Champagne Dinner

I typically tend to pair champagne only with appetizers, so the Gordon's Annual Champagne Dinner turned out to be an eye-opening experience. Chefs Bryan Roof and Dan Souza from America's Test Kitchen came up with some fantastic food pairings for every wine, and at the end of the night I found myself wondering why I hadn't started exploring the world of champagne pairings earlier. After an aperitif of Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top (a really nice light, slightly fruity chamapgne), the meal got under way with an Amuse of Chatham Oysters with Tobiko Caviar Vinaigrette.

An Interesting (and Delicious) Scotch-Pairing Dinner

I headed over to Gordon's with Joe on Thursday to check out their Compass Box Whiskey-Pairing Dinner.

SomSmack! (aka The Event Formerly Known as Sommelier Smackdown!)

Another month, another Smackdown...

Sommelier Smackdown!

After a brief hiatus, Sommelier Smackdown made its triumphant return on Thursday. Ben, Joe, Ben's Special Lady Friend, and Joe's housemate met up with me at Gordon's for the event. Paul Turano and Anne Moynihan from Tryst were back as our chefs, and Brahm Callahan from Post 390 (below, right) returned as the reigning champion sommelier. His challenger was Todd Lipman from Bin 26 (below, left).
Brahm had quickly become one of our favorite contenders at these events, so we were glad to have him back. He manages to be incredibly knowledgeable about wine without coming off as a pompous ass about it. I don't like to post negative things about people here, so I won't comment on Todd's personality. Anyway... The menu was pretty awesome, as has consistently been the case with Paul Turano at the helm...

Sommelier Smackdown!

The third Thursday in April brought with it the last Sommelier Smackdown before the event goes on a (hopefully brief) hiatus... and it turned out to be one of the best yet. This was due in no small part to the fact that our chefs, once again, were Paul Turano and Anne Moynihan from Tryst.
Our sommeliers were returning champion Brahm Callahan (below, left) from Post 390 and challenger Kelly Coggins (below, right) of Bistro Du Midi.
Preliminaries out of the way, lets get to the menu...
First up was a Tuna Tartare with Pickled Ginger Juice, Yuzu, and Soy on Crispy Wontons.
The flavors here were subtle, but really nice... and the tuna itself was beautiful, even if the presentation wasn't the most exciting ever. I'm not going to bother trying to type out the crazy names of most of the wines from this Smackdown, but you can read them in the pictures.
Kelly gave us a Greek wine white while Brahm hooked us up with a Pinot Gris. Kelly's wine was perfect with the subtle flavors, and the finish was brilliant with the dish, which is why he had my vote for a couple minutes... Brahm's Pinot Gris was almost too strong for the subtle flavors in the tuna, particularly given its level of residual sugar, but the body and mouth-feel were perfect with the tuna, and in the end I had to switch my vote over to Brahm, which made it unanimous between me and my fellow attendees (Joe and K). Brahm annihilated Kelly on this course, 22-5. Next up was a Salad of Ceviche-Style Flash-Poached Shrimp with Pickled Jalapeño, Hearts of Palm, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Avocado, and Fried Plantain.
This was totally awesome. The flavors worked together beautifully, and the balance between the tender, citrus-y shrimp, the lush, fatty avocado, and the toasty, crispy plantains was kick-ass. Kelly gave us some wine I don't know the name of (pictured below, left) and Brahm gave us a nice Italian white...
I thought Kelly's wine was way too light-bodied and overall "meh"-inducing to pair with this dish, while Brahm's wine again had the perfect mouth-feel as well as just the right flavors to highlight everything good about this dish. Kelly got Joe's vote, but K and I voted for Brahm, who ended up taking this course 16 - 11. The meat course this time was Red Wine-Braised Pork Short Ribs and Wild Boar with Spring Garlic White Corn Polenta.
This was good stuff. Really good stuff. The pork and rich sauce were brilliant, and the creamy polenta was amazing. I would totally eat this on purpose. The best part of the meat course, though, is that it means we finally get to the red wine... or do we? Kelly picked a really nice light-bodied Italian (which I'm pretty sure was mostly Sangiovese?), while Brahm decided to go out on a limb and give us a Dogfish Head Midas Touch beer.
We all loved Kelly's wine, both on its own and with the dish, but the beer was sort of genius with this... which was fairly shocking. I guess the Midas Touch is based on the world's oldest fermented beverage recipe, almost more like mead than beer. I think Brahm's pairing was only slightly better, but the audacity of pairing beer with what was so "obviously" a red wine course was impressive, as well. Kelly got K's vote because she's not so much a beer person, but Brahm got votes from me and Joe, as well as from a 15-12 majority to take this course as well. Finally, it was time for dessert. Joe and I noted last time, too, how nice it is that the chefs from Tryst include pastry chef Anne, which means we get a real dessert. This time it was a Pineapple Tart with Yuzu Cream.
The tart featured both poached and fresh pineapple, and was pretty darned awesome. Kelly hooked us up with a late-harvest white of some kind (I seriously don't have the energy to google these things from the pictures and give you anything more accurate right now...), while Brahm gave us a different late-harvest white. (Super-informative sentence there, eh?) Oh, wait. My notes say that Kelly's was a Zibiibo, which is Sicilian, and Brahm's was a Beerenauslese, which is German. I feel like less of a slacker now.
Kelly's wine was perfect for those rare bites that didn't contain pineapple, but Brahm's was ridiculously fantastic with each and every bite and complimented the pineapple perfectly. My tasting notes conclude with "LOVE." Heh. Apparently K had less pineapple in her dish, so she voted for Kelly, while Joe and I voted for Brahm (again). Brahm took the course 18-9, which gave him a clean sweep overall (not just on my ballot). This is the first time we've seen such total domination, and that's interesting since almost every course was a close call in terms of who to vote for. We've been to several where one sommelier or the other would really screw up a pairing on one course (which was probably due in part to Chef Ian trying to challenge them with his flavor profiles) but would redeem themselves on another. This time every pairing was quite good, but Brahm's were always just a bit better. I loved the beer pairing in particular because it opened my mind a bit to the possibilities of beer with this kind of dish. I'm going to have to start playing with that at home in the future. In summary: Good times. Can't wait for it to see Smackdowns back on the schedule at Gordon's...

Sommelier Smackdown!

I've been dealing with an obnoxious sinus infection for more than a week now. I've tried rest, vitamin C, and antibiotics to no avail, so I decided last night (since I don't have any congestion to mess with my palate) to go ahead and see if maybe copious amounts of good food and wine would do the trick. Shockingly, this did not cure me... but (less shockingly) it was a lot of fun. The February Smackdown was a little below the quality of previous Smackdowns, with several of the wine pairings falling flat on their faces and some dishes that were less amazing than one would hope. A good time was had by all thanks to Chef Ian's entertaining banter, so when Joe and I arrived at Smackdown and saw that there was a new chef this time, we weren't sure how that would go. The answer? Really, really well. The chef this time was Paul Turano of Tryst in Alrington, with his assistant Annie.
The sommeliers were returning champion Michael Meagher (below, right) from Vineyard Road and challenger Brahm Callahan (below, left) from Post 390.
While it was fun (and sometimes educational) to watch Ian create dishes that were challenging to pair wines with at previous Smackdowns, that also resulted in the occasional dish where neither pairing worked particularly well. As Michael pointed out, the chef this time had just planned a menu of awesome food without any special effort to trip up the sommeliers, and this resulted in the most consistently high-quality pairings yet, with both wines pairing nicely on every course.
First up was a Coriander-Crusted Scallop with Ahi Amarillo and Cilantro.
There was a bit of spice in the sauce and a nice herbal note from the cilantro, which were nice with the scallop and made for interesting wine-pairing opportunities. Michael went with an Old Vine Verdejo, while Brahm went with a nice German Riesling that we recognized from last time.
Both pairings were actually really nice. The Verdejo is something I would be much more likely to sit down to drink on its own, but I loved the way the body of the Riesling complimented the texture of the scallop. I tossed my vote to Brahm by a narrow margin, while Joe voted for Michael. It apparently wasn't that close for everyone, as Brahm took this round 23 - 10. The next course was a Warm Potato and Leek Soup with Truffled Crème Fraîche. This was a really nice soup. Rich, hearty, and satisfying. The fried waffle-cut potato on top was a nice accent as well.
Chef Paul actually dished up seconds for anyone who wanted them, and passed the bin of waffle-cut chips for everyone to enjoy an extra....
The pairings for this course were both bubbly. Michael gave us a really nice sparkling (which I would totally buy in the future) and Brahm gave us a really interesting beer.
Joe and I both felt that, while we liked the sparkling wine on its own, it fell a bit flat as a pairing. The beer, on the other hand, had interesting orange and coriander accents, which played off the subtle flavors in the soup beautifully and added interest to the dish. I never would have thought of that pairing, so it was cool to see how well it worked. I think Brahm underestimated how much some of these people dislike beer, though, and he was beat handily by Michael 12 - 21. The next course was Slow Roasted Lamb with a Lamb and Spiced Fruit Tart and Apple Salad.
I loved this dish. The lamb was perfectly cooked, and the salad of Granny Smith apples, arugula, and Dijon vinaigrette was fantastic with it. The tart contained beer-braised lamb shank, spiced dried fruit, and a rich sauce. Everything worked perfectly together. The wines on this course were Michael's 2005 Bourdeaux (mostly Cab Sauv with a hearty dose of Cab Franc) and Brahm's 2005 Italian Red (primarily Corvina with Rondinella).
Michael's wine was awesome, and I loved it with every component of the dish. It got votes from both me and Joe. The Italian red was a little lighter than I would have preferred with the dish, but was still a nice wine. Again Joe and I found ourselves disagreeing with the masses, and Brahm took this course 24 - 9. One of the great things about having a different chef is that we got an actual dessert (which Ian refuses to make for us). The dessert was an Oatmeal-Crusted Chocolate Brownie with Hot Fudge, Coffee Ice Cream, and Whipped Cream.
The brownie was apparently Annie's mom's recipe and had a nice hit of sea salt in it, which is something I love with chocolate. The coffee ice cream was fantastic as well. So good. The pairings for this were Michael's Mas Amiel made with Grenache grapes (yay!) and Brahm's 10 year Tawny Port.
I'm not a big tawny port fan, but this was a really nice one. It paired perfectly adequately with the dessert, even if the pairing wasn't particularly inspired. (I think at least 9 out of 10 people on the street would have thrown a port at a chocolate dessert...) Michael's wine, on the other hand, was sort of a revelation. On it's own we figured it would lose to the port, but it was absolutely perfect with the dish. It's fun to find out about a new wine like this and to see it work so well with a dish. I make a mean coffee ice cream and a pretty solid brownie, and this will be the wine I reach for next time I serve those items together. The masses agreed with me and Joe for once, and Michael took this course 21 - 12... which meant the four courses were split between the two sommeliers, but that Brahm was the winner by a final score of 71 - 61. This was a really great night, with awesome food and big pours of awesome wine. Brahm will be back next time as the defending champion, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Sommelier Smackdown!

Last night was the third Thursday in February, which meant a posse of us headed over to Gordon's for another Sommelier Smackdown. Ian Grossman and Adam Ostrofsky from Sel de la Terre were cooking for us again, this time with a bit of a French Bistro theme. (That's Ian on the right tossing some gnocchi for a vegetarian option while Adams whisks the polenta for our meat course.)
Our sommeliers were returning champion Michael Meagher (thoughtfully taking a bite below on the left) and Brian Wang from Sel de la Terre (the other guy with a plate below).Rules are the same as the first time we went, and won't be repeated... so let's get straight to the menu.
First up was a seriously awesome salad course of Marinated Farro with Roasted Beets, Haricots Verts, and French Vinaigrette. I'd never really had farro before (it always struck me as food for hippies...), but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The beets were great (except for that damn, unavoidable hot pink color), and R and I both loved the vinaigrette. After playing a round of Name that Fat, we gave up an asked... only to find out that the lovely creaminess in the vinaigrette was coming from egg (along with dijon, shallots, oil, and whatnot). Awesome. As far as courses that don't contain meat go, I would say this was pretty great.
The wine pairings, on the other hand, sort of sucked for this one. Brian gave us a German Riesling (I took pictures this time to save myself the epic amounts of writing and googling involved in some of these names...), while Michael gave us a Mica 2008 Vinho Verde. Michael took a narrow victory on this one (R and I had run out to stake our claim to some awesome wines in the store before the scores were announced, so I didn't record the exact numbers this time...), largely (I assume) because his wine tasted better on its own... but neither did anything for the dish, which was sort of disappointing.
Next up was a Chilled Bouillabaisse Salad with Toasted Baguette. There was a saffron mayo binding the salad and an herbal element that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it was really a nice, balanced, subtle dish that I enjoyed quite a bit.
The wine pairings were more successful this time... or, at least one of them was. Brian gave us a white Burgandy that neither R or I cared for on its own, but that was absolutely perfect with the salad. A sip following a bite of salad amplified that herbal quality and really made it sing. Good stuff. Michael gave us the same Rhône rose that Kate served us last month... We all loved it then, but it was a pretty bad pairing with the salad this time around, and Brian took this course by a wide margin.
The third course was Grilled Flatbread with Porchetta, Apples, Caramelized Onions, and Gruyere. We were hoping this one might finally get us to a red wine, but alas... it was not meant to be. The flatbread was nice overall, especially the charred bits at the edges, but I found that it was actually more enjoyable during bites that didn't include the apple. Nothing mind-blowingly-awesome going on here, but tasty nonetheless.
This time it was Michael who came through for us with a great pairing. Brian served us crisp, tart Chenin Blanc, which I thought was decent on its own, but not particularly well-paired with the flatbread. Michael came through with an absolutely fantastic Alsatian Riesling. I tend to range between indifferent to and opposed to Rieslings in general, but this one opened my eyes to what a Riesling really can be. It was a big, lush, full-bodied Riesling that complimented the flatbread beautifully. Michael annihilated Brian in this course, to take the lead 2 courses to 1.
The final course was Braised Pork Belly (mmm....) with Goat Cheese Polenta. In theory there were going to be some poached apricots involved, but they were inadvertently left behind at the restaurant, so this is what we got. I honestly can't complain. The pork belly was braised in a rich braising liquid that had been used previously to braise short ribs. So. Good. It was extremely rich (as pork belly tends to be), but this time there was at least a nice heap of flavorful polenta to help cut through some of that fat and make it easier to finish (although R, still mentally recovering from our last pork belly experience, needed some help from Joe to finish hers...).
This course finally brought us some read wines. The sommeliers exceeded their 4 minute limit trying to find the perfect pairing, and thus were locked out until it was determined that we wanted their wines more than anyone cared about "rules."
Brian brought us what turned out to be the favorite wine of the night for several of us, a Mas de la Garrigue blend of Grenache, Carignan, and a bit of Syrah from the South of France. Aside from the fact that it was big, bold, and awesome (I love me some Grenache... which probably helped), it is also less than $12 per bottle, which is a very good thing. Michael chose a pretty darned nice Nebbiolo, and actually took this course to win the night (so we'll be seeing him again next month), but my preference for fuller bodied wine gave Brian my vote on this course.
A bonus was that the Smackdown was close enough to Adam's birthday that the events coordinator from Gordon's was awesome enough to bake cupcakes with whipped cream frosting for everyone...
As R and I discussed during the event, these Smackdowns are just intrinsically fun. Ian does a fantastic job running the show and keeping everyone entertained if anything goes awry, which makes it a great experience even when, like last night, there a a couple more misses than usual to go along with the hits... Already looking forward to next month.

Wine Dinner Down the Street

I have yet to have a less-than-stellar experience attending events at Gordon's Wine, and last night was no exception. Despite being without a wing-man for the evening, I headed down the street for the Cameron Hughes Wine Dinner. The 5-course meal was prepared by Will Gilson from Garden at the Cellar with wines from the Cameron Hughes Lot collection (which functions much the same way as the Cleanskins industry in Australia...).The amuse bouche was Island Creek oyster with Meyer lemon and marinated yellowfin tuna, served with two different 2008 Santa Barbara Chardonnays (Lot 145 and Lot 159). I love oysters, and this was a really nicely balanced bite. The citrus, tuna, and Thai basil oil were the perfect complement to the oyster. Both Chardonnays were actually quite nice, but Lot 145 had the magic combination of being totally my style and also pairing nicely with the dish. (Unlike at Sommelier Smackdowns, where the sommeliers work to pair wines with the food, this menu was developed with the wines in mind, so nice pairings here are a compliment to the chef.)
Next up was a Cassoulet of housemade sausage, duck confit, and flageoulet beans, topped with pork cracklins. I actually found the texture of the cracklins to be more distracting than complementary, but the duck confit was delicious and the sausage was nice, too. Overall I think this was the dish that impressed me the least, which was maybe somewhat exacerbated by the fact that it was the one I was looking forward to the most. Just not the bold, intense flavors that I'm always looking for, but still a nice dish. This was paired with two Carneros Pinot Noirs: Lot 110 from 2007 and Lot 165 from 2008. Both, again, were nice wines, but the Lot 165 was more my style (I like a bigger, more aggressive Pinot) and was lovely with the cassoulet.
The next course was a 48-hour short rib with quinoa, brussels sprout, and bordelaise. The short rib was cooked sous vide for 48 hours (as the name suggests), and was beautifully tender and flavorful. The brussels sprout, sadly, seemed like it was a bit of an afterthought. (I would have liked to see something done to it other than just blanching, to help tie it into the dish more...) The short rib and sauce were fantastic, though, and the quinoa was an interesting texture contrast. Two Cabs with this course: Lot 140 2007 Chalk Hill and Lot 147 2007 Sonoma. The Chalk Hill made me very happy, and was perfect with the short rib. The Lot 147 was less my style, but was helped by the kick-ass short rib.
The Grilled rack of lamb with merguez, fennel, black olives, and fenugreek potatoes was up next. This was a bit confusing, as I'm not sure where the Merguez (which I was really looking forward to) came into play... Maybe in the potatoes (along with the black olives and fenugreek leaves)? The potatoes were certainly flavorful and delicious. The spicy chili paste on the plate was a nice accent, as well, and the lamb was perfectly cooked. I was a big fan of this dish. Three Cabs with this course: The Lot 136 2007 Napa Cab, which apparently contains a bit of Tempranillo, was incredibly lush and drinkable, not the kind of wine that you feel like you need to have with a meal to balance it, which I'm always a fan of. The Lot 164 2007 Rutherford Cab was not something I could see myself drinking on purpose, but that's really just a personal preference. The Lot 149 2007 Napa Valley Cab (Mt. George) was also fantastic, and was probably the best complement to the lamb. Good stuff.
The lamb was grilled off and then cooked sous vide for about 90 minutes before service, by the way, which gives you that lovely perfectly-cooked texture throughout. I suspect that the chef would have done the sous vide first and grilled off the chops just before service given ample time and a full kitchen (and staff), which would have made this dish even better, but I really can't complain...
The final course was a Great Hill Blue Cheese with stewed figs and pomegranate-sesame compote. The cheese is apparently made with raw milk, which adds to its nice sharp bite. The figs (at left in the picture below) were kind of unpleasant, but the compote was fantastic with the cheese. Since the cheese wasn't overly creamy, it actually did quite well with the red wines served with it: Lot 143 2007 Howell Mountain and Lot 167 2007 Nappa Valley Petite Sirah. I'm a sucker for a good Petite Sirah, and this was a really nice one that stood up impressively well to the strong cheese.
In summary, a fun and interesting evening with good food and surprisingly good wine. I sometimes really miss having the Santa Ynez valley in my back yard, so I've really been enjoying these chances to explore new wines in my new winery-free home...

Sommelier Smackdown!

On Thursday night I met up with R, Kathy, and Ben for another Sommelier Smackdown. Much like last time, it was totally and completely awesome. I think the overall level of the food at the first one R and I attended with Joe may have been a tad higher, but the best course this time was absolutely amazing, and the cheese course was both educational and delicious. Rather than repeating the rules, I'll dive right in. Ian was our chef again, but his theme this time around (he likes themes) was "Adam Ostrofsky," because Adam (the guy on the left in both pictures below) had written the menu and was doing the bulk of the prep in place of Ian's regular assistant.
Our sommeliers were again named Kate and Mike... Kate Moore from L'Espelier was back as the returning champion, and the challenger was Michael Meagher from BOKX 109.
The menu this time was three "real" courses followed by a cheese course, apparently because Adam forgot to write a fourth course and because Ian hates to make dessert:
First up was the salad of beets, shaved fennel, parsley, mint, and duck confit with a ricotta dressing.
This was pretty darn good, though I wish there was a way to enjoy the flavor of beets without your entire dish turning hot pink... The flavors really came together when you put together a bite featuring a bit of everything, and you can't go wrong with duck confit as far as I'm concerned. Kate paired this with a 2008 Château Pesquié Terrasses Rose. This was an absolutely beautiful dry Rhône rose, made with Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah. If you know me, then you know that it's basically cheating to serve me Rhône wines in a wine-pairing competition. This was fantastic with pretty much every bite of the salad. Michael went with a Pierre Sparr Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rose, which I thought was a pretty lame pairing. A couple of my friends thought it was too sweet, and we all agreed that it did nothing for the dish. I get the idea of cutting the fat from the duck with something sparkling, but this was a really boring wine that had no business being served with this salad. Apparently it's all matter of taste, though, and Kate just edged out Michael in this course 16-10. Next up was the controversial course of bass and salmon ceviche wtih green apple and smoked salt.The smoked salt was a really odd choice, since it made the salmon taste almost as if it weren't fresh. For R and Kathy, Kate's wine pairing just accentuated this off-putting fishy-ness and made the dish almost inedible. Once I got past the mental block of that smoked salt, though, and tried a few bites where the crisp apple balanced the fish, I really enjoyed this dish. Kate's pairing was a 2006 Côtes du Jura "Les Sarres" Chardonnay, aged in steel for bright lemon and apple flavors, while Michael went with a 2008 Santorini Assyrtiko from Greece. I thought Kate's wine went quite well with the lemon and apple in the ceviche. It wasn't a home run, but I thought Michael's wine was undrinkably sweet, so there wasn't really any competition in my book. As I mentioned, though, a couple of my friends thought Kate's wine destroyed the dish, so Michael got their votes... as well as most other people's, as he took this course 18-8. Next up was the course that we couldn't stop talking about afterward: Brussels sprout and lardon risotto with grilled Merguez sausage:
Holy crap. This was ridiculously awesome. I am indifferent to risotto, and all four of us had previously been indifferent to sausage as well... but not any more. The Risotto was delicious, and was the perfect partner for the mind-blowingly delicious Merguez. (Speaking of which, replicating this dish at home has shot to the top of my "To Do" list...) Adam came around to dish up what was left of the risotto after people had finished their plated portion, and seemed really proud of how much everyone loved his dish., which was sweet. Kate cheated again by serving a Rhône, this time a mostly-Syrah 2006 Domaine Des Remizieres Crozes-Hermitage. Yummy. Michael went with a 2004 Cascina Roera San Martino Barbera D'asti. I was probably going to prefer Kate's no matter what, but I thought Michael's wine was sort of gross. I think this was due to a hint of tobacco on the nose that I just couldn't get past (I may love wines that smell like manure and wet hay, but I can't seem to get past either raisin or tobacco on the nose...), as well as the fact that I'm not a huge fan of acidic reds. Again, it's a matter of taste... (As Ben reminded us, a good wine pairing is a lot like porn: You know it when you see it...) Michael secured half of the votes from our foursome, and Kate again won a close one, 15-11. Finally, the cheese course:
None of us were super-excited about this one going in, but a little cheese called Robiola changed all that... It looks sort of like Brie, so you think it's going to be boring, but it SO isn't... Mmm... Robiola... All three cheese were actually pretty awesome. There was a Bayley Hazen Blue from Vermont, a truffled pecorino, and that beautiful Robiola. Strong cheeses can be a tough pairing because they coat your tongue in fat and can make a lot of lovely wines taste nasty and bitter. Both of our sommeliers chose dessert wines to counter this problem, which I am learning lately is sort of genius. Kate chose a Burmester White Porto, while Michael went with a 2007 Pacific Rim Vin de Glacière (which is a late-harvest Riesling from Washington). I have never been a fan of white port, and Kate's wine choice was no exception, but I could see what she was going for... I guess. Michael's pairing, on the other hand, was absolutely effing fantastic with all three cheeses. Brilliant. Ben, Kathy, and I each ended up taking home a bottle, with plans to pair it with Robiola cheese we would all be buying in the near future... The three cheeses were so very different from one another, so it was cool to see one wine work perfectly with all of them. Michael annihilated Kate in this course 21-5. Thus, it was a tie in number of courses won, but Michael won big on the courses he won, so he took home the overall win by virtue of total number of votes, 60-44. He'll be back next month to take on a new challenger, and we all plan to be there, too. This post out of the way, I'm going to go have some Robiola for lunch...UPDATE: Above is the Robiola I picked up at Russo's on Saturday. That's how oozy and awesome it is straight out of the fridge. Things get even more awesome as it comes up to room temperature. So. Effing. Good. This is my new favorite cheese. Go buy some. Seriously. You can thank me later...