If one more idiot blows their horn on the former Armdale Rotary, now Armdale Roundabout, I may have to go get one of my dad's old guns out of lockup and use it. I am not talking about them blowing their horn at me, just in general. It is like everyone suddenly has decided they are Italian, and now have some God given right to hit another car, rather than touch a brake pedal on their way through the thing.
I have driven in England, and in Norway, where roundabouts are more common than four way stops and traffic lights here, so listen for one second: The key is remembering to be in the correct lane on the roundabout part. On the outside lane, you exit the next chance, thereby freeing up the outside lane for vehicles to move into (while signalling that lane change) so that they can then exit at their next opportunity.
Being on the roundabout does give you the right of way over vehicles not yet on it, but not over others who are also on it. Once there are two vehciles on the circle, normal lane right of way conventions apply. You can't change lanes indiscriminantly any where else. Or turn right from the left lane at a light. And you still have to indicate your planned movements by the use of your turn signal.
Exiting from the inside lane, as many people seem to want to do when entering from the Bay Road and exiting to Quinpool, does not work that well right now, and that is one of the things that will hopefuly be addressed in the upcoming design project HRM have recently advertised for the roundabout. For now, anyway, if you want to go to Quinpool from the Bay Road, use the right hand lane on entering the circle. Traffic from the left lane can then move over to the right after you exit and take Chebucto. There should be a quick slip ramp for Herring Cove Road, but almost no one goes there anyway.
Let's get back to being Maritimers, and hit the brakes before the horn!
And finally, there are still crosswalks there, and pedestrians we'd all like you to not run over.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
O'Carroll's - the Return on my Birthday
I went back to O'Carroll's on my birthday, having a quiet lunch alone to contemplate my sorry existence. I chose the aforementioned fish cakes, after being assured by Bruce that they were indeed made there, by Colin. Yummy.
Had a few pints, including Pumphouse Scotch, Propeller Bitter, and Pumphouse Winter Warmer, and then a few of my friends arrived.
Needless to say, the evening continued apace. I started at 2 pm, and I think I hit the pillow at 2 am.
Most of the rest of the evening was spent at Rogues Roost, which is essentially my local. I am drawn for the beer, but I still eat there a fair amount. This day, I continued with the brain food theme and enjoyed the always excellent pan fried haddock with a baked potato. Several friends, including my brother and his wife, in from Calgary for Xmas, joined us, and we enjoyed a really great classic pub experience. Close friends in semi intelligent dicussion around great beer.
The evening ended up at home, following a ride in the cab turned birthdaymobile driven by Richard at Dusk til Dawn. Drank Orval with my brother until it was time to acknowledge that I really am now 49, the solstice was over, but I could go to bed secure in the knowledge that the days are now getting longer.
Had a few pints, including Pumphouse Scotch, Propeller Bitter, and Pumphouse Winter Warmer, and then a few of my friends arrived.
Needless to say, the evening continued apace. I started at 2 pm, and I think I hit the pillow at 2 am.
Most of the rest of the evening was spent at Rogues Roost, which is essentially my local. I am drawn for the beer, but I still eat there a fair amount. This day, I continued with the brain food theme and enjoyed the always excellent pan fried haddock with a baked potato. Several friends, including my brother and his wife, in from Calgary for Xmas, joined us, and we enjoyed a really great classic pub experience. Close friends in semi intelligent dicussion around great beer.
The evening ended up at home, following a ride in the cab turned birthdaymobile driven by Richard at Dusk til Dawn. Drank Orval with my brother until it was time to acknowledge that I really am now 49, the solstice was over, but I could go to bed secure in the knowledge that the days are now getting longer.
Lunch at The Cellar
Looking to eat at Il Mercado on this shopping holiday type day, we find it lined up out the door. Where to go? Wait, The Cellar is just around the corner, let's try there!
We are a party of 6, which can be a problem at times. Not today - we get a nice table in the corner, in the back room, which I like for the cosy warmth and overall feel.
Menus are provided, and we sit. And wait. And wait. Finally someone comes with water, I guess trying to make sure no one dies from thirst. We indicate, subtly, that we are ready to roder, and, in about five minutes a server comes to take drink orders. Um, no, we are now ready to order everything, perhpas even recite the menu by heart. But here, the journey takes a good turn.
The server figures it out, and says, OK, sure, let's go. And we get in our food, and drinks orders in one trip, bread (very tasty bread) arrives, and lunch is saved.
Remembering the old Inn at Bay Fortune potato/cheese/bacon strata thing they used to have here, I am happy to find it under the appetizer section. We order from all over the menu, and, with one aberration (they had run out of burgers?!? Huh? How does a restaurant run out of hamburgers at lunch?) everything comes as ordered. The shellfish eaters are happy, the wine by the glass is interesting, and fairly priced,the soups are very good, and flavourful. My spinach salad is yummy, with spicey coated walnuts and mandarin oranges; and the potato strata thing is excellent. The combination of the two, with my Portermill Station Chenin Blanc, makes for a nice, tasty and almost healthy lunch.
I had to leave a bit early, and don't know if the rest of my party got a dessert, but despite the initial feeling of being ignored by the wait staff, this was a good, happy dining experience. On my way out of the place, I see Cathy Levangie, the owner, relaxing at the bar with a glass of wine. I give her a wave, she acknowledges with a brief finger waggle, and I head out into the bright sun.
We are a party of 6, which can be a problem at times. Not today - we get a nice table in the corner, in the back room, which I like for the cosy warmth and overall feel.
Menus are provided, and we sit. And wait. And wait. Finally someone comes with water, I guess trying to make sure no one dies from thirst. We indicate, subtly, that we are ready to roder, and, in about five minutes a server comes to take drink orders. Um, no, we are now ready to order everything, perhpas even recite the menu by heart. But here, the journey takes a good turn.
The server figures it out, and says, OK, sure, let's go. And we get in our food, and drinks orders in one trip, bread (very tasty bread) arrives, and lunch is saved.
Remembering the old Inn at Bay Fortune potato/cheese/bacon strata thing they used to have here, I am happy to find it under the appetizer section. We order from all over the menu, and, with one aberration (they had run out of burgers?!? Huh? How does a restaurant run out of hamburgers at lunch?) everything comes as ordered. The shellfish eaters are happy, the wine by the glass is interesting, and fairly priced,the soups are very good, and flavourful. My spinach salad is yummy, with spicey coated walnuts and mandarin oranges; and the potato strata thing is excellent. The combination of the two, with my Portermill Station Chenin Blanc, makes for a nice, tasty and almost healthy lunch.
I had to leave a bit early, and don't know if the rest of my party got a dessert, but despite the initial feeling of being ignored by the wait staff, this was a good, happy dining experience. On my way out of the place, I see Cathy Levangie, the owner, relaxing at the bar with a glass of wine. I give her a wave, she acknowledges with a brief finger waggle, and I head out into the bright sun.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Fish and Chips in the BLIP Commercial Ghetto
I normally avoid it like the visual and social plague that it is, but every now and then, BLIP, which is to Clayton Park like Clayton Park is to Downtown Halifax, calls me.
Normally it is just the place to go to get your car legitimately stolen, so you can get a new one with the insurance. Just park near the theatres beside a panel van, and "poof", gone like Cinderella's panties in the pumpkinmobile.
This trip it was to try the fish and chips at Freddie’s Fantastic Fish House. They have recently moved from their trailer on the Peggy's Cove Road, where I frequented them last summer, to a very hard to get to, small, and now fatty smelling space on some cul-de-sac with a big survey firm (SDMM) on the end of it. Look for wider survey lines being cut through the woods this winter!!
The fish was very good, clean, fresh, and with a tasty batter that did enough, but not too much. The fries were yummy, but, and this is a first for me in Halifax, they were a bit on the short side in terms of serving size! The fish had one minor fault, in my fishy books - it was a tad mushy. I am not infirm (yet), and I don't want my fish to be (yet). I still have my teeth, you know.
This place was good, and if you ever find yourself in the scorching hell that is the Bayers Lake Industrial Park cum big box haven of the damned, go there for lunch and you will feel slightly better about yourself, despite having defiled your senses by even being in the park.
But Phil's is still the best "Fish and" in my book, and this is my book.
And watch out for fat surveyors.... there are no crosswalks or sidewalks out there, they may be waddling in the road.
Normally it is just the place to go to get your car legitimately stolen, so you can get a new one with the insurance. Just park near the theatres beside a panel van, and "poof", gone like Cinderella's panties in the pumpkinmobile.
This trip it was to try the fish and chips at Freddie’s Fantastic Fish House. They have recently moved from their trailer on the Peggy's Cove Road, where I frequented them last summer, to a very hard to get to, small, and now fatty smelling space on some cul-de-sac with a big survey firm (SDMM) on the end of it. Look for wider survey lines being cut through the woods this winter!!
The fish was very good, clean, fresh, and with a tasty batter that did enough, but not too much. The fries were yummy, but, and this is a first for me in Halifax, they were a bit on the short side in terms of serving size! The fish had one minor fault, in my fishy books - it was a tad mushy. I am not infirm (yet), and I don't want my fish to be (yet). I still have my teeth, you know.
This place was good, and if you ever find yourself in the scorching hell that is the Bayers Lake Industrial Park cum big box haven of the damned, go there for lunch and you will feel slightly better about yourself, despite having defiled your senses by even being in the park.
But Phil's is still the best "Fish and" in my book, and this is my book.
And watch out for fat surveyors.... there are no crosswalks or sidewalks out there, they may be waddling in the road.
Zen and the Art of 50th Anniversaries
Eight people. Four who eat traditional Chinese when they eat out, four who go for sweet and sour chicken balls. Possible, barely - two generations out to dinner in two pairs of pairs.
Zen is up in Clayton Park West, a part of the world reserved for car zombies, that sub race of people who cannot survive without a car. Designed by computer programs, with plans approved by wordprocessors, Clayton Park West is my personal idea of what hell probably resembles.
But even the car zombies have to eat, and sometimes, in the burbs, great food can be found.
I drove, therefore I ate:
Fried dumplings. A bunch of them - yummy. As good as any I have had, including King Wah.
'
Lemon Chicken, stolen from my Mom's plate - nothing special, Fans/Frans in Dartmouth, near BIO, is better.
Ginger Beef, bro-in-law Pete's fave thing from here, for good reason it turns out - I'll order this again. Coated strip of pork loin, double bite size, some heat, gingery, on the sweet side.
Mongolian Beef - great spice with some real death hot lurking then leaving, tender beef, needs more veg than comes with it, but excellent stuff.
Emperor's Pork Ribs - Partly dry pork chops in a BBQ sauce - I want General Tao's Pork, or whatever that guy's name was. Fan's again.
Cashew Chicken in "Brown Sauce". I put the quotes around the "brown sauce" because the stuff was "not brown". It was a freaky fluorescent red sauce that made you feel like an extra in a zombie dracula movie when you wiped your face with a napkin. YIKES! It glows in the dark! It tastes like cherries! Save me, this can't be food! But it is. I ate a bunch. I figure it is miles better than what my buddy Ed had to eat when in China. At least this was not looking back at me, or running on a wheel five minutes beforehand.
And I also ate a whole pile of steamed rice. This was a great meal, with interesting company (OK, it was my parent's 50 Wedding Anniversary and they were there with their actual best man and bridesmaid from 1956. That couple got married later, but on seeing me, chose not to have any kids, at least that's what my Dad used to tell me when I asked). It was "interesting" to see them trying some of the food my sister and her husband, and L and I ordered. My Dad had a look on his face with the Ginger Beef that was just like babies have when they get solid food for the first time. Probably what I looked like with my first beer.
I ate so much it hurt.
Only one light beer all night. Such a nice boy!
So if I ever get stuck out in Hell, at least I'll know where I can eat.
Zen is up in Clayton Park West, a part of the world reserved for car zombies, that sub race of people who cannot survive without a car. Designed by computer programs, with plans approved by wordprocessors, Clayton Park West is my personal idea of what hell probably resembles.
But even the car zombies have to eat, and sometimes, in the burbs, great food can be found.
I drove, therefore I ate:
Fried dumplings. A bunch of them - yummy. As good as any I have had, including King Wah.
'
Lemon Chicken, stolen from my Mom's plate - nothing special, Fans/Frans in Dartmouth, near BIO, is better.
Ginger Beef, bro-in-law Pete's fave thing from here, for good reason it turns out - I'll order this again. Coated strip of pork loin, double bite size, some heat, gingery, on the sweet side.
Mongolian Beef - great spice with some real death hot lurking then leaving, tender beef, needs more veg than comes with it, but excellent stuff.
Emperor's Pork Ribs - Partly dry pork chops in a BBQ sauce - I want General Tao's Pork, or whatever that guy's name was. Fan's again.
Cashew Chicken in "Brown Sauce". I put the quotes around the "brown sauce" because the stuff was "not brown". It was a freaky fluorescent red sauce that made you feel like an extra in a zombie dracula movie when you wiped your face with a napkin. YIKES! It glows in the dark! It tastes like cherries! Save me, this can't be food! But it is. I ate a bunch. I figure it is miles better than what my buddy Ed had to eat when in China. At least this was not looking back at me, or running on a wheel five minutes beforehand.
And I also ate a whole pile of steamed rice. This was a great meal, with interesting company (OK, it was my parent's 50 Wedding Anniversary and they were there with their actual best man and bridesmaid from 1956. That couple got married later, but on seeing me, chose not to have any kids, at least that's what my Dad used to tell me when I asked). It was "interesting" to see them trying some of the food my sister and her husband, and L and I ordered. My Dad had a look on his face with the Ginger Beef that was just like babies have when they get solid food for the first time. Probably what I looked like with my first beer.
I ate so much it hurt.
Only one light beer all night. Such a nice boy!
So if I ever get stuck out in Hell, at least I'll know where I can eat.
O'Carroll's - My New Downtown Pub?
Went to lunch at O'Carroll's with PK. On the way in the door I am greeted by the former bartender/manager from John Shippey's. In a very friendly manner (gee, did I tip that well?); and the owners are both behind the bar, schlepping drinks. Now I like that. It means that you get the service the owners want you to, doesn't it?
Beer selection, on tap, is great. I mean really good - enough to keep it fresh, but with a good selection of styles. They have Pumphouse beers from Moncton, Propeller, Garrison, and some OK imports. Bruce (one of the owners) tells me if they don't move a keg in a couple of weeks, that's it. I'm there with that.
The wine by the glass selection looks interestng, and is not small (about 6 each of red and white). This merits a return, which may happen a week later (check for future posts).
My lamb burger is really good, moist all the way through, good fresh bun, good stuff on it, including tzatziki, and some miny sour cream, maybe? The fries are OK, but a bit droopy. From real potatoes.
PK's fish cakes arrive in a cloud of suspicion. They look too good to have been made there, and the breading looks too "perfect" to be anything but a frozen pre-made product. This does not look good. After tasting, he is convinced that they are not mass produced, and could be made there.
I don't know if Colin, who was the chef at O'Carroll's the last time I was in the restaurant, is still there, but I know he has the "chops" to turn out fish cakes that look that good. The verdict? Still some uncertainty, but if the things were outsourced, then the source is pretty good. PK certainly ate them all.
And I'd do the lamb burger again. Right now!
We'll see how the New Year works out, but I could be very comfy reacquainting myself with Heather (Bruce's partner in more ways than biz) and the staff in this place.
Beer selection, on tap, is great. I mean really good - enough to keep it fresh, but with a good selection of styles. They have Pumphouse beers from Moncton, Propeller, Garrison, and some OK imports. Bruce (one of the owners) tells me if they don't move a keg in a couple of weeks, that's it. I'm there with that.
The wine by the glass selection looks interestng, and is not small (about 6 each of red and white). This merits a return, which may happen a week later (check for future posts).
My lamb burger is really good, moist all the way through, good fresh bun, good stuff on it, including tzatziki, and some miny sour cream, maybe? The fries are OK, but a bit droopy. From real potatoes.
PK's fish cakes arrive in a cloud of suspicion. They look too good to have been made there, and the breading looks too "perfect" to be anything but a frozen pre-made product. This does not look good. After tasting, he is convinced that they are not mass produced, and could be made there.
I don't know if Colin, who was the chef at O'Carroll's the last time I was in the restaurant, is still there, but I know he has the "chops" to turn out fish cakes that look that good. The verdict? Still some uncertainty, but if the things were outsourced, then the source is pretty good. PK certainly ate them all.
And I'd do the lamb burger again. Right now!
We'll see how the New Year works out, but I could be very comfy reacquainting myself with Heather (Bruce's partner in more ways than biz) and the staff in this place.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Citadel High vs. Citadel Hill - Urban Design
I've had two different people point out to me recently how much the new high school blocks the view of Citadel Hill as one drives from the Willowtree.
So I walked down Bell Road towards it - wow, they are right. Just about when you reach the CBC building, the famous landmark isn't a landmark anymore.
Although you can see it clearly from the far end of the Common by Cunard and Robie.
It really is a shame the school could not have been put on the old St. Patrick's site.
But it would never have made it on the QE site. I have seen plans already for a new emergency services extension from the Infirmary extending right over on to the Queen Elizabeth site - just like relatives waiting for the old girl to die, making plans with what to do with the estate.
So I walked down Bell Road towards it - wow, they are right. Just about when you reach the CBC building, the famous landmark isn't a landmark anymore.
Although you can see it clearly from the far end of the Common by Cunard and Robie.
It really is a shame the school could not have been put on the old St. Patrick's site.
But it would never have made it on the QE site. I have seen plans already for a new emergency services extension from the Infirmary extending right over on to the Queen Elizabeth site - just like relatives waiting for the old girl to die, making plans with what to do with the estate.
The Local Joint
I suppose that janes on the common is my true local restaurant, but I can't bring myself to think of it as "a joint". That title falls more to Freemans New York on Quinpool, where the crowd is relaxed, and somewhat changing, and the pizza really good, if you like the style of crust they do (which I do).
This place always impresses me in that they have Garrison and Propeller beer on tap, and it is always fresh when I visit. The staff are usually very professional, and very down to earth, which I find makes me very comfortable.
We sat near the bar, and I got a pint of Propeller Bitter very promptly, and we ordered a salad, Mousakka for L, and a Pizza for me, large enough to take some home for someone's lunch the next day.
I had to promise that I would not watch the sports on TV, and I managed OK with that, although I admit to being distracted by two couples over in the corner. I may be wrong, but they sure looked like two big guys in off the rigs for some shore time R&R (nudge nudge wink wink say no more) with two of Halifax's finest "best girlfriends your money can buy". When the girls came by on a trip to the ladies room (travelling in pairs), they got close enough to strengthen my initial suspicion. But I could be wrong.... They could be teachers, or something...
The salad (a simple caesar) was competent - most likely dressing from a big plastic pail, but OK, and the Romaine was fresh, the croutons snappy. It took a while, but the pizza arrived (with another Propeller) in fine form. The crust here is fluffy and crispy at the same time. Very bready. The meats on it come shredded, and evenly distributed over the pie - just very good "za".
Joe, the manager of Ginger's, was at the bar having a beer and a snack, and I said hi on the way out. Like me, this place is close for him, and as he said, "there's just something about the place I like". I agree.
Maybe it is all the brass rails in there, reminding us of our training days, learning to drink in the bars downtown.... Or maybe it is just the entertainment over in the corner.
This place always impresses me in that they have Garrison and Propeller beer on tap, and it is always fresh when I visit. The staff are usually very professional, and very down to earth, which I find makes me very comfortable.
We sat near the bar, and I got a pint of Propeller Bitter very promptly, and we ordered a salad, Mousakka for L, and a Pizza for me, large enough to take some home for someone's lunch the next day.
I had to promise that I would not watch the sports on TV, and I managed OK with that, although I admit to being distracted by two couples over in the corner. I may be wrong, but they sure looked like two big guys in off the rigs for some shore time R&R (nudge nudge wink wink say no more) with two of Halifax's finest "best girlfriends your money can buy". When the girls came by on a trip to the ladies room (travelling in pairs), they got close enough to strengthen my initial suspicion. But I could be wrong.... They could be teachers, or something...
The salad (a simple caesar) was competent - most likely dressing from a big plastic pail, but OK, and the Romaine was fresh, the croutons snappy. It took a while, but the pizza arrived (with another Propeller) in fine form. The crust here is fluffy and crispy at the same time. Very bready. The meats on it come shredded, and evenly distributed over the pie - just very good "za".
Joe, the manager of Ginger's, was at the bar having a beer and a snack, and I said hi on the way out. Like me, this place is close for him, and as he said, "there's just something about the place I like". I agree.
Maybe it is all the brass rails in there, reminding us of our training days, learning to drink in the bars downtown.... Or maybe it is just the entertainment over in the corner.
Art and Chives
A friend's new son-in-law had his art on display at Chives, downtown. She was going down to the viewing and planning on snacking while there. In fact she siad, "they were encouraging you to eat". Surprise, surprise.
That was more than enough reason to go, and despite the horrid weather, and L's pending dance class in the early evening, off we went.
The stuff on the walls was, well, pretty cool. Argyle Fine Art impacting on my life again, after last Friday's By The Glass wine and snacks event in the gallery, but with three new artists. And right in Craig Flinn's wheelhouse. Jason's stuff is made from styrofoam, and he gets some interesting textrues, and lighting effects on platter of it that are without scale, looking one moment like the surface of a planet from afar, and at another moment like the mud beneath your feet at low tide on the Bay of Fundy.
Not having a lot of time, I had a glass of Trapiche Pinot Noir, and ordered the bacon wrapped pork loin, with cheese perogies, red cabbage and roasted carrots. The food was wonderful, and if I could have changed anything it would have been to give me more of that cabbage! (and maybe make the perogies a bit cheesier, to match my sense of humour).
We scampered off into the night, L to her dance class, and me to an evening of brown bagged weird wines with a couple of my wine geek friends. Scuppernong! Morrocan red; Finger Lakes Riesling; and New Zealand Merlot.
Life is so tough sometimes....
That was more than enough reason to go, and despite the horrid weather, and L's pending dance class in the early evening, off we went.
The stuff on the walls was, well, pretty cool. Argyle Fine Art impacting on my life again, after last Friday's By The Glass wine and snacks event in the gallery, but with three new artists. And right in Craig Flinn's wheelhouse. Jason's stuff is made from styrofoam, and he gets some interesting textrues, and lighting effects on platter of it that are without scale, looking one moment like the surface of a planet from afar, and at another moment like the mud beneath your feet at low tide on the Bay of Fundy.
Not having a lot of time, I had a glass of Trapiche Pinot Noir, and ordered the bacon wrapped pork loin, with cheese perogies, red cabbage and roasted carrots. The food was wonderful, and if I could have changed anything it would have been to give me more of that cabbage! (and maybe make the perogies a bit cheesier, to match my sense of humour).
We scampered off into the night, L to her dance class, and me to an evening of brown bagged weird wines with a couple of my wine geek friends. Scuppernong! Morrocan red; Finger Lakes Riesling; and New Zealand Merlot.
Life is so tough sometimes....
Monday, December 11, 2006
janes on the common - dinner out
I already commented on how good jane's is for lunch, but last week we put it to a real dining out test. Dinner for four, during the busy time of the evening, around 7:00 pm. I think I have mentioned this mentioned before, but I am known there, as it is practically in my back yard.
Just one night after eating at Chives, we went out to jane's with my golf buddy Geoff and his wife Judy. After a preparatory drink and we walked over around 7 on a Wednesday night for dinner. It was about 15 minute wait for a table, but we did OK, and got the big old dining room table.
The specials on the board usually intrigue me, and this evening was no different. I ended up ordering both the soup and the main from the special board. Other choices around the table differed, except that most of us opted for the soup, advertised as "four onion and potato".
The wines, all served by the glass, carafe or bottle, I help the place choose them, so I cannot really comment fairly on them. Suffice to say they were served promptly, and were not corked. The odd thing about the service for the entire evening, for me, was that we seemed to be served "by committee". I know this is done in other places, but I am not used to it here, normally dining as a twosome, or even alone at the bar, I am more used to one person busing, and another doing the rest.
The soup was very tasty, and I ate it quickly, despite having ordered a bowl (I would normally order a cup). My only quibble was that is was more a gruel than a soup. Is it still called soup if you take out a spoonful and the hole you made isn't filled in by what remains in the bowl? It was hearty, and tasty, and hot. Darn fine soup, or gruel. My Eagle Tree Muscat was great with it.
My main course was a breaded veal, with the carbohydrate of the day and mixed veg. It was here that I was a bit let down from past performances at this restaurant. First, I count sweet potato as one of the things that counts as a side veg, not a main course carbohydrate. I don't really like it in any large amount, and here it was, taking the rightful place of real potatoes, rice, perogies, whatever! The veal was OK, but not as interesting as I have come to expect the food here to be, and a bit on the tough side. Chewey.
I have to point out that my dining companions fared better than I, enjoying their courses from the regular dinner menu. But one of my rules - the special HAS to be as good, or better than anything on the menu - was broken.
I took a chance and tried a white wine, the Boira Pinot Grigio from the Veneto, and it showed quite well with the veal, showing off the body this wine has while staying the course with adequate acidity.
Desserts were, as usual, just about perfect. This is one of the best places for those of us with a sweet tooth in the city. Creme Caramel done right.
Of course, as always with jane's, the finale, and maybe the best part, is the bill. $147 for four people each with three courses and three of us drinking wine.
And even better, Geoff picked up the tab. There was some very serious business discussion we had during dinner, of course.
Just one night after eating at Chives, we went out to jane's with my golf buddy Geoff and his wife Judy. After a preparatory drink and we walked over around 7 on a Wednesday night for dinner. It was about 15 minute wait for a table, but we did OK, and got the big old dining room table.
The specials on the board usually intrigue me, and this evening was no different. I ended up ordering both the soup and the main from the special board. Other choices around the table differed, except that most of us opted for the soup, advertised as "four onion and potato".
The wines, all served by the glass, carafe or bottle, I help the place choose them, so I cannot really comment fairly on them. Suffice to say they were served promptly, and were not corked. The odd thing about the service for the entire evening, for me, was that we seemed to be served "by committee". I know this is done in other places, but I am not used to it here, normally dining as a twosome, or even alone at the bar, I am more used to one person busing, and another doing the rest.
The soup was very tasty, and I ate it quickly, despite having ordered a bowl (I would normally order a cup). My only quibble was that is was more a gruel than a soup. Is it still called soup if you take out a spoonful and the hole you made isn't filled in by what remains in the bowl? It was hearty, and tasty, and hot. Darn fine soup, or gruel. My Eagle Tree Muscat was great with it.
My main course was a breaded veal, with the carbohydrate of the day and mixed veg. It was here that I was a bit let down from past performances at this restaurant. First, I count sweet potato as one of the things that counts as a side veg, not a main course carbohydrate. I don't really like it in any large amount, and here it was, taking the rightful place of real potatoes, rice, perogies, whatever! The veal was OK, but not as interesting as I have come to expect the food here to be, and a bit on the tough side. Chewey.
I have to point out that my dining companions fared better than I, enjoying their courses from the regular dinner menu. But one of my rules - the special HAS to be as good, or better than anything on the menu - was broken.
I took a chance and tried a white wine, the Boira Pinot Grigio from the Veneto, and it showed quite well with the veal, showing off the body this wine has while staying the course with adequate acidity.
Desserts were, as usual, just about perfect. This is one of the best places for those of us with a sweet tooth in the city. Creme Caramel done right.
Of course, as always with jane's, the finale, and maybe the best part, is the bill. $147 for four people each with three courses and three of us drinking wine.
And even better, Geoff picked up the tab. There was some very serious business discussion we had during dinner, of course.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Smoked Out at Tom's
It was something I just had to do. I mean growing up in the clubs and bars in Halifax the past 30 years, tobacco smoke had always been a part of the environment. Until recently, when we have rounded up all the sinners and put them into little terrariums to smoke their brains out, and if we can trick them, give us even more of their money by playing the fruit machines.
But someone rained on the party. Seems it was not enough to win, the anti smoking Nazis had to grind people's faces in it. Of course, there has been little thought as to what will happen now - my guess is that we will see an increase in cancer from second hand smoke, as those people who used to puff in the bars that has smoking areas will now do so at home, and poison their kids, instead of other smokers, and consenting adults.
I have seen people who really really want to quit, but just can't. I never did, but I have witnessed true addictions.
Of course, the businesses who depended on smokers are now faced with having to change or go out of business. Tom's Little Havana is known as a cigar bar. But no more. You can't use that product there anymore.
Last Thursday, November 30, was the last chance to light up in semi-private in Nova Scotia, at least legally. This was one of those things where I had to attend. I go to Tom's a lot, because I have friends who have the habit, not because I like to have my clothes smell like shit the next day.
I sat at the end of the bar with two off-shift staff, Denise (my long time buddy) and Rachel, who I know only in passing, and Penelope, who most people in the downtown recognize. We had a lot of fun chatting with all the people who came in for a last smoke, or just to see smoke in a bar. Half of Halifax's bar staff visited. Owners of other bars and restaurants, former staff, people who used to be in the biz (including Tom himself) and a bunch of familiar faces from the old Thackery's/Duck/Jury Room days. And a whole pile of irrelevant political types, too.
The cigars were on for 1/2 price - so I smoked a wee one (OK, 2), just for the occasion. They went great with Garrison Brown Ale.
At the end, sharing a cab home with Penelope, we could only agree that it was worth it to have been there, to witness the passing of an era.
The next day, a normally busy Friday, there were only 25 people in Tom's at 6:30. But I bet the already fabulous food tasted better.
But someone rained on the party. Seems it was not enough to win, the anti smoking Nazis had to grind people's faces in it. Of course, there has been little thought as to what will happen now - my guess is that we will see an increase in cancer from second hand smoke, as those people who used to puff in the bars that has smoking areas will now do so at home, and poison their kids, instead of other smokers, and consenting adults.
I have seen people who really really want to quit, but just can't. I never did, but I have witnessed true addictions.
Of course, the businesses who depended on smokers are now faced with having to change or go out of business. Tom's Little Havana is known as a cigar bar. But no more. You can't use that product there anymore.
Last Thursday, November 30, was the last chance to light up in semi-private in Nova Scotia, at least legally. This was one of those things where I had to attend. I go to Tom's a lot, because I have friends who have the habit, not because I like to have my clothes smell like shit the next day.
I sat at the end of the bar with two off-shift staff, Denise (my long time buddy) and Rachel, who I know only in passing, and Penelope, who most people in the downtown recognize. We had a lot of fun chatting with all the people who came in for a last smoke, or just to see smoke in a bar. Half of Halifax's bar staff visited. Owners of other bars and restaurants, former staff, people who used to be in the biz (including Tom himself) and a bunch of familiar faces from the old Thackery's/Duck/Jury Room days. And a whole pile of irrelevant political types, too.
The cigars were on for 1/2 price - so I smoked a wee one (OK, 2), just for the occasion. They went great with Garrison Brown Ale.
At the end, sharing a cab home with Penelope, we could only agree that it was worth it to have been there, to witness the passing of an era.
The next day, a normally busy Friday, there were only 25 people in Tom's at 6:30. But I bet the already fabulous food tasted better.
Drinking for Special Olympics
One of these days they are going to make drinking an Olympic sport, and then it will really be special.
Until then, we have our own annual Special Olympics fundraiser to keep us happy.
Everyone brings a wine that is special to them in some way, plus some cash for the privilege of tasting everyone elses' wines. This year the goal was to raise $1,200, and gosh darn, we did, raising $1,250 for this worthy cause.
The best part, even better than the wines, which were great, was listening to people explain why the wine they brought was special to them. This is a great equalizer, as something as sweet and innocent as Leah saying hers was the first good wine she ever drank, to something as complicated as Kevin's story about a Duke and Duchess and Nazi collaborators, all bear the same relevance, and interest.
We had a great time. I'm looking forward to it again next year.
Until then, we have our own annual Special Olympics fundraiser to keep us happy.
Everyone brings a wine that is special to them in some way, plus some cash for the privilege of tasting everyone elses' wines. This year the goal was to raise $1,200, and gosh darn, we did, raising $1,250 for this worthy cause.
The best part, even better than the wines, which were great, was listening to people explain why the wine they brought was special to them. This is a great equalizer, as something as sweet and innocent as Leah saying hers was the first good wine she ever drank, to something as complicated as Kevin's story about a Duke and Duchess and Nazi collaborators, all bear the same relevance, and interest.
We had a great time. I'm looking forward to it again next year.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Viva Italia! or the 'Drinker visits A Taste of Italy
Friday night, Mik and I head down to Pier 23 for the annual Amici del Vino "Taste of Italy" wine fair (and food expo). In addition to representation from a number of agencies who sell Italian wines in Nova Scotia already, plus two of the private wine stores, there were nine wineries that appear to have been sponsored by the Italian government to travel the world and try to create markets for their wines. Those wines were available for sale by the case, but only through the highly efficient NSLC Special Orders program. Hmmmmm.... I'll pass.
But it was from those wineries where the most interesting wines were found, for the most part, I thought.
It was an evening of more Barbera based wines than Nova Scotia has ever seen in one room at one time. And there were some dandies. Plus a number of Moscato based wines (Muscat) and even a couple of rare grapes, Nosiola and Brachetto.
My favourites, in no particular order:
Scambia wines siriaulivieriscambia@libero.it (someone should rep this winery). They showed three wines, and all three were excellent, interesting, and very well made. The Orvieto was complex, and intriguing (from the DOC Gualdo di Meana and priced under $20). The Rosso Orviento from DOC Runico was perhaps my favourite lower priced wine of the evening, and their biggie, a Sangiovese from the DOC of Brunaio was wonderful stuff, but at $80 and from the 1997 vintage, it should be.
From Marenco wines (www.marencovini.com) the Moscato Secco Muma T.W. was great stuff, and I really wanted one bottle to compare with our own Nova Scotia dry Muscats. Their Barbera D'Asti was also impressive, huge dark and complex - not what one thinks of with this grape.
Pisoni wines (www.pisoni.net) showed the very interesting Nosiola IGT from Trentino, a rarely seen grape in North America making a clean white wine that reminded me of Chenin Blanc.
Sgarzi Luigi (www.cantinesgarzi.it) showed a bunch of wines from the south, and from Emilia Romagna. I liked the Nero D'Avola-Syrah blend from Luigi Leonardo in Sicily. ($14!!)
Villa di Maser (www.villadimaser.it) showed the best wine of the show, their Montello Il Maserino DOC 2001. This was a $100 wine, but it showed wonderfully.
And finally, I would be remiss in not praising the Tre Donna Barbera D'Alba, 2001, from Vin•Art. Yes, it is $37 but it is quite the substantial wine.
And the chocolate grappa? Gag gag gag gag gag, spit.
Did I mention the food? It was great. I spent most of my time drinking and gabbing. Here is the gossip. Alanna is back from Italy with her Italian husband to follow by mail. Simone and Terry are opening an Italian restaurant in Lunenburg. And Susan, the wine goddess, will be really pissed that she missed this one.
Later time spent at Seven and then the Armview (what was I thinking, I was not nearly drunk enough for that?) proved very boring and unproductive, other than watching gorgeous young women get very drunk and fall down. Why is it that the music has to be so loud you can't hear a blonde hit the floor anymore? These young people just don't know how to party.
Oh, and somewhere there, I lost Mik. Let me know if you find him.
But it was from those wineries where the most interesting wines were found, for the most part, I thought.
It was an evening of more Barbera based wines than Nova Scotia has ever seen in one room at one time. And there were some dandies. Plus a number of Moscato based wines (Muscat) and even a couple of rare grapes, Nosiola and Brachetto.
My favourites, in no particular order:
Scambia wines siriaulivieriscambia@libero.it (someone should rep this winery). They showed three wines, and all three were excellent, interesting, and very well made. The Orvieto was complex, and intriguing (from the DOC Gualdo di Meana and priced under $20). The Rosso Orviento from DOC Runico was perhaps my favourite lower priced wine of the evening, and their biggie, a Sangiovese from the DOC of Brunaio was wonderful stuff, but at $80 and from the 1997 vintage, it should be.
From Marenco wines (www.marencovini.com) the Moscato Secco Muma T.W. was great stuff, and I really wanted one bottle to compare with our own Nova Scotia dry Muscats. Their Barbera D'Asti was also impressive, huge dark and complex - not what one thinks of with this grape.
Pisoni wines (www.pisoni.net) showed the very interesting Nosiola IGT from Trentino, a rarely seen grape in North America making a clean white wine that reminded me of Chenin Blanc.
Sgarzi Luigi (www.cantinesgarzi.it) showed a bunch of wines from the south, and from Emilia Romagna. I liked the Nero D'Avola-Syrah blend from Luigi Leonardo in Sicily. ($14!!)
Villa di Maser (www.villadimaser.it) showed the best wine of the show, their Montello Il Maserino DOC 2001. This was a $100 wine, but it showed wonderfully.
And finally, I would be remiss in not praising the Tre Donna Barbera D'Alba, 2001, from Vin•Art. Yes, it is $37 but it is quite the substantial wine.
And the chocolate grappa? Gag gag gag gag gag, spit.
Did I mention the food? It was great. I spent most of my time drinking and gabbing. Here is the gossip. Alanna is back from Italy with her Italian husband to follow by mail. Simone and Terry are opening an Italian restaurant in Lunenburg. And Susan, the wine goddess, will be really pissed that she missed this one.
Later time spent at Seven and then the Armview (what was I thinking, I was not nearly drunk enough for that?) proved very boring and unproductive, other than watching gorgeous young women get very drunk and fall down. Why is it that the music has to be so loud you can't hear a blonde hit the floor anymore? These young people just don't know how to party.
Oh, and somewhere there, I lost Mik. Let me know if you find him.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Wine of the Week, November 20
Trapiche Broquel Malbec, 2005, Argentina. (POW, and POW Sections $15.19)
Yes, I KNOW Ron Crooks at the Port of Wines is pushing this one like he owns shares in the company, but dammit, he is right on this one. And if you don't yet know about this wine, you should. Extraordinary value for the $15 and change. Plus it looks just fine on a table. Malbec is normally a wine for big red meat, game and the like, and can even handle some spice. This one is refined, almost Bordeaux like, and exhibits class not normally found at this price. It will keep for a few years, if you can keep your hands off it. Buy more than one.
Yes, I KNOW Ron Crooks at the Port of Wines is pushing this one like he owns shares in the company, but dammit, he is right on this one. And if you don't yet know about this wine, you should. Extraordinary value for the $15 and change. Plus it looks just fine on a table. Malbec is normally a wine for big red meat, game and the like, and can even handle some spice. This one is refined, almost Bordeaux like, and exhibits class not normally found at this price. It will keep for a few years, if you can keep your hands off it. Buy more than one.
The Ceilidh, or Thank you Mr. NSLC!
Every year I swear I am not going unless someone comps me a ticket. This year I scored two! Meeting my contact and effecting a sly handoff at the Midtown Tavern moments before the show starts (Thank you Mr. NSLC!), I drag The Skipper along, kicking and screaming "No more free booze!, what is WITH you guys!". I know that sooner or later, Kempton and I will drive him back to the more sedate practice of home agriculture.
We arrive to a lineup - a room full of people from various backgrounds and interest. And why not? This is not just a Scotch show, no way, José Cuervo, there is a lot of other stuff in there too. Like Rum. Lots of Rum. I am thinking already that this ain't a-gonna be purty, no matter how it stacks up.
But what the hey, we're in like flint, and when the doors open we make our way (no we did not run) to the already well formed lineup for the $1,800 bottle of Macallan that has been opened in the farthest corner of the room. In the line I greet erstwhile Brewnoser and seal milkmaid extraordinaire Sarah, with best biologist Bruce waiting their turn for the purported elixir that none can afford to drink.
It ain't bad, actually.
The alcohol has dropped from some previously higher cask strength level, via the path of the Angel's Share, leaving a fiery somewhat dark whisky that simply explodes in aroma and flavous with a wee drop of good water, which the gentleman at the booth is happy to offer. (more on the water thing later - yes a rant is surfacing). Watching the bottle diminish, I figure that my share is worth about $175. Not a bad sip. Hey, I'm already up $220, maybe I should go to the Casino!
I wander around a bit, seeing a lot of familiar faces, few of which I can rember by name, which makes sense as I usually see them in similar circumstances. I boldly head out on a blends tasting binge, but find myself drawn to the peat. In Auld Reekie, and especially in a mystery malt from Wilson and Morgan, called W&M House Malt.
I managed to get some of the Port Ellen 21 year old, toasting the loss of this now dismantled still with Sarah and Bruce, and whoever else was close enough to hear; enjoyed the Bunnahabhain; the Icewine version of Glen Breton, and a lot of other fine things.
But it was two comments, from people there, telling me what to do, or not to more like, that got to me a bit. The first was one guy, watching me dump a part finished sample of a not-so-special malt into a dump bucket, looking at me and, like that demented child porn sucking turd who did the Keith's ads, telling me I was violating some ancient law of nature by allowing it to be wasted. I told him to go drive his pickup into a bus load of kids later on, and to make sure the breathalyzer was calibrated when he blew. Coulda been the whisky, as they say.
Then it was this old fart with a Scottish tartan tie and a name tag with a "Mac" in front of his real family name. Seeing me add water to a malt and taste it, then add a bit more and get it right, he looked at me and exclaimed "What are you doing to that fine malt?". I asked him where the hell he was from, Rhode Island? I then explained to him, in what seemed to me to be quite a patient voice about how one really should add some good water to a malt, especially the cask strength stuff I was currently sampling, in order to be able to taste the g.d. thing properly! I figure my Carnoustie golf shirt outranked his little tartan beret. And no, I was NOT shouting at him. Really. Arsehole poser that he was.
I then saved someone's evening, as he had been listening to me explain to the old ponsy fart about the water thing. Turns out it was Dave, who used to work with me long ago and far far away. He was a helpless beer drinker, stranded in hard liquor land. I told him to just keep adding water to it until he liked it. That is what they do in the pubs in Fife, I know for sure. I ran into him later on, and he was smiling, and raised a glass to me. "The water helping?" I asked. "Damn straight", he says, "I like to get a big mouthfull of stuff into my mouth just like beer. This is great!". I ask what he is drinking, and he point to the bottle on the table beside him. It is a 25 year old Cognac. Oh well.....
As the thing ends, I go buy a bottle (hey 10% off, yee hah, Thank you Mr. NSLC!) of the W&M, and we eventually head out on the town. Someone (Pierre?) has it in their head to go to Bubbles Mansion. That is full, packed and lined up. And us with a full bottle each of scotch or rum in tow, we could have had some fun in there! The Alehouse next door is empty, dead, nada happening. But they turn us away becasue they want $5 for a band we are not going to stay and hear. (good business decision, they would have sold a hundred dollars worth of beer, plus some snacks, I bet).
We bail and head to Rogues Roost, where the Friday started, as it usually does for me. Back so soon? asks the (cute) server. We order beers, and I now think, though I am not sure, that I walked out on my one-beer tab, thinking someone else got it. Oh well, they won't forget that next Friday.
I head down to Onyx, in the rain, and drink a few freebie Champagne cocktails with the Moet rep. The manager of the Joe Howe liquor store even gives me a lift home. Thank you Mr. NSLC!
We arrive to a lineup - a room full of people from various backgrounds and interest. And why not? This is not just a Scotch show, no way, José Cuervo, there is a lot of other stuff in there too. Like Rum. Lots of Rum. I am thinking already that this ain't a-gonna be purty, no matter how it stacks up.
But what the hey, we're in like flint, and when the doors open we make our way (no we did not run) to the already well formed lineup for the $1,800 bottle of Macallan that has been opened in the farthest corner of the room. In the line I greet erstwhile Brewnoser and seal milkmaid extraordinaire Sarah, with best biologist Bruce waiting their turn for the purported elixir that none can afford to drink.
It ain't bad, actually.
The alcohol has dropped from some previously higher cask strength level, via the path of the Angel's Share, leaving a fiery somewhat dark whisky that simply explodes in aroma and flavous with a wee drop of good water, which the gentleman at the booth is happy to offer. (more on the water thing later - yes a rant is surfacing). Watching the bottle diminish, I figure that my share is worth about $175. Not a bad sip. Hey, I'm already up $220, maybe I should go to the Casino!
I wander around a bit, seeing a lot of familiar faces, few of which I can rember by name, which makes sense as I usually see them in similar circumstances. I boldly head out on a blends tasting binge, but find myself drawn to the peat. In Auld Reekie, and especially in a mystery malt from Wilson and Morgan, called W&M House Malt.
I managed to get some of the Port Ellen 21 year old, toasting the loss of this now dismantled still with Sarah and Bruce, and whoever else was close enough to hear; enjoyed the Bunnahabhain; the Icewine version of Glen Breton, and a lot of other fine things.
But it was two comments, from people there, telling me what to do, or not to more like, that got to me a bit. The first was one guy, watching me dump a part finished sample of a not-so-special malt into a dump bucket, looking at me and, like that demented child porn sucking turd who did the Keith's ads, telling me I was violating some ancient law of nature by allowing it to be wasted. I told him to go drive his pickup into a bus load of kids later on, and to make sure the breathalyzer was calibrated when he blew. Coulda been the whisky, as they say.
Then it was this old fart with a Scottish tartan tie and a name tag with a "Mac" in front of his real family name. Seeing me add water to a malt and taste it, then add a bit more and get it right, he looked at me and exclaimed "What are you doing to that fine malt?". I asked him where the hell he was from, Rhode Island? I then explained to him, in what seemed to me to be quite a patient voice about how one really should add some good water to a malt, especially the cask strength stuff I was currently sampling, in order to be able to taste the g.d. thing properly! I figure my Carnoustie golf shirt outranked his little tartan beret. And no, I was NOT shouting at him. Really. Arsehole poser that he was.
I then saved someone's evening, as he had been listening to me explain to the old ponsy fart about the water thing. Turns out it was Dave, who used to work with me long ago and far far away. He was a helpless beer drinker, stranded in hard liquor land. I told him to just keep adding water to it until he liked it. That is what they do in the pubs in Fife, I know for sure. I ran into him later on, and he was smiling, and raised a glass to me. "The water helping?" I asked. "Damn straight", he says, "I like to get a big mouthfull of stuff into my mouth just like beer. This is great!". I ask what he is drinking, and he point to the bottle on the table beside him. It is a 25 year old Cognac. Oh well.....
As the thing ends, I go buy a bottle (hey 10% off, yee hah, Thank you Mr. NSLC!) of the W&M, and we eventually head out on the town. Someone (Pierre?) has it in their head to go to Bubbles Mansion. That is full, packed and lined up. And us with a full bottle each of scotch or rum in tow, we could have had some fun in there! The Alehouse next door is empty, dead, nada happening. But they turn us away becasue they want $5 for a band we are not going to stay and hear. (good business decision, they would have sold a hundred dollars worth of beer, plus some snacks, I bet).
We bail and head to Rogues Roost, where the Friday started, as it usually does for me. Back so soon? asks the (cute) server. We order beers, and I now think, though I am not sure, that I walked out on my one-beer tab, thinking someone else got it. Oh well, they won't forget that next Friday.
I head down to Onyx, in the rain, and drink a few freebie Champagne cocktails with the Moet rep. The manager of the Joe Howe liquor store even gives me a lift home. Thank you Mr. NSLC!
Monday, November 13, 2006
Sunday Brunch at Saege
Sunday was maybe the last time this year to go for a warm afternoon stroll and have a late brunch in the city. Plus it was the last day the Public Gardens would be open, so L and I chose to head down to the Spring Garden Road area and have brunch at Saege. Now, this is not a place I can go and be anonymous, as I know several people who work there, including the manager and one of the chefs. Sure enough, on entering we are met by the lovely Karin, who greets us warmly and shows us to a seat by the window on the sidewalk.
The full menu is there on the table, but on top of it is a Special Brunch menu. About 10 or 12 different items are listed, and we don't get past this before we both find something we like the look of.
I order a Mimosa (hey it's brunch!) and the chicken crepe, and L chooses a fritata. The Mimosa comes quickly. As I look around the room, I see that just about everyone has their food, or is already finished eating, and as it is about 2:30, I'm looking forward to food, soon.
The Mimosa tastes like it has bourbon added...
I watch Karin do a wonderful job helping a slightly handicapped senior with a walker find a seat and get comfortable. She seems to have just the right sense of when to help, and when to allow the person to do for themselves.
Just as I have decided that maybe the Mimosa tastes like it has tequila in it, and not bourbon, the food arrives. Now that was fast! Our server agrees, saying that the specials come quickly.
Both dishes are atrractively presented, and hot. No waiting around under a heat lamp. L's fritata is excellent, tasty, and approaching comfort food. My crepe is less intensely flavoured, and starts off as a bit plain. The smokey bacon sauce does tend to grow on one, as you eat it. One thing I can say - don't order a Mimosa with it! The combination was downright unattractive.
Both brunch items are over $10, more like $12-$13, which seems a bit pricey, but not for the location, I suppose.
We leave happy, taking our time through the Gardens, and walk down to Botticelli's at Bishop's Landing, where we are completely blown away by the gelato (pistachio, Italian cream, mango, pumpkin pie). Waddling back up the hill to Pete's Frootique for late supper groceries, it feels like a great day to be living in Halifax.
I am still wondering what was in that Mimosa, though....
The full menu is there on the table, but on top of it is a Special Brunch menu. About 10 or 12 different items are listed, and we don't get past this before we both find something we like the look of.
I order a Mimosa (hey it's brunch!) and the chicken crepe, and L chooses a fritata. The Mimosa comes quickly. As I look around the room, I see that just about everyone has their food, or is already finished eating, and as it is about 2:30, I'm looking forward to food, soon.
The Mimosa tastes like it has bourbon added...
I watch Karin do a wonderful job helping a slightly handicapped senior with a walker find a seat and get comfortable. She seems to have just the right sense of when to help, and when to allow the person to do for themselves.
Just as I have decided that maybe the Mimosa tastes like it has tequila in it, and not bourbon, the food arrives. Now that was fast! Our server agrees, saying that the specials come quickly.
Both dishes are atrractively presented, and hot. No waiting around under a heat lamp. L's fritata is excellent, tasty, and approaching comfort food. My crepe is less intensely flavoured, and starts off as a bit plain. The smokey bacon sauce does tend to grow on one, as you eat it. One thing I can say - don't order a Mimosa with it! The combination was downright unattractive.
Both brunch items are over $10, more like $12-$13, which seems a bit pricey, but not for the location, I suppose.
We leave happy, taking our time through the Gardens, and walk down to Botticelli's at Bishop's Landing, where we are completely blown away by the gelato (pistachio, Italian cream, mango, pumpkin pie). Waddling back up the hill to Pete's Frootique for late supper groceries, it feels like a great day to be living in Halifax.
I am still wondering what was in that Mimosa, though....
Friday, November 10, 2006
Tony Aspler Dinner at Chives Bistro, November 9
I attended this event in the company of Susan (the aforementioned wine goddess Sommelier from the Mystery Wine search). We sat with Gina Haverstock, also a Sommelier. Gina is a graduate of the Brock University Cool Climate Viticultural Instiutute. She now makes wine as well as drinking it.
This event was one of the best I have attended in terms of the pairing of the wines with the different courses. There were 20 people, and Chef Craig Flinn and his staff really did a wonderful job of plating interesting food, with real honest flavours and attractive presentation. But kudos go to Sommelier Craig Michie, who now works at The Bishop's Cellar, for his choices on which wines to serve. He had the unenviable task of choosing wines when the winemakers were going to be in attendance with Tony Aspler, who is, without question, Canada's best known and probably most read wine writer. The winemakers in attendance, in addition to Gina, who is currently working at Gaspereau Vineyards, were Suzanne Corkum of St. Famille, Jurg Stutz of Grand Pré, and Hans Christian Jost (you guess where he works).
Host of the event was the ebullient John Stuart of Bishop's Cellar, and the wines all came from their store. The event was the launch of Tony's new book, The Wine Atlas of Canada.
The evening started with a glass of Gaspereau Vineyards NY Muscat. Susan and I (and I think Gina too) all recognized it. First as NY Muscat (that's not hard), then as NOT Jost Eagle Tree (a bit harder) and, finally NOT Grand Pré (the real test). It made a perfect aperatif, with the aromatics filling the senses with that muscat love we all appreciate, and the crisp acidic finish readying the palate for what was to come.
The starter course of soup, a roasted celery with balsamic vinegar concoction, was well matched by the Petite Riviere Vineyards Cotes de Lahave Blanc sur lie. This wine has a striking nose, like that of fine champagne, without the carbonation. There is a slightly vegetal thing happening there that seemed hard to distinguish between the soup and the wine, as the two melded to become better with the other.
Acadie Blanc Reserve from Grand Pré matched well with a mixed green salad with pear, especially matching the pear (we assume that was Craig's thought). Susan went back to the Muscat and encouraged us to try that with the salad, and we were glad we did. A very successful pairing, different from the Acadie Blanc, more integrated and almost sexy.
The next course was a seared pork loin, bacon wrapped, in a smokey fruity sauce (cranberry?) with a stacked scalloped potato. The Jost Trilogy matched this extremely well. This Baco Noir, Foch, Leon Milllot blend seemed to have an answer for all the various flavours the dish offered, but most effectively matched the smokey character of the sauce and the bacon.
Dessert of apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream was very happilty matched by the 2004 St. Famille Icewine. This wine has a great nose, of apple cider, caramel, and creme brulé, with stunning acidity in the mid and finish that really stood up to the sweet dessert.
Tony's book, which I purchased, is an extremely attractive package with thoughly researched content. I bought it for the summaries of just about every Canadian winery, and the good coverage of our part of the world.
And for the ladies, there is a great full page picture of "hunky" Hans Christian in his vineyard. Clothed, though - it is not a calendar. I am sure I saw Susan getting that page of her copy of the book specially autographed by HC as he was leaving....
Anyway, I know the NS winemakers have to be proud of how their products showed on this evening - they certainly owe a debt to Craig Michie for the great job he did in allowing them to show so well, and to be a full and equal partner to the great Chives menu.
This event was one of the best I have attended in terms of the pairing of the wines with the different courses. There were 20 people, and Chef Craig Flinn and his staff really did a wonderful job of plating interesting food, with real honest flavours and attractive presentation. But kudos go to Sommelier Craig Michie, who now works at The Bishop's Cellar, for his choices on which wines to serve. He had the unenviable task of choosing wines when the winemakers were going to be in attendance with Tony Aspler, who is, without question, Canada's best known and probably most read wine writer. The winemakers in attendance, in addition to Gina, who is currently working at Gaspereau Vineyards, were Suzanne Corkum of St. Famille, Jurg Stutz of Grand Pré, and Hans Christian Jost (you guess where he works).
Host of the event was the ebullient John Stuart of Bishop's Cellar, and the wines all came from their store. The event was the launch of Tony's new book, The Wine Atlas of Canada.
The evening started with a glass of Gaspereau Vineyards NY Muscat. Susan and I (and I think Gina too) all recognized it. First as NY Muscat (that's not hard), then as NOT Jost Eagle Tree (a bit harder) and, finally NOT Grand Pré (the real test). It made a perfect aperatif, with the aromatics filling the senses with that muscat love we all appreciate, and the crisp acidic finish readying the palate for what was to come.
The starter course of soup, a roasted celery with balsamic vinegar concoction, was well matched by the Petite Riviere Vineyards Cotes de Lahave Blanc sur lie. This wine has a striking nose, like that of fine champagne, without the carbonation. There is a slightly vegetal thing happening there that seemed hard to distinguish between the soup and the wine, as the two melded to become better with the other.
Acadie Blanc Reserve from Grand Pré matched well with a mixed green salad with pear, especially matching the pear (we assume that was Craig's thought). Susan went back to the Muscat and encouraged us to try that with the salad, and we were glad we did. A very successful pairing, different from the Acadie Blanc, more integrated and almost sexy.
The next course was a seared pork loin, bacon wrapped, in a smokey fruity sauce (cranberry?) with a stacked scalloped potato. The Jost Trilogy matched this extremely well. This Baco Noir, Foch, Leon Milllot blend seemed to have an answer for all the various flavours the dish offered, but most effectively matched the smokey character of the sauce and the bacon.
Dessert of apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream was very happilty matched by the 2004 St. Famille Icewine. This wine has a great nose, of apple cider, caramel, and creme brulé, with stunning acidity in the mid and finish that really stood up to the sweet dessert.
Tony's book, which I purchased, is an extremely attractive package with thoughly researched content. I bought it for the summaries of just about every Canadian winery, and the good coverage of our part of the world.
And for the ladies, there is a great full page picture of "hunky" Hans Christian in his vineyard. Clothed, though - it is not a calendar. I am sure I saw Susan getting that page of her copy of the book specially autographed by HC as he was leaving....
Anyway, I know the NS winemakers have to be proud of how their products showed on this evening - they certainly owe a debt to Craig Michie for the great job he did in allowing them to show so well, and to be a full and equal partner to the great Chives menu.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Chowhounding I
After my two days eating and drinking around Halifax with Jim Leff, he of chowhound.com fame, I have found myself returning to my previous "chowhounding" ways. That is, finding small, unlikely places that make great food....... and eating it of course. In company of my friend Peter, I had been in a groove of finding and eating at a lot of places we in Halifax now take for granted, prior to their becoming famous. We were regulars at Mexico Lindo back when they were up on Convoy Avenue next to the old laundromat. We almost felt like we personally discovered the old Sisters of the Carribean outlet in Dartmouth, and we were seeking out and finding places on a regular basis.
Look out, we're baaaaack!
So, here are my recommendations from recent Chowhounding in HRM
Bach's Cafe on Agricola - real Korean food. I usually order a soup/wonton thing with hot sauce and kimchee on the side.
Iqbals Grocery on Charles St. near Agricola - they moved a while ago, and at first glance this appears to be a samosa factory. But they serve great food to the 6 seats in front of the take out counter.
Smith's Bakery on Agricola and Charles (in sight of Iqbal's) - great lunches, not just baked goods from one of the city's last family bakeries (most small bakeries have left the tax-burdened HRM). I like the pasta bakes/lasagna when they have it.
Ranni's Roti Hut - In the old IGA store on the corner of Queen and Greene St. Not sure if I have the name right, but you won't miss it. Order lamb roti. Wonderful.
Scotia Square Food Court - The Indian and Korean places in there rock. Especially the Indian place on the days when they do a buffet - you load up your plate with what you want for I think $5.99.
Phil's Seafood - You probably know about this already, but it is the best Fish and Chips in town. On the Purcell's Cove Road across from the Armdale Yacht Club at Melville Cove, or in the newer location on Quinpool, near Preston.
Fine dining can have its place. But not every meal requires the finest silver too!
Look out, we're baaaaack!
So, here are my recommendations from recent Chowhounding in HRM
Bach's Cafe on Agricola - real Korean food. I usually order a soup/wonton thing with hot sauce and kimchee on the side.
Iqbals Grocery on Charles St. near Agricola - they moved a while ago, and at first glance this appears to be a samosa factory. But they serve great food to the 6 seats in front of the take out counter.
Smith's Bakery on Agricola and Charles (in sight of Iqbal's) - great lunches, not just baked goods from one of the city's last family bakeries (most small bakeries have left the tax-burdened HRM). I like the pasta bakes/lasagna when they have it.
Ranni's Roti Hut - In the old IGA store on the corner of Queen and Greene St. Not sure if I have the name right, but you won't miss it. Order lamb roti. Wonderful.
Scotia Square Food Court - The Indian and Korean places in there rock. Especially the Indian place on the days when they do a buffet - you load up your plate with what you want for I think $5.99.
Phil's Seafood - You probably know about this already, but it is the best Fish and Chips in town. On the Purcell's Cove Road across from the Armdale Yacht Club at Melville Cove, or in the newer location on Quinpool, near Preston.
Fine dining can have its place. But not every meal requires the finest silver too!
jane's on the common, lunch October 31
After Sunday's somewhat disappointing supper, it was time to get recalibrated to good service, great detail, and delicious food. Yes, I hold a bias towards jane's but so what. At least I'm correct in doing so, and in case no one has noticed, I'm not alone.
We walked around the corner (it is left, left, left, left from out our door to in jane's) for a quick lunch.
Table for two? No problem.
Fresh tasting cold water, menus? Right away.
Drink order/ask? Immediately.
Fresh bread? Arrived with the drinks.
Food turnaround? 9 mins.
Soup of the day? Magnificent.
Regular menu item? Great, and consistent with the last visit (shrimp cakes).
Clear? Right away.
Dessert/coffee ask? With the clear.
Coffee? Very good coffee (Just Us) arrives next trip back, with cream, and with milk to choose.
Desserts? 5 mins. Great.
Coffee refill? Automatic, and unobtrusive.
Bill? Arrives intuitively, when we are ready to go.
Cost? Affordable, and happily paid.
Total time elapsed, home to back home? 35 mins.
OK, who is next?
We walked around the corner (it is left, left, left, left from out our door to in jane's) for a quick lunch.
Table for two? No problem.
Fresh tasting cold water, menus? Right away.
Drink order/ask? Immediately.
Fresh bread? Arrived with the drinks.
Food turnaround? 9 mins.
Soup of the day? Magnificent.
Regular menu item? Great, and consistent with the last visit (shrimp cakes).
Clear? Right away.
Dessert/coffee ask? With the clear.
Coffee? Very good coffee (Just Us) arrives next trip back, with cream, and with milk to choose.
Desserts? 5 mins. Great.
Coffee refill? Automatic, and unobtrusive.
Bill? Arrives intuitively, when we are ready to go.
Cost? Affordable, and happily paid.
Total time elapsed, home to back home? 35 mins.
OK, who is next?
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Vivo Bistro, October 29th
I would love to be able to tell you that I love the place. In one way I do - the space is great, it would make a perfect neighbourhood pub. And that is where the owners should aim, but instead they are trying to hit the bistro thing, the janes on the common buzz, the almost fine dining, but not downtown "schtick".
This was our second visit. On the first occasion I was somewhat appalled at the wine list - it was 100% Bishop's Cellar. This was later confirmed by Bishop's salesman extraordinaire, Wayne Coyle (what else can you say about a guy who gets their wines into so many places without really knowing very much about wine?). I can't blame him, but I do object to a restauranteur who allows a significant part of their menu, and their image to be "subbed out". What's next I ask? The salads? Maybe soups brought in from some outsourcing soup kitchen? In the end, a restaurant has to take ownership of their entire menu, and that includes the wine list, and, more troublesome, the beers for sale. Most restauranteurs know a tiny bit about wine. Very few know squat about beer, and even less about beer and food matches.
On this visit, the wine list had changed. Substantially. But not for the better. In fact it provides an even greater inside joke for someone who understands the local wine scene. The list now reads like a Port of Wines "old favourites" list. There was not one wine that has anything original, unknown, or is adventurous in the slightest. The Bishops only list provided a lot more interest, and frankly, matches with the food stuff than the one the place has now.
And the beers are no better than they were my first visit. Not one smell of a good beer - only Molson products, and Heineken (does Molson distribute that now? It was on a Molson tower). As far as I am concerned, a restaurant in Halifax, heck, Nova Scotia, without at least one true local beer choice has a flawed drinks list. Check out the good places, and you'll find Propeller, Garrison, even some special label efforts (Opa has its own brand, from Propeller). So Vivo, this beautiful little spot 10 minutes from my house has Rickards Red, "beer by colour" from Molson, made somewhere in Ontario, probably.
The food was good. Well there were a few things you would not expect. Although it was Sunday evening, they open from 5 til 9, and one would hope they'd have some bread that was somewhat fresh. Nope. Stale bread. I asked for some fresh, and they brought me more from the same loaf, I'm sure, but heated up so it is temporarily fresh. Not a good start.
The menu was somewhat disjointed, in that the Appetizers appeared to be designed to allow the place to function as a pub on its restaurant license (like the Nail and Kneecap does). This meant that chicken wings, quesadillas, and the like, shared a menu with beef bourguignon. A bit bizarre...
But the carrot ginger soup of the day we both ordered after the chilly, windy walk was good, a trifle sweet, perhaps, but hearty, warming, and apparently made there.
L's lamb shank was earthy, tasty and not tough, and the veggies were done right, with her waxy mashed potatoes to her liking. My coconut chicken curry was just spicey enough for Halifax, and the use of wild rice was a bit different, but it worked for me. The chicken was a sliced up breast, added to the curry during a stir fry, and therefore did not offer the same experience one gets by cooking it into the curry properly, but the menu offered the dish as vegetarian, with chicken, beef, or shrimp(I think). So I was not expecting it to be "cooked in". Despite my rag about the beer above, the Rickard's Red I had worked very well with the curry, in fact I think the wild rice made that match even better.
We passed on dessert, being full and having some good ice cream waiting at home.
So, in the end, will I go back? Hard to say. For lunch maybe, but the place sorely needs a knowledgeable sommelier to help them with their list. I'd say keep some of the old favourite wines, add some of the new exciting things now available in town, improve the by the glass selection (how many couples buy a bottle anymore?), and try to better match a few things up with the food. Plus there was not one Nova Scotia wine! Perhaps the owners are from away? Maybe they don't drink?
And the beer? Serve some real beer on tap, and have a few different things in bottle. A Hoegaarden would have been wonderful with my curry.
My initial comment about the place being lost between a pub and a restaurant did not hold when I got the bill. Dinner for two, with one beer, no dessert and tip was $68. No, that's not a pub, is it?
UPDATE, SUMMER 2007 - This place is gone, gone, goone. NOT MY FAULT!! Soon to be a coffee bar. Should be a pub.
This was our second visit. On the first occasion I was somewhat appalled at the wine list - it was 100% Bishop's Cellar. This was later confirmed by Bishop's salesman extraordinaire, Wayne Coyle (what else can you say about a guy who gets their wines into so many places without really knowing very much about wine?). I can't blame him, but I do object to a restauranteur who allows a significant part of their menu, and their image to be "subbed out". What's next I ask? The salads? Maybe soups brought in from some outsourcing soup kitchen? In the end, a restaurant has to take ownership of their entire menu, and that includes the wine list, and, more troublesome, the beers for sale. Most restauranteurs know a tiny bit about wine. Very few know squat about beer, and even less about beer and food matches.
On this visit, the wine list had changed. Substantially. But not for the better. In fact it provides an even greater inside joke for someone who understands the local wine scene. The list now reads like a Port of Wines "old favourites" list. There was not one wine that has anything original, unknown, or is adventurous in the slightest. The Bishops only list provided a lot more interest, and frankly, matches with the food stuff than the one the place has now.
And the beers are no better than they were my first visit. Not one smell of a good beer - only Molson products, and Heineken (does Molson distribute that now? It was on a Molson tower). As far as I am concerned, a restaurant in Halifax, heck, Nova Scotia, without at least one true local beer choice has a flawed drinks list. Check out the good places, and you'll find Propeller, Garrison, even some special label efforts (Opa has its own brand, from Propeller). So Vivo, this beautiful little spot 10 minutes from my house has Rickards Red, "beer by colour" from Molson, made somewhere in Ontario, probably.
The food was good. Well there were a few things you would not expect. Although it was Sunday evening, they open from 5 til 9, and one would hope they'd have some bread that was somewhat fresh. Nope. Stale bread. I asked for some fresh, and they brought me more from the same loaf, I'm sure, but heated up so it is temporarily fresh. Not a good start.
The menu was somewhat disjointed, in that the Appetizers appeared to be designed to allow the place to function as a pub on its restaurant license (like the Nail and Kneecap does). This meant that chicken wings, quesadillas, and the like, shared a menu with beef bourguignon. A bit bizarre...
But the carrot ginger soup of the day we both ordered after the chilly, windy walk was good, a trifle sweet, perhaps, but hearty, warming, and apparently made there.
L's lamb shank was earthy, tasty and not tough, and the veggies were done right, with her waxy mashed potatoes to her liking. My coconut chicken curry was just spicey enough for Halifax, and the use of wild rice was a bit different, but it worked for me. The chicken was a sliced up breast, added to the curry during a stir fry, and therefore did not offer the same experience one gets by cooking it into the curry properly, but the menu offered the dish as vegetarian, with chicken, beef, or shrimp(I think). So I was not expecting it to be "cooked in". Despite my rag about the beer above, the Rickard's Red I had worked very well with the curry, in fact I think the wild rice made that match even better.
We passed on dessert, being full and having some good ice cream waiting at home.
So, in the end, will I go back? Hard to say. For lunch maybe, but the place sorely needs a knowledgeable sommelier to help them with their list. I'd say keep some of the old favourite wines, add some of the new exciting things now available in town, improve the by the glass selection (how many couples buy a bottle anymore?), and try to better match a few things up with the food. Plus there was not one Nova Scotia wine! Perhaps the owners are from away? Maybe they don't drink?
And the beer? Serve some real beer on tap, and have a few different things in bottle. A Hoegaarden would have been wonderful with my curry.
My initial comment about the place being lost between a pub and a restaurant did not hold when I got the bill. Dinner for two, with one beer, no dessert and tip was $68. No, that's not a pub, is it?
UPDATE, SUMMER 2007 - This place is gone, gone, goone. NOT MY FAULT!! Soon to be a coffee bar. Should be a pub.
Wine of the Week, October 29, 2006
This week, I'm going to a white wine. Find this one and buy it, because it won't be around for much longer. I saw a bunch at the Joseph Howe store on my recent mystery wine quest.
Oddly, the wine was featured at the recent show despite having recently been delisted. Sounds like the NSLC's left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing....
Feudo Arancio, Grillo, 2004. In a clear glass bottle with a sun-like graphic on the label. Honeyed nose, with some perfumy aromatic, and frankly, enticing aromas coming off as it warms a bit. Clean white wine with a fairly full body and some fir tree, a bit of rancio, and pineapple fruit. Not boring, and worth way more than the $9.00 a bottle they are clearing it out at.
Oddly, the wine was featured at the recent show despite having recently been delisted. Sounds like the NSLC's left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing....
Feudo Arancio, Grillo, 2004. In a clear glass bottle with a sun-like graphic on the label. Honeyed nose, with some perfumy aromatic, and frankly, enticing aromas coming off as it warms a bit. Clean white wine with a fairly full body and some fir tree, a bit of rancio, and pineapple fruit. Not boring, and worth way more than the $9.00 a bottle they are clearing it out at.
The Great Mystery Wine Search
In Quebec, and in Ontario, and in... wait for it..... New Brunswick (the NSLC HATES to be bettered by our cousins to the west), the Provincial Government Liquor monopolies all have web sites where you can search out a product and find out which store it is in, and based on a recent inventory (usually the night before) know how many bottles are in stock.
Our own thinks they have the same capability. I thought they did. But they don't.
Yesterday, I embarked on a voyage to find two wines from the Port of Wines Show. The leftovers, so to speak. Both were entered in the website database (www.thenslc.com if you care to try it out, fwiw).
The first search indicated that 22 bottles of one wine I wanted were at the Bayers Lake store, the new designer perfume company look-alike store. The second wine purportedly sat out on the shelves at the Joseph Howe Drive store, a dozen bottles. (the wines were the Domaine Jean Bousquet Malbec, and the Didier Vin de Pays D'Oc)
At Bayers Lake, a employee (he was really trying to help) looked high and low, and concluded that the wine might not exist. His system said it was there, all 22 bottles. But it was not there in this dimension of the time space continuum. At Joseph Howe they had never heard of the wine I was looking for, but I don't know if they even were looking for the right wine, as they would not let me check what came up on their search screen.
Both wines are available in New Brunswick, where I'll be for the big show this weekend (wearing my "judge pass") so I'll just buy them there (cheaper too). Yes, it is NB 1, NS 0 on this count.
Our own thinks they have the same capability. I thought they did. But they don't.
Yesterday, I embarked on a voyage to find two wines from the Port of Wines Show. The leftovers, so to speak. Both were entered in the website database (www.thenslc.com if you care to try it out, fwiw).
The first search indicated that 22 bottles of one wine I wanted were at the Bayers Lake store, the new designer perfume company look-alike store. The second wine purportedly sat out on the shelves at the Joseph Howe Drive store, a dozen bottles. (the wines were the Domaine Jean Bousquet Malbec, and the Didier Vin de Pays D'Oc)
At Bayers Lake, a employee (he was really trying to help) looked high and low, and concluded that the wine might not exist. His system said it was there, all 22 bottles. But it was not there in this dimension of the time space continuum. At Joseph Howe they had never heard of the wine I was looking for, but I don't know if they even were looking for the right wine, as they would not let me check what came up on their search screen.
Both wines are available in New Brunswick, where I'll be for the big show this weekend (wearing my "judge pass") so I'll just buy them there (cheaper too). Yes, it is NB 1, NS 0 on this count.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Champers in Digby.... or Chef Claude blows us away, again....
Saturday October 14 shall live in infamy in any record of my financial affairs. That was the date that I discovered what the heck all the fuss is about with Champagne. I confess, I blame it all on one Claude Aucoin, Executive Chef & Certified Sommelier, at the Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa.
For the third year in a row, I attended Chef Claude's wine dinner. Now the past two years, it was a fairly easy thing. I already liked the wines that he had chosen as a theme. White Burgundy, well YUM! Red Bordeaux, also a yum, and after we saw what he served, more than that. But this year, Champagne, I was a bit reluctant. However, fortified by my now faithful lieutenants, the stylish, beautiful, intelligent, and astute tasters, Amy and Susan, I was prepared to be convinced that allowing CO2 to form in a bottle, and create pressure, was not a fault in the winemaking process.
Well, suffice it to say that I now have a problem. There is not one bottle of Champagne in my cellar. Oh, Claude, what have you done?!
Well, here is what he did.
First Course
French Style Scrambled Eggs with Sturgeon Caviar
Borage Leaf Tempura with Prosciutto, Sage and Bocconcini
Smoked Salmon with Celery Root Salad
With the following Champagnes.....
Diebolt-Vallois Cuvée Prestige ~ N.V.
Tarlant la Vigne d'Antan - Non Gréffée ~ 1997
De Saint Gall 1er Cru ~ 1998
De Saint Gall Grand Cru ~ 1998
Pierre Gimmonet Brut 1er Cru "Fleurons" ~ 1999
Second Course
Sautéed Veal Sweet Bread and Lobster served in Puff Pastry
with Fresh Passion Fruit and Noilly Prat Sauce
Leeks and Pea Purée
With the following Champagnes (a Rosé Course)
Duval-Leroy Rosé de Saignée ~ N.V.
Laurent Perrier Cuvée Rosé Brut ~ N.V.
Tarlant Brut Prestige Rosé ~ 1997
Piper-Heidsieck Rosé ~ N.V.
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé ~ N.V.
* * * * * *
Demi Tasse of Light Cream of White Asparagus
* * * * * *
Third Course
Roasted Veal Loin with Arugula Pesto, Mushroom Sauce and a touch of White Truffle Oil
Seared Butter Poached Yukon Gold Potato and Pink Oyster Mushrooms
Torchon of Foie Gras with Micro Greens, Seared Plumbs and Pan Jus
With the following Champagnes (really, I'm not kidding)
Tarlant Cuvée Louis ~ 1996 & 1997
Krug Grande Cuvée Brut ~ N.V.
Perrier Jouet Cuvée La Belle Epoque ~ 1998
Henriot 1996 Vintage ~ 1996
Henriot 1990 Vintage ~ 1990
Bollinger Special Cuvée ~ N.V.
Selection of Fine Imported Cheeses
And of course, some Ports....
Silval Vintage Port Quinta Do Noval ~ 1995
Dennis McLaren Vale Old Tawny
Selection of Fine Pastries (like we needed them)
Okay, so the Ports were not exactly stellar (I drank the Dennis, becasue I love it) but by this time, I am glad Claude did not waste the really good stuff on a bunch of bubbled imbibers.
Currently, I am reviewing my credit card limits......
For the third year in a row, I attended Chef Claude's wine dinner. Now the past two years, it was a fairly easy thing. I already liked the wines that he had chosen as a theme. White Burgundy, well YUM! Red Bordeaux, also a yum, and after we saw what he served, more than that. But this year, Champagne, I was a bit reluctant. However, fortified by my now faithful lieutenants, the stylish, beautiful, intelligent, and astute tasters, Amy and Susan, I was prepared to be convinced that allowing CO2 to form in a bottle, and create pressure, was not a fault in the winemaking process.
Well, suffice it to say that I now have a problem. There is not one bottle of Champagne in my cellar. Oh, Claude, what have you done?!
Well, here is what he did.
First Course
French Style Scrambled Eggs with Sturgeon Caviar
Borage Leaf Tempura with Prosciutto, Sage and Bocconcini
Smoked Salmon with Celery Root Salad
With the following Champagnes.....
Diebolt-Vallois Cuvée Prestige ~ N.V.
Tarlant la Vigne d'Antan - Non Gréffée ~ 1997
De Saint Gall 1er Cru ~ 1998
De Saint Gall Grand Cru ~ 1998
Pierre Gimmonet Brut 1er Cru "Fleurons" ~ 1999
Second Course
Sautéed Veal Sweet Bread and Lobster served in Puff Pastry
with Fresh Passion Fruit and Noilly Prat Sauce
Leeks and Pea Purée
With the following Champagnes (a Rosé Course)
Duval-Leroy Rosé de Saignée ~ N.V.
Laurent Perrier Cuvée Rosé Brut ~ N.V.
Tarlant Brut Prestige Rosé ~ 1997
Piper-Heidsieck Rosé ~ N.V.
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé ~ N.V.
* * * * * *
Demi Tasse of Light Cream of White Asparagus
* * * * * *
Third Course
Roasted Veal Loin with Arugula Pesto, Mushroom Sauce and a touch of White Truffle Oil
Seared Butter Poached Yukon Gold Potato and Pink Oyster Mushrooms
Torchon of Foie Gras with Micro Greens, Seared Plumbs and Pan Jus
With the following Champagnes (really, I'm not kidding)
Tarlant Cuvée Louis ~ 1996 & 1997
Krug Grande Cuvée Brut ~ N.V.
Perrier Jouet Cuvée La Belle Epoque ~ 1998
Henriot 1996 Vintage ~ 1996
Henriot 1990 Vintage ~ 1990
Bollinger Special Cuvée ~ N.V.
Selection of Fine Imported Cheeses
And of course, some Ports....
Silval Vintage Port Quinta Do Noval ~ 1995
Dennis McLaren Vale Old Tawny
Selection of Fine Pastries (like we needed them)
Okay, so the Ports were not exactly stellar (I drank the Dennis, becasue I love it) but by this time, I am glad Claude did not waste the really good stuff on a bunch of bubbled imbibers.
Currently, I am reviewing my credit card limits......
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Big Port of Wines Show - Redux
Well if you read my earlier post on this wine event, I can tell you, none of the questions were answered.
I was in the venue for all four sessions. Of the 270 wines there for tasting, I managed to taste 92 enough to form some impression. In some cases, about 45, I have a short note. I did not taste many wines I already know.
My overal impression this year was that the wines were of a higher average quality, with a large number of very good wines between $15 and $20. That will make the monopoly's decisions that much harder as there is little to choose between a lot of the wines. I guess whoever buys the bigger store display programs will be able to sell wine to us.
There was no one great wine at this show. You may think so, but this is my blog. But I did pick a best red and best white, below. Plus, I've included a best buy recommendation at the bottom.
Here are my favourites, by cost bracket, with comment on whether the notes in the program and the medal allocation seemed reasonable.
Class 1 - who cares what it costs
Iscay Merlot Malbec, Argentina, 2003 $50 Amazing, but the 'Drinker agrees with the secret NSLC wine judge cadre.
William Fevre, 2004 Chablis, Beauroy, Prmier Cru, $43 - just about a perfect example of Chablis. The NSLC ignored it, but then maybe they thought it needed more oak.
Bouchard Pere et Fils Savigny-les-Beaune Les Lavieres, 2002, $47. Tied for my best Pinot Noir at the show. Again, perhaps too complex for the judges.
Torres Mas Borras Pinot Noir, Spain, 2004, $47. Great nose, well made, everyone I asked about this one loved it. I bought. This was the one the Burgundy tied with. Maybe the NSLC forgot to judge it?
Eikendahl Vineyards Classique, South Africa, 2002, $43. Bordeaux Blend, my favourite of this style at the show. I bought. NSLC noticed it - Bronze Medal.
Warwick Wine Estates, Trilogy, South Africa, 2003, $42. Bordeaux Blend, close to the Eikendahl. All wines from Warwick were first class, and the NSLC agreed giving medals to all four of their wines, probably making them the most successful winery here, by that measure.
Masi Granderella, Italy, 2002, $39. Best Italian red, easily, by a long way, of the ones I tried. One of the best wines in the show. NSLC Silver.
Heath Wines, 100 Year Old Vines Shiraz, Oz, 2003 $62. Under screwcap! Worth every penny, I suppose. Gold Medal.
Sandalford Premium Shiraz, 2003, Oz, $33. Good example of cooler climate Shiraz from Oz. Will age well.
St. Hallett Blackwell Shiraz, Oz, $39. Classic top of the line Oz Shiraz. Gold Medal.
Wolf Blass Gold Label Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002, Oz, $39. Yes, Wolf Blass makes great wine at this level. This was lovely stuff.
Class 2 Under $18 - $30 and worth more. Note, I am being a bit cruel here by leaving out some wines, but I can't include everything. Also I did not taste many wines I already know, including NS wines, etc.
Cono Sur Vision Pinot Noir, Chile, 2005, $22. Great nose, a bit polished, but yummy stuff. I bought. NSLC missed.
Val D'Orbieu, Cuvee Mythique Shiraz Grenache, 2004, $18. Big wine, controlled, interesting. No medal.
Chateau St. Germain Coteaux de Languedoc Organic, $20. Great stuff, both a high quality and a bargoon wine. I bought. No medal, which is totally unbelievable.
Bonterra Vineyards Syrah, 2003, California, $20 Organic. Good example of Cali Syrah for $20 plus it's organic, if that matters to you. NSLC Silver.
Allesverloren Estate Shiraz, 2004, $23, South Africa. One of my show faves. Great wine for the money. I bought. NSLC Missed this, again, hard to believe this did not rate a mdeal, but perhaps all those Warwick wines deservedly took a lot of the available awards.
Warwick Estates Old Bush Vines Pinotage, 2004, $29. More Pinotage than I ever thought you could fit into a bottle and still have it taste like Pinotage. I bought. NSLC Gold.
Hilarius Putz Dry Riesling, 2004, $23, Germany. The best German wine here at the show. But not according to the medals.
Tresa Nivuro Nero D'Avola-Cab Sauvignon, 2003, $24, Italy. Not goopy, but an interesting combo of old vs. new world. No medals - in Italy most red wine awards were given to drinks I have a hard time calling wine. Big goopy sweet port like, things that were truly awful.
Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina dei Feudi di San Gregario, 2005, Italy, $25. Complex aromas, layered tastes, banana esters, straw, burlap, rancio, all sorts of things. Very cool. I bought.
Vigneti La Selvanella Chianti Classico Reserva, 2001, $23 Italy. Classic Classico Reserva for a good price. Bronze Medal.
Masi Colbaraca Soave Classico, $24. Excellent, easy to drink, great with food. No medal... huh?
Terre di Giurfo, Ronna Syrah, 2005, $27. Will age into something special I am guessing. Good now, but wait 5 years. No medal, but this is a sleeper.
Vesevo Greco di Tufo 2005, $27 Italy. Possibly best white I tried at the show behind the Chablis. Great stuff, interesting, complex. Platinum last year, nothing this year - someone did not buy advertising!
Dennis Wines, Merlot and Shiraz. Oz, $26, 2004, 03. Both well made wines that will age, and have structure and class.
Heath WInes Southern Sisters Pinot Noir, 2003, Oz, $25. Great nose, bit too much oak, but nice secondary fruit. Silver medal. I bought.
St. Hallett Eden Valley Riesling, 2005, $25 Oz. Best riesling I tasted, by far. In the top three whites, I'd say. (no medal, but that does not surprise me as only the private stores have staff who understand Oz Riesling yet). I bought.
Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cab Sauvignon, 2004, $25, Oz. Classic Oz Cab for $25 and will age.
Class 3 (the best one) BARGOONS! Under $18 but worth a lot more.
Lurton Flor de Torrontes, 2005, Argentina, $15. Aromatic nose, but with lemon lime acidity. Great anytime. Platinum Medal (good job judges!)
Domaine Jean Bousquet Organic Malbec, 2005, $16. Huge monster of a wine that will age a while, perfect with rare beef. Needs time. (I poured this one for two sessions, and I got some for myself). No medal.
Trapiche Broquel Malbec, 2004, $16. More polished approachable Malbec, (a year older). Balanced, classy. No medal.
Concha y Toro Casillero del Diabolo Carmenere, 2005, Chile, $13. Probably the most complex wine for the money at the show. Wonderful value. No medal.
Vina Cantaluna Pinot Noir, Chile, 2005, $14.50. Best value Pinot at the show. Has competition from Trapiche and Cono Sur with wines not at the show. No medal. Someone does not understand Pinot Noir....
Jost Eagle Tree Muscat, Nova Scotia, $17. Best white wine made here. A must for serving with scallops to people from out of Province. No medal, Quebec judges?
Barton & Guestier Vouvray, 2004, France, $17. Textbook Vouvray for $17. So quaffable. No medal.
Chateau St. Germain Didier Coteaux de Languedoc, Organic, 2004, $14. If the Carmenere isn't the most complex wine for the $, then this is. Huge, needing time, but complex and with structure. Unreal value. Totally missed by the judges...
Rene Barbier Tempranillo Merlot, 2004, Spain, $13. Simply a great deal for the complexity and quality. No medal.
Finca Antigua Syrah, 2004, Spain, $17. Structure, fruit and tannin, will age, but nice now. No medal.
KWV International, Steen, 2006, South Africa, $10.50. You cannot beat this for a clean white table wine with some interest, for that price. No medal.
Casa Girelli Fontella Chianti, 2004, Italy, $12.50. You gotta be kidding me. OK, it is a bit hot, but it tastes like Chianti, for $12.50. Unreal. No medal.
Folonari Shiraz, 2005, Italy, $12.30. Better than cheap Oz, and with some structure to boot. Great party wine. No medal.
Saint Clair Vineyards, Vicars Choice Pinot Noir, 2005, NZ, $17.32. Complex, good acidity Pinot Noir for food or drinking. Tastes like a much more expensive bottle. No medal.
Jindalee Premium Selection Pinot Noir, 2004, Oz, $18. Well made, lower alcohol, some pinot funk from Oz for $17.98. No medal.
My best red wine of show? Warwick Estates Old Bush Vines Pinotage, 2004, $29. More Pinotage than I ever thought you could fit into a bottle and still have it taste like Pinotage. This was really my only "ah ha!" wine of the entire weekend. It stretched my idea of what that grape can do, and was just delicious while doing so.
My best white wine of Show? Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina dei Feudi di San Gregario, 2005, Italy, $25. Complex aromas, layered tastes, banana esters, straw, burlap, rancio, all sorts of things. Yes, the Chablis is a better technical wine, and the Eden Valley Riesling was wonderful, but again, I'm going with a wine that set me back on my heels when I tasted it.
Best values
No contest in the white - the KWV International Steen (AKA Chenin Blanc), 2006, South Africa, $10.50
Second is easily the Lurton Flor de Torrontes, 2005, Argentina, $15.
A tie in the reds:
Chateau St. Germain Didier Coteaux de Languedoc, Organic, 2004, $14. Huge, needing time, but complex and with structure.
Casa Girelli Fontella Chianti, 2004, Italy, $12.50. You gotta be kidding me. OK, it is a bit hot, but it tastes like Chianti, for $12.50
It becomes clear that the medal winning wines were not always what I thought should be recognized, but then there are overlaps. These tend to occur where the wines are made with food in mind, and in cooler climates. The judge panel clearly showed a preference for new age style wines made as beverages, with high alcohol, overly extracted fruit, rich flavours and low acidity.
I was in the venue for all four sessions. Of the 270 wines there for tasting, I managed to taste 92 enough to form some impression. In some cases, about 45, I have a short note. I did not taste many wines I already know.
My overal impression this year was that the wines were of a higher average quality, with a large number of very good wines between $15 and $20. That will make the monopoly's decisions that much harder as there is little to choose between a lot of the wines. I guess whoever buys the bigger store display programs will be able to sell wine to us.
There was no one great wine at this show. You may think so, but this is my blog. But I did pick a best red and best white, below. Plus, I've included a best buy recommendation at the bottom.
Here are my favourites, by cost bracket, with comment on whether the notes in the program and the medal allocation seemed reasonable.
Class 1 - who cares what it costs
Iscay Merlot Malbec, Argentina, 2003 $50 Amazing, but the 'Drinker agrees with the secret NSLC wine judge cadre.
William Fevre, 2004 Chablis, Beauroy, Prmier Cru, $43 - just about a perfect example of Chablis. The NSLC ignored it, but then maybe they thought it needed more oak.
Bouchard Pere et Fils Savigny-les-Beaune Les Lavieres, 2002, $47. Tied for my best Pinot Noir at the show. Again, perhaps too complex for the judges.
Torres Mas Borras Pinot Noir, Spain, 2004, $47. Great nose, well made, everyone I asked about this one loved it. I bought. This was the one the Burgundy tied with. Maybe the NSLC forgot to judge it?
Eikendahl Vineyards Classique, South Africa, 2002, $43. Bordeaux Blend, my favourite of this style at the show. I bought. NSLC noticed it - Bronze Medal.
Warwick Wine Estates, Trilogy, South Africa, 2003, $42. Bordeaux Blend, close to the Eikendahl. All wines from Warwick were first class, and the NSLC agreed giving medals to all four of their wines, probably making them the most successful winery here, by that measure.
Masi Granderella, Italy, 2002, $39. Best Italian red, easily, by a long way, of the ones I tried. One of the best wines in the show. NSLC Silver.
Heath Wines, 100 Year Old Vines Shiraz, Oz, 2003 $62. Under screwcap! Worth every penny, I suppose. Gold Medal.
Sandalford Premium Shiraz, 2003, Oz, $33. Good example of cooler climate Shiraz from Oz. Will age well.
St. Hallett Blackwell Shiraz, Oz, $39. Classic top of the line Oz Shiraz. Gold Medal.
Wolf Blass Gold Label Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002, Oz, $39. Yes, Wolf Blass makes great wine at this level. This was lovely stuff.
Class 2 Under $18 - $30 and worth more. Note, I am being a bit cruel here by leaving out some wines, but I can't include everything. Also I did not taste many wines I already know, including NS wines, etc.
Cono Sur Vision Pinot Noir, Chile, 2005, $22. Great nose, a bit polished, but yummy stuff. I bought. NSLC missed.
Val D'Orbieu, Cuvee Mythique Shiraz Grenache, 2004, $18. Big wine, controlled, interesting. No medal.
Chateau St. Germain Coteaux de Languedoc Organic, $20. Great stuff, both a high quality and a bargoon wine. I bought. No medal, which is totally unbelievable.
Bonterra Vineyards Syrah, 2003, California, $20 Organic. Good example of Cali Syrah for $20 plus it's organic, if that matters to you. NSLC Silver.
Allesverloren Estate Shiraz, 2004, $23, South Africa. One of my show faves. Great wine for the money. I bought. NSLC Missed this, again, hard to believe this did not rate a mdeal, but perhaps all those Warwick wines deservedly took a lot of the available awards.
Warwick Estates Old Bush Vines Pinotage, 2004, $29. More Pinotage than I ever thought you could fit into a bottle and still have it taste like Pinotage. I bought. NSLC Gold.
Hilarius Putz Dry Riesling, 2004, $23, Germany. The best German wine here at the show. But not according to the medals.
Tresa Nivuro Nero D'Avola-Cab Sauvignon, 2003, $24, Italy. Not goopy, but an interesting combo of old vs. new world. No medals - in Italy most red wine awards were given to drinks I have a hard time calling wine. Big goopy sweet port like, things that were truly awful.
Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina dei Feudi di San Gregario, 2005, Italy, $25. Complex aromas, layered tastes, banana esters, straw, burlap, rancio, all sorts of things. Very cool. I bought.
Vigneti La Selvanella Chianti Classico Reserva, 2001, $23 Italy. Classic Classico Reserva for a good price. Bronze Medal.
Masi Colbaraca Soave Classico, $24. Excellent, easy to drink, great with food. No medal... huh?
Terre di Giurfo, Ronna Syrah, 2005, $27. Will age into something special I am guessing. Good now, but wait 5 years. No medal, but this is a sleeper.
Vesevo Greco di Tufo 2005, $27 Italy. Possibly best white I tried at the show behind the Chablis. Great stuff, interesting, complex. Platinum last year, nothing this year - someone did not buy advertising!
Dennis Wines, Merlot and Shiraz. Oz, $26, 2004, 03. Both well made wines that will age, and have structure and class.
Heath WInes Southern Sisters Pinot Noir, 2003, Oz, $25. Great nose, bit too much oak, but nice secondary fruit. Silver medal. I bought.
St. Hallett Eden Valley Riesling, 2005, $25 Oz. Best riesling I tasted, by far. In the top three whites, I'd say. (no medal, but that does not surprise me as only the private stores have staff who understand Oz Riesling yet). I bought.
Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cab Sauvignon, 2004, $25, Oz. Classic Oz Cab for $25 and will age.
Class 3 (the best one) BARGOONS! Under $18 but worth a lot more.
Lurton Flor de Torrontes, 2005, Argentina, $15. Aromatic nose, but with lemon lime acidity. Great anytime. Platinum Medal (good job judges!)
Domaine Jean Bousquet Organic Malbec, 2005, $16. Huge monster of a wine that will age a while, perfect with rare beef. Needs time. (I poured this one for two sessions, and I got some for myself). No medal.
Trapiche Broquel Malbec, 2004, $16. More polished approachable Malbec, (a year older). Balanced, classy. No medal.
Concha y Toro Casillero del Diabolo Carmenere, 2005, Chile, $13. Probably the most complex wine for the money at the show. Wonderful value. No medal.
Vina Cantaluna Pinot Noir, Chile, 2005, $14.50. Best value Pinot at the show. Has competition from Trapiche and Cono Sur with wines not at the show. No medal. Someone does not understand Pinot Noir....
Jost Eagle Tree Muscat, Nova Scotia, $17. Best white wine made here. A must for serving with scallops to people from out of Province. No medal, Quebec judges?
Barton & Guestier Vouvray, 2004, France, $17. Textbook Vouvray for $17. So quaffable. No medal.
Chateau St. Germain Didier Coteaux de Languedoc, Organic, 2004, $14. If the Carmenere isn't the most complex wine for the $, then this is. Huge, needing time, but complex and with structure. Unreal value. Totally missed by the judges...
Rene Barbier Tempranillo Merlot, 2004, Spain, $13. Simply a great deal for the complexity and quality. No medal.
Finca Antigua Syrah, 2004, Spain, $17. Structure, fruit and tannin, will age, but nice now. No medal.
KWV International, Steen, 2006, South Africa, $10.50. You cannot beat this for a clean white table wine with some interest, for that price. No medal.
Casa Girelli Fontella Chianti, 2004, Italy, $12.50. You gotta be kidding me. OK, it is a bit hot, but it tastes like Chianti, for $12.50. Unreal. No medal.
Folonari Shiraz, 2005, Italy, $12.30. Better than cheap Oz, and with some structure to boot. Great party wine. No medal.
Saint Clair Vineyards, Vicars Choice Pinot Noir, 2005, NZ, $17.32. Complex, good acidity Pinot Noir for food or drinking. Tastes like a much more expensive bottle. No medal.
Jindalee Premium Selection Pinot Noir, 2004, Oz, $18. Well made, lower alcohol, some pinot funk from Oz for $17.98. No medal.
My best red wine of show? Warwick Estates Old Bush Vines Pinotage, 2004, $29. More Pinotage than I ever thought you could fit into a bottle and still have it taste like Pinotage. This was really my only "ah ha!" wine of the entire weekend. It stretched my idea of what that grape can do, and was just delicious while doing so.
My best white wine of Show? Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina dei Feudi di San Gregario, 2005, Italy, $25. Complex aromas, layered tastes, banana esters, straw, burlap, rancio, all sorts of things. Yes, the Chablis is a better technical wine, and the Eden Valley Riesling was wonderful, but again, I'm going with a wine that set me back on my heels when I tasted it.
Best values
No contest in the white - the KWV International Steen (AKA Chenin Blanc), 2006, South Africa, $10.50
Second is easily the Lurton Flor de Torrontes, 2005, Argentina, $15.
A tie in the reds:
Chateau St. Germain Didier Coteaux de Languedoc, Organic, 2004, $14. Huge, needing time, but complex and with structure.
Casa Girelli Fontella Chianti, 2004, Italy, $12.50. You gotta be kidding me. OK, it is a bit hot, but it tastes like Chianti, for $12.50
It becomes clear that the medal winning wines were not always what I thought should be recognized, but then there are overlaps. These tend to occur where the wines are made with food in mind, and in cooler climates. The judge panel clearly showed a preference for new age style wines made as beverages, with high alcohol, overly extracted fruit, rich flavours and low acidity.
Sarah Harmer in Liverpool
I managed to combine business and pleasure last week, and was in Liverpool with tickets to Sarah Harmer at the Astor Theatre. This is an approximately 400 seat old wooden building attached to the municipal office building/town hall. This is her "I'm a Mountain" tour.
Let's just say that I went down there as a moderate fan, now I'm in deep. Her voice was so pure, the musicianship so great (including her own guitar playing I might add), that the overall experience one of those that will stay with me for a while.
And she's Canadian!!!
Late evening highlight at Lane's Inn Barss Pub (highly recommended) included one of the band members, Spencer Evans (who also guests on Jill Barber's new album) dropping in and playing the beat up old piano in there, honky tonk style, for scotch.
Buy her music, sing along with it, go see her.
Let's just say that I went down there as a moderate fan, now I'm in deep. Her voice was so pure, the musicianship so great (including her own guitar playing I might add), that the overall experience one of those that will stay with me for a while.
And she's Canadian!!!
Late evening highlight at Lane's Inn Barss Pub (highly recommended) included one of the band members, Spencer Evans (who also guests on Jill Barber's new album) dropping in and playing the beat up old piano in there, honky tonk style, for scotch.
Buy her music, sing along with it, go see her.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Wine of the Week, September 21
Yeah, I know, it is more like wine of the two weeks....
If you can find some, the 2002 Nippozano Chianti from Frescobaldi is worth the $$. "2002 was a lousy year in Tuscany!", you yell at me, so why am I recommending this wine? Well, it was so bad that the estate reportedly did not make their better Chianti that year. And the best grapes they had went into the cheapo (in comparison) Chianti. The wine is funky, with a lot of character, good primary fruit, typical Italian bitter cherry, and substantial. Oh, and in case it matters to you, this is one case where the Wine Speculator agrees with me.
On the other hand, the 2003 version of this wine also represents good value, but for basically the opposite reason. Apparently 2003 rocked in that part of Tuscany (not as good as 2001), and while the best grapes went into the best wines, even this lowly Chianti was blessed with great fruit. Go figure. Now we just need to learn to look out for the average years, I guess.
If you can find some, the 2002 Nippozano Chianti from Frescobaldi is worth the $$. "2002 was a lousy year in Tuscany!", you yell at me, so why am I recommending this wine? Well, it was so bad that the estate reportedly did not make their better Chianti that year. And the best grapes they had went into the cheapo (in comparison) Chianti. The wine is funky, with a lot of character, good primary fruit, typical Italian bitter cherry, and substantial. Oh, and in case it matters to you, this is one case where the Wine Speculator agrees with me.
On the other hand, the 2003 version of this wine also represents good value, but for basically the opposite reason. Apparently 2003 rocked in that part of Tuscany (not as good as 2001), and while the best grapes went into the best wines, even this lowly Chianti was blessed with great fruit. Go figure. Now we just need to learn to look out for the average years, I guess.
Dead Guy and other Ales
Had a couple of co-workers in for a beer after a public meeting the other night. Gave them Dead Guy Ale from Rogue Brewing in Oregon, and St. Ambroise Pale Ale from Montreal. These are people with disposable income who like beer. They loved these beers. I was drinking Propeller IPA, which is no slouch beer either, but only available in large bottles, or in growlers, direct from the brewery, or in the bottles' case, from a private wine store in the City.
Brian Titus! (Garrison) Are you listening? Don't be afraid of hops, buddy! You might sell more beer. And I bet you can get it into my grubby little paws for less money than the Dead Guy.
Brian Titus! (Garrison) Are you listening? Don't be afraid of hops, buddy! You might sell more beer. And I bet you can get it into my grubby little paws for less money than the Dead Guy.
Here come the Stoned, I mean Stones
Well my neighbourhood is about to be invaded by rock fans headed towards a concert on the public lands turned private rental concert venue we call our Common. The geriatric wonders themselves, the Rolling Stones will be gathering moss in the rainy weather, protected under their multi million dollar stage, while their fans "from 8 to 80" catch their death a cold.
We're drinking on the deck, directly downstream from the sound. Inside if (when) it rains.
And we'll be drinking stuff that is good and have a choice. Not the shite beer already being advertised (is that legal?) by the assorted Keets vans and trucks parked on the grass all over the Common.
Wonder how long before the grass is back. At least the Keets trucks are green.
No one to date has been able to come up with one good reason why the geniuses at City Hall thought our Common would be a good place for the show. This seriously brings into question their competence to fulfill their duty to manage it for the good of all Nova Scotians, whose land it is "in common".
And best of all, we'll have all of 100 policemen to protect our property from 50,000 rioters if something goes wrong.
Now it probably will come off without a hitch, but really, the downside risk is too great. What were they thinking?
We're drinking on the deck, directly downstream from the sound. Inside if (when) it rains.
And we'll be drinking stuff that is good and have a choice. Not the shite beer already being advertised (is that legal?) by the assorted Keets vans and trucks parked on the grass all over the Common.
Wonder how long before the grass is back. At least the Keets trucks are green.
No one to date has been able to come up with one good reason why the geniuses at City Hall thought our Common would be a good place for the show. This seriously brings into question their competence to fulfill their duty to manage it for the good of all Nova Scotians, whose land it is "in common".
And best of all, we'll have all of 100 policemen to protect our property from 50,000 rioters if something goes wrong.
Now it probably will come off without a hitch, but really, the downside risk is too great. What were they thinking?
Monday, September 04, 2006
The Big POW Wine Festival
This is a once a year event (September 28, 29, 30) where a whole pile of wines are offered for tasting to the public. Here are some questions the NSLC might never answer about it.
1. Whether the wines will actually be sold in stores after the show. This is a lotto. Even if the wine sells out and is lauded by critics, there is a disconnect between success at the show and whether a wine will ever be available at a store near you.
2. Whether enough of a wine will be imported so that you can put it on your wine list if you are a licensee. Last year one wine was on at least four restaurant lists after the show, but the NSLC never bothered to order it. This had the interesting effect of turning those places away from the NSLC to Bishop's Cellar, and was a catalysing event in helping them take $1,000,000 worth of sales away from the NSLC in the downtown trade.
3. Who decided a wine was worth a medal, if it beat anything, or if the medal is just an artificial sales boosting device. One year, it was no more than that. But the lack of judges from outside the NSLC organization does nothing to invest any confidence that these medals are anything more than thank you notes for wineries who send their winemaker to the event. The New Brunswick show, in contrast, had a full day of judging by independent judges, none employed by the NBLC or the show organizers. They included local wine writers, sommeliers, and wine instructors. The quality of the wines getting medals in Nova Scotia is sometimes amusing, and often more related to the price and reputation of a wine, than what is actually in the bottle.
4. Why the event is held when all the Northern Hemisphere wine makers are in harvest time and cannot come.
5. Why the event no longer coincides with the greatly successful wine show "tour" that had Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland all have their shows concurrently, allowing winemakers, owners, and sales staff the chance to hit the region in one trip.
6. Why its venue has moved from the World Trade Centre, in the middle of downtown among the restaurants the NSLC would like to have as clients, to a sterile location down in the Federal Port Authority Lands. The loss of business to, say the Five Fishermen, should be enough to convince them to try more wine from private stores. Granted, the restaurants in that end of town will not mind.
7. Why it costs so much to attend when all the product, and labour to pour it, is free, paid for by suppliers or provided by volunteers. Surely the rent is not that expensive, and the food not that special.
8. Finally, and this is second hand for me, who does the wine and food matching at the winemakers dinner? Let us pray for them, as usually, none of the wines selected is of a style to drink with a meal, most being big goopy Shiraz, oaky vanilla bean caramel Chardonnay, and odd huge Italian blends of overripe grapes. Sooner or later, maybe a wine with some acidity and grip will win something?
See if you can find the answers to those questions. Let me know if you do, eh?
1. Whether the wines will actually be sold in stores after the show. This is a lotto. Even if the wine sells out and is lauded by critics, there is a disconnect between success at the show and whether a wine will ever be available at a store near you.
2. Whether enough of a wine will be imported so that you can put it on your wine list if you are a licensee. Last year one wine was on at least four restaurant lists after the show, but the NSLC never bothered to order it. This had the interesting effect of turning those places away from the NSLC to Bishop's Cellar, and was a catalysing event in helping them take $1,000,000 worth of sales away from the NSLC in the downtown trade.
3. Who decided a wine was worth a medal, if it beat anything, or if the medal is just an artificial sales boosting device. One year, it was no more than that. But the lack of judges from outside the NSLC organization does nothing to invest any confidence that these medals are anything more than thank you notes for wineries who send their winemaker to the event. The New Brunswick show, in contrast, had a full day of judging by independent judges, none employed by the NBLC or the show organizers. They included local wine writers, sommeliers, and wine instructors. The quality of the wines getting medals in Nova Scotia is sometimes amusing, and often more related to the price and reputation of a wine, than what is actually in the bottle.
4. Why the event is held when all the Northern Hemisphere wine makers are in harvest time and cannot come.
5. Why the event no longer coincides with the greatly successful wine show "tour" that had Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland all have their shows concurrently, allowing winemakers, owners, and sales staff the chance to hit the region in one trip.
6. Why its venue has moved from the World Trade Centre, in the middle of downtown among the restaurants the NSLC would like to have as clients, to a sterile location down in the Federal Port Authority Lands. The loss of business to, say the Five Fishermen, should be enough to convince them to try more wine from private stores. Granted, the restaurants in that end of town will not mind.
7. Why it costs so much to attend when all the product, and labour to pour it, is free, paid for by suppliers or provided by volunteers. Surely the rent is not that expensive, and the food not that special.
8. Finally, and this is second hand for me, who does the wine and food matching at the winemakers dinner? Let us pray for them, as usually, none of the wines selected is of a style to drink with a meal, most being big goopy Shiraz, oaky vanilla bean caramel Chardonnay, and odd huge Italian blends of overripe grapes. Sooner or later, maybe a wine with some acidity and grip will win something?
See if you can find the answers to those questions. Let me know if you do, eh?
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Urban Design, Sept 3
Rumour has it that the outside of the new treatment plant some unthinking planners positioned at the entrance to our downtown (Welcome to Halifax, here's our shit!) has encountered enough budget problems that the cladding budget has been affected. Now it will look like the ugly box it was always going to look like anyway. Anyone want to bet on the smell? I think it will smell no more than the "odour-free" landfill at Otter Lake!
And to think, that land could just as well be housing office or residential development that would bring in millions in taxes annually, while the treatment plant could have been put under a parking garage on the DND lands, at no loss to the annual tax base, or to the parking capacity at the Dockyard.
Good thing the engineer responsible for that decision has retired. Of course, he now sits on the UARB, making decisions on whether to have Midtown Towers and such things.....
And to think, that land could just as well be housing office or residential development that would bring in millions in taxes annually, while the treatment plant could have been put under a parking garage on the DND lands, at no loss to the annual tax base, or to the parking capacity at the Dockyard.
Good thing the engineer responsible for that decision has retired. Of course, he now sits on the UARB, making decisions on whether to have Midtown Towers and such things.....
Wine of the Week September 3
This is a catch up on the summer, but Pinot Noir goes with almost anything, and if it isn't too expensive, no one will kill you for chilling it either.
2005 Cono Sur Pinot Noir, Chile, NSLC Regular Stores. Convincing example of Pinot Noir for $12. Hard to beat for value, but delivers an amazingly correct varietal taste for the price. The only wine to challenge this for cheap pinot of the year is the 2005 Trapiche, which is perhaps a better food wine, given its greater acidity. Heck, buy both and tell me which you prefer.
2005 Cono Sur Pinot Noir, Chile, NSLC Regular Stores. Convincing example of Pinot Noir for $12. Hard to beat for value, but delivers an amazingly correct varietal taste for the price. The only wine to challenge this for cheap pinot of the year is the 2005 Trapiche, which is perhaps a better food wine, given its greater acidity. Heck, buy both and tell me which you prefer.
Hello Cruel World
The rants of a madman, or just the opinions of the opinionated. Somewhere in between, perhaps?
This blog chronicles what is happening in Halifax Nova Scotia, and the surrounding communities, in the beer and wine business, restaurants, and, just to be contrary, music and urban design, when I feel like it, and from my perspective.
There is a special almost unending source of ridicule available to the cynic in Nova Scotia, because our liquor industry is run, or at least controlled, by a government appointed pseudo-monopoly run by people who basically know little if anything about the products they sell. Other than that they like to consume them themselves, of course. And get free trips all over the world.
Anyway, with respect to booze - my motto is "You care about what you drink, don't you? After all, you put it in your mouth!"
Some other things I have learned: "Have a reason for everything you do." and
"Conventional wisdom is always wrong, haven't you ever been to a convention?"
It is September 3, 2006. The wine show season is just starting........
This blog chronicles what is happening in Halifax Nova Scotia, and the surrounding communities, in the beer and wine business, restaurants, and, just to be contrary, music and urban design, when I feel like it, and from my perspective.
There is a special almost unending source of ridicule available to the cynic in Nova Scotia, because our liquor industry is run, or at least controlled, by a government appointed pseudo-monopoly run by people who basically know little if anything about the products they sell. Other than that they like to consume them themselves, of course. And get free trips all over the world.
Anyway, with respect to booze - my motto is "You care about what you drink, don't you? After all, you put it in your mouth!"
Some other things I have learned: "Have a reason for everything you do." and
"Conventional wisdom is always wrong, haven't you ever been to a convention?"
It is September 3, 2006. The wine show season is just starting........
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