Jump to content

MartyL

legacy participant
  • Posts

    196
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by MartyL

  1. Gagnaire and Astrance have got to be on the "must do" list if you want to see what is new and exciting in Paris. Astrance isn't impossible to get into, although it is difficult. Just try calling exactly one month before your desired reservation date. The tricky thing is that you really ought to call as soon as they open on that date, which may be an ungodly hour for you if you are in the U.S. We had no problem however, calling at about 7 am Eastern Time. Note that it is also generally easier to book lunch instead of dinner. Good luck and I look forward to your reports.
  2. I'm curious as to your views on BYOB and corkage. Some diners prefer to bring their own wine to restaurants, either because the choices available on restaurant wine lists are inadequate or the prices are too high relative to auction or retail pricing. Is this a service you believe restaurants should provide? What is the practice at Babbo? Thanks very much.
  3. MartyL

    Champagne under $50

    I'll ditto that. If Cristal and Dom are the bubblies of rap stars, Selosse is the champagne of winegeeks. In France, if you see Selosse on a wine list and order it, you can bet that the sommelier will smile broadly and tell you it is one of his favorites and generally make you feel like you are "in the know." I like Selosse because his champagnes are "winey." Because I find they improve with a bit of time in the glass to air out and warm up, I prefer drinking them from a regular white wine glass as opposed to a traditional champagne coupe. His rose, which is unfortunately pretty much impossible to find here, has the most amazing aromas of burnt cherries. I'm still trying to find a source where I can buy some more of it. I have a promising lead in Paris but success has been elusive thus far. I'd be grateful for any suggestions...
  4. If you like the really eggy slightly sweet style (as I do), my favorite is Zomicks, a bakery in Cedarhurst, Long Island. Fairway carries them (just aroiund the corner from the bagels underneath the pies).
  5. MartyL

    Wine Tasting in France

    Beachfan, Many of the winemakers in Cote Rotie are incredibly warm and hospitable. However, with the exception of Guigal, they just aren't big enough to handle a large volume of visitors or unannounced drop-in visits. When you only make 1000 cases of wine each vintage, it doesn't make sense to set up a tasting room much less hire someone to staff it. That being said, if you call ahead to make an appointment, many of these producers will be happy to set aside some time to greet you, pour their wine for you to taste, and sell you their wine (if they have any left). You can find contact information for most of the growers in Cote Rotie by doing a search, by appellation. at the following website: http://www.vins-rhone.com/ANGLAIS/makers/fr_makers.htm
  6. Cabrales gives some good advice above with respect to ordering half-portions at Boyer. I highly recommend doing so as it will enable you to try twice as many things. The half-portion of the truffe en croute is definitely large enough (and on my last visit I believe it was more than half the size of the full-portion I had on a previous visit). I also had the "saumon fumé à la minute" dish that Cabrales mentions. The thick piece of salmon had an amazing silky texture that, along with the rich cream, was perfectly balanced by the briny caviar and the crisp acidity of the champagne. A simple but lovely way to start the meal. Boyer has a terrific and reasonably priced list of champagnes, and the food is generally well-suited to champagne matching. They also generally pour a different "prestige cuvee" by the glass each week. In making your selection, you might ask to speak with Gerard, the sommelier. He is easily identifiable as he will be the tallest man in the room.
  7. MartyL

    Sweet Wines

    In good vintages, like 95, 96 and 97, the various Coteaux du Layon bottlings by Pierre Bise can be really wonderful---a poor man's (ok, at $15-$20 per 500 ml bottle, not that poor) Quarts du Chaume.
  8. This is probably too late to be of help, but for future reference, the Second Avenue Deli in NYC will ship orders anywhere in the U.S. I'm not sure, but I believe that they can ship fedex for next-day delivery. (Full disclosure: the owner of the deli is my cousin). Here is a link: 2nd Avenue Deli mail-order
  9. Fat Guy, I am disappointed in your reaction to my post.
  10. Sorry---no idea how I ended up posting this here. If an Admin could please move this, that would be great. Thanks.
  11. MartyL

    Dips, cold or hot

    My friend Manuel made a delicious smoked trout mousse that he served prior to a recent champagne-themed dinner. This is probably best served, as he did, with toasted thin pumpernickel wedges, and it goes wonderfully well with Champagne. His recipe follows below: Smoked Trout Mousse on Pumpernickel Toasts Makes a decent-size bowl that will serve about 8: 8 Oz. Store-bought smoked trout filets, no skin, no bones. 4 Tbsp. Heavy Cream 2 Sticks good unsalted butter, softened 2 tbsp chopped dill Splash of jalapeño sauce Splash of lime juice Pulse the smoked fish with the heavy cream in a food processor until you have a coarse paste. Add the dill, pulse some more. Then start adding the softened butter in pieces. The paste will smoothen a lot. Look for a consistency that's velvety rather than silky. Add splashes of the jalapeño sauce and lime to taste. Depending on the Champagne you're serving with it, you may want to make the mousse more acidic or more piquant-pungent. Serve with toasted wedges of pumpernickel bread.
  12. An article in Crain's reports that Daniel Boulud plans to open a 135-seat branch of Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach's Brazilian Court Hotel in December. A link to the report follows below: Crain's
  13. MartyL

    Wine Tasting in France

    The telephone number of the restaurant 'Le Cote Rotie" is 04.74.56.12.05. They were still open in Ampuis when I was there in June, although they were planning to close up and re-open in Lyon some time in the fall.
  14. There is a restaurant called "Norman's" in the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem (a bit far afield from New Jersey), that serves a 2.2 pound burger called the "Sumo-Burger." When I was there last, a few years ago. their biggest burger was the "Big Kahuna Burger," which was only 1.5 pounds. It was aftually quite good, and served perfectly medium-rare. They used to give you a free beer if you cleaned your plate.
  15. Jaybee's suggestion is a good one. Better to take advantage of the excellent high-speed train system for the longer legs on your journey and save the driving for exploring the areas that are the focus of your trip. The following is a link to a service that provides quotes on car rentals in France. You tell them which cities in which you want to pick up and drop off the car (no problem if they are different cities) and they canvas the local offices and e-mail you a quote a day or two later with the best rate. In my experience they offer excellent deals. Once they tell you which rental office will be providing your car, you might consider calling the rental office and asking if they have any cars equipped with GPS. This was a godsend on our last trip. Best of luck. http://www.france.com/travel/cars
  16. I'm npt sure how official this is, but I understand that for quite some time, the actual work in the Boyer kitchen has been headed up by Thierry Voisin, although Gerard Boyer does hang around and supervise periodically. Based on a recent meal I had there, I would strongly encourage you to go. The restaurant is still suffused with the famous Boyer warmth and hospitality and the food is still terrific. I believe the restaurant is in very good hands and it would be a shame for you to deny yourself their decadent truffe en croute. Go and enjoy!
  17. Another option, albeit a slower one, is to take the M60 Bus to 116th Street in Manhattan from LaGuardia. That will also run you a cool $1.50, and it will take about an hour.
  18. MartyL

    Corkage fees

    Speaking of BYOB, I had a very amusing experience at 71 Clinton Fresh Foods recently. I had read on one of the internet boards that 71 Clinton allowed BYOB and charged $15 per bottle corkage. My wife wanted to go there on her birthday and I decided to bring a bottle of 91 Chave Hermitage Rouge for the occasion. I called to confirm that they allowed BYOB and the person who took my reservation said they did allow it but charged a $25 per bottle corkage fee. I said fine and asked them to make a note that we would be bringing a bottle of Chave Hermitage. Upon arrival, I presented our bottle to the host and asked if it could be decanted. He then said "Of course, no problem, but just to be sure, you are aware we charge $35 corkage, right?" Not wanting to make a scene, I just nodded. The wine was terrific, as was the food, and we offered the last of the wine in the decanter to our waiter to share with the host and the chef. There was probably enough for each of them to have about a 1.5 oz. taste. They ended up comping us the corkage and bringing us each a glass of dessert wine on the house.
  19. MartyL

    chateau musar

    I was perusing the wine list at the website of Patricia Yeo's new restaurant, Pazo, and happened to find a bunch of Ch. Musar wines on it. Looks like a pretty good price on the 96 Blanc, but I have no idea what that vintage was like in the Bekaa valley. I have to admit that what really fires my curiosity on that list is the 91 Chave blanc, which is pricey but awfully enticing. http://www.pazonyc.com/winelist.htm
  20. MartyL

    chateau musar

    Nesita, I often use www.winesearcher.com to locate hard-to-find bottles. According to a search on that site, the following retail sources list the 1990 Musar in their inventory: Brown Derby International Wine Center Springfield, MO. ($34.99) Libation.com Arcata, CA. ($42.00) The Wine Center Illinois ($42.99) Piccadilly Beverage Shops Champaign, Il. ($42.99 ) I have dealt with Piccadilly in the past and have been very satisfied. You may want to hold off on shipping until the weather cools down though. Around NYC, I've spotted Musar on the shelf at Columbus Circle Wine & Liquor, but I'd be surprised if they have the 1990.
  21. MartyL

    Fish Kebabs

    FG, no apology necessary, and thanks for the info re the conservative approach. With a bit of Googling, I found the attached responsa from a Conservative Rabbi: http://www.uscj.org/scripts/uscj/pastarchi...ge.asp?msg=8562
  22. MartyL

    Fish Kebabs

    I'm no rabbi, but here are my 2 cents anyway: While adult swordfish have no scales, young swordfish apparently do have scales. One might think this would make "baby" swordfish kosher, but apparently these scales are not the right kind of scales in that they cannot be removed without breaking the skin of the fish. As a result, every kashrut authority of which I am aware has considered swordfish to be non-kosher. If you find somebody more lenient, let me know
  23. MartyL

    Fish Kebabs

    Rich, Fish must have both fins and scales to be kosher. Here is a link with more info: Info on Kosher fish
  24. MartyL

    Fish Kebabs

    FG, Not sure how kosher your pseudo-kosher guests are, but as far as I know, swordfish is not kosher. kosher/non-kosher fish (kashrut.com)
  25. That is the kind of above-and-beyond type of generosity that we experienced at Veyrat, where our lunch lasted about 5 hours as a result. We simply did not luck out like that at Lourmarin. As I said above, I'd still happily go back, but I do think the restaurant has a few things to work out in terms of warmth and hospitality of service.
×
×
  • Create New...