It's amazing how a great meal and wine can take the edge off a "one-of-those-kind" of weeks.  So, with that in mind, our party of four (Angie and I, our good friend Michele, and nephew Matt) got in the car Saturday evening bound for Bin 555. Bin 555 is a Tapas style restaurant known for it's small plates.  You can sample a variety of tasty delights by sharing the dishes with the rest of your party. 

I decided add a little wrinkle to the meal and suggested we also experiment with wine and food pairing.  I would order a bottle of white and a bottle of red, "perhaps a bottle of rose instead".....oops, I've got to quit channeling Billy Joel. Anyway, we would try a sip of each wine with each dish, and then decide what worked best.  It's good to go out with fellow wine-ers; no one objected. Since Matt is a chef for the Dady family of restaurants, instead of ordering off the menu, he asked the Bin 555 chef to send out a good sampling of everything until we yelled "Stop!" Needless to say, we ate until we were on the verge of a food coma.  I'm not a sweetbread fan, but other than that, everything was delicious.

I got to pick the wines because I'm the oldest. I chose a 2008 Adega Condes de Albarei, a Spanish Albarino and a 2006 Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet.  This Albarino was citrusy, and, to my surprise, a little spritzy.  The Cab had nice black cherry and bit of chocolate flavors.  On a wine chart, these two would be more or less the opposite ends of the spectrum.  It would have been nice to add a couple more, different styles and body, but the budget limited us to two, and we did have to drive back home.

Our dishes and wine picks are as follows:

Sweetbread Taquitos Served Crispy with Serrano Pepper Crema and Fresh Cilantro  (Albarino)

Creamy Jumbo Lump Crab Dip  with Lavash Crackers  (Albarino)

Steak Tartare 'Philly Cheesesteak' Style with Red Peppers, Yellow Peppers and White Cheddar  (Cab)

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Spiedino with Oak Roasted Mushrooms and Sweet Onion Puree  (Albarino or Cab)

New York Strip 'Au Poirve' -Cast Iron Seared with 'Peppercorns'  (Cab)

Chef's Daily Pizza with Sausage (more like a fried summer sausage) and mushrooms  (Cab)

'Crispy Skin' Striped Bass with Orange-Carrot Puree, Melted Leeks and Saffron Espuma  (Albarino or Cab)

Grilled Salmon with Mojo Glaze with Ragout of Chorizo and Baby Spinach  (Cab or Albarino)

Braise Pork Belly with Lentils, Hazelnuts, and Maple Jus  (Cab)

Cabrales Blue Cheese - Spain  (Albarino)

Brie - France  (Cab)

Our picks may not have been the ideal for each dish, but they were not too shabby.  As you can see, in some cases both the red and white worked for us.  Sometimes you have to step out of the "Red with red meat, White with chicken and fish" box.  One must also consider the sauce, cooking method and sides for the dish. Anyway, the pairing made for an interesting evening and the vow to "do that again."