April Showers bring May Flowers

The Wall Street Journal Weekend edition has a wine column written alternately by Lettie Teague and Jay McInerney. They are usually interesting. This Saturday's column by Ms Teague http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303916904577376161929250858.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5 is exactly what is right and wrong with wine writing these days. Her article is about German Rieslings. It highlights the difficulties of classifying Riesling wines. However her explanations of the terminology for German wines is confusing, if not misleading but the article is interesting an hopefully will convince more people to try German Rieslings.

However the main point that I take from the article is that one should not choose their wine by the grape variety but by the geographical area of where the grape variety is grown. For example New Jersey and New York can produce some good Rieslings but they can be very different from the Rieslings of Germany or Oregon. This week try a Syrah from California. They can be very good and are reasonably priced these days since it is not a popular wine. However Syrah is a major grape in wines from the Rhone Valley in France which are very popular.

Charleston

Recently had a chance to go to Charleston, South Carolina. Had dinner at a restaurant called Fig. http://eatatfig.com/This restaurant has received many excellent reviews. We ate at the bar. The food was pretentious and not very good.

The first dish was breast of beef with vegetables and some broth. The beef was fatty almost inedible. Not sure what the purpose of the dish was. It was highly recommended by our server the bartender. Not like me to follow a waiter's recommendation but this time I did.

The second dish was a fish stew that was OK but nothing special and you can see the presentation was silly. Hard to eat and did not showcase the fish under the mussels.

The wine list was overpriced so we ordered the cheapest bottle. When in doubt always order the cheapest bottle on an overpriced but decent wine list. Sure enough the wine was good. I did some checking on my Robert Parker phone app but we enjoyed the wine.

2009 Ponce Clos Lojen Bobal from Spain. It was a solid  and fruity wine. It was about $35 in the restaurant and it retails  for about $17.

Also had a chance to snack a the Bar at Husk. Everything was local and we had southern ham that was like serrano ham from Spain and we had a cheese plate with cheeses from Georgia. I had a local beer with the food. Everything was excellent.http://huskrestaurant.com/

Wines of the Week
It has been a busy few weeks for wines. On reviewing my list, we have been drinking very eclectic wines with mixed results.

I am trying a new approach to my wine review. I enter the wine reviews into Cellartracker. Cellartracker has detailed information on all wines and it also allows you to cross reference other people's review as well as professional reviews. The link below brings you to my notes on the wines that I have tasted. Let me know how this works.
https://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?Table=Notes&iUserOverride=215105&HideNullNote=0

Montgras Reserva 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Chile--
Patriota Tikal 2009 Argentina --
Sterling 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
2010 Cantina Convento Muri-Gries Lagrein Alto Adige - Südtirol
Kim Crawford 2011 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Ondarre Mayor Reserva 2004 Spain
Kila Cava 2008 Spain
Ferrari Carrano 2007 Chardonnay
Productori Di Barbaresco Barbaresco 2007
Chalone 2006 Pinot Noir Estate
Chateau Haut Barrail 2009 Bordeaux
Barbera D Asti Les Ormes Michele Chiarlo 2009
La Foret Des Dames Sancerre 2011
Orlando Abrigo Nebbiolo 2008
Crios Torrontes Argentina 2011 Note that this wine was a major disappointment. I have had this vintage previously and it was good. Maybe a bad bottle.
Crios Rose Argentina 2011 Note this wine was a major disappointment. Not worth drinking. I have had previous vintages and they were much better.
Cotes Du Rhone Cypress Cuvee Kermit Lynch 2009

My garden is growing nicely. More details soon.

Enjoy Mother's Day. Surprise Mom with a new and different wine. Have her favorite wine in reserve since it is Mother's Day.

Enjoy.

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!

Springtime; 2009 Bordeaux; Washington DC

2009 Bordeaux

As much as I tell myself to slow down on wine buying, I can't resist certain wines. I went to Costco last week and bought several wines. There are only 2 Costcos in NJ that sell wine and the are not the closest Costcos to me. Thus my trips are infrequent.

I bought a 2008 Hall Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $37. The WA 95 rating intrigued me. I also purchased the 2011 Crios Torrontes $9.50, a favorite wine at a good price and 2 bottles of Chateau La Verriere 2009 Bordeaux $9.50.

Robert Parker came out recently with his bottle review of the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux. He rates the vintage as the best ever and has given very high ratings to many wines. Is this reality or hype? In a video Parker strongly defended his reviews.

I have tasted several 09 Bordeaux wines and I have a feeling that Parker is correct. The La Verriere from Costco was very good and I don't believe that this wine has shown up on anyone's radar screen.  Try some 09 Bordeaux. Prices for the tops wines are crazy high but I have started to see a number of recommended wines for under $25. The wines are for everyday drinking as well as for special occasions. They are good to drink now or can be cellared. They have a nice balance between fruit and tannin.

As a reminder, wines from Bordeaux are blends of grapes. Some have more Merlot and some have more Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc is  also used to blend and some wines are all Cabernet Franc. The wine blends tend to follow Bordeaux regions. St Emillion wines are usually Merlot based. Cabernet Sauvignon based wines come from other areas.

Washington DC

I had the opportunity to be in Washington DC last week. Had lunch at a meatball place. Clever operation. Pick a meatball and pick how you want to eat it. I had Italian meatballs on a roll with sauce. Classic and it hit the spot.

7th street near the Verizon Center is the new in spot. Lots of restaurants and other interesting shops. Also had the opportunity to eat at Zaytinya. Zaytinya.com The is a Middle Eastern restaurant serving small plates. It is trendy, reasonably priced and the food is good. We had stuffed eggplant, fried mussels, spinach pie, veal breast souvlaki and lamb kabobs. Everything was good but the fried mussels were excellent if you like that type of food. Crisp outside and moist and flavorable inside.

I also went to Zola Wine and Kitchen zoladc.com They had a wine tasting in the wine shop part of the store. I tasted several Duval Leroy champagnes. There was their regular cuvee, the 2004 vintage champagne and a demi-sec. All were very good but the vintage champagne stood out. It sells for about $60. I did not eat there but they have some interesting and reasonable food for lunch. Zola is a more formal restaurant a block away.

I also had the opportunity to go to Hanks Oyster Bar hanksoysterbar.com. This is another trendy restaurant with a little funk to it. Food is very reasonable and you can eat outside or inside. We were seated inside. The food came quickly and we had a lobster roll and fried oysters. Also had some onion rings and some local beer. As for dessert, well? I asked the waiter what they had for dessert and he said chocolate. I asked chocolate what and he said chocolate. He then explained that they do not have dessert. I said what is the point of eating without dessert.  As he brought the check he gave us a small dish of chocolate chunks. Not sure if he was being nice or if this is given to everyone.

Wines

Chablis Domaine De Maligny 06 $15 An older white wine. It was very good. Try an older white wine and let me know.

Fireblock Dry Riesling $12 My wife loves this wine. I enjoyed it.

 Jade Mountain Syrah 2003 Paras Vineyard Love this wine.

La Carraia Sangiovese 2009 $11. A well priced good chianti- like wine. Enjoyed.

Mirafiore Barolo $27 07 A good Barolo. Needs time but enjoyed immensely.

Anum Cara Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 $30 Really loved this wine. Lots of fruit but well balanced.

Michele Chiarlo Barber D Asti Superiore Le Orme $10 Enjoyed. Wine highly recommended by Wine Spectator as a top Piemonte value. I agree. Not a fruit bomb;  good wine.

Edna Valley Vindeyard 2006 Syrah Paragon $6 Love this wine. Try a syrah. I got a bargain on this wine.

Alba Estate Chambourcin 2008 $16 New Jersey We enjoyed this wine. Somewhat tart but it has clean flavor and went nicely with chicken. Alcohol content was around 12%. Way to go New Jersey.

Virginia viognier. My friend brought over 2 Virginia wines. The viognier was light fruity and nice to drink. The Cabernet Franc was forgettable. Not sure of the vineyards.

Luigi Pira Margheria 2006 Barolo $32. Big wine and very tannin. I really love Barolos. This wine can evolve for years.

Ferrari Carano Prevail  West Face; California 2005 half bottle $9 I got a very good price on this.The wine has not aged well. Grapey with lots of sediment. I have a few more bottles. We will see.

Recipe of the week

2 thin pork chops bone in center cut.
1/2 cup bread crumbs mixed with 1 tblspn olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon organo
Press chops into the breadcrumb mixture
Saute chops in some olive oil turn several times in a non stick frying pan until done about 8-10 minutes
Serve with warm potato salad
Microwave some Yukon Gold potatos until done; slice
Add potatoes to non stick pan, add olive oil and sushi vinegar (vinegar with sugar in it)
Add some sliced scallions.

If you need more details let me know. Be creative.

Enjoy.

President's Day Weekend

Grreat Weekend. Friday night made veal scallopine with baked clams and sauteed shrimp. We drank the Chalone 2006 Pinot Noir Estate, one of my favorite wines.

Saturday we went to NYC and saw How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel. It won the Pulitzer Prize about 15 years ago. We saw it at the Second Stage's theater on 43rd street. It stars Norbert Leo Butz who is one our favorite actors. Check him out if you get a chance. He was just in Catch Me if You Can on Broadway and won a Tony.

Anyway, How I Learned to Drive was OK. Norbert was great but wasted in this play. The man can sing, dance and has a comic gift. Oh well.

For lunch we went to Amy's Bread and had sandwiches -1) tuna and 2)brie with apples and ham. We also bought 3 cupcakes and an oatmeal ,pecan, raisin bread. Everything was excellent and it all cost $20. Amy's is at 46th street and ninth ave.

We had dinner at home. Saturday night in NYC is not for me. I made salmon in a sauce. Saute leek, shallots and ginger in olive oil. Julienne zucchini and add to the mix. Then add white wine and cook down. Add some cream and saffron and some chopped tomatoes. Add anything that will add intensity to the mixture. The cut up salmon fillet into 1 inch wide strips and take off the skin. Poach in the sauce for about 6-8 minutes. I also added some chopped snow pea pods. Serve over linguine. Add  parmigiano cheese if you like even if this may not be Italian. One of my wife's favorite meals. For dessert we shared one of Amys' chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting.

We drank a Rosenblum Rousanne 2007 Fess Parker Vineyard. California. A white wine. It was a revelation. Fragrant with some acid. Not sweet. Tasted like a dessert wine that was not sweet. It had some weight to it. It went great with the Salmon. Rousanne is usually a grape used to blend wines of the Rhone.

Sunday we went to the Food and Wine Weekend at Alba Vineyards in Milford, NJ.albavineyard.com Milford is in central NJ near the Delaware River. Not much around there and GPS is not very accurate out there. The winery is in the Musconetcong River Valley and is quite pretty. For $15 each we got a commemorating glass and entre to the wine tasting and food tasting. It was very crowded but it was a beautiful day for mid February in NJ. I tasted many of the their wines. All wines were Alba wines although several of the wines were not from grapes grown in NJ. I ignored those wines. They make from NJ grapes a Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Dry Riesling, Chambourcin (an east coast grape that I had never tasted), and a Cabernet Franc. They also make some dessert and other fruit based wines which we did not try.

The Dry Riesling was good and we bought a bottle. The Pinot Noir was OK. I liked the cabernet Franc, which can be very hard to make. The Chambourcin was also very good and we bought a bottle. Still not sure how it will drink over an entire bottle.

The only problem with the Alba wines is the price. The are pricey. The Chambourcin was about $14 and the Dry Riesling was about $16. The Pinot Noir $20 and the Cabernet Franc $25.

We took a tour of the winery and it was fascinating. The person in charge of the winery operations and farm lead the tour. They hand prune all vines. It is a 10 month a year job. They have about 100  acres with vines. They have put alot of money into the venture. They have a full time winemaker. They use only french oak barrels for the wine and they have their own bottling machine. We were very impressed. They still need to get some more age on their vines.

Obviously the weather in NJ is an issue. Rain is a bigger problem than sun so they prune accordingly. They want to produce all of the great grapes of the world. It is a work in progress. The wines that we liked have done better in the Northeast than the more traditional vinafera grape types. Apparently 2010 was a great year weather wise. Only the white wines from that year were available. The chardonnay did not impress. The oak was somewhat bitter. I would rather see a more Chablis type wine.

They also had someone from Bobolink Farm at the event. Diane Pindar from Donna Toscana (Donna & Company) was also there. Bobolink is a really cool operation also in Milford. They sell food at farmers markets and at their farm. cowsoutside.com Very good cheese and bread. They also sell beef and pork and give baking and cheese making classes. Their cheeses are good but I must say that 3 of the 5 cheeses available were what I would describe as extreme cheeses. Tastes and smells way too much for my taste. I bought their mild cheese and it is pungent. Again prices are an issue. The cheeses are $24 per pound and the bread is not cheap. They had a number of breads. They are very dense, flavorful and will not go stale. We bought their rustic bread.

I must once again sing the praises of Diane and her chocolates. She has as innate knack for combining flavors and is continuing to expand her repertoire. The box of chocolates that we bought included strawberry mint,espresso lemon, caramel balsamic, banana, olive oil and sea salt, lemon Basil and chestnut nutmeg among others. Her chocolate is definitely worth the price.

We went home and I made quails stuffed with cous cous, sausage and fruits. It is a wonderful dish created by Pierre Franey. As you may remember Pierre Franey is one of my food heroes. He died several years ago. The recipe is simple, elegant and fantastic. Cumin, cinnamon, garlic, shallots and other great flavors. It takes about 35 minutes to make. For dessert we shared another of Amy's cupcakes.

With this meal we had a 2003 Chateau Haut Gardere. $19 This a Bordeaux and I bought it a few years ago and have a few more bottles remaining. It was OK .We like Bordeaux wines and this one is from Pessac Leognan. The wine is Cabernet Sauvignon based. It did not sing but we enjoyed. I keep hoping that each bottle of the wine that I open will have that something extra quality but not this time.

BTW 2009  Bordeaux's are appearing everywhere and the vintage is getting raves from everyone. The latest Wine Spectator is all about the vintage. I have had a few of the wines and they are good. I am also seeing some excellent potential buys for under $25 and some as low as $15. Check them out.

If you get a chance, see the movie A Separation.(Iranian and with subtitles) Let me know what you think.

Also tried Cal Siscon 2004 Old Vines; Montsant, Spain $11 40% Granacha, 20% Carinena, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. $11. Decent wine with nice fruit on the edge of getting old.

Enjoy.

Giants win Superbowl; Almost Valentine's Day and winter wine

Wines of the Week

Seghesio Barolo 2007 $25 Italy - Barolos are my new favorite wine especially 07. This wine needs more time and was somewhat disappointing. The fruit was masked by tannin.
Gruet Blanc Di Noir, New Mexico $12 -- Nice sparkling wine with strong bubbles when poured but quickly disappated. Flavor was good but I am not a fan of this wine. Wine Spectator loved it.
Summers Knights Valley Andrienna's Cuvee cabernet sauvignon 2007 $16 -- Nice cabernet bouquet, no depth, decent fruit but I found it oddly sour on the finish; We did not finish the bottle; Highly rated by the Wine Advocate.
Roccalini Barbaresco 2007 $29-- This was a Cindy deal. Loved this wine. Perfumed bouquet, great balance of fruit and tannin, just a great wine; it will develop even better over time.
Nicolas Potel Chambolle-Musigny 1 er Cru les Hauts- Doix 2006  Burgundy $20 I found this wine light, some bouquet, tannic and not impressive; Maybe I had to be more patient with it. It had terroir.
Condado Da Haza Ribuero Del Duero Spain 2006  Drank at a restaurant and really enjoyed it. It had good flavor, depth and nice mouth feel. We had 2 riojas before it and this wine impressed.
Crios Torrontes 2011 Argentina ; Susan Balbo winemaker; $11  White wine that was fruity, floral, not heavy but not watery, really enjoyed with fried fluke fresh from NJ. BTW since Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere the 2011 harvest is being sold.
Charles Smith 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington, Drank at restaurant, usually enjoy this wine but this bottle tasted flat, it had a chocolate taste which is something I don't usually say about a wine. it was OK.

Loved the Giants win over the Patriots. We had chicken wings, nachos and some interesting beers from all over.

Try to find some good chocolates for Valentine's Day. No Russell Stover, Godiva etc. If you can't find anything locally made, bake some brownies. Do you feel co-opted into doing something "romantic" on Valentine's Day. Do you feel that you must buy or receive overpriced roses? Just curious. My wife would be upset with me if I bought roses for Valentine's Day. I love flowers and buy them all of the time but I don't like being manipulated by the stores and the media.

We went to one of my favorite food places yesterday -- Delicious Orchards in Colts's Neck, NJ. deliciousorchardsnj.com We bought apple pie, brownies and apple crumb cake. Hit the Yum factor.

What are you doing for food on a plane? Are you buying the food that they sell or  are you bringing food on the plane. I try to bring a sandwich, some fruit and dessert. I don't drink when flying but there is usually nothing that I would want to drink, even on domestic first class. International first class is another story but I have only been on that once. (the Italy trip).

Went to the Metropolitan Museum in NYC last week. While they suggest paying them $25 to get in; the price is really whatever you want. Two for $4 works. They have redone the American Wing and the Middle Eastern/Islamic galleries and they are wonderful. Tiffany, Washington Crossing the Delaware and Frank Lloyd Wright.

We then went off to Chinatown and tried 456 on Mott Street. Shanghai style. Very good. We had soup dumplings with the soup inside the dumpling and fried thin noodles with veggies, pork, chicken and shrimp. Total bill $17 and enjoyed it. Of course we went to Ferrara's for dessert. We also stopped at DiPalo's and spoke with the owner. This time we had a  good conversation about Monforte d' Alba in Piemonte.

Ciao!

Anguilla; 2012 Begins

Anguilla was awesome. Anguilla is near St Maarten. We flew to St Maarten and took a ferry from near the airport to Anguilla. Had a great time. The beaches and the food and the people were wonderful. We stayed at the Allamanda Beach Club.

The hotel is very reasonably priced and is a short walk to a beautiful beach. (Shoal Bay) We liked the hotel very mcuh. It is not fancy but does have good wi-fi and excellent satillite tv which was great for the NFL conference chamionships. Way to go Giants. It also has a very good restaurant on the grounds -- Zara's. It is in the picture above at the end of the pool. We had 2 meals at Zara's and had fish. Snapper, lobster and grouper and all superb. The chef sings while he cooks. They were very nice and let me bring a bottle of wine to dinner with no charge. Awesome.

The hotel does not have breakfast but a real treat is go about 2 miles down the road and have breakfast at Le Bon Pain. This is a small bakery run by a woman who makes amazin croissants, danish, brownies, apple tart and baguettes.

We met many interesting people each morning for breakfast. A nice couple from Toronto visiting their daughter in Med school on the island. Yes Anguilla has a med school that is affiliated with a school in Chicago. We met someone who had moved to the island from Montclair, NJ. Not sure what was my favorite item -strawberry danish, coconut danish or apple tart.

Shoal Bay is gorgeous. Great swimming and fine white sand. The color of the water speaks for itself.

Anguilla is relaxed - no traffic. They drive on the other side of the road. The people are friendly and keep up with things in the US. The follow US politics very closely and have very positive views of the US. Go figure.

Another restaurant On Da Rocks has a special every Saturday. $5 crayfish. These are small lobsters that are grilled. We ordered 6.

All sides are $5 too. We had french fries and cole slaw with beer. The island has a small selection of beer. Heineken, Carib, Corona, Coors Light, Red Stripe and Guiness export. We had Heineken. $2 for a 9 ounce bottle. I also found a Barbados lager beer in a supermarket that was the best beer we tasted.

 I also found a really good wine shop with a very good selection and fair prices. It is next to Gerauds which is another french bakery food shop. We had excellent lemon meringue tart, almond tuiles, a dense brownie and flavored meringue. All very reasonable.

We wanted to go to Hibernia which was a highly recommended restaurant. We asked the woman at our hotel to make reservations and to ask them if we could bring a bottle of wine.They said no to the surprise of the woman at the hotel. So we cancelled the reservations. I brought 2 bottles with us to the island. A bottle of 08 Chalone Estate Chardonnay and a bottle of Chablis. We had the Chalone at Zara's.

We visited the Viceroy hotel which is a new, very high end hotel on the island. A shout out to Remy. He asked me about my Rutgers hat that I was wearing.

R-- Remy. We started talking and then he gave us a tour of the hotel.

They have serious athletic facilities including a full basketball court, rock climbing wall and tennis courts. When my wife asked about ping pong, Remy took us to the ping pong table. I don't think that I have mentioned in this blog that I love ping pong and happen to be very good at it. Remy challenged me to a game and we played to 2 games like warriors. He won 1 and I won 1. However I think that he sort of let me win my game. My excuse is that I did not have my paddle. I really do need to play with my paddle.

I would definitely recommend Anguilla to beach lovers. We had not been there in 20 years and I forgot how great it can be. We went back to airport in St Maarten via Marigot. St Maarten is so busy and crowded these days that it was unbelievable. We have been to St Martin (French side) many times over the years and love the island but the contrast with Anguilla was striking.

More next time.

 Wines of the Week

Chalone Estate Chardonnay 2008  California $13 but usually cost around $23. We love this wine. Oak blends beautifully with the fruit. A favorite.
Simmonet Febvre 2010 Chablis France  $11 A good basic Chablis. Acid, minerally, a touch of fruit.
Chateau Devise d' Ardille 2009 $18 A cabernet based Bordeaux Haut Medoc. Highly rated by the WA's Neal Martin. My first 2009 Bordeaux. Enjoyed the wine. Nice fruit but I would have liked a better finish.
Chateau Guibot La Fourvieille 2001 Puisseguin St Emillon $12. A good merlot based Bordeaux, Fragrant and nice fruit. Aged well.
Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto D' Alba 2009 $18 Italy   An expensive wine from a top producer. The wine was not memorable. OK fruit but no oomph.
Montgras 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Chile $9.98 One of my bargain wines. I was really  surprised. It had good body and lots of flavor. It was not a watery wine. Check it our if you can find it. I need  to try another bottle to confirm my impression.
La Carraia Sangiovese 2009 $11 Italy Good wine. Nice fruit but somewhat dry like many Chianti 's. Sangiovese is the grape of a Chianti. Enjoyed the wine.
Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir 2009 California $20 Very highly rated. (92 by the WA) Spicey, somewhat light tasting though high in alcohol. Mouth feel was not right but enjoyed the wine. Not what I expected. Try it and let me know what you think. Calera is one the best Pinot Noir producers in California.

Til next time.

Happy New Year

Looking forward to 2012.

Christmas Day menu repeated Thanksgiving. Turkey and all of the sides. Loved it! We had a 2007 Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Seven Hills Vineyards Walla Walla Valley $27 from Washington state. Enjoyed it. Not a fruit bomb, good structure, nice tannins and it tasted like a cabernet. Followed it with an Italian dolcetta d' alba which was a mistake. It was much lighter and did not stand up to the cabernet.

We opened the keg of HB Oktoberfest beer and it was great. We finished it much faster than I expected. This is the way to drink beer.

We did not do a big wine swap with family at Christmas but I received a bottle of Plumpjack 2009 merlot. It has received some good ratings. Will open at a later date. I gave out a  Calera 2009 pinot noir and a Summers 2007 cabernet sauvignon. I have not tried either but I have added them to my list. They sound like excellent wines.

We did our traditional Chinatown, NY take home thing on New Year's Eve day. My son and I went to the Peking Duck House on Mott Street and bought a whole Peking duck with all of the trimmings. $45. The price has gone up over the years but it is still a bargain. We then went to NY Noodletown and bought a roast duck and spare ribs. $9 total. Great NY Noodletown is great little place on the Bowery. The prices are low and  the food great.Cash only.
We then went to Nice Green Bo Village on Bayard. for dumplings. Green Bo is Shanghai style and has new management as of late. We ordered vegetable dumplings and little pork buns.$9 total. We then went 456 on Mott Street. This is a fairly new restaurant and is Shanghai style also. The woman working there previously worked at Green Bo, a good sign since she made Green Bo hum.We ordered soup dumplings and scallion pancakes. $6 total.

We then went to Ferrara's bakery on Grand Street in Little Italy and ordered rainbow cookies(rich in marzipan), these are great cookies. Also ordered a cannoli and sfogliatelle ( crisp wheat with ricotta filling shaped like a clam). Ferrara's is not as good as it was 40 years ago but it is still good and a family tradition. Although I will never forget or forgive them for no longer selling swiss rolls and rainbow ends.

Santa gave me a bottle of 2002 Dom Perignon for Christmas. This champagne is very highly rated and is a wine we love but don't have very often. The plan  was to drink it for New Year's Eve but my wife was not feeling great so we switched to a Charles  De Cazanove brut Champagne from Reims. It was a good medium bodied wine. Good flavor and not much oak. I generally like some oak in my champagne as it adds a vanilla overtone to the wine.

I also tried this week a bottle of Moosbader Lager beer from Germany. Liked it alot. A typical flavorful but not heavy Bavarian beer. It goes down smooth.

Also tried the 2010 Deboeuf Morgon beaujolais. It was a typical beaujolais with decent body and good flavor. Not as much fruit as I expected.

Also tried the Kirkland Champagne. It was delicate with good flavor. Not the strongest bubbles.
I have noticed that I like Champagne at a warmer temperature than in the past. As with any wine, cold can mask flavors. I am guessing that maybe 45 degrees is right for Champagnes whereas most refrigerators will keep the wine at around 37 degrees.

My friend had to cancel for our paella party so we put it off for a few weeks.

Planning a trip to Anguilla in January. More on that at a later date. Anguilla has beautiful beaches and some very expensive hotels. We have picked a very reasonably priced  hotel and I found a good airfare on Continental/United. The merger has not thrilled me.

There have been a number very good wine deals over the past few weeks. Barolos continue to appear at reasonable prices. However I was disappointed this week in an attempt to locate the 06 Podere Ruggeri Corsini Barolo. After Ferraras I went across the street to DiPalo's wine shop, the place where my Italian acquaintances from my trip spoke fondly about. DiPalo is also the only place I know that has wines from Podere Ruggeri Corsini in Monforte d' Alba. We visited the "winery' on the Italian trip and spoke for some time with the owner and winemaker. DiPalo had the 04 Barolo and it was $62. The store was staffed by a bored young women who knew nothing about the wine. When I asked the price (many wines did not have a price), she had to call the boss to find out. It must be a hot selling wine. Moreover the 06 and 07 vintages should be available. Anyway it got me thinking again about becoming a wine importer so that some great wines get proper distribution. Wine importer is going on my 2012 things to do list.

Anyone catch the Honeymooners on TV the last few days. Norton!

Here's to 2011. Bring on 2012!