Louis Martini Founders Signature 2008 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
It’s Vanilla Licorice, plain and simple…
Schweiger Vineyards Dedication 2004 Napa Red – It’s Deep…and Balanced @SchweigerWine
We bought the Schweiger Dedication on a visit to Napa a few years ago. We knew when we tasted it in their cellar that it was very special and we’d need a good excuse to open it up at home. Well, after many years of sitting around and waiting for “something special”, we decided that a saturday night at home with braised short ribs, mashed celery root and a happy puppy was perfect.
So, the wine was great. It’s big indeed – lots of spring mountain fruit comes through, but not in an ‘in your face’ jammy-ness where one berry note comes through loud and clear. No, over the years, this has mellowed into a truly balanced, and very powerful deep red wine. I thought it went perfectly with our dinner and didn’t overpower the food, which can sometimes happen with big Napa reds. I’ll now need to revisit Schweiger and create a new occasion to dedicate…
Chateau Chevalier Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Napa Valley – A Spring Mountain Find @totalwine @LegendaryNapa
With a name like Chateau Chevalier, you’d think this wine was from Bordeaux or perhaps the Rhone, but that assumption would be incorrect. In fact, this is a Napa Valley wine from one of my favorite areas: Spring Mountain. Spring Mountain is probably best known for its Merlot production with great spots like Pride and Paloma, but they have some serious Cabernet Sauvignon too. This is a “value” Cab Sauv which I picked up at Total Wine for less than $20. It’s a smooth, food friendly wine that has that big Napa fruit up front, but not a huge tannic backbone on the finish. The value is in quotes as there are many sub $20 cab sauv’s…just not that many from Napa.
Oak Ridge Winery Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2008 – - A chill Zin! + Poppi’s Pizza = A Good Dinner
Last night, we ordered delivery from Poppi’s Pizza and opened up this Oak Ridge Zinfandel. It’s been a crazy couple weeks since we picked up our puppy on 12/31. We’ve been so busy with her that we haven’t had the chance to enjoy our wine or look for pizza in our new area. This all changed on Saturday as we really enjoyed the thin crust pizza from Poppi’s and this Zin too. The pizza crust reminds me of Slice which was our favorite spot when we lived in center city. At Poppi’s the dough isn’t quite as crisp, but the crust is. Also, on the plain pizza, the sauce to cheese ratio is just right. Their salads are a cut above the regular pizza place salads too with a spring mix of lettuce and pitted olives. You’d think everyone would serve their olives in salads pitted, but my molars can tell you differently.
On a side note, if you’d like to see my puppy, I’ve created a blog for her too – her name is Macie and she’s a bernedoodle.
This wine is a chill zin – - I don’t mean that it’s a good wine when you are chilling out, which it is, but that it’s not an in-your-face bold, spicy wine. Rather, it’s jammy, like mixed berry jelly and just a bit of oak to balance it out. If you find some zins to be too powerful for you, I think you might like this. Cheers.
What a Christmas Ale @AnchorBrewing – it’s like Cafe Du Monde in a glass
The folks at Anchor Brewing are taking me back to New Orleans, sitting with powdered sugar all over myself while thoroughly enjoying a hot beignet. This beer is full of coffee, some chocolate and…chicory? It’s that semi-nutty flavor that reminds me of the small Cafe Du Monde tables, barely able to fit the old-school coffee cup and saucer (with coffee running over), the plates of powdery beignets and the chicory coffee. They’ve (probably unintentionally) taken me back with this serious ale that’s as perfect for the holidays as can be.
Had an EPIC time – NCL Eastern Caribbean November 2011 @CruiseNorwegian
We adventured on the largest ship in the NCL fleet in November (2011) as we sailed from Miami to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau with a dear friend (and first time cruiser). We have enjoyed the freestyle cruising style of NCL and this proved to be a great choice again.
The ports are not the main attraction of this vacation, in my mind, it’s really the opportunity to enjoy the ship and entertainment options it provides. This ship is second to none in entertainment. From feature acts Legends in Concert and Blue Man Group to the comedy of The Second City and improv music at Howl at the Moon – - there is rarely a dull moment. For amazing blues and jazz, the Fat Cats Jazz & Blues Club takes me back to Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Now, on to the food, the ‘main course’ of the post. First, overall the dining was improved over our 2 previous NCL cruises, especially in the main dining rooms. The specialty restaurants are generally very good, as one might expect, but we returned for 4 nights of dinner in the main dining rooms and enjoyed them thoroughly.
Cagney’s: This clubby steakhouse provides solid steaks (not prime, but a high-end choice to be sure), perfectly prepared and some solid salads and sides to go with it. I’m a big surf-n-turf fan and for $8 more, I had a lobster tail with my steak. Our waiter strongly recommended the truffle fries and they were good, but considering that we already had mushrooms and creamed spinach already, we basically picked at them. For as good as the main course was, I think the best part was the apple crumb cobbler with vanilla ice cream. The apples tasted fresh, the crumb topping was uber-crunchy and spiked with a bit of cinnamon and the ice cream was a perfect compliment.- La Cucina: We had the beginnings of a fun and enjoyable meal in this cozy, very italian feeling restaurant in the front of the ship on deck 14. We went on our first night which was a rough night at sea and didn’t make it past the appetizers as it was really uncomfortable to not see the horizon in a dark room. The server was wonderful and sent our unfinished meals which didn’t yet arrive to our rooms for whenever we wanted to eat them. Sadly, I wasn’t hungry the rest of the night.
- Moderno Churrascaria: This Brazillian steakhouse inspired restaurant is on the other side of Cagney’s just above the Manhattan room. The theme is cool and offers a similar style of dining that you might find in a Brazillian Steakhouse here, but that’s where the similarities end. The salad bar was pretty and provided a fair amount of variety, but nothing was really special on it. Then, the meats started to arrive. The Picanha (top-sirloin) and Filet were the two top steaks in my mind due to overall flavor and
tenderness. The sausages, ribs, lamb, and garlic steak were fair – - not bad, don’t get me wrong, but not representative of the quality this ship has to offer. We had better food at the lunch buffet in the garden cafe at lunch. For dessert, they were able to accommodate our request for the apple crumb cobbler from Cagney’s and we enjoyed that (maybe more) again. - At both of the main dining rooms: Manhattan Room and Taste, we were very satisfied. The Manhattan Room is more formal and features a big band that plays through dinner – loved that! Taste is more casual, with a sleek note to it and we had a wonderful server there who couldn’t have been any better. Food in both is the same, so it’s the setting that you’re going for. In my mind they are really firing on all cylinders in both of these venues, from the braised lamb shank which doesn’t even require a knife to the pork loin which comes out perfect and juicy, they have mastered the art of large format prep. However, what really takes the “cake” is the dessert. I can’t stop raving about how impressed I am at the souffle that comes ou
t of these kitchens. The precision, and often timing required to consistently turn out a souffle in a fine dining establishment is known, but in a giant production like this, it’s really incredible. On the last night, I enjoyed their coconut souffle which was moist, light, airy, and had the palatable weave of coconut throughout, but not at all overpowering. If you go, find out which night they are serving the souffle and make sure you have it (any of the restaurant managers can ask the chef for you). - The garden cafe or the buffet as most know it is not to be missed. This isn’t due to the opportunity to completely gorge yourself in the gluttony of widely available, all-you-can-eat food, but really, due to the quality. If you enjoy Indian food, don’t miss whatever they are serving in the Indian specialty section of the garden cafe as it’s well spiced and accurately prepared. Another good find, especially at lunch or for a pre-dinner snack is their pizza which is on a slightly sweet homemade crust and has just the right proportion of cheese and sauce. The second to last day, they had a flank steak with chimichurri that was as good as any I’ve had in a steakhouse (and it was lunch), as it was tender and had that garlicy / parsley flavor.
There’s no shortage of eating on the EPIC, but in my estimation, the quality is truly impressive and the best I’ve seen from NCL to date.
Whitehall Lane 2006 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon @Whitehalllane
We picked up the ’06 Cab while on a visit through Napa a couple years ago. We love the people and wine from Whitehall Lane; it’s a consistent stop for us whenever we’re in the area. The 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is made up exclusively of Napa fruit and isn’t the typical Napa Cab in that it doesn’t have that long smooth finish, but to me, almost finishes like a syrah with some spicy notes that follow the cherry I get right up front. It’s very enjoyable, and was a preview of the wonderful 2007 cab vintage to follow.
Gladys’ Cafe St. Thomas, USVI: The Best Dark and Stormy Ever!
On a recent vacation, we stopped in St. Thomas and amidst the multiple jewelry stores is an alleyway which leads to the authentic island food and drink served at Gladys’ Cafe. I read a bunch of reviews before going to St. Thomas, but no one advised on the amazing beverages at Gladys’ or the care that goes into them (everyone talked about the food, which was also pretty solid, but this is all about the beverages).
So, the star of my visit was my Dark & Stormy which is usually prepared with dark rum, ginger be
er, and a squeeze of lime juice. Now, that seems so pedestrian to me. At Gladys’, they make a fresh, homemade lemonade of sorts and include fresh ginger and simple syrup. This gets added to the dark rum, and voila: a refreshing island beverage. The fresh ginger makes a huge difference and provides the tang that’s missing in the ginger beer version. It’s also not carbonated, so it’s very smooth and refreshing. Cheers to Gladys!
Great Deal in PA: Take a “LaChance” – Clos La Chance 2007 Central Coast Cab @ClosLaChance
For those of you living in PA, you can benefit from the Chairman this month. My issues with the PA LCB aside, they do get some great deals that are worth taking advantage of. In this case, the 2007 Clos La Chance Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon is a great deal. This is a legitimate $18 bottle of wine available is for $8 and is like a little sister to a Napa Cab. Rather than the big vanilla oak, it’s more of a subtle cedar and reminiscent of that jammy berry-ness, has more of a plum like mid-palate. The finish is fast and doesn’t linger much, but for $8, this is a steal. Maybe some people from NJ and DE will come to PA for this…
An Ode to Rittenhouse Square…and some great spots @PureFare @rotisseurphilly
I can’t believe it, but I’m now an official suburbanite. As of yesterday, I am no longer a Philadelphia resident, but I feel remiss to leave without writing about 2 of my recent favorites in my old ‘hood. While I’m sure I’ll find some favorites in my new area, these will be hard to replace.
First, Pure Fare, a great coffee and food spot with great, healthy foods gave me cravings that I didn’t know existed: quinoa skillet bread, sweet potato brownies, and spinach coconut shakes to name a few. They also serve the amazing blue bottle coffee from San Francisco to boot. The people are wonderful and I will miss them and their food. Hopefully, I can talk them into sharing a few recipes…
On to Rotisseur – if you like local, fresh, juicy rotisserie chicken with home-made flavorful side dishes, then get yourself to Rotisseur where they know what they’re doing. It makes for a very reasonable dinner where 2 can eat a feast for $21. They make chicken so well that I wonder why I ever tried to make it myself when I lived in town. Their sides, from mac-and-cheese to olive oil roasted potatoes were perfectly seasoned and prepared. I tried to talk them into opening up a suburban branch on my most recent visit. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Needless to say, I’m only 15 minutes away and will most certainly return as I live to eat…and everyone knows that Philly is the place for great eats.
