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FOOD - DRINK - FUN

Mountain Views News Saturday, May 17, 2025

THE TASTING ROOM


THE PINOT NOIR OF SPAIN 

I’m Gustavo Lira, Tasting Room Manager and 
Wine Buyer at The Bottle Shop in Sierra Madre 
with another wine and spirits selection. 

Just got a new wine in the shop yesterday – 
2020 Bodegas Merayo “Las Tres Filas” Mencia. 
Mencia is the grape, and it’s known as the Pinot 
Noir of Spain. It shares some similarities with 
Pinot Noir, yet it also has its own characteristics 
that are special.

The Merayo 
family has been 
making wine 
in Spain for 
decades. They 
sustainably farm their vineyards in the Bierzo region 
of Spain. The 2020 “Las Tres Filas” is sourced from 
80–100-year-old vines. Fermentation took place in stainless 
steel, and it was aged in both American and French oak for 
6 months. This wine is unfiltered which makes it a vegan 
wine. 

It is 100% Mencia, a grape that is indigenous to Spain and 
Portugal. It’s bright and has high acid just like Pinot Noir 
but it also has a beautiful aroma of floral and violet. It 
reminds me of Pinot Noir and Gamay, but some people also 
think it can be mistaken for a Northern Rhone Syrah. How 
cool is that? On the palate, there are notes of dark fruit, 
tobacco leaf, pepper, and wild herbs. The finish has length 
and minerality. The alcohol level in this wine is subdued, 
and the tannins are soft and silky. This wine received 97 
Points from Decanter. 

Mencia is a fabulous food wine. Pair it with charcuterie, 
Iberico jamon, Manchego cheese, mushrooms, and Carne Asada. 

The 2020 Bodegas Merayo “Las Tres Filas” Mencia Bierzo is available at The Bottle Shop 
for $21.99. Say you saw it in the Mountain Views News and get the MVN special price of 
$20.50 The special price is good through May 23rd. I will be pouring it next week in The 
Tasting Room on Thursday and Friday for the Rad Reds Tasting – unique and interesting 
red wines. Come in and taste it with me! 

Please keep in mind all those who have suffered and are trying to rebuild from the Eaton 
Fire. Visit DenaMadreStrong.com to learn how you can continue to help those impacted 
by the Eaton Fire. 

Until next time – Salud!

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THE BEST BITES OF 2025 – STILL HOLDING STRONG

It’s been a few months since my last roundup, and while new restaurants keep popping 
up, a few favorites continue to earn my loyalty—proving that consistency is the real 
secret ingredient.

Still a Classic: Panda Inn, Pasadena

Trends come and go, but Panda Inn remains the gold standard for Chinese cuisine in 
the San Gabriel Valley. From their legendary Orange Chicken to the sizzling Mongolian 
Beef, this is where tradition meets satisfaction.

Best New Steakhouse Addition: Yakiya, Pasadena

A welcome newcomer that’s already making waves. Their Happy Hour is quickly 
becoming one of the best in town—don’t miss the perfectly marbled steaks and craft 
cocktails.

Best Mexican Fare, Family Style: Casa Del Rey, Sierra Madre

When you’re craving comforting Mexican food with a side of patio sunshine, Casa Del 
Rey never disappoints. Chips, salsa, and a margarita? Yes, please.

Consistently Creative: Plate 38, Pasadena

Chef Robert Humphreys keeps things interesting with a menu that balances comfort 
food and culinary creativity. And if you haven’t tried their Happy Hour yet, consider 
this your reminder.

So while the culinary landscape keeps changing, these spots continue to deliver. And if 
you’re stuck in traffic wondering where to grab your next great meal, just look up—I’ve 
got you covered on the 210 Freeway.

Follow my podcast Dining with Dills—the best darn podcast for LA foodies!

Peter Dills

www.pod.link/1116885432


CHICKEN PARM 
MEATBALLS


ALL THINGS 

By Jeff Brown 

THE OPEN SECRET BY TONY 
PARSONS

Throughout my early life I felt that there 
was another possibility which, once realized, 
would transform all and everything. 
One day that possibility became a reality, 
and it was simple and ordinary, magnificent 
and revolutionary. It is the open secret 
that reveals itself in every part of our 
lives. But realization does not emerge 
through our attempts to change our lives, 
it comes as a direct rediscovery of who it 
is that lives. "The Open Secret" is a singular 
and radical work which speaks of the 
fundamental liberation that is absolutely 
beyond effort, path, process or belief.

This is a communication which illuminates 
the paradoxical nature of non-
duality and exposes the deluded idea that 
it is something that can be acquired and 
experienced.

"It is so obvious and simple that the grasping of it obscures it. Never found, never lost, never 
knowable, it is the consummate absence that is beyond measure."

It seems that in the boundless energy that is oneness there can also arise a contracted energy 
which brings about apparent self-awareness. A powerful and convincing sense of self-identity 
seems to arise together with a belief in personal free will and choice in what is experienced 
as a real life story. All of these personal experiences can only apparently arise in what seems 
to be a very real but dualistic reality in which everything appears to be separate. This sense 
of separation can bring with it a sense of loss and a need to seek guidance, an understanding 
or a path or process that can promise fulfillment. There are attempts to seek unity which 
are totally futile because the separate seeker is apparently the very dualism from which it is 
trying to escape.

"Looking for being is believing that it is lost. Has anything been lost, or is it simply that the 
looking obscures? Does the beloved dance constantly just beyond our focus?"

This dilemma is illuminated in this unique communication which makes no demands, has 
no expectations and does not cater in any way to the seeker’s need for answers, processes 
or a path to follow. This uncompromising message can be both confronting and liberating.

"Life is not a task. There is absolutely nothing to attain except the realization that there is 
absolutely nothing to attain."The whole personal investment in making spiritual progress, 
becoming more aware, more still, more open or more anything at all can simply unravel in 
this radical revelation. The whole perception of “the self” or “the world” it seems to live in, 
can be transformed and leave nothing to support the illusion of personal separation, control 
and continuation. Suddenly, the absence that was feared is the absence which is unknowable, 
but paradoxically is also the very fullness, the freedom that was longed for.

Tony Parsons has many videos on youtube.com

INGREDIENTS

4 slices white bread, torn into small pieces

½ cup water

2 large eggs

1 pound ground chicken

¼ cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for 
serving

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 garlic clove, grated

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

One 16-ounce jar marinara sauce

3 to 4 slices provolone cheese

Fresh basil, to garnish

Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine the bread and water and set aside to soak for about 3 minutes. 
Add the eggs and whisk together with a fork to combine. Add the chicken, Parmesan, 
parsley, garlic, salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Using the same fork, gently mix together 
until well combined.

2. Divide the meat mixture into 12 portions and roll into meatballs.

3. In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high 
heat. Working in batches if needed, add the meatballs and brown on all sides. Reduce the 
heat to low, add the marinara and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, 8 to 10 
minutes.

3. Set the broiler to high. Top the meatballs with the provolone, then transfer to the broiler 
and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Top with more Parmesan 
and fresh basil before serving with crusty bread, if desired.

Recipe from PureWow! Try it, it's a crowd pleaser!


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com