We resolved to get two red-wine-friendly main meals and switch halfway
(which we ended up doing, more or less), so it was my job to choose a
wine that would go equally with both red meat and red poultry. I decided
on the Merry Edwards Pinot Noir 15 - I'd become familiar with this wine
at a dinner with Ian and was delighted to see it on the list (it's quite scarce) though at a fairly elevated price. It was an interesting straddle between the big old Burgundy style and the lighter modern new world one,
so although it was exceedingly concentrated it was still nicely drinkable
in its youth. Lots of spice, dark fruit rather than the cherries and
plums you expect from Pinot Noir these days, pillowy smooth but resolving
into a long tannic finish. Wonderful.

Duo of duck, parsnip raviolo, bosc pear, black garlic. This was
medium-rare roasted duck breast, extremely tender in an I call
shenanigans way, probably some state of the art all-natural tenderizer
that isn't as crass as pineapple or papaya juice. So there was this crisp skin, a very soft meat, and a resilient bit that hadn't successfully been broken down by whatever it was. A duck demi was excellent, possibly
touched with black garlic, it was hard to tell. The duo and bosc parts
were a holiday-spiced half pear stuffed with duck confit (in the modern
way not salty or flavored enough) and fashioned into a sphere - cute but
not anything special. The parsnip raviolo was likewise nothing of
particular interest, a perfectly al dente shell stuffed with salty
vegetable of no distinct identity. An unadvertised braised Belgian
endive was however excellent, done in I believe a mixture of butter
and poultry fat until melting tender - excellent with the sauce.

Duo of Colorado lamb - medium roasted loin and a very mild merguez -
was not so extraordinary, being things I could easily cook myself
almost as well. The lamb was preternaturally tender again and pretty delicious, a lamb demi going well. The sausage was too mild and too
lean but at least not too salty. Along with this came fried green
tomato (a good tart accompaniment), pistachio aioli (Bonnie liked
this enough so that when we switched plates halfway through, it was
all gone), and barely warm radicchio treviso dressed in lemon juice.

Instead of dessert, I decided to splurge on the Alois Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese nv, which presented itself a luxurious gold with
aromas of apricots and tropical fruit bursting out. I spent a good long
while just with my nose in the glass before taking a first sip. The wine
is hugely sweet but with lots of acid so not at all cloying, the fruits
as described, a little flowery, a little tea, a little bitterness that
might have been rot but in a good way. It was hard for me to guess the
grapes, which turned out to be Chardonnay, Welschriesling, and
Gewurztraminer (I looked it up). The finish was persistent, with
pineapple, apricot, and a little wood. A worthwhile experience but $56
for two dessert glasses was a lot.

When the bill came with two kinds of negligible mignardises (a moist
chocolate cake thing and squares of fruit paste, quince-plum at a
guess) Bonnie's C-notes didn't cover the half of it, so as it wasn't
raining yet we decided to economize again and take the subway back,
which took twice as long but at least got us back to Cambridge before
it started raining in earnest, which it did shortly after we got back
to her place.
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