Preparing to head out for my ludicrously decadent NYE extravaganza. To give a sense of how important it is, I’m wearing a tie for the first time in 5 years, a period that includes my only brother’s wedding and the baptism of his first child.
And we’re off. Huge kudos to @BadaBingCapital for sending me the pregame here: Charbay III hopped whiskey. First course: hamachi crudo with a kabinett Riesling and my still-unfinished ‘09 Dom P aperitif. Bonus: they gave me a LN2 cooled butter block, a sure ticket to my heart. 
Round 2: Foie gras terrine with pineapple and off-dry Pinot Gris. The coward sommeliers here refuse to serve an intermediary course with a SGN- reader, I will not replicate their error at my restaurant. Round 3: wild mushroom ragout with 1er cru Burgundy. Earthy and delicious.
ROUND 4: Ribeye and Yukon Gold purée, with 1998 Léoville Poyferré poured from magnum. Round 5: Some WI cheddar (whatever) with 2003 Huey vouvray Cuveé Constance (!!, pricier BTG than the entire wine pairing as a whole)
Round 6 (drawing to a close here): cinnamon spice amuse bouche and creme fraiche, with “le trou Normand” (gotta have my Calvados @pearkes), and the grand finale: chocolate soufflé with a 1965 tawny port. 👨🍳😘👌, indeed!
Was I tempted to, upon receipt of the receipt, “dine and dash”? Perhaps, for an instant, since that’s what we call an arbitrage in my line of work. Nevertheless, cooler heads prevailed.
