WCC St. Julien @ The Chef's Table
in Café Capriccio, Albany, NY (11/7/2013)

My Albany group met in the private dining room of Café Capriccio to taste a collection of wines from St. Julien provided by one generous member of our group. Andrew Plummer joined Jim Rua in the open kitchen to prepare this terrific meal.

Those who know the Capital District dining scene know that Jim Rua has run Café Capriccio as one of the very best restaurants for over 3 decades. And Andrew Plummer was an early protege who went on to brilliance at Café Allegro in Troy, and McGuire’s and Creo in Albany before starting Plummer's Private Dining in 2012.

Dinner started around 7:30 and ended around 10pm. The first flight was double-decanted around 5pm, the rest around 2:30pm.

Click on an image with a border for a larger view of that image, and in some cases, more image.
The Menu. Andrew Plummer & Jim Rua working on dinner.
Calf's Liver for 14.
Seared Strip Steak. Adorable Pears.
Jim Rua cooking the yummiest kale I've ever had.

The gang begins to arrive and set up:

Andrew dishing the Celeriac Purée.


Flight 1.
Crispy Duck with Braised Kale, Roasted Pear, Celeriac Purée, and Blueberry Dem-Glace.
Poached pear with mild blue cheese inside.

Joel going all 21st Century.

Andrew and Jim plotting their next move.
Andrew and Jim plating their next dish.


Flight 2.
Seared Strip Steak with Foie Gras, Truffles, Braised Potatoes, and Parmesan Crisp.



Flight 3.
Sauteed Calf's Liver with Honey Cumin Demi-Glace, Golden Cipollini Onions, Fried Prosciutto, and a Fried Sage Leaf.




Flight 4.
Venison Osso Buco over Soft Pol-Lina with Roasted Vegetables. (Pol-Lina is a mix of polenta and semolina.)

Dessert

Conclusion

It was so generous of Bob F to provide all these classic wines. Sadly, we had a run of bad luck tonight and some of the best wines didn't show well. That, and the brilliant showing of the 1990 Latour didn't do much to help the reputation of St. Julien, at least not tonight. Still, there were some wonderful wines and lots of great food. The food was simply amazing. Many thanks to Andrew and Jim.


Full and Happy Campers


Notes posted from CellarTracker

 

 

 


All original content © Ken Vastola