice..I think we are gonna pass on this one though......
Gainey Wine Dinner
Our menu for this evening will feature foods of Santa Barbara County
Thursday May 14, 2009
6:45 p.m

We welcome Dan Gainey to Park Ave.
The Gainey family farming philosophy and the history of this property dating back to its farming days as Ronnenberg Dairy are pretty similar, and they have come full circle today here at our restaurant, “high quality and long term consistency” two goals that we strive to meet daily and that are key to the success and growth of our business going forward into our fifth year.

This year the Gainey family celebrates their 47th year of farming and ranching in Santa Barbara County. Since the beginning, it has always been the land and its potential that has guided the family. In 1962, Dan C. and his son Dan J. Gainey purchased an 1800 acre ranch on the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley. With over 1000 acres of rangeland devoted to cattle, 600 acres of farmland, 100 acres of Arabian horses facilities and 100 acres of vineyards, the Gainey Ranch was and still is the largest diversified farming operation in the valley.

Menu

Hors d’oeuvres
Served in the park
Sauvignon Blanc 2007
yellow tail tartare with chiffonade of French breakfast radish
grilled flatbread with fresh mozzarella, first of the season tomatoes and basil
squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta and lemon zest

First Course
Riesling 2007
grilled and chilled Santa Barbara spot prawns
fried green tomatoes and goat cheese

Second Course
Merlot 2006
ostrich “patty melt” on home made toasted brioche
Solvang ostrich burger with house made 1000 island

Third Course
Pinot Noir 2006
pan roasted Jidori chicken
roasted fingerling potatoes and wilted greens

Dessert
Port
satsuma orange tart
chocolate sauce

$50.00 per person food and wine.