docsconz

Ana Tasca Lanza's books are a good introduction to Sicilian cooking.

I've been collecting since the early 90's. my cellar has room for about 2000 bottles, but I probably have closer to 2300 bottles with a number of boxes stacked in the middle of the room. My collection is about evenly divided between new world and old world. The old world is mostly french and Italian with a fair dollop of Spanish thrown in along with some port, Takaiji, German and Musar. The new is predominantly west coast US and Australia with a touch of Chile and Argentina.My rate of collecting has slowed considerably and yes I do drink it. The cellar is climate controlled. Collecting wine is a disease. The more you do it, the more (and more expensive) you do it

Served with a classic pairing - Stilton purchased from Murray's Cheese Shop, the wine was deep purple, soft and only mildly peppery. It had nice balance with good fruit. The 375ml format was certainly drinking well right now with plenty of subtlety.

I think it should be deconstructed with all of its constituent parts individually fried and tasted in anatomic order (of the twinkie i.e. outside in). The problem would be figuring out what order to serve the constituent chemicals in

Another outstanding article, Craig. I thought I had some knowledge about sherry because I knew of the solera system and the wines of lustau, but you have shown me how little I know. I am aching to try some of the matches you described. Since freshness is important for a fino, how long can one keep an unopened bottle? Can it be cellared (fino) or should it be purchased when needed?

The fruit is I think their biggest strength. Which wines did you try. Their zins and syrahs are best IMO. The Petite syrah and muscat canelli are also excellent. I am slightly less enraptured of their cab and merlot although they are still good. All the wines are good values, though not as much as they used to be.

The total cholesterol only tells part of the story. Much more significant is the ratio between high and low density lipoproteins. If the bulk of your cholesterol is made up of HDL the total cholesterol is of much less significance. Another important number is the triglycerides.

I'm leaving for Catalunya in two weeks and will be spending time in Andorra and Barcelona. Unfortunately foodwise, my time is not entirely my own. we will be meeting a Catalan family who has been hosting my son (we hosted their son last year). We will be dining out with them. I hope they are adventurous. If they are, we will probably have an even better experience than if we were by ourselves. I believe that we'll be going to Hispania, but from what I've read, Espai Sucre, Commerc 24 and Alkimia are at the top of my list. I just hope I can get to them. How difficult is it to get reservations at any of these places? Are they open in August?

A great dessert wine needs a lot of acid to balance the sweetness. If it doesn't have it, the wine becomes cloying. Thanks for the review.

I have yet to be disappointed by any Lava Capwine. Their zins, in particular, are extraordinary and to me the essence of what a zin is. The 1996 is drinking beautifully with a cornucopia of fruit well balanced by acid and tannin. It is a big wine, but married nicely with heritage pork tenderloin with garlic and rosemary, sauteed snow peas and a tomatoe salad with basil, S&P and EVOO and Bobolink cheese. While I am not good about describing the nuance flavors in a wine, this had good complexity along with a nice long finish. Both my wife and I were sorry when the bottle was finished as we were both looking for more. Anyone else here have any experience with Lava Cap. I think they are one of the most under-rated and therefore best values in California wine.

Both dim sum places are fine Ton Kiang is slightly better IMO, but further out of the way depending on where you are and what else you are doing.. I certainly can'y argue with the choice of Chez Panisse. An upstairs lunch there was one of the most satisfying meals I've ever had. I take it you couldn't get reservations at The French Laundry? A fun thing to do in Napa would be to put together a picnic of local products, go to a winery (e.g. Chateau Montelena) pick up a bottle and enjoy. Follow it up with a spa treatment in Calistoga in a place like Indian Springs (a great retro place to stay by the way).

Not that there is anything wrong with that!

Not so hot and dry like this. Vines need none or few ice at Winter and none or few rain at Summer, hot temperatures = early ripening. Is it right? I'm sure this will be one of the best vintages, mainly for alcohol lovers. There is still a lot of weather to go before this turns out to be a great vintage. If it does it will most likely be a vintage reminiscent of California or Australia. Robert Parker will love it .

I want to hear about the pinot ice wine

While things certainly seem promising, there is still a long way to go before "the vintage of the century" can be proclaimed. 1998 was such a vintage in Europe with a very hot summer. Some great wines were produced, but September rains put a big damper on things if I remember correctly.

Why would he have dreamed of working for either of these wineries as opposed to others in the 1970's. This stretches my credulity a bit

There is also no guarantee that the review is recent.

Since I have nothing planned for tomorrow, I'll think I'll do a bagel taste test (ok, so I need to get a life). I'll pick up plain bagels from Columbia bagels (is that the name of the one on 110th and B'way?- I know Zabars gets theirs there), Lenny's and H&H. Then I'll try all three and report back. They need to be equally fresh for it to be a fair comparison. There is nothing like a bagel fresh from the oven.

I love St. Viateur bagels, but I think we are talking apples and oranges when comparing them to NYC bagels such as H&H. They are different species. It is like comparing lamb and beef. I love them both and would wish to not have to give up either. In either place, they are at their best when fresh, but I think NYC bagels revive better in a toaster when less than perfectly fresh.

To bacon or not to bacon, that is the question! Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the skings and arrows of a bacon-less breakfast or to continue to sleep, perchance to dream (of bacon)....

Ask not what your bacon can do for you, but ask what can you do for your bacon!

A previous discussion on great food in NENY can be found here.. Sammy, I applaud your taste in restaurants. I believe the ones you mentioned are the best in Saratoga. Most of the others are somewhat overrated IMO. Chez Pierre is a decent value, however, their bread is downright awful. I can't fully forgive a French restaurant with lousy bread Putnam Market is a fine store. Their wine shop is probably the best in the North Country. I can't go in there anymore, because it is too tempting.

At it's peak, this wine was simply delicious. It remained in fine balance with the acid component nicely complementing the still forward fruit. The tannins werre light. The wine had a very pleasant mild effervescence. We had the wine with grilled Alaskan halibut steaks, grilled small new potatos and carrots and sauteed haricots vert with EVOO and fresh farmer's market garlic. The wine was a fine match with everything including the grilled carrot. Once again, I find that pinot noir is the ultimate red food wine, whether from Burgundy or the new world.

Nice Pics. Are the cherries local NJ cherries? They are gorgeous

The dessert wines, in particular the ice wines from the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario are often superb. While I think Inniskillin is over-rated I love Thirty Bench Their Reisling Ice Wine is outstanding.