Photos of Ethan

Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant

After the Castle we went to the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant, which is part of the Culinary Institute of America, for a late lunch.  The CIA is in a big stone castle-like building.

I guess because of the time of year and time of day the restaurant wasn't very crowded.  The ambiance was nice--although I think it was a bit chilly in the room. First, I want to talk about the food.  The most important part, right? So, as Nicole says, here is the food porn.

 I decided to have some butternut squash soup to help warm me up.  It had pomegranate seeds in it.  Odd combination, but as I bit into each seed there was a juicy burst of flavor.

 Ross started with the steak tartare.  The toast had blue cheese and carmelized onions.  It was very tasty.

I chose the lamb ragout.  Very good, except for one giant pappardelle ball.  It was a lot of food, so Ethan helped me finish.

Ross and Tiffany got the duck.  It was the clear winner.  The celery puree was so smooth and perfectly seasoned.  Ethan demanded steak, so he and Robert shared the steak.  It was a part of a prix fixe menu that included 3 other courses.

This is Robert and Ethan's dessert. A molten chocolate lava cake and vanilla bean ice cream.  We all had a taste.  We were stuffed at the end.

Now the service.  As Ross said---it was Rank: Amateur.  Easy things like water and bread...took forever.  The time between courses (and keep in mind we are very leisurely eaters) was excessive.  For being the wine spectator restaurant you'd think the'd ask if we wanted wine or make recommendations.  Nothing.  The service was very disappointing. It would have been disappointing anywhere, but the fact that we were paying 50 bucks a head somehow made it worse.  Even though the duck was exceptional the service was enough to deter me from ever going there or recommending it to anyone.

The Greystone also has a Bakery and Cafe that is run by the students.  We were disappointed that it was closed.  We were hoping to get some pastries for a late dinner/dessert.  The gift shop had lots of beautifully decorated chocolate truffles.  We bought two stout truffles, but haven't eaten them yet.

Since we still wanted sweets for later we went to Dean and Deluca.  We got an eggnog late that was divine.  Ross and I got slices of coffee cake.  His was much better (and bigger) than mine.  I was so stuffed at the end of the night that my tummy hurt--just from being so full.

Castello di Amorosa

Our excursion to the Petrified Forest was a bust--the trails were closed due to flooding.  I decided we could check out the Castello di Amorosa winery because it was close by and had Gewurtztraminer.  The winery really does have a full-on castle.

 View of the castle and some of the vineyards.

 View from a castle loop hole of the valley and an olive tree.

 View from the castle restroom.  It reminded me of the views from Neuschwanstein.

It had been raining, but the skies cleared up for our visit to the castle.  The courtyard area was still wet and Ross and Ethan played ninjas or something in the big open area.

We paid $18 for 5 tastings.  Three of my tastings were of Gewurtztraminer.   Ethan got to have Gewurtztraminer juice.  Apparently that was as good as the wines--Robert and Ross tried it, but I didn't.  The sweetest Gewurtztraminer was a hit with everyone, and if I didn't have to mail it back to myself or check a bag I would have bought a couple of bottles.  I probably would have bought some of the juice too.