The Finger Lakes region of New York state is producing some of the best value wines that I have tasted in a while. I have tried wines from 3 wineries over the last few months and all the wines have been quite good.
Dr Konstantin Frank http://www.drfrankwines.com/ I have tried their dry and semi dry Rieslings. They cost around $11 and are easily available. Costco and the Wine Library carry them.
Ravines Wine Cellars http://www.ravineswine.com/ I have tried their dry Riesling 2016 and it was great. Dry but with a hint honey that some great German Rieslings have. Around $14. I have seen their wine at the Wine Library.
Anthony Road Wine Company http://www.anthonyroadwine.com/ We were at the Union Square farmers market in Manhattan and happened upon a stand for this winery. We tried their rose of Cabernet Franc and their dry Riesling. The rose was $10 at the stand the Riesling around $16. The rose was a robust wine not an innocuous rose. We enjoyed it. I have found their wine in Wegmans.
Each of these wineries make a number of other wines that I have not tried. The Finger Lakes region is on my list of wine areas to visit.
The Finger Lakes are in upstate NY
Austin, Texas
I had the opportunity to try some restaurants in Austin, Texas recently. Good food is all over but you need to get away from the main convention and hotel area near the JW Marriott.
Austin is the midst of an motorized scooter craze. Scooters are everywhere. They are left on sidewalks all over town. You download an app and set up a rental account and go. Apparently they can be dangerous for all as people ride them on sidewalks and streets. The ingenious part is that you get paid for charging them. People drive around in pickup trucks all night picking up scooters to charge.
Suerte https://www.suerteatx.com/menus/ Refined Mexican food in a trendy garage space. Excellent service and a very good wine list. The prices are also very reasonable. The restaurant has been discovered and may be hard to obtain a reservation.
We had an 11 course chefs menu that was $45 per person.It include Goat Barbacoa which all agreed was the best goat we had ever tasted.
The food was very good and I could appreciate the little touches and the ingredients. The service is top notch. Good wine glasses. However the food was not yummy but it was tasty. Would not want to eat there very often. The wines were great . The had a great Bordeaux Chateau Carboneaux for a very reasonable.
Cochinita Pibil Molotes
Odd Duck https://oddduckaustin.com/food-drink This is another restaurant that does small plates. Prices scan add up as you eat. The food was good, not great . Lots of interesting ingredients but I find that chefs many time try to overwhelm with ingredients without a real focus for the dish being served. Decent wines by the glass. Trendy space with a good vibe.
Shrimp.
Nachos
Peach cobbler, the peaches were not ripe.
Terry Black's Barbecue. https://www.terryblacksbbq.com/This place was good. We ordered meat by the pound and we ate more than I could believe. Turkey, brisket, beef rib and sausage. The turkey and brisket were great. The beef rib and sausage were good. The sides were the usual - cole slaw, potato salad, corn bread, pecan pie- and nothing special. Beer by the bottle. Eat on picnic tables. Reasonable prices. A good spot for Barbecue.
Metropolitan Museum
I am on a Delacroix high. We saw a great exhibit at the Louvre in Paris in June and now that exhibit, minus a few paintings, has come to the Met in NYC.
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2018/delacroix Delacroix was the bridge between classical painting and the Impressionists.Do not miss it. It is here until January.
Hint: the first weekend of each month admission is free if you have a Bank of America credit or debit card.Go! Remember Hamilton.
Tis the season for apples. Hence my apple kuchen. Cake, apples with a nut, struesel topping. If you would like the recipe, let me know. Use mutsu aka crispin apples if you can find them.
Enjoy.
