Sippin' and Savorin' at Secco

We finally made it to Secco! And as touted, it was a casual, laid back joint where everyone knows you and the wine is plentiful, not too expensive, and downright kick-ass.

Julia, the fabulous owner greeted us. Sara, one of our all-time favorite waiters and ultimate queen of cheese, served us. And Farouk, who we have run across in various restaurant settings, tended bar. Okay, we were already in wine bar heaven.

I tried a white wine from the Basque region and hubby had a glass of rose. We then plotted, planned, argued, and strategized over what to order.

We began with roasted spicy almonds.

Next, a bottle of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc - Soif de Jour Bourgeuil. What's really super about Secco is that you can look at the wine labels in the wine rack when deciding what to imbibe. Kudos!

We ordered the Tuscan flatbread of the day which was topped with caramelized onions. Yummy! We liked it so much, we ordered it twice.

And then we had a meat and cheese plate (or slate). Since you can mix and match from a list, each plate is customized. Love it! Since my man literally throws up at the mere idea of blue cheese, we can avoid the awkward questions about what's on the cheese plate and if substitutions are allowed. We ordered Caramont Goat, Zamorano, Piave Vecchio, and Petit Agour We also ordered Serrano and Proscuitto. The plates were accompanied by kumquat confiture, a Virginia made chutney (a wee bit on the spicy/hot side), and crostini.

Both of us raved about the Zamorano. And I have always enjoyed the Caramont Goat. The Piave made my hubby's neck hair stand on end. The Petit Agour pleased our palates as well. We liked both meat selections, but the Proscuitto really hit the mark.

Simple, yet extremely satisfying.