We hit Varanese routinely on Wednesday nights in addition to other nights, but hard to beat 1/2 price wine night. Thankfully, the glass doors were closed tonight and it was very comfortable in addition to having the open feel we always associate with Varanese.
We use 1/2 price wine nights to enjoy a bottle that we know we'll love and ask Chris or Ed to pair our dinners with whatever goes best from the bar. We always preface the order with we've never sent a bottle back so don't worry about a choice and surprise us.
We've had 28.00 bottles that they've said went best with the meal and 100.00+ bottles that blew us away. At 1/2 price and as frequently as we end up there the price tends to average out to something we don't think about much any more given the consistent quality of the experience.
Started with an appetizer of Prime Rib Crostinis that are always a favorite when they show up on the menu.
I ordered a special salad that I had last week that included Local Organic Mixed Greens Topped with Early Girl Tomatoes, Avocado, Bacon and Cucumbers Drizzled with a Crack Pepper and Cucumber Vinaigrette that went really well with the Estancica Pinot Gris that is our standby starter wine at Varanese.
Wife had a very good crab cake sandwich, but she's the one with self discipline and she skipped the salad. My entree was a special Grilled Quail with Wild Boar and Leek Bread Pudding Finished with a Smoky Tomato Butter Sauce. I assumed this was sort of a game platter, but Chris let me know that the Wild Boar was included as a bacon\lardo component of the bread pudding. There were 2 quail that were semi-boned and some seasonal vegtables.
Chris picked a King Estate Pinot Noir for dinner that was from a King Estate wine dinner that they had hosted recently. Unbelievable pairing with the quail and wild boar bread pudding. We've had some very good meals at Varanese over the last few years, but this was absolutely one of the best.
Looking forward to our next visit.