09 Bordeaux; Baltimore; Atlantic City; Gardening

09 Bordeaux

I have been on an 09 Bordeaux tasting spree. Check out my notes.
In the last 2  weeks I have tasted:

Chateau Devise D' Ardilley
Chateau Retout
Chateau Ferret Lambert
Chateau Tour St Bonnet
Chateau L Argenteyre
Chateau Coudraire
Chateau Les Grand Marechaux
Chateau La Cardonne
https://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?Table=Notes&iUserOverride=215105&HideNullNote=0&T=1000
All are under $20. All were good, several excellent.

Dallas

Had the opportunity to eat at Bob's Steak and Chophouse www.bobs-steakandchop.com The food was very good. They have pickles in a jar on the table and they have a cooked carrot on your plate with steak. We had Ruffino Modus 2006, a sangiovese blend and a Chateau St Jean Belle Terre chardonnay. Both wines were very good.

Baltimore

I was down in Baltimore for the Preakness and had the opportunity to have some crab cakes and drink some interesting wine. I set up a tasting and we drank Chateau D' Ardilley, Chateau Retout and the Mondavi Oakville cabernet sauvignon. All wines of from 2009. I enjoyed all of the wines and being able to compare them was a treat. The 2 Bordeaux wines were mostly cabernet so the comparison was interesting. I found the Boredeaux wines to have more complexity. A shoutout to the Renaissance Hotel at the inner harbour. We tasted our wines in their bar overlooking the harbor.

Had lunch at the Baltimore Lexington Market at a place that specializes in crab cakes. Faidley's Seafood. It was good but not great. The ambiance at the market made the meal. faidleyscrabcakes.com

For dinner had a Barbaresco and the Conn Anthology 2007. The Conn was OK. It is a cabernet blend. The Barbaresco was a Marchesi D Barolo 2007. It too was OK. Maybe I wasn't in the mood after the wine tasting.

Atlantic City

The Borgata beckoned again so off we went for a  night at the Water Club. We actually did not lose money gambling. We went over to the Revel and ate dinner at Amada, the new top of the line restaurant Jose Garces the Philly chef and restauranteur.http://www.revelresorts.com/dining/signature/amada  The restaurant had been open for 6 weeks so it should have been up to speed. It is a Spanish themed place with Tapas as the main feature. We ordered the typical tapas. The potatos, clams and chorizo, black cod, chickpeas and spinach and ham croquettes. The wine list is very expensive even by AC standards as the cheapest bottle was $38. We ordered wine by the glass. My wine was a Spanish mencia grape blend and I sent it back. My wife had a Ribuera Del Duoro and then I ordered it as well. It was Ok and about $10 a glass.
The service was very slow and our cod did not seem to want to appear. After asking several times it was brought out and it was not good. It did not seem freshly cooked. We did not eat it. The manager came over and did not charge us; also bought us a dessert. It was a very nice gesture. The restaurant was beautiful as it overlooks the boardwalk about 6 stories up. It was a weirdly foggy evening and our view was fascinating.
I have been to the original Amada in Philly and was not overally impressed there. For tapas try Seville or there are a few places in NYC that are very good.Tia Pol tiapol.com
The Revel has improved a little since it first day but I think it still has a long way to go. The other fancy restaurants look to have boring menus. Marc Forgione has a steakhouse, oh well.

Restaurant Alert

If you live near White Plains, NY try Grace's Table graces-table.com My friend has opened up this restaurant and he is the chef. It has already received excellent reviews. I have not tried it yet.

Anguilla

I am off to Anguilla again. Will report back.

Wine of the week

Bila Haut 2010 $12 Southwest FranceM. Chapoutier Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Vignes de Bila-Haut (France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages). Great Rhone like blend. Parker went bonkers over it and it is a very good and reasonably priced wine. Check it out.

Gardening

My garden is starting out nicely. I keep adding plants.

I have been harvesting kale, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce and mesclun lettuce.

BTW the Summit, NJ farmers market is open again. I bought sugar snap peas, shitake mushrooms, spinach, radishes, cucumbers, clams, flounder, scallops, strawberries and peas. Peas were the big bargain at $2 per pound. Summer is here and my fish withdrawal pains are over.

Enjoy June. Drink wine, enjoy  food and travel!