For dinner, we had a reservation for a small place with
a big reputation, Cafe Cups, which has a small but nice
menu and a small but dull wine list. Luckily, there's
corkage for $10. In order of drinking and reverse order
of retail (well over 30, about 30, somewhat under 30) -

Hermien brought a bottle of Adelaida Version Red 12 Rhone
blend, which was met with approval but which I found to
be at its maximum age.

According to Wine Enthusiast -
This blend of 40% Mourvÿdre, 25% Grenache, 23% Syrah,
9% Cinsault and 3% Counoise offers boysenberry, hot
bricks and condensed violets on the nose. The palate
is quite pleasant with olallieberry jam flavors
alongside sanguine elements and dark slate on the
edges, altogether quite light and easy to drink.

It was light and easy to drink and should have been
sacrificed a couple years ago. The rest of that stuff
I don't understand how they can make it up. I know
what hot bricks smell like, no quarrel with that
except that they weren't there; sanguine elements and
dark slate on the edges is totally incomprehensible.
Dark berries and some floral aspects I could detect
also, along with a caramelly cooked aspect that betrayed
the wine's age.

Bob's Columbia Milestone 10 was mature but not fading;
nobody knows what the blend is, but it's a typical New
World facsimile of a Bordeaux - so it had Cabernet and
Merlot in it, and you could taste the brambly fruit still,
but as with many such blendalikes, minor Bordeaux varietals
are likely to have been the major culprits; also there
might have been a few Rhone grapes (Syrah, Mourvedre) in
the mix. It was pleasant, well, well beyond that.

Lilli and I contributed Ch. Capbern 15, a St. Estephe that
is supposed to have soft tannins and forward fruit, unlike
what a St. Estephe is supposed to be (hard tough tannins
and aging potential of decades). Yes, there was blackcurrant
and spices including licorice and just a touch of green
herbality and all that bullbleep. I found it a little sour
(but excellent with my wings, see below) but otherwise a
lightweight. Others liked it a lot.

I had two appetizers for my dinner, counting on a bite
or three of Lilli's burger.

Kachemak oysters, $14 for 7, were big, sweet, and very
tasty. I gave a couple to my friends, and they decided
they were so good that they ordered more; unfortunately,
the second order also went on my bill. The Adelaida,
because it didn't have much punch any more in its dotage,
went well.

The special appetizer of the day was Korean-style spicy
fried chicken wings, so I had that while the others had
their mains. These were by far better than any Korean
chicken I've had before in Korea or elsewhere, the skins
fried to a gentle bubbly but persistent crunch, while the
meat stayed juicy. The sauce was neither too sweet nor
too sour, and there was just enough of it. The spice level
was probably American medium, which meant not very, which
was good for the wine.

Lilli's onion soup had lots of thyme and sherry and a
bunch of cheese (aged cheddar, good, and provolone, not
my thing); it was hugely flavorful - excellent; this was
made up for by her burger being overcooked and bad - she
ate only a quarter of it and did not encourage me to
take even a taste.

Our tablemates had the roast chicken with I think
artichokes or maybe asparagus, something that started with
an A anyway as well as a couple orders of seafood stew
with fish, scallops, clams, and king crab. These friends
not being food sharers, I can't report on their meals.

Nobody else was staying in our part of town, but Bob W,
being a good sport, took us back, a 5 min detour each way
for him.
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