KatieLoeb

Hi all: I had a charming and predictably oily tongued liquor salesperson schedule an appontment with me earlier this week. He was hawking a new high end vodka called Zyr ( pronounced Zeer). This is the first super premium vodka imported from Russia. It's got the Grey Goose and Belvedere drinkers right in its crosshairs. All grain - 75% winter wheat/25% rye. Virtually no noticeable aroma over ice (at least initially), and a faint taste of rye bread on the finish. Water drawn from underground springs 140 meters beneath the Russian soil. Filtered 9 times and distilled 5 times. . I was skeptical but I have to admit: DANG! This shit is tasty! Oh. My. God. I couldn't believe how smooth this was. Makes Grey Goose taste like Philly tap water! (Hommage to Tommy! ) Distilled to virtually complete neutrality. Perfect on the rocks with a twist of your favorite citrus, up in a martini or with a light splash of Rose's Lime for the best gimlet ever. Apparently it's been getting quite a bit of press. Wine Enthusiast gave it the highest rating it has ever given to a vodka. Costs a few dollars more per bottle (low thirties) than it's targets, but worth it, I think. I immediately purchased 6 bottles for two of the restaurants to split. Of course it wasn't at my local warehouse today when I wanted to pick it up... Which is really a bummer because an ice cold shot of it's been paired with a new salmon appetizer that has a vodka-caviar vinaigrette dressing on it. Thought it would be interesting to see if the customers respond well to that suggestion. We'll probably be out of the sample bottle that was left with us by tomorrow! I'd never heard of this before this dude showed up to sell it to me. Anyone else know about this or tried it before? Obviously, I'm hooked now. My new favorite vodka, without question. Supposedly it's in all the swanky places in New York like Jean-Georges, Nobu, etc. Further info is available Here

Well there's a small vote of confidence, I guess. I always loved that HUGE pile of ground meat at the end of the grill, and the grillmeister using two old fashioned ice cream dishes as his "molds" for the as-big-as-two-fists-put- together burgers. Perhaps the quality of the ground meat has suffered over the years as their costs rose due to inflation, availability, portion size, etc.? Sam - I think the one I used to frequent was the E. 64th locale. Not that it matters. It's been about 15 years since I had one... I know you're all questoning my well trained palate now. They used to be good. Really. I swear!

OK - I've definitely been away too long. This cinches it. If the burgers at Jackson Hole have gone downhill this much, I guess I won't ever go back Sure, Holly. I've always been a fan of Copa burgers. My usual order is the St. Tropez with Boursin cheese and sprouts. Other toppings as the mood strikes me. The burgers at New Wave Cafe are very good too. [Full disclosure - my employer owns the following restaurants as is evidenced in my signature] Rouge and Bleu also make very tasty burgers. More of a glass-of-wine and burger type vibe in either place, rather than a burger-and-beer type vibe at my prior examples. On a side note: I just ordered a delicious Barbera for by-the-glass at Bleu to go with the burgers and steaks. Should be in later this week . Bleu (and Rouge) burgers are more expensive than either of the other choices, but large and prepared as ordered every time. The Bleu burgers come with Blue cheese and bacon, and very good skinny frites. Yummy!

Thanks for the vote of confidence Miss Maggie . I'm working out my cocktail shaking muscles with eager anticipation. Unless, of course, you prefer stirred... I'm wearing my brand spanking new Pig Pickin' Baseball shirt that finally arrived today as I type this. I think I'll save that for Saturday, as I assume this shall be the "unenforced-yet-somewhat-official" attire for that afternoon?

When my mother was a hostess at Shrafts and was dating my father, Chumley's was their regular hangout. Crikey - I'm not THAT friggin' old! And yes - it's obviously been some time since I've been to Chumley's. I always thought that was such a cool pub. Semi-secret courtyard entrance being part of the mystique, of course.

Have I been away from New York too long? Not one person has suggested Jackson Hole? Those used to be my favorite burgers back when I lived in the area... Is the Chumley's on your list that cool little pub that you have to cut through a courtyard to get to? You kinda have to know where it is, to know where it is? Wish I could join all of you. Sounds like fun! If anyone is travelling to Philadelphia I'll be happy to sample some burgers down here with you...I have a few personal faves already.

Lucrative for you actively-on-the-floor types, perhaps. Some of us slave away in relative obscurity up in our offices, going blind looking at spreadsheets and having the telephone stuck to our ears all day long... No tips for me, upstairs. This is the decidedly UNglamourous part of the job, along with the endless inventories and the checking in of the orders that was already mentioned. The glamour part of the job is meeting with the sales people and tasting LOTS of wine that you'd never get to try on your own. Invitations to large scale tastings, wine dinners, introductions to winemakers that are in town meeting with their reps, etc. Then if you should travel on your personal time to any wine procducing areas, you're all hooked up for behind-the-scenes tours of the wineries, the vineyards, etc. Definitely worth it if that's how you like to spend your vacations !

I'm in for the budget conscious Friday night eats too! Let me know what I can do to help with staff meal when I get there. I'm a mean prep cook if you need one (but please but the peeled and de-veined shrimp - it'll be SO much easier on everyone!). Charlie and I are leaving Philly at an as-yet-undetermined time Friday morning, so assuming it's about the 5.5 or 6 hour drive we assume it to be, we should be there in time to be at least a little help. I'd also be happy to play bartender on Friday evening.

Find yourself a used copy of "Foods of Africa" from the old Time-Life "Foods of the World" cookbook series. There's a great abundance of South African recipes in there. That ought to score you some points. And I completely understand. I'm a sucker for a guy with an accent too. Got me into trouble in the past...

Sam: That's a handsome weasel you've got there. What's its name? I had Dino (named after the Flintstone's dog whom he resembled in profile), Lolita and Herbie the Love Weasel. Crazy-assed little pets they are. Like kittens that never ever grow up. Thievery and teasing are their favorite sports. Very cute. And always a conversation starter when being walked on their leashes.

No Herb = No Pie??!!?? Whazzup with this equation? I missed it too, but hell, I'd certainly travel 400 miles for Elyse's pie! Say it aint so - I want some of Elyse's pie even though Herbacidal won't be there...

An Armenian friend of mine tells a story about he and his younger brother stealing Grandma's homemade arak (sp?) out of the liquor cabinet until they realized they'd had enough that it was noticable. They decided to put some water in it to bring it back up to its former level in the bottle but were horrified when it turned milky! They were predictably busted by the parental units soon thereafter...

Randall: Thanks so much for joining us here at eGullet. It's a real treat to get to pick your brain a little bit... On that note - I've always wondered what inspires your varietal names and wine labels. The "Heart of Darkness" Madiran for example. Or the great illustrations of the penitentiary and the knotted sheets coming out of the window on the "Big House" wines. Do you have an illustrator who suggests these ideas to you, or is it the other way around? Do you tell someone what you've envisioned and have them give you sketches? The labels are only part of the fun regarding your wines. The real fun starts when you open the bottles! I've been a big fan of your winery and wines for years. Thanks again for your time and your thoughts.

Here I sit at my desk, as the saying says, "Read it and weep..." Sounds like you all had a great time. I am so sorry I missed it, but barring unforeseen automobile or other expensive crises du jour, I'll be there next time!

Hi Everyone: Well - there's good news and bad news. The good news is that my car is fixed and functional. The bad news is it cost over $300 and completely blew my disposable income for the week. And they screwed up my paycheck today and still owe me for several weeks of salary differential! Even if I chose to throw caution to the wind and not pay a few bills until next week, I unfortunately spent too much time today either waiting for the tow truck this AM or leaving to go fetch the car before the transmission shop closed. So I didn't get as much work done as is absolutely necessary before I can call it a weekend. I won't be able to join you all tomorrow as I will be slaving in my office so I can manage to have at least ONE day off this weekend. Sorry! Take and post lots of pictures so I can torment myself with them later on... Please send Varmint my deepest regrets. I'll be looking forward to meeting he and Mrs. Varmint when he's playing gracious host to all of us in Raleigh in a few weeks. Does this poor man know what he's gotten himself into? This is one crazy crew, and since there are hotel rooms involved, I suspect there'll be some rather serious partying happening as well.

Beets!!! As I child I absolutely LOATHED them. Thought they tasted like dirt. My mom used to try "sneak" them into my salads and everything would turn purple and I'd whine: "Mo-oommm! There's beets in here!!!" "No there aren't sweetie..." at which point I'd show her one impaled on the tines of my fork and she'd give up, only to try again several weeks later. My mom was big on the iron rich qualities of beets and tried her damndest to get them down my gullet. Fast forward to age 23, when I spent a month on the French Riviera doing a college "Summer Abroad" program. Supposedly learning about film and art history in Cannes and the environs, really learning to drink, eat and flirt with foreign men. Many Nicoise Salads later I am crazy about beets and still am. Go figure...

Bugsy, my man- can you hook a sista' up???!!!??? I am forced to deal with the PLCB!! For EVERYTHING!!! Take pity on me, my brother! I don't believe there's anything illegal about transporting or shipping glassware over state lines... edited for lousy spelling and legalities

Lauren is already in NYC. She and I know each other from when she was a receptionist in my office in a former lifetime... Herbacidal and I were planning to either hop the Philly-NYC Chinatown bus or drive to Trenton and take Jersey Transit from there, which is what I usually do to get to NYC from Philadelphia. I may or may not have a car, and I may or may not have any disposable income left after I find out what the bill for the car repair is! Believe me - this is the LAST thing I needed to happen to me this morning or this week. I will try my absolute best to be there, but if the repairs take more than tomorrow to complete, I shall have to pick the car up on Saturday I suspect, or be without any transport for Sunday and work next week as well. Crossing my fingers that this is a quick, easy and relatively inexpensive automobile repair crisis. Katie

My clutch cable snapped this morning and my clutch pedal went to the floor of my Nissan and didn't come back up , so I'm taking cabs to work and all over town to do work. I have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to wait for a tow truck and take the car to the transmission shop. Depending on what the damage is and when the car will be fixed I hope to still make it on Saturday, but it's looking iffy now. Sorry everyone. Just when I think I'm catching up, some costly surprise expense rears its ugly head and bites me on the ass. Typical for the day I've been having...

Greg: A small contingent of intrepid Philadelphia eGulleteers drove up to Bobolink Dairy last Sunday to join the NJ and NY area EGulleteers for a BBQ and Potluck. Lots of fun, nice folks, glorious weather and LOTS of amazing food prepared with love and care by the attendees. An awesome day all around. Do a search on eGullet for "Bobolink" and you'll see several threads about the farm, Ellen Shapiro's lovely photo essay and the BBQ last weekend. The cheeses are incredible. REAL cheese like you''d have in Europe. Definitely something you should check out.

Varmint: There's one batch of super concentrated lemon vodka already done, and another in the works. I'll be making the simple syrup and adding it all together about a week before so it can rest a bit and flavors can combine. Should I bring it Friday night for the hard cores since it surely won't be enough for Saturday? Or should we wait until Saturday and just go first come first served? Just let me know.

kcd: Lauber Imports has the Riedel glassware "franchise", to my knowledge. The commercial grade glasses are great. You can actually DRUM them on the table without damage. Of course, they aren't completely unbreakable - if dropped onto a hard floor from a high enough height they will break, or if flung against a brick wall, I'd imagine they'd break. However, they can take a lot of abuse and are commercial dishwasher safe, if they are racked properly. I hope you don't have the misfortune of living in Pennsylvania. The PLCB just took over the Reidel glassware from Lauber here, raised prices by 50% and you have to go to the local "specialty" store to order, leave a deposit and then go pick them up , rather than simply calling your Lauber rep and having them delivered directly to you in a timely fashion. And of course since the PLCB employees are low level civil servants, they are CLUELESS when it comes to answering any questions you might have, or supplying a sample piece of glassware you might wish to bring to a Management meeting or whatever. I'm still waiting for a callback from them about that.

Aside from eating, are there any cultural stops planned? I'd certainly recommend a day trip to St.-Paul-de-Vence for a visit to the Maeght Foundation and a stroll through the village itself. And of course there's La Colombe D'Or there. I really wouldn't miss the opportunity to visit here - one of the most beautiful villages I've ever seen. I have a print of a watercolor of the village up on the hill behind the ramparts proudly hung in the hallway of my house. I sigh every time I pass it... Check out This link or This link for a photo tour of St. Paul-de-Vence to whet your appetite.

Thanks Greg. Actually, I haven't gotten anywhere with that yet, so I'll just postpone for now. It's good of them to think of their retail customers that way. Sucks about the storm, doesn't it? I have a few of their Asian pears about five feet away in the fridge in my office as I'm typing. Think I'll have one as soon as I finish this post! I have convinced the Chef to start ordering the Bobolink Dairy cheeses we were fortunate enough to try last Sunday. They will be the featured item on our cheese plates as soon as we can set up an account and start shipping. YAY! I love it when there's a win-win situation!

Bummer Zilla! Was looking forward to seeing you and having a big 'ol slumber party in our room. I understand though. My new responsibilities have me pretty hog tied (pun intended) as well. But come hell or high water I will be at the Pig Pickin'! Just waiting for my shirt to arrive any day now... Salad Bitch, eh? Some of the nicknames I've had are "The Wine Wench", "High Priestess of Hooch", "The Booze Bitch", etc. My personal favorite is "Principessa of Potables"