Fort Wayne, Atlantic City, Nice Work If You Can Get It and the Flowers That Bloom In the Spring Tra La

Fort Wayne

Had a great meal at a friend's house in Fort Wayne. The menu was lobster salad, steaks, fingerling potatoes, string beans and key lime pie and citrus sorbet for dessert. I cooked everything except the steaks. We had beautiful night. It was warm enough to eat outside in March.

The wines were outstanding.

We drank:
Chalone 2007 Pinot Noir, California -- Year in and year out, I love this wine. The 07 is not the best but it a good fruity, spicy and complex Pinot Noir.
Chalone 2008 Chardonnay, California-- Same about this wine. The 07 and 08 vintages are great. The oak is beautifully integrated with the fruit. I usually do not like oaky wines.
Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir 2008, California --OK Pinot Noir. A little too fruity  for me.
BV Georges De Latour 2008 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, California-- An austere cabernet with nice fruit and structure. However a very expensive wine; not worth the price.
Nickel and Nickel Branding Iron 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, California. This wine was a winner. The
BV did not compare. Fruit, complexity and fun to drink.
Damilano Barolo, 2006 Piemonte. Don't drink Barolos with California Cabernet Sauvignons. Barolos are tannic and reflect the terroir of Piemonte. This wine was good but the fruit of the California wines made it hard to appreciate.

We finished the meal with Debrand chocolates. Perfection.

Atlantic City

 We went for a long weekend in Atlantic City. Stayed at the Borgata's Water Club. Very nice room with great view of Atlantic City. They have 2 indoor pools and I used the the one in the Spa on the 32nd floor. Swimming with a view!

We ate in Fornelletto, the Italian restaurant at the Borgata. http://www.theborgata.com/dine/fine-dining We shared a mixed salad, chicken breast Milanese with salad on top and fried calimari. Everything was freshly prepared and reasonably priced.

The wine list is good with many wines under $50. While $50 is cheap for a good restaurant, it still is alot of money to me. We ordered the cheapest red wine of the list, a Dolcetto d'Alba for $33. It was fruity and light. Perfect for the meal.

The next night, Monday, we ate at Izakaya, the Asian fusion restaurant at the Borgata.They have a special deal on Mondays with many small dishes for $7. Beer is $3.50 and wine by the glass for $7. We ordered small plates of salmon skewers, shrimp roll, mushroom dumplings, fried rice and baby back ribs. The food was yummy and we ordered the cheapest white wine on the list. $23. It was a Spanish white wine.

Again the wine was light and fruity.

We have always had very good meals at the Borgata. They seem to run lots of specials and the wine lists in the restaurants are huge and the typically have 50 wines under $50.

The Revel, a new casino on the Boardwalk, opened on one of the days we were at AC. It was a "soft opening". A very soft opening! The casino was open. Some restaurants were scheduled to open but the only food available was a taco truck in the hotel and a Belgian pizza restaurant with a limited menu. Go figure.

We left the Revel around lunch time because we were hungry. The hotel is beautiful and faces the ocean. It is the first AC hotel to actually try to incorporate the oceanfront into an advantage. Our first impression was not good. We did not feel welcome or any feeling of hospitality. Cold, sterile and no one really seemed to care except the guys making sure you paid $5 to park. Can't we have free parking for a "soft opening".

One of the stores at the Water Club is a wine shop with machines to allow wine tastings. For $3 I tried the Hall California Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. It tasted good. Fruit and structure. It sold for $40 a bottle ,which seemed reasonable. My wife tried another 09 Bordeaux, which we liked.

Nice Work If You Can Get It

A new/ old musical on Broadway, Nice Work If You Can Get It is in previews at the Imperial Theater. We saw it and enjoyed it. Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Broderick star. She is fabulous and he fits the role perfectly. The play is new but the songs are vintage Gershwin. Lots of dance numbers as the director Kathleen Marshall is also the choreographer. The play is funny; the music great. Let's see what the critics say.

We ate at Don Antonio on 50st between 8th and 9th Avenues. A new, small, trendy pizza spot with fried pizza dough as an option. Prices were reasonable, service good and we enjoyed the pizza. The fried pizza is a bit greasy but we also had a pizza stuffed with prosciutto, artichokes and warm salad.They had good wines by the glass. We had a Montipulicano d'Abruzzi and a Piemonte Nebbiolo. The Montipulciano was better.

Wines of the Week

Di Majo Norante Aglinico Molise Conterno Reserva 2009 $13 - Good southern Italian red wine. Mostly merlot and very good.

Pinot Blanc 2007 Chalone  $5 (great deal)- Another Chalone wine that I like alot. Oak and fruit well integrated. This wine has a little age to it which made it even better.

Orvieto La Carraia 2010 $8 Italy-- Nice light white wine with some structure.

Chateau Mylord 2009 Bordeaux $11. Another good merlot predominate 09 Bordeaux. Enjoyed.

Farming

I have started my garden in March due to the early spring. Started with Kohlrabi, kale, lettuce, sage, Japanese eggplant, carrots, cantaloupes, zucchini, cabbage and walla walla onions.I have started about 2 months early. Will see what happens.

Enjoy!