Ian Mundell

Thanks all for your comments. I'll have to keep this in mind and, most importantly, make my local wine store do the work for me. Unfortunately my local local wine store is pretty dire. I go to Doylestown for the real shopping, or else to King of Prussia or Collegeville when I'm at work. One caveat; the lady I spoke with who said she didn't know if she was allowed to send the wines out said that the reason she was unsure was because it was a Chairman's Selection, and each store was allocated a certain amount. Make any sense? In any case, I'll get friendly with the local store manager and make them do the legwork for me next time.

Yes indeedy...it's very frustrating. And I'm glad you bring up the point of local stores having bottles shipped in. This is something that simply puzzles me (well, it used to; now I'm hardened and cynical.) A few weeks ago I was trying to track down a particular wine which was on sale at a good price, and I wanted to stock up for our "house" wine selection. Very few bottles were available in my vicinity, but I did find (i) a store about an hour's drive with several cases, and (ii) a store way out in the western part of the state with several cases. So I called the first store. Of course, they had none; it was an error on the website. And then I called the second store. They had it. But they didn't think they could ship it. But they weren't sure; the store manager thought it might not be allowed under LCB rules. She was very nice, and said she'd happily do it if she could, but asked me to call the LCB customer service hotline to check if it was permissible. So I did. And was never able to get through. As many times as I called, the automated call queue system ended up just dumping me to invalid extensions where the polite robotic voice told me she was very sorry but I'd pressed the wrong button. Or words to that effect. Sad.... So now I have no idea. And the changes implemented after the Mr. Newman departed have, in my eyes, resulted in a more confusing line-up with poorer selections and "bargains" that are unreliable. Sigh...

Noticed that the FRESCOBALDI DI REMOLE IMP. SANGIOVESE VI (code 08283) is on sale at the moment for $7.99. At that price this is a steal! Very nice with your favorite Italian meal. I've already stocked up on all I could find within close range Most stores, unfortunately, seem to only have a handful of bottles. The one I found with more than a couple of cases said they weren't allowed to ship it out to a store near me which distressed me greatly. Yet another PA quirk, I suppose.

I'll second the rec on the Tracy - bought a half-case last time around and will now restock. The '05 - better regarded - is also in, but at $19.99 isn't quite as good a bargain. Haven't tried the Haut Barrail, but the fact that it's nearly sold out at 1218 Chestnut tells me restaurants are seriously stocking up on it. Whatever that means about quality, it has in the past been the leading indicator that the wine in question will sell down very quickly throughout the city. ← We tried the Haut Barrail a few nights ago. Okay but not spectacular. Probably worth the sale price but not more. The Tracy is sold out at Collegeville and King of Prussia, so I'm planning on picking some up at Conshohocken this afternoon as I'm meeting my wife at the Ikea

Host's note: this topic is continued from "Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 2)" The stores have Chateau de Tracy Pouilly Fume 04 at $14.99 at the moment (code 21700). Quite a lot of it. I picked up a couple of bottles some weeks ago and really enjoyed it. They also seem to have a fair quantity of Chateau Haut Barrail Medoc 03 at $19.99 (code 20231). Has anyone tried this yet and wants to proffer a comment? Cheers Ian

Preamble: I've just been reading the thread on where to get a good cheeseburger, and someone mentioned steak tartare and how hard it is these days to find real steak tartare due to health risks and such. I had never tried it, but had always wanted to, and so I was delighted a few weeks ago when a work dinner took me out to Sullivan's Steak House in King of Prussia and I was able to order a nice appetizer of steak tartare. Everyone else at the table looked at me askance, but several of them were actually brave enough to try a bite. Reactions were mixed... We went back to Sullivan's just recently (another work dinner for the same project team) and of course I had the steak tartare again, and was just as happy with it. Now, however, I have to wonder where else, in this risk-averse day and age, can you still buy it? And who makes the best steak tartare in the Philadelphia region? My only base of comparison so far is KoP Sullivan's, which tastes pretty good to me. (Fortunately they don't put the raw egg on top; not sure I'm entirely that brave.) Look forward to opinions and suggestions! Cheers Ian

Thanks everyone for the kind welcome! I'll happily share my experiences Wine wise...I love Chateauneuf du Pape and (of course) Sauvignon Blanc (I have to like that one, I'm a kiwi). And single malt Scotch always goes down well

Yes, agreed. Although, as I work in King of Prussia, Collegeville is a nice handy run up 422 so I may have to check that out. My biggest problem (being a relative newbie) is still figuring out what's a real genuine bargain and what is just being sold at off prices because, well, that's all it warrants and nobody else would buy it because it's an off year for that Bordeaux region or whatever.