Gastronomie

The power of wine, and a big education for me

This past Sunday, we had a fellow blogger and his wife over for dinner. Anyone who's an OWF reader knows that Derrick... well, he knows his wine. And he's a ridiculously accomplished home chef, with a particularly enviable skill for plating.

So, to keep things simple, I decided we'd grill a Moroccan-spiced boneless leg of lamb and vegetables skewers, with a pine nut & golden raisin couscous.

As I got to thinking about wine, I of course went immediately to a Gigondas (2001 Domaine du Grand Montmirail, Les Deux Juliette). Which was fine. And a safe bet. And, you know, sort of predictable.

So when I popped in to Farmstead Cheese & Wine (at the Alameda Marketplace) to pick up my cheeses for our cheese course, I started browsing the wines and, after some creative thinking, decided to also pick up a bottle of rose.

What a fabulous, beautiful surprise. The 2004 Ch. Mas Neuf Costières de Nîmes was a hit. A blend of Syrah, Grenache & Cinsault gave this wine just enough spice to carry the spices in the meat, and it was nice not to be "weighed down" by a rich, heavy red -- just right for a warmish day.

It was really fun to experiment with a pairing I would never have thought to put together, and I learned a very important lesson: no matter how much I will ever know about wine, there will always be something more to learn.

WBW #10 - Pinot NOT Noir

I love this month's theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday (hosted by Alice at My Adventures in the Breadbox) for a couple of reasons.

First, I really do love Pinot Gris/Grigios and Pinot Blancs, particularly in the summertime -- I find them juicy but not sweet or cloying, crisp with good acidity, and generally incredibly quaffable.

Second, I'm ridiculously busy at work right now (hence the dearth of good posts), which means I'm pretty much relying on whatever is in the cellar. Fortunately, I had a bottle of Jacuzzi Pinot Gris which really needed to be drunk soon.

Jacuzzi Family Vineyards is a labeling of Cline Cellars; it's named after the Cline maternal grandparents, and focuses on smaller production bottlings -- generally under 1000 cases.

Wine: Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Pinot Gris (more recent bottles use "Grigio")
Vintage: 2001
Varietal: 100% Pinot Grigio
Appellation: Sonoma Coast & Carneros
Price: $18 (for current vintage)

The Nose:
Apples, mild honey -- like clover, not wildflower.

The Eyes:
I happen to know that this wine at release is a beautiful straw color. With the extra bottle time on mine, it was showing a little darker, almost "honeyed" a bit.

The Palate:
Lots of viscosity -- one of the things I love about PG -- but with great acid balance. Maybe a little bit tired, but still showing surprising well. A little bit of toastiness coming through, too. Very long, "ripe" finish mid-palate.

Overall Impressions:
Despite the fact that I let this wine sit around a little too long, it was still a very nice match for an improvised Greek salad with tuna, olives and feta cheese (yeah, I was in a salty-food kinda mood tonight!).

Columbia Restaurant

When C decided to meet me in Tampa after my conference, his first comment was, "We're having lunch at Columbia!"

With good reason, apparently. Some "historic institutions" end up riding on the coattails of their prior reputations; others live up to their past glory, and even continue to improve. Columbia falls squarely into the latter camp.

Now on their fifth contiguous generation of family ownership and management, Columbia serves up authentic Spanish and Cuban cuisine in a beautiful restaurant with gorgeous mosaic tile, ironwork, and an interior courtyard with a pretty fountain (pictured below).

New KQED article is up (and the reveal)

My latest piece for KQED's Bay Area Bites is up. This time, I write about one of my very favorite Oakland institutions, and my favorite way to enjoy it.

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Well, I can't believe no one guessed it--though Sam was thinking along the right track.

That there is an old-fashioned drying/curing rack for cigars. Those cigars you see were rolled by this guy:

He works at Columbia, a restaurant-gift shop in Florida's Ybor City. Columbia is regarded as one of the finest Cuban restaurants in Florida, and it's been in the same family for five generations.

His cigars are beautiful, and perfect. Take a look:

Check in tomorrow to hear about my meal at Columbia.

What Is It, #5

So this one is a bit different. And I'm sure one of my lovely readers will peg it within the hour.

Still, there's a great story, and some more photos to go along with it as soon as the reveal is done.

Come back Saturday night or Sunday morning for the rest of the story. (Update: the reveal is here)

Oh, and have a lovely weekend!

Bern's Part 2 - What Makes it Special

By now, you've hopefully read about our epic meal at Bern's in Tampa. And maybe you noticed that none of the food was particularly creative or so very different from a fantastic steak at a local San Francisco steakhouse.

So what made this experience so very special? And why, for pete's sake, are we already planning our next anniversary trip around a stop in Tampa for dinner at Bern's?

Frankly, it's simple. Bern's creates a magical experience by ensuring that you have fun while you're there. We'll remember Lyndon, our waiter, forever. We'll remember that wine list, and the later tour of the cellar, forever. And we'll certainly never forget the momentary thrill of being whisked up the back stairs, "the entrance we use for VIPs," to our completely private booth for dessert & digestifs.

This post is long -- almost excruciatingly so. But I hope you'll read through. If you only have time for one section, just read the tour of the wine cellar, towards the bottom of the post. You'll be glad you did.