Charles Smith

I like Setaro, from Abruzzo, available in the Italian market in Chelsea market.

I don't know from authentic in Indian cooking, but a great example of the food at Bread Bar is the oxtail frankie, which is delicious- it takes an Indian street food snack, and replicates it with a decidedly non-traditional stuffing- it's the best thing at either restaurant- a big reason I enjoyed Bread Bar more than Diwan-

Two other candidates worth mentioning are Banyuls- Look for Domaine du Mas Blanc (especially the Dr. Parce bottling) and Maury- Domaine du mas Amiel- both are terrific with chocolate- usually a tough match. both are good QPR as well.

At least 50% of all newspapers in a typical market (NYC is not a typical market) on any given day are sold for the ads. The major reason for the remaining 50% is germaneness to one's life in one way or another- "localness" or editorial slant, or best sports, or whatever, so when it's all broken down, no one single writer is ever responsible for a significant number of papers being sold. Comics, on the other hand, are very valuable in maintaining readership.

I completely missed this article and accompanying thread and have just waded through both- The problem I have with the piece is that it takes so long for it to establish a reason for existing in the first place. The first seven paragraphs (minus quotes from other sources) are criticisms of her work, with no context. Then, we get to what I think is the reason that the piece was written- she's launched a web site. OK, well, then this "column" is a review of her web site. That's fine. It's a review of her site and describes that she's a bad blogger, and then criticizes her work that is apparently also linked to on the site. Again, fine, a reviewer/columnist has every right to critique anything they want, but this is not a clear review, instead, this column reads to me as a long time gripe that was looking for a reason for existing. Cheers, Charles

There's very good Korean in Manhattan- centered on Koreatown in the low 30's west of fifth ave.- Kang Suh and Mandoo Bar are my favorites. As for outer borough culture- MoMA is now in Queens, PS1 is a great museum in Queens, the Brooklyn Museum is a very good museum. During the day, it's great to take the subways out- a lot are aboveground, with great city views- you really get a feel for all of NYC that way. Cheers, Charles

In the high-end retail clothing world the numbers are staggering- something like 1000 customers do 70% of Bergdorf Goodman's business, for example. It wouldn't surprise me if the restaurant world is similar. edited to fix quotes

It was indeed a memorable meal- The wines, at least what I can remember- Whites 2000 Quintarelli Secco Ca da Merlo Blanco 1996 JM Boillot Puligny Montrachet Reds A 1999 Portugese Red- missed the name a Cab France from the Loire- another missed name 2000 Mad Fish Shiraz- western Australia 1998 Domaine L'Arlot Nuits St. Geoges, Clos des Florets All these dishes are excellent foils for wine. The scotch was memorable- the nose was all about bandaids and iodine and peat- great stuff.

The long bar there is a great bar, in terms of design and view. I also think that HKG is the best airport in the world.

California Cabernet

On our honeymoon my wife and I were treated to a meal at EP by some friends. It was a 4 hour plus meal, with a tasting of French wines. The following night we dined at La Chiusa in Montefollonico- The contrast in styles at such high levels of food was very interesting- both meals were well executed and delicious, but La Chiusa was much better because of the "feel" of the restaurant. not a bad two nights, either way- and this was our first taste (La Chiusa) of truffles in Italy- Tuscan, but still wonderful- probably my favorite single dish if I had to pick one. Cheers, Charles

Wilfrid- Thanks for the great report- Who is the producer for the wine? Thanks, Charles

Just saw a blurb in Crain's that Yoshida-san is now the sushi chef at Brasserie 360- 3rd Ave. at 60th street (opening today). The chef (Luc Dendievel) is formerly of Bayards. I have no other knowledge of the restaurant, but thought this might be of interest. Cheers, Charles

Now we're getting somewhere- Terroir is such an abstract concept, "derived with a sense of place" is my preferred definition. So using Steve's example, as well as some thoughts from elsewhere, the terroir dictates the blend of the wine- Beaucastel's typically mouvedre driven since that's the varietal within their terroir that performs the best. Merlot grows better in Pomerol, etc. As for Adam's ?, I didn't begin to think about clones, and I'm able to discern terroir better in Burgundy than anywhere else, so that makes sense.

actually, I think that's pretty clear. The question is how terroir is expressed through blended wines, which in many cases come from distinct terroir.

Single Vineyard, or field blends absolutely, no question. I think the question more relates to block plantings- In Steve P's example of Latour, I'm not sure how many acres Latour has, but I'm pretty sure the same acreage in Burgundy would constitute 2-3 different terroir. Beaucastel and other CDP's are interesting, because a number of them are field blends- Cheers, Charles

Those were exactly my first thoughts, but, almost by definition, the varietals in a blend come from different terroirs. So, how does the finished wine express terroir?

A fellow egulleteer asked me recently if blended wines could express terroir. My immediate response was, of course, Bordeaux expresses terroir, so blended wines must express it. OK, fine, but upon further inspection, is that right? To me, Burgundy and Barolo (I’m excluding regions for the sakes of length) are the most significant terroir driven wines, and each have very strict definitions for vineyard, and therefore, terroir definition. Each has distinct terroir yards apart. Bordeaux (and other blends) have vineyards a lot further apart- I’m sure that each varietal in a blend can express terroir, but what happens once it’s blended? Does one predominate? I’m at a loss for a good explanation. Thanks! Cheers, Charles

If you have to ask...

I think the more interesting question is whether or not there's a dish for every wine and if there isn't, well, why does that wine exist?

I walked by on Saturday- very sleek space, looked like they were dry running a bit- no menu up yet

Peter- I'm trying to learn here, not trying to argue with you- If you think zin is a great varietal, I'd like to see some examples and one great wine doesn't do the trick. If there are examples of winemakers planting zin in other countries, that would be interesting- everyone wants to be the next Burgundy and so they plant it everywhere. I've had one great zin- a Behrens and Hitchcock '97. After I had it, I called the winery and asked about it- Their response- "yep, that was a great wine- we have no idea what happened" not the response you'd get from a pinot producer. Cheers, Charles

Turley Hayne Vineyard ? I've tasted both these wines within the same week and the Turley (I'm referring to the '96) is not even close. There's no complexity, the wine is seriously out of balance, is distracting to drink and goes with nothing- it is a monster wine, but there's no way it will last IMHO. The Chave is also a monster, but one with balance, some hints of complexity (it was pretty primary when I had it), it's well structured and we'll be able to taste it again in 10,15,20,25,30 years. The Turley's a freak show, the Chave is a great wine. (hook line and sinker) edited to show my ability to take the bait.

Peter- How do you define great? Good is one thing, great is a lot more. Who are the zinfandel producers that consistently produce great wines? Where are the new zinfandel regions where they are planting zins b/c of what a great varietal it is? Good wines are wines you like and enjoy- Great wines need to have something more and great varietals need to have a number of characteristics. Cheers, Charles

That's just not true. Great varietals get transplanted to be made all over the world. Great varietals have numerous producers who's wine is known for aging and complexity in a multitudes of vintages- great varietals have been such for hundreds of years and have never been "saved" by their use as a white wine. Great varietals have success in multiple different styles of winemaking. Zin has a place, and there may be some great zins, but it's not a great varietal. Cheers, Charles