1975 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

This was a great bottle that we opened tonight for our anniversary, and has been stored perfectly throughout the years. The cork was soaked about 3/4 of the way through, and came out in 2 large pieces thankfully. No decanting at all for sediment as it looked clean, so popped and poured into the glass.

The slightest bit of bricking in the glass, with just a hint of brett. An amazing nose, full of blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, prune, earth, cigar box, and mushroom. If only the palate was as fruity, this would be the sleeper of sleepers.

In the glass, the first 1/2 hour still showed a sleepy and dusty wine, but as this wine warmed up in the glass, the complexity started to show. Sure, this wine is tired, and definitely on the down slope, but it still is very tasty. Hints of blackberry and currants on the palate, with hints of blueberry and slate as well. A nice lingering finish make this wine worthy of 94 points. Would love to enjoy this again, and it was a true treat at Acacia in Lawrenceville on our anniversary! Love the NJ BYO's!

Acacia - Lawrenceville, NJ

What better night to hit Acacia in Lawrenceville than on our second anniversary? Happy anniversary hot stuff! We left out for an early dinner, on a cold, rainy, October Jersey night. Upon arriving at Acacia, there was nobody in the restaurant, but what could you expect with the weather, and with the fact that it was a Tuesday night. Maybe everyone stayed in tonight in hopes that the Phillies were going to play ball tonight. OK, probably not the case, but…. We were greeted by the hostess who graciously took Zelda's coat and seated us at a great table by the window. The atmosphere at Acacia is very nice. Gorgeous, large wood trim, and paint and décor that is very elegant. Awesome atmosphere, and this would be a great place to do a wine tasting one night! Our waiter came over and opened out 1975 Ducru-Beaucaillou, and told us about the soup and one dinner special. We both ended up ordering a cup of the shrimp bisque, and we ended up ordering a Caesar to split between the two of us. First came the salad, with nice greens, and freshly shaved cheese. The salad looked very nice, and the dressing was just OK. I almost question whether or not they make their dressing in house, or if maybe it was from a bottle. Regardless, it was nice, and more of a oil and vinegar based dressing than your typical creamy caesar. Don't get me wrong, it had a nice flavor to it, but I would expect a little more from Acacia. Next came the shrimp bisque, and although this was very tasty, it was definitely lacking in the sprimp department. You could tell that there was some shrimp puree'd into the soup, but my suggestion would be to add more. Maybe we got top ladles from the soup pan, or maybe they just do not want to overwhelm you with soup. Nonetheless, this was a nice soup with great flavor, and all it needs is a little more shimp to beef it up. On to the entrees, Zelda ordered the Frenched Free-Range Chicken with crabmeat stuffing, roasted asparagas, fontina, garlic sherry wine jus, and a potato croquette. The presentation for this was absolutely gorgeous, although I am sure that Gordon Ramsay would have help the plate up and blown all the parsley off of the plate. More to come soon!

Bistro Soleil - Hightstown, NJ

Tonight we decided to try Bistro Soleil for the first time, after reading much about it on Chowhound. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. We were first greeted by a parking lot, and it is nice to know that parking here is not a problem at all. Many spaces, which is a bonus for restaurants in a little 'burg like Hightstown. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by warm colors, and a team at the host stand, who quickly seated us with no reservation. We sat on the right hand side of the restaurant if you were looking at it from the outside, and the back of the restaurant seemed like it was missing something, and there was just a lot of dead space in the restaurant. I guess this is great for the future though, so they can add tables when they start getting busier, and their clientel starts to increase. Kerri was our server, and came quickly to the table to greet us, and to open our 2006 Stefania Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch. Shortly after, our water glasses were filled, and bread and oil was brought to the table. One of the first things we noticed yet again was the lack of salt and pepper shakers on the tables. This seems to be the thing lately, and quite honestly, I think that it shows a little arrogance in the kitchen that the chef doesn't feel the need to have it on the table. We'll see. We both started off with cups of the seafood chowder. The soup was good, but it was definitely lacking something. A little bit of salt and pepper would have gone a long way, and really "spiced" the soup up, no pun intended. Regardless, it was still "good," but not great. For dinner, Zelda ordered the Salmon Wellington, and it came out in a good size portion, cut in half, with a beautiful crust, and nice mushroom mix inside. The salmon was cooked perfectly, and this was a large portion. She ended up taking 1/2 home, so it could be consumed for lunch the following day. I went for the Bistro Strip and Fries, as it was said to be a bistro staple. It was a nice NY Strip, cooked to perfection with nice cross char marks on it. Upon first cut, it was very tough, and I wasn't expecting much from it at that point. Once it hit my mouth however, I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty this cut was, and it wasn't tough to say the least. No, you couldn't cut it with a fork, but how many NY strips can you really do that with anyway?

More to come when I get some more time!