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Everything posted by KatieLoeb
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bills: Great review! I agree with everything said and the more time I've had to reflect on the film and the dialogue, the more I've decided I really enjoyed it. Aside from the spot on wine geek references, the wine becomes almost it's own character in the story. Certainly it's a major catalyst in the story. The moment where Miles is describing why he loves Pinot Noir so much, "because it's so fickle and frustrating and difficult to deal with" you realize that he's talking about himself and his own character flaws. And then Maya realizes that this dumpy neurotic flawed guy is self-reflective enough to really grasp that about himself and begins to fall in love with him at that very moment. It's all quite sweet. I really enjoyed this film. Definitely an art house sleeper.
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This won't solve your hot chocolate crisis, but don't miss trying the artisinal chocolates from Jubilee Chocolates of Philadelphia. Their stuff is AMAZING!! The Honey Lavender is to die for and the Mint is the freshest you'll ever taste.
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not according to the customer in dibruno's 18th street last week who was yelling at the top of his lungs to whoever was waiting on him YANN BETTER NOT CLOSE I HEAR THEY AREN'T DOING SO WELL AND EVERYONE GOES ON ABOUT MIEL BUT THEIR PASTRY SUCKS IT'S OVERLY SUGARY AND NOT GOOD AND REALLY I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE BIG DEAL I MEAN IT'S OK AND ALL BUT EVERYONE GOES ON AND REALLY IT'S OVERLY SUGARED ANYWAY EVERYTHING AT YANN IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD NOT LIKE MIEL EVERYONE SHOULD BUY EVERYTHING AT YANN for like five minutes as 20 other people tried to order and kept wincing and pausing because it was so hard to talk with someone yelling nonstop like that. anyway, yeah, miel, or yann if they're open sundays. another option that might be interesting is to get one of those sugar waffles from bonte, which is just up the street at 17th & sansom. man they're good. pretty good coffee too. ← A Yann shill, perhaps?? How bizarre...
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The stories I've heard/seen are mostly bar stories. I've heard of everything from bartenders bringing in their own bottles of the house vodka so they could give away free drinks to the regulars, bump their tips up tremendously and not have it look like it was missing from inventory, to a really enterprising bartender at a very busy nightclub that literally brought in his own cash register, and rang half of the nights receipts into that and then pocketed it because the management had no record of it. Pretty clever until he got caught and prosecuted. I've also heard about the boxes/bags/bottles of food disappearing into the trash and then getting fished out later. An old boss of mine busted some of the bussers and dishwashers doing this on camera. Also prosecuted. The flip side of this can be amusing as well. I had an old boss that was certain that we were losing thousands of dollars a month on silverware getting carelessly tossed into the trash. When the magnetic topped trash cans didn't work he bought a metal detector. Problem was that every little speck of aluminum foil would set the thing off and some poor soul would have to dig through the trash with elbow high gloves on. That didn't last long once they realized the detector was way too sensitive.
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DavidDavidDavid! You go! Spoil that lovely wife of yours! Sounds like a great weekend. I love going to Miel just because their pastries go beyond the usual croissants, coffee cake and scones. Not that those aren't awesome, but you could have lots of different things with your coffee that wouldn't be available elsewhere. Melograno is a lovely place for dinner, but the no reservation policy can make for an excruciating wait. Unless of course you have Carman's Truck to Party in while you're waiting. However, Matyson is only a short walk away on 19th Street and does take reservations. No experience yet with Pumpkin, but I've heard good things. As for the spa, I'd highly recommend booking a massage with Michael Adler at Adolf Biecker Spa at the Rittenhouse Hotel. Michael is an amazing masseuse, with the most magical hands ever. The fact that he is visually impaired (he is blind) seems to have heightened his tactile abilities to a level I've never experienced before. He's the best masseuse around, but he books up pretty far in advance as a result, so I'd look into it ASAP. Have a lovely weekend and don't hesitate to PM if I can help.
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My thanks to Stuart as well, for taking the time to give us such insightful answers to our questions. It's been a pleasure hosting!
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
KatieLoeb replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
percyn: The Villa Maria is definitely SLO in PA. I'm sorry - I absolutely should have mentioned that. I figured Stuart would be a great guest (and he has been) because Villa Maria has enough production to be nationally available, and right off the shelf in most non-monopoly states. I've definitely bought Villa Maria wines at a great price at Canal's Bottlestop just past the Marlton Circle in Marlton. I'm certain they're readily available in DE as well, and they're tax free there! The whole line of Villa Maria wines are of excellent quality and value. I was particularly fond of the Riesling myself, and the Sauvignon Blanc was textbook New Zealand flavor profile - all gooseberry and grapefruit and since it's all vinified in stainless steel, very quenching and fresh. The whole line of wines was quite impressive from the quality standpoint, and there are several lines of wines (Private Bin, Cellar Selection, Reserve and Single Vineyard) at various price points to satisfy anyone's wallet or particular circumstance. Worth seeking out to see which ones are your favorite. edited to add: Upon further searching, the PLCB Premium Collection section of the website has several of the Villa Maria white wines listed as available in the "Specialty" stores, ranging in price from $13.99 to about $18.49. Perhaps Diedre could provide a bit more insight on which stores might have which wines available. -
Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
KatieLoeb replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Mike: I tried a bottle of the Vinas del Monsant Fra Guerau 2001 earlier this week. I thought the first sip was really tightly wound and unpleasant, but after it sat in the glass for a short while and I swirled it around a bit, it opened up and became quite pleasant and fruity. Not unlike an inexpensive Rhone blend - perfectly pleasant for an easy quaff at $7.99. Im looking for the St. Supery too. Looking forward to trying that when I get a bottle. The Sette Ponte Oreno sounds really yummy! You were lucky to snag a little bit of that while you could. You need to find out who the guy is that bought it all up, if they're a private collector. Or maybe it was a restaurant?? If we can convince Diedre to cyber-stalk the collectors we'll be able to consistently beat them to the hard to find and heavily allocated wines. {just kidding about the stalking, of course } -
Glenn: Sorry - I misunderstood. Didn't realize it was BYO. Then definitely go with bigger glassware. FWIW, I still think the Magnum size is the best compromise for one-size-fits-all glasses. Still big enough to swirl yet not so large that customers will fill them up with a full bottle at a time! And they will definitely be impressed that you have proper stemware, or at least I would be! PLCB is the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. They are the state agency from which all restaurants and consumers in the Commonwealth of PA must purchase their liquor and wine. You can see my alternating rants and praise for them regularly in the PA forum, depending on what the issue at hand is.
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Glenn: Lauber is who I used to have to deal with for Riedel stemware in PA. Then somehow they weren't carrying it anymore and I had to deal with a regional rep directly from Riedel and now it seems that the PLCB has realized that, like with other products, they can buy so much of it they'll get a great price and then turn around and resell it at a margin most smaller retailers couldn't even dream about. I realize that Riedel probably doesn't want the "restaurant series" stuff in every mall housewares retail store, but I just didn't think they could restrict their resellers customers lists that way. Seems odd, is all. About the glasses for your cafe - Don't forget that the glasses you've chosen are basically the size of small aquariums, and that a five or even six oz. pour could potentially look really chintzy in them. If you don't think you'll be selling that much wine in general and don't think it's the "main event" for your business, then having the really oversized stemware might work against you perception-wise. I'd suggest test-driving the Magnum glass for all-purpose, or if you chose to have red and white glasses that were different, then the Sangiovese/Zin red glass and the Riesling/Sauv Blanc glass for white. If you fill those glasses to the widest point (about 2/5 up the bowl of the glass) it is a fair (and portion controlled for your cost calculations) glass of wine and doesn't look like you're overcharging folks for weasely little glass of wine. The wine aficionados might notice, but if they aren't the bulk of your customers and you aren't running an enoteca, you're better off making the majority of folks happy, and sparing yourself from people saying, "Hey! Fill up that glass! I'm not going to pay $X for that! Blah, blah..."
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Bugsy - where are you located? In PA the STATE is the agent for this line of glassware, and although I suspect that they intended for restaurants to order the "restaurant" glassware through them much as they do wine, the glassware is most certainly available to the consumer and can be oredered simply by providing the proper code and placing an "SLO" (Special Liquor Order) through their local PLCB store. I wonder if the PLCB has cut some sort of special deal directly with Riedel to be able to do this? It used to be that there was one specific purveyor that handled the Riedel glassware and I haven't heard that's the case in a while so perhaps things have changed here. What does this mean exactly? Can Riedel restrict your business and tell you whom you can and can't re-sell their products to? That seems like ripe ground for some sort of legal complaint.
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Glenn: Riedel also makes a "restaurant grade" series of glassware that's in the same shapes as the Vinum glasses. They work out to about $5/stem here in PA through the PLCB system. Can't imagine they wouldn't be cheaper in Jersey. You'd probably have to find a restaurant supply store or ask a local sommelier which company reps for Riedel in your area. The good thing about the "restaurant" glasses is that they aren't as fragile as the rest of the Riedel line. You can actually drum them on the table or knock one over and not break it, yet they are the exact same shapes and still very thin walled and lipped glass. With proper racking (available through Wine Enthusiast, etc) you can even put them through the dishwasher. I love them. I just bought a box of one dozen and gave a set of eight and a nice bottle of wine as a wedding gift. Kept the other four for myself to replace a few I have broken over the past year. They aren't unbreakable, but they can take a hell of a lot more abuse than the average "shatter-if-you-look-at-it-crosseyed" stemware can. And if you do break one they're inexpensive enough so as to not cause too much anguish over it. PM me if I can give you the info for PA. Any PLCB store could order them for you with the proper code. Perhaps you know folks over the border here or it's a short drive?
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Yes James - you were with me! It was the really big tasting at the University Museum. And we went back to the Pol Roger table as many times as we could get with doing it, as I recall.
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Stuart: Since you've made reference to the "maritime" climate in NZ could you clarify exactly what that means in braoder terms for some of the folks here that might not know? And also, can you tell us a bit more about the various microclimates in NZ, which areas are best for which varietals and such so we can be better prepared to decipher the bottle labels next time we're at the wine shop? Thanks!
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
KatieLoeb replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
D: Thanks for the heads up! I just snagged a case of the Burgess Zin for myself. It's going to be my "house wine" for the foreseeable future. Please go ask Stuart some questions in the Wine Forum! He's a super interesting guy, has a wide background and he'll be with us through the week. Should be interesting for everyone, I hope! -
There used to be a shop on the north side of Cedar Lane in Teaneck just called Hot Bagels. It was sort of caddy cornered to Louie's Charcoal pit diner and on the other side of the street from Louie's and Bischoff's. Don't know if it's still there or has changed ownership, but those were the holy grail of bagels. You could watch them coming out of the boiling water baths and then getting placed on long rotisserie type racks in the oven. They were, as advertised, HOT and delicious. I grew up eating those every weekend and if I close my eyes, that's what a bagel tastes like to me.
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Katie, I spent almost 20 years tending bar and worked with what seemed to be a million different people. Not ONE ever thought we were tipped enough. It is a required opinion to hold if you are a server. ← Mike: I know. But I've worn those well worn shoes too, and I certainly knew when I was making good coin. I think it has more to do with being young and not knowing how good you really have it than it does with being genuinely undertipped.
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If you have a dehydrator, homemade raisins are much tastier than those hard dried little rabbit turds they pass off in the littel red boxes.
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If you're dealing with the non-vintage - well I prefer Veuve (have had both in one meal - and I think the Veuve is a bit more dry - and I just like the way it tastes better). But it's purely a matter of taste. And they're really not far apart in quality (although NV Veuve tends to be more expensive). Has anyone here ever had the Pol Roger Churchill? My husband had been looking for it for a long time. Finally found a bottle in a wine store in New York (think it was a '96) - but it was $170 <yikes>. The sales person at the store said for that money - one could do a lot better. If you've tried it - what do you think? Robyn ← Robyn: I tried the Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill at a tasting several months ago. It's big-assed masculine Champagne if you can imagine what I'm driving at when I say that. It's really yeasty and toasty, smells like bread dough in a glass and the bubbles are very fine. The finish lasts for an eternity. It's only made in the finest vintages. Possibly the most delicious glass of Champagne I've ever tasted.
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It's probably the entry level NV then. I call it yellow label, but it has gotten more orange of late, it seems. It's OK and I sell it by the bottle at my restaurant because it's well recognized. I suspect your Pol Roger Reserve will be more impressive, so if that's what you're after I'd open that one.
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Marlene: Full name on the label of any Veuve Clicquot will say "Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin". It's just part of the name. Does it say anything else on the label? Is it the "Yellow label" non-vintage stuff? Does it have any indication of a vintage on it? If the Pol Roger is a Reserve, go for that!!
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Completely in agreement with Brad. Pol Roger has some depth and finesse. Veuve, unless it's La Grande Dame (unfortunately that doesn't happen nearly often enough) just leaves me cold. It's so ordinary.
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Today I had a little "taste-me" cup of the Belgian Endive and Chimay Soup with Cheddar Cheese & Croutons (yummy - like eating fondue with a spoon instead of a fork!) and for staff meal they made Spinach, Ham & Cheese omelets and Herb Roasted potatoes.
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Hello everyone: I'd like to introduce Stuart Devine of Villa Maria Estate Limited. Stuart has a long career in viticulture and wine management, both from the vineyard perspective as well as the marketing perspective. In his current position as Viticulturalist for Villa Maria Estate, he oversees 30 contracted growers for Villa Maria, assists the growers with day-to-day operations of their vineyards, coordinates the harvest and is part of a Viticulture team that looks at research and technical issues for the company in improving grape growing in the unique cool maritime climate of New Zealand. In his position as USA Sales Manager for Villa Maria, Stuart spends several months of the year travelling throughout the United States overseeing the development of Villa Maria wines with the importer, Vineyard Brands, meeting with the VB sales force and distribution companies in each state that carry Villa Maria wines, and one on one meetings with restaurants and retail outlets for Villa Maria products. This is how I had the pleasure of meeting Stuart, on one of his swings through Philadelphia. Villa Maria wines has chosen to use Stelvin closures (screwcaps) on all of their wines to eliminate the possibility of corktaint, and to insure that the wines are as the winemakers intended - preserving the freshness and expression of fruit. Stuart taught me the neat trick of how to properly open a screwtop bottle at tableside, so I hope he'll have a chance to explain that to everyone here as well. Please join me in welcoming Stuart to eGullet and ask any questions you might have related to New Zealand wines, Villa Maria specifically or viticultural practices. He'll be with us until the end of this week and will be checking in to answer your questions all week.
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The average here is 19.2%. And I still hear my staff bitch and moan... Further info is HERE