Taking Stock at Stock
t says: a is a huge fan of soup. Like a huge fan. He could get soup in the middle of summer. He could get soup in the middle of September, too! So when faced with a choice of restaurant (and in an attempt to avoid Restaurant Week), we journeyed on out to Stock.
September 2014, Friday Dinner, Party of 4. So, first things first, this place is TINY. I don’t know the official seat count, but there was only one “large” table (it can accommodate four … maybe 6 in a pinch). There’s also no reservations. Oh, and if you do put your name on the list, there’s also no phone for them to call you back on – so they give you an estimated time to come back and you just show up on time. While this sounds absolutely crazy – it turns out that they’re true to their word! When we showed up, they were busy, so they said come back in an hour: we showed up at the suggested time and boom! there was an empty table – ready and waiting! And while the rest of our party was assembling, we saw them turn away at least two groups of people! What loyalty! Love it.
raw cobia, with ginger, pomello, and dill. very fresh, slightly firmer than I expeced, and pieces rather haphazardly cut/presented. It could have been more finessed.
the main event: beef pho. Best said by a: “Pho was good, but I’m sure there are Asian people doing it better”. I would tend to agree. While the noodle cookery was spot-on, and the herbs were as fresh as can be, I felt that the broth was a little lacking in oomph. Like, when I was done eating, I had no desire to slurp up the remaining soup on my own.
sideways dessert: fresh and light and tasty, but, in the words of a: “nothing to make you slap your mother.”
They were so nice there! They accidentally forgot my cobia, so the server comp’d my dish – but really – it wasn’t a big deal! And then the chef came out and also apologized for the wait – but in all honesty – we didn’t even notice! Their thoughtfulness was as refreshing as their food.
So would we go back? If they had different Pho, sure! That’s not to say that we had anything bad – but we just want to see what more they can do. Also – they were missing ALL banh mi’s that evening! a was so sad – who knew a sandwich could have meant so much to him? In any case, while there wasn’t one thing in particular that we’re going to be craving in our dreams, there was a lot of promise with the space and freshness that we look forward to seeing what they can do!
a burger that’s kinda weird …
t says: Weird, right?
http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/09/burger-king-japan-black-hamburger.html
two wrongs don’t make a right
t says: I came across this story the other day, and it worries me:
On one hand, it’s not exactly clear if the man whose wine was seized was turning a profit from selling the alcohol or how much volume he was moving; that’s a pretty damn big list of wines he was offering, which suggests to me that he’s a little more guilty than the article leads us to believe. But that also doesn’t exonerate the crappy state of PA who went “undercover” to nab him – boy am I glad they caught him – he was probably defrauding the state of hundreds (!!!) of dollars … that was an excellent use of resources … I’d hate to have wasted that manpower on catching “traditional” bad guys like drug dealers. It’s also funny that the police can’t sell the wine, either; meaning they’re not going to even be able to profit from their efforts … but of course, given how they’ve treated the wine (moving it in freezing temperatures, storing it at room temperatures) no one would buy it.
One thing this story did do is make me wonder at what point was what he did considered illegal:
— finding wines across state lines, bringing them into this state, and selling them for a profit: definitely illegal
— finding wines across state lines, bringing them into this state, in small [legal] quantities for personal consumption: definitely legal
— finding wines across state lines, bringing them into this state, in small [legal] quantities to share at a BYO dinner: definitely legal
— finding wines across state lines, bringing them into this state, in small [legal] quantities to share at a BYO dinner that your friends who then “chip in for” … ?legal/illegal?
— finding wines across state lines, bringing them into this state, in small [legal] quantities that you give to your friends as a gift: sounds legal
— finding wines across state lines, bringing them into this state, in small [legal] quantities that you split the cost with your friends … ?legal/illegal?
— does it matter how many friends?
— does it matter how much wine?
— does it matter what the ABV is per wine?
— does it matter if the wine could have been found in a state store?
As a wine lover stuck in PA, this story makes me sad …
… unless of course the guy was actually just operating a wine store out of his basement … in which case, yes, seize it all and burn it … if I can’t have nice wine, no one can.
I hope California [and its wine] is ok!
t says: I heard there was a quake! Hope all of our Cali friends are ok! After that, I hope that all the wine is ok:
https://mobile.twitter.com/matthiassonwine/status/503519628660715520/photo/1
4yo vs. The French Laundry
t says: Unbelievable …
http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/5607-a-four-year-old-reviews-the-french-laundry
But wait! There’s more!
http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/4192-a-four-year-old-reviews-aq-with-his-face-
best wine post in a while
t says: I view a lot of wine-related websites. After trolling around my daily wine offers, wine-centric online forums, and wine-specific blogs, I can say that there is no shortage of opinions on our favorite fermented grape drink (eww – that makes it sound like fermented grape Crush soda). But this was a post I enjoyed, containing the right amount of opinion with a little bit of fact. Yes, the author has an agenda to promote (i.e. he doesn’t like what’s happened to his beloved California wine), and, like most opinion pieces, his probably is missing out on some other facts that are contrary to his argument … but it’s still a good read that captures the controversy today in California cabernets.
http://gargantuanwine.com/2014/08/the-carcass-of-napa-valley/
after dinner sneeze 