GordonCooks

I felt it painted a picture of exclusionism rather than hospitality. The food was secondary, catering to society foremost. I also didn't think it was flattering to Mauro.

My bulgogi isn't as good as my mom's.

My money is still on Stefan. The only thing keeping Toby from wallowing in obscurity is his british accent.

Had a very nice carb fest at Rocco's over the weekend. Re-lived the salads I had previously as I enjoyed them that much and ate the better part of 3 pizzas. The marguerite was delicate in flavor and a great way way to start. The stars were a previously mentioned pizza of tomato, olive, anchovy, and chili and a pie of clam and pancetta. I spent the meal going between bites of each quite happily. I was thrilled to see an addition to the dessert menu - Butterscotch Budino. A thick yet creamy pudding topped with a light caramel sauce and whole almonds.

I have mostly All Clad and Calphalon at home but cook on T-Fal at a friends house. The thinness of the T-Fal makes for uneven heat distribution although the non stick surface is slightly better than my Calphalon and as goos as my All-Clad. I feel that the T-Fal would not withstand any type of abuse where as I could hurl by All Clad or Calphalon into my sink and later use them for brake rotors without incident. Although I cannot comment on the newer Calphalon I see at the stores. Very thin edge and flimsy looking stamped handle.

We did some note comparison a while back for valuation purposes. Although not tasted personally, the range was widely varied. I can only attribute it to bottle variance and provenance. All tasted after a restful decant - from typical leather, earth, spice and cassis to good but thin to overt brett.

One of resolutions this year was to become a little more conscientious with my tasting notes First bottle night of 2009 - Jan 15 2004 Jermann Vintage Tunina 2005 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2006 Zind Humbrecht Gerwurtztraminer Alsace Gueberschwihr 2006 Kongsgaard Chardonnay 2004 Beaux Freres “The Beaux Freres” 1999 DRC Vosne Romanee Cuvee Duvault Blochet 2002 Penfolds RWT 1985 Grgich Hills Cabernet 1986 Chateau Montelena 1.5 2005 Glaetzer Amon-Ra 1994 Croft Port The Jermann was rather inocous, good but not at it’s price point The Markus Molitor was thick and sweet with nice acidity The Z-H was a little thin but more floral and acidic The Kongsgaard was all toasted oak and toffee The Beaux Freres – typical raspberries and velvety texture The DRC must have changed 3-4 times over the course of the evening. Nutmeg, star anise, mushroom, etc. It’s nuances are beyond my level of understanding. The Penfolds was drinking well, juicy but not over the top. The Grgich was tired The Montelena was youthful in nose and color but a little thin and green on the palate The Amon Ra seemed huge but probably due to the company is was compared with The Croft was prime, deep purple with no bricking, excellent nose and balanced on the tongue. Probably better the next day.

Then the farm would have to be near the ocean...or just stick them on a deserted island. Wait, that's another show. ← Top Chef 6 - The Donner Party. The UFC meets The CIA.....best show ever.

So far, this Top Chef is underwhelming. Food wise, challenge wise, and chef wise.

I'll second Cantonese House for their quality and consistency. Much better than Golden Port.

I haven't seen that article, but I had some pretty terrific pizza at Tony D's in Corn Hill. They've got a coal oven that does a great job creating a tasty crust, with a touch of char around the edges. It's not quite the same style as the NYC coal-oven pizzarias: that Patsy's East Harlem - Grimaldi's - Lombardi's school does a thinner crust, and is lighter on the toppings. I prefer that style by a little, but Tony D's made a very tasty pie. The thicker crust and heavier toppings were in pretty good balance, and it's hard to know whether a more minimal approach would fly in RaChaCha. The guys at Tony D's are obviously very dialed-in on how the oven is running, I think the crust was cooked perfectly. We got one white pizza with clams and sausage, which was a very nice flavor combination, but the clams were a little over-cooked. I imagine that's tricky, but I've had clam pizzas that managed it. We also had a sausage and hot pepper pizza, which I thought was more successful. It's not going to push Patsy's out of my coal-oven top spot, but it's pretty darn good, and if I'm in the mood for pizza in Rochester, this is going to be my go-to place. Of course, I still have to try the pizza at Rocco's... ← Tony D's is currently the top spot. I laugh because they originally had the temp and char down perfect but too many people complained about the "burnt" pizzas (including a local, novice food critic) They've made a happy medium.

If you pick up a copy of Rochester Magazine this month, Adam Wilcox does a great article about local pizza.

Gordon, great info as always. Any first impressions? ← It's a winner. The food at Rocco's was as expected - top notch. The pizza oven needs a few cycles to cure the bricks so they were less than enthusiastic due the fact it was fired for the first time that day. A salad of roasted beets, oranges, pistachios, house made ricotta, a salad of grilled potatoes, roasted red peppers, sopressata, arugula, meatballs, arancini, marinated olives, red wine risotto, grilled lamb over mushroom panzanella, cannoli, pistachio gelato with fennel seed brittle, etc. Pizzas and pastas next time.

What about a small pastry cafe? Baking can be done at your own pace in your own kitchen in the mornings.

Opening this weekend. Rocco's 165 Monroe Ave Rochester NY Local Chef Mark Cupolo (formerly at Max's Chop House and former owner of Victor Grilling) is forging ahead with the type of place he's always wanted to do. Rustic Italian grilled, braised meats, risottos, pizzas, etc with an italian wine list. Mark has an uncompromising culinary point of view which is good for his customers. I've never found anything on any of his dishes I would have added or subtracted.

Off the cuff At least 6 bottles of Cachaca 1 Bottle Gin 4 Bottles of Vodka (2 citrus) 1 Bottle of Triple Sec 1 Bottle of White Vermouth 6 Bottles of Prosecco 4 Bottles of Tinto/Tempranillo 6 Bottles of White (maybe Vermentino) 1 Bottle Spiced rum 1 Bottle of White Rum 24 beers 50 limes 25 lemons Ice., ice, and some more ice.

....scotch

With jiggers, for the high end places, it maintains the integrity of the recipe. For lower end, it's necessary inventory control.

You never know how things like this turn out. Including and beyond grocery, The big "W" is a marketing juggernaut - be it fine dining, boutique chocolate, specialty teas, fine pastry - they will out-hire, out-train, and out-spend you. Like I said, you can't fault them for being good at what they do but sometimes you gotta root for David instead of Goliath.

And perhaps you will be right. But I have moved some 37 times in my life, and have lived all over this country (and I mean from Alaska to Florida, New Hampshire to Southern California, and most points in between) and nowhere has that been the case. In every single locale where grocery stores sell wine, which has been by far the majority, there are also small boutique wine shops doing just fine. Perhaps they haven't had Wegman's to compete with, but nowhere did they seem to have a "pass" from the local large grocery chain. The wine shops compete with things like special wine tasting nights, newsletters, lecture series, hosting wine tastings in people's homes, establishing a relationship with customers by knowing their preferences, notifying them of special arrivals of their favorites, intelligent salespeople offering excellent advice, etc. And by just in general fostering an air of clubby upscale knowledge and exclusivity, something completely opposite from the grocery store, where pimply and clueless store clerks often can't even tell you how to find the bread aisle. I'm currently living in Houston, Texas, where wine sales have been allowed in grocery stores for years. And while nobody would call Spec's "small," it is definitely a "brick & mortar alternative," and it is doing spectacularly well. It's done so by identifying a target market and pleasing them. If grocers are allowed to sell wine in NY, I'd suggest the current brick & mortar wine shops do the same. I will say that it's possible that in any given town perhaps there were four or five wine shops and after grocery store sales were allowed, that number dropped to the two or three best. But as Fat Guy says, if the only reason you're still in business is because you're being protected by some archaic law, perhaps you should try harder. ← The things you're talking about the smaller wine shops is what Wegman's is currently doing, quite aggressively as a matter of fact. We're less 3 smaller, neighborhood specialty shops. I can't fault them for being good at what they do - business is business afterall. But I wouldn't want to be on the smaller volume side is weathers the correction.

Agreed from consumer standpoint and NYC point of view. But from the Upstate side, it's the small, specialty shops selling boutique and lesser known labels. I'm very much in the minority here but that I don't see how these smaller shops will survive another loss in market share. Pleasing the masses will mean a homogenized selection of popular, high production, wines and no brick & mortar alternatives. Just my .02

From a small business standpoint, Wegmans is a capitalized, dominating player in the market. The addition of in store wine would not stop at the lower and mid-level market. The prefer the upper middle demographic and would, err rather will push any competition out. I don't think it's any secret that this has long been their desire and with the recent purchase of the area's largest wine/spirits store, this is what they're anticipating.

PM Sent

Gordon, Are these recommendations still accurate, as far as you know? My husband and I are planning to head towards Rochester tomorrow, and wanted to eat something for lunch that we don't see around here unless we make it ourselves. Of particular interest: Indian food. If that isn't a good bet, I'd settle for banh mi or pho. MelissaH ← Chinese and Indian suggestions are still fine. Although, call ahead for hours. Thai/Vietnamese? Pho Duong and Dac Hoa are the only players currently. Buon Apetito

Ciabatta wiped with garlic paste on one side and anchovy paste on the other stuffed with Smithfield ham, soppressata, artichokes, kalamata olives, mozz, fontina, arugula, extra virgin Olive oil drizzle, and some balsamic onion jam. Watch the amount of olives and Anchovy paste and I usually bypass the hard cheese. This sammy can become overly salty very easily.