Daniel

Posted on August 11, 2012 by thewineraconteur

I was looking for a book and found a cookbook by Daniel Boulud.  We bought a copy of this book and another one as a Christmas present for the couple we went with on a holiday in Manhattan.  Going to Manhattan on business, while glamorous is still a business trip, while going there for a holiday is magical.  We packed so many memories in this trip it would tire me out today (I think, but I would still be game for it).

One day we went to Rockefeller Center and then on to the Waldorf Astoria for a drink and a to look around this grand institution that I have gone to when they used to have clothing shows held there.  Then we crossed the street and went to Central Park and walked over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an afternoon.  We also had to pay our respects to the statues of George M. Cohan and another one for the most famous bus driver of New York.

That evening we went to a famed restaurant called Daniel, the flagship of Daniel Boulud.  When I walked into this restaurant I had a sense of deja-vu.  To this day I am not sure if I had been to the restaurant when it was under a different name or if I remember it from a movie set.  To this day, I have to say it was the second finest meal that I ever had, that is not to say that I could find any fault with it, but after having my first “chef’s tasting” meal at The French Laundry in Napa, my second “chef’s tasting” had already made me a maven on fine dining.   Needless to say the dinner was awesome and it was the first time that we tried the selected pairing of wines with the dinner.  This was a six course meal summer meal and there were two different choices for each course, so naturally my Bride and I each ordered one of the choices and shared our “oohs.”  Please bear with me, as I relate the courses and the wine pairing:

Chilled Sweet Corn Soup, American Spoonbill Caviar and a Chive Coulis

Or

Chilled Cavaillo Melon Veloute, Key West Shrimp, Lemongrass and Purple Basil

Riesling Grand Cru “Schlosberg,” Paul Blanck 1996

Raw Bluefin Tuna with an Anchovy-Caper Dressing, Crisp Summer Crudités and a Vidalia Onion Pissaladiere

Or

Red Mullet Fillets en Escabeche Provencal Vegetable Compote and Piquillo Peppers

Seresin Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand 1999

Cumin-Glazed Striped Bass with Verjus, Broccoli Rabe, Toasted Pine Nuts and Honeyed Grapes

Or

Lightly Spiced Swordfish Basquaise with Peppers Chorizo, Sweet Onions and a Persillade Broth

Meursault Domaine Pierre Matrot 1997

Stuffed Quail with Foie Gras, Prosciutto and a Mission Fig, Spinach with Glazed Baby Turnips and Radishes

Or

Roasted Loin of Lamb with a Lemon-Indian Coriander Crust Braised Shoulder, Squash and Dried Apricot

Ostatu, Rioja Alavesa 1996

Refreshing Summer Fruit Soup and Sorbet

Or

An Assortment of Three Cheeses

Milk Chocolate Champagne Truffle Cake, Crispy Feuillantine and Orange Miroir

Or

Hot Chocolate Upside-Down Soufflé, Pistachio Ice Cream

Maury, Domaine de la Coume du Roy 1979

I feel sated, just listing all the dishes and the wines, and I am sorry that I do not have each label as a remembrance.  I have the cookbook with a dedication and autograph from the evening, of course matches and a few other curios arrayed for keepsakes.

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Customer Service and How This Blog Arose

Posted on August 10, 2012 by thewineraconteur

I have had quite a few inquiries of why I write this blog.  I thought I would discuss this matter as I come near my first one hundred entries in “The Wine Raconteur.”  There have been concerns from friends and colleagues that perhaps I am going through a “mid-life crisis.”  This is far from the truth.  I considered myself a professional clothier through the first half of my career and I enjoyed the position immensely.  Customer service was an integral part of that career, as well as being able to communicate with a clientele that was professional and well educated.  As my passion increased I discovered many other people that I encountered enjoyed a similar passion as well as a grand meal.  I absorbed all of these conversations as well as hearing about great destinations for vacations as well.  In fact so many of the vacation destinations that were discussed sounded so good; that my Bride and I also went to some of the locations.

 

 

As my customer service skills became more honed, I was becoming a part time concierge too.  I found that I was suggesting new restaurants in assorted cities across the country as well as suggesting new ideas and types of wines to round out my customer’s enjoyment.  First and foremost I was a clothier, but I felt that my suggestions were appreciated and remembered.  I would also help them if they were planning trips that would be to wine countries or near wine areas.  It was fun, and that fun was contagious.   This all came to a crashing halt when I was told to stop offering customer service and instead to focus on selling by deceit and falsehoods, which was an anathema to my ethics.  I could either stop doing what I enjoyed or to my mind quit.  I chose to quit, which did cause some economic constraints, but pleasure knowing that I did the right thing.

 

 

I went on a self imposed sabbatical or hiatus to decide if I needed to find a new career, or how to be happy in the career that I knew.   I am still in the decision mode.  I grew up in a “gentlemen’s” industry and that is one parameter that I do not wish to change.

 

 

This blog “The Wine Raconteur” became an outlet for me, to continue my need for customer service.  I use it not as a venue to boast or brag, but to help convey my passion for wines and good food.   Yes, I have made it a point to look for great restaurants when we are on our holidays, and I try to find locations that are indicative to the local area.  Why should I go to a chain restaurant in another city, when I have been to one locally?  It is true, that I would know what to expect, but the excitement of something new is diminished.

 

 

The same philosophy is done for my wine selections.  I admire people that can recite the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot in a blended wine, but that is too technical and would crowd out my memory of the wine or the situation.  If I was a wine salesman or a sommelier, then the technical aspect would come to the forefront, as I always prided myself on being knowledgeable about the product that I am discussing.

 

 

So as I ponder the future, I shall remember the past and continue my anecdotes about wine and sometimes food.  The memories vitalize me and make me endeavor to help people in choosing a wine, with out being condescending.  That is why I try to write about my adventures in tasting some of the hallowed wines, as well as new wines that I have just discovered.  You may notice that I never condemn a wine, but look for the pleasure of it or of the moment.  Whatever likes or dislikes that I have about wine (and food) are my own and I have no desire to taint someone else’s thought or likes.  If anything I have been on a life long mission to proselytize the glories of good wine, good food and good friends.  Perhaps I do it with a little bit of levity and a sparkle in my eye, that I do hope my reader notices.

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A U.S.O Party

Posted on August 9, 2012 by thewineraconteur

It was at the peak of the “Swing Era” revisited, when the younger set discovered that they could dance and hold their partner as well as rediscovering the sound of the Big Band.  A good friend of ours is a part time musician, and I must say a very fine saxophonist (but that is not his day job) was having fun with a “Big Band” group and they were going to have a Swing Dance with the theme of a World War Two U.S.O. affair.  Everyone from the band to the people that wanted to dance or just listen to the music was encouraged to dress of the era.   There were a lot of soldiers and sailors in uniform, both male and female.  The civilian look also had the infamous Zoot Suiters.

 

Why do I bring up this party, besides that it was a good time, to show how even a wine that you make take for granted could become wonderful due to the moment.  We just ordered a Kendal-Jackson Chardonnay, which is almost everywhere these day.  This is just one of a couple of dozen (always) safe wines to choose, no matter the situation.  These fail-safe wines will always work as long as it will pair with the food that you are ordering.   The wine was just refreshing and vibrant as I recall and was perfect after tripping the light fantastic.   There are some evenings when I have this wine, where it is not as enjoyable as it was that evening.  A lesson that can be learned about wine is that the environment can be as much of a sensory joy, as taste and aroma.

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Seared Foie Gras and Alsatian Gewurztraminer

Posted on August 8, 2012 by thewineraconteur

My Bride and I were attending a wedding for one of her good friends in a northern suburb of Chicago.   As in all weddings there is a lot of ado on the day of the nuptials and this day was no different.  There was a considerable lag time between the church service and the reception that would start early in the evening.  As we were from out of town, we were invited back to the house to start the revelry with the family, and the groom had a spectacular wine cellar mostly of first and second growths of the Medoc and an outstanding collection of wines from Burgundy.  I could have been forced to endure such a hardship, but my Bride felt that the family should be together, so we went out for a little adventure.

 

 

She had to pick up a few incidentals, so we stopped at a shopping strip for her to get what she needed.  I noticed a fine tobacconist and decided to pick up a couple of cigars for that evening and to give the groom a fine smoke for his honeymoon.  While I was in the shop, I inquired about if a noted restaurant in the area still had the same cachet for French cuisine as we were going to have a light lunch prior to the reception.  I was informed that they were still excellent, but that if I really wanted a treat I should try this new restaurant a mile or so down the road.  I was told that the principals used to be chefs at the French Embassy in Chicago.  I was intrigued.  When I left the tobacconist and found my Bride, she had a big smile on her face and told me she had heard of a great French restaurant that had been touted to her.  It was the same restaurant that I was about to tell her about.  So off we went for a new culinary experience.

 

 

This restaurant was in another shopping strip just past an automobile dealership.  It was not a very glamorous setting, but since we had two distinct recommendations we continued on our quest.   It was early on Saturday and already there were a few people in the restaurant.  As is my wont, I asked if I may look at the dinner menu, along with the lunch menu that was handed to us.   On the dinner menu, was seared Foie gras in a classic style.  We were both excited, and even though the dish is very rich, and probably not the healthiest dish to order, we both ordered the plate.  After all we had the rest of the day to work off the dish.

 

 

Next was the proper wine to have with it, and since we were sure to have some great wine later, I opted for something lighter.   There are the wine carte was the perfect choice.  A Gewurztraminer wine from Alsace in France, and a legendary pairing I might add.  I introduced my Bride to Gewurztraminer wines some time earlier as a great wine to drink with Asian style cooking.   The grape varietal has a unique spice and floral quality that is its own.  Up to this time all of the Gewurztraminer wines that we had consumed were domestic, and most of them were from northern Michigan where the grape matures very nicely.   This was going to be a treat.

 

 

 

Some odd notes about the appellation laws of Alsace, they do not delineate by region or town, but by the varietal.  Hence the grape name is what is most important, followed by the negociants or house.  They are not individual chateaus like one thinks of as Bordeaux and the Alsace region almost produces as much wine as Bordeaux.  There are Traminer wines offered from Alsace and the better offered wines are listed as Gewurztraminer.  If you get a chance try a Gewurztraminer from Alsace, especially if you have already tried a domestic bottle of the same.  The Alsatian wines have much more spice and a more floral nose then any domestic wines that I have had, and I must confess to really enjoying this type of wine.

 

After a fine lunch, we did a little more shopping to keep my Bride happy and then we were off for the reception and a grand evening.  It was and still is a wonderful memory.

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Toledo, Ohio with Art, Klinger and Perry Mason

Posted on August 7, 2012 by thewineraconteur

We made a little weekend get-away with another couple to see an art exhibit in Toledo, Ohio.   The Toledo Art Museum is a wonderful facility and they have some wonderful exhibits and I say that even because I am spoiled by the great Detroit Institute of Arts museum.

 

 

The night before the exhibit we had dinner at Mancy’s Restaurant.  A restaurant in Toledo with a history it survived a fire, burned down; was rebuilt and continues to be a respected steakhouse.   It is a restaurant that has to be visited at least once, as it has that old school feel about it, that certain charm that steakhouse used to have.  I would describe the décor as very eclectic and it has the feeling of a New Orleans cat-house (not that I have been to one).

 

 

There was a bottle of wine that I had to order for my Bride, which I knew would tickle her silly.  It was a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Raymond Burr Vineyards in Sonoma County, California.   I had never heard of the wine, later I found out that this was the first vintage, and I presumed that it must have some integrity otherwise it would have been embarrassment for the actor.  To this day, I can catch my Bride watching reruns of Perry Mason and enjoying the show.  As to the wine, it had more a deep color and was more impressive then I had hoped it would be.  So it was a pleasure and not just a learning episode (as it could have been).

 

 

After the exhibit, we had to go to another famed institution of Toledo.  Tony Packo’s made even famous by the character Max Klinger from the television show M*A*S*H.  It reminded me of one of the “Coney Island” eateries in Detroit, of which I still love Lafayette Coney Island (where they have still resisted even offering salads).  Tony Packo’s has a great gimmick where they have wall plastered with autographed hot dog buns from movie stars, presidents, athletes and other assorted celebrities.  There is even a large section devoted to one of Toledo’s favorite sons Jamie Farr and his noted costars of M*A*S*H.

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Kidney Stones and Paradise

Posted on August 6, 2012 by thewineraconteur

We were all set to go on holidays to Hawaii, as I had never been there.   We had first class seat arrangements for the flight and a week in Maui.   Ready, set, go.   The day before, I had a kidney stone attack, this being maybe the seventh or eighth attack, I understood the pain and what was going on.   Off to the emergency room.   My urologist was contacted and we had to make some decisions.

 

 

We found out that our reservations were use them or lose them on the island, and we had prepaid that part of our trip, so that we would have less of a shock when we returned to reality and had to pay for the trip.   They would not consider a hospital visit as grounds for a cancellation.  I asked my physician for his suggestion.  He said “You can be miserable for a week in Livonia, or you can be miserable for a week in Hawaii.   I would prefer to be miserable in Hawaii.”  So the decision was made and off we went.

 

 

We made the most of the trip, even though the medications said to avoid sunlight, rather difficult where we were.   We did see the island and made many day trips and had magnificent late lunches (as we decided because of my situation that it would be best to maintain “Detroit” time for the most part).   We also survived a wildfire.  We were returning from the north end as we were staying in the south and my Bride was driving.  We were on the outside lane of a two lane road around the mountain and she made mention of how much smoke must be generated from a cannery on the island.  I opined that I didn’t think that it was cannery smoke, then we were engulfed in smoke and we could not see the front of the car.  We changed the radio stations looking for a news report and I rolled down the window and stuck my head out and looked at the side of the car to see how close we were to the cliff side of the road.  We could not go backwards as the smoke was as thick behind us as it was in the front of us.  So we inched along with me gauging the road and the cliff side.  We were making very slow headway, when the smoke started to dissipate, and then there was an announcement on the radio that the mountain side was on fire and they were closing the road.  We were safe and thank God, because my medication was back in the room.   That evening you could look from our lanai and see the how the side of the mountain was all red.

 

 

On one of our day trips we made a trip to Tedeschi Vineyards on Maui.  We drove up a winding road, which I guess was on part of the mountain that the volcano was on and I remember our ears popping from the change of altitude.  We arrived at the winery, took a tour and sampled the wines offered that day.  There was a Plantation Red (I can’t remember if there was a Plantation White) wine made from grapes on the grounds and then there was Maui Blanc.  Maui Blanc was made from Pineapples and it had a very unique taste, it was not as sweet as I had envisioned it in my mind’s eye.   It was an enjoyable curiosity with a bite (from the alcohol).  It was pleasant on that warm day, and we ended up buying a case of it to give out as souvenirs from our trip.  Since the trip I occasionally see this wine in some of the wine shops and I smile and remember the trip.

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Seafood on the Water and Viognier

Posted on August 5, 2012 by thewineraconteur

We were down in Florida visiting some friends and we were going out for dinner on Siesta Key.   It was a hot day, which is what one wants when you are down there in the winter season.   Good friends, good food and good wine make for a most pleasant evening and outing.

 

We were out on the patio looking out onto the water, at this point I can’t remember if we were look at the ocean or on the causeway side, but that is immaterial or relevant to the story.   We were enjoying fresh fish and seafood for the evening and it was a well executed dinner.

 

 

I had selected a Viognier wine to go with the dishes.  On a hot day I love this pale white wine with a perfumed nose.  There is a natural spice to the wine, which sometimes could be a gamble with dinner, but that is the fun, the adventure of ordering a bottle of it.  Sometimes the perfume or the spice can over power the meal, but I find that if everything is in balance, it most refreshing.   That is how I remember this evening to be.

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A Tip from My Barber

Posted on August 4, 2012 by thewineraconteur

I have been going to the same barber since I was in Junior High.   At that time they were the first “salon” for men and they were located in Downtown Detroit.  They have since moved out to one of the northern suburbs, following their clientele.  I don’t live that way, but I have still followed my barber.  I guess it is just a guy thing.   In one hour I can have a haircut (style), manicure and a shoe shine; it is one of the most time efficient trips that I can make, and still be in an old world atmosphere.

 

Barbers, like Bartenders are known as authorities, ask anyone.  They can also be confessors and counselors.   Through the years, one learns about him, and vice-versa.   We discuss restaurants and wines sometimes with passion and sometimes just as an aside.  One day while he is cutting my hair, he tells me that he tried a wine at Trader Joe’s called Chariot Gypsy and that it is a red wine.   He tells me, I have no idea what type of wine it is, but he says it has a great flavor.  He goes on to tell me that he didn’t like it paired with food, but that it was great to have with cheese, crackers and assorted munchies.  Then he tells me that it is about five dollars a bottle.  We start joking that it must be “Two Buck Chuck” on steroids.   He is insistent that I try a bottle.

 

 

Later that night after dinner, I tell my Bride about this exchange on wine that I had.  She says well let us go and get a couple of bottles to try, because she had to pick up some other items that she always gets at that store.  I went with her.   There in the middle of the wine area was a huge display of cases of the wine on display and at the price I was told, we bought three bottles as well as the items that my Bride had gone there for and we went home.   I cut up some cheese and arranged some crackers and opened up a bottle.  It was a robust, full wine that perplexed me as we were sampling it.   It was not a Cabernet Sauvignon, it was not a Merlot and it was not a Zinfandel.  The more we sampled it, the more I enjoyed it, and we had to agree that it was a pleasant wine to drink at leisure but not with dinner.

 

 

My curiosity was piqued and I had to figure out why I could not discern the wine for what it was.  It was a delicious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, Zinfandel and Sangiovese from great vineyards in the Napa Valley, Sonoma, San Joachin, and Monterey counties.  All of this was learned after I did a “Google” search.   After reading this I felt better that the wine was such an amalgamation of wines and areas that I would never have been able to pick it apart.   Needless to say, we went back and bought about six more cases of wine, even taking a case to my in-laws in Louisville, who have a cellar that makes mine appear minor league.  They enjoyed it as much as we did, with the same discussion that it was a good wine to relax with.

 

The following year, while shopping we found the 2009 Chariot Gypsy Red Wine on display.  This time my Bride didn’t even bother trying some; she bought another six cases and came home elated.   My thoughts on this vintage, was that it was not the same as the last vintage.  It was a different blend all together, with a more pronounced “jammy” taste.  I am not a follower of sweet red wines, especially after experiencing the more robust taste of the 2008 wine.   I have to admit, that the wine is growing on me, and that at the price it is a very well made wine.   The new vintage should be out about now.

 

Like I say, this is one time where my Barber gave me a tip.

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“Second Labels” from Great Wineries

Posted on August 3, 2012 by thewineraconteur

When I was discussing the Classifications of the Medoc, I attempted to show how one go down a rung or more in the ladder of each Commune and find an excellent wine.  Now I am going to discuss what is known as a “Second Label” from the same winery.   Some wineries are very particular about their product and will not tarnish their marquis by trying to make a few more dollars.   There can be younger vines where the fruit is not as complex at maturity that one could hope for, or there could be barrels where when the wine is tasted during interim steps does not have the same feel or sense compared to its brethren barrels.  This does not mean that the wine is inferior, but that it does not have the common family trait that the vintner is looking for.  Hence a “Second Label” is created from the same winery and a tremendous bang for your buck, if and when you can find these bottles.

Here are some examples:

 

Chateau Latour

 

    

 

Chateau Lafitte-Rothschild

 

    

 

Chateau Palmer

 

 

Opus One

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Visual Aids for My Memories

Posted on August 2, 2012 by thewineraconteur

As I sometimes was poetic about meals and restaurants, I am sure that some people may find some of my writings questionable.   I am not implying that I am weaving the Emperor’s New Clothes, but I am a collector or a hoarder of mementos.   I saved wooden wine crates and eventually took them apart to be paneling in my wine cellar.  I saved menus from restaurants when I could, because some meals were so outstanding that I did not want to forget.  I have taken postcards and flyers as well from some restaurants.  I also saved wine labels, boy have I saved wine labels.  That is why some of the labels I show are not pristine, because they did not want to leave the bottle.  Some of the labels are mounted in scrap books, and some are mounted on walls of my wine cellar as a type of wallpaper.   Some of the labels I may never be able to show or to write about, because they are behind long and high wooden wine racks.

 

This brings me to another visual aid that I have used and will probably use again in the future – Match Books.  I lament that most restaurants no longer advertise on a match book.  In this day and age of political correctness and whether smoking a cigar on a golf course is harmful to someone else’s health; match books and the era that they came from are gone.   My Bride and I collected these curios as keepsakes, the same way we have kept them from weddings that we have attended.   Some restaurants have tried to maintain the tradition by furnishing a “matchbook” or “match box” of toothpicks.  Of course I have collected some of these as well.  We have a display case in our downstairs powder room filled with some match books of places that we loved, that are no longer around, as well as some places that we frequent, as well as some places that are still going concerns that we may have only visited once.  In our dining room are two large mouth one gallon bottles that are filled with other match books from our dining and holiday experiences.

 

 

The venue “The Wine Raconteur” allows me to relive some of these moments, and have given me some validation for keeping all of the ephemera that I have.   Sometimes I look and I think to myself “I forget that we went there.”  This has really nothing to do about wine, but I wanted to explain how some of the items are used, and how some of the items evoke a story, which is what a raconteur loves to do.  I do thank you for reading my ramblings and I hope this gives some insight of what may spark a story.

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