Tuesday Tasting at EatBar

The wine club met at EatBar for their Tuesday Tasting Series this week. On offer was a flight of Zins, each a nice match to hearty, grilled meats and veggies often served at summertime barbecues. It was a hot day so I wasn't sure if I was ready for the flight immediately upon arrival, so I ordered a glass of Big Tattoo White ‘05, Germany, which was a nice blend, slightly sweet and perfectly refreshing. More of the group arrived and we endeavored to start the flights. The wines were: 2004 Four Vines Maverick Zinfandel from Amador County, 2005 Sin Zin from Alexander Valley, and a 2004 Quivira Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley. All top regions for Zin for sure. I actually did not enjoy the Four Vines Zin at all - I found it off-balance and strangely woody and sweet. The Sin Zin, however, was gorgeous - ripe with fruit and smooth on the palate. Very lush. The Quivira was nice as well though I think the hands-down favorite was the Sin Zin. We lingered with our wine and ordered several other varieties and enjoyed a variety of EatBar's small plates. Chris had the Ribs and the Housemade Fries with Ketchup. Looked greasy and delicious. I had a slice of Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog cheese which was served with toasted baguettes. The cheese was rich and creamy and went very well with my wine. I also had the County Ham, Tangerine and Pea Shoot Salad which is lightly dressed and really a great flavor combination. Other standouts folks enjoyed included the Mushroom Ragout, Bacon-Wrapped Figs with Mascarpone Cheese, fresh Blue Point oysters, Chorizo and Goat Cheese Piquillo Peppers and Jambon Serrano which is part of the Charcuterie menu. I enjoy that EatBar's menu features a variety of sweet and savory small plates for nice prices, as well as the wine list of course. If you haven't had a chance to pop in yet, I would recommend doing so.

EatBar in Tallula Restaurant

2761 Washington Boulevard in Arlington, VA (near Clarendon metro)

http://www.tallularestaurant.com/

EatBar

Earlier this week the wine club met at EatBar in Tallula Restaurant for a wine and cheese tasting. Every Tuesday EatBar offers a tasting for $10, and it is a real deal. You get a flight of three ample wine samples and three cheeses which arrive on a carving board with sliced baguette and marinated currants. The cheeses were gorgeous - the first one was a Garrotxa and it was semi-hard but smooth and delicious. Next was a delicious and creamy Mahon which almost looked like a thick slice of Muenster. We finished with a Manchego. All of the wines were tasty and paired well with the cheese. EatBar has a stellar menu which offers lots of small plates and sides as well as larger dishes, and all for very reasonable prices. Mer and I split a bottle of a Spanish red which was really delicious and at not much more than $20 a bottle a super deal as well. I started with the Mushroom Ragout, which is wild mushrooms sauteed in some sort of tasty fat (bacon perhaps?) - they were so good everyone ended up sharing the dish. I also tried the County Ham, Tangerine & Pea Shoot Salad which was very lightly dressed and really a nice match of the savory ham and sweet tangerines. I tried one of the mini burgers as a comparison to those at Matchbox. EatBar's mini burger is really tasty, and the meat is tender and well-seasoned, but I think I prefer those at Matchbox as they come along with yummy onion fries and sides of condiments. Mer and David and Cathy and I also shared Mussels with Chorizo. The mussels were actually a bit small, but the broth was nice and the chorizo was delicious. Nice big chunks were scattered around the mussels. We all had a great time, and I can't wait to go back and try some more of the wines on offer as well as Bacon-Wrapped Figs with Mascarpone Cheese.

EatBar in Tallula Restaurant
2761 Washington Boulevard in Arlington
www.tallularestaurant.com