Dinner Review: The Winery Restaurant (Tustin)
I cannot believe it was already three years ago that Jenn and I got married. Time sure does fly by. It has been the most amazing ride. I knew I was going to love being married but never realized it would be this great.
To celebrate our three years of marriage (nearly nine together) we bought a TravelZoo to The Winery Restaurant in Tustin around five miles from where we live. The deal was for a five course tasting menu that was too highlight their menu. We had always wanted to try The Winery but never had the right occasion to go there and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
So right when we got to our 6PM reservation they showed us to an awesome table right in the heart of the action where we got to watch the kitchen work and still feel apart of the restaurant. We got the fixed TravelZoo menu and right on the bottom was the option to upgrade to a wine pairing menu. Of course its our anniversary so we jumped right on it and got four glasses of wine to go with the first four courses of the meal.
The first course which Jenn wouldn't go near was Santa Barbara heirloom tomato with fresh burrata mozzarella, arugula, garlic croutons and aged balsamic. It was paired with Souvignion Blanc which was by far the best of the two white wine.
Next up was one of my favorites of the night the Colorado buffalo carpaccio, black-pepper crusted with a sherry vinegar-truffle vinaigrette and crispy Parmesan straw. The carpaccio was served with a Pinot Grigio which was pretty fruity and not all that great. I didn't love the wine and Jenn really didn't so I drank her glass as well. I wish she would have not liked one of the other wines though. Either way the Carpaccio was to die for full of flavor. Just wish there was more of it.
From there we go to the real good stuff, the main courses, and some red wine. The third course, the pasta course, was Maine lobster and shrimp ravioli with wilted greens, lemon verbena and Alsatian Gewurztraminer butter. It was paired with a very light and balanced Pinot Noir. I usually don't believe all that much in foods pairing well with wine, but this one changed my mind. The ravioli and the red wine were incredible together. It was a small dish but bursting with flavor.
The fourth course which I renamed to Jenn's course was Organic Turner New Zealand lamb chop and all-natural Angus beef tenderloin with mixed grilled organic vegetables and Cabernet essence. The course was paired with our favorite Cabernet Sauvignon. I looked up the bottle after dinner and it was a $70 bottle of wine, so we were pretty happy that was on the list for wine pairings. The lamb chop was by far the highlight of the course. It was small but it was delicious.
And last but certainly not least we ended the meal with an incredible cheesecake that I paired with a much needed cup of coffee.
It was one of our best meals on a TravelZoo style deal and well worth the price of admission. What an incredible way to celebrate being married to the most amazing woman in the world.
The Winery Restaurant Gets the Szerlip Double Thumbs Up
