Every now and then in a restaurant you stumble across a small dish that is simple but flawlessly executed and totally delicious. I was fortunate to experience that twice last week.

The first dish was at Wente Vineyards Restaurant in Livermore. This is heirloom tomato season and, in addition to the lovely fresh tomato salad that they and every other restaurant offers right now, Wente had Heirloom Tomato Soup on the menu. It was a warm soup made from a blend of tomatoes that resulted in a medium orange color. It wasn't cream-based. The soup itself was all about the tomatoes, blended thoroughly but leaving a very nice tomato texture. Silky soups can be wonderful, but sometimes all of the straining also removes all textural traces of the original ingredient. To add creamy texture to the dish and offset the tomatoes acidity, a generous dollop of brie cheese was placed in the middle of the bowl and slowly melted in the warm soup. Freshly toasted croutons were scattered across the top of the soup offering additional color and delightful crunchiness. We were drinking Heidi Barrett's 2007 La Sirena Moscato Azul, which is a dry wine made from Muscat Canelli, and I can't think of pairing that would have been better.

Chef Arthur Wall has been doing great things at Wente since he started there a bit more than one year ago. We always enjoy experiencing his dishes. We'll be there again Thursday for their 3-course pre-concert dinner prior to the Chris Isaak show. I'm looking forward to it!

The second perfect dish was at Lark Creek Steak in San Francisco. Chef John Ledbetter who, like Arthur Wall, spent a good deal of time as a chef in New Orleans put together a Fried Green Tomato appetizer on a whim Saturday night. The kitchen staff were shocked that he had them prep so many servings. There were no regrets though. Nearly every table ordered them and I'm sure that they ran out by the evening's end.

The first time I ever had fried green tomatoes I was in New Orleans and they were amazing. Hot, crisp and golden brown on the outside, not greasy. Tart, fresh and chewy inside. Perfectly seasoned. Ever since then I order the dish whenever I see it on a menu but I'm always disappointed. No matter where I am, they never match that first experience. Sometimes the tomatoes are too greasy. They are almost always too mushy. Some aren't bad, but are certainly not memorable. However, the ones at Lark Creek Steak not only measured up to that first experience but exceeded it. They were perfect in every way and, since we were sitting at the Chef's Counter and the fryer was only 10 feet away, they couldn't have come to us any fresher.

There were about eight pieces in the order which is just about ideal; enough for 2 - 4 people to share but not so many that a solo diner can't happily hum through the entire order. They were served with a very tasty remoulade sauce but I found the tomatoes so good on their own I ate most of mine unsauced. If you find them on the menu, don't hesitate. I'd suggest pairing the fried green tomatoes with a glass of the Esterlina Vineyards dry Riesling, though the aforementioned La Sirena is available by the bottle and would also be a good choice.

What's the best dish you've had lately?

This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2009 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved.

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