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I've been meaning to take Jan out for dinner for taking care of Lolly and Belle when I've been away and to celebrate her regained mobility. Joy also happened to be in town for the evening so we soon had a small group for dinner. I took everyone to Acquerello which is a nearby Italian restaurant. It's in an expected part of town, but it is the top rated Italian restaurant in the Bay area (per Zagat guide). To try and save a little money (all relative of course when you're talking haute cuisine) and to enjoy a bit of my investment in fermented grapes, I brought 4 bottles of wine including a 1995 S. Anderson Brut, 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages, 1998 Pride Merlot, and a 1997 Dolce. We all tried such a great variety of foods for every course (trying a bit off of everyone else's plate of course). I can't even remember them all, but I remember that I ordered the crab stuffed dorade with black squid ink sauce, pasta with foie gras and black truffle sauce, rack of lamb, and a cheese tartllette with strawberry and rhubarb compote. Andrea had a corn soup with corn timballo, risotto with 25 year old balsamic vinegar (yum!), ribeye steak, and a selection of Italian cheese. All in all, a great meal with great friends.