Met lili at SFO to start another excellent adventure
centering on the wonderful world of beef.

The Centurion Lounge is in the United terminal, and
we were flying American, so this involved an extra
security, which on this occasion set us back no more
than 5 minutes.

The main course offering of Cedric Vongerichten, who
I figure to be some sort of offspring of some famous
guy, was braised beef with parsnip puree: at least it
wasn't called short rib, but it was chucky and fatty
enough to merit that name. I scooped up several of
the fattier pieces from the buffet, saving the less
desirable lean bits for those that appreciate them.
The meat was quite good and the parsnip quite sweet.

A side of cannellini in tomato sauce did not impress,
and I didn't bother with the rest of the vegetative
offerings.

Vanilla panna cotta with lemon glaze and cardamom
crumbs was just fine, especially with the house
pour Remy 1738.

In San Fran, there's a wine tasting opportunity -
they give you a coupon good for 5 free 1-oz pours
of midrange wines out of a machine in addition to
the stuff they pour at the bar. The thing to remember
is that you have to wait a decent interval before
requesting a second pour of the same wine, otherwise
the machine will take away one of your pours, this
presumably to prevent greedy piggies such as myself
from requesting multiple shots of a preferred wine.

lili didn't want to mess with the rigmarole so got
a glass of Hill Estate Merlot, which is perfectly
okay but not as much fun ... so I got her a couple
double shots of Pinot Noir and a single of Merlot.

The Artesa was my recommendation, and it was of a
good standard, plummy and ripe with a bit of that
waxy Napa quality that I think is okay in a Cab
but not so much in a Pinot. lili liked it better
than the Ceja, which was thin and rather brothy, or
I guess fans would call it "elegant."

Farallon Merlot, a brand I know nothing of, was
uninteresting to both of us.