The Aviary Kitchen Table Experience (Chicago)

Ten cocktails, paired small bites, and over 2 hours of watching The Aviary bartenders and chefs in action inside the kitchen - or as they call it, the cage. That's the Kitchen Table experience at Grant Achatz's new bar, The Aviary.

Since I wasn't able to snag a reservation at Next Restaurant on my last Chicago visit, I opted for the Aviary's $165 10-course cocktail tasting at the Kitchen Table. While the main lounge area featured plush booths and dim lighting, the kitchen table (inside what's dubbed "the cage") is a tall metal table and two stools facing the minimalist kitchen and "bar" (with perfect lighting for photographs, I may add).

Even though this was a cocktail tasting, they still wanted to start off with a sparkling wine, so Course #1 was an Alsace sparkling wine with strawberry puree, which was paired with Compressed watermelon with soju, topped with sesame seed.

I had begged my companion to come here with me even though he can't drink much alcohol. I'll drink his share, I said. But when they saw he wasn't finishing his first cocktail, he told them he doesn't really drink, and Aviary decided to do a non-alcoholic version of the tasting for him. In some cases, that just meant water instead of liquor. In others, it was an entirely different drink (that still pairs with the bite).

Course #2: Rhubarb cocktail with Peychaud ice

Instead of adding a dash of bitters, those ice spheres you see contain Peychaud bitters which release flavors as the ice melts instead of diluting.
This was paired with Cantaloupe compressed in champagne and topped with prosciutto, an elevated version of the typical prosciutto and melon.

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MoKo (Culver City, CA)

When Gyenari wasn't going in the direction they envisioned, the owners decided to shutter the restaurants and re-open as MoKo (Modern Korean), which takes the food in a whole new direction.

Pan fried duck and foie gras dumplings w/ sour cherry sauce ($12)

I was pleasantly surprised by the cocktails here. My favorite was the Thai Basil Cooler ($11): Thai basil, Damrak gin, St. Germain, lemon, and agave. The thai basil gave it a stronger aroma than your usual basil and blends well with the herbal notes of the gin. (PS. they have $5 drinks during "social hour" from 5-7 pm every day).

I also liked the MoKo Punch ($18 carafe, $40 bowl): soju, vodka, persimmon cinnamon tea, watermelon, pineapple. Perfect for a big party.

Yes, they charge for "banchan" here ($7.50 for 3) but they're not your regular banchan. If you want your money's worth then skip the kimchi and radish, instead go with the Chiogga beets (sauteed with jujubes and apple smoked bacon), asparagus namul (barley, pea shoots, and crisped garlic), asian pear and kholrabi salad, lotus roots braised in honey, or purple eggplant namul (gochujang, green onions, and sesame).

True, I wouldn't pay $2.50 for a bowl of kimchi, but $2.50 for a bowl of beets, asparagus, or lotus root is pretty cheap if you ask me. I know you've all paid your share of $8-12 beet salads.

While MoKo is not cheap, it wouldn't be fair to compare them to Koreatown places, as they do not serve traditional Korean food. As is the case with many restaurants, some dishes are better value than others. People keep complaining about the $9 for 3 shrimp dumplings here, but seems like I was the only one complaining about the $12 for 3 chicken wontons at Lukshon. In both places, the answer is simple: order wisely. Here are some of the dishes I enjoyed:
Raw scallops, crispy leeks, red chili jang ($11)

From the series of crudo we tried, the scallop was perhaps my favorite (the hamachi was also very good). I loved the chewy texture and the red chili jang, while not that spicy, was flavorful.

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LA Wine Fest and a Tasting at Robert Mondavi Discover Wine Tour

Is there another wine label that's more of a household name than Robert Mondavi? You'd be hard pressed to come up with one. Even so, at a recent tasting during the LA Wine Fest, I found out just how little I knew about them!

Robert Mondavi has been touring wine and food festivals around the country with their Discover Wine Tour, holding seminars and tastings, visiting 11 cities. They recently landed in Los Angeles at the LA Wine Fest. The other wine seminars throughout the Fest costs around $20, but the ones at Robert Mondavi were free to the public, so naturally a long line forms before each one.

While waiting for the tasting, I perused their tent where they have canisters of different oaks and other things commonly found in wine "notes" so you can smell them and (try to) distinguish between the aromas. They also had some educational material on their iPads but I didn't have time to browse them.

On to the tasting. Guided by Master of Wine Mark de Vere, we started with four Robert Mondavi wines:

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