A couple of months ago, I received an email from the Miner Wine Club in Napa which we have subscribed to for about 24 years and was thrilled they were coming to DC for a wine dinner. I had never been to NOPA in the Spy Museum(I was at the location in its previous incarnation Zola) and was excited to try it out. Little did I know it would be the same night as there was a huge Caps game being simulcast at the Cap Center just across the street (Nopa is at 800 F St, NW facing the Portrait Gallery). I gave myself almost 45 minutes to drive there and hit massive backups along the Mall, Pennsylvania Ave and almost everywhere I turned and finally found a parking space at 3rd & C, NW (the entire neighborhood has parking bans up) and ran into the dinner about 15 minutes late.
I was hot and bothered and the awesome waiter poured me a GIANT glass of the best Chardonnay I had in years, MINER Lone Oak 2016, which I bout ten bottles of later!). I had only missed the intros and settled in as the first course of Smoked Salmon Rillette was served with Pickled Caperberries, Lavender, Dill and a Butter Flake Roll (think small popover). It was refreshing and super delicious and paired perfectly with my second GIANT glass of Chard; I have to say the pours were super-generous.
Next came Duck Liver Mousse Toast with Ruth's Zucchini Bread topped with the mousse and a yummy pickled Strawberry Jam. This was paired with Miner 2014 Odyssey Red Rhone Blend which I have always loved.
The main course was a choice of Charred Romesco Cauliflower with White Bean Hummus, Pickled Beets, Pistachio tapenade and White Harissa Aioli which I SHOULD have ordered, but since I now cook so many veggie dishes at home I went for the Surf & Turf of Butter Poached Lobster with Potato Pearls, Creamed Spinach, Salsa Verde and Roseda Farms NY Strip Steak cooked perfectly and sliced. There had to be 10 slices on my plate and I took home more than half of it. There were about 3 or 4 small bites of the lobster, a ton of tiny potatoes, about one forkful of spinach and I just wished for more veggies!! Don't get me wrong, the meat was delicious, but the excitement of the first two courses made this one seem so uneventful. It was paired with two Miner reds 2014 Syrah & 2014 Cabernet Franc, both of which are sublime, and I love the Franc especially.
Since Miner is known for its reds, they brought a domestic Cheese Trio with some raisin-walnut bread and seasonal jam, but nobody could tell us what the cheeses were except that one was a local Stilton, which I somehow thought was only English. The blue was nice, the others unexciting, but it gave us a chance to enjoy magnums of the 2013 MINER Oracle Red Blend,one of their their top rated reds. The group of less than a dozen diners was surely enough fun, the wines superb, but I wanted more from my main and dessert. Unfortunately as I left the Caps game score was 3-3 and people at the bar and in the streets were getting unruly and frustrated. I had to literally force my way out the door and across the street to get away from the massive crowds assembled, but made it back to my car with no physical incidents, just a lot of people making silly or dumb remarks. I guess one should not wear a sport jacket in this zone when sports are ruling.
I might go back to NOPA if I knew the menu offered some other exciting and less steakful dishes for sure, but was glad to have the Miner folks in town for a night.
