Ron Johnson

I believe Tommy inquired how the air-injection cork removers worked for screw-caps. Not well my dear man, not well at all. For screw caps I recommend using a grip that involves the use of the index finger and the opposable thumb then twist in a counter clockwise manner until the cap comes free of the threads on the bottle. Seriously though, the most fun apparatus for opening wine is using a sabre to open a sparkling wine.

Excessive consumption of alcohol causes swelling of the blood vessels. This places pressure on the nerve endings. It also causes the sinus passages to become inflammed. These two factors together result in a headache. Dehydration is also caused by alcohol and can excacerbate the symptoms described above. The best course of action is water intake and use of something to address the swelling like ibuprofen. One of the problems of consuming lots of water while drinking is that alcohol is a diuretic, so you just piss it all out. As a result you spend most of your time waiting in line for the bathroom. Generally, my course of action is to go to bed, wake up sometime in the middle of the night, drink some water take some Advil, return to bed, wake up, go eat food that is bad for me, spend as many hours as needed on couch in front of tv. Of course the bong hit suggestion could work as well.

Ruby, I don't remember if they kept refilling and to be honest I didn't care. GT is so #### good and the service is so incredible ( a Danny Meyer hallmark) that what we were paying for water wasn't really important. If a chef has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that my dinner was made from the finest ingredients and the sommelier has made sure that I am drinking the finest wine that I can afford, why should I question drinking water that tastes good along with them?

So I guess Danny Meyer changes his position. Money, money, money . . . money

At Gramercy Tavern the water choices presented to me were: sparkling or still. I never was asked if I wanted tap, and I never gave a thought to how much they would charge me for the bottled water. We spent so much on wine, who cares.

I totally agree. On another point, what Long Island wineries do you like in particular? I am always trying to find new American wines that are not Napa/Sonoma. I have had some good luck with Pinot Noir and Riesling from the Finger Lakes region, most notably Sheldrake.

Is that your opinion, or do you have some authority for such a statement? I used the term "correct" only in the context of what is traditional. White Burgundy or American chardonnay would be a traditional pairing with roast turkey. However, I am not a traditionalist, merely pointing out that pairing for people who are. Notice that I am not having this wine with my dinner either. I, for one, do not believe in the traditional pairings of wine and food, with the exception of food that makes wine taste bad, such as sweet sauces or really fiery hot food.

Addressing various posts in no particular order: There is no "good" beajolais nouveau, it simply is what it is: party wine released early to celebrate the harvest. Zinfandel, while possible an American varietal not counting its link to primitivo, is hotly alcoholic and extremely fruity, making it hard to pair with food in general much less Thanksgiving dinner specifically. Off-dry rieslings at the kabinett level and gewurztraminer are fine, but not especially dramatic additions to the table. With simple roast turkey and the regular side dishes, a white burgundy is probably the most correct match. However, if the turkey is served with some hearty dressing or a brown gravy, I tend to opt for very mature Cabernet or Bordeaux. These wines will have mellowed tannins and restrained fruit, unlike the fruit-bombs recently produced in California. Good red Bordeaux is the perfect food wine, and has been consumed for decades in France with all manners of food including fish. The same could be said for red burgundy and the better American Pinot Noirs. The lively acidity of these wines make them an excellent complement to a lavish meal. As for me personally, I am going totally off-track and having a lovely 1990 Ogier Cote Rotie, which should be just right for pairing up with some good grub. I think the most important thing is to try to avoid too many sweet dishes on the Thanksgiving table. Sweet food doesn't pair well with most wines, making them taste sour and off.

Some friends are headed to South Beach next month to escape the onset of winter. They have asked me, as their gourmand pal, to find some great places to eat while down there. So my question is: what are the best dining spots in South Beach. I am looking for the killer mom & pop hole in the wall dives with great local food to the fanciest four stars. They will want to eat at both. Any recommendations are appreciated. cheers