Guadeloupe (French West Indies), Chalone Vineyards RIP?

Guadeloupe

Just returned from Guadeloupe, a fairly big island in the French West Indies. It is between Dominica to the south and Antigua to the north. We flew from JFK on Norwegian Air. http://www.norwegian.com/us Norwegian Air is a low cost airline that is actually quite a large airline with around 100 planes. A few months ago they started nonstop service from JFK, BWI and Boston to Guadeloupe and Martinique. The fares are very reasonable; they vary by day but you can easily get a $300 round trip fare.

The plane was a new 737 -900. All seats are the same, no first class or premium economy. The flights were on time and service was good. You pay for everything including water, which I think is over the top), but prices are not too bad.

JFK was easier to use than expected. We used long term parking which was easy to get to off the Belt Parkway. We parked about 100 yards from the train station for the train to the terminal. The train is free and runs frequently. It was about a 15 minuter ride to the terminal. The train stops at all terminals. It is also possible to use the train to go to the NYC subway or the LIRR. The terminal was new and modern and check in was easy. Norwegian Air also flies to Europe from JFK and the fares are good.

Guadeloupe is a great island. There are several smaller islands nearby Les Saintes and Marie Galante It is basically unknown to Americans because historically it has been hard to get there.  In addition there are no chain hotels there. We stayed at a Club Med. The island has about a half million people and is in the shape of a butterfly. One side is called Basse Terre and the other Grande Terre. The capital is Pointe a Pitre. There is not very much good and updated info on the island.There is a pretty good website http://www.guadeloupe-islands.com/guadeloupe-islands-2/

Grande Terre is flat and has most of the hotels. BasseTerre has a volcano, rain forest, big waterfalls (Carbet) and the Jacques Cousteau Marine Reserve. They grow lots of food on the island so the food is quite interesting with a strong Creole/ French flavor. Lots of fruits including passionfruit, my fav.

I had been to Guadeloupe 3 previous times. We had stayed at the Club Med with our  kids about 15 years ago and we had enjoyed our stay. We subsequently tried the Club Med in the Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and hated it.We had been all over the island on previous trips. When I read about the new flights I looked into going again. Club Med had a good deal so we booked a 5 night trip.

The view from our room.

The beach at the Club Med is beautiful. Great swimming, good shade with lots of palm trees and lots of chairs. There is also a beach bar and lots of water sports. The weather was great.

The Club Med from the water. 

The bar.

Food at the small reservation only restaurant at Club Med. We had the lobster dinner for 2 for 99 Euros. It included a glass of Champagne each. The lobster was very good.

I played tennis with one of the members of the band. They had a great beat.

The market in St Anne the town near the Club Med. We walked to the town.

The dining room.

We took a catamaran trip to Marie Gallante. It was about a 2 hour ride. We then took a bus around the island. We visited the Pere Labat distillery where they make Rhum Agricole. Rhum Agricole is made from sugar. Apparently most rum is made from molasses.

This place makes cookies from manioc, a type of root. The cookies were good but not especially distinctive.

We returned to Guadeloupe but first the boat stopped off the shore of a beach on Marie Gallante. We swam to shore. Just like the movies.

The food at the Club Med was good. Buffet dining with something for everyone. The wine choices of a red (cote du rhone) rose (cote du rhone) and white (who knows) were weak They did have an overpriced wine list. They had a young Somm. He was a nice guy but it views on wine were so classic old French.I asked about Beaujolais and he scoffed, saying that no one considers Beaujolais a respectable wine so he would never offer one on his wine list. Ironically at the manager's cocktail party he served a Cava??

They had good tennis and ping pong at the Club Med. I won the ping pong tourney, a quest that started 15 years ago.

The Club Med is very French, very few Americans go there. Most of the staff was very nice and tried to speak English. Some including the manager of the hotel, could care less about Americans. We enjoyed our stay.

Chalone Vineyards RIP?? An economic lesson.

As you might have deduced over time, I like Chalone wines. http://www.chalonevineyard.com/our-wines/collections/estate-wines I found out about Chalone about 20 years ago. They were one of the oldest wineries in California and they were made famous in one of the taste-offs against French wines. It is located in the Soledad Mountains about 1 hour from Carmel. They were a public company and I bought 100 shares. this entitled me to obtain their wine at a discount. The stock moved between $6 and $12 for years.  They also had a relationship with Chateau Lafite Rothchild which was a great bonus. We could buy Lafite wines at a discount.

Things were good and then about 10 years ago Chalone decided to sell itself to Lafite. The offer was about $12 which was a premium for the stock at that time. However some of the shareholders did not like the offer so they attempted to find other parties to buy the company. Diageo became interested and finally bought the company for around $14 a share.

Chalone has suffered since the purchase and I have noticed that their wine is not the same and it has become scarce. Anyway several months ago Diageo announced that it had sold most of its wineries to another company but that no one wanted Chalone. Apparently Chalone is now up for sale and I am not sure if they are even open anymore. The website does not seem to function.

The deal with Lafite would have been great. Lafite cares about wine. Diageo was a hard liquor company dabbling in wine. The dabbling is now over and they are dumping all the wineries that they bought over the years. They could care less about Chalone. Now Chalone is looking at an uncertain future. Greed on the part of the original shareholders led to a sale to the wrong party. This could be a Harvard Business School case study. Oh well.

Super Bowl time. Nachos and Wings.

Enjoy.

Ordering Food at a Restaurant

Special Orders Upset Us!

We went to the Chelsea Market in NYC recently. http://www.chelseamarket.com/. It is a collection of shops and food places in an indoor venue on 9th ave and 15th Street. We were exploring the market and got hungry. We found Dickson's Farmstand Meats http://chelseamarket.com/index.php/Shops/single_shops/dicksons-farmstand. This a butcher shop with trendy pretentiousness i.e. artisanal,grass fed, heritage. They have  a sandwich menu and I asked for the ham and cheese sandwich without mayo/mustard which  was standard, as my wife likes neither and mayo does not belong on a ham sandwich. They told me that the sandwiches are pre-made and they don't make them to order. Mind you, this is a shop with lots of butchers and people all over filling meat orders.

Anyway, I  declined to buy the sandwich and went to another shop, Num Pang sandwiches. My son was eating a sandwich there and said it was good. Num Pang is another trendy shop with all of the pretentious trappings. I went up to the window and ordered a brisket sandwich. The sandwiches are made to order. I asked for no hot sauce, because hot sauce was standard. My wife is allergic to hot peppers. I was told that they have a yogurt sauce. We did not want that either. I was then told that we had to have one of the sauces because the owner would not sell a sandwich without one of the sauces. I said no thanks.

We settled for a so-so slice of pizza from an Italian place in the market.

I bring this up because one of the top 5 restaurant in NYC is 11 Madison Park. It has a top rating from every food reviewer of repute. It is one of the top restaurants in the world. Current prix fixe meal is $295 per person. The New York Times had an article about the restaurant recently.11 Madison Park http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/dining/eleven-madison-park-menu.html?ref=dining has been adjusting it menu for the last few years and actually consults with patrons as to what they would like to eat and how they would like it prepared. Like any good restaurant they are concerned about allergies and ask people if they are allergic to specific ingredients.  

The article states:"Mr. Guidara and Mr. Humm said they want to foster the pleasures of conversation by reducing the number of interruptions from servers. Early in the meal, customers will talk with a waiter about what kind of menu rollout feels right, and dishes will emerge from the kitchen without a surplus of pedagogical explanation.
“It’s not about us just serving you the meal we think you should eat,” Mr. Guidara said."

What do you think about this; should you have some choice on how food you order is prepared?  I understand that as a cook I would like people to trust my taste and try my food. However if you know you hate peppers or brussel sprouts, should you be required to order them with food that you are ordering. This assumes that the offending ingredient is not cooked into dish.

Years ago when McDonald's came to the NY area they put mustard and ketchup on their burgers. Interestingly there are some areas of the country where mustard goes with burgers and some where ketchup goes with burgers. McDonald's quickly changed to ketchup only in the NY  area. You also might remember that Burger King advertised "special orders don't upset us" to position them against McDonald's which did not encourage special orders.

 What do you put on your hot dog, mustard or ketchup? Do you have a corned beef or pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard or white bread with mayo?

Just came back from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Will report on our trip shortly. We had a great time.

Enjoy!

Favorites of the year 2015

Everyone comes up with end of year lists so here is another one:

My favorites of the year. For details check previous posts.

Chinatown, NY -- Everything begins and ends in Chinatown in NYC. It has been expanding the last few years and there are loads of new places to try.Roast duck, dumplings and veggies. Try anyplace that strikes your fancy.

Hamilton - The is musical on Broadway is a must see. Exhilarating!

The Public Theater in NYC -- They have developed some amazing plays this year, not to  mention Hamilton.

Lisbon- This city is fun, affordable and accessible. Check it out.

Portuguese wine - They are so cheap that is it embarrassing. It is usually hard to find good, inexpensive white wines. Portugal is the place to find them. Try any wine that your local store may stock. They  are alot better than cheap swill from California.

The Borgata in Atlantic City -- Great food, excellent wine lists and close to beautiful beaches. Check out Brigantine.

Taylor Mac -- An original. Check him out if he appears near where you live.

Maui-- Go! Don't spend lots of money. Stay in Hana or rent a condo in Kaanapali.

New Foodie destination-- Hana, Maui. You heard it here first. Food trucks, pop up Thai restaurants and pizza in the jungle, what more could you want?

Wines -  Cru Beaujolais, Bordeaux and Champagne, France has it all. If a wine says Champagne and France on the label it almost surely will be good. The Wine Spectator stats show that about 90% of Champagnes get rated 90 or above.

Domaine Drouhin, Oregon -- If you have not tried their wines, you are missing out. Worth the splurge.

Chocolate - Debrands, Jacques Torres and Maison du Chocolat, perfect. They all do mail order.

Not cooking this year for Christmas but will be making a big dinner on the day after. Dessert will be Montclair Bread doughnuts, Jacques Torres chocolate and the wine will be a 2012 Chateau Haut Bergey, which I really want to try. Around $22. In a top vintage like 2010 it will sell for $40.

Book- Everyone should read Phillip Roth's American Pastoral. It is a book that resonates today.

Bakery - Montclair Bread; ancient grains bread and doughnuts.

Pet Peeve of the year -- 90 point scores of wine. Today, every store says that their wines have 90 point scores. There are so many publications and organizations that rate wine today that the 90 point scores are meaningless. Check for scores from people that you trust, just like you would for other things that you purchase. I trust the Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Vinous but even these publications have weaknesses on their staff.

This year we will continue our New Year's Eve tradition of getting a Peking duck and dumplings in Chinatown, NYC. Champagne, probably a Blanc de Blanc (100% Chardonnay), and Italian pastries from Ferrara Bakery in NYC, what more could you want?

Have a Happy New Year!

Hir; Eclipsed; Chinatown, NY, Street Eats at The Borgata

What Millennials Drink

Lettie Teague wrote an interesting article recently in the WSJ http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-millennials-are-changing-wine-1446748945
Have you noticed that these days wine is sold by "the story". Wine merchants tell you about the winemaker, the land, the region; everything except the wine! Two things are at work here, first, people like to think that what they are buying is special and unique and second, it appears that "good by association" the opposite of "guilt by association" is at work. If the winemaker has some affiliation with a top winery or the vineyards border good vineyards then a wine must be good.

I am more of a traditionalist. I want a wine from a winery that has some history of producing good wines. I love to experiment but I am not looking for a small "boutique winery" that makes a small amount of reasonably priced wine that I can be one of the "few" to own. I am interested in finding good wine not status or pretty labels.

I find the same is true for "craft beers. Just because someone make a small amount of beer, does not make it good. Lots of people cook but there are very few people that I know that can produce good food.

A good example of wines that I enjoy are wines from Beaujolais. The region is making a small comeback. However is has not become trendy. Cru Beaujolais(wines from distinct towns in the regions such as Morgon and Fleurie) are excellent wines and are reasonably priced. You can purchase top of the line wines for $16 to $30. I visited the region a few years ago. (see my post about Lyon and Beaujolais) Some good producers are Chateau de la Chaize, Brun, Dubeouf (he makes some good wines). 2011  and 2014 produced some very good wines but good producers make good wines in most vintages.

Eclipsed

We saw Eclipsed at the Public Theater in NYC. The play stars Lupita Nyong'o. The play is now moving to Broadway. http://eclipsedbroadway.com/?gclid=CjwKEAiA7MWyBRDpi5TFqqmm6hMSJAD6GLeA6AAlUmVl4_bpfvNIkU2kc3ljYF8wm3P2GjEMPZX5ZxoC7n7w_wcB The play is about women during the recent Liberian civil war. The play has gotten raves. We enjoyed the play, the acting is very good but it is not a must see. Not sure if a "small" play like this will be effective in a Broadway theater.

We walked down to Chinatown afterwards. Just follow Mulberry Street for a food tour. We found a restaurant Shanghai Heping Restaurant at 104 Mott Street.We had steamed tiny buns with pork, $5, and steamed vegetable dumplings $4.95. The place is clean and the service was good. The dumplings were light, fresh and had great flavor. We also took home some more dumplings. I then went to NY Noodletown, the old reliable, for roast duck. I bought a whole duck for $20 and some ribs. Both were outstanding. I then bought assorted fresh veggies at the street stands. We then went to Ferrara's http://www.ferraranyc.com/ for dessert -rainbow cookies and some pastries. We brought it all home for a feast.

Hir

The week before we saw Hir http://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/hir/ at the Playwrights Horizons on 42nd street. Hir is written by Taylor Mac, a fav on ours. This play has also gotten great reviews and is about gender. If you love Sam Shepherd plays you might love this. The acting is great but we were not overly impressed. Taylor Mac is a better performer than writer. Think a Woody Allen movie without Woody.

After this play we went to Chinatown and Little Italy again. We went to a restaurant called 456 on Mott Street for dumplings. They were good but not great. 456 has very good food, is nicely set out and is reasonably priced. I would encourage you to experiment in Chinatown as there are many good places to eat.

Street Eats at the Borgata.

The Borgata in AC has a food weekend every year and we attended this year. On Saturday their main event is in the big event center and is centered on street food from all over the world. Each of the Borgata restaurants serve food at the event and Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck and Geoffrey Zakarian were in attendance. Bobby Flay gave a food demonstration.

 The fried quail.

 Some great chocolates.

 How to cook a steak.

 I like this beer and it is made in NJ.

 Desserts. They look better than they tasted.

 The Borgata does things first class. Everything was well organized and it was not overly crowded . There was a line for the food by Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck. The best thing of the evening was fried quail by someone not famous.

I have been trying lots of new wines lately. Nothing overly impressive.I did buy a few top Cru Beaujolais from  Astor Wine  http://www.astorwines.com/which is down the block from the Public Theater. They have a good selection of wines from all over and their prices are decent. They also deliver and your first purchase gets free delivery.

 Interestingly the 2006 Moet Champagne just received a 93 from the Wine Spectator. Will be trying it later this week. Moet is such a cliche but they can make some great Champagne. Dom Perignon is made by Moet.

Thanksgiving is coming up. Lots of good food and wine.

Enjoy.