March 25, 2025 Wine Tasting at the Bistro, Lunch at Mary and Tito’s. Dinner - Leftover Mapo Dofu and rice

March 25, 2025 Wine Tasting at the Bistro,  Lunch at Mary and Tito’s. Dinner - Leftover Mapo Dofu and rice 

This was a really fun day of food.  I ate granola with yogurt, milk, and fruit salad for breakfast.

Then I met with a client until 10:15.

I then drove to the Center for a wine tasting with Rebecca of Fiasco and Suzette and the staff of the Bistro, Nicole and Stephanie.

There were a dozen bottles and many many of them were really good. We chose a Vouvray and a Sauvignon Blanc for the whites, a Cotes Du Rhone  rose, and a St. Emillion and a Cotes de Gascogne for the reds in 1 1/2 hours of sipping and comparing notes. These will be the wines served at the Bistro during the next three to four months.

The kitchen prepared plates of Linguine with Chicken cubes in a delicious   Alfredo Sauce and a less successful Confit Chicken Cassoulet that was over seasoned with herbs in everyone’s opinion.  It was fun pairing the food with the wine and it made it easier to tell how each wine went with the two main food dishes on the menu.  The third entree is chicken Mole that does not lend itself to a fine wine accompaniment.

At 12:45 I drove back to Albuquerque to Mary and Tito’s restaurant on 4th St. to meet Martin and Aaron for lunch. It was fun to get the Railway team together again.

We had a lively conversation and ate the restaurant’s great New Mexican food. I ate enchiladas with beef and an egg over easy, Aaron ordered a stuffed sopapilla with red chili, and Martin ordered enchiladas with beef and an egg with green chili. I believe Mary and Tito’ makes the best red chili I have ever eaten. I has pork in it that adds to its heft and flavor.  When I was dining out editor for Albuquerque Monthly I picked it as my favorite New Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque and a year later my opinion was confirmed when it was awarded a James Beard Traditional food award.

After lunch I drove home and fell asleep in the big easy chair for and hour.  Then at 4:00 I began working until 7:00 when Suzette fetched me to watch my favorite TV show Finding Your Roots and eat a plate of re-heated Mapo Dofu mixed with rice that was quite delicious, especially with the Szechuan peppercorns and thinly sliced green onion ringlets I added.

Suzette went to bed at 8:00. I worked until 10:00 and then blogged this entry.

We are both very busy trying to get all our projects finished before we leave.

Bon Appetit