Führer of Fungi cooks local and seasonal

Mushroom Risotto with duck stock.....Yum!

Roast Duck and Mushroom Risotto

What is Wine and Cheese without great BREAD?

Meghan Stuart (Gwen she represents you well) from Grand Central comes with a bag of goodies and Grand Cru "tastes" bread. Grand Central delivers to Bellevue daily which is what we need.

River Valley Ranch Fall City, WA

Cheese at it's BEST......and lots of it!

Julie Steil, Cheesemaker, who with her husband, Rob own River Valley Farms, talks about her cheese

Julie has only been making cheese and keeping a menagerie of animals for 3 years, but she is producing amazing cheese. Mostly goat and cows milk, but she also has yaks and water buffalos that are milked and contribuate to one of her cheeses called: Wild West Mozzarella.

http://www.rivervalleycheese.com/index.html

(Check website for retail sales on Saturdays and appointment only tours and tastings)

There are wash rind cow cheeses and goat cheeses, cheeses flavored with peppers, grape must, fruits and nuts. Julie is a great cook and a self taught cheesemaker, which gives her a fresh approach to cheese. If you can "think" it she can make it!

As she tells it, it is all about the animals and then we go down to the pasture and meet them......we wished we could have recorded the baby goats: they sounded so sweet! Where is the video camera? Here are a few of the many photos I took:




Most everyone has a name.....and I can't remember them all.....but they were seriously.....CUTE!

Construction Grand Cru Wine Bar & Shop

Grand Cru Wine Bar & Shop taking shape.

Grand Cru Wine Shop will be open the first week in April 2009.

Sign is up for Grand Cru Wine Shop

Grand Cru Wine Bar, this was March 23rd and today two days later, all the dry wall is up!

We should be open to the public on May 1,2009

Grand Cru Wine Bar Menu Testing with Chef Dani Amato of Amato Catering

Menu testing with our consulting Chef and his assistant. Everyone agrees that Chef Amato has perfect pitch; the food just tastes so good, looks beautiful. We look at all the plates and figure out which ones are best for which dishes.

Chef Danilo Amato and Wesley Fisher

Some of the dishes from the tasting from top:

• Spinach Crepe w/Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce


• Salmon and Cod Terrine w/ Tomato Salsa


• House Cured Graved Lax w/Horseradish Crème Fraîche


• Housemafe Pate' w/ Lightly Pickled Spring Onions


• Brasied Rabbit-Leek Roulade w/Natural Jus

Eastside Inside: Haute Happenings East of Lake Washington

from Lisa Hilderbrand's blog:
The new "Grand Cru" opening Spring 2009 in BellevueGrandCruWine - Location Bellevue, WA Web http://www.grandcru-wineshop.com - New wine bar and retail wine in Bellevue, WA
Just heard from Deba Wegner of "Recipe for Success, Inc." that Grand Cru Wine Bar and Wine Shop, owners Steve Walker, (President and Director of Sales and Marketing), Tom Cottrell, (Vice President and Director of Wine) and Robert Reichel, (Secretary/Treasurer and Director of Information Technology), announced this week that construction of their joint venture, Grand Cru Wine Bar and Shop started earlier this month on the SW corner of the Ten20 Tower Luxury apartment building. The world class wine bar and wine shop, which anchors the Ten20 complex, is slated to open in spring of this year.
Speaking on behalf of all partners, Steve Walker said, "Grand Cru Wine Bar and Wine Shop will serve the downtown Bellevue neighborhood, with its growing community of residents and business people. We will offer an inviting ambiance, great wine, exceptional food and elements of the wine lifestyle that will make it a destination for wine lovers across the region." Grand Cru Wine Bar and Shop is a life-style concept, which will offer a one of a kind retail wine sales and wine and food experience. Inventory was acquired by ownership, experts all, to make a truly, unique selection.
Grand Cru Wine Bar is adjacent to the shop. 40 hand selected wines by the glass and a wine list with 101 bottle selections, all of which were selected because of their diversity, and reflect quality for the price. Dramatic floor to ceiling glass windows make up the front of Grand Cru Wine Bar. With a southern exposure, Grand Cru Wine Bar overlooks the complex's courtyard and building's fountain. Reminiscent, of a European out door, side walk café location. Beckoning passersby with its dramatic Cabernet-tinted walls contrasted by the refreshing Riesling-colored light fixtures. The rich wood and leather echo an old-world sensibility, counterbalanced by modern detailing of stainless steel and concrete. Some life-style programs for customers include:
(sample new offerings in a casual atmosphere)TGIC Fridays: Thank God It's Champagne(16 different sparkling wines offered by the glass)(a wide range of topics including new releases, library wines, food pairing and verticals)
In true wine bar fashion, Grand Cru Wine Bar will serve a series of seasonal, small plates, desserts and a French (Alsatian) specialty called a Tart Flambé.' In the wine producing region of north east France, Alsace, this casual thin crusted "French pizza" is served in the many wine bars that dot the towns and villages.
"Grand Cru Wine Bar's pricing will be moderate to encourage multiple visits. Our by-the-glass and bottle program is an eclectic collection of the familiar and not so familiar covering every major wine growing region in the world with the only consideration being quality and value. Grand Cru Wine Bar will be an intimate and stylish Mecca for all who love wine. What we're really striving to build is not just another wine bar and wine shop, but a community of diverse clientele with one common passion: fine wine." explained, Walker.
Grand Cru Wine Bar and Wine Shop1020 108th Street NW #100 & 120Bellevue, WA 98004
Parking: Street Parking and sizable complimentary retail parking garage under Ten20 Building, accessed from NE 11th Avenue on the North end of Ten20 complex.