WineMaking 102: The Press!

If you had tried making your own wine up to 101, then you should have a bucket of fermenting grape+grape juice. The juice is what you want, and you want lots of it without the solid stuff - grape skin, seed, etc. So, you press. You should press when the sugar level of your fermenting grape juice has gone down to basically zero.

The basic concept that wine presses operate under is the same as it was more than 1000 years ago. This one is an old and simple wine press, consisting of a cylinder to contain your grapes and a ratchet.
The liquid will escape through the gaps on the cyliner and down the spout.

So first you dump everything, juice, skin, and all, into the cylinder.
At this point you will capture all the liquids into buckets and pour them into gallon glass bottles to further ferment it for a few months before you bottle them.

Now that you have all the grape skin, seeds, etc, which still contains tons of delicious future-wine grape juices, you need to press the liquid out of them. We stack blocks of wood on top of the grapes - because of this the press will not work as well if you have too little stuff to work with.
The blocks need to reach high enough for the ratchet to press down on.
Swing the ratchet until it clicks and basically you do this back and forth until it clicks for many many times. Until you get all the grape juice out.

Again, you store your fermenting grape juice in big glass bottles. It is important to fill them up as much as you can. You will cover them, usually with plastic, to keep them airtight. If they're not full they will have too much air for the fermentation to work properly - and also may induce bacterial growth (= vinegar!).

So now that we were done with that part, on to the Feast! Our lunch: fried soft shell crab :D

In for a Well-Crafted Meal, but Could be Better

I've been to, and liked, Craft in Dallas so I was pretty happy when Craft opened up in LA. I've actually gone there when they first opened but never took photos, so when we went there again it's my chance to blog!

We knew what we liked so we didn't get the tasting menu. Our meal started with a slightly spicy tartar amuse bouche.



I tried out their seared foie gras with mango and grapes.
The foie itself could be better, but I did like how the tartness of the mango cuts the fattiness of the foie.

We also got the quail with blueberries, which I had in Dallas and really liked.
I must say the one I had in Dallas was better, and I think it was due to the bird itself. These are a little on the small side (considering it's $16) and not as gamey and flavorful. I still like the preparation with the blueberries, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but having had a better version of it I was a bit disappointed.

For our main dish we got the Braised Beef short ribs with Root Vegetables
The short rib was tender and flavorful. I've had better short rib but this one is not bad at all. It's a nice, hearty 'comfort' dish.

And of course side dishes are important when you're ordering a la carte at Craft. Side portions are generous and they have a nice selection.
In case you haven't noticed yet, I love sweet corn.
The corn was sweet with a nice texture. They were also not too oily.

The other side dish we got was sweet potato, my companion's favorite.
Pretty good and creamy. I'm not a huge sweet potato fan, so I can't say much, but I still enjoyed it.

Now, the thing that really made an impression on me at Craft Dallas was their gelato sampler! The one here is more expensive! 3 gelato/sorbet sampler for $10 or 6 for $20! In Dallas we got 6 just for $12 *grumble* Granted the scoops are pretty big, but still ..
But we got the 6 anyway, which included chocolate, strawberry, concord grape, honey yogurt, and ... basil.
The basil was one of my favorite! Unique, but very refreshing and delicious. Honey yogurt is another highlight.

Instead of petit fours, we were served coffee cake and torrones, both delicious. I usually do not like torrone because they stick to my teeth but I enjoyed these ones.

Overall I enjoyed my experiences at Craft LA and I'll come back again - but I know it could better. Because Craft Dallas is, and cheaper too.


Craft Los Angeles
10100 Constellation Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 279-4180

Beers, Burgers, and the Best of Both

I finally made it to Father's Office. OK I went to the Culver City one (FO II), but hopefully it's a good representation of the SM one also (the CC location has free parking though!). I went on a Wednesday night and it was surprisingly crowded for a Wednesday - all the outdoor seatings were taken. There were a couple of seats at the bar which boasts about two dozen taps (probably more).

As some of you may know, I was craving the Cusquena Negra I had in Peru.

I still haven't been able to find it in LA, but my eyes immediately tried to find something similar at FO and thus I really only studied the "Malty" section of the beer menu.

One description caught my eye. Rich caramel, chocolate ... dry finish. Sounds good. And it was!
Probably the closest thing I'll be able to find to the Cusquena Negra, the Oskar Blues Old Chub Scottish Ale is a little sweet, rich and malty. I think the Negra is still a tad smoother, but this will do, this will do. At least to tide my cravings.


And of course I had to order the Office Burger (with caramelized onion, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, maytag blue cheese and arugula.) $12
Amazing burger. Instead of burger buns they used these sandwich buns that I really like. And arugula! Much better than lettuce. The burger is a dry aged beef which is amazingly juicy and flavorful. I ordered medium and it looked more like medium rare though ... next time I will have to order medium well.

The burger is pricey at $12 without fries, but it is one of the best burgers I've ever tasted. This may actually kick Grace Burger off its throne - maybe, I will have to go to Grace again first. The only thing FO lacks for me is milkshake.

Currently though FO has both my favorite beer (north of Peru) and favorite burger. They also have some amazing classic cocktails - small menu here, but really good stuff. I'm thinking of just keeping a tab open there ...

Father's Office II
3229 Helms Ave.,
Los Angeles 90034

(310) 736-2224

http://fathersoffice.com