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Sandrine’s Bistro

January 26, 2012 in events, Food, Restaurants, wine by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Have you ever eaten at Sandrine’s Bistro? Somewhat hidden from the hustle and bustle of Harvard Square on a side street, Sandrine’s is a Cambridge institution that has consistently received rave reviews for the last 15 years.

My first experience at Sandrine’s was last spring, a wine dinner with Red White Boston that featured two fabulous women in wine, Maureen Martin from Clos du Bois and Janet Myers from Franciscan Estate.

I loved the event, which had a special menu paired with Clos du Bois and Franciscan wines. This past Tuesday night, I, along with a small group of Boston bloggers, had the opportunity to feast on items from Sandrine’s regular menu.

We all received a warm welcome from our server as well as Sandrine’s chef, Raymond Ost. Then we got down to the wine and food.

I started the evening with Trimbach Pinot Gris, a white wine from Alsace that was a perfect pairing with the starters we all shared.

{Moules Marinières P.E.I. mussels sauteed in Riesling wine, with garlic, shallots & onions}

{Traditional Baked Alsatian Escargots}

{Tarte Flambée (Flammekueche) crispy flat bread topped with nutmeg-scented fromage blanc}

Everything we tried was delicious and perfectly-made. The escargots were garlicky and so tender, not the least bit rubbery or chewy as people often expect them to be. And the Flammekueche was light, cheesy, and smoky. I could have eaten the whole thing myself, but I knew I needed to save room for dinner.

When it came to ordering an entrée, I had a hard time deciding as Sandrine’s menu offers many appealing options. Did I want lobster risotto? Or the traditional, meaty Choucroute Garnie? I ran 15 miles earlier in the day, so I definitely wanted something hearty. I ended up going with the duck, which is something I have only eaten a few times. It was tender and flavorful with brandied cherries and a heavenly mushroom risotto. To pair with the duck, I switched to the red wine option our server had chosen for us, a Rhone blend which went great with the duck. It mirrored the dark cherry flavors in the dish and also had a nice smokiness to it. I love Rhone wines!

{Roasted Maple Leaf Farm Duck Magret Mushoom risotto, brandied cherry reduction}

Dessert was another tough decision. Luckily the group was willing to share!

{Chocolate Kougelhopf warm dense chocolate cake, caramel coulis,
vanilla ice cream and chocolate ganache}

The Kougelhopf, a luscious chocolate cake, was pretty incredible. It was almost like a molten chocolate cake but not quite molten. It is a must-order.

{Milk Chocolate Pot de Crème Peanut mousse, salted brittle}

But my Pot de Crème won me over even more. Rich and creamy chocolate, topped with a creamy peanut butter mousse and served with light peanut brittle, this was a sophisticated mix of pb and chocolate, one of my favorite dessert combinations.

The service at Sandrine’s was outstanding. Our server was charming, knowledgeable, very helpful, and fun to chat with. The cuisine of Sandrine’s is from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. Our server was from Lorraine while the chef is from Alsace, and I think the experience was extra-special because it was authentic.

Sandrine’s has a cozy, romantic vibe with a menu that is perfect for chilly weather. You will definitely not leave the restaurant hungry!

My dining experience was complimentary, but I would definitely return for dinner again in the near future. Perhaps Valentine’s Day? Or rather the day before Valentine’s Day, since we prefer to stay in on the holiday itself.

Thanks to Sandrine’s for taking such good care of us!

Technorati Tags: cambridge, Dining out, Food, Restaurants, Sandrine's Bistro, wine

Tags: cambridge, Dining out, Food, Restaurants, Sandrine's Bistro, wine

Wine Stories

September 20, 2011 in wine by traveleatlove | 7 comments

Last Thursday night, the Red White Boston Tasting Crew collided with the Future M Marketing conference for a tasting at Central Bottle Wine & Provisions. Future M was a Marketing conference happening all over Boston, with sessions and events sprinkled around the city with some of the best minds in Marketing focusing on everything from brand strategy and experience architecture to next generation communities and emerging platforms. I was sad to miss it; when you work for yourself, there is not a professional development budget, at least in the beginning. One of the many things to think about when leaving the safety net of a big company (You also have to remember to order your own printer ink.)

Luckily, I was able to attend one Future M event as part of Red White Boston, and being that it was an event that involved wine, cheese, and tasting crew friends, well that made it even better.

I arrived at Central Bottle a little early to take photos. I hadn’t been to this beautiful wine and gourmet food store since their opening day. It had definitely changed a bit!

Central Bottle is a clean and modern space with great light from walls of windows that face out on to Mass Ave. Everywhere you look there is something delectable, cheese, bread, chocolate, wine, or beer.

And then more wine.

The large flat screen at Central Bottle was set up with two Twitter feeds, one for Future M and one for Red White Tasting Crew. I may have tweeted a few times just to see myself on the big screen. Winking smile

I caught up with tasting crew members I hadn’t seen in months and chatted with some Future M participants before the tasting got started. This tasting was all about stories, starting with the fun story of how Central Bottle came to be. It’s a great story, one that it is easy to feel a part of, especially when Nick and Maureen started leading us through our tasting.

Red White Boston’s founder, Cathy Huyghe, who usually has wine open and waiting for us when we arrive for an event, structured this tasting a bit differently. Instead of diving right into the wine, we learned its story first.

The tasting lineup:

Dry Riesling from Ravines Wine Cellar in the Finger Lakes of New York

Cilegiolo Rosato from Bisson in the Liguria region of Italy

Le Poivre et Sel from Les Vin Contes in the Loire region of France

Enrico Cialdini Lambrusco from Cleto Chiarli in Italy

In addition to the usual wine info, the tasting sheet also included all of our Twitter handles and those of the wineries on Twitter. The sheet also included some key words and phrases that were part of each wine’s story.

The Ravines Riesling was a beautiful wine, both in its flavor and its story. Jason had visited the tasting room in the Finger Lakes just days earlier, and his description of the property made me want to go there immediately. His blog post and photos are beautiful; be sure to check it out.

The cool climate of the Finger Lakes lends this wine a nice acidity which made it a pleasure to drink and also makes it an ideal pairing with food, including cheese.

The next wine, a rosato from Liguria, was, as we discussed, a perfect wine for this time of year. It is light enough for summer, but has enough body to be a rosé that you drink in winter. It had an herbal quality in the nose, and I also got a bit of rose petal before tasting its deep strawberry flavors.

Somehow I failed to photograph the third wine, my favorite of the evening. True to its name Le Poivre et Sel, this wine exhibited salty and peppery characteristics. I bought two bottles, and while I noticed more the marked spiciness on the palate, my husband commented more on the salinity. This is definitely an interesting wine and one that took him some getting used to. I loved it right off the bat, and it will definitely be making repeat appearances on our table.

While we tasted, we were treated to more food, this time salumi from Central Bottle’s case. Thin slices of salty, melt-in-your-mouth meats REALLY went well with this wine.

The final wine was a deep red, sparkling Lambrusco. Frothy and fruity, this wine would be perfect for sipping in very small pours but was a little too sweet for me. It was a nice way to wrap up the evening though, and another interesting choice from the folks at Central Bottle.

What a great tasting space and fun group of people to spend an evening with! The wines were diverse and ones I might never have had the chance to try if not for this tasting. I loved how everything came together in this event. I am excited for more Red White Tasting Crew events and also to return to Central Bottle, a great store with a great staff and selection.

Have you tasted any interesting wines lately, that you loved or didn’t love?

If you live in Boston, I would love to see you at the next Red White Boston tasting crew event! Lots of wine and networking with fun people. Let me know if you have questions.

Technorati Tags: cambridge, cheese, events, Red White Boston, wine

Tags: cambridge, cheese, events, Red White Boston, wine

Taste of Cambridge 2011

July 1, 2011 in events, Food by traveleatlove | 12 comments

Cambridge is one of my favorite foodie cities in all of the US. Like Boston, it has an ever-growing number of amazing restaurants and celebrity chefs. Our little New England home is all grown up when it comes to food, wine, and cocktails.

Taste events are ideal for anyone looking to check out the food scene, and I love Taste of Cambridge for the incredible collection of restaurants and the creative high quality food samples. Warning: at an event like this you might be overwhelmed, and you could get full very quickly. Pace yourself.

I didn’t photograph everything; with over 50 restaurants, food purveyors, brewers, and wine distributors, there was a lot going on. Hopefully my little tour will give you a glimpse into what I ate.

The beloved Formaggio Kitchen was standing by with what else but their gorgeous cheeses.

Bambara was grilling up bruschetta, but I went for their pulled pork with truffled honey. For whatever reason, I arrived at this event craving meat, and meat I ate.

Upstairs on the Square had one of the big hits of the night, duck tacos with all sorts of toppings. I could have easily parked myself at their table, filling tacos with lime sour cream and jalapenos. It was brilliant.

Oleana also stole my heart with a wheat berry and vegetable salad, cool, light, and refreshing, with a creamy yogurt topping and a flavorful blend of spices.

This vegan pie looked too good to eat!

And on the not-so-vegan side, bacon cotton candy from Harvest.

Harvest also made these delectable pulled pork banh mi sandwiches with crunchy slaw.

Other favorites? Homemade hobnobs from Craigie on Main, sushi rolls from Café Sushi, deviled eggs from Russell House Tavern, and brisket with BBQ beans and cornbread from Savenor’s. I told you I was all about finding the meat dishes!

Taste of Cambridge was truly a delight for the senses, if not a little overwhelming at times. Everything I tasted was delicious; I was glad that my strategy included taking photos and surveying the food before I dove in. I definitely missed a few things that I should have tried, but you can’t eat it all!

What do you go for first at big food events? Do you have a strategy?

Note: My entry to Taste of Cambridge was via a media pass which I did not pay for. However, my opinions are entirely my own.

Technorati Tags: beer, cambridge, events, Food, wine