Stonehill Tavern

[AlexNoir]

Good report, glad you enjoyed your meal.  If you feel comfortable with my asking, would you mind telling me what the cost of the meal was, trying to get a feel for what the tasting menu with wine pairings is these days as I haven't been back in over a year.

Additionally, how did you feel about the wine pairings?  Were the wines of high quality and were they well chosen for the dishes?

Thanks!

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The meal was just under $400 including tax and tip (I think about $380 to be exact). It worked out to $95 for the grub and $55 for the paired wine. I think when I go back, I'll explore the a la carte menu as there was some stuff that sounded great - especially the appetizers.

I felt that the wines were decent but not the best meal / wine pairing experience I've had. The riesling/tuna pairing was probably the best of the night. I felt we could have gotten a bottle and maybe a few glasses and fared better on our own for the same price. Not to disparage the wine program - they had a very respectable wine list (a lot of great California stuff). I did not feel like the wine pairing was particularly a highlight of the meal, but not a let down either.

[AlexNoir]

I'm really surprised to hear about your stemware snafu.  Tim & Nathan run a solid wine program there and I bet Nathan in particular would be embarrassed about that.  I would consider that an abnormal point of service for the restaurant.  What was the Pinot by the way?  That Michael Mina cuvee is delicious, especially at the price point.  I think you should expect to see more select cuvees in the future from Mina's group.  Raj, the head sommelier for the entire group, has some deals pending from great producers.  I wish I could remember which exactly, but I recall a surprisingly good Pinot & Syrah producer mentioned last time we chatted about it.

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I think you're right. I heard the sommelier talking with other diners and making recomendations and he seemed very friendly and knowledgable. Again, given the fact that other diners were drinking pinot out of the correct stemware shows that this was abnormal. The pinot they served was Ici/La-Bas. As a side note, if someone knows of a wine shop that carries Ici/La-Bas in Southern CA, I'd love to know where. I've had this wine twice before and I can't seem to find anyone that carries it - even Hi-Time and Wine Exchange.

I agree that the champagne was great - they called it champagne, not sure if it is or if it was "sparkling wine".

Do you know what producer Mina is working with? Are they looking at doing Pinot/Syrah? Should be interesting.

[Swicks]

Good report, glad you enjoyed your meal.  If you feel comfortable with my asking, would you mind telling me what the cost of the meal was, trying to get a feel for what the tasting menu with wine pairings is these days as I haven't been back in over a year.

Additionally, how did you feel about the wine pairings?  Were the wines of high quality and were they well chosen for the dishes?

Thanks!

←

The meal was just under $400 including tax and tip (I think about $380 to be exact). It worked out to $95 for the grub and $55 for the paired wine. I think when I go back, I'll explore the a la carte menu as there was some stuff that sounded great - especially the appetizers.

I felt that the wines were decent but not the best meal / wine pairing experience I've had. The riesling/tuna pairing was probably the best of the night. I felt we could have gotten a bottle and maybe a few glasses and fared better on our own for the same price. Not to disparage the wine program - they had a very respectable wine list (a lot of great California stuff). I did not feel like the wine pairing was particularly a highlight of the meal, but not a let down either.

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Thanks for the response, this is exactly the info I was hoping for. The restaurant does have a really great list with such a wide variety of offerings and I was wondering exactly how it compared to individual selections.

[Swicks]

I'm really surprised to hear about your stemware snafu.  Tim & Nathan run a solid wine program there and I bet Nathan in particular would be embarrassed about that.  I would consider that an abnormal point of service for the restaurant.  What was the Pinot by the way?  That Michael Mina cuvee is delicious, especially at the price point.  I think you should expect to see more select cuvees in the future from Mina's group.  Raj, the head sommelier for the entire group, has some deals pending from great producers.  I wish I could remember which exactly, but I recall a surprisingly good Pinot & Syrah producer mentioned last time we chatted about it.

←

I think you're right. I heard the sommelier talking with other diners and making recomendations and he seemed very friendly and knowledgable. Again, given the fact that other diners were drinking pinot out of the correct stemware shows that this was abnormal. The pinot they served was Ici/La-Bas. As a side note, if someone knows of a wine shop that carries Ici/La-Bas in Southern CA, I'd love to know where. I've had this wine twice before and I can't seem to find anyone that carries it - even Hi-Time and Wine Exchange.

I agree that the champagne was great - they called it champagne, not sure if it is or if it was "sparkling wine".

Do you know what producer Mina is working with? Are they looking at doing Pinot/Syrah? Should be interesting.

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You might try getting some contact info from the restaurant and contacting the producer directly, many small release Pinots these days you can only get directly from the producers most of the time, William Selyem which is rarely in stores comes to mind.

[SiseFromm]

I might be completely wrong, but I think DuMOL might be on board for a Michael Mina cuvee. I can't remember the details of that conversation exactly so I guess time will tell. And it was a Champagne, from a known producer in France.

[AlexNoir]

I might be completely wrong, but I think DuMOL might be on board for a Michael Mina cuvee.  I can't remember the details of that conversation exactly so I guess time will tell.  And it was a Champagne, from a known producer in France.

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If Mina does team up with DuMol that should be really exciting. If the Pinot is anything like the Champagne we were served as far as quality for the price, it'll be a knock-out.

[SiseFromm]

I don't know if anybody is interested or cares, but Nathan, Stonehill's Wine Director, left as of a few weeks ago. It's a real bummer for us actually because chatting with Nathan about various wines and diving into full-blown wine nerd speak was one of the highlights of our visits. Plus, he was always ready to recommend an obscure or rare wine from unlikely places. Pairings of Tempranillo against Duck with Truffled Spaetzel were exciting and new. I know he brought in Studio's Wine Manager several months back so I'm sure she can take over, but I will miss Nathan's attentiveness and approachability.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Dining solo, I opted for the tasting menu with wine pairings. As in similar reports, there is a huge stemware SNAFU as every single wine I was served (except the Champagne) came in the basic, white wine glass. This is a massively glaring error, in my opinion. I also apologize for my non-lit iPhone photos...

Domestic Caviar Parfait - smoked salmon, organic egg, chive, creme fraiche paired with Chartogne Taillet 'Cuvee Michael Mina' Champagne NV. This was a very nice start although the smokiness of the salmon and the saltiness of the caviar almost over-powered the subtleness of the egg and creme fraiche.

Golden Tomato Gazpacho - Dungeness crab, avocado, and lemon basil served with Nora Albarino, Rais Baixas, Spain 2004. The freshness of the yellow tomato was quite good but for the life of me, I could barely detect the crab. The Albarino was bright and lemony but this hardly seemed an inspired pairing.

Alaskan Halibut - Roasted bell peppers, potato-corn chowder, opal basil paired with Point Concepcion Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County, 2004. To start with, the wine served was too cold. It was downright icy. On the dish itself, the initial taste was that it was simply too salty. The halibut was perfectly prepared, but whatever green component was added to make the potato-corn chowder so bright green gave the dish an imbalanced tone. There was simply no cohesiveness to the flavors and the excessive salt highlighted that imbalance. Chardonnay is a classic pairing for fish and I could see why this was chosen, but as neither the wine nor the dish inspired, both seemed to fall a bit flat.

Berkshire Pig - Yellow carrot puree, wild arugula, black truffle jus paired with Dom. des Margotieres Saint-Romain, Burgundy, France, 2002. What's this? A white wine glass with a Burgundy??? Wrong... The sauce on this dish was rich and reminded me of Julian Serrano's version from Picasso. Studded with truffles this was quite a lovely dish. The pairing, yet again, was uninspired. The wine was simply a decade too young for service.

Colorado Lamb - Cappeletti pasta, braised artichokes, sundried tomato relish served with Peay Vineyards Syrah, 'Les Titans,' Sonoma Coast, 2005. This wine had a great jammy nose, showing potential, but is another I thought served far too early in its life. The lamb itself, despite its glistening, moist exterior, was surprisingly dry and tough. The green puree (spinach) was bitter and this dish was sent back, mostly un-eaten.

Cheese Course - This was not part of the tasting menu. But I am a huge cheese fan and requested a cheese plate along with a glass of '02 d'Yquem. Apparently I was served the plate that is normally made for two, in the Mina trio genre and quite frankly, it was too much. I'm a cheese fan - I can do without the accompaniments. In the picture, from left to right, St. Venere served with raisins on the vine, peanut brittle, and acacia honey; Humboldt Fog with quince paste, Marconi almonds, and honeycomb; and Rogue smokey blue cheese with dried apricots, spiced pecans, and wildflower honey. Oh yeah, they did serve this in the appropriate glass - go figure!

Strawberry Duo - Golden peach crisp and creme fraiche sorbet served with Coppo Moncalvina Moscato d'Asti, Italy, 2005. Hmmmm. Back to a white wine glass for this sparkler - not even a Champagne glass? This was not a bad dessert at all, actually. I was just pretty full at this point and prefer the cheese as a dessert.

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A few words on service. The first few courses came VERY fast - almost within ten minutes of each other. Dining alone, it isn't like there is conversation to draw an evening out and the waitstaff did offer me reading material (like Mina's cookbook). The General Manager noticed to speed of service and slowed things down a tad. He introduced himself as Tim when I asked if he was the sommelier as he was very attentive to what was going on in the room. Huge points on that account. It is obvious they are serving a very high-end crowd and the bells and whistles of the complexity of the food combinations would easily impress those who like the scene - however, I think they were misguided. One can easily be overwhelmed with the beautiful ambience of the room and assume that everything being served is exceptional when it plainly is not. Pity.

[SiseFromm]

Thanks for the report. I'm very concerned about the state of things now that Nathan is gone. The restaurant couldn't lose him at a worst time, what with Michelin running around Southern California. Truthfully, I'm uninspired to go back since his departure and I think I'm going to give the restaurant some real time to figure themselves out again before making my next reservation. That's too bad about your pairings. Nathan would NEVER put combos together that didn't inspire or excite. Tim's a great guy and we've received some pretty nice service touches from him but I wonder if the restaurant ship is without a navigator now. Your review tells me they're sort of floating around at this point without a solid focus.

[Swicks]

This is a shame to hear. One of OC's few bright spots in an otherwise dim fine dining scene.