Archive for the ‘Happenings’ Category
the plcb gets some taste!
t says: I’m not a huge fan of the PLCB – the selection is very often limited and the people who work in the stores are of no help. That said, even the blind squirrel finds an acorn … or five … While these are some of the pricier wines that the PLCB offers at its 19th and Chestnut store, I have to say that I was impressed to see them there. It’s not that I’ve had any of them (as a matter of fact, I’ve had none of them), but it’s the first time in a while that I’ve actually been excited to see something in a state store! No, I didn’t buy any of them (I’m not made of money!), but I’m hoping that in seeing these, it’s a sign that some more-better wines are in the pipeline …
So you need Bordeaux, but you’re stuck in a state store? Go for an ’09 or ’10. Supposedly fabulous vintages in Bordeaux, the saying goes, “If you couldn’t make a good Bordeaux in ’09 or ’10 … you shouldn’t be making Bordeaux.” I spied a bottle or two hanging out with some recognizable names. It’d be worth a shot …
Tucked away behind all those distracting chianti was this bottle. You see, the 2009 Sughere di Frassinello was a phenomenal wine at ~$17. Well … this is that wine’s older, more sophisticated brother who went to Ivy League school, is a tennis phenom, and drives a Porsche. What does it taste like? I have no idea. But this is the first time I’ve ever seen it on a shelf, so I’m VERY intrigued. Am I $40 intrigued. Oh-so-very-close …
Dunham Riesling. One of a’s favorite American Rieslings, this is a great bottle to try to see if you’re down with Riesling (beware, it is going to be off-dry). I’m actually wondering if, upon reading this, a will “stop by” tomorrow on the way home and pick up a bottle or two …
2011 Ayoub Memoirs. This is the more plebian version of the estate bottle below. Ayoub makes some fine Oregon pinot, and a previous version of this that I’ve had was pretty darned tasty. For $34, it’s not exactly a “steal”, but I’m glad to know it’s there in case I need something for a “nicer” weekend BYO dinner.
Ayoub 2011. It has a big-ass bottle with a stupidly ostentatious waxed cap. But I love it. Or at least, I haven’t had this one yet, but I have had other Ayoub (2008 and 2009) that have all been beautiful very elegant pinots. Now, I know that 2011 was a rough year in Oregon (which is probably why the PLCB had a shot at attaining ANY of these Ayoub wines at all), but if I needed to find a $50 bottle of pinot in a hurry at a state store, this is what I’d get (P.S. never have I EVER had to find a $50 bottle of ANYTHING in a hurry …)
my new yogurt addiction
t says: Since our head-to-head of some popular Greek yogurts, I’ve been plugging along, doing the Fage thing (on the days that breakfast can be had), adding granola or honey or whatever else my little heart desired, watching as the Chobani tide at work slowly receded. Now, some two years later, I guess Greek Yogurt just isn’t as “cool” anymore. It was an interesting fad while it lasted. And throughout, Fage remained, in my opinion, the king of yogurt (or queen – I’m unsure of the gender of Greek yogurt). But now, upon rolling up into Wegmans, I spotted two other shnazzy-shining-armored knights invading the refrigerated section, ready to contest the throne:
sigi: this one, despite the hip packaging, failed to impress. there was an unpleasant bitterness – no, not “twang” like Greek yogurt, rather, something in the background profile that assaulted my palate and made me think, “gee … this is kinda gross – strawberries be damned!”. maybe it was the Icelandic skyr that scared me off (I confess I had to google “skyr vs greek yogurt” to figure out what they were referring to)
noosa: the section was also littered with the short-and-wide containers that had some brightly-colored globs of fruit preserves/jelly peaking out from the corners. it reminded me of a cooler/hipper dannon … except that it. tastes. awesome. seriously, the yogurt is dense and creamy and sweet – it’s like dessert. and the flavors are ridiculous (strawberry rhubarb and mango are my favorites …). this was surprising, because with all the mentions of “all natural” and “probiotic” and “rBGH-free-ness”, i entered the bowl with some skepticism … but whatever they’re doing to this “yoghurt” to make it taste like this, i applaud them. to that end, it’s probably-most-definitely not as “good” for you as Greek yogurt, but i don’t care …
noosa after my wrath … feel free to insert an obligatory jar jar binks joke involving noosa/”yousa”/”mesa”, etc.
cmmp brings sexy back (to 2011 prices)
t says: Still pricey as hell … but the suits are awesome!
France Days 6-7 (and 8 and 9 …)
t says: The remainder of our time in Paris was spent doing a varied assortment of activities … including eating, drinking, and shopping (i.e. vacation g + t style!). So here’s the final blitzkrieg of photos …
We started off Day 6 at Merci, a store full of all kinds of interesting clothes and lifestyle objects … including white-enameled eating utensils! if they weren’t 15 euro a piece, i would have picked up a set or two – they were pretty cool!
Day 6 then featured meeting up with m and n (did we mention that we were vacationing with them? well we were!) at Cafe Pouchkine. While I wasn’t a fan of the setting (the goal was to be tres fancy), the macarons were …
… the BEST of the trip (i.e. better than LaDuree, Pierre Herme, and Un Dimanche a Paris) – great texture, a good quantity of filling, and profound combination of flavors – superb!
after shopping at a few stores, we ducked into a wine bar for food (they stuck is in the basement … which was fine – we had the whole place to ourselves!) … and while we thought we were ordering some kind of light bruschetta to have with our wine – it ended up essentially being pizza!
this was our wine selection of the lunch – not bad, but a little pricey for what it ultimately was
one of the stores we visited was a super-secret store … well, maybe not “that” super-secret because our innkeepers did know about it – however, they had never been there. it turned out that l’eclaireur is essentially a hidden store with no signs – you simply have to know the address and buzz on the door to be let in – and then after you are, you will be permitted access to an assortment of fabulous clothes and other items that are WAY too expensive for the meager salaries of g & t … but drb got to trying on some badass leather jackets – he looks like an enemy “asset” in a Bourne film!
dinner was at Le Chateaubriand – the ?#15? restaurant in the world! we braced for excitement … the first dish was a “shot” of ceviche – quite refreshing, although I’m not sure why one had to consume all the liquid – it dominated the fish’s flavor!
i am blanking on the second dish, but i feel like the main component was razor clams …
… and unfortunately, the menu, when translated, only lists like three ingredients … oh well …
the best dish of the evening! it was fresh and uplifted (greens) with some zest (shaved horseradish) and a fabulous cut of fish (it has the iridescence you can see!). It seemed so simple, but it was fabulous.
unfortunately, the main was the most disappointing dish – the steak was “ok” (technically prepared nicely, but with so tough a cut of meat, it would probably have been better to have it cooked a little more slowly), and the accompaniments were all “ok” … but combination of the ingredients did not combine into something more delicious than the components – it just didn’t harmonize for us, which is such a shame
according to m, this was the most disgusting thing he ate on the entire trip … which is weird because it was just some bitter orange sorbet covered in creme and topped with something cardamom-y and accompanied by some rum and raisins … but somehow m felt like “it tastes like a fish market smells” … (none of us had any idea what he was talking about)
this was a bizarre dessert that apparently means “bacon from heaven” – it was like a shortbread cookie a layer of something sweet and then a bruleed egg yolk on top – all to be eaten in a single bite … when the egg yolk explodes in your mouth, you get assaulted by savory egg flavor, but then as you chew, the salt and the sugar break through, creating an evolution that’s remarkable. this was the most interesting thing i ate on our entire trip for sure – i’d want another shot at it (and the next time, i’d be ready for the ride)
at one point or another, the waiter showed up with a plate of seasoned/spiced mango. this dessert, while very simple, was quite amazing – even n was impressed with the quality of fruit and flavor combination.
Day 7 included browsing around Canal St. Martin. g drb and I decided to try out some Parisian pizza. We went for the “Obama” pizza (it’s like a Hawaiian pizza), featuring healthy pieces of ham and a pineapple chutney that was absolutely insane – seriously – it was like curry and spices and pineapple, stewed together to a perfect spicy/sweet concoction that i’d easily eate on a piece of bread. really the only drawbacks to this meal were that 1) they did not deliver to the Canal due to either lack of personnel or it being too cold (so we brought it to the canal ourself) and 2) the pizza was a little soggy/floppy in the center where the mound of chutney was – they need to engineer a better pizza
After more strolling, we located a bistro serving some creme brulee … which turned out to be prepared “correctly”, including not being pre-refrigerated and cracking into nice big pieces on a single strike. this was absolutely the last good thing we ate in paris …
The last thing we wanted to eat was steak frites. So we ventured around the St. Germain area before finally settling on a busy bistro: Le Mondrion. This was a big mistake. First, their wine list wasn’t updated with current vintages … so when I ordered a 2010 Bordeaux and was presented with a bottle of 2011, to which the waiter insisted, “nah – there’s no difference between 2010 and 2011 – they’re the same thing” … that should have been a red flag … Their steak frites were half the price of the previous restaurants … that should have been a red flag … But we persisted … 5 of us ate dinner … 4 of us had steak frites … 2 of us were praying to the porcelain gods within 8 hours … yuck.
So the “bonus” days in Paris were spent getting over gastroenteritis and advancing diet to solids … so there wasn’t much to report … we stayed in our BnB for one day then relocated to a hotel near the airport. The morning of leaving, we were flummoxed at CdG by some USAirways stupidity (despite online check-in, they made us wait in line to print out boarding passes) and sign confusion (we went through customs 3 times by accident …). We did, however, discover some cool things: 1) the wine store in the airport is AWESOME 2) the USAirways “preferred status” upgrade (~$30) is totally worth it – you zip right through lines in a jif (how else could we go through customs so quickly so many times?!).
And so … there’s our trip. We omitted some details such that there are some details still to discuss in person …
France Days 4-5 (Burgundy!)
t says: Our little side-trip to Burgundy was kinda-sorta awesome …
First off – the TGV puts Amtrak to shame. You buy tickets online, you get assigned/reserved seats (woohoo!). All the trains we saw were on time, including ours (woohoo!). The trains travel of >250 km/h (woohoo!). Really … it was exactly how a means of transportation should operate. True, it was spendy at ~50 Euro, but it was totally worth it.
After arriving, we checked into our bed and breakfast, which was humorous primarily because there were no signs for the BnB anywhere. Furthermore, the older lady working at what seemed to be a pool supplies store, did not parlez l’Anglais. She instinctively pointed to the 2nd floor of her building which was indeed where our bed and breakfast (Les Chambres de l’Imprimerie) was. Fortunately, even though g had some initial concern (she always has “initial concern” with every place I choose), the room was off the hook (as with nearly every place I choose). The room we stayed in (the “printer’s room”) is the first pic on the tripadvisor page … and looked exactly like the picture. It was well-appointed, well-temperatured, and ginormous. It was a little dark in there (lots of black), but in the early morning, that was beneficial (it was super-dark!). Furthermore, there were cute niceties:
cute, right?
After checking in, we ventured into Beaune for a bite to eat. It’s a shame that the town was essentially a ghosttown! No shops were open, and half the restaurants (that we knew of) were closed. Fortunately, we were told of La Part des Anges, which was indeed open. And so, g and I were the only other table in the entire restaurant … that was weird (to this day, we’re not sure why it was so dead around there!)
g went with shrimp and risotto
i went with what turned out to be an escargots sandwich over lentils – it was SUPER-good – perhaps not quite the tenderness of Bibou’s, but a deeply flavored sauce
we finished with chocolate “pudding”, which ended up being more like a molten chocolate souffle (not as good as bw’s but they did give us two orders for the price of one, so how could i complain?)
It actually turned out to be quite a nice lunch. Even the “cheap” wine we got (a crisp Burgundian chardonnay) was nice … even if it was still ~$9/glass.
After lunch, we trolled around town and eventually wound up at Hospices de Beaune, which was originally a hospital for the poor. Nowadays, it’s primarily known for a huge wine auction. It was a super-impressive building and had a fun audio tour (with voices!).
panoramic view of the main room where patients would go (yea, i had a LOT of fun with my iPhone on this trip)
We then proceeded to a wine tasting at La Cave de l’Ange Gardien. Unlike the tripadvisor page’s main photo, it’s actually far more like a warehouse (much larger, and more grey). The tasting was led by a 70-something year old dude who was hilarious (he spoke English and French and who knows what other languages). He waxes poetic about each wine’s flavors and tosses in anecdotes. Basically, it was a 17-wine tasting, lasting 3 hours (and we only left because we had to go to dinner!), and it was free. That’s right: free. CRAZY! If at the end of this tasting, you didn’t know what Red and White Burgundies tasted like, then you just weren’t going to get it. It was very informative and we’d totally go again!
Dinner was at Le P’tit Paradis., a restaurant that was way-hidden in Beaune. It was located down this super-tiny street, sitting pretty much by itself in the dark. g and I felt like we were in a super-secret restaurant (once again, there was only one other couple in there – also America), but sadly, the food was unremarkable – so unremarkable that the only pic I’m posting is my dessert:
nutella creme brulee … with POP ROCKS … do pop rocks make a dessert like this janky as hell? sure! but it was still fun! g pointed out that, technically, it didn’t follow the real rules of a creme brulee, as it was clearly pre-made and refrigerated rather than made on the spot and torched (i.e. the sides of the ramekin were chilly), but am I going to argue with a glob of chocolate-hazelnut? nope!
g finished with 4 French cheeses that killed it – we were both full and still continued to eat
The following day, we started with breakfast (it was pretty good – not as fresh as our BnB in Paris, but respectable! the home-made jams were OUT OF CONTROL!) and began touring with Sebastien (he was the husband of Marie, who ran the BnB operations). I”m 94% sure that Sebastien is a real-life “Transporter” as he regaled us with tails of driving Carla Bruni and wealthy businessmen in their Ferraris around Spain … and the best part is that he, like his wife, were so incredibly nice. And the tour was fantastic – we visited two vineyards (one small – Domaine Amiot, and one large – Chateau Meursault). Really, the saddest part of our Burgundy trip is knowing that when we return, surely their BnB and touring operation will most definitely be way more expensive as other people catch on … :’-(
Domaine Amiot is a property in/at Chassagne-Montrachet. The owner was super-nice (while still maintaining his French-ness) and the wines demonstrated a huge variation in terroir. We ultimately brought home a bottle of the Vielles Vignes because it was approachable now (and was the best combination of a “g+t wine” and “Burgundian Chardonnay”. Overall a fabulous tasting experience.
Chateau Meursault’s wines weren’t particularly remarkable (or at least, the ones we tasted). I was tempted by one of their 1er Crus, but at 75 Euro, it was a bit rich for my blood …
Lunch (included in the tour) was at Michelin-starred Loiseau des Vignes. It was a fabulous meal, opening with a multi-layer soup (a light, whipped mushroom soup over a bed of lentils), followed by duck:
fabulous duck – once again tougher than the duck breast I’m used to in the States, but with sharper knives, we demolished it
g’s favorite dessert of the trip: chestnut millefeuille – a perfect combination of delicate and soulful … and with chocolate!! yay!
We concluded our tour with visiting some shops in Beaune … which was remarkable because unlike the previous day, they were all open! What the heck!? Where were all these people yesterday?? In any case, we visited an awesome bookstore (Athenaeum), a great cheese shop (where we saw all the cheeses we had the night before as well as an assortment of Dijon Mustards … made in BEAUNE!), fabulous wine shops, charcuterie shops … Man – it was great! We could have spent a day going from shop to shop to explore (hell – I could have spent a day in the bookstore alone – it had all kinds of great wine gadgetry!).
And with that, we TGV’d it back to Paris – no fuss, no muss.
We met up with drb and ate at the restaurant around the corner from our Paris BnB: Bitrot La Pendule Occitane, which was recommended by our BnB guys. For an off-the-cuff meal, it was fabulous!
these escargs (my new word for escargots) were absolutely fabulous – the best we had on our entire trip. g pointed out that “they taste just like garlic, butter, and parsley” … as if that were a bad thing … they were great! we followed this up with steak tartare, a burger, and a steak – all of which were done quite nicely (drb was impressed with the sheer quantity of tartare he received). this was a great place.
2010 Graves – a fabulous daily-drinker of a Bordeaux
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after dinner sneeze 