Coppola Wine Dinner - Cafe Lou Lou in the Highlands 3/12/09

[Robin Garr]

I guess they'll be serving Coppola wines, but any similarities should end there.

It's not unknown to have a couple of dinners in town featuring the same wine at different eateries if there's a visiting wine maker, or, frankly, if the wine distributor makes a push and gets a few of his good customers to work out a tasting dinner. Obviously, Marsha, the menu will vary from restaurant to restaurant. I'm not sure where David was headed with that, either. David?

My husband, Rance did the Coppola wine dinner last night and he said it was fantastic. As I'm typing this, he's walking around the house rubbing his belly.

Robin- Trust me I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought it was interesting to have 2 dinners featuring the same vineyard in the same area, in the same month. I'm sure both restaurants will put their individual spins on the menu to be pared with the wines. Both are great restaurants.

[Robin Garr]

Robin- Trust me I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought it was interesting to have 2 dinners featuring the same vineyard in the same area, in the same month. I'm sure both restaurants will put their individual spins on the menu to be pared with the wines. Both are great restaurants.

Hey, David, I didn't think you "meant anything." It's really not that uncommon for a visiting wine maker (or an aggressive distributor) to set up more than one wine dinner in the area if there's a wine maker or winery representative in town, or just to promote a particular product that they want to sell.

Understood

[Robin Garr]

Understood

Probably even easier to understand now that I edited my idiotic "not that common" to "not that uncommon" as I meant in the first place.

It's been 5 days since the Coppola Wine Dinner and it is still creeping into almost every conversation we've had...between ourselves and with others.

This dinner was completely unbelievable! If you thought the beer dinner was wonderful a year or so ago, this completely blew it away!

The Italian Wedding Soup with Veal & Gorgonzola Meatball was out of this world. Clay said it was Rouge Blue Cheese that had been smoked over hazelnuts, I believe. Mama's Caesar salad is straight off Helen's Sunday night dinner table and I can understand how her family fell in love with it! It was robust with garlic & anchovies and simply delicious. The antipasto course was fantastic. The two variations of salami were delicious- one was a 200 yr old recipe that was almost creamy, the other had some spice from being rubbed with red pepper. The cheese with fenugreek in it was awesome! What was the name of that? The pasta course and the meat course were a tie for me as to which was my favorite...and I still can't decide. The veal osso bucco was the best I have ever eaten, and I love osso bucco so I have had it many times. Now the porcini mushroom tortellini with wild mushrooms, crispy leeks and toasted pine nuts was complete heaven! I couldn't get enough of the sauce and easily could have taken a loaf of bread and a bowl of sauce and made a complete fool of myself! I had never had skate and was a bit apprehensive but after one bite, I was convinced it was one of the most delicious fish dishes I had ever eaten; moist, flakey and a sweet, mild taste. I would definitely order this dish again. Last but not least, Marsha's Hazelnut and Pistachio Cannoli was over the top! The cannoli shell was crispy but delicate, held it's shape without breaking apart as it was being eaten and reminded me somewhat of the taste of a fortune cookie. The filling was equally wonderful!

The wines were awesome; I especially loved the Sophia sparkling wine and can't wait to pick up a bottle for a special evening.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put on this event! It was relaxed, fun and everyone walked away stuffed but with a huge smile on their faces! Clay, Helen, Marsha and the entire staff are fabulous! If you haven't tried Cafe Lou Lou, you must. And if they do another dinner event, you'd better hurry to make a reservation because I'm sure after this one, it will become the hottest ticket in town!

Linda & Mark

The antipasto course was fantastic. The two variations of salami were delicious- one was a 200 yr old recipe that was almost creamy, the other had some spice from being rubbed with red pepper

We thought so much of the salami piccante that we asked Clay where he found it.

http://www.creminelli.com/

So, we ordered some.