Mark Sommelier

Not one peep here about JoeH?

John, The wine had an opulent bouquet and a dense and delicious mouthfeel. I wouldn't classify it as a complete "international" style wine, just several notches up from what you expect from a humble Haut-Medoc wine. Perhaps a solid third to second growth Bordeaux. Rollan de By is a wine to keep your eyes on, as well as the sister chateau, Haut Condissas. The 2002 were both delicious and well structured wines. The 2003 are typical of the vintage and somewhat richer. 2 wines and vintages to watch.

. . . my favorite being 2002 Rollan de By. I'm making arrangements for one of my importer friends to ship me some cases. ← Rollan de By, at least in previous years has been available in New York. I really don't know the comparative pricing between NY and France, but a previous vintage was once recommended to us by a NY sommelier to serve to a large group of people. It was a special occasion and a much larger group than I normally care to wine and dine, but also a group that included some fine taste buds I didn't want to offend. ← Rollan de By was 14 Euros at the source in Bordeaux. I imagine that after importing fees it will still be under $30 in the US. The '02 and '03 were stunning wines.

John, On the first visit there were 10 of us at the table, so there were plenty of bottles of red Bordeaux flying around. 2002 Leoville Poyferré was particularly delicious. The reason for the trip was tasting and scoring wines for Bordeaux-New York magazine, and after tasting close to 200 wines, I discovered several humble Medoc and Haut-Medoc wines that were stunning in quality and flavor, my favorite being 2002 Rollan de By. I'm making arrangements for one of my importer friends to ship me some cases.

PS, That's very true. This is not food for the meek. The weather in Bordeaux last week was perfect- 75° every day with no humidity or clouds. Evening cooled off into the 60's. I didn't find the food oppressive, but I can see your point about eating there in the winter. Luckily, I'm going back in January.

Just a quick word to say that I had 2 utterly delicious meals at La Tupina in Bordeaux last week. It had been heartily recommended to me by several people and it did not disappoint. This is the place for hearty Southwest fare served in a quaint and sort of rustic setting. The service was extremely friendly (it helps to show up with some vignerons ). The highlights were the foie gras dishes - both oeuf cocotte with foie gras and the bloc de foie gras, the delicious and tender entrecote and the amazingly flavorful poulet roti. The winelist has some gems, but only includes wines from Bordeaux and some from the Rhone. Prices in Bordeaux are a fraction of those in Paris, I should add.

Me too.

Full Key is the only one there that doesn't have fish tanks. New Big Wong rocks!

The winners: NEIGHBORHOOD GATHERING PLACE:Cafe Saint-Ex HOTTEST BAR SCENE: IndeBleu POWER SPOT: Cafe Milano FAVORITE RESTAURANT: based on public input--no nominees:MIE N YU The judges panel decided these awards: NEW RESTAURANT: CityZen FINE DINING: Ristorante Tosca INFORMAL DINING: Johnny's Half Shell CHEF of the YEAR: Fabio Trabocchi (Maestro) EMPLOYEE: Efrain Velasco (Andale) PASTRY CHEF: Chris Kujula (Kinkead's) WINE & BEVERAGE PROGRAM: Maestro MANAGER: Tricia Kominsky (Poste) RISING CULINARY STAR:Cathal Armstrong (Restaurant Eve) WHERE MAGAZINE AWARD:Mimi's American Bistro

While I can understand why you don't want to drink another over-the-top shiraz, I have plenty of customers here in Washington, DC who crave this stuff. The higer the Parker number, the better.

Daniel, The Charles F. Shaw winery went bankrupt 10-15 years ago. Bronco bought the name several years ago and produces this bulk wine from the glut of grapes that exists everywhere in California except the Napa Valley. You can believe that the bottle, cork and label cost more than the wine in the bottle. The fact that many people find it palatable is a good thing. I work as a sommelier. I firmly believe that there are only two kinds of wines: what you like and what you don't like. On one of the wine boards, the subject of the Two Buck Chuck red wines came up. One guy said that the cabernet sucked. Another guy said that the merlot sucked. The third guy said that if you mix the cabernet and merlot together, it was awesome. I chuckled.

The show is like Kitchen Survivor. Surprised CBS didn't think of it first.

I certainly understand that, but then he's getting a million or so for the theatrics. Insulting the women at the counter didn't cost him much. Is this realistically what it's like working with a "Genius" (aka famous) chef, though? ← Well, I work for someone I consider a "genius chef", and, while he is tough, he doesn't act like that. I've been there for 7 1/2 years.

No one in their right mind would open a restaurant with cooks who had been there for only 2 hours.

Painful to watch.

The stemware I use in the restaurant for wine by the glass holds 25oz. of wine. I had the restaurant's logo discretely etched on the glasses at the 6oz. mark. No one yet has demanded a glass filled to the brim, but I'd love to see their faces when I pour a whole bottle of wine into the glass.

Technically speaking, Old World is Europe and New World is North America, South America and Australia. Where the blur comes in is using New World techniques in Old World vineyards. Some examples: Chateau de Valandraud, Mauro, L'Ermita.

For fried clam bellies ( piss clams) go to the bar at Kinkeads and ask for the fried clams. Hank's just opened, Kinkeads has been doing it for years. I can't wait to try Hank's. How late is it open?

No comment.

Weather permitting, Marcel's also has a very nice terrace outside.

2 Brunches: Melrose at the Park Hyatt. They have a pianist. Nice room and good service. Appetizer buffet and menu entrée. Bistrot du Coin. Great eggs benedict and ambience. Warning here: this weekend is graduation from several local universities.

Maine Avenue.

Y'all know that if you eat them, you will smell like them for 3 days, don't you? Just curious

I started a thread on eG 2 years ago on this exact topic. Unfortunately, I can't find it to link to it now. After I had to work a horrendous Christmas Eve, 3 Sets of oblivious parents, cranky grannies and toddlers came in. I swear that the infants were calling to each other in the restaurant like monkeys in the jungle. I work in an extremely expensive, upscale restaurant. You can be sure that this noise disturbed everyone in the restaurant. What do you do?

I believe you'll find book recommendations in the Wine folder here on eGullet. Indispensable for me are: Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson's World Wine Atlas, Larousse Wine Dictionary, Parker's Bordeaux and the Oxford Companion to Wine. On the internet: eRobertParker.com/Mark Squires wine bulletin board is lively, opinionated and full of information, plus, its free. I am also subscribed to Benson Marketing newsletters. You can find them at: http//www.bensonmarketing.com . You can get a daily digest of wine related articles from all over the world. Also free.