A review long overdue - part one

It's been over a month since I've posted my last entry/review/post, whatever it is you call these musings on cuisine, wine, restaurants, good...and bad...service etc etc, so I thought I would take the occasion of being in Des Moines to review my first outside-the-QCA restaurant. However the name is probably not a foreign one to many of you - 801 Chophouse on Grand Avenue.

First I must preface this with an observation of the wine I found (more like stumbled upon) in my hotel "pantry" in the wee hours last night, an offering by new local winery Jasper Winery, "Behind the Shed Red", a blackberry-plum wine at its best. I figured, hey I should support local businesses/wineries when presented with the chance. Wow I will NOT make that sentimental mistake again. Yikes.

I was able to make it through a small glass last night and a few sips this afternoon without feeling like I was taken behind the proverbial "Shed" and disciplined accordingly for my most egregious error in judgement. The clincher was when I went to dump out in a most vehement fashion the residue that this at-its-best-day-can-be-barely-called-grape-juice wine became, a dishsoapy, blueish color appeared in the sink. I thought, "well, maybe the glass had soap residue...THAT must explain the wretched flavor right?!"
WRONG. After WASHING the glass MYSELF, NO soap involved, I poured more "wine" in the glass, swished it around (referred to as seasoning in real wine circles when, well, REAL wine is used) and poured it out again. And again, the liquid magically turned from a garnet red color to...what? yep you guessed it - BLUE. I swear to GOD I'm not making this up. I have more than half the bottle left, I will be bringing back to perform more experiments. I get that there's blackberry and plum overtones but the blue hue is a mystery nonetheless.

So here we arrive at tonight.

After that abyssmal vinicultural experience I promised myself salvation. So knowing that said salvation comes with a caloric price I decided to precede it with a raucous, racy 10k and dip in the pool so as to not feel as guilty when indulging in what I promised myself would be a gastronomic, dionysian delight.

It was a toss-up between Flemings, 801 and a lebanese establishment my good friend Sarah mentioned to me. As a cleansing wine experience was in order and there's only three 801's out there, my ML 500's GPS led me downtown.

As I found out upon arriving at the long bar, well appointed in mahogany and cherry, my previously mentioned 10k delayed me just enough to miss the crowds that overwhelmed the staff just 30 minutes prior. (Actually I would've preferred a jammed bar if nothing else for people watching and hot mess entertaining purposes). My next discovery, after ordering a glass of Spanish Cristalino cava brut (a classic apertif) from bartender Dustin was the "Restaurant Week" prix fixe menu. While I looked forward to perusing the erudite yet succinct menu I decided to spend time on the wine list and went ahead with a classic steakhouse prix fixe - caesar salad, 8 oz filet (in place of the normal 6 oz) prepared with their Steak Diane sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus, and New York style cheesecake with blueberry (there's that color again!!) coulis with chocolate and strawberry appointments.

So how was the food anyway? Well, that and the wine list, my choices and what I took with me will be the subject of my next entry. Let me just say it will include the most sublime, mouthtingling, virtually orgasmic wine I've EVER had...with a few awesome lieutenants that while not once in a lifetime in nature are still more than worth a mention here. Plus, I'm bringing one back for a friend and until that is tasted the review of 801 Chophouse will not be complete.

Until next time my friends - as in Grapes of Laugh this Thursday at The Establishment Theatre in Rock Island - bon appetit and cheers!

**clink**