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Everything posted by Capaneus
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Australian Rieslings in general have been getting good reviews. My favorite, of course, are the Germans, but they're heck to work with unless you know them - worse than Burgundies. Generally speaking, '03 Rhines are good bets, but keep in mind that they'll be a bit shifted because of the heat, so you want nothing beyond a Kabinett, or you're bound to get residual sweetness. If you can get over to Moore Bros. they'll steer you right (but keep the conversation to the less expensive stuff; their enthusiasm is genuine, but it is also contagious - and it can be expenseive). As to Alsace, keep in mind that '03 is a very weird vintage, so stay away from those; you should still see '01s and '02s, both of which are much better. Pierre Sparr makes a nice entry-level Riesling there. -
Quoth mrbigjas: "that's an interesting plating. looks like the lamb crash-landed and skidded into place. mayday! mayday! incoming!" "i kid! i kid because i love!" Man! I *wish* it was incoming. Memo to self: "Never look at an SK post when hungry!"
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Last night, as a way to wind down from yet another relaxing, easy-going day, I opened a bottle of '04 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (lcb#05765, $9.99). At this price range, I expect an easy-going, pleasant wine, with plenty of fruit and, on a good day, enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. I got all that, but in a much classier package than expected: while the wine had the expected citrus notes, they were lean lemon and lime, rather than plump grapefruit and melon, and they overlay the pleasant grassy vegetal flavors that one expects from a French SB and are much rarer in riper New World versions. And the fruit, while clear and vibrant, had a clean, spare, orderly quality to it that suggests this wine would be a great match with food, especially seafood. Admittedly, no one would confuse this with a great Graves or Sancerre, but it has undeniable class for its pricepoint. It may not have their depth and complexity, or the agressive minerality of Loire SBs, but it is nonetheless a great little wine that proves yet again that a bottle can be friendly and welcoming without gushing and crowding you. An excellent recommendation from Peggy, my friendly neighborhood PLCB Store Manager, astute and helpful as ever. -
Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
i suspect this sort of thing is why that priorat was your and my favorite at that first tasting (and why i was so disappointed with a cambria bench break pinot noir we had tonight--but that's another story entirely). ← Are you saying we are Gentlemen of Taste, Discerniment and keen, educated palate? Why Sir, I find that I cannot disagree with you! That Priorat was a great wine. It's just that its qualities aren't the sort of things that come across very well in that sort of taste-off. I like tastings as a way to meet new wines. But true deep long-lasting relationships I develop over dinner. -
Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Had a go at the '01 Foxen Foothill Reserve (lcb#15022), now a Chairman's Selection at $19.99 (about $45 elsewhere). It came highly recommended by a Mr. Parker, who gave it a 91 score. Pretty wine, very dark purplish ruby, no bricking, even deep color and excellent legs. Has just a bit of alcohol on the nose, but lots of blueberry/blackberry and spice, very pleasant. At first taste, it comes across as a thick, jammy, juicy cocktail of dark berries, plums, currants; a heavy hint of vannillin, it saw plenty of oak in its youth; some chocolate and leather as it goes down, and a lingering finish - a real tongue-coater. Has good structure, a streak of acidity that balances the slightly sweet and very aggressive fruit, as well as sweet, unobtrusive tannin: you have to pay attention to detect the telltale puckering amidst all that tasty candy. It actually goes very well with the venison. But as I try to figure out what goes into this "Proprietary Red", I find I cannot. No pinot cherries/strawberries, the chocolate isn't quite right for several other grapes, no Syrah raw meat and funk... I can't tell. The back of the bottle tells me it's a blend of primarily Merlot with about 30% Cabernet Franc. I can see it, I suppose, but at this level of extraction just about every flavor is in the mix. I'm also a bit surprised that this is the product of Foxen's Santa Barbara grapes: it's a pretty cool place, better traditionally for Pinot Noir than this very ripe sort of fruit. Which of course leads me to suspect that much of the wine was shaped long after picking. That shouldn't bother me - it's what's in the bottle, after all - but it does. Call me old-fashioned. It's easy to understand why Mr. Parker liked it: it's tailor-made for him. Me... well, I enjoyed this bottle, but the sucker was a bit too loud and obnoxious for everyday use. It would have had trouble matching anything less than the venison, I think. At this price, with its undeniable strengths, it should find plenty of fans, but I think I'll go for something with less fulsome charms. Something a bit more well-bred. -
Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Not only would this bother me, but I would have found out who the manager was and complained to him/her. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about loud music but not when contemplating some of the most serious wine decisions in recent memory thanks to the never ending chairmans selections and other notable non chairmens selections. ← Thing is, I cannot remember music ever playing at any of the CC stores. I would wonder about how much latitude they would have in whatever the policy is... Also, from my time in retail, it could be a case of "While the Manager's away, the Staff will play". People in positions of authority may be entirely unaware this is going on. -
It's not their website. I whined about it a while back (when they actually put up an *older* menu then they had featured), and I was told some organization (University City District?) had put it up, and it wasn't really something the restaurant was involved with. Which does beg the question of why they don't take charge of it, or start their own. It would be nice to get to see a menu in advance... Still. Food good. Other stuff is quibbling.
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It is up and running, since 9/8, I think, and all I have heard is *very* good things. I was told they did close for the night last Friday (personal emergency was cited), but I think that's all that was. Anyone know anything else?
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20th St.? And DiBruno's won't be much competition, I don't think... They don't seem to sell much, and ther selection is small and narrow, as pointed out above. I think they'll keep doing impulse business to their own shoppers, but Capogiro will be a Destination!
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I don't know *where* the million went. It's not like the place looks good or anything... And the food is just... not good either. Let's leave it at that.
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Personally, I do like seeking out older, overlooked regions or grapes. But I think there's merit in seeking out new wines of whatever kind. The danger lies in finding merit only in novelty, which is something I often see in art critics, who have grown tired of such jejune fare as craft, storytelling, workmanship, and the like. But if someone tried something *really* new in winemaking, I would like to see serious drinkers give it a sip, and pass judgement. Good *or* bad, up or down. It's about being open, not automatic acceptance. For the record, I see very little truly new in wine: most often , it's just another appelation making wine "just like they do in Napa/St.Emilion/Super-Tuscany/Barossa/your favorite region". Good places all, with good wines, but imitation is not innovation. Nor is the race to higher extraction and concentration. That seems to me analogous to making movies with more and louder explosions and bigger car chases. Not really new, just... bigger.
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Nice essay, thank you. But if I may, I'll use it as a launching point for something I've been thinking about a great deal - because I have come to believe we are fondling the elephant's trunk and calling it a snake: the problem isn't one of winemaking philosophy - like the gentlemen in your tale, vintners will make what the market demands, little philosophy there; it isn't even a problem with the critics: who among us believes that if Parker started championing old-school Cahors those wines would become popular? I don't. The problem is simply the workings of an economy of mass consumption, and it has parallels in virtually every facet of our lives. Think of moviemaking, think of literature, automobiles, clothing. In each of these an homogenizing effect follows from the pressures placed on the producers to sell to the widest possible market. Gap, Hollywood, SUVs, Harry Potter, each steamrolling the competition. But in those as in wine, the solution needn't to be "found", it already exists: quirky, idiosyncratic instances of all of these are widely available. Hundreds of them, in fact. To focus back on wine, look at the hundreds of grapes Italy grows, sangiovese and nebbiolo aside. The NYT ran a piece not long ago on the little culture of weirdd winemaking flourishing in (I think) the Adriatic coast just East of Italy (which former Yugoslav nation is that?). The problem isn't bringing the wines into being. They're out there, oceans of them, delicious, unique... and unavailable. We know they exist, but we don't know *how* to get them. Because the mass-produced, massively-bought "product" can afford to be massively marketed and universally distributed, but our little guys cannot. So the problem is, first, one of disseminating the information; and second one of physically connecting the curious bibulator with the adventurous winemaker. And the structures needed for that aren't in place. Not yet, and they may never be. But the *tools* needed are slowly coming into place: the Internet lets us talk to most anybody anywhere; and shipping is becoming *much* faster and less expensive as a retail proposition. But I'm not sure *we* are ready to put our wallets where our (as the British put it) whingeing is. I know a lot of wine drinkers. 99% of their wine purchases go to what, six grapes? Let's put it this way: riesling is an exotic choice for many. I see a great many odd little bottles of unfamiliar wines gathering dust in local wineshops. The world is awash in the tears of importers who tried to blaze a path and had their wallets brutalized and lightened by an inflexible consumership: them's us, folks. When was the last time you went out and *sought* a new grape, a new region, just because it was new? I haven't nearly often enough, though I will say that I think I try. And I'm sure my excuses for not doing it more are much like yours : "I don't know; and I can't afford it" are foremost. I have met the enemy, and he isn't Parker. He is us.
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To save you time, I'll just put in my application for that tasting party now, if I may? And good luck finding a repertory movie theater in Philadelphia proper.
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Service is often better than that, though it's always a bit... rough-hewn and homespun, let's call it. Very Italian, so the little edges actually contribute to my sense of the experience. The best (the only, I think) solution to the noise level is to sit outside, on a nice evening. Glad you enjoyed yourself. And sorry about Gram.
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Thank you, Evan, for the hospitality and the *amazing* bread (but you *can't* make it so pretty: people won't eat it). But when I suggested potluck, I did not expect people to try to kill me by playing on my well-know complete absence of impulse control (thank you for the life-saving faux Tums). I hesitate to praise anyone's food because there was so much that was *so* good, and I know I'd leave something out... Oh, and I gained 2 1/2 lbs, if anyone cares. And thanks to Katie and Deidre for the setting up, and in advance to Jeff for the next shindig (I'm *so* there). It was great seeing everyone, look forward to the next one. And my wine of the evening was, I think, the sadly-forgotten Priorat. Which, unfortunately, is probably a tad too dear for my wallet. -
Hmmm. You could have asked me... I let the column go dark on Aug. 4 -- that's ONCE this summer before I took off yesterday (Aug. 25). And by gum, I'm taking off again Sept. 1. Yes, you could call it summertime goofing off; I'm lightening my workload on Mondays, when I normally write both Table Talk (for our early Food deadline) and the Tuesday INQlings column. If something major breaks restaurant-wise, I'll get it into INQlings. Thanks for caring... ← Well, it happens to be the only substantial reason I buy the paper on Thursdays. I feel bereft when it isn't there. In any case, I intended to cast no aspersions on your character. You will get nothing but craven sycophancy from me, Sir!
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Does anyone what is going on with Michel Klein's restaurant roundup column? For the last few weeks, it seems to be coming up every other week or so, as opposed to every Thursday. I would have thought vacation, or general Summer goofing-off, except that Inqlings seems to have suffered no such letup...
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KatieLoeb, Mottmott, Saxchik and myself were diverted to Radicchio last night (my towering stupidity prevented us from the planned Sovalo trip - they're on vacation through Wed.) As we all muttered between mouthfulls, it is *amazing* that this place manages to fly under the radar as much as it does. The food is terrific, well-executed traditional Italian, the service is brisk and professional (and the accents don't hurt), the prices make it one of the best values in the city, and the outside tables (momentarily displaced by minor construction) are extremely pleasant - and obviate the problem of an extremely loud dining room. In fact, not everyone is as clueless as we worried about being: among the patrons, we found Marc Vetri, Shola, and a bevvy of other restaurant professionals familiar to Katie, though not to me. Clearly, they think highly enough of the place to eat here on their one night off. It isn't really terribly relevant to pick among menu items - everything was *very* good - but Barbara's langoustines, Katie's calamari appetizer and lamb chops entree, as well as (from previous experience) the nightly whole-fish special, are particularly delicious. Shola had with him a delicious lemon oil and balsamic, both of which he was willing to share, and which added a little extra zing to many of the dishes, particularly the calamari. I would say the place compares favorably to L'Angolo, and both are among the best in this particular category. Now on to Sovalo soon.
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Over the weekend, I had the chance to speak with Jonathan. He was kind enough to clarify a number of the rumors flying around, and to forward this brief message from Steven Cook: >First and foremost I want to thank the members of this >forum for being so supportive of the Marigold in our >first year. Truly, our success is in large part due to >your early adoption of our vision and your >enthusiastic reviews. > >I also would like to express my appreciation for your >interest (and concern) regarding developments at the >restaurant. I believe that a restaurant, and a >business, must constantly move forward to remain >vital. In that spirit, I am thrilled to welcome >Michael Solomonov to lead this kitchen forward into >its second year. I believe that his innovation will >be instrumental in taking the cuisine at the Marigold >in the direction I think it should go. > >Michael has just completed a two-year tenure as Marc >Vetri’s sous chef. He is a smart, creative and >energetic chef (but I hope you won’t take my word for >it). Under Michael’s leadership in our kitchen, >Jonathan Makar and I intend to move forward with our >vision for the Marigold specifically and our business >in general. > >Jonathan and I remain partners in the Marigold and are >currently collaborating on a new concept. > >Thank you all again for your sincere interest in the >Marigold. > >Steven Cook I think I speak for many of us when i say that we will miss Chef Cook's food for as long as it takes him to light his new stove-fires. Personally, I also find myself very much looking forward to the re-opening of Marigold, and to finding out how the influence of Vetri's food will inflect their food. The bottom line is that Marigold was, and I hope will continue to be, a source of great food, and good fun, in my life. I for one, will do whatever is in my power to keep it that way. For one thing, I think we should start thinking of putting Chef Solomonov to the test, early, often and thoroughly. A 'Gullet dinner probably should happen soonish. Good luck Michael, Steven, Jonathan. Pedro
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Evan - go drink a BIIIIIG glass of water. You obviously need to cleanse your system a bit. ← My mommy always said *soapy* water is best for what ails him. Dirty duck.
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It must be said: it was the best head I've had in years: crispy, lightly smoky little bits of cranial - I believe - beef. Yummers. Next, as threatened, I will be having some tongue. Pedro
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Wow, that is really depressing. Steven Starr restaurants. Feh. ← It *sucks*! LBF was where I learned that food could be art. I took my then-wife there because it was "fancy" - if it isn't clear yet, I had absolutely no kind of clue. I first loved them because they made her feel like gold, and she was really uncertain about belonging. But the epiphany came when I had the rack of lamb. I'd never had food that was as *true*, as truly realized, as that dish was. I'd never *imagined* food like that But he costs more than I can afford, and I will afford a lot more than I should. I cannot (financially) dare to love his food, and I would dearly love to. I'm sorry, but when I look at the price structures of his competition, I cannot help but think that he has dug... about two-thirds of his grave, shall we say. I wish him all the best, but I would rather be able to put my wallet where my mouth is.
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Katie, to her credit, is not *exactly* wrong. But I will go to my grave maintaining that Yue Kee's version of the same dish is vastly superior.
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Was she at the dinner? cuz thats what we ate. I was hoping for additional recs for next time Evan ← You know, if Philly reviewers got paid anything much, I'd say we should be collecting a cut.
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That's good news. Vetri's kitchen has the kind of solid, well-grounded creativity that can really make for an exciting renewal at Marigold. Is this the first spinoff from their kitchen?