You Deserve Krug, Truffles, And Caviar This Holiday Season

The aburi hotate torifu zoe at Zuma Boston was one of the most perfect bites I’ve ever had in my life. So simple—a raw Japanese scallop, topped with briny creamy uni, and a shaving of fresh white truffle—yet the ideal expression of surf and turf in a mouthful. As if that wasn’t enough, it was served with a glass of Krug ‘Grande Cuvée’ Brut NV Edition 170— a complex Champagne that just dances on the tongue, with generous notes of toasty brioche, citrus and honeysuckle.

It’s a match made in heaven: the result of a collaboration between Zuma — the ever-hip luxe Japanese-fusion restaurant group— with Krug Champagne and Sabatino Tartufi. All Zuma U.S. locations are offering a special pairing through the end of the year celebrating the collaboration, with dishes and Krug pairings exclusive to each restaurant.

Zuma, tucked on the second floor of the Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, is a rare spot in Boston to enjoy white truffles — recent drought conditions have made them even harder to source, leaving the market with fewer of these precious gems than we’ve seen in recent years. Which makes the scallop topped with truffle even more precious. The Boston offering also included “lobster ae oscietra caviar nose crispy” – an outrageous combination of textures and flavors featuring lobster, smoked miso mayonnaise and oscietra caviar, cradled in a piece of crispy seaweed like a taco shell. Not sure how they got the seaweed to maintain that crunch – it was surprising and addictive. The two were served on an elegant Krug wooden board with a glass of that stunning Champagne, poured table side.

The Edition 170 is literally the 170th iteration of Krug’s Grande Cuvee — the house has been chasing perfection since the mid-1800s. Edition 170 is a blend of 195 different base wines (no, that’s not a typo) from 12 different vintages, the oldest being 1998. More than half of the base, a blend of 51 percent Pinot Noir, 38 percent Chardonnay and 11 percent Meunier, came from the 2014 harvest.

I thought it was the perfect holiday self-care ritual — the luxurious quality of all the ingredients in harmony demanded attention, making me slow down if only for a few minutes to contemplate the wonder of each bit. I know that sounds over-the-top—and impossibly bougie— but seriously, Zuma is a very busy, buzzy place, with booming music from the live DJ, and a see-and-be-seen vibe. And all of that dropped away for a couple minutes while I was contemplating this luxurious combination.

Through the end of the year, diners at Zuma Miami are offered the same pairing as Boston. Zuma Las Vegas is featuring wagyu aburi with hokkaido uni and kizami wasabi and chutoro tartare with oscietra caviar and crispy rice, paired with a glass of Krug 169^th Grand Cuvee. While the menu for diners at Zuma New York includes wagyu aburi with Sabatino white truffles, and crispy temaki with enoki and green onions, paired with a glass of Krug ‘Grande Cuvée’ Brut NV Edition 168th. Seems like a perfect way to set yourself up for a lovely new year.