Room Forty Goes Downtown

The late summer evenings are balmy here in LA, cloudless skies providing a peaceful backdrop to palm trees and skyscrapers alike. Bringing the tranquility of the outdoors in, Room Forty held this month’s wine dinner at The Farmers and Merchants Bank on 4th and Main. The dramatically long dinner table held all of us bohemians, side by side by side, comfortable among friends both new and old—including winemakers Russell From and McPrice “Mac” Meyers.

As usual, we started with a chilled pour of a friendly white wine. This time, it was a 2007 High on the Hog blend of Marsanne, Roussane, and Viogner from Paso Robles.

My college chum, JP, joined us this month with his friend T. Never having experienced the goodness that is Room Forty, they were pleasantly surprised at how seamlessly the wines were paired with the food. JP especially enjoyed the Whitehawk Viognier, the first wine poured once we were seated. It was snappy, with a hint of spice that is surprising for a wine of this type. The clam chowder shooter that came for our amuse bouche was a good balance for the wine. Also paired with this wine was our opening course, beautiful brandywine tomatoes with sumptuous burrata and baby basil drizzled with a wonderfully syrupy balsamic reduction.

A meaty pan-roasted sturgeon was next, accented with [ichiline olives, artichoke-basil reduction, crispy artichokes, and farm-fresh fennel. All of the flavors were substantive enough to stand up to the accompanying Barrel 27 Zotovich Pinot Noir (2006), its smooth palate and berry-like flavors bringing the fruity hints of the dish to the forefront.

The 2006 McPrice Meyers L’Ange Rouge (Grenache) had a mild milk chocolate tinge mid-palate and mild tannins. Served alongside a grilled La Belle Farms quail, yam moussiline, baby beet greens, and fig marmalade with blackberry gastrique, the wine lent a refined note to this deliciously bold poultry course. JP smiled as he finished the last bite. “That fig marmalade is outta control!” he exclaimed. “And the yam? It’s bananas!” Indeed, the yam moussiline was almost too good to be true.

Next came a real shocker: coffee-crusted dry aged rib eye, the steak being a departure for Room Forty’s meat courses, which have usually been pork or something more exotic. The rib eye was tender and juicy, perfection in red meat. Topped with a Fourme d’ Ambert butter (which blew my mind) and atop a potato fondue beside some wild arugula and bourbon-caramel drizzle, this course was highlighted by the assertive 2006 Nuts and Bolts Syrah from Herman Story. The slightly oaky, cacao nib-scented wine cut through the thick sweetness of the potato and the savory butter. Truthfully, butter-topped steak smelled so amazing, I didn't even think to take a photo first. And after that initial bite...there was no stopping me. LOVE!

No dinner with Room Forty is complete without an astounding dessert. And this dessert was a show-stopper. The frozen chocolate graham cookie sandwich grabbed me first, the pillowy filling oozing out between the cakey cookies. Vanilla bombolinis, like tiny vanilla donut holes, sat in a puddle of white chocolate sauce. Tasty! Everyone in our area really enjoyed the spiced chocolate shot with mini marshmallows, the cinnamon and nutmeg in the chocolate giving way to the tiniest kick of cayenne or some other spice at the back of the throat. None of us could get enough of the hot chocolate, and it was truly dream-about-it-later delish!

Recurring Recap: Room Forty

It was another enchanted evening at the estate, with Room Forty’s ever-gracious staff circulating trays of deviled eggs (expectedly yum), sweetbreads nuggets (tastes like chicken, truly), soy-marinated albacore (better than tartare with flying fish roe), and goat cheese crostini (creamy goodness from Humboldt Fog). The 2006 Di Bruno Pinot Grigio, its stone fruit palate and grape skin nose picking up the flavors in the hors d’oeuvres, was a full-flavored treat.


For our first seated course, a perfectly seared day boat scallop sat atop a caramelized corn risotto, the earthy sweetness of which was heightened by the herbaceous basil oil that garnished the plate. Brown butter foam and Marsh grapefruit supreme balanced the plate with nuttiness and the tiniest bit of acid. The Meyer lemon-scented 2007 Grenache Blanc complemented this delish dish nicely.


Our next course was comprised of a shallow pool of roasted Cherokee tomato soup surrounding a hunk of smoked monkfish and petite mizuna greens with a delightful fennel seed cracker. The sweetness of the soup brought out the velvety tones of the accompanying 2005 Badge Pinot Noir.


The always amazing duck (confit this time) on stone ground grits came as our next course, the crisped skin and shaved fennel tying the flavors together beautifully. Slices of warm black plum matched well with the 2004 Di Bruno Sangiovese that was paired with this dish.


My favorite course was our final savory plate: braised boar shoulder and roasted fingerling potatoes with caramelized brussel sprout halves and bits of popped pork skin (a la chicharrones, fyi). The juicy boar, like porkier pork, was delicious with the 2005 Curran Reserve Syrah. The black forest cake finish of the wine highlighted the creaminess of the potatoes and the juiciness of the boar.

Dessert consisted of a rich chocolate torte topped with cassis glaze and wild blackberry cream piped into little blueberry shapes. There was a collective sigh of delight among my dinner companions when we took our first bites. Exquisite.

Room Forty gave us another superb experience, one that (for all its delectable bites and entertaining guests) they’ll have a hard time topping at the next event.

***Special thanks to Killa Bee and his song, which stayed in my head the whole way home! ☺

Room for everyone at Room Forty

On a hot summer night, the Dark Knight and I piled into the car with the Killa Bee at the wheel and Sir James riding shotgun. Ensconced in the air-conditioned comfort of the Bee’s vehicle, the four of us enjoyed a leisurely ride through Pasadena, arriving at one of Alta Dena’s gated communities. Having passed muster, we entered a world far removed from the confines of the smog-filled big city that we inhabit.

At Room Forty’s June dinner, including wine from Justin Wines, hosts Steve and Nicole orchestrated the perfect Saturday dinner. Passed hors d’oeuvres included crostini topped with chevre and black peppered marmalade orange zest, burrata and heirloom tomatoes dressed in balsamic, and deviled white wine eggs. A refreshing 2007 Sauvignon Blanc kept us hydrated, as it were.

Once seated, bowls of corn and summer parsnip puree arrived before us. The toothsome stone fruit salsa garnish provided a lovely textural contrast to the smooth cool of the soup. While I love a good Chardonnay on a warm evening, the 2007 that was paired with this soup seemed a bit piquant when compared with the creamy, subtle sweetness of the soup.


The 2006 Syrah paired well with our fish course, roasted escolar cooked just to temperature. It’s a bold move to pair such a powerful wine with a white fish, but the earthiness of the meaty morels around the fish rounded out the developing truffle notes in the wine. My favorite component was the delicious, well-balanced brandy bacon cream sauce, its smoky flavor mitigating the sweetness of the squash puree foundation of the dish.

A slightly hammy smoked maple leaf duck comprised our poultry dish, with barely blanched baby carrot rounds and spring peas rounding out the plate. The cherry Cabernet sauce unsurprisingly went well with the 2006 Cabernet served with this course, though a 2004 would have tasted better. I found the 2006 to be a bit too young for consumption; only decanting an hour or two before service could have softened the tannic edges and green taste of the wine.

The ultimate pairing of the night was the Niman Ranch braised pork and cheesy, stone-ground grits in a Malbec reduction with the 2006 Justification. Definitely the star of all savory courses, the smoky, fork-tender pork was enhanced by the lush palate and dried huckleberry nose of the wine. This blended wine, Justin Wines’ signature release, was served almost at the peak of its bottle life. Its mouthfeel and endnotes reminded me of sugarplum candies, the smoothness reminiscent of dark cherry-scented dark chocolate.

The Dark Knight was most excited about dessert: a bar of bittersweet chocolate mousse, thick like a ganache but airy like a mousse, topped with a Bing cherry geleé shaped like cherry halves; and baked brie bombolini with apple chutney and apricot confit. The mousse was rich and velvety, bringing out the deep chocolate flavors of the 2006 Obtuse port that was paired with this final course. The bombolini, tiny bundles of pastry, brie, and apple, tasted like apple danishes taken to a higher level.

With a gorgeous setting, succulent food, and fabulous company, the four of us loved almost every moment of our Room Forty event. We can’t wait for the next one!