Humboldt's restaurants are swirling with options for wine lovers. Let us help you pick out something from the menu — and the wine list.
For starters, see what adding fire does for the grilled Romaine Caesar salad ($8). The charred hearts of romaine with a mini Parmesan panna cotta, anchovies, olives and a traditional red wine Caesar dressing with crostini is a little bit of heaven. Paired with a glass of Bergin–Sipila Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 ($11), it's a lot of heaven.
Wild mushroom cobbler ($9) with shitake, porcini, crimini and oyster mushrooms in a savory, reduced cream with a hint of sherry, topped with a cheesy biscuit and baked in the wood-fired oven is a stand-out starter. Pair it with the baked cherry and sandalwood hints in the Macrostie Pinot Noir 2012 ($12).
The obvious fare is pizza — less obvious are specials like the one with wild white prawns, sweet corn, padron peppers, raddichio, house-made goat and cow's milk ricotta and Parmesan ($15). Yes, please. Of the 25 wines by the glass, chef/owner Jim Hughes recommends a glass of the Italian Garganega Buglioni Blanca della Venezie "Il Disparato" 2012 ($6.50), an expressive, aromatic white, to match it.
Dashe Zinfandel 2012 ($11), which boasts the best of Dry Creek herbs and fruit with a bit of wintry spice, is the thing for the Brick Hen ($22). The split, brined, Cornish game hen is topped with a "brick" — more like a large, dark stone — and deeply pan browned before finishing in the brick oven.
Make your way through the busy slots and tables of Cher-Ae Heights Casino to the aptly named Sunset Restaurant. Along with vaulted ceilings and a free-standing fireplace, it's got arguably one of the county's most stunning views of the sun dipping into the Pacific.
Start with Asian Steak Skewers, ginger and soy-marinated beef atop a cucumber salad garnished with tobiko and sriracha aioli ($10). Add a glass of California Ancient Peaks Merlot 2011 ($9), a velvety, berry-flavored Merlot with a hint of tobacco and spice, and this appetizer could be dinner.
On the other hand, split the California cioppino — loaded with salmon, clams, mussels, prawns and Petrale sole in a fennel and tomato broth — with the accompanying garlic crostini ($20) and it works as an appetizer for the table. The perfectly steamed whole trout, fragrant with bay and thyme, arrives with grilled asparagus and fried risotto ($20). Sunset's Kevin Ralston, responsible for the simple, tasty list of more than 50 wines (16 are offered by the glass) suggests a glass of the dry, full bodied Italian Torre di Luna Pinot Grigio 2012 with its hint of pear ($8) to compliment the seafood.
If you like crispy skin, try the Maple Leaf Farms duck breast on a pillow of Parmesan and herb polenta, topped with braised local greens and drizzled with a blackberry-port reduction ($29). Manager Lauren Vucci, recommends a vibrant, well-balanced Italian wine to go with it: Bussola Valpolicella Pipassa Superiore 2010 ($52 bottle). If you're having the halibut and clams with polenta, corn, pancetta, leeks, tomatoes and lemon ($32), she suggests the fresh, fruity Suavia Soave Classico 2012 ($28 bottle). And she's right.
Note: Abruzzi will reopen as The Basement in 2019.