May I Have Some Meatballs With My Wine?
It was a Friday night, and I took ‘the long way home’ veering North and driving through the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. This took my right past my new favorite place to grab a glass: Little Dom’s on Hillhurst, just south of Los Feliz boulevard. I pulled over to meet the boys for a nightcap, or two. They were seated at the bar, holding court.
It’s no surprise that I Iike Little Dom’s. The original Dominicks on Beverly Boulevard, where ‘Frank Sinatra used to go’ has been a haunt of mine for years (any Italian restaurant in LA that’s been around for a minute claims that ‘Frank Sinatra used to go there’; apparently Frank ate out a lot and liked variety).
The menu at Little Dom’s is good, no-nonsense, fresh and delicious Italian-American fare. And unlike many LA restaurants, there is a reasonably-priced, well-thought-out, cuisine-appropriate wine list, and that no doubt is thanks to wine director/sommelier-extrordinaire Susan Brink. I have to give Susan props because A.) She knows her stuff, B). the wine I had this Friday night was RIDICULOUS, C). she also co-owns a great wine/gift shop in Hollywood called Venokado and D). back in the day when she used to tend bar, she saved me from embarassment and ensured that I would be able to drive home safely by secretly serving me SHOTS OF WATER every time my buddy Dave ordered ‘another round of tequilla shots’ at the bar.
By the time I arrived, my buddy Doug had aleady ordered a bottle of the 2001 Ciu Ciu “Esperanto” Montepulciano. This wine is crazy: complex dark fruits on the nose opened my eyes the second I took a sniff… The dark fruit continues on the palatte with an undertone of warm, semi-sweet chocolate. It’s textured and heavy and it was exactly what I needed on a Friday evening after a laborious week. The bottle emptied quickly.
Before I could blink, a bottle of 2004 Topanga Vineyards Syrah was being poured into our glasses. A fruity, peppery nose was followed by berries and spice in my mouth. It was balanced with light tannins- a tasty wine indeed, and shockingly enough the four of us put that one away pretty quickly too.
I figured we should try one more before I officially donned my nightcap and disappeared into the shadows, so on the bartenders recommendation I chose the 2004 Canalicchio di Sopra “Rosso di Montalcino”. This ‘baby brunello’ was no joke- it was big, dark and chewy. Dark, smokey berries on the palette and tannins o’ plenty. I almost forgot to mention that somehow plates of meatballs doused in sauce and Parmesan had made it in front of us by now, and this wine washed ‘em down like it was nobody’s business.
After mopping up the sauce with a peice of bread and savoring the last drop of wine, I saluted the boys and headed out into the night, satisfied with my fill of wine and meatballs…
