Posts Tagged ‘Food’
Duck Walk Vineyards
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
The East end of Long Island is surrounded by an array of wine vineyards unknown to many. With open doors and no reservations necessary, these vineyards make it possible and accessible to sample and enjoy their love and hard work. The Hamptons have a reputation of being overpriced and I’ll agree on that for the most part, except when it comes to wine. Here is one way of coming out to the Hamptons and being able to indulge.
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Tags: Duck Walk Vineyard, Food, Long Island, pairing, review, tasting, Wine
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Special Delivery
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
I have plenty of experience ordering food from Hickory Farms, Omaha Steaks, and Honey Baked Ham (almost every Thanksgiving), but have you ever had seafood delivered to your door? I’ll admit, I’ve always been a little skeptical, but this past weekend definitely changed my mind a little bit.
My girlfriends parents ordered the Alaskan King crab from Alaska Harvest, and they were phenomenal. I didn’t know it at the time, but Red King Crab is supposed to be the top of the line, and after eating a few legs dipped in the golden drawn butter… mmm mm mmm … I can certainly understand where they get their reputation.
Just in case you were wondering, the meal was paired with Domaine Chatelain Chablis, which costs about $20 at your local wine store. The Chablis, which is a type of Chardonnay, was very light and crisp, which went well with the buttery crab leg goodness.
Tags: Chablis, delivery, dinner, Food, pairing
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The Grape – getting it right. Restaurant 2.0
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007
Jake and Greg were at The Grape this last weekend, and over the past year or so in our brainstorms The Grape has come up time and again as a place that just gets it. Take for example their wine list and wine food recommendations – which is perhaps the first time I’ve ever seen a wine list that makes sense.
We know how different Shiraz can show, that Sauvignon Blanc rarely has the same face region to region and that Pinot Grigio doesn’t always go well with food – and a restaurant/ bar does its clientèle no favors by just dividing wine into Red and White, or they divide it into countries – and the emerging trend is to divide it into varietals.
The Grape does something unheard of to date: they divide their wine into taste. More than that they then give you a taste profile match on their menu, dish by dish. I have probably sampled less than a thousand wines in my life – and I certainly don’t remember all the names because I’m no Michael Broadbent. When I’m looking at a wine, I want to know its taste flavor profile – and if I’m paying $20 a bottle, I’ll be pretty ticked if its not what I want. This kind of a menu system is helpful to anyone… I know because when I’m out to dinner with friends they always ask me to help pick the wine: but The Grape allows people to choose the wine for themselves. What I further like about The Grape is that its more than a restaurant – because their venues are usually really good places to just hang out. It’s a destination brand – allowing dining, entertainment, exploration and with their innovative wine list: education. It’s really refreshing to see a mainstream brand that has begun to take its customer’s taste seriously.
allows you to design your own tasting flight of three or more wines from our One through Eight Grape classifications and from our Nine and Ten Grape specials. Choose from all wines with a “Grape Bunch†designation in our wine menu to create your unique tasting flight, served in our special glasses for your ultimate tasting experience. At The Grape, Your Taste is All that Counts.”
Tags: Atlanta, Food, pairing, restaurant
Posted in Culture, Design, Dining, Food, Lifestyle, Marketing, Wine | View Comments
Blind Waiters in a World of Sensual Elevation
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
My wife and I recently went to Dans Le Noir – London’s first restaurant in the dark, started after the success of it’s parent restaurant in Paris. Seeing as the restaurant only seats 60 people, you need to book pretty well in advance to get a place (there are three sitting for dinner a night), but once you do – it’s an experience you’re not likely to forget. Upon arriving you are in a lit cocktail lounge where you can enjoy a drink and look at the menu and order your meal. My wife and I both chose the ‘surprise menu’ where you are not told what you will be eating. Deciding to at least have some choice in the matter, we ordered the 2003 Chablis ‘St. Martin’ white Burgundy, and our blind waiter led us to our table.
Tags: Food, pairing, restaurant
Posted in Art, Culture, Dining, Food, Wine | View Comments
The Slanted Door – Appetizer
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
On the Friday of Wine 2.0 we decided to treat ourselves and head to The Slanted Door. We had intended, naively, to go for supper – only to find that it was booked out for two weeks straight. As we walked in with the last of the luncheoners, we were able to wangle a seat – which immediately called for a miniature celebration in the form of two classic Austrian wines.
For Greg it was the Gruner Vetline Shmelz, and for myself I chose the Csersgezi Fuszeres, Hill Top. Both were smooth, floral, off-dry and crisp – perfect for an afternoon lunch, especially seeing as we had a conference to go to. A wine conference it may have been – but a conference none-the-less.
Crispy Imperial Rolls with *shrimp, pork and glass noodles* Amazing, we got this starter to share, and we were served five of the little suckers on a plate. The only thing better than a novel food – is a novel way of consuming food. Hence my personal preference to eating with chopsticks at restaurants; hand making tortillas; enjoying Mongolian stir-fries; eating Indian or Persian food with my bare hands; the occasional shot of tequila and of course – shucking oysters straight from the rock and eating them with lemon, Tabasco and salt. It’s all about the process and trying to make it all more tactile – and for being a day-to-day knife and fork person, any food or process that breaks the norm is a welcome addition to my repertoire.
We photographed the process of eating the crispy imperial roll which involves:
1. laying out a piece of lettuce
2. placing a piece of mint on the lettuce
3. adding a lump of noodles on top
4. inserting the Crispy Imperial Roll
5. rolling it all into a consumable ball
6. dipping it into the teriyaki and plumb sauce
7. stuffing it all into your mouth and rolling your eyes back into your head because its just so good.
The Slanted Door is an incredibly popular restaurant in San Francisco and they only use organic produce and ecologically farmed meat. It’s nice to see people’s taste buds moving in the right direction.
Tags: Food, pairing, restaurant
Posted in Dining, Food | View Comments
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