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Santorini's Spectacular White Wines

How wonderful to taste the wines of Santorini right here, in the United States. 

They're bright, with pleasant acidity and a distinctive touch of minerality from the volcanic soils in which the grapes are grown. Most of the wines are white, made from Santorini's premier wine grape Assyrtiko as well as two other local grapes, Athiri and Aidani. 

The soils resulted from a mammoth volcanic eruption some time between 1645 and 1500 B.C.  This created Santorini's dramatic rocky landscape, which plunges sharply to the sea, its breathtaking heights crowned with brilliant whitewashed buildings.

No wonder this Greek island in the Aegean Sea is a tourist draw. But now there's a movement to make it just as well known for its unique agricultural products. Underway is a three-year campaign called "Unbox Santorini Volcanic Terroir," which focuses on PDO agricultural products--PDO meaning Protected Designation of Origin.

Funded by the European Union and Union of Santorini Cooperatives "Santowines," the campaign focuses on wine, fava beans and Santorini tomatoes, which you can eat fresh there or canned abroad, as in the double concentrated tomato paste above. Learn more about these products here. 

Traveling across the United States, the promotion stopped in Los Angeles at République, where five of the wines were poured.

The standout was the Assyrtiko Grande Reserve 2017, oak-aged, golden-toned and with such rich flavor that I found it irresistible.

First up was the Santo sparkling brut 2015, made by the traditional Champagne method and 100% Assyrtiko. This is the first Assyrtiko sparkler produced by a winery in Santorini.

The fruity, bone-dry Santorini Assyrtiko 2018 that came next would be ideal for pairing with anything from fish to spicy Asian cuisine. 

Santorini Aspa 2018 blends 75% Assyrtiko with 15% Athiri and 10% Aidani. Oak-aged for three months, this wine is crisp, full-flavored, dry and lively.

And for dessert, there is the liqueur-like Vinsanto 2012, made from sun-dried grapes and aged in oak for three years. The composition is 85% Assyriko and 15% Aidani. Deeply colored, the wine is almost syrupy, with notes of raisins and honey. It's beautiful by itself or with a very simple dessert--you would not want to overpower the luxurious flavor.

République paired the wines with appetizers including big eye tuna tartare with Santorini tomatoes and kaluga caviar, and Gioia burrata toast with Santorini favas and a slice of Périgord black truffle (above).

To learn more about Santorini wines and to locate distributors of Greek wines across the United States, go to the website of Diamond Wine Importers.

A map on the site shows Santorini's location in the South Agean. A glossary of Greek wine varieties includes Assyrtiko and Athiri, and a photo gallery shows how Santorini's dry-farmed grape vines are trained to grow close to the soil.

How to Pair Great Barolos with Food

You have a pricey bottle of Barolo. You splurged to buy it, or maybe a generous friend gave it to you.

What kind of food should you pair with it? Nothing spicy or sweet, because you don't want to overpower the elite flavors. 

For inspiration, see what Spago in Beverly Hills served at a tasting lunch for the Barolos of Fontanafredda. These were prestigious wines, ranging in age from 1996 to 2015 and in price from $54 to $165. Most were current releases. A couple were library wines.

Barolo is made from the Nebbiolo grape and comes from Piedmont. The wines tend to be high in tannin and lend themselves to long aging. They are powerful and partner well with substantial food, and so Spago's lunch was rich and hearty.

First up was mushroom and leek risotto with Parmigiano. This came with the two youngest wines, the Barolo Serralunga d'Alba 2015, which was the first single village Barolo produced since 1988. And the Barolo Fontanafredda MGA 2013.

An MGA is a specific production area within a municipality in the Barolo appellation.

A really big dish, fit for big wines, was grilled côte de boeuf, sliced and ranging from rare to well done, accompanied by a bacon-potato terrine. The sauce was an Armagnac-peppercorn emulsion.

If you didn't eat beef, the alternative was seared Scottish salmon with roasted root vegetables, wild mushrooms, bacon and a mushroom emulsion.

The four Barolos now poured started with the Barolo Vigna La Rosa 2011 (at the top), from one of the first vineyards in the Barolo area. The 1996 Vigna La Rosa, a library wine, came from the same vineyard.

These were followed by two Fontanafredda Barolo riservas, from 2010 and 2000. The 2010 wine was the highest priced wine at the tasting.

The 2000 was a library wine and so it had no price.   

The same Barolos continued through dessert, which wasn't a sugary concoction but a wedge of flora chèvre--goat cheese. The only sweetness came from chestnut honey on the crumbs around the cheese. The bread contained nuts and dried cherries. 

An additional wine came at the beginning, a sparkler to welcome guests and ease their way into the Barolos to come.

This was the Contessa Rosa sparkling rosé 2012, made from 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay with a dash of 1967 Barolo added after the second fermentation in the bottle.

Rosy goat cheese beet crackers were served as the sparkler was poured.

Also bacon en croûte.

And smoked salmon on a crust.

Guests had come to taste and study, not to drink as much as they could, although wines of this quality certainly tempted one to do that. This is why so much wine remained in the glasses as lunch ended and they departed.

During the lunch, chief winemaker Giorgio Lavagna (above) commented on the wines. Lavagna spoke in Italian, and Chiara Destefanis of Fontanafredda translated. Co-host was Bethany Burke of Fontanafredda's importer, Taub Family Selections.

Fontanafredda is situated on 250 acres in Serralunga d'Alba. As of the 2018 harvest, it is the largest certified organic company in Piedmont.

How to Cook Okra So You'll Love It

Hate that slimy stuff called okra?

You'll change your mind when you taste okra cooked the right way. There's no gushy slime, just wonderful flavor and perfect texture, making it a joy to eat. 

Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya (above) gets this effect by roasting okra with cherry tomatoes and red onion, then adding a dash of Indian seasonings, lime juice and cilantro.

She explained how to do this at a class in the patio adjacent to Adya. The topic: "Indian Spices in Everyday Cooking." The theme was how to enhance food with a few spices such as Indian chaat masala and cumin rather seasoning with a raft of spices as in curries and other complex Indian dishes.   

Born in Jaipur, where her parents had gone to attend a wedding, Mehra grew up on the East Coast, planned to become a doctor and then realized she was meant for something else--cooking. Today, she's an excellent chef and teacher.  

Adya in the Anaheim Packing House (above) is where she teaches. Another Adya is in Irvine. 

Throughout the year, Mehra gives classes on a wide range of topics. Get the schedule here. They're well worth attending and include lunch (part of mine is above), recipes and wine, beer or chai. Tip: the chai is amazing.

And so is this okra recipe:

ROASTED OKRA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND RED ONION
From Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya

1 pound okra, sliced lengthwise
2 serrano chiles, sliced lengthwise
1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons chaat masala, available in Indian markets
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the okra, chiles, tomatoes, onion, salt and oil. Mix gently, just to combine. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until some charred spots are visible. Remove from the oven and toss the warm mixture with chaat masala, lime juice and cilantro. Serve warm. 

You'll Love These Crunchy Indian Fries

These are the crunchiest fries you could ever crunch on.

They're not potatoes, they're idlis, South Indian steamed cakes made from a rice and lentil batter (above). Sliced and deep-fried, they turn into an incredible snack that kids go crazy for, especially because they come sprinkled with tomatoes, onions and cilantro, almost like salsa.  

But they don't lose their Indian identity entirely. The traditional idli accompaniments come with them too. These are sambar, which is a thin lentil and vegetable soup for dipping or pouring over, and fresh coconut chutney, made extra creamy with ground cashews. 

The only place you can get the fries is Udupi Palace, a South Indian vegetarian restaurant in Artesia's Little India.  And you have to know the password, because they're not on the menu. Just say  "fried idlis," and you'll be rewarded with a sensational snack.

Udupi Palace has another innovation that you won't want to miss. It's a sort of South Indian quesadilla (above), with a golden brown dosa subbing for tortillas as the wrapper.

Inside are Jack and Cheddar cheeses, tomatoes, onions and jalapeños (above). Like idlis, dosas always come with sambar and coconut chutney so these are provided too. 

The name is Spicy Chilly Cheese Dosa, and it's in a long list of dosas on the menu (above). These large crisp crepes are as typical of South India as tacos and quesadillas are of Mexico. Maybe that's where the idea came from.

After this spicy food, you'll want something cooling, like rose lassi (above). Flavored with rose syrup, it's topped with ice cream sprinkled with pistachios. Sweet basil seeds (sabja) are mixed in, and the one in the photo includes translucent falooda noodles too.  

Also, be sure to ask for a milky Mysore coffee. One taste and you'll know why South India is as famous for its rich, deeply-flavored coffee as for its unique cuisine.  

Udupi Palace, 18635 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA 90701. Tel: (562) 860-1950.

Montrésor, Elegance and Good Food

Montrésor is simply dazzling, what you see when you enter and what you get on the plate.

This is why, only a few weeks after opening, the wait to get in can take 1 1/2 hours on a Saturday night.  

In contrast to today's spare, minimalist, noisy restaurants, Montrésor is all about ornate furnishings, flowery fabrics and lush comfort that hasn't been fashionable in decades. Maybe not since the 1890s, the era of the French bordello mirror (above) that stands against one wall.  

Ann Booth Luly, the designer, calls the style "fairytale French." Luly, who did much of the work by hand, is partners in the restaurant with Lisa Long, actress and veteran restaurant owner.

The menu is overseen by executive chef Paul Shoemaker (above), who puts a lot on a plate. 

Seared foie gras, for example, comes with cocoa ginger, quince and orange sauces, powdered foie gras and crunchy bits of orange meringue (above).  

Asparagus (above) has a black truffle ragout underneath, a Port reduction, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese foam, morel mushrooms, miner's lettuce, and a sprinkle of black truffle and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. It's not ordinary asparagus either but fat stalks from Zuckerman Family Farms of Stockton. 

Crab cakes (above) come with the expected remoulade sauce but also with Meyer lemon gastrique, pepperberry and lemon sauces and a frisee salad stacked high on top.

Representing French tradition are classic onion soup and the charming gougères (above) that come with bread.  


The menu changes often, reflecting seasonal availability and inspiration. A recent addition was turbot with ramps, sweet garlic and black trumpet mushrooms (above). 

Black bass (above) was dolled up with porcini mushroom ragu, cherry tomatoes and heirloom Bloomsdale spinach.

Short ribs, which are served only medium rare, the menu says, were American Wagyu, with potato fondant and tomato confit (above). 

Desserts change regularly. The other night there were just three:

A soft, luscious creme brûlée with pistachio biscotti (above).

Milk and honey panna cotta (above) that contained berries and bits of honey comb. 

And profiteroles (above) piled high with vanilla ice cream, chocolate, toffee almond brittle and Chantilly cream. 

There's an ample wine list, and if you order by the glass, you get a refill in a carafe.

Montrésor means "my treasure," and it's a treasure for Valley residents and a destination restaurant for others. Located on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City, it's open currently for dinner and Sunday brunch but not yet for lunch. 

Montrésor, 11266 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604.  Tel: (818) 760-7081. For more about the restaurant, its hours, menus and events, click here. 

Feasting in Private at Disneyland

Sure Disneyland is magic, but the greatest magic for me isn't the rides. It's a secret place behind a plain door. There's no line and no entry unless you're a member or invited by one (that's how I got in).

This is Club 33, a sumptuous retreat for high-flyers. The restaurant (at the top) is fantastic, with great food, wine pairings, beautifully set tables and service that takes care of anything you need, including charging your cell phone. 

Pampering starts as soon as you enter the secret door. You're led to a cooler with refreshing water flavored according to the season. Then up to a gorgeous lounge, Le Salon Nouveau (above), where the fun drinks menu includes a category of "lost drinks," which are cocktails from the past. 

I had the best rum drink ever there. It was Throws and Maskers (that's New Orleans Mardi Gras lingo), made from Demerara rum, passion fruit, lime, falernum and Spanish bitters (above). 

And then on to Le Grand Salon, decorated for Christmas when I was there, and a four-course lunch.

How could anyone resist a truffle crepe (above) with roasted salsify, fennel and Gruyère Mornay sauce? 

Or smoked Maple Leaf Farms duck breast (above) with a mousse of Saint-André cheese and huckleberry conserve? These were appetizers.

No need to resist, I had both and then moved on to cider-braised pork osso buco with ragú of bacon, roasted apple and celeriac (above).

Because it was near Christmas, the desserts included a slice of Valrhona chocolate bûche de Noël (Christmas log, above).

And I begged a taste of someone else's caramel mousse Napoleon with almond brittle and orange pomegranate caramel (above). 

What eclipsed everything was the restaurant's grand plateau selection of chilled seafood (above).

Wines are matched to each dish. To start, Scharffenberger Cellars' Brut Excellence, a sparkler from Mendocino County.

For the duck, a southern Rhone Rosé, Chêne Bleu 2016, which blends Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre and Rolle.

With the pork came La Sirena's Pirate TreasuRed 2013, a blend of seven grapes from winemaker Heidi Barrett.

The sweet wine with dessert was Blandy's 15-year-old Malmsey Madeira.

And to end it all, a signature cappuccino.

And then outside to line up for the rides and wander about, logging more than six miles on foot to compensate, at least a little, for this over-the-top feast.  

How to Get Spaghettini's Top Recipes

Love mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs? 

Then you have to get "From Our Home to Yours," the brand new cookbook from Spaghettini restaurant in Seal Beach.

These dishes may sound ordinary, but in the hands of Spaghettini chef Victor Avila, they're anything but. Think light-textured pork meatballs combined with house-made pasta in a marinara sauce based on San Marzano tomatoes (above).  

Or macaroni in a Gorgonzola cheese sauce with broccoli (above). That box stuff you get at the supermarket is nothing like this rich blend of pasta with cream, chicken stock, both Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheeses and slightly crunchy steamed  broccoli. 

Sold? You can order the book from the restaurant's website. Better yet, go there, pick up a copy and taste the food first hand.

Spaghettini is a rarity in a trendy world where restaurants come and go in a flash. It's almost 30 years old, and executive chef Avila has been there for 27 years.

Behind this success story are co-owners Laurie Sisneros and Cary Hardwick, shown with Avila at the book's launch party.  Starting from nothing, they've built up a place known not just for food but for its Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch, where you can hear top artists at a fraction of what you would pay at other venues.

There's a spacious new patio too, perfect for a sunny lunch (above). That's where the launch party took place, staged with Melissa's Produce, a cookbook sponsor that has collaborated with the restaurant as it developed. The other book partners are Hamilton Meats and Provisions and Wild Fish Seafood Co. Inc.

The book contains recipes for everything from creamed corn and artichoke dip (you'll want both for the holidays) to sophisticated contemporary dishes.

One of these is caramelized Scottish salmon with baby bok choy, jasmine rice and sweet potato strands (above).

Pommery shrimp, on the menu from the beginning, has a sauce of white wine, heavy cream, shallots and Pommery mustard (above). How could you not love this? 

For bruschetta (above), toasted baguette slices are accompanied by baby heirloom tomatoes dressed with olive oil, red wine and balsamic vinegars and sprinkled with basil.

The salads include a showy caprese (above). The heirloom tomatoes are drizzled with olive oil and a balsamic reduction and topped with either buffalo mozzarella or burrata.

The classic iceberg wedge salad has been updated with a dressing that incorporates premium blue cheese. That's applewood-smoked bacon on the side.


Still more dishes at the book launch were tuna tartare, a beet salad with goat cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts and peas and feta (above).

Could anything top these? Yes, white chocolate cheesecake with swirls of guava and blackberry sauces.

And to end, glasses of the house sparkling wine (above), perfect for offering a toast to "From Our Home to Yours."

Spaghettini Fine Dining and Entertainment, 3005 Old Ranch Parkway, Seal Beach, California 90740. Tel: (562) 596-2199 or (714) 960-6002.

Here's Where to Try Indo-Chinese Food

My favorite place for Chinese food right now is Little India in Artesia, not the San Gabriel Valley, Hong Kong or Taipei.  

The food isn't classic Chinese but Indo-Chinese, what people in India like to eat. I love Hakka noodles, vegetables Manchurian, chilli chicken, Szechuan fried rice and whatever else turns up on the lunch buffet at Wok N Tandoor. 

The buffet offers a tremendous variety of food for $12.95, not just Chinese, but Indian vegetarian and meats such as chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken and goat curry.

Dishes change from time to time, but the selection is always big and includes soups such as hot and sour and sweet corn.

It's a novelty to accompany Chinese dishes with naan bread and vegetable biryani instead of the usual white rice. Even better, compose a series of plates, first Chinese, then Indian. Or try Chinese chill chicken and scallion chicken along with tandoori chicken for a cross-cultural experience. 

You could compose a fusion appetizer plate of corn chaat, khadi pakoras (in yellow sauce, above) and Chinese bhel, which is composed of crisp thin noodles in spicy sauce.

Papdi chat with garbanzo beans (the white dish in the photo) was in the lineup the other day, the sauce creamy, slightly sweet and cooling alongside the spicy dishes.

The food is promptly replaced as it disappears. Hakka noodles (Bombay style flat lo mein noodles, above) ran out because of customers like me, who scooped them up liberally, but the tray was quickly refilled. 

Vegetable balls in Manchurian sauce (above) were in demand too. 

The buffet ends with salad makings and a heavenly assortment of desserts, all the golden, syrup-soaked jalebis  you could ever want, carrot halwa, green dudhi halwa, which is made with bottle gourd; mango pudding and others, changing from day to day. 

Wok N Tandoor is very popular--every table was taken for lunch when I was last there, on a Sunday. Service is excellent. Water glasses are refilled constantly, and a waiter offered to bring naan when we didn't know it was included.  Plates were removed as soon as they were finished. And you can go back to the buffet as many times as you like. 

Names of the dishes are written on the glass sneeze guards, so it's easy to find out what they are.  

The restaurant is in a mall at the corner of Pioneer and Artesia Boulevards. Years ago, the same site was occupied by a Woodlands vegetarian restaurant. After that it had Parsi owners who occasionally put Parsi dishes on the buffet. 

Now it's a restaurant and bar. On weekends, get there early to avoid the crowds. Buffet days are Friday through Sunday, when Little India is crowded with shoppers. Tuesday through Thursday, the restaurant offers combo lunches instead. There's also a long a la carte menu of both Chinese and Indian dishes. 

Wok N Tandoor, 11833 Artesia Blvd. (corner Pioneer Blvd.), Artesia, CA 90701. Tel: (562) 424-4567. Lunch buffet Friday through Sunday, combo lunches Tuesday through Thursday. Closed Monday. 

Where to Get a Big Bowl of Moqueca

The Brazilian restaurant Moqueca is famous for one dish. It's called moqueca, like the restaurant.

What you get is a big clay pot filled with seafood in a tomato sauce brightly flavored with cilantro, coconut milk, limes, onion, garlic, olive oil and urucum.

You may never have heard of urucum, but if you've been to Yucatán, you've tasted it. It's achiote (annatto), a red seasoning also used in Filipino and other cuisines. If you like spicy, you tip in malagueta pepper sauce from a bowl on the side.

In a tasting of two moquecas, the winner was a combination of lobster tails and shrimp. Its sauce seemed more full flavored than a moqueca with seabass. Perhaps imagination, piqued by the costly ingredients ($74 for a large serving, $40 for the small size) was at work.

The handmade black pots get a lot of wear. Owner Gloria Sarcinelli (above) goes to Brazil every year to buy more. The pots, and the dish, are from her homeland, Espírito Santo state. That state is on the coast, and perhaps this is why the restaurant is located by Oxnard's Channel Island Harbor Marina.  

The menu is long, offering much more than moqueca. If I lived nearby, I would drop in regularly for a bowl of caldo verde (above), a thick green soup of collards and potato with smoky tastes of bacon and sausage.

I might add to that quibes (kibbeh), bulgur and beef meatballs from Brazil's Lebanese community (above). These come with a honey mustard dipping sauce. 

Drinks take up two pages of the menu. The obvious choice is a caipirinha, made with cachaça, a sugarcane spirit from Brazil (above). The cocktail comes in a glass provided by Leblon, the cachaça producer. On the side is house-made tapenade. 

Among the desserts is pavê de amendoim, a must if you're addicted to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (above). It tastes so like them--a peanut and chocolate cream layered with cookies.

Moqueca recently opened a second location, in Thousand Oaks. The reason you might still want to head to the Oxnard original is the view. This is what you see while you eat there.

Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine, 3550 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite 201, Oxnard, CA 93035. Tel: (805) 204-0970.

Also at 1610 Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks, CA., CA 91360. Tel: (805) 230-3585.

Observing Ramadan at the Olive Tree

This sumptuous spread of food at the Olive Tree in Anaheim looks like a holiday extravaganza that takes days, even weeks, to prepare and happens just once a year.

Only it happens every night during Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. Once the sun goes down, Olive Tree's iftar buffet opens, often to a sell-out crowd. What you see above are appetizers, salads and side dishes.  Meat, chicken and fish dishes fill six hot trays in another section. 

Up to 160 can attend, sitting at tables that line the sidewalk outside and under a tent (above) that is set up just for this observance because the restaurant is too small to accommodate so many.

The dishes vary slightly each day, because some customers come every night. Staples are  dates, which are always on hand at Ramadan dinners, and pita breads (above).

Fried zucchini with yogurt is at the bottom center of this display. Behind are hummus and baba ghanoush.

This is fattoush, a salad laced with crisp bits of fried pita bread.

Still more dishes were stuffed grape leaves, golden brown fried corn fritters, spicy chicken wings, cauliflower with eggs, falafel and labneh (drained yogurt) combined with walnuts.

There were meat pies, spinach buns, fried tomatoes with mozzarella and cheese rolls, so much food that it took two platters to hold even a small taste of everything. The soup of the day was lentil. 

This beautifully cooked rice was enriched with crunchy golden brown almonds. Rice with lentils was topped with glistening, dark brown fried onions. 

Fried tilapia and shrimp  (above) were placed on a bed of rice. There were also lamb shanks, an Olive Tree specialty; roast chicken and boiled whole potatoes stuffed with meat and onions. 

Observant Muslim women cover their heads, like these lined up at the buffet.  Some of them found a quiet corner for prayers during the meal.

Traditional Ramadan beverages include the apricot drink at the right. The dark drink is jallab, made from a syrup flavored with dates, grape molasses and rose water.

The dessert for this dinner was syrup-glazed fried pancakes with mild cheese inside (above).

Ramadan continues through the evening of July 17. If you want to attend one of the dinners at the Olive Tree, be sure to make reservations, because they are quickly sold out. The price for more food than you could humanly eat in one sitting is just $23.

Olive Tree Restaurant,  512 S Brookhurst Street #3, Anaheim, CA 92804. Tel: (714) 535-2878.