del Alma

Last night (September 24, 2010) saw the "soft" opening of del Alma, the successor to Loca Luna. With the departure of Adam Kekahuna, the restaurant has acquired a new chef, Mitchel Rosenbaum, formerly of La Mesa Grill in Las Vegas.

The cuisine is now a more traditional Latin one, which is probably for the best; I suspect that Kekahuna's "Pacific Rim/Latin Fusion" style was just a little too "out there" for Corvallis.

The wine list offers a good selection of whites, most moderately priced. The selection of reds may be a bit too heavy with Oregon Pinot Noir and is deficient in moderately priced Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet/Merlot blends. From Washington's Columbia Valley there is Little Bear Creek's Cabernet/Merlot blend for $32, but the other four wines of this type range in price from $63 to $96. There are plenty of good lower priced Cabernets out there, such as 2007 Louis Martini Sonoma County, 2006 Robert Mondavi Estate, and 2006 BV Rutherford, and with three beef and one lamb entree on the menu, the folks at del Alma should consider adding these or comparable wines.

We selected a moderately priced ($28) Tempranillo, the 2000 Anciano. This was a bright, fruity wine with more body than a Pinot Noir, and it worked well with our entrees (beef and lamb), though a Cabernet would have been better.

After being seated, we were brought bread with three dipping sauces. The bread, baked on the premises, was excellent, crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. The three dips were a olives/mushroom chutney sort of thing, a puree of yellow bell pepper and garlic, and a seasoned bean puree. All were good.

Appetizers are found under the Tapas section of the menu. I ordered the Dungeness Crab, Shrimp, and Spinach Empanada ($8; see photo above). My first bite was of the Empanada alone and the pastry seemed a little dry, but I discovered that adding a bit of the salsa to the fork resulted in a perfect balance, with a delightful combination of flavors. Kathy ordered the Florres Relleno de la Calabaza ($10), this being a fried squash blossom stuffed with Dungeness crab, peppers and cheese. This was likewise excellent.

The menu lists three salads and two soups. We didn't try any of these; perhaps on a future visit.

The entrees range in price from $16 to $29. There is only one vegetarian item, the El Bosque, a mushroom ragout, and the restaurant should consider adding at least one more so that vegetarian customers don't have to order the same thing every time.

Kathy's entree was the Borrego Borracho "Drunken Lamb" ($24), this being a braised shank served with tequila soaked apricots and vanilla whipped sweet potatoes. The apricots turned out to be few and far between, too few for the "drunken" description to apply to the entire dish, and the lamb was served medium rather than the medium-rare that Kathy had ordered. Nevertheless it was tender and flavorful, and the potatoes were creamy and subtly flavored.

I ordered the Beef Short Ribs ($24; see photo). These were excellent, moist and tender, with a distinctive "roast beef" flavor, but something went wrong with the accompanying wild mushroom tamale, because the contents were dry, powdery and unpalatable. Fortunately Kathy's serving of potatoes was a generous one and I took a small helping of those.

For dessert Kathy ordered the Classic Flan ($8), which was supposed to be served with almond cookies and whipped cream but instead came with slices of papaya. Nonetheless, it was very good. I had the cheesecake ($8), which was perfect in texture and flavor.

Except for the powdery mushrooms in the tamale and, on Kathy's entree, the scarcity of drunken apricots and the slightly overcooked meat, (all of which can hopefully be chalked up to opening night issues), it was an excellent meal. Del Alma is off to a good start, and will hopefully only get better.

Del Alama Website

Corvallis Brewpubs - Conclusions

Having visited and reviewed all four brewpubs here in Corvallis, I think I've reached some conclusions about their respective strengths and weaknesses. Here they are:

Old World Deli/Oregon Trail Brewing
Ambience: Acceptable, but the industrial chic motif is just too weird
Service: Non-existent
Food: Acceptable
Premise-brewed beer: Acceptable

McMennamins on Monroe
Ambience: Very good, striking interior and surprisingly quiet even when at/near capacity
Service: Good
Food: Not Acceptable
Premise-brewed beer: Acceptable

Block 15
Ambience: Good when at half-capacity, TOO LOUD when full
Service: Good
Food: Good
Premise-brewed beer: Very Good to Excellent

Flat Tail Brewing
Ambience: Good when at half-capacity, a bit loud when full (also the music can be turned up too high)
Service: Good
Food: Good
Premise-brewed beer: Acceptable

It doesn't take a statistical analysis to determine that Block 15 is the winner here, and it's certainly my personal choice. I just wish they could do something about the sound level.

Flat Tail Brewing

Our series of Corvallis brewpub reviews completes with this one for Flat Tail Brewing. Located on First Street at the old Fox and Firkin location, the interior has been considerably spruced up since its F & F days (the bathrooms are much nicer). The walls are painted a muted blue and the wainscoting dark reddish-brown, an interior that, on its own, would seen more appropriate to a more formal restaurant. The large number of historical OSU sports photographs and flat panel televisions thus seem an afterthought, a sports bar overlay onto a room that was meant to be something else.

The interior is acoustically live, and when the place is at (or near) capacity it can be loud. Most of our visits have been when it’s not full, and then it’s fairly pleasant. During our most recent visit (late August of 2010) the music was too loud, but the weather was nice so we sat outside (one can only hope that management would have respected a request to turn down the volume had we decided to stay inside).

We’ve always been pleased with the service, although I’ve heard some negative reports from others. On our most recent visit our server was reasonably attentive and prompt.

We’ve also been happy with the food there. On a previous visit I’d had the St. Louis style “Brew BQ” ribs. These are good, but not impressive to someone raised in the Deep South (and no better than the ribs at the Corvallis Ruby Tuesday). The burgers are good too. On our most recent visit our party of five ordered just appetizers. The fried oysters were excellent, and the fried onion rings and “Brew Skins” (fried potato skins with shredded beef and sour cream) were both good. The Hummus Plate featured fresh veggies and tasty flatbread. Overall, I’d say the quality of the food is a half-step ahead of Block 15.

The same cannot be said of the beer brewed on the premises. Eight different varieties are available, ranging from a Pilsner to a Stout. You can try all eight with a sampler “paddle”, but be forewarned that if the bartender is sloppy with this, then many of the small glasses will be sitting in a pool of beer, and you’re going to drip a lot of that onto your lap. The beers themselves are competent, but neither complex nor compelling, and many have a slightly sour character that is likely due to the strain of yeast used for their brewing.

Also available are “Guest Tap” beers from other producers, these being Calapooia, Oregon Trail, Oakshire and Ninkasi. I’ve only tried a couple from the first (which were okay but not memorable), am not impressed by any from the second except for the Ginseng Porter, have tried none from the third, but have been impressed with everything I’ve tried from Ninkasi. The next time I’m at Flat Tail I expect I’ll order that, assuming it’s available.

If Flat Tail wants to be the preeminent Corvallis brewpub they need to improve their beers and provide some sound absorbing techniques in the dining area (and turn down the music, please).

Flat Tail website.

Maker's 46

As those of who've read my Guide to Bourbon know, most Bourbon distillers produce a range of products, using different recipes and bottling these at different ages and proofs. The one exception is Maker's Mark who has been bottling only one product since 1959, that being their six-year-old, 90 proof, "wheat recipe" Bourbon.

It's a controversial whiskey among the Bourbon cognoscenti, not because it's bad (it isn't; most would give it a B+) but because it has a market share considerably larger than one might expect for a Bourbon that's merely very good. It achieved this position via brilliantly successful marketing plus aggressive legal action intended to protect its trademarks (most notably the dripping red wax which seals every bottle of MM). Among those who adhere to the principle the race should go to the swiftest there's a feeling that market share should be based on the merits of your product and not on the skill of your marketing and legal departments. Although this is an admittedly naive view, it's one that's been frequently expressed in online bourbon forums.

Whether in response to these mutterings or, more likely, to provide existing MM drinkers with an up market option, last year the company decided to look at ways to produce something a little more distinctive. The traditional approach would simply be to age it longer (for example, 10 to 23 year old wheat recipe bourbons are sold by Weller, Van Winkle and Old Fitzgerald), but the company wanted to get something to market a lot sooner than that. Basically, they wanted a short cut.

So MM went to their barrel supplier, Independent Stave, and asked for their advice. I'm sure the folks at IS were aware of a little device known as an infusion spiral, but because that was invented by a rival barrel company, The Barrel Mill, they weren't about to use that. Instead they came up with a rather labor-intensive procedure of draining the whiskey from the barrel, removing the barrel head, drilling shallow holes into the sides of the barrel, stringing staves of toasted French oak onto dowels, fixing the stave/dowel assembly into the holes, replacing the head, and refilling the barrel with the whiskey. The bourbon then spends another three months in the barrel before bottling. They tried dozens of different combinations of stave characteristics (number of staves, level of toast) and aging periods and the one they like the most was #46, and this is the basis for the whiskey's name, Maker's 46.

So how is it? Well, it's definitely better than regular Maker's Mark. It's got the signature MM caramel and vanilla, and adds a hint of cinnamon. You can pick up a little extra oak, but unfortunately there's a bit of oak tannin on the finish, rather like an insufficiently aged big Cabernet. I give it an A-, and get validation from Malt Advocate editor John Hansell, who gave it a 90 in his review.

Is it worth the $35.95 that it costs here in Oregon? In my opinion, no. For $31.50 you can get twelve year old Very Special Old Fitzgerald, a wheat recipe bourbon that is considerably more complex and refined. The hot-rodders like to say, "There's no substitute for cubic inches," and I think a similar principle applies to whiskey: there's no substitute for barrel time.

Of course, there are many people who make their choices on the basis of brand loyalty, and for long-time drinkers of Maker's Mark, the new 46 offers something special for those special occasions. To you I say, enjoy.