Check, Please! Bay Area Season 13 episode 6 airs Thursday, July 12 at 7:30pm on KQED 9. See other
television airtimes. And never miss an episode by
subscribing to the video podcast.
Check, Please! Bay Area strives to reflect the local dining scene, and this episode does just that, bringing home the reality of the restaurant business. A fire broke out in the kitchen of Molly's pick,
Kronnerburger in Oakland and now the restaurant is closed which leaves us to discuss just two spots this time.
From playful seals and stunning sunsets to classic cocktails and elegant cuisine, San Francisco's historic
Sutro's at the Cliff House has it all. And due to a fire at our second eatery, we only feature two restaurants in this show. Our second spot takes us to a place that evokes the musical call of tree frogs and dreams of tropical flavors in a lively setting at
El Coqui Puerto Rican Cuisine in Santa Rosa.
Host Leslie Sbrocco and guests having fun on the set of season 13 episode 6. (Wendy Goodfriend)
Get Restaurant Information:
*
Sutro's at the Cliff House (San Francisco) [CLOSED]
*
El Coqui Puerto Rican Cuisine (Santa Rosa)
Host Leslie Sbrocco sipping wine on set (Wendy Goodfriend)
My name is Leslie Sbrocco and I'm the
host of Check, Please! Bay Area. Each week, I will be sharing my tasting notes about the wine, beer, and spirits the guests and I drank on set during the taping of the show. I will also share some
wine, beer and spirits tips with each episode. This week I discuss:
Wines from Virginia.
Gruet Blanc de Noirs, American Sparkling Wine, $17
Want to sip a crisp, delicious, bubbly surprise? Find Gruet and buy, buy, buy. The French-bred Gruet family had been crafting Champagne in France, but on a trip to the States in the early 1980s, founder Gilbert Gruet fell in love with New Mexico. He took a leap of faith and planted vineyards. The family has now been creating sparkling and still wines for more than 25 years.
This wine is a classic blend of mostly Pinot Noir with Chardonnay. It’s an appealing lightly pink-hued sparkler with a dry finish. Priced well below what international bubblies charge, this American-born wine made in the labor-intensive traditional Champagne method of ageing in bottle. It’s has a tremendous value-to-quality ratio and is one of the best bargains you will find in the wine world today. Period.
2015 Barboursville Vineyards, Vermentino Reserve, Virginia $23 (current release is 2016)
One of the things I love most about being a wine professional is the process of discovery. Tasting wines that I may have heard about but have yet to embrace is one of those discoveries. This is surely the case for Virginia wines. I have known for years that Virginia is producing high-quality wines. I have sampled some and been impressed. I put a visit to Virginia on my “to do” list years ago. This year I finally checked it off. What a beautiful, historic, emerging region for unique world-class wines. I can’t recommend it highly enough.