Wining and Dining at Le Colonial
Our friend, the tax man, invited a few of us to Le Colonial a little while back. I’d never been there before and almost walked right past it in the alleyway. But I’m glad I made it to this dimly lit Vietnamese restaurant. The wine list had plenty of choices (including many split bottles) to make my choice that much harder. But with a need for a red (for me and my Irish friend) and a white (for the gents) due to our choices in entrees… I had a time making a decision. However, I was pleased with both bottles AND with the fact that the server had me taste them both as I had ordered them!
For the slightly spicy seafood dishes with tropical fruit flavors, I chose the 2005 Cave de Ribeauville Gewurztraminer from Alsace. The nose seemed a little subtle but it blended into the tastes of peach, banana, pineapple, pears, and honeysuckle. Quite lovely. The red that night was the 2004 Liberty School Syrah from the Central Coast. Its nose absolutely blew us away with rich tones of vanilla, cherry, and raspberry. While the palate fell a tiny bit short, comparatively, it was still a very pleasant experience of pepper, plum, vanilla, and cocoa.
Don’t think I’m forgetting about the food, readers and drinkers. While I was worried at first–about half the items listed featured ginger (my one-remaining food enemy), I decided on the Bo Luc Lac: cubes of beef tenderloin coated with a tasty soy garlic glaze and served with a delicious tomato medley. Yum. I also tasted the coconut curry salmon. But the dessert was the most divine, as we shared a sample platter that included apple cinnamon beignets and flourless chocolate cake. It was so tasty I forgot to write down the wine we had with it!
Le Colonial, 2005 Cave de Ribeauville Gewurztraminer, 2004 Liberty School Syrah
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