Lelli’s on Woodward Avenue and a Barolo

Posted on October 5, 2012 by thewineraconteur

The original Lelli’s restaurant on Woodward Avenue was unique.  It had morphed into the place everyone remembers.  There were all sorts of little rooms and coves and sometimes felt like a maze.  I never asked, but presumed that the restaurant grew by acquiring the buildings adjacent to it, as that is how it felt as you walked around.  It was also legendary as one of the only restaurants that I am aware of, where you could have your car washed while you were dining there.

 

 

One always started with an antipasto plate, salad Lelli, minestrone Lelli, spaghetti Bolognese, the entrée of your choice and then dessert and coffee.  I have to say that I do not care for minestrone soup, but I always enjoyed the minestrone at Lelli’s.  The steaks, veal, seafood and chicken all had a Lelli treatment, or you could order classic interpretations as well.  When you left Lelli’s you knew that you had a meal.  It was a sad day when Lelli’s left Woodward Avenue.

 

The first Barolo wine that I ever enjoyed was from Lelli’s.  It Was a Bersano 1966.  Barolo wine comes from the Piedmont region and is made from the Nebbiolo grape.  The Nebbiolo grape is found in three wines from the Piedmont. Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara, but the grape varietal is usually not listed on the label.  If you see Nebbiolo on the label, you are almost guaranteed that the wine is not from these three villages.  Barolo wine production is probably a third of the size of the Chianti Classico quantities.  The Italian government requires at least two years of maturation in the barrels before bottling, and it is not uncommon for even longer aging by the better houses.  I wish I could say that I have had plenty of Barolo wines, but that is not the case, as it is often hard to find, but worth it, when you can.

 

The grandson of the Lelli family has opened up a new restaurant using the recipes of the original restaurant.  We have also been there a couple of times, but as the character named Moustache in Irma La Douce says “that is another story.”

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Amarone della Valpolicella

Posted on October 4, 2012 by thewineraconteur

A group of us had a couple of bottles of Capitel de’ Roari one night during dinner at the old Arriva Ristorante in Warren, Michigan.   The dinner was a classic spread of Italian dishes, from an antipasto salad and ending with tiramisu and canolis.

 

While the dinner was great, I want to discuss the wine.  It is an Amarone della Valpolicella.  Valpolicella is probably the second most popular wine in Italy and is found in abundance in America as well.  It comes from an area near Verona.   Valpolicella is known as a fresh medium body wine with a dry aftertaste.  It is similar to the Bardolino wines also from the same area, but those wines are more delicate and paler than the Valpolicella.

The Amarone designation is for a unique wine making technique from this area.  Select groups of grapes are laid out on tables to dry in the sun, until they become “raisiny.”  This creates a wine that has much more nuance and character than the typical Valpolicella wine.  Some wineries and blenders are known to let the wines mature in casks for up to five years before bottling.   When the wine is ready if it ends up with its natural sweetness then wine is called Recioto Amabile and turned into a sparkling wine.  If the resulting wine ferments into a dry wine it becomes a Recioto Amarone.

 

 

This process takes longer to produce, but I have never been disappointed with any Amarone wine that I have tried.  If you try some, make sure that you tell your friends while you are enjoying the wine, the process that evolves.  You will be held in awe for the moment as they take a second taste of the wine to discern some tastes that they may have missed the first time.

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Tullio’s La Riviera in Allen Park, Michigan

Posted on October 3, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Tullio’s was one of those great Old Italian neighborhood restaurants of years back.  Nothing pretentious or having that canned look of so many restaurants of today.  It was an honest dinner from the old school.  Like so many of the nationalities that I grew up with in Detroit, there was a segment that moved down river from the city and Tullio’s  La Riviera catered to one of the groups.  Though his food was fine enough, that many others discovered his dishes as well.

 

It was a great pasta place, the type that even if you didn’t order pasta, you got some on a side plate along with your meat entrée.   I remember the first time that I was there, the host/manager brought us to a table.  His voice was so familiar, but I was having a hard time placing him from my youth.  During the course of the meal, I had a chance to talk to him some more, especially after hearing people call him by his first name.  He was Mario Casadei, who years ago had a restaurant in Southwest Detroit called (of all things) Casadei’s.  Of course everyone from the neighborhood referred to it as “Cassidy’s,” which made it sound like an Irish-Italian restaurant.  The old restaurant had closed I would venture a guess around 1972 or so (maybe later).  I remembered it, as the restaurant that had my Mother’s memorial dinner after her burial.  The restaurant was usually closed on Mondays, but with the turn-out for my Mother, the restaurant was opened for a private event.  It is funny how one remembers little incidents, as this was a restaurant that my Father and his cronies would go to, as opposed to my cronies.  Mario looked at me, when I brought up the memory and remembered the day.

 

The wine list was not extensive, but a simple grouping that would accommodate the menu.   I was just learning about Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines at the time, so here was another learning moment for me.   This was more of a table wine, from the region so it was not as heavy.  Of course one of the problems for this wine, that I do enjoy, is that it is dwarfed by the Chianti district and now also by the Super Tuscany region as all three are in the central part of Italy.   Another problem for this wine is that the grape varietal is the Montepulciano, and there is a town or village with the same name, but Abruzzi is the major city in the district.  The charm of enjoying wines is pairing a wine with the dish.  If one is not fussy, neither should the other; at least that is my thought on the subject.   I find that a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can make pasta (even the dishes that are made for the American palate)and Tullio’s La Riviera was not of that ilk, better.

 

I am sorry to say, that a tragedy befell the family and the restaurant has since closed their doors.

 

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The Capital Grille

Posted on October 2, 2012 by thewineraconteur

I have only been to the Capital Grille in the Detroit area, which is located in the Somerset Collection-North in Troy, Michigan.  When we are traveling we prefer to dine at establishments that are not available in our area.  This is not because the quality is not to our liking, but we like to try local restaurants that have local color and flavor.  I am sure that every chain restaurant strives to give the same quality and ambience at each location, which is admirable.

 

We have some friends that are from out of town, who like to always have lunch or dinner at the Capital Grille.   Who are we to say no, to their selection.   The steaks are always well aged and tender, grilled to one’s specifications.  The salads are fresh, which is something that some restaurants do not understand, and is beyond my comprehension.   Since my knowledge is rather parochial, I would presume that they all offer a similar menu and wine list, and I can find no fault with either listing.

 

They carry enough different choices of wines to make each location listed by the Wine Enthusiast’s list of restaurants each year.  That in itself makes it worth a trip, as I use their guide for all of my dining choices when we are on holidays.    On one of our trips we enjoyed a Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon with an Alexander Valley designation.  It was a great wine to pair with our filets.   The wine list was crafted to accommodate their fine array of entrees.

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Roma Cafe at the Eastern Market in Detroit

Posted on October 1, 2012 by thewineraconteur

I can’t tell you how many times we have eaten here.  It is off the beaten path, even when you are in downtown Detroit.  If you are going to go to Roma Café, you are going to go there.  It is a destination spot and will continue to be.  It is Detroit’s oldest and continuous run eatery and it is where the Easter Market is situated just off of downtown.   They have one of the best staffs of wait people around, and as we like to joke, they should be, since they have been there since the opening.   The service is classic old world style with the tuxedoes and the table clothes.   I thank God that they haven’t tried to redo the restaurant, as that is the charm of the location.  It is not trendy, it is a tradition and you know it, as soon as you see the red and white awning on the building.

 

It is one of the places that I truly want to order the Antipasto plate as it still charms me with its simplicity and quality.   I love the pastas, including their Gnocchi which does not end up sitting at the bottom of your stomach for hours afterwards.  It is still one of the few places that one can still get Road House Style Frog Legs, which used to be a mainstay and now seems to have disappeared.   The seafood and all the grilled meats are worth the trip.  This is not a frou-frou place and dare I say it, a man’s restaurant, though my Bride loves it as much as I do.

 

The wine list is not extensive by today’s terms, but it is a good list.  You will not be looking at fifty pages of wines or a fancy hand held computer listing.    There are around seventy or eighty choices to pick from, which is more than ample and all have been selected to be paired with the dining menu.  It is one place that I know that I will always find my Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico.  Year in and year out, it is usually consistent in quality and taste, so much so that I don’t even worry about the vintage year.   This wine is always great with the heartier red sauce pasta dishes, as well as most of the grilled offerings.  It is a full bodied Chianti, and I wish all Chianti wines were this good.  Ruffino has other Chianti wines that they offer, but do try the Gold Label Ducale the next time you see it on a wine list, you will be happy that you did.

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Harvey and Chandon

Posted on September 30, 2012 by thewineraconteur

The first time I saw Rich Little was at the big room at the Riviera, backed with the biggest orchestra, even bigger than the singers had.   His opening act was Bernadette Peters and when she walked down the steps from the stage and sang at my table I was in love, and yes I still carry a torch for her.  My Bride is probably tired of hearing me mention that story.  Be that as it may, while we were visiting our children and grandchildren in Las Vegas, I looked at the magazine that was in our hotel room talking about restaurants, shopping and the shows.

 

There was an advertisement for a new Rich Little show, a pre-Broadway run, of his salute to James Stewart.  Now James Stewart is one of my Bride’s loves.  So she immediately booked the show, which was at the Las Vegas Hotel, which coincidently was across the street from the Riviera.  We went early to pick up the tickets, because it was Maitre’de Seating, and camped out, outside of the entrance.  My Bride is very open and talkative and had a conversation with the manager of the theater, who was waiting for the earlier show to let out, so that we could be seated.

 

When they opened up the doors for our show, we were the first to be seated and they gave us primo seats, that were “Reserved for Harvey.”  My Bride, myself and a six foot three quarter inch Puka settled in for the show.  We also ordered some Chandon champagne for the show and neither the wine nor the entertainer disappointed us that evening.   It sure beat a cocktail or a beer for this evening out.

    

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A Day in Las Vegas

Posted on September 29, 2012 by thewineraconteur

We just came back from a visit to Las Vegas to see two of our children and five of our grandchildren.  We always like to take the children to a museum or some place educational, as we are sure that they play enough.   So one day we went to the Mob Museum, the last time we were there it was about three weeks early for the opening of the museum.   It was fun for all, as they got a chance to be photographed in a line up behind a two way mirror.  They also got to “shoot” a Thompson Machine Gun, much to the chagrin of the other patrons that day, as they would not leave that room for what seemed like hours with the rat-a-tat-tat going on endlessly.

   

 

There were also inter-active displays to keep them interested through out the three floors of information.   That sat through all the little films in assorted rooms and listened to wire taps, as well as listening to the gambling “wires.”  They could identify many of the actors’ pictures as when they depicted “gangsters.”

 

We then walked over to the old section of Las Vegas, the downtown area, which has become one large covered arcade of casinos for several blocks.   We stopped at several areas, just like tourists and watched how the children reacted to all the excitement of the street.   We also stopped at the new casino the D (as in Detroit) so I thought a classic Detroit Coney Island would be perfect for the kids to try, as they have never been to Detroit.  Alas, not only did the new casino hand me a blank book of matches, when I was looking for a souvenir, the Coney Island restaurant was not ready to open.  It was a thought that will have to wait until the next visit.

 

Afterwards my daughter wanted to cook for her dear old Dad.  I checked to see where the closest hospital was (just joking Michelle).   She made a dinner of classic stuffed cabbage and smoked kielbasa, which was wonderful.   We had bought a cupcake birthday cake with the names of the birthday people for the balance of the year, and we sang six times to cover everyone’s day.

 

We started with a bottle of Chardonnay Bourgogne Louis Jadot 2010.  I had hoped for a more “French” Chardonnay but ended up with a bottle that was made by the blender with an eye for the American market.   It was pleasant enough, but it was a “Chablis Lite” as far as I was concerned.   The other wine we had was a Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and it was enjoyable with our dinner.  Some forward fruit along with the tannins, kept this wine from being overpowering to the stuffed cabbage and kielbasa.    The evening, the food, the company and the wine all paired very well together.

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Gene & Georgetti – Chicago

Posted on September 28, 2012 by thewineraconteur

During one of my semi annual buying trips to Chicago, one of the vendors asked if I wanted to go to the private party his company hosted during the show in a private room at this acclaimed restaurant.  I told him, that I personally was not responsible for buying enough products from his firm, so I would feel uncomfortable being a guest at the party as well as for my Bride.  I did ask him if he could get me a table at the restaurant and that I would pay my own freight, as I paid for my own dinners on these buying trips, as my dinners far surpassed any per diem for dinner that would be allowable.  He made a call and got me a reservation at Gene and Georgetti Restaurant.  This is a venerable old school Chicago style steak house.

 

When my Bride and I got to the restaurant and told the front desk that I had a reservation, they took us to the best table in the house.  From our focal point we could observe everyone coming and going in the establishment.  We felt like celebrities.  I saw vendors and other merchants that I knew from the show being seated at their tables.  Several even came over to ask how I rated the table that I was at.  The vendor that got me the reservation came down several times from his party to see if I was happy with the food and service.  He also told me that he had ordered me a bottle of wine for dinner, and informed me that I must accept it, and he still kept asking me to join his party after dinner, which we declined again.  We graciously accepted the bottle of wine.

 

 

You must go to this restaurant famished, because you will not believe the quantity and the quality of food that is brought to your table.  I was warned by several people that I knew at the show, to only order one salad for the two of us, which we did.  This salad is called “the garbage can salad.”  Anything and everything can end up on this salad as they are making it in the kitchen.  From my vantage point I could see that every salad appeared to be different as they were delivered to the diners.  Ours not only was an antipasto style salad, with vegetables, cheeses and different Italian lunchmeats and sausages, but it also had shrimp and crab meat covering the plate.  We knew that if we finished the salad, there would be no room for our steaks that would soon be arriving and the steaks were just as large and impressive as the salad was.  Believe it or not we even forced ourselves to share a dessert afterwards.

 

Our host’s gift of wine was a Brunello di Montalcino labeled Altesino 1996 and it paired perfectly with our dinner.   It was a classic Italian red wine full of tannin that just demanded a big steak to compliment its flavor.  From what the staff told me, it was one of my host’s favorite wines when he is having dinner there, which they told me was quite often.   I never saw the wine list from the restaurant, and I am not sure that I would have selected this particular wine from the carte, but I can most assuredly say that I am happy that we had this bottle that night.  Before I left the restaurant, I went and stopped at the private party to once again thank him for his graciousness.  To this day when I see him or talk to him, I still thank him for what he did for us that evening.

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The Morel Mushroom Dinner – Five Lakes Grill – Milford, Michigan

Posted on September 27, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Five Lakes Grill was this wonderful restaurant off the beaten path of Metro Detroit, located in downtown Milford, Michigan.  It is a charming downtown of several blocks with shopping, restaurants and taverns.  It was here that Brian Polcyn the Chef/Proprietor decided to open his doors.   He had a wonderful regular menu as well as “special menus” through out the year.  I am going to discuss one of his “special menu” offerings.

 

My Bride was scheduled to go to the upper peninsula of Michigan on her annual trip, the same time as The Morel Mushroom Dinner was going to occur.  Due to my employment, I could not take the time to join her as I have done in the past.  So I did the next best thing, and went with one of her co-workers and his wife to enjoy this dinner.  We spent the next couple of hours calling her to tell her about each course and what she had missed.  I know it seems cruel, but it was all in good fun and she really would have enjoyed the evening, the good friends, the food and the wine.

 

 

Chef Polcyn came out before the dinner started and announced that every course would include morel mushrooms, and that on average, each dinner would consume close to a pound in total aggregate weight of these delicious and hard to find mushrooms, an that there would be Morel Mushrooms featured in every course.  We had opted to have the wine package that had been carefully paired for four of the courses.

 

The First Course consisted of Warm Potato and Morel Mushroom Terrine with Michigan Sweet Corn Sauce and Fresh Pea Tendrils.   This was paired with a 2004 Spy Valley Riesling, New Zealand.

 

The Second Course was Pan Seared Slate Wing with Fiddlehead Ferns, Petit Morel Mushrooms and Pomes Robishon.  This course was paired with 2003 Nugan’s “Frasca’s Lane” Chardonnay, Australia.

 

 

The Third Course was a Poele of Squab with Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Werp Farms Organic Baby Vegetables and Morel Mushroom Risotto.  This was paired with a 2004 Tres Picos Garnacha Campo de Borja, Spain.

 

 

The Fourth Course was a Morel Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Stuffed Loin of Organic Hog with Black Pepper Spatzle, Grilled Longs Farm Asparagus and Black Truffle-Morel Mushroom Demi Glaze.  This dish was paired with a 2001 Corte alla Flora Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, Italy.

 

The Fifth Course was an Organic Green Salad with Bacon Shallot dressing and Warm Morel Mushroom Custard.

 

For Dessert we received a Fresh Blackberry Tart with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  Now as you are reading this, you are saying, well where is the Morel Mushroom that is supposed to be in each course.   The plate had been dusted with cinnamon and a Morel Mushroom had been drawn in the dust.  It was very pretty and clever and you could hear everybody laughing as they discovered the trophy mushroom.

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Les Amis du Vin and Harry Waugh

Posted on September 26, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Les Amis du Vin is an American organization based in Austin, Texas and translates as The Friends of Wine.  A customer of mine was the Michigan director of this group, but I have lost touch with him, and I am not sure if there is still a Michigan chapter or not.  This customer knew of my fledgling interest in wine and invited me to a special tasting to be held at The Dearborn Inn, which in itself is a famous location as it was the first hotel built adjacent to an airfield.  The airfield has long been gone, but The Dearborn Inn is still holding its own.

   

 

 

This special evening by the Les Amis du Vin had a guest speaker, the legendary Harry Waugh.  Harry Waugh who lived to be 97 was considered the “grand old man of the English wine trade.”  He was referred to as “the man with the million-dollar palate.”  He was also known for the famous wine quip as to whether he had ever confused claret with a Burgundy and answered “not since lunch.”  He was the author of several wine books plus a series of diaries on wines.

 

The evening started off with a talk by Harry Waugh and then progressed to a special tasting of 1973 Burgundy wines.  This was a chance for the members to try some classic wines while they were still young.  The wines were presented after an aperitif of “La Ina” a Fino Sherry from Pedro Domecq.

The wines we tried were:

Gevrey-Chambertin Domaine Armand Rousseau

Vosne-Romanee Louis Latour

Chateau Corton Grancey 1er Cru Domaine Louis Latour

Echezeaux Domain Dujac

Clos La Roche Domaine Dujac

Clos St. Jacques 1er Cru Domaine Armand Rousseau

 

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