Vintana, Escondido Happy Hour….. is a must do! I have talked about it before, but yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with Executive Chef/Partner of the Cohn Group, Deborah Scott. Chef Scott is someone I have been following for decades….. I am always amazed at what she creates… what she puts on the plate. And yesterday was no exception!
She absolutely puts the happy back into Happy Hour.
Here’s her wonderful Honey Roasted Garlic. Do you remember my review of the soft opening of Native Foods and me telling the Chef to add a half a bulb of roasted garlic as a ‘side’? Well no one had to tell Deborah Scott that! See?
That’s just what I’m talkin’ about. And you might notice that I didn’t even think about the photo until all the garlic was gone! lol
It comes on a plate with Brie coated with Roasted Chic Peas crunched for coating… pickled onions and greenery, along with a sweet and hot sauce for dipping. And the bread she serves with it? Perfectly seasoned. Perfectly toasted. A small miracle indeed!
Here’s the crusted cheese I’m talkin’ about.
Satifying. Filling. Flavorful. And I’m 90% dairy free. So you know it had to be good, if I ate it! Otherwise, I might have taken just one bite, instead of my usual three!
Ya feel me? Well stop feelin’ me! I’ll have ya arrested! lol
And this is all on their Happy Hour Menu. 7.00 each. That means you can try two or three! lol
I found that same crust on calamari by the way. Boy! Does that make a difference.
But I thought you might like to see the Happy Hour Menu…………
Can you read it? 7 days, (count ’em) seven days a week, 2:30pm-6:30pm (Whoooooot?) it’s Happy Hour at Vintana’s! Great food. Great wine. Great Cocktails. Scary good prices…. All, and I mean ALL Vodka’s on sale ~ $7.00. And they have some pretty amazing vodkas, with some great information as told to me by John behind the bar. He introduced me to some bangin’ good wines…. which I will talk about later and make my recommendations to you!
Here’s the Great Wall of China…. errr… I mean, great wall of Vodka at Vintana…. and some good information I want to pass on to you.
Let’s be honest. The picture doesn’t do it justice. You’ll have to stop into the bar and see it for yourself!
Bits and pieces of information: Did you know that Belvedere has a ‘second label’ called Sobieski? And that Bruce Willis owns a piece of it? Oh Yeeeaah. The bottle comes with a picture of Bruce around the neck. And what makes a vodka second label? John explains that the original uses a more expensive filtering system… 2nd label, is just that. Not as well filtered.
And how about Kai Vodka? Ever hear of this? Vodka is usually made from corn, potatoes…. but this one is from the blooming flowers on the rice plant in Vietnam.
REALLY CHEF MARIAN?
Yes. Really!
And how about Ciroc Vodka? Another celebrity part owner…. that’s Puff Daddy, or is that P. Diddy? Well, he’s sure fillin’ up that ‘kitty’.
The final Vodka of interest is called Purity. And it’s just what the name implies…. easy to drink. No big bite.
Might be considered a sipping vodka, much like we have sipping tequilas…..
Onto wines….
There’s our man “John” in the middle. The man with the knowledge, who gave me a pretty thorough education on vodka.
I was telling him (and also mentioned to Deborah Scott) that Francis Ford Coppola (unlike daughter Sophie and her wines), treads on his good name when it comes to winemaking. He had one ‘hit’ called Rubicon. Outside of that, I have not enjoyed his wine.
But I do have three recommendations for you, when you go to Vintana. Try Ferarri Carano’s Siena, Elk Cove and Villa Pozzi. And if you’re doing a tasting? Throw in a Stolpman Syrah for good measure! These are all good reds that pair with food beautifully!
So a big thank you to both John and Deborah for making yesterday a most happy Happy Hour. See you at the restaurant sometime, yes?
YES! CHEF MARIAN! WE WILL SEE YOU THERE!
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian