As you can see from this photo of our store we had a big space open on the floor ready to fill with lots of wine to sell our customers. Some of the wine I would soon taste with Serge Reveille would end up here in this space : the Macon white, the " Les Heretiques " , the white Sancerre and the red Chinon, all from Louis/Dressner imports. But now to the real story at hand.A few months back, was it February or March Serge Reveille asked me to lunch. I accepted and told him that I would like to sample some of the Louis/Dressner portfolio of many French, small vineyard, fighting organic properties that excel at producing distinct expressions of their soils and climate. I knew that we would be dining at La Chaumiere. I had not been there in years, perhaps the last time also with Serge?! Who remembers these things? So many things happen to all of us all of the time that it's a wonder that we remember anything. That's why I like to have my menus signed and whatever else including photos to help bring it all rushing back to me. That's exactly what has happened today. It's Monday June 31st, my day-off and I am home cleaning house with my wife. I stumbled both on the menu signed ( a copy ) and the pictures on a disc that I downloaded earlier. What are the chances of that ? It must be a sign ( like in the movie SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE ) that I write ( blog ) about this soon.
As I said I knew that we would be dining at La Chaumiere( on M. Streets N.W. D.C. across from the Four Seasons Hotel at the edge of Georgetown ). I had forgotten that it was restaurant week. I had been wanting for quite some time to see Martin Lumet that bought the restaurant from the prior owner, along with the chef. Together they run a tight operation as I was about to see, observe, sample and evaluate. I give them high scores indeed. I'd say something like an A++ if not more. They did not lose points on any score and in fact exceeded my expectations. I'm not a restaurant critic and don't claim to be but my food was delicious and I'd go back in a heart-beat for more of the same and something new and exciting, too. Martin was the perfect host on a very busy luncheon period and our lady waitress was excellent, too. When you put that all together with a nice, welcoming, typical French environment I don't think you have to say any more.
I met Martin even before I met Serge. They are both French and both have married lovely American women and live in the D.C. metropolitan area like me. I used to work with Serge years ago when I did wholesale work at Wines Limited with Serge, Marvin Stirman and Alfio Mariconi. I sold lots of their portfolio for them in D.C. to restaurants and to retail wine stores. That's when I got to know La Chaumiere for the first time. I conducted at least two private wine dinners there upstairs in their private dining room. I'll have to find those old menus and include them in a future blog. All I need is more time to find these things that I have tucked away in folders and put away on my shelves! Maybe I'll go look in a few minutes.
Anyway, getting back to Martin I used to sell him wine years ago when he became a customer of ours at the Mayflower Wines and Spirits on M. Streets N.W. D.C. He used to come in after work and buy whatever he needed. He had just arrived from France and was just beginning to get his feet wet here. He later went on to work at the FOUR WAYS restaurant just off of Dupont Circle on R. or was it S. Streets? I went there a few times for dinner, wine luncheons, tastings etcetera. Martin worked there with Jim Hutton and Gastone Zempieri. This all dates us of course and shows that we all have some bottle age on us to put it in wine terms. I don't mind. They have been marvelous and sometimes glorious years spent here in the nation's capitol. I can't remember too many specifics about what Martin bought but suffice it to say that we hit it off immediately.
Later Martin worked at LA FERME restaurant just off Chevy Chase Circle in Maryland. I saw him there on a few occasions. Then he went to work with Serge, Marvin and Alfio at Wines Limited and he'd come to Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits to sell me wine. So it was interesting to be going to have lunch with Serge at La Chaumiere and to see Martin in action. He did not disappoint.
Serge I met after I met Martin. He came to Burka's Fine Wines and later to Cleveland Park to sell me wines. In between I went to work with him at Wines Limited. We have also known each other for years. He was just in the store last week ( June ) with the owner of his newly-renamed wholesale company. It was good to see you Serge. Thanks for this lunch by the way. I might forget to write it later.
It was a sunny bright day the day we had lunch at La Chaumiere. Serge had brought me some excellent wines from the Louis/Dressner portfolio. I had met Joe Dressner on at least two if not three occasions at Cleveland Park Wines. The first time he came dressed all in black and it was late in the afternoon and he was tired and yet delighted/thrilled with the positive reception we gave both he and his selections of wines! To paraphrase what he wrote in our journal/book at the store : " I was near suicide, despair and then I arrived at Cleveland Park and was restored, pulled back ... " as if we had saved him from doing something awful. He had not been as well received in other accounts and was depressed by that. We bought some of his wines then and there. I later learned that Joe always dresses in black. I also learned that he had asked Mike who I work with if I was always this chipper and up-beat?!? He asked in amazement that anyone could possibly, naturally be?!? I admit it, I am.
I can't believe it? I found the dinner menu from my private wine-food-pairing dinner at La Chaumiere( 2813 M. Streets N.W. tel: 202-338-1784. Gerard Pain was the owner and his daughter Geraldine Pain worked there, too )! The chefs were Chef Olivier and Chef Jamie. I wrote : " The very first thing I noticed when I called La Chaumiere today was the bright, cheerful voice of Geraldine Pain... hearing the warmth in her voice relaxed me immediately as we spoke. Listening to Geraldine speak about the restaurant brought it to life vividly once again before my eyes. La Chaumiere means : French country inn with a thatched roof - that is exactly what they have recreated on M. Street. The first thing that hits you as you walk in is the warmth from the fireplace that burns non-stop from the fall into the spring. As you are seated you cannot fail to take in the wood beams and the white stucco walls with all the farm tools, copper pots, old wine bottles and especially those intriguing jars of canned vegetables and fruit. Dining at La Chaumiere is like " comme chez vous". Or better yet it is " comme chez votre grandmere ". We had appetizers of a seafood Galatine with a coulis of tomato, then a warm marinated Salmon with a Lobster butter, followed with a confit of Canard and wild mushrooms, a Salad de saison and finished with a bread pudding in a Bourbon sauce. For wines we enjoyed some sparkling wine, then a selection of Italian, French, Californian, Oregonian and Virginian wines! Wow! From Bertucchi's Bianco imperiale to Argyl's 1989 Chardonnay, to Alexander Valley's 1990 Chardonnay and Trimbach's Pinot Gris, to Gigi Rosso's 1991 " Moncolombetto "Dolcetto and Chateau Cornemps 1990 red Bordeaux, Hidden Cellar's 1990 " old vines " Zinfandel, a Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc and finishing with Oasis' Nectar of Traminer( half-bottle ) semi-sweet Virginia wine. These were the choices being considered for this meal. The dinner was either in 1991 or 1992. I forgot to write it down on this proposal of which I still have a hand-written copy.
Things haven't changed much in these last fourteen or fifteen years, La Chaumiere still has all this to offer, At our luncheon I had the Quenelle de Brochet with the white Macon from Joe Dressner. I fell in love with both! That was the hors d'oeuvres and it was followed by the Blanquette de Veau a l'ancienne. For dessert Serge and I split the Souffle ( Grand Marnier ). The other wines we sampled were a fabulous Loire Valley Cabernet Franc from the town of Chinon, a biodynamic French country red wine called " Les Heretiques " and a smooth as velvet Sancerre. I bought some of all these wines for the store and have sold through all of them. I bought all the 2003 white Macon because it was so exceptional, even with that extra bottle-age.
At the luncheon across the table from Serge and me was my salesperson for the store Frenchman Jean Gagliolo who used to be the chef at La Nicoise restaurant where the waiters were all on roller skates, remember ?!? We did a private wine dinner with Jean at La Nicoise on Sunday, September 22nd, 1991 at 7 PM. What a small world it is!?! Anyway, Jean was having lunch with the wine-maker for one of our favorite California wineries, Lyeth Vineyards in Sonoma. He came over to the store after the lunch at La Chaumiere and tasted me and our customers that happened to be there on his new releases.
Some of all these pictures will be here if I can get them to download. Wish me luck! I may need it as these are on another system.
I have had a problem loading these photos, some are missing, some are duplicated. I don't have the ones of Serge that I would like or the one of the fireplace in the center of this room. I also added a picture of the store and many of them are on their sides. Aaargghhhh! Sorry. They will have to be added at a later date when I get a firmer grip on this process. Cheers, TONY
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