Vinotas

Sadly, it is quite difficult to find older vintages in Paris (at least at prices that wouldn't make even Buffett stroke out). Your best bet for older bottles is something like a Savigny, which ages quite nicely in my experience, or a good producer in an off year. I usually buy older wines at retail when in Paris or directly from the producer and take them to a dinner-making friend's place. I just realized that I've never been to any of the 3-stars in Paris, I might have to hit the Taillevent list when the Euro calms down a bit. For now, I'll settle for a good bistrot with a nice, well-priced list. Or for that friend's place. Cheers!

Lola was very good, we sat next to the bar, so not sure if that was the tasting room. We ended up shutting the place down, sitting from 7:30 to 11:30pm, but then again I like those long, slow dinners. This was a wine dinner, and we had all brought 1-2 wines each. But the food was delicious. I started with a chanterelle soup and my main was a pork belly dish - God, is there any other animal that offers as many yummy parts? Everyone else seemed very happy with their dishes, except for a friend's heathen wife who wanted her steak cooked to puck-doneness and wasn't happy that there was some taste still left in her meat. Somewhere in Heaven there's a cow rolling its eyes in frustration. Service was very good, and they had the correct stems for all our wines and were very gracious about our bringing our own wines. I'd go back on my next visit to Dallas. Cheers!

Triomphe's private room might fit the bill.

I should mention we had a great lunch at Gigi's, the flatbread pizza and the Tuscan fries were both delicious. Actually, let me rephrase that, the fries were fan-freaking-tastic! This Friday I will be cooking the Fleischer's cry-vac'd 28-day dry-aged grass-fed boneless sirloin at a steak-off dinner with some fellow oenofools, it's been in my freezer since my return from Rhinebeck last weekend. I will post reviews of it (and our dinner) on my blog, http://vinotas.blogspot.com, and here. Cheers!

Say it ain't so!

I visited Essex St Market for the first time today and have to say it was pretty impressive. Prices overall are slightly lower ($1.69/lbs for fresh-killed chickens, $1.99/lbs for cow's feet, for example), and the type of produce available is different from most markets/stores (lots of stuff from countries where most current immigrants come from, ie Latin America and Southeast Asia). Interesting, I might have to revisit next week before a wine dinner. Cheers!

I've been reading this thread with interest as I'm dining at Lola on Thursday night. It sounds like this place, which has been strongly recommended to me on a wine BB, can be pretty good. Hopefully I'll hit it on an "on" night. I am looking forward to it, despite Scargo's bad time. Cheers!

I know this has got to be Donbert's doing! My question is: why not the green scallion sauce?! ← I actually ate this last night and can confirm that it's sinfully delicious. A tad on the salty side, but otherwise perfect bar food. It was great meeting John, and Weinoo was at the bar so we chatted a bit as well. I would have liked to chat a bit more with both of them but I was with two lady friends - priorities, priorities. That said, we had a great time, the cocktails rocked (I loved the one with Pastis and vinegar), the decor's cool, and I concur with what someone else said earlier: every place should have a secret entrance. Coming in through the phone booth was fun. Thanks for a great time, I'll be sure to stop in again soon, especially if I'm with some of my winemakers, they tend to get tired of all the wine bars after a while. Cheers!

I might also add that the Sunday morning farmer's market in Rhinebeck was beautiful if a bit pricey (for some things). And there's a very nice butcher in Rhinebeck itself, Fleischer's, where I picked up a 28-day dry-aged grass-fed boneless sirloin for $17.99/lbs. Cheers!

We ended up going to Swoon in Hudson and it was amazing. The food prices were very friendly, and the wine list was well-chosen as well as nicely-priced. I've posted a full review of the food and the wines on my blog, http://vinotas.blogspot.com/. THanks to all who recommended it! Cheers!

OK, you've got my interest piqued, I have an open palate. Maybe I'll order it on Monday night.

Three words: Concord grape vinegar. Oh yeah! ← Ugh... Really?

I've posted my review of the lunch on my blog, http://vinotas.blogspot.com/, as well as comments on the wine we ordered, FYI. Cheers!

Seriously? Our impressions are diametrically opposed. I'm not even talking about the the subjective liking of the redesign or not, but "soft" and "warm" are not how I'd describe the room now, especially compared to the old color scheme that was much heavier in greens, browns, and darker creams. The current aesthetic is one of starker contrast. Love the new chargers though. ← Interesting, even my Mom preferred the new decor scheme, saying it was warmer and friendlier than the previous one. But I do agree, the new chargers are quite beautiful. Still, a very good long lunch.

What, no Skyline Chili for you?

My mother decided to invite me to lunch to celebrate my birthday a few days early as I will be away on the 28th (this Sunday). Lo and behold, she dragged me to Jean-Georges for a leisurely (ie 3 hour) lunch. Now I know where I get this love of slow food from... This is my first time back to JG since they redid the room, and I have to say the place looks great. I liked it before, truth be told, but it was far more formal and a bit cold. Now it's soft and warm, with beige leather seats and an inviting glow from a flowing chandelier anchored to the ceiling. We ordered the $28 prix-fixe menu for 2 dishes, still one of the city's best QPR lunch deals. Of course, that means I could spend more money on wine... The meal started off with some interesting amuses bouche: a rice cracker puff with some tuna tartar, a raw Kumamoto oyster with a briney foam, and a soup of chestnut with a ravioli filled with chestnuts. The tuna was delicious, absolutely delicious on the cracker; the oyster slightly overpowered by the foam, which was far too salty; and the soup absolutely fantastic, just the most ethereal and light essence of chestnuts, with a slightly under-cooked ravioli to mar the quality just so. My first course was a butternut squash soup with tiny cubes of squash, chives and black trumpet mushrooms (one of my favorite 'shrooms!). Thick and creamy, this practically oozed butter but wasn't as heavy as one would think. My pet peeve with butternut squash soup is how absolutely filling it can be if not done properly. This was very, very good, nicely balanced, especially on a dark and dreary fall day. The one fault I could find with it was that every once in a while it was a bit saltier than I wanted it to be. Not by much, but enough to notice. Then again, I've begun to notice a salty trend in NY cuisines lately for some reason, and I know I'm not the only one. Second course was sweetbreads on a licorice stick with a roast pear and some lemon sauce. Very good, but not as good as the ones I had at 11 Madison Park a few weeks ago, which were sublime. These were delicious, don't get me wrong, and yes I realize I am spoiled sometimes. Beautiful texture, if just so slightly drier than I liked, but I am picky. Then came the obligatory avalanche of small desserts and guimauve, real marshmellow still quivering. Yummy! All in all, a wonderful way to spend 3 hours on a Wednesday afternoon. Cheers!

Ah thank you, missed that post. My bad.

Are you in Tampa? I need to get in on that action!! ← Sorry, in NYC, but with this weather (70-80F) and my oven on the fritz, cassoulet will have to wait until the new kitchen is done (sometime in 2012, I'm assured...).

Wow! After reading all these posts I've decided to hit PDT next Monday. The only speakeasy bar I used to hit was Angel's Share until they expanded and became a B&T hangout (though it still hits some high notes sometimes, if rarely). The reason is that I'm more of a wine bar kind of guy (Bar Veloce ranks high in my pantheon of wine establishments). I look forward to seeing what they can do with gin (my base of choice). Cheers!

We had a beautiful platter of raw shellfish in Lyon at Maison Rousseau in les Halles when I was there in February. There were tiny sea snails (what's the name in French?) that were mind-blowingly good. Pictures are HERE (disclaimer: includes many mouth-watering pics of Les Halles. I decline all responsability if you hop on the Internet and buy tickets to Lyon after seeing these). Cheers!

Vinotas, There is a very large and excellent cassoulet discussion that features Paula Wolfert's Toulousian Cassoulet from her book "The Cooking of Southwest France". Cassoulet Discussion This recipe uses pork skin to line the cooking vessel. I have prepared this cassoulet a few times and it is wonderful. Tim ← Oh, I imagine it's crazily good, but I make cassoulet a lot and never heard of it being lined like that. When the new oven gets put in, I'll try it.

And blanched before frying, of course... ← Oh, really?

So I finally saw the Cleveland episode, it was replayed last night. Pretty good, though I do wonder at the cassoulet Tony made. He seemed to place the skin around the edges of the dish, something I'd never seen (and I make cassoulet at least 2x a winter). That chili place, however, looked vile. I almost retched at all the supernaturally yellow cheese. Cheers!

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure, ergo the question. If it's just a matter of cutting a slab of bacon, then I'll head over to Grace's or Citarella or even better Florence Market and grab some.

I will say I think French sandwhiches are much better than US ones. I've eaten them from boulangeries, stores and individual carts in the streets of Paris, Beaune, Toulouse, etc... and always find that the ingredients seem to be of higher quality than their US counterparts. Then again, it's difficult to compare them. I don't like US sandwhiches as they tend to be HUGE, with gobs of different ingredients all fighting for attention. Italian delis are the worst, IMHO. Pastrami sandwhiches in NYC can weigh over a pound (they're made for sharing, I know, I know). A good baguette, some nice butter and high-quality ham or saucisson sec are all that's necessary to make me happy. Does that mean that I have a simple palate? Maybe, but I like it that way. I like that French sandwhiches, and European ones in general, focus on a main ingredient, with some sort of condiment and a vehicle for ingress (aka bread). Then again, "A chacun son gout". Cheers!