Porthos, ever been to The Wine Country in Signal Hill? Very strong French department. I'm a Burgundy/Champagne freak, and lucky enough to live about a mile away from it. It's right off the 405, and MUCH closer than H'wood.

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Wine Country
2301 Redondo Ave, Signal Hill, CA

I've got my mother's recipe for Caramel Cake, and the frosting has always worked perfectly. Here it is:
1 c. buttermilk, 2 c. sugar, 1/2 t. baking soda, 1/2 c. butter, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1 t. vanilla
Mix sugar, soda, butter, and milk. Cook until soft ball stage, and cool. Add vanilla and beat until creamy. Spread quickly on cake to before it hardens.

Hope this helps.

Agrapart les 7 cru
Agrapart Minerale (if you can find it)
Pierre Peters NV
Jean Milan
Robert Moncuit

I like the smaller houses.

And, Jake,
Yes, I do follow the rules of etiquette for bringing a bottle of wine into a restaurant here in California.
And, thank you for your anecdotes. I'm sure they will save me and my wife some consternation.

Again, thanks to all for the advice.

Thank you. This is why I asked the question. Though I live in California, I am fortunate to have a wine store near me which features wines from all the regions you mentioned. And, I humbly assert, I am familiar with the general characteristics of all of these. The unfortunate side of this, is that, as you mentioned, California restaurants often have badly flawed and expensive wine lists. This is why we Californians who love wine, and who are not wealthy, bring wine into restaurants. And, I am indeed looking forward to discovering producers that I'm not familiar with.

Thanks to both of you!

Hi, all. My wife and I are traveling to Europe for the first time this summer. We live in California, and are wine aficionadas, who have become accustomed to bringing our own bottles to restaurants, and paying corkage. Is this an acceptable practice in France? Our favorite wines come from Champagne, Burgundy, and the Loire valley, which are much neglected by restaurants here. We plan on traveling to these 3 regions, and will be picking up some bottles in our travels.

Scott,
Thanks so much. Though I didn't get to see your brick and mortar store, I just peeked at your website, and I'm intrigued. Thanks for the info.

Vicki

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. Our plans got changed, and the wineries were sacificed to more time with family. However, we plan on returning, so your advice will come in handy.

Hi,
I'm going to be in the Portland, Oregon area for two days next week, and I'm thinking of spending a day touring wineries.
I'm a Champagne, Burgundy, northern Rhone lover, who knows little about Oregon wines. I don't like heavy, syrupy, high alcohol wines.
Suggestions?

Vicki

Oh, yes, I've seen it from the freeway. Thanks. That may do the trick.

Everyone lives in different places: Long Beach, Downey, Los Feliz, etc., so traveling too far in any one direction might be a hardship for a portion of the group.
I was hoping someone had an unknown gem close to the Carson Mall.

Those addresses sound like Old Torrance...?
Thanks for the links, I'll look into them.

I don't like Johnny Reb's okra. It tastes frozen to me. And, this being Southern California, they serve it with ranch dressing, which, as a Southerner, I find funny.

I grew up eating homemade. When I really want it, nothing else will do. I do egg wash and cornmeal, and fry in peanut oil. A little Tabasco drizzle and a beer round it out nicely.

It will be on a Wednesday night, between 8 and 9 pm, with about 20 tired, hungry adults who'll also want a cocktail or two. Oh, and just to make it more of a challenge, we'd like it to be moderately priced and tasty.
Who are we? High school teachers, administrators, and staff members coming from our school's graduation ceremony.

Goat cheese (chevre) is a classic pairing with Sauvignon Blanc. Actually, any soft, creamy cheese should work. I also like olives, salami, and other rich things which the acidity of the wine will balance. Also, I think veggies like grilled bell peppers would work. Also, carbs like crackers and a good loaf of bread would round this out.

Enrique's has good fish for under $20. They always have salmon, and usually have sea bass or halibut that they grill and put on a bed of sauteed spinach. It's very simple, and very good.

Here are pictures:

Yes, I've had the Chidaine sparkler, also. Really nice. I don't think I've had the Champalou, though, but it sounds familiar. My wine shop might carry it.

Dinner with family on Saturday night. We brought in a couple of bottles of wine, dry whites. No corkage.

First of all, I love their salsa: verde, moderate to high heat, with a warm garlic savory quality. I had the mojarro relleno con nopales. It was a whole red snapper, fried without batter coating. It was actually smothered, not stuffed, with a tasty mixture of onions, nopales, and yellow bell peppers. The flesh of the fish was perfectly done, and delicious with the cactus mixture.

Another star of the evening was the Siete Mares sopa. I've included the picture below. It had a crazy crab leg, clams, and other delicious stuff. The broth was very nicely flavored.

Several people at the table also got the Coctel de Camaron. A big bowl of tomato broth with cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, shrimp.

We had a great meal!

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Antojitos Guadalajara
10941 Norwalk Blvd, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670

This is a sparkling wine from the Loire made from Chenin Blanc. I served it with a wedge of St. Andre cheese on matzo. The wine has tiny, fine bubbles, and lots of fruit, but also, a musky quality. One of my companions described it thusly: "It's like you're getting the tail end of something wild." The cheese amplified this quality, in a wonderful way. We devoured everything, even though it was at the end of a long evening of sparklers and whites with fried bar food. This seemed so...clean... after platters of batter.

A deal at $21.99

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Wine Country
2301 Redondo Ave, Signal Hill, CA

Don't know if they cater, but for a crowd, I might do Southern:
1. Johnny Reb's
2. M&M Soul Food

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Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse
16639 Bellflower Blvd, Bellflower, CA 90706

M & M Soul Food
2500 Carson St, Lakewood, CA 90712

In order of preference:
1. Michaels (by far)
2. Christy's
3. Bono's (owned by the owner of Christy's)
4. Tracht's

Have fun!

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Christy's
3937 E Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803

Tracht's
111 East Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802

Michael's On Naples Ristorante
5620 2nd Street, Naples Island, CA 90803

Bono's
4901 E 2nd St, Long Beach, CA 90803

Unless, of course, you're the wine maker.

Posting this right after returning from our meal, so it's fresh on my palate. We've been to this restaurant a few times, but tonight was a Prix Fixe for $21.95. Yes, $21.95.

Not having a liquor license, they also don't charge corkage, which is nice. We brought a bottle of Champagne: Guy de Chassey 1999 Grand Cru Brut.

First course: I had shrimp bisque, which had a nice, subtle bite of chile. The shrimp was succulent.
My wife had a beautiful mixed green salad.

Main course: There were 4 options, steak, salmon, chicken, or artichoke with cous cous (vegetarian). I had the chicken, which was done with an orange basil butter sauce. It came on mashed potatoes with beautifully done vegetables - green beans, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, squash, cooked in a butter sauce. My wife had the salmon wrapped in bacon with a cabernet sauce, which also came with the mashed potatoes and vegetables. Everything was wonderful and delicious. The flavors were interesting and unexpected without being weird or overbearing.

Dessert: There were 2 options, so we each chose one. I got the triple cream strawberry shortcake, and she got a homemade cheesecake topped with a chocolate ganache. While they were both really good, they were very different. The cheesecake was rich and the shortcake was ethereal. I preferred the shortcake. It was moist, creamy, and had a delicate strawberry essence about it.

Fortunately, this place seems to be doing very good business. The quality of the food is so good, especially for the money.

At Last Cafe
204 Orange Ave.
Long Beach, Ca 90802

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At Last Cafe
204 Orange Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802

Champagne, truffles, and lobster. Yummmmm.

How about Champagne? Cream, salt, fat, all work well. And, thinking of the reasoning behind the Chablis/Chardonnay, I would say a blanc de blancs, for the lean quality.

Wow, this menu is very similar to what I served last night, which was also BYOB. I agree with Champagne for all of it. Here's what we had, all of which would probably work with your menu:
First: Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rosé, Agrapart et Fils Les 7 Crus, 2007 Herve Azo Petit Chablis. Those would be great with your Jerusalem Artichokes, I think.

I'm not sure about the beets and carrots, mainly because I don't like them. But Whiner's rec. of an Austrian Riesling sounds good.

Here's where your menu and mine overlap: I did a roasted sea bass, which I served with roasted cauliflower, and a butterflied leg of lamb with an herb crust with roasted red potatoes. For the fish, someone brought a 2002 La Chabisienne Premier Cru Récolte, and 2004 Meursault Chapelle et Filles. Both white Burgundies, the Chablis being lighter without oak, and the Meursault fuller, with significant oak. I preferred the Chablis, but that's my palate more than anything else. People also continued with the Champagne and Petit Chablis during this course.

For the lamb, a New Zealand Bordeaux blend, 2000 Te Motu. It's 74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot. It's a classically styled wine, and provided a classic pairing. The other wine brought for this, a Gigondas, didn't get opened, as, by this time, we were happy and full! But, like Whiner says, Southern Rhone is a very good thing with lamb. I did mine in a very Provençal manner, with rosemary, orange zest, and garlic, which is harmonious with Rhones.

I also enjoyed the Meursault with the lamb. I think its richness stood up to it quite nicely. Although it was gone by the time we served it, I think the Rosé would have also been good with it. I'm saying this because of the strong fruit of the sparkler, and the bubbles provide a nice counterpart to the richness of the meat.

Wine by the glass is significantly more expensive than by the bottle. I've paid that much for a glass of wine. It's not hard to do, as you've come to find out. I would think that the wine list would have had the prices, but some places tend to gloss over that little detail. I looked at BOA's website, and they don't have the wine list there. Since you had 2 glasses, I assume the wine was good, and that it enhanced your meal. I tend to really think before I order wine by the glass for that reason. But, hey, at least your food was discounted!

2007 Herve Azo Petit Chablis