Maybe I’m shallow, but the best thing about my job isn’t writing or seeing my name in print—it’s the free stuff. Such was my thinking last Friday, at least, when I attended the Lone Eagle Grille’s Wine Dinner in Incline Village as my editor’s date.
We started with an hour-long champagne cocktail hour before sitting down. The first course was a beet carpaccio. However, I read the menu wrong and so I spent most of the first course prodding my garnishes to determine which one was meat. Second course was poussin (baby chicken) with foie gras – filled morels and the entrée was Niman Ranch rack of lamb with a minted English pea puree, followed by a dessert tray. Each course was accompanied by a very generous pouring of Pahlmeyer wine. I had never heard it, but that’s probably I rarely venture into wines past the price of Yellowtail. The Pahlmeyer chardonnay was the thickest, oakiest white I’ve ever tried and the proprietary red (which retails for $105 a bottle from the winery) tasted like decadence in a bottle. If I hadn’t had to drive over the hill, I could have really done some damage.
Anyway, my next awesome media event is the July 1 grand opening of the Martis Camp Lodge—a luxury, invite-only party with plenty of champagne, music, hors d’oeuvres and, best of all, my very own designated driver!
Alison O. Bender 