Champagne and Sushi Tasting

The night before the epic journey home to Minnesota was spent with Scott in Waltham for a dinner out at the behest of my grandmother: we chose a sushi and champagne tasting, something we definitely could not have afforded otherwise. Luckily, there is a bus that started about two blocks from my apartment and went straight to the tasting. Unluckily, it was late. And cold outside. So, I called the person in charge and let them know we would be late, and she promised to save us two seats. When we finally arrived, two of the five courses had already been served, and there was only one remaining place. Slightly peeved (on the basis of the effort it took to get to this place as well as the cost of the meal for each of us, which, while not astronomical, was certainly enough to object to missing the food). The hostess, slightly annoyed at our sudden presence, fixed us two seats, and after consulting with management, agreed to give us each a complimentary bottle of champagne. The menu for the evening was astonishingly good: portions were, in my opinion, not large enough for the amount of alcohol consumed, but still delicious. The eel was amazing: succulent, if you will. There really is no words for how delicious the food tasted. (note: sorry for the lack of pictures -- the foodie in me just wanted to stop the clock and take beautiful pictures, but it was a bit too formal for me to bring out my camera)

Courses:

Grilled blue point oysters with green onion vinaigrette
Paul Cheneau Reserve Cava Brut Blanc de Blanc

Hamachi sashimi with spiced strawberry cinegar
Lucien Albrecht Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rosé

Braised stuff daikon (shrimp) with Japanese mushrooms and creamy miso dressing
Lucien Albrect Blanc de Blancs

Sake glazed salmon with green peppercorn-grapefruit vinaigrette
Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé Brut

Broiled eel with apple, pear, and sansho pepper
Nicolas Feuillatte Blue Label

After some deliberation, we decided on the Blue Label and the Cava, together worth about $65 at their prices (I got kind of sad looking at the online prices being much cheaper...but that's Boston for you!)

The gentleman who presented the wines was quite nice as well, and not pretentious in the face of how little we knew about champagne (we were easily the youngest people in the room by about 5-10 years). Also, instead of drinking from champagne flutes, we drank from white wine glasses, apparently because it's easier to taste the flavors, and as you are drinking the champagne immediately, you don't need the same bubble conservation that the flute provides. He also laughed at my use of tin foil to preserve bubbles in unfinished bottles of champagne.

All in all - it was quite a lovely night, and maybe something we'll do again. But for now, we'll be enjoying our two bottles of champagne...