A Night of Comfort - Lamb and Red Wine

Well, it is that time of year again...winter. That chill, it makes us want to stay indoors and enjoy the warmth. There are many things that are comforting to me, food and wine are definitely near the top of that list. On this particular cold Sunday night, lamb and merlot were to be the stars of this show!

The lamb, a fresh Manitoba rack of lamb and some lamb sausages with fennel. These were sourced from a local market, La Grotta Mediterranean Market. This is one of the greatest sources I have found in this city for fine meats, sausages and seafood. Yes, I said it...seafood...from diver scallops to live dungeness crab, the selection is amazing. Meat, groceries, seafood, prepared foods and desserts...coffee, might as well throw a wine store in there too for good measure. Without sounding too much like an advertisement, I love this place. The quality is always top notch which is important to me, I will pay more for it!

The merlot, a bottle of Provenance Vineyards Merlot Carneros Beckstoffer Las Amigas Vineyard 02. First, let me say a little about Andy Beckstoffer and Las Amigas Vineyard. Founder of Beckstoffer Vineyards, Andy Beckstoffer is one of the Napa Valley's premier grape growers. He provides grapes to the likes of Acacia Vineyard, Paul Hobbs Winery and Schrader Cellars just to name a few. Las Amigas vineyard was acquired by Beckstoffer Vineyards in 1992/93 and is located in in the Los Carneros AVA. For those unfamiliar with Los Carneros(also known just as Carneros), it is in the southern tip of Napa and is generally the coolest part of Napa Valley. As far as I am aware, Las Amigas Vineyard only produces merlot, pinot noir and chardonnay...all well suited to a cooler climate.

Supporting our lamb and merlot were garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed veggies. The veggies were a delicious combination of sautéed garlic, mushroom, snap peas, spinach and zucchini.

This is comfort food at it's finest. The sausage, delicious and tender with a hint of fennel. The lamb was delicious and tender, very easy to eat...like little meaty lollipops, they do not last long.

Well, back to the wine. So Andy Beckstoffer provides these wonderful grapes from his Las Amigas Vineyard in Carneros to Tom Rinaldi, winemaker at Provenance Vineyards. A little about Tom, he makes some pretty outstanding merlot. He helped start Duckhorn Vineyards in the late 70's as their first winemaker. After helping to put Duckhorn on the map he made his way over to Provenance Vineyards in 2000 where he and Chris Cooney make some unbelievable wines from sauvignon blanc, cabernet franc to malbec...and many more!

There were beautiful notes of dried cherry and apple with a hint of vanilla, very soft and elegant. The tannins were softer than silk...who would have thought that was possible! The flavours were still quite pronounced, even after almost 10 years!

Dinner was great, company was great and the wine was great. What more could you ask for from an evening? What is comfort food to you?

Local Eating - Breakfast at Fresh Cafe

Anyone who is around me with any sort of regularity knows I have been all about locally sourced food this year. The ingredients are more fresh, it's great for the local economy and even better tasting in my opinion. After a wonderful night of food, drinks and fun...a good breakfast is the only way to get started.

I invited a friend with me for breakfast as good food is only better with good company. My first suggestion was Fresh Cafe on Corydon Avenue, I have been before but she had not. If it is your first time, be prepared as they can be very busy...especially on Sunday. Make sure you find a server near the front door and give your name as there is no host/hostess to greet you. It is often very crowded in this area on Sundays, with people enjoying fresh coffee, tea and juice based beverages while waiting for a table.

We started off with a Sweet Potato Latke. This was good, definitely what a latke should taste like. This comes from two seasoned latke veterans! Crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside with a nice texture. Not the best latke I have had, but very good.

We seem to have similar taste for food, and both chose the 2 Vita Eggs with Meat, Turkey Sausage. The yolks were a beautiful golden color, just like the sun. They are local, as are the sausages. I have tried the Bison Sausage too and I definitely prefer the turkey, there is so much more flavor. They are served with roasted rosemary potatoes, what a great start to the morning. I went with my eggs sunny side up and she had hers poached. This was all served with toast and home made crab apple jam.

By the time we finished, we were so full. I have always enjoyed Fresh Cafe's seasonal menu with as much locally sourced ingredients as they can get. We both had a great time and will definitely return again soon.

Fresh Cafe
775 Corydon Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
204-221-5775