Purdue Union Autograph Hotel Wine Dinner

Purdue Union Autograph Hotel Wine Dinner

Indiana Getaway features history, architecture and fine dining at the Purdue Union Autograph Hotel

Usually I am cautious about expectations of a hotel restaurant being more than a glorified coffee shop serving three squares a day. So it was that I was a bit dubious booking the 8eleven Bistro Restaurant in the Purdue Union Club Autograph Hotel for our Friday night dinner during our weekend getaway trip to (West) Lafayette, Indiana. 

We met dearest life-long best friends Eric and Cathy from Indy who made arrangements for the day, in the town of their alma mater, Purdue University. 

The attraction was the Indiana Automotive Lafayette Tour, an inside look at automotive landmarks and rare Indiana-made vehicles, sponsored by Indiana Automotive, and the Indiana Landmarks Foundation. 

Indiana Automotive celebrates and commemorates Indiana’s role in the birth and flourishing of the automobile industry and its legacy of places worth preserving and spectacular automobiles that match the best ever built, anywhere.

 Indiana Automotive celebrates the early auto visionaries and their products, and promotes the preservation of the cars, the factories and showrooms, the homes of auto moguls, and the landscaped parkways and roadside architecture birthed by the auto age.

During the first decades of the twentieth century, more than 250 automobile manufacturers opened shop in Indiana—Duesenberg, Stutz, Cord, Auburn, and Studebaker among them—whose products rank as landmarks on wheels.

Indian Automotive is an affinity group of Indiana Landmarks umbrella.

We then attended a reception at the historic Frank Lloyd Wright Samara House, recently restored and reopened to the public for tours and special events.  

The John and Catherine Christian House, commonly known as Samara, is one of the most complete Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the US. 

Samara, named for the winged seeds found in pinecones and several of the trees on the site, was completed in 1956 near the end of Wright’s career. It is a classic Usonian style home with floor to ceiling windows, garden views, and complete Wright designed furniture and fixtures. 

 Readers of these pages know of my interests in Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School architecture. As a Docent/Interpreter and Researcher for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust in Chicago and Oak Park, IL, I give public tours at the FLW home & Studio in Oak Park and have done extensive research on Wright and Prairie style buildings and sites.   

My work as a volunteer certified docent/interpreter and research captain for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust is enriched by my knowledge of work by Wright and his contemporaries. 

I publish a Wright site that includes a photo gallery of prairie style architecture and FLW sites I have visited as part of my travels and studies. and his contemporaries. 

Samara House Alexander Vertikoff Photo

Indeed, our hosts for the day, Eric and Cathy built and live in an authentic Prairie Style home in Indianapolis, which is also featured on my site.  

 

My photos from my library of over 25000, have been published on PBS, in text books, children's books, architecture and history books, and most recently, my photography was selected for the "Finn Juhl and Danish Chairs" Exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition highlighted some of the Finn Juhl's design works featured in Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater house.

https://mcnees.org/flw/

https://www.samara-house.org/

In planning our weekend getaway, I researched dining options in greater Lafayette and West Lafayette, looking at the numerous restaurants and exploring their menus and associated wine lists for the optimal food and wine pairing. In the end, we opted for the most convenient option, our hotel restaurant, which appeared to a have a suitable wine list and menu for the occasion. Thankfully, 8Eleven Bistro met, actually exceeded our expectations for a delightful fine dining experience. 

The clubby 8Eleven Bistro is named to commemorate Purdue alumni trailblazing tradition of two of NASA’s most daring aerospace programs, Gemini 8 and Apollo 11, missions commanded by Purdue alum, astronaut Neil Armstrong.

From the menu, we ordered for starters the Baked (Conneticut Blue Point) Oysters with brie, shallot chablis and parsley, Spicy Tuna Bruschetta clementine with avocado and pistachio, and the Golden Beets & Apple arugula salad with whipped goat cheese, sunflower seeds and citrus vinaigrette. All were delicious, delightfully prepared and presented. We had to ask for a serving of fresh bread with butter.

 

For our dinner entree we shared the Braised Beef with pommes puree, roasted pepper, pearl onion and shaved fennel. It too was delicious and ample for sharing. 

For a wine pairing we selected from the wine list the premium Napa Valley estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Chateau Montelena. 

The 8Eleven wine list is ample and artfully selected offering several favorite producers and labels with a range of offerings from the US, France, Italy, Australia and South American. There are varietals and blends to match and pair with all the food selections. Prices are targeted at the roughly 2.5x retail price, typical and customary for such venues. 

The winelist offer a nice selection of fourteen WBTG - Wines by the Glass, six red, five white, one rose and two sparkling. 

The separate Bottle Wine list features all the popular varietal and styles, five each sparkling wines and Sauvignon Blancs, eight Chardonnays and ten 'other' Whites. 

The red wine selection is comprehensive and well selected with six Pinot Noirs, sixteen Cabernet Sauvignons and Red Blends, and seventeen 'other' Reds. The Reds include labels from Napa, Oregon, Washington, Italy, Australia, France and feature Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec, Italian Sangiovese and Barolo, Australian Syrah/Shiraz, Rhone Blends and a popular premium American Zinfandel. For several popular producers they feature the estate, premium and ultra premium labels such as Caymus Napa and Caymus Special Select, and Trefethen Estate Cab, Reserve, and their flagship Halo label. 

Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

We ordered from the wine list the Chateau Montelena 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. While it was posted at $132 on their website, the updated menu price was $150.

 

This is the standard premium label crafted from Montelena estate and select contract grower neighbor vineyards located in the northern end of Napa Valley, in and around Calistoga, sites selected for their alluvium soil profile which provides an earthy, complex and concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. This label is not to be confused with their "Estate" flagship label which costs more than two times the price.

This release is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot from Oak Knoll appellation in southern Napa Valley, added to soften the wine. It was aged 16 months in 28% new French and some Hungarian oak.

Winemaker notes - "Everyone fondly remembers the wines from 2005 or 2013 when quality was simply there for the taking, and that was the case with 2019. Amusingly, as a winemaker, our favorite vintages are typically those that follow a Hollywood-esque storyline with unforeseen challenges, plenty of character development, and of course a final victory. With that said, it is just as gratifying to hit that pitch out of the park if the opportunity is there. Moreover, while it’s true that every vintage builds character, growing seasons like 2019 beget gratefulness and reflection in reminding us why Napa Valley in general and the Montelena Estate vineyard in particular are so special. In short, this vintage exemplifies all of the characteristics that one could seek in delicious, age-worthy wine." - Winemaker Matt Crafton.

"NOSE - Pure and powerful, this wine opens with fresh blueberries, blackberry pie and cassis, endless dark fruit is complemented by a range of baking spices: vanilla at first, but also clove and cinnamon.'

 

"PALATE - the first sip instantly reveals the character of this Cabernet: dense and chewy with bright red fruit, incredible tension and pure, fine grain tannins. Not only is everything in its place; but the layers of flavor, the depth of the fruit and the sublime texture are constantly rearranging. Each glass will be a unique experience.'

"FINISH - In contrast to the dynamic palate, the finish is focused and stout. Abundant cocoa, espresso bean and black pepper dovetail into dark, black fruit while tart raspberry and strawberry jam linger. The wines at Chateau Montelena are often described as having classic “old-world” structure with ripe California fruit, and the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is emblematic of this style. These wines tend to have more acid and more moderate alcohol levels as compared to some of the “cult” Cabs. This combination of classic chemistry and California sunshine allows them to offer immediate pleasure and complexity on release, and the ability to develop beautifully."

This release was rated 91 points by Wine Advocate. 

Bright garnet colored, medium to full-bodied format, slightly disjointed with somewhat obtuse, vibrant, slightly astringent acidic plum, blackberry and black raspberry fruits, notes of cinnamon spice, expresso and vanilla, with fine grained tannins on the tangy lingering finish. Will likely improve as it integrates and settles a bit with some age. Still a nice tasty pairing with the robust hearty beefsteak.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3623924

https://montelena.com/wine/2019-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon/

https://twitter.com/ChMontelena 

@ChMontelena

https://www.8elevenbistro.com/

Jasmin La Giroflarie at Husk Restaurant Savannah

Patrick Jasmin “La Giroflarie” Cote Rotie Rhone at Husk Restaurant in Savannah, GA

Visiting Savannah (GA) for a getaway and mini-family reunion with Sister Jan from So-Cal, we dined at several local fine dining eateries, Chive, The Olde Pink House, Rhett, The River House, and Husk. 

We also did the Savannah food tour in the afternoon, a walking tour of sections of the city with an overview of several food examples of Savannah coastal southern cuisine.

Husk Restaurant is centrally located in the heart of Savannah’s Landmark Historic District. It is one of the portfolio of establishments of The Neighborhood Dining Group (NDG) that operates and manages restaurants throughout the Southeast, overseen by President David Howard who was a James Beard semifinalist for Best Restaurateur. 

The NDG restaurant portfolio includes Husk (Charleston, SC; Nashville, TN, and Savannah, GA), Minero (Johns Island, SC; Atlanta, GA), and Delaney Oyster House (Charleston, SC).

NDG has been recognized by Bon Appétit for “2011 Best New Restaurant in America” for Husk Charleston, as one of GQ’s “12 Most Outstanding Restaurants of the Year”, an Esquire “Best New Restaurant in America” in 2014 for Husk Nashville, and McCrady’s named one of “America’s Best Restaurants of 2016” in Wine Enthusiast.

We were advised to dine at Husk in Charleston by friends there but it was not open the days we were available when we were in town. So, we targeted Husk in Savannah for our trip there this week. 

We dined in the bar-room with high ceilings and large windows, spacious seating along both walls surrounding the bar, the walls adored by modern brightly colored artwork. 

One wall presents a large abstract painting featuring the grid city map of Savannah with its famous square parks centering each neighborhood. 

 

Husk Savannah focuses on preparations that represent the essence of Southern food that highlight the unique ingredients of coastal Georgia. 

They offer a broad selection of Oysters and a Raw Bar with selections from the Southeast from Virginia, the Carolina's Georgia and Florida.

 

The dinner menu is somewhat limited featuring offerings of Georgia Shrimp and Grits, Smoked Cobia, Roasted Chicken Breast, Smoked Pork Porterhouse and Prime New York Strip.

The selection of  'Sides' is limited with three offerings, Carolina Gold Rice, Wakefield Cabbage and White Lily Biscuits.

For a starter we shared from the limited selection of four 'Firsts', the Selection of Southern Cheeses with Spiced Pecans, Hibiscus Honey, Blueberry Preserves and toasted Baguette and Pimiento Cheese with Benne Crackers and Husk Pickles, and from the sides selections, the White Lily Biscuits, named for the fineness of their flour.

 Husk offers an extensive imaginative wine list that showcases 'artisan producers, small productions, and rare finds, grouped by terroir and soil type, rather than the traditional classifications of political geography or grape varietal'. They also feature a boutique wine program emphasizing organic and bio-dynamic, family-style producers who share the restaurant’s focus on environmental preservation. Lastly, they also feature three wines created and bottled in Husk’s own vineyard in Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina.

The wine list offerings includes a selection of WBTG - Wines By The Glass - a dozen white, sparkling and Rose' wines and ten Red Wines. The Bottle wine list is extensive covering forty pages including a dozen NV Champagnes and Sparkling wines, and ten Vintage selections.

The White Wines offered include French Burgundies featuring twenty selections creatively listed geographically from North to South, five other French, seven from California, eight from Germany (listed North to South), and selections from Spain (seven), Greece (3), Italy (3) and the Southern Hemisphere (five).

The Red Wines offered a broad selection of French, listed by Region, geographically North to South from Burgundy (12), Beaujolais (4), Northern Rhone and Languedoc (6), Loire (3), Bordeaux (8), and Spain (3). 

They offer American Reds, listed Light to Bold; from California (18) and Oregon (3), Italy (8), Germany (3), Austria (2), and the Southern Hemisphere (3).

There are a dozen dessert wines including ultra premium Château d'Yquem Sauternes, Bordeaux (1998) offered at $38 per ounce. 

Then there is also an extensive list of a half dozen pages of Whiskeys, Rye, Agave, Tequila, Gins, Rums and other specialties. 

The wine prices were a bit crazy, all over the map, offering numerous selections at the customary 2x retail price, but then from Bordeaux they offered some of our favorite producers such as Château Ducru Beaucaillou and Château Margaux, but featuring their second labels, Croix de Beaucaillou (@ $245), and Pavillon Rouge (@ $600), prices more appropriate for their Grand Vin rather than their 'second' wines, such that the effective price is four to five times retail price, almost as if they're confused about the labels, or confusing unsuspecting patrons!?! But then, anyone ordering a $300 to $600 bottle of wine is most likely a knowledgeable consumer, or someone with more money than sense or knowledge, based on these prices. Other Bordeaux were similarly more than customarily priced, Château Pontet-Canet 5ème Grand Cru Classé 2015 at $385, and Château Giscours 3ème Grand Cru Classé, 2015, $225, both offered at about three times retail. 

In the end, we found and ordered a delightful Northern Rhone Syrah from the Domaine of Patrick Jasmin, “La Giroflarie” Côte-Rotie 2019, at $125, an appropriate 2x retail offering, providing reasonable QPR (Quality Price-Ratio) considering its good quality and ratings. It was a nice pairing with Bill's Porterhouse and my New York Strip steak.

For the ladies, we ordered BTG - Buy The Glass, Obsidian “Poseidon Vineyard” Chardonnay, 2021, from Carneros, Napa Valley, California, the only California Chardonnay on offer! It was 'okay', per the girls, a decent complement to their entree of Shrimp and Grits.

I ordered the grilled New York Strip steak and Bill ordered the Smoked Porterhouse Pork, both artfully prepared and presented.

The girls' Shrimp and Grits entree was lackluster and did not compare with those that we had on the Savannah food tour earlier in the day  at the trend-setting eatery at Andaz Savannah at 22 Square.

Our wine selection - 

Domaine (Patrick) Jasmin “La Giroflarie” Northern Rhone Côte Rôtie Syrah 2019

This is a classic example of 'old world' (France, Italy) vs. 'new-world' (US) labeling where they feature the locale source of the grapes rather than the variety of grapes and producer name on the label.  

Côte-Rôtie is a Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) in the northern Rhône river valley wine region of Southern France. The vineyards are located just south of the village of Vienne. The vineyards' terroir are steep slopes facing the river and are known for their picturesque stone walls, so common in the region. The name Côte-Rôtie can be roughly translated in English as "the roasted slope", referring to the long hours of sunlight that the steep slopes receive.

This is from Patrick Jasmin, a fourth generation winemaker, who took over from his father Robert (after his sudden death) in 1999. Patrick's Great-Grandfather, Alexandre, was the chef at Château Ampuis and was granted some vines for his services to the estate in the early 1900's. The property was historically one of the original domaines that started to bottle their own Côte Rôtie over 100 years ago. 

Today, Patrick farms 13 acres of vines located in 12 parcels in 8 separate climats or lieu-dits spread across both escarpments of the Côte Rôtie appellation – the Côte Brune and the Côte Blonde. 

The name 'La Giroflarie' is used to distinguish this principal cuvée from a special cuvée called 'Olea' that Patrick first made in 2015. La Giroflarie is an historic name for the Côte Baudin lieu-dit.

Patrick blends into this label approximately 96% Syrah and 4% Viognier in this classic Côte Rôtie, and produces two cuvées of Côte Rôtie, sourced from 11 different parcels spread across the appellation. He also produces a number of IGP (Vin de Pays) bottlings. 

Patrick's extensive vine-holdings allow him a sufficient production of fruit from which to select to blend and his wines are known for a laudable fine integration of fruit and tannin earning him a reputation for wines described as the 'most Burgundian' wine of the appellation.

Patrick Jasmin's Côte-Rôtie is aged for up to 2 years in oak barrels (with up to 25% being new, originating from France, Russia & the US). Half of the wine is racked into 228 litre barrels and half into 590 litre demi-muids. Approximately 23,000 bottles are produced in a typical vintage.

The Jasmin wines are noted for their velvety Burgundian texture and richness. Typically, a bouquet of violets and stewed red fruits precedes a palate of darker Autumnal fruit with some cooler granitic notes over a framework of fine-grained tannins. Although it is surprisingly approachable on its youthful fruit, it cellars well for a decade and far longer in finer vintages.

This label release was rated 93 points by Josh Raynolds - vinous.com, and Matt Walls - Decanter.com.

According to the pundits, this Côte-Rôtie from Patrick Jasmin is known as one of the most terroir-expressive Northern Rhône Syrahs and one of the greatest values in the category. 

Dark purple colored, full bodied with full, round, concentrated black currant fruits with tones of smoked bacon and cola flavors accented by floral, cassis, and notes of spice and pepper with fine grained tannins on a long finish. A great example of Côte-Rôtie, high achiever with decent value. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3816597

https://husksavannah.com/

RN74 Chef's Tasting Dinner and Wine Pairing

RN74 Chef's Tasting Dinner and Wine Pairing

We visited Seattle for a Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour. On our first night, we dined at RN74 Modern French Bistro where we chose the five course pric fixe Chef's Tasting Menu with Wine Pairings. RN74 offers two wine pairing flights, a premier flight and a premium 'grande' selection. We chose both so we could sample two flights of wines against the food courses.

RN74 -Wine - No-Wine

RN74 Seattle features global interpretations of American and French cuisine with an extensive wine list highlighting the Burgundy region of France, along with boutique wine producers from Washington and Oregon. Locally-sourced, seasonal highlights include house-aged steaks, vegetables from local organic farms and pristine Puget Sound seafood.

RN74 offers an impressive extraordinary 89 page wine list that is wide and deep with international selections from all major regions.  The list offered a broad selection of Washington and Oregon wines but was equally impressive in Bordeaux, Burgundy, California and beyond. There's also a extraordinary selection of half bottles and large format bottles. The Burgundy selection was the most extensive I've ever seen with the widest selection from each appellation, many top producers and a deep vertical collection across vintages.

RN74 Somm Table - tending to each selection

RN74 is one of thirty restaurants run by San Francisco-based Mina Group, a restaurant management company specializing in creating and operating upscale, innovative restaurant concepts, led by Founder and award-winning Chef Michael Mina, operating since 2003. Mina Group restaurants are in many major metros and destination cities from California to Florida and WDC including Chicago, Scottsdale, Boston, Hawaii and internationally in Dubai.

Renowned Chef Michael Mina sets the standards for creative food dishes and service delivery for an extraordinary culinary experience. I admit I have never heard of the group or their restaurants but was sufficiently impressed that I'll seek them out with every opportunity. 

For our wine pairings, I believe the differential between the premium and the more expensive grande selections were negligible. In fact for the first three courses, we preferred the more modest selection. Only with the last flight was the Sauterne a resounding upgrade from the second wine. All but the most discriminating might be well served to follow the more economical route. Of course, best is to try both and compare!

The Chef;s Tasting Menu with wine pairings:

RN74 Chef’s Tasting Menu

Chilled English Pea Veloute – Crispy Leeks, jamon de coppa, wild mushroom crème fraiche

Hiedler, Gruner Veltliner Loess, Kamptal, AT 2015
Domaine Pinson, Chardonnay, Chablis, Burgundy, FR 2016

                

Heirloom Tomato Salad – Crenshaw melon, French feta, watermelon gelee, grapefruit, basil

               Chateau Gassier, Grenache Blend Rose’, Cote du Provence, FR 2017
               Beckham Estate, Olivia’s Pinot Noir Rose’, Chehalem Mountains, OR 2017

Sweet Corn Agnolotti – smoked duck breast, puffed forbidden rice, parmesan-porcini brood

               Clusel Roch, Gamay, ‘Traboules’, Coteaux du Lyonais, Rhone, FR 2016
               Domaine de la Cote, Pinot Noir, ‘Estate’, Sta. Rita Hills, CA 2014

Grilled NY Strip – Japanese eggplant, smoked cauliflower, foraged mushrooms, cherry gelee

               WT Vintners, Syrah, ‘Destiny Ridge’, Horse Heaven Hills, WA 2015
               Domaine Lombard, Syrah, Brezeme, Northern Rhone Valley, FR 2014

Coconut Panna Cotta – Farmers market fruit, mango gelee’, raspberry sorbet

               Renardat-Fache, Cerdon de Bugey, Savoie, FR, 2016
               Chateau Roumieu-Lacoste, Sauternes, Bordeaux, FR 2015

              

 

 Our courses:

 

 Chilled English Pea Veloute – Crispy Leeks, jamon de coppa, wild mushroom crème fraiche

 

Heirloom Tomato Salad – Crenshaw melon, French feta, watermelon gelee, grapefruit, basil

           

Sweet Corn Agnolotti – smoked duck breast, puffed forbidden rice, parmesan-porcini brood

 

Grilled NY Strip – Japanese eggplant, smoked cauliflower, foraged mushrooms, cherry gelee

 

Coconut Panna Cotta – Farmers market fruit, mango gelee’, raspberry sorbet

Are those all mine?
Somm table upper right