malarkey

I still have yet to get ahold of some of this. Although I have tried their Mac Frost which is really fine. for me it was champagne and a beaumes de venise muscat. tonight I rang in the new year again ;-) with Bosteels Deus and a '96 Drappier and some Prager Aria.

anytime somebody waxes this enthusiatically about a beer, I just gotta try it. hell, those last words alone will make me try it! great reviews, thanks

What's wrong with over hopped?! I don't understand!! I had a Mac Frost last night. Lovely. very well balanced. I think I need to seek this out on tap somewhere...

Snow Cap has differed radically over the years. I had one this year, and didn't really pay much attention :-/ but it didn't stick in my memory so it must not be too special. I remember years past where it was a dark hoppy thing, no spice or sweetness anywhere.

what? just order the caesar & bananas foster? They wouldn't mind, you know. They like business, no matter how much you spend! I'm not sure I'd take a table on a Saturday night and do this, but that's just me. Here's what I would want to see on the table if I went: Grilled escarole salad with warm pancetta dressing, aged ricotta and quail egg Spiedini of mozzarella and white anchovy with Sicilian rosemary olive oil Grilled calamari with baby tomatoes and mint vinaigrette Large raviolo with ricotta, spinach and egg yolk in porcini broth Wild salmon with fennel salt and braised fennel bulb Sage roasted rib and loin of veal, black truffle sauce with suppli Crispy duck with duck confit, corona beans, and sauce of dried figs, plums and cherries Rosemary pressed rib chop with olive oil, sea salt, preserved lemons and parsley Preserved lemons are fabulous with meat. Even better with lamb than beef.

;-) it kicks ass doesn't it?! proving once again the Belgians REALLY know how to make beer.

I'll have to try some of these inexpensive bubblies! I've had a few of those mentioned, but not the Cerdon de Bugey or the Cristallino. on the slightly pricier side of things this year I discovered and attempted to hoard the '96 Drappier. At $35 a bottle it beats the heck out of all the NV stuff in the same price range.

I've had the '90 d'Yquem. I haven't tasted 1000's of wines, nor am I an expert, but if I had to name one, this would stand as the most incredible wine I've ever had. Kim, you might also try Muscat Beaumes de Venise, there are several labels, my favorite being Domaine de Durban. and its affordable!

not only is she a babe, but I will forever be envious of her: she got kissed by Tony Bourdain **sigh** Looking forward to your drinking notes!

I haven't tried this yet, but there's one in my fridge awaiting. Might open it tonight. I've always liked Anchor's xmas beers. its always spiced reminds me of Grant's Spiced Ale... *sob*

I found some of the Deus. OMG. its magnificent. I'm gonna go over and buy up a few bottles, and take one to an foodie event I'm going to tomorrow. I think this would pair with food just fabulously...

Great write up Bob. Now if I can just find some of that Deus. crap, might be too late.

damn! hey, how was the trip, beans?? I was going to second the recommend for Caffrey's, but I suspect you are back already. I really liked it when I was there, but we were also in County Monaghan, a stones throw from Belfast.

holy mary mother of god. this is more expensive than the French Laundry. Actually I guess this is about the same as FL now that I think about it. The photos go a long way toward telling the story. Truly, this place has moved to the top of my list. Now how & when can I get there.. hmmmm

holy mary mother of god. this is more expensive than the French Laundry. Awesome, awesome review. Really, one of the best I've ever read on egullet. Now I simply HAVE to go to Trio.

wow didn't know that was coming. very good!

if there's any one reason I would not be able to move away from Seattle, it would be because I just can't tear myself away from the DUNGENESS. They are *awesome*. that being said, I also adore soft-shelled.

I second Elliott's. It is quintessential Pacific Northwest. DUNGENESS!!!!

I'm game!

um, yes, I would find that extremely annoying. My suspicion with people who do this is that they never truly enjoy anything. there's always something wrong somewhere, wrecking their buzz. And if I'm spending big bucks to have an over-the-top dinner, by god, I want to be happy about it. Sitting next to someone who is picking apart everything and constantly stating what's wrong with the experience would wreck my buzz.

What I find most annoying in dining companions is anybody who will berate or chide the waitstaff over matters outside their control. None of you ever worked that end of the operation? SB I have I have!! but I know what you mean, I don't get it either, and I did find it annoying.

is it an availability issue? not in the PNW. Most thai restaurants offer local micros along with Singha. I had a Singha recently and I think it was skunked. pretty nasty stuff.

had dinner last night at Nell's. had the onion tart w/artichoke chips, which was fabulous. this was paired with an Oregon Pinot Gris. had the duck confit with white beans. Absolutely lovely. the confit was perfect. so, the dish was sorta like a decontructed cassoulet. really tasty, served with a Washington cab-merlot. DP had the pan-seared steelhead w/parsnips. Very Good, but the duck was better ;-) dessert WAS going to be the apple crisp, but they informed us it had just gone in the oven and wouldn't be out for another half-hour, so we chose desserts off their regular menu. I had a fig tart with beaumes-de-venise ice cream. Nice, especially the ice cream, but I liked what my dining partner had better: a pear upside down cake with caramel. whoa, really great. we both had glasses of Beaumes-de-Venise wine to go with. I noticed their menu indicated that this particular 25/25 menu was for this week. perhaps it will be changing next week?

a CASSOULET CLUB?!? oh I'd be a member of that. Very cool that they'll do take-out cassoulet. I still need to do a cross city sampling of all available cassoulets.

I think this just became a "must go" for Saturday morning...