660355 Sat Oct 17 16:39:42 -0700 2009 3 6 Southwest 0 5111032 (Scottsdale, AZ) So Posh is an interesting place. There is no menu to speak of really. Diners select the number of courses (4-8 with 5 to 6 being the recommended number), with or without wine pairing, and then cross out any non-starters from the list of 20 or so proteins. Preferred temps for both meat and fish are requested as well as any anxiety with raw meat or fish. One can also list out any separate concerns or apprehensions (for me it was "no crab or raw shellfish, please). From there, dishes are presented omakase. While talking through the selection strategy (which for me was pretty simple, check off "5 courses with wine", cross off "frog's legs", med-rare for meat temp, chef's choice for fish temp, check optional foie course...that is about it), we had a round of drinks... Pre-dinner Fernet Branca (Milan) Dark and syrupy, medicinal, herbal, Moxie(tm) bitterness, walnut skin, and old oak tannins. Yum. I tend to prefer bitter drinks like this as aperitivo rather than digestivo. First course (salad) So our salad course arrives which gets us clamoring even before taking the first bite. L (my wife) gets a bowl of "popcorn soup" and the rest of us get a salad of shredded romaine with some crushed nuts (hazelnut?) and fresh blueberries. L: "Why did I get something different from the rest of you?" This is the start of a night of plate envy. The salad is quite refreshing but the soup is divine. Creamy corn soup with a couple of pieces of popped corn as garnish. I love a good corn chowder, in general. L tolerates it but does really enjoy this soupy version. Each starter is paired with a different wine. The salad gang got 2007 Torbreck Semillon Woodcutter's White (Barossa) which showed some honeyed apricot fruit but was rather round and not all that interesting. The corn soup was paired with 2007 Betts & Scholl Riesling (Eden Valley) which showed some petrol and lots of lemony, zippy acidity. Not bad at all. Amuse Small bite of toasted tofu with soy, lemongrass sauce. Very nice Fish course The guys get a delicious sashimi which was splendidly fresh and clean. Beautiful, really. So what kind of fish was it? Umm, it started with an "h". Only protein I didnt recognize and, of course, I get it. Good stuff. My fish was paired with 2006 Star Lane Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (Santa Ynez) which was a nice crisp glass of lemony, minerally goodness. Aromas of orange zest, wildflowers, and spring air, well balanced acidity, and clean finish made it a nice match with the fish. L's seared tuna with greens and pomegranate seeds was quite nice and was paired with 2008 Boutari Kretikos White (Crete) which my first vilana-based wine and is very crisp and lean. Foie course The foie is nicely seared yet wonderfully moist. The downside for me is that the treatment is just too sweet. There is a caramel coating that by itself is ok but it is topped with spun-sugar and paired with a rather round wine to boot. I much prefer just a hint of sweetness with foie instead of hedging it well towards dessert category. The wine, 2006 Harlequin Chenin Blanc Late Harvest (Columbia Valley), was filled with delicious waxy lemon chenin fruit but was exceedingly sweet and showed a very weak acidic backbone. More acid in the wine would have helped to balance the sweet prep of the foie. Meat course Again, plate envy sets in. One dining companion gets a rockin' piece of wild boar bacon/pork belly that was exquisite. Another, a nicely med-rare plate of super tasty venison. L got an extremely well seasoned and well prepared piece of seared duck breast. I got a pedestrian piece of sirloin that was med-well and chewy. The bacon was hands-down the best plate of the night and I would go back and order that, if the menu so allowed. Four different wines were served but I only tried two. 2007 Bodegas Eguren Vino de la Tierra de Castilla Mercedes (Castilla-La Mancha) was one of the better cabernet sauvignon wines I've had in a while. There is plenty of ripe fruit and some american oakiness but there is a wonderful herbal, acidic balance. It is still on the "big cab" side of things but the softer tannic structure makes it very accessible. The duck was paired with 2006 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard (Santa Lucia Highlands). It's a fairly large pinot filled with red cherry, strawberry and earth with a bit of alcohol (14.7) peaking through. There is a surprising level of acidity too which brings a nice balance to the wine and the tannic presence is barely perceptible. Dessert Four different dessert plates arrive including a tender delicate panna cotta (not mine), a velvety chocolate cake with choco-ganache filling and sea-salt (not mine), a delightful play on a Twinkie (not mine) and the ubiquitous super dense chocolate torte with raspberries (mine). L is the choco-raspberry fiend but the selection is not in our hands here. That said, my dessert was really wonderfully done but tasted like I've had it before. Same wine all around. 2007 Quady Winery Black Muscat Elysium (CA) is a big-ole sticky mess of figs, orange peel. rose water and raisins in serious need of acid. Would I go back? Yes, but with just the two of us so we could split each others dishes and not have as much plate envy. I'd also ask for a less sweet treatment on the foie. As an interesting aside, Posh is located in a condo building. Condo residents can call down with room service requests and have pretty much anything delivered to their home in a matter of minutes. I'd be fat as a pig and broke in no time. Sat Oct 17 16:39:42 -0700 2009 167620 BillB656 1 5111058 What city? Sat Oct 17 16:57:33 -0700 2009 5111032 14800 Eric 2 5111097 Sorry..meant to put it in title and forgot..Scottsdale (will edit) Sat Oct 17 17:08:30 -0700 2009 5111058 167620 BillB656 1 5111201 Cost? No mention anywhere in your James Joyce tome. Sat Oct 17 17:57:27 -0700 2009 5111032 1102452 PitLab