William Y.
Yelp
Enjoyed the wine pairing dinner Thursday at Pepperoni Grill located in Penn Square Mall. This is our 2nd wine paring dinner there, and both events have been lovely.
Tonight, the featured wines were two Italian wines and two California wines. Two whites, and two reds. I'm not into whites, and I have very little experience with Italian wines, but overall, I thought the paired wines were good.
The first two courses definitely stretched my culinary experience, as I would have never ordered either items off of a dinner menu. The next two courses perfectly aligned with my tastes.
First course: Watermelon gazpacho with feta crema and cilantro. I have never liked cold soups but I must say that I enjoyed this one. It was interesting, in a good way, with a cornucopia of flavors perfectly blended and beautifully presented. It was paired with an Italian White, Poderi, Lugia Einaudi. A nice wine, a good pairing.
Second course: The second course was a baby wedge with buttermilk vinaigrette, bacon, heirloom tomatoes, shaved red onion, parmesano reggiano, feta, panko crumbs, with chicken and dill. This was my first edge ever, and it was excellent. The syngery of the ingredients was delectable. The wedge was paired with a California Chardonnay; Submission. I was not impressed with it, It lacked character and was flat on the palate, but I drank every drop. The wedge was bold and daring and needed a more robust wine paring. An Willamette Valley Pinot would have been my choice.
Third course: The third course was a veal franchise. Very nice! I enjoy veal, and I particularly liked this serving. It was served with roasted broccoli that was excellent. The sauce on the veal was a lemon butter sauce with roasted romanesco, pistachio crumbs, and fried Caper vinaigrette. EXCELLENT!
Fourth course: Chili chocolate carmel tart topped with chocolate pearls. This was a chocolate lovers delight. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was paired with Marietta Arme Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a nice pairing and enjoyable wine.
It was a very good evening, a very enjoyable dinner. The wine pours were generous. The wait staff did a nice job. The wine host spent time with the patrons, which made the evening that much better.