“Drink Wine Day”

Posted on February 17, 2014 by thewineraconteur

I have no idea who creates these so called national days of commemoration.  In one of the recent glossy periodicals that I receive Hour Magazine that is about Detroit and the Tri-County area, I saw a little message that reads “Feb.18 is Drink Wine Day.”  The concept and theme are fine for me, and I am sure that the wineries, their associations, distributors, stores and not to mention restaurants will all concur that this is a great day to celebrate.  Of course most people, who appreciate wine, can find a reason to open up wine any day of the year, and they really don’t need a created day to do it.  I also get a kick out of the concept of “Wine Wednesday,” and I do appreciate that some merchants and restaurants are trying to capitalize on the idea, by promoting special pricing for it.

 Xeres Garantie d'Origine

As I reflect on “Drink Wine Day” I realize that there are many countries where wine is part of the heritage, and where wine is now becoming a major industry, when it was not even a decade or two ago.  Here in the United States, I have read several times that there are wineries now in every state of the Union.  I am sure that some people may not agree that every “winery” is a winery, but one has to applaud the individuals that are attempting to fulfill their dreams.

 Zona Vinicola Rioja

As I look at the labels that I have amassed over the years from trying to save them, as keepsakes from all of the bottles that I have tried, I am amazed at the amount of countries that I have encountered the fruits of their labors.  I was going to say that there was only one continent that I had not had the pleasure of having any wine, but then I thought that yes, I have tried Sake, so even the Orient has been covered.  It is fun to try some wines out of the ordinary; some may never be repeated, while others become new favorites.  I went and looked for a couple of unique back labels from bottles of wines, and came up with two different ones from Spain.  One is a very large “Guarantee of Origin” label that is very colorful for Sherry wines.  I went into the cellar to see if I had another fresh bottle, to see if this label is still being used, but I do not have any in stock.  The other back label is from one of my favorite areas of Spain, the Rioja.  This label shows a somewhat detailed map of the Rioja region and the three sub regions that are there, I also checked on some of the Rioja wines that I have cellaring, and the newer bottles do not have this back label.  So even though this may never become a big national day, I am sure that there will be plenty of people that will want to take advantage of “Drink Wine Day.”

Posted in Uncategorized, Wine | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A Zone 9 Toddy, Because I am Sick of Snow

Posted on February 15, 2014 by thewineraconteur

When I was growing up in Detroit, prior to Postal Zip Codes, we had Postal Zones and I grew up in Zone 9.  Zone 9 for me, was where I grew up, and I grew up in an Armenian enclave.  Zone 9 was a term used by some that had become more upwardly mobile that had moved away either as a term of endearment or nostalgia for the old neighborhood, and some with a bit of derision, because they wished to forget their roots.  Be that as it may, I have been enjoying a Zone 9 Toddy for the last week or so, in the evening, because I am worn out from all of the snow that has hit the States and Canada.  As we would say in the old neighborhood “Global Warming, my arse” most sane people would realize that it is just good old weather beating up on us, as we have had a couple of very mild Winters lately.

 Seagrams VO Whisky

You may ask “what is a Zone 9 Toddy?” and most of you would have no idea.  Detroit was blessed with having one of the greatest soft drinks created here in the city, it is called Vernor’s Ginger Ale, and anyone that is any ex-patriot of the city, I would venture on occasion yearns for this soda, if it is not available where they reside.  Not only was Vernor’s a great ginger ale, the city of Detroit, named one of the original major East/West arteries Vernor Highway, and that was the main street in my old neighborhood, if fact most people just referred to it as the “Highway.”  The other two ingredients for this drink, is pure honey, and in our family it was always Seagram’s V.O. Whisky, and please note that it is the Canadian spelling of whisky.  My family started off in the New World in Canada, so hence we always had Canadian whisky in the house.  To make the toddy, one simply puts the Vernor’s in a pot and brings it to a boil, pours it into a large mug, adds the V.O., and then finally adds a very large tablespoon of honey into the mug and keeps stirring until the honey has melted into the drink.  I might add that it is a very comforting drink especially on those days and/or nights of multiple trips outside to shovel the driveway and the sidewalks clear of the snow.

 Vernor's

Of course growing up in an ethnic background, two of the ingredients were always used as the cough medicine as well.  When the cold weather would strike, there would be a jar made of honey and whisky thoroughly mixed together, and when one had a tickle in the throat, you went to the jar, stirred the contents up and took a dose of the medicine.  Even as a kid, this was a much better tasting medicine that worked compared to the store bought medicines.  I have to laugh as I recall, as a child, my mother would give me some money and two hand written notes that I would take with me to one of the pharmacies in the neighborhood.  One of the notes requested a bottle of Chercacol-C cough medicine (the C was for codeine) and I would pay for the bottle with my cash, now that same medicine is a controlled substance, and the other note was for them to sell me a couple of packs of cigarettes for my Mother, and the best part of the trip was that I could keep the change for running the errand.  I also remember how I would be sent to the pharmacy on occasions to buy Coke syrup; this was in the days, when Coca Cola was dispensed at the obligatory fountain in the pharmacy.  The old dispensers used the syrup and soda water that would be mixed together at each order, the older folks claimed that the Coke syrup was perfect for upset stomachs.  I remember having it a couple of times, but I preferred my Coca Cola the standard way.  Oh well, that is what I have been enjoying these last evenings as I mutter about the snow, but then I think of one thing that I am happy about, when I was a kid, we did not have a “snow” shovel, we used a big clunky “coal” shovel, that was left over from the old days of coal furnaces, but the shovel was still good, so why should we buy another shovel.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Stonehouse in Escanaba

Posted on February 13, 2014 by thewineraconteur

Whenever I hear the city of Escanaba, I and most people, especially from Michigan, think of the play that Jeff Daniels wrote and premiered at his Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea “Escanaba in da Moonlight” which was later made into a film.  I remember I was riding shotgun or was I the chauffeur on one of the trips my Bride made to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as part of her job.  Escanaba was the first city on her itinerary and I had no idea of what to expect in the way of cuisine.  She had made plans to stay two nights in Escanaba and then move to another city after that, the first night we stayed at our hotel and ate there as well, and I was in heaven from the quality of the food and service, but that is for another story.  At the moment, I am going to mention our second night, and the dinner we had with one of her contact people up there, and she had suggested not only the hotel, but she also touted Stonehouse for dinner.

 Santa Rita Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

The restaurant was not far from where we were staying, and the façade of the restaurant was stone, so Stonehouse was easy to figure out for the name.  It was a very comfortable restaurant and lounge, and they were doing a very good business the night we were there.  The ambience of the room was such that it could have been situated anywhere in the country and it would have fit in.  While my Bride ordered a Caesar Salad, I decided to go “native” and try the Spinach Salad, which I was told was the most popular salad in the Upper Peninsula by her contact person.  All I can say is that is was a great salad, and I am not a salad person, but the hot bacon dressing that they made at the Stonehouse was wonderful.  After our salads my Bride had a salmon dish, and I was going to go with a fish dish as well, but I was also told that this restaurant made a great plate of Short Ribs, and that is one of my many culinary weaknesses.  While I enjoyed tasting her salmon, it was very difficult to share the Short Ribs, they were that great (am I bad, but I did share).  We were in Escanaba for two nights and we had two great dinners, I was a very happy camper.

 MI Stonehouse MB

For dinner we had a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, a Santa Rita Reserva 1999.  I have had several bottles of wine from this winery, but this was the first Reserva that I had seen or had the pleasure to drink.  It was what a good Cabernet Sauvignon should taste like, it had full body and it was a great pairing with my Short Ribs, and thankfully my Bride enjoys a good red wine with her salmon.  This wine was from the Maipo Valley, which is the Northern part of the Central Valley of Chile, and some refer to it as the “Bordeaux of South America.”  All in all, we had a great dinner that evening, and on another trip that my Bride made to the Upper Peninsula without me, she stopped and had dinner at the Stonehouse again, and she called me that evening to let me know about the great dinner she had without me.  What can I say, I guess, some of my traits are rubbing off on her.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Devotion: The Monthly Wine Writing Challenge

Posted on February 11, 2014 by thewineraconteur

“Hopelessly devoted to you” was the lead in for the newest Monthly Wine Writing Challenge and hopefully, no one will ask me to sing the song, or what ever potential readers I have will run away in droves.  The theme is “devotion” and I had to ponder how I was going to write about this subject.  Am I devoted to wines?  Perhaps, but that does not sound well, am I devoted to my Bride?  Of course I am, and I write about my wine adventures, and she is a major part of most of the stories.  Usually I remember a place or a wine and then I write about the event, which is what a Raconteur worth his Merlot should do.  Devotion can have many nuances as I bantered the subject around in my head, and then it finally came to me.

 wine-stain Monthly Wine Challenge

My “devotion” for wine, is in the context of the moment.  My Bride and I do get away for vacations and mini-vacations as well.  I have been a subscriber to the periodical Wine Spectator for years, and I keep the annual Restaurant list on a book rack at my desk, that I use as a handy reference tool, but I am also a rather chatty person, so I like to talk about restaurants with friends, customers, clients and I also enjoy talking to people that work the concierge desk at hotels as well.  One never knows when a restaurant will be mentioned that otherwise may have been missed.  All of this exposition is leading me to the discovery of two restaurants that are situated in former churches, or places of “devotion” and now I can tie the “theme” with food and wine.

 Domaine Mireille & Vincent Cotes du Rhone

The first restaurant I talked about some time ago, and it is in the quaint city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada which is home for some spectacular theatrical productions during the summer months and can feature cinematic stars of Canada.  It is a city that we should go to more often, but you know how things can be, not even free time for all of the best intentions.  One of our favorite restaurants there is the Church Restaurant and Belfry.  The belfry is actually a very small dining room as well, as the larger room in the church.  I will not go into the meal as such, as I have discussed it before, but I will mention the wine again.  At that particular juncture of time, I was not that well versed in Canadian wines, not that I am so literate now, so I opted for a French wine.  I will always choose a Cotes du Rhone wine, whether I know the firm or not, as I have never encountered a bad wine yet from this area and it is one of my “go to wines.”  Domaine Mireille & Vincent is a blended Cotes du Rhone wine.  So the odds are that it will have Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre varietals, and potentially there maybe some or all of the following varietals blended in as well; Carignan, Cinsault, Clairette, Counoise, Muscardin, Terret Noir and/or Vacarese.  We have enjoyed many wines from the Cotes du Rhone over the years and there is no doubt that we will continue with a “devotion” to wines of this area.

 OH The Refectory MB

The other renovated house of “devotion” we found on a trip to Columbus, Ohio during a national hobby conference for me, which my Bride puts up with, actually she really puts up with a lot from me, but that is for another time.  The restaurant is The Refectory and I thought it was a grand name for its present incarnation.  We dined on Escargot, Duck and Scallops in this Continental/French restaurant, and we were not disappointed.  I had gotten this restaurant from the Wine Spectator list, and the concierge at our hotel, also seconded my selection, which made me happy, even before we got there.  We also enjoyed a bottle of the bubbly for the evening, as we had a bottle of Moet et Chandon White Star Champagne from Epernay.  The White Star designation means non-vintage and most of the Champagne houses strive to make their wine as consistent year after year, because that is what their customer expects.  The varietals found in Champagne are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.

 Moet & Chandon White Star NV

When I was telling my Bride about this article and the theme, I asked her if she could remember the two restaurants from my wording and she did, and that made me smile.  Sometimes she mentions that she had forgotten a restaurant, until I wrote about it.  So I guess I have one “devoted” reader for sure, as well.

Posted in Dining, Monthly Wine Writing Challenge, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Bijou in Southfield, Michigan

Posted on February 9, 2014 by thewineraconteur

I must be in the “way back machine” from my childhood, as I have been thinking of some of the old restaurants that used to cater to “foodies” before there was “foodies.”  I guess I just happened to discover wine and food at the right time, before it became an arm and a leg to go out on a date, even though it was still expensive as a student, but I guess a good time was worth an extravagance now and then.  There used to be a restaurant called Bijou and it was rather campy even then.  There was a neon nude depicted over the bar, and there were move star portraits on the walls.  After all, when you are called the Bijou what else would the theme be?

 Ruinart Pere & Fils Brut NV

I remember having an avocado and crabmeat appetizer, and this may have been the start of my favoring this, at the time, exotic green plant, which was far out of the realm of my customary dishes.  The other dish I remember having there was a chicken dish, but it was served with a Champagne Sauce with grapes.  Now up to that time, I had been raised on roasted chicken, barbequed chicken and even boiled chicken (when there was chicken soup being made);  so when I saw this dish, it intrigued me and I had to forgo my customary red meat entrée that I was so accustomed to.  Even though I thought I was adventurous, I discovered afterwards that I thought this dish was a little sweeter then I had anticipated, but when I had limited knowledge of food that is to be expected at times.

 MI Bijou MB

I also had a bottle of Champagne for dinner, as I thought it was the proper wine to go with the entrée.  The bottle that I had was a non-vintage Ruinart Pere & Fils from Reims in the Champagne district.  Legend has it, that it was the first actual Champagne house though it was originally in Epernay and then they moved to Reims.  Their classic brut wine is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes.  I have often read and heard that the public likes a “Brut” designation, but the houses make it a little sweeter especially for their classic non-vintage wines that they try to maintain a “taste” year after year after year.  Whether this is true or not, it makes a great conversation while having a flute of Champagne, or maybe more.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Pontchartrain Wine Cellars

Posted on February 7, 2014 by thewineraconteur

As I was looking at my collection of matchbooks, I looked at a place that was legendary when I was a kid.  Most of the fine restaurants were still located in Downtown Detroit, and since I went to school Downtown, I thought of myself as rather cosmopolitan.  The Pontchartrain Wine Cellars was across the street from the Pontchartrain Hotel and across from the original Cobo Hall.  It was one of the fancy French restaurants of the era, and it was a very popular place for business men and big dates.  It was one of the original bistros in the area and while they had a great wine list, they had no hard liquors, which was unique in that time and era.  This was where I was introduced to my Vermouth Cocktail for a before dinner drink, much to the consternation of most of today’s bartenders, as they always have to ask what it is, usually through the waiter.  It is a very easy drink as it is equal parts dry and sweet vermouth with a splash of bitters, but it does awake the taste buds for a fine meal.  Legend has it, that Cold Duck originated at the bistro in 1937 and that it was a mixture of a Mosel wine, a Rhine wine and Champagne.  Tradition has it, that it was done with left over wines that were opened and not finished.

 Aloxe-Corton (Bolter) 1970

I remember going there and starting off with Escargot, which was not a common offering back in the day, followed by another curiosity back then a bowl of French Onion soup.  I also had one of my favorite dishes of my youth, which is no longer in vogue, a plate of Frog Legs Provencal.  I finished the meal with my introduction to Peach Melba and of course a glass of Cold Duck.  I cannot remember what my date had, but I do remember that she was shocked that I was dining on frog legs, as that was a creature that one dissected in a Biology class in High School.

 MI Pontchartrain Wine Cellars MB

It was also one of the first bottles of Pinot Noir that I had, but under a different name. It was a Negociants bottle of Burgundy wine, from one of the famed villages of the Cote de Beaune, namely an Aloxe-Corton 1970.  Aloxe-Corton has one Grands Cru and several Premiers Crus, but this was a village blend, as if there is anything prosaic about a wine from this village.  After looking at what I dined on that evening, you and probably the waiter both think I was a heretic, but that was early in my wine days, and I could not pass up on a chance to try the wine, and I really did not like to order steaks back then in a restaurant.  Suffice it to say that this wine was wonderful to me, and I sometimes wish that I could find, let alone afford to buy wines of this nature anymore.  I mean when you start out trying some of the greatest Pinot Noir wines, as I did back then, is it any wonder that I can still wax poetic about it.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

Gaucho Steak House

Posted on February 5, 2014 by thewineraconteur

I recently had dinner with some friends at Gaucho Steak House.  I believe that they were the first of the South American style eateries, in the Detroit area, where they bring the food on skewers and carve the meat off as you request it.  My Bride and I had dined there years ago, and now I was there again with some friends, and the structure of the meal was the same as before.   If you have never been to this type of restaurant be prepared to go there hungry and to be bombarded with men with skewers all trying to please your hunger.   First you go to a very large Salad Bar with around forty different offerings for you to choose from, and not all of the items are salad items, as there was soup, risotto and even a couple of Sushi items, and how they relate to South America was beyond my reasoning.  After your trip or trips to the Salad Bar, they give you a clean plate, and there is a small oval card, that is red on one side and green on the other; when you want another choice of meat of which there are fifteen types for you to try, you have the green side showing, if you want to pause, you show the red side (as in stop).  Sometimes this works and sometimes it didn’t, and there would be times when there would be three or more attendants with different skewers of meat showing up at the table all at the same time.  While most of the cuts of meat were very well prepared and tasty, the onslaught of service could be almost overpowering at times and one almost felt that one could not enjoy the meat as fully as one would want to.  I am sure that there were several cuts of meat that I missed, as I had to decline some of the cuts on the initial offerings as I was trying to pace myself, and then some of the offerings never seemed to reappear.  That is not to say, that I did not enjoy the meal, only that I felt a bit rushed, and that is not good when one is dining on meats.

 Gascon Malbec 2012

I was looking at the wine list, which was quite ample and there were some very interesting reds from South America.  When our host appeared, he asked to look at the wine list and was going to order Cabernet Sauvignon, but he asked me my opinion as the other man only drank soft drinks.  I suggested that since the theme of the restaurant was Argentine, with the name of Gaucho, I suggested a Malbec from Argentina or a Carmenere which originally was one of the grapes used in blending in the Medoc, but has flourished and excelled in Chile.  Our host selected a Gascon Malbec 2012 from the Mendoza region, which accounts for about 80% of the wines from Argentina.  This was a good wine, made for immediate consumption, but I do think that perhaps a more robust wine would have been a better compliment to all of the meats, but that is a minor aside and the wine worked well for the evening.

 Licor 43

The other beverage that I have to mention was an after dinner drink that we had from Spain called Licor 43.  The bottle came out with a round block of ice surrounding it, and it was poured into these small chocolate cups.  The after dinner drink was citric and had flavors of vanilla and I guess another 41 other ingredients that were steeped in this beverage.  To me, orange was the strongest flavor that I noticed, and since it was so cold, some of the other trace flavors eluded me, especially in the chocolate cup.  We were touted that this drink aided in the digestion of our meal and who was I to argue.  All in all, we all left sated and happy from the meal, the drinks and the conversations.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bigalora Cucina

Posted on February 3, 2014 by thewineraconteur

The other night we met with our Son and his Fiancé for dinner at Bigalora Cucina.  If the restaurant sounds familiar, I have mentioned it before as Pizzeria Biga, which was the name of the restaurant when they had two locations.  When the third location in Ann Arbor opened up, it as well as the other two locations opened up under the new name.  This operation is the creation of a great chef that we have followed for the last twenty years, namely Luciano Del Signore.  We first met him at Fonte de Amore, and then at Bacco as well as his casual restaurants now known as Bigalora Cucina.

 Gran Sasso Trebbiano D'Abruzzo 2012

We met and ordered our dinners, my Bride and our soon to be Daughter-in-Law had a special Chicken and Avocado Salad, while I and our Son each had a specialized individual pizza, which is the specialty of the house.  Since everyone knows that my Bride and I enjoy wine, we do not proselytize wine to the non wine drinkers, and they were drinking either a craft beer or a Tequila cocktail.

 MI Bigalora Cucina BC

As for my Bride and I we enjoyed a white wine that I had not had that was actually on a special, written on a chalkboard.  The wine was a Gran Sasso Trebbiano D’Abruzzo “La Bella Addornmentata” 2012.  This is the only D.O.C. white wine from the Montepulciano D’Abruzzo region and I was willing to give this wine a chance, as I know that Luciano Del Signore has a passion for Italian wines and I have had some wonderful new wines (to me) while dining at his restaurants.  The unique thing about this wine that I discovered is that by law, the wine has to be 85% Trebbiano (Ugni Blanc) though it could also be Bombino Blanco which was routinely considered the same varietal, but now through DNA testing has been found to be different grapes.  The other 15% of the wine can be a blend of Cococciola, Passerina and Malavasia Blanco.  Whether or not this particular wine was Trebbiano or Bombino Blanco it was very crisp and refreshing and paired very well both with my pizza as well as my Bride’s salad.  I thought this wine was a winner especially since it was priced at Twenty Dollars in a restaurant, so I shall look for it at a wine shop near by.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Windows in Traverse City

Posted on February 1, 2014 by thewineraconteur

As I was looking at some of the mementos that I keep, there was a generic blank white matchbook that I had inscribed Windows/Traverse City 6/7/95.  I smiled because I remembered the dinner we had there.  We had gone on a trip to Traverse City, firstly because my Bride had business up there, and then we decided to spend a couple of more days there on our own, rather then hurry up and go home as the area is quite lovely.  This was before the explosion of new restaurants that changed the appearance of this resort town.  I had some customers that had a summer home in Traverse City and Windows was one of the restaurants that they had touted me on, so we decided to check it out.

 Bolla Chardonnay Puglia 1993

The restaurant was on the water, and I do believe that it was called Windows, because the entire waterside of the restaurant was encased in windows, so there was a lovely panoramic view to enhance the dining experience.  We started with a couple of different pate dishes made from fish, which is proper for a waterfront Michigan restaurant.  Then we each enjoyed a salad, my Bride had a “Michigan” salad that had nuts and cherries in it, while I had a classic Spinach salad with hot bacon dressing (a classic dish found everywhere in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  My Bride then had a dish of Whitefish, while I had a plate of Perch.  Two very simple but perfect dishes when you think of dining off of Lake Michigan.

 MI Windows MB

For our wine selection that evening we had a charming Bolla Chardonnay 1993 from the Puglia district of Italy.  This wine was a crisp Chardonnay from a very larger wine shipper of Italy.  I describe it as crisp, because it was not the buttery, oakey Chardonnay that was the rage out of California at the time and I found it to be a nice change of pace and paired very well with the fish dishes.  Alas this restaurant is no longer in business, and from what I gather the owner/chef has found a new location in the city.

Posted in Dining, Wine | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Aureole in Las Vegas

Posted on January 30, 2014 by thewineraconteur

Have you ever wanted to go somewhere and then when you got there, you were so disappointed?  Thankfully this does not occur too often, but when it does it, at least my brain likes to bury the memory.  The other day was going through a collection of clutter that seems to accumulate, and I find that it sometimes arouses my Muse for writing.  This was indeed the case, but alas not for the best.

NV Aureole MB

Aureole is a famed steakhouse by the chef Charlie Palmer and is located in the Mandalay Bay Resort and we were really looking forward to it.  One of the big draws for this restaurant at least to me was there wine list and to see their four story wine tower and the rappelling wine angels that go up and down this tower to secure your wine selection.  Only in Las Vegas, could someone come up with a concept to make a theatrical show from the simple task of getting your wine.

NV Aureole Band

We had made our reservations and really had looked forward to this dinner.  When we were escorted to our table, I was disappointed at the location, as to me part of the dinner was to observe the tower and I asked if we could have a table with a better view, and we were informed that all of those tables were reserved.  They gave us our menus and a computer pad, which contained the wine list.  It was the first time I had seen this and it was fun, and I could program it to show different offerings, so that the wines would be perfectly suited for the dinner.  I was looking for a couple of half bottles, one white and one red to accompany our dinner.  Then the wine steward came over and treated us with such disdain, when I discussed what I had planned on doing for dinner, and he had no desire to discuss wines or anything else.  Since this was a steakhouse, we ordered a nice classic dinner accordingly.  A seafood appetizer, a Caesar salad and then a filet for each of us, and a sharing of some sides dishes was our dinner plan.  We placed the order and watched the tower for any movements, but from our table, we did not observe anything.  We also noticed that none of the reserved tables were filling up with diners.  The wines arrived as I had requested and our dishes were served without a problem.  The only problem was that we were so dismayed at our initial treatments, that we could not really enjoy the dinner; thankfully we had ourselves to keep a conversation going.  Normally, I can relate the entire dinner and the wines that we had, but from the indifferent service, I had almost forgotten about this dinner, and I had qualms about writing about this dinner.  I should mention that the quality of the food was excellent and worthy of a great steakhouse, it was just the indifference of the staff that had spoiled the evening.  The more I thought about it, the more I thought, yes after writing about all of the good times that my Bride and I have had in our culinary pursuits, I should mention a clunker periodically.  After we had paid our bill, and we were getting ready to go see a show, we noticed all the “reserved” tables were still empty and I mentioned it to the man who had seated us.

Posted in Dining, Wine | 5 Comments