Decatur Wine & Food Dude

Recent Eats & Drinks around Town

2013-05-19T16:34:00.003-04:00

Nothing specific to write about lately, but some pics of eats and drinks around town. I found myself at Leon's twice in the past week. I hadn't been to Leon's in a couple of months, and there are some welcome tweaks to the menu.

The charcuterie board was solid, featuring tasty head cheese with ramp kimchi, coppa, house sausage, and customary pickles.

The radishes with butter and sea salt.

The crispy chicken confit biscuit.

After Leon's we headed over to Paper Plane. No pics, because it's dark in there, but go if you haven't been as it's a gem.

Lunch at Big Tex was decadent as always; a solid grilled chicken sandwich and green chili side. Still nap inducing. Also had family in town visiting and we opted for dinner at No. 246. Sad to say, like my last visit to 246, much of what I tasted was a miss. No. 246 is becoming unreliable to me and my attraction to the place wanes with each visit.

Earlier in the week I had lunch with Foodie Buddha at Chicago Supermercado. These asada and barbacoa tacos are the real deal and perhaps the best in town. Chicken tamales good, too, just a bit dry this time.

Capping things off with an Abita Wheat in a Biggie glass. A good week. Until next time...

Paper Planes in Decatur

2013-05-13T21:12:00.004-04:00

In case you have been out of the country, or just tuned out for a bit like I occasionally do, Paper Plane opened in Decatur back in late March. The long-awaited bar/restaurant from one of Atlanta's most gifted mixologists, Paul Calvert, is located behind an unmarked black door past the ping pong table on your way to the restrooms in the back of Victory Sandwich in Decatur. No kidding, that's where it is. You can also access Paper Plane via a door that opens to the alley behind Cakes & Ale.

While it might sound like it's easy to find Paper Plane, it's worth the effort to belly up to the bar and take in the speakeasy-like (it is not a speakeasy, I get it) atmosphere and enjoy some killer cocktails. I wasn't going to take pictures, it's dark in Paper Plane, as it should be. If you want to see some good pics check out my friend Jimmy's review at EatItAtlanta. When I grow up, I'm going to get a fancy camera like Jimmy's that takes pretty pictures in the dark. Nonetheless, I offer you some grainy Galaxy Nexus (I can be bought) phone pics of some the drinks and food.

Best dishes we tried were the the quail with quail egg and fava beans pictured above and the beet salad with rye crumb and goat cheese below.

The small plates coming out of the kitchen Paper Plane shares with Victory show promise.The real strength of Paper Plane is Paul Calvert's cocktail program that rivals any in town. Undoubtedly, you'll be asking Paul, or one of the other bartenders about the obscure elixirs that find their way into some the cocktails. The Herbert Mead pictured above, Paper Plane's riff on a Corpse Reviver, was a standout. The Mezcal-based Trouble in Paradise pictured below was also strong. It should also be noted that there is also a very smart beer selection and wine list at Paper Plane.

Paper Plane is not a large room, basically seats for a dozen or so at the bar and a half dozen booths for larger parties. Expect it to be crowded, it has been both times I've visited. Yet, that's part of the charm. Paper Plane feels edgy; yet, it's homey, a place where you want to meet friends for a couple of cocktails after work and a place where you can belly up to the bar and probably see familiar smiling faces.

Decatur Lunch Crawl

2013-05-06T18:14:00.004-04:00

I met up with a buddy to eat some lunch around Decatur last week. First stop was at Chai Pani.

I hadn't been to Chai Pani since my couple of visits during their opening weeks. We didn't do too much damage as we were making several lunch stops.

The Somosa Chaat was good, but I was somewhat underwhelmed by the level of seasoning this time. The kale fritters were good, as always. We also got some masala fries. I don't understand the matchstick-sized french fry. Eating one or two at a time is tedious. Taking a fork and shoving a dozen or so in your mouth at a time seems gluttonous. This isn't so much a knock on Chai Pani as it is the matchstick-sized fry in general.

Next stop was Cakes & Ale for some grain bowl action. This itieration had a distinct Mexican-tilt to it, with black beans, cilantro, and avocado topping saffron-seasoned yellow rice. It was very good. Perhaps not as refined as some of David Sweeney's best bowls, but there was still an interesting depth to the contrast of flavors.

After Cakes & Ale we strolled up a few doors to the new Steady Hand pop-up at Iberian Pig for a cortado. We only had coffee, but the lunch menu sounded great. For a much more detailed post on Steady Hand, see my friend Broderick's great pics and post at Savory Exposure.

We finished off our little lunch crawl with beers at The Brick Store. If you don't know The Brick Store, you should. The Farmhouse Tank 7 Ale from Boulevard Brewing was a good cap to the lunch crawl. Until next time.

Home Cooking: Vegetable Literacy

2013-04-30T12:57:00.005-04:00

Been a while since I've had time to post anything to this blog thing I have going here that is hanging on by a thread. Just been too busy with other, arguably more important pursuits.

I did, however, recently pick up the new book, Vegetable Literacy, by renowned vegetarian chef, cookbook author, and scholar, Deborah Madison. Madison has been a player in the world of modern vegetarian cooking for 30 years and her new text aims to be a definitive guide for all things veggie. It's not so much a vegetarian cookbook as it is an encyclopedic tome on most aspects of the vegetable kingdom. It's 300+ pages of solid text that will leave you knowing more about vegetables than you ever though possible. There are a good number of excellent recipes in the book as well.

Like, spring peas with baked ricotta (see below) and fresh bread crumbs. As you can see, I went a little heavy on the peas there, but it was tasty, nonetheless.

The oven-baked ricotta with bread crumbs was a bit of a revelation to me. Once the ricotta bakes for 20 minutes or so, it sets up firmly and you get a goat cheese-like consistency that can be spooned on sandwiches, crumbled over pasta, or just spread on a slice of baguette.

I also made her black quinoa dish, though, I substituted black rice as I simply could not find black quinoa around town. The black rice was a suitable substitute for the dish that also includes chard, pistachios, avocado, and more of that ricotta cheese. The no-frills dressing is made from a mix of lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, and mint. A great spring/summer dish that is more filling than it might seem at first glance. Good for ya, too!

Here and There Eats

2013-04-20T15:22:00.003-04:00

Some recent pics of home cooking and more.

Porterhouse cut chops from Pine Street Market on the Big Green Egg.

I fooled around with some duck confit, which I had not done in some time. The pic above in case you'd forgotten what 5 pounds of raw duck fat looks like.

The remnants after reduction.

Duck confit. I used some of this duck to make duck confit tacos with cojita, red onion, and whipped avocado. Good stuff.

I also decided to go vegetarian for a couple of weeks, which led to me making the above picutred no-bake vegetarian enchiladas topped with with carrot sofrito. An interesting dish I got from the recent copy of Food & Wine. Carrot sofrito is a revelation. Make a lot of it, you won't be sorry. It's great on sandwiches and tossed into pasta. It's basically finely diced carrots and garlic simmered in a good dose of olive oil until it's soft with a sauce-like consistency.

Spent some time recently in Rosemary Beach, where it's an easy bike ride in the morning to grab some killer donuts from Charlie's. I'm not a big fan of doughnuts, but these are pretty good.

Food trucks along 30A in Seaside, FL.

The Melt Down on 30A.

Tasty Grilled Cheese.

Sunday Brunch at No. 246 in Decatur

2013-04-12T10:32:00.001-04:00

I've been to No. 246 more times than I care to admit in the past couple of years. I hadn't, before last weekend, been to No. 246 for brunch. Below are some pics of the food. It was decent; though, sometimes I feel like No. 246 is just coasting. Nothing here that was really inspiring.The strongest dish is the one pictured below: wood-fired farm eggs with San Marzano tomatoes and polenta. A nap-inducing mid-day dish.

Quiche of spring peas, ham, and scallions. Eh, not bad, but nothing special either.

The spaghetti and GA shrimp dish that's been on the No. 246 menu since day one. Could we take a stab at a little variety maybe? However, my kid likes it, so we order it...

Buford Higway Eats, Part Two

2013-04-04T09:10:00.003-04:00

Joined my intrepid tour guide and did a little more eating on Buford Highway recently.
First stop was Gu's for some Szechaun-style Chinese.

We started with some Chengdu-style cold noodles in a sweet and spicy sauce.

Cumin string beans with dried chilis was the highlight for me. Spicy, crunchy, and an almost Middle Eastern flavor profile from the heady dose of cumin. These were fun, and tongue-numbing spicy.

Spicy-crunchy beef was also tasty. The greens here (spinach, I think?) are really a treat as they soak up most of the heat and flavor from the dish.

Not satisfied after lunch number one at Gu's, we meandered over to Chicago Supermarket for some legit tacos. The barbacoa and carnitas were excellent.

Forget the TexMex slop that you've wasted your time with most of your life thinking you were eating Mexican tacos. The beauty here is in the simplicity of slow cooked beef and/or pork topped simply with white onions and piles of fresh cilantro. A squeeze of lime, a squirt of spicy salsa, and you are in taco heaven. Straight out of a small kitchen in the back corner of supermarket and these tacos will set you back a whopping $1.50-$2.00 each.

Still not satisfied at this point, we made our way over to White Windmill Bakery to pick up some Korean desserts. White windmill was a bit of a revelation and I loaded up on various cookies and pastries. The donuts with mung bean paste, cream-filled pecan cookies, and almond cookies were favorites.

Recent Eats and Drinks

2013-03-30T17:15:00.002-04:00

Some recent pics from home cooking and a couple meals with friends. I made the salad below from a recipe in Richard Blais' new cookbook. It was good. Not really groundbreaking, but an interesting take on a traditional iceberg and blue cheese salad with Blais' homemade "ranch" dressing. I added chorizo. Tasty enough.

Also took another stab at making Ramen. This batch was even better than my first attempt last month. I let the five pounds of pork bones roast for over an hour to get some nice caramelization and I let the stock simmer for eight hours. It was rich, with deep salty/porky flavor. I used some decent Ramen noodles that I found by chance in the "International" aisle at my local Kroger.

The dish below was made by my friend Rowdy during a recent outing at his house. Spaghetti with garlic, lemon, and grated bottarga with some parsley and tarragon thrown in for good measure. Good stuff.

We also drank some damn fine wines from Burgundy that night:

Back at home I opened this incredible bottle of California Syrah from Edmunds St. John, a winery I've raved about here in the past. Affordable California Syrah that ages for 20+ years and reminds you of a great Cote Rotie. What's not to love?

I also recently did another lunch run on Buford Highway. The second lunch that day, after Gu's, was a stop at Chicago Supermarket, where we ate the legit tacos pictured below. Great stuff. More on this and other Buford Highway fun later.

Tasty China!

2013-03-22T17:22:00.000-04:00

I hadn't made a trip out to the original Tasty China in Marietta in quite some time. Tasty China is a bit of a legendary restaurant, in part due to the mercurial Peter Chang's time as chef here. Several years ago I got schooled on the brilliance of Tasty China by this guy, who is now winning raves as a winemaker in California. There was a period of time when our food and wine geek team would frequent Tasty China, getting strange glances from the other diners, as we did again last week, as we carry in two dozen of our own wine glasses and literally dozens of bottles of wine. It's always a good time. Some of the dishes from this current visit:

Fragrant shrimp with chilis and fried onions.

Dry-fried, spicy eggplant. A favorite. Killer dish. Numbingly spicy.

Braised white fish in an insanely spicy chili oil. Crazy dish. Really freaking spicy, but so good.

Lamb "hot pot." Eh, this was just ok.

What to drink with all this spicy Sichaun-style Chinese food? Off-dry white wines, like this Pouilly Fume from Didier Dagueneau.

Or this killer 1983 Riesling from the Rheingau. A sublime wine.

The aftermath.

Buford Highway Eats: Quoc Houng, Pho Dai Loi #2, Crawfish Shack

2013-03-17T15:32:00.002-04:00

I'll start with a confession. I've never spent time eating on Buford Highway. There, I feel better confessing to what is surely some kind of sin amongst foodies in the ATL. Buford Highway, that road with seemingly endless opportunities to try legit ethnic cuisine from a dizzying array of cultures and ethnicities. From Mexican, to Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and beyond. Finding it unbelievable that I as a Buford Highway-food virgin, my buddies the Buddha, and this guy, recently took me on the first of what will likely be many more adventures on Buford Highway.

First stop, Banh Mi at Quoc Huong Banh Mi and Fast Food.

The banh mi at Quoc Huong are ridiculously inexpensive; think $2.50 each. And if you buy 5, you get 1 free, which means you can get six of these buggers for around 12 bucks. Seems crazy, right? Oh, they are pretty damn good, too.

Pictured above is the roast pork, below is the special with pork, pate, and chicken. Great stuff.

Next up was Pho Dai Loi #2 for some Pho.

The rich broth, which is both sweet and salty, is the key here. I got #12, brisket and pork.

The pork spring rolls were a good little starter.

Not quite done at this point, we had to run across the street for some crawfish from the Crawfish Shack. I wasn't too impressed with this stop.

We chose to get a pound fried, which takes time, I guess, as we waited nearly 25 minutes for our basket of crawfish and side of fried mac and cheese nuggets. Eh...Not a great ending to the afternoon, but two out of three isn't bad for a first run. I'm already gearing up for the next time.

Recent Eats & Drinks

2013-03-11T09:36:00.002-04:00

Some recent pics of food and drink things around town.

Paid a couple visits to the new Victory Sandwich Bar on Church a couple weeks back. It was good; nothing earthshaking, but solid little sandwiches. The sandwiches are small, so don't think you are making a steal when you see $4 each on the menu. You probably want to eat a couple if you have any kind of regular appetite. The Cool Chik above is pretty good as are the side spicy ramen noodles for $3.

The beeter: "Beet" pastrami, kimchi.Beet slices topped with spicy kimchi. Kind of a sloppy sandwich that's hard to keep together, but the mix of beet and kimchi is an interesting flavor combo.

The Castro:Victory's take on a Cuban. Pretty good.

Also stopped in recently for breakfast at the Bakery at Cakes and Ale. Above is the Decatur Breakfast Sandwich. House made English muffins, eggs, gruyere, and scallions. Hits the spot on a Saturday morning after a long Friday night. As does the Caliente, a spicy Mexican mocha (with house made marshmallows!), picture below:

Recent dinner at Big Tex was made better by this tasty, seasonal Smitten Golden Rye Ale from Bell's:Only available in February and March it's another winner from the good folks at Bell's.

New Eats: Chai Pani in Decatur

2013-03-05T13:26:00.001-05:00

In case you weren't hadn't heard, and weren't one of the hundreds of people waiting in line for a table this past weekend, Chai Pani opened in Decatur last Friday night. I stopped in for dinner during their launch Friday night, and had a good meal, but there was some opening night madness, so I paid them another visit for lunch yesterday with this guy.
Chai Pani is the second restaurant from the husband & wife, Meherwan & Molly Irani, who own and operate the now two locations. The original location in Asheville has garnered its share of accolades over the past four years. All of the food on my two visits has been good, some very good, and definitely leaving me wanting more. Some of the food sampled thus far by yours truly:

The kale pakoras is just crazy good. Seems simple enough: kale fritters with a curried chickpea batter and dipping sauces. So damn good, it is actually hard to stop eating these. Nice balance of being light, salty, and crispy, yet the kale does not get lost in the mix.

The vegetable uttapam was also very strong. Like an Indian crepe pizza. Great flavor here.

Bombay chili cheese fries. Curried Indian turkey hash on masala fries, topped with paneer, and served with tomato chutney. Indian stoner food, and it is good, even sober.

Okra fries. I wasn't crazy about these. My table mates liked them more than I, but I've never been a big okra guy.

Another strong dish. Potato puri.

There also some interesting cocktails on the menu like the Kashmir Sour, which is basically a whiskey sour spiked with Kashmir chili powder. All-in-all Chai Pani is off to a very good start, and based on the crowds that have shown up for both lunch and dinner, they will be a fixture in Decatur for a good long time. A welcome addition to the neighborhood.

NOLA, Part Three: Domilise's Po-Boys

2013-03-02T12:48:00.002-05:00

The third and final post on eats during my New Orleans trip last month. One of the food highlights of the trip was a visit to Domilise's Po-Boy shop. I was unfamiliar with Domilise's before the trip, but my friends who were playing tour guide assured me we had to go to what was their favorite place for po-boys when they were living in the area. Come to find out, Domilise's is a bit of a legend in New Orleans having been a fixture in uptown for over 70 years. They were recently profiled as part of the Sandwich Story video series by Saveur, as well as being singled out as the NOLA Po-boy shop in a recent feature in Garden & Gun.

Domilise's feels untouched by time. The menu above appears virtually unchanged for decades, except for the prices. There's no pretense here; you might even drive right by the place if you weren't really looking for it. However, what you find inside, is good folks serving up killer po-boys, which is all they have from this homey location for generations.

The humble kitchen where the magic happens.

The oyster station.

    The back bar.
    Fried shrimp and fried oyster po-boy. You've got to get your po-boy "dressed," which adds lettuce,
    pickles, ketchup, hot sauce, and mayo. The combo of the fat, crispy gulf oysters with the creamy
    mayo and veggies is just sublime. A good baguette is key, too, and Domilese's uses bread from
    Leidenheimer's, another local family-owned company with long, deep roots in New Orleans.
    If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, do yourself a favor and head uptown to try one of these
    po-boys. You won't be disappointed.

New Orleans, Part Two: Cochon

2013-02-25T11:33:00.002-05:00

I'm continuing on here with a few more posts from the recent trip to New Orleans. The last meal we had during our trip was at Cochon, the award-winning restaurant of Louisiana native and James Beard Award-winning chef, Donald Link. Cochon was also recently named as one of the 20 most important restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit for their commitment to nose-to-tail-Louisiana-style cooking.

We had some very good porky goodness during our visit. Every dish was strong, sans the crawfish pie, which was just okay, slightly doughy and flavorless, and made worse by the large black hair we found in the middle. Some pics of standout dishes:

Wood-fired oysters with garlic and pepper aioli.

Fried alligator with spicy remoulade. Alligator always seems like a throwaway-novelty item at Cajun restaurants, but this dish was pretty tasty. Tender 'gator and a slamming remoulade helped out.

The boucherie plate featuring hog's head cheese, coppa, country bologna, pork rillette, house pickles, and pickled fennel. Best pork rillette I've ever had and a damn good hog's head cheese here.

Fried boudin. Might not look like much, but this was the dish of the day. Boudin balls with an airy panko crust, fried to perfection so that they maintained a gooey-creamy interior. A brilliant bite with the pickled peppers and house mustard.

Another boudin shot.

Another strong dish: Cane syrup glazed pork cheeks with pickled red onions and potato cake.

The infamous hairy crawfish pie. Spared you a pic of the big black hair we found in the middle. Yum. Our server was gracious and comped us the pie and a couple of drinks after hairgate, which was a nice recovery 'cause shit happens.

The cocktail program at Cochon is strong, though somewhat limited. The Tiger's Tail, a concoction of Dos Lunas Silver Tequila, Merlet de Framboise, agave nectar, basil, and lime juice was quite tasty. As was aptly named Orange Whiskey made with Buffalo Trace, Peychaud's, and OJ.

No complaints from me about Cochon. Nice space (albeit smaller than I expected), attentive staff and tasty food. Some of the dishes were on the sloppy side in presentation but the taste was there, so no worries, I suppose. Fun to stop by Cochon Butcher next door and stock up on boudin and other treats for the ride home.

New Orleans Eats, Part One: Jacques-Imo's, Cafe du Monde, Central Grocery

2013-02-19T08:41:00.000-05:00

I spent a few days in New Orleans last week at the end of Mardi Gras with friends who are native to the city. We did a fair share of eating and drinking and basking in the post-Mardi Gras glow of the Crescent City. Just about everything we ate, at every hour of the day, was top notch. Some highlights:

Real-deal Nawlin's-style, Creole cooking at Jacques-Imo's uptown.

The place is always packed, reservations are always hard to come by, and I'm told folks wait two hours some nights to get it. But it's worth the effort. Jacques Leonardi, the animated owner seems to always be present in the dining room; cracking jokes, entertaining kids, and making it feel as if you are eating at a table in his own home.

The duck and andouille sausage gumbo.

Crawfish etoufee. Don't think I was visiting NOLA and not eating crawfish etoufee at least once. And no complaints with Jacques-Imo's rendition pictured above.
The how-to-gain-five-pounds in one dish-roasted quail stuffed with foie gras, mushrooms, and bacon. Decadent and so freaking good.

Some very good Creole-Cajun soul food here in a rambunctious setting that reeks of New Orleans.
Made the obligatory stop at the original Cafe Du Monde for beignets. When the place is crowded, which is always, this location of Cafe du Monde rakes in over $5,000 per hour. A nice draw considering Cafe du Monde is basically a coffee shop selling little squares of fried dough topped with powdered sugar.

Beignets and a cafe au lait is great way to start a beautiful post-Mardi Gras day in the French Quarter. Especially if you are a little, or better yet, a lot hungover.
Had to stop by the landmark Central Grocery for a Muffuletta. A slice of Italy in the heart of the French Quarter.

While the muffuletta is the star, Central Grocery is a gem of a shop. It was founded in 1906 by Salvatore Lupo, an Italian immigrant and has been a landmark of the French Quarter ever since. Central Grocery is reminiscent of the Italian markets I remember frequenting in NYC and CT as a kid. A vast selection of mostly Italian, but also French and Creole food products including olive oils, cheeses, canned tomatoes, pastas, pastries, and more.

One could get lost poking around the shelves of Central Grocery for hours. But pay attention, and don't be holding up the line and shit. People are serious about getting to this muffuletta. Whole or half is the only decision you have to make.

The muffuletta at Central Grocery is one of those things that defies its own simplicity. Salami, ham, cheese, mortadella, "special olive salad," and olive oil. Big deal, right? However, the combination of the rich meats and briny olive spread on light and airy Leidenheimer's sesame bread is magical.

That's it for now...New Orleans Eats, Part Two coming soon...

Good Eats: New Orleans

2013-02-15T08:15:00.000-05:00

I've been hanging in New Orleans the past few days. Some good food, like the Muffulettas at Central Grocery...and the quail stuffed with foie gras, bacon, and mushrooms from Jacques Imo's pictured below:

The quail dish was rich, decadent, and mighty tasty, as was the crawfish etoufee below, and duck and andouille gumbo... More pics and full reports later..

Mother Earth Brewing

2013-02-06T15:27:00.003-05:00

I don't really drink a lot of beer, or maybe I do, but I just tell myself I don't. I am a fan, though, of good craft beers that catch my attention. Recently, the beers from Mother Earth Brewing have done just that. I first encountered MEB at their small table at the 2012 Decatur Beer Fest. Since then, I've been able to find their beers around town and I am continually impressed. Home for Mother Earth Brewing is Kinston, NC, in the southeastern corner of the state. They only started distribution in Atlanta in April of 2012. You might guess from the name, but there is a certain earth-friendly, hippie vibe to the company that is seen in their green practices that include using solar power, blue jean insulation, and green brewing techniques such as recycling spent grain and making tap handles from bamboo.

Mother Earth Brewing's commitment to sustainability and earth-friendly practice seems to translate in the uniqueness of their beers. From the herbal-tinged Weeping Willow Belgian-Style Wit, to the Old Neighborhood Oatmeal Porter, and my favorite, the hoppy, and deliciously crisp and bitter, Sisters of the Moon Pale Ale. If you've not tried these beers, do poke around town and find some. Decatur Wine & Spirits on Dekalb Industrial Way has singles, which is the perfect way to try a few.

Home Cooking: Fried Chicken and Bubbly

2013-01-31T22:29:00.001-05:00

After watching the Top Chef fried chicken challenge last week, and thinking how Rowdyfood would have kicked ass on that challenge, I got the itch to make some fried chicken. I've become a fan of Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Buttermilk Fried Chicken. The key to this tasty fried chicken is the 12 hour, lemony- salt-water brine that gives the chicken a deep herbal-lemony-saltiness and it also produces really juicy meat. After the brine, the chicken gets a flour dusting before being dipped in buttermilk and a last flouring. The chicken is crunchy, juicy, and just damn good.

And as I am wont to do, I paired the tasty fried bird with a bubbly. Trust me, pairing fried chicken and sparkling wine is the way to go. I got this tasty Cab Franc-based Loire Valley bubbly from my buddies at Le Caveau in Chamblee. A most excellent $20 sparkling wine.

One other point...deep frying in a wok is my new favorite deep-fry method. I got the idea from Kenji at Food Lab. A wok is a great choice for deep frying at home. The wider surface area provides room for the oil to splatter and expand without making a colossal mess, and risking a boil-over and burning your house down. If you've ever struggled with deep frying at home, as I once did, the wok is the answer.

From the Fertile Slopes of Mount Etna

2013-01-26T08:29:00.004-05:00

I was recently turned on to the 2011 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso from the good folks at the Little Wine Shop in Avondale. I will be honest and admit, I have ignored Italian wines from most of my wine drinking days. I've spent so much time focusing on French wines, specifically Burgundy, that there was little energy or time left to study another region. Though, I have had some brilliant Barolo from friends who are kind enough to share.

That being said, the Terre Nere Etna Rosso from the volcanic soils around Mount Etna in Sicily is an excellent wine. The terroir of Mount Etna produces wines from vines that have grown in volcanic soil for over 100 years. This Etna Rossa from Terre Nere, made from Nerello Mascalese, has an attractive, feminine texture; it's silky, yet it has plenty of focused fruit and energy that leaves a lasting impression on the palate. It is Pinot Noir-like, yet a singular wine unto itself. It costs around $20 which is a damn good price for what is in the bottle. I'm a big fan.

Recent Eats and Drinks

2013-01-21T09:52:00.001-05:00

I've been busy lately; there hasn't been a lot of time for eating out, cooking, or other inspiring food and wine stuffs. However, some pics here of what has been going on. The King Cake above was made by good friends with Louisiana roots who now call Decatur home. It's become an annual tradition for them to hand-deliver one warm from the oven, and the cake above hit the spot this weekend.

I made cassoulet last weekend. Seems it's been so mild this winter my mind and body haven't been craving stews or one-pot comfort meals like cassoulet. Sans duck confit, this one was still good, warm weather be damned. I used Thomas Keller's knockoff recipe which is my go-to for an easy and relatively easy cassoulet.

A friend who is headed to the CIA to embark on a second career as a baker brought by this Tartine-style sourdough loaf hot from the oven. Easily one of the best breads I've had from a home kitchen.

I did open the 1999 Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambertin Lavaux Saint Jacques, a young, but very tasty Burgundy. I've tried to get the Burgduny monkey off my back lately, but I just can't. I love the stuff.

I also opened a couple of bottles of Dirty & Rowdy Family wines. These wines are special to me as I call the winemakers friends. You may remember the story of Hardy Wallace of Dirty South Wine, an ATLer who who left the south in 2009 to carve a place for himself in the California wine scene. You also may remember from many posts here over the years, Rowdy, maker of incredible cassoulet and spicy fried chicken. Together, they have launched Dirty & Rowdy Family wines. 2011 was their first vintage with five barrels total of Semilion and Mourvedre were made. More on these guys and their wines later, but these are fine and funky wines. Good luck finding them, though, as the wines are all sold out. There will be more wines produced in 2012, so be on the lookout.

Wines of Thierry Puzelat

2013-01-12T12:05:00.001-05:00

I've become a fan over the past few years of French winemaker Thierry Puzelat. Puzelat, a proponent of natural winemaking, has been cranking out great wines from the Loire Valley for years. His wines are pure, show expressions of place, and are usually rather affordable by today's standards. Puzelat currently is the winemaker for Clos du Tue Boeuf in Cheverny, which he runs with his brother, Jean-Marie, but also makes wine in partnership with negociant, Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme.

The La Butte from Clos du Tue Boeuf, pictured above, is one of my faves from the past couple of years, is a steal at $15 locally. I recently picked up a few bottles of his In Cot We Trust, made with Bonhomme, a Malbec from Loire Valley. You might not automatically think of Malbec when you think of the Loire Valley, it's more widely planted in South America now, but Malbec is one of the six grapes allowed in Bordeaux wine. Cot is the Loire Valley name for Malbec. This wine shows some of the dark purple color of Malbec, but it's loaded with the barnyardy character of Puzelat's Loire wines. It's earthy, funky, and raw. It tastes like the earth. A wine that has not been manipulated to be something other than what it is. But, there's also some big, dark fruit here that's rather appealing. It's an interesting and entirely drinkable wine that would work perfectly in colder weather along with some robust fare.

The Sazerac

2013-01-06T20:10:00.004-05:00

The Sazerac. It's been hailed recently as the "quintessential southern cocktail." The Sazerac has its roots in the south; in pre-Civil War-New Orleans to be exact. History holds (or perhaps it's more drunken mythologizing at this point) the drink was invented in at the Sazerac House coffee shop in New Orleans in the mid-1800s. Originally made with a Cognac base, the modern Sazerac is a rye-based cocktail with a dash of Peychaud's bitters served in a chilled glass that's been coated with Absinthe. During the years that Absinthe was banned in the U.S., Herbsaint was used and has become a reliable substitute that is still used today.

During a recent evening in which we had dinner with friends to plot our upcoming trip to New Orleans, I decided to make Sazeracs for the first time. I followed the traditional recipe and used Herbsaint, which is a bit easier to find, although Absinthe is legal now and can be found around town.
The recipe I used is as follows:

The Sazerac
1 Sugar Cube
2 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
1 dash Bitters
Herbsaint (or Absinthe)
Lemon Peel for garnish

There's nothing too tricky to the Sazerac; think of an Old-Fashioned with the addition of the Herbsaint. The trick is in the preparation which involves rinsing a cold glass (preferably an Old-Fashioned glass) with Herbsaint to coat the glass before pouring any remaining liquor out. In another glass, muddle the sugar cube with a drop of water to soften. To this glass I added some ice cubes, then rye, then the two bitters. Then, strain the rye and bitters into the glass coated with Herbsaint. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel. Now, start drinking.

Holiday Week 2012 Send-Off

2012-12-30T16:52:00.003-05:00

In years past I've done recaps or best-of posts about things that really moved me throughout the year. This year, no such post. I spent the last week with family in town just enjoying company and eating and drinking too much. I didn't take a lot of pictures, just tried to enjoy some time with people I don't get to see enough. We did find time to drink some very good wines:

My brother was kind enough to bring a cooler full of Berkshire Brewing Company beer, some of my favorite beers that I don't get to drink often as they are only available in New England. Excellent craft beers across the board by the Berkshire folks:

Did lunch at the Brick Store on Thursday where I tried a draft from Decatur's newest brewery, Blue Tarp Brew. Their Bantam Weight Ale is an Irish red ale that features lower alcohol by today's craft beer standards and is an entirely drinkable beer. The sausage and grit cakes below were pretty tasty as was the fried pierogi starter.

We also spent some time at Bakery at Cakes & Ale getting fat while eating too many desserts. Tried the Caliente, their version of a Mexican mocha with dark Mexican chocolate, and chili powder that was pretty damn awesome on a blustery late afternoon.

Of course, as it is our Christmas tradition, we also made time for some Pappy.

All-in-all it was a fun week with family...Hope you had a good holiday season as well. Now, on to 2013.

Home Cooking: Ramen

2012-12-22T07:09:00.000-05:00

I, like perhaps many Americans who like to cook at home, am intimidated by homemade ramen. I don't know why that is. Perhaps it's due to the fact that a good bowl of ramen is a time-consuming thing to prepare. Therein lies its magic. Recently, I decided to spend some time on a rainy Saturday making ramen. I followed the step-by-step instructions for David Chang's ramen in his Momofuku book. Certainly there are more traditional recipes, but I like Chang's book, so I went with his recipe.

I started by making the tare, an enriched grilling/basting sauce produced from roasting chicken necks and backs and then adding them to a soy sauce, mirin, and sake reduction. The end product is basically an amped-up and insanely salty sauce of which a couple of tablespoons is used to flavor the ramen broth right before serving. The sauce is also great used as one would use a traditional bbq sauce; however, not sure it's really worth effort. I might just reduce some soy sauce and mirin next time.

The ramen broth begins with the roasting of five pounds of meaty pork bones. You could also throw in some trotters, but I went with five pounds of assorted bones that I sourced from YDFM.

While the bones are roasting, konbu steeps in six quarts of water. After the konbu steeps for ten minutes it is removed and dried shitake mushrooms are added for thirty minutes. After the shitakes steep for 30 minutes, they are removed an entire chicken is added to the pot. The chicken cooks and flavors the broth for about one hour (or until the meat pulls from the bone). You now also have a very flavorful whole poached chicken that can be used in multiple other applications.

By this time the pork bones have finished roasting in the oven and they get added to the stock once the cooked chicken is removed. At this point, it gets a little easier as the pork bones simple simmer in the pot for as many hours as you can spare, but at least six or seven according to Chang. While the pork bones and stock reduced I prepped the toppings, which can very according to what you have around.

I used some of the traditional accoutrements: scallions, a slow-poached egg, some of the leftover mushrooms, a little piece of nori, pulled pork, and some of the pork belly pictured above which was leftover from this project. I also followed Chang's advice and cheated a bit by using store bought low mein noodles. Ramen noodles can be a controversial topic, let's just say, I was happy with the noodles I used. Not perfect, but I retained my sanity and the bowl was pretty damn good for my first attempt.

Bell's Brewery Holiday Dinner at Big Tex

2012-12-18T10:04:00.001-05:00

I was fortunate to get a ticket to the sold out Bell's Brewery Holiday Beer dinner at Big Tex in Decatur last Thursday night. It was the first ever beer dinner at Big Tex and the staff did a nice job of trying to make the evening special and memorable. The dinner was prepared by Big Tex Chef, Rick Watson, and featured five courses matched with specific Bell's beers. A brief take on the courses:

1st Course– Amuse Bouche of Rappahannock Oysters two ways, raw and grilled, matched with Bell's Winter White Ale. This was a great pairing, but really, the White Ale is just a great beer all around that I could drink anywhere anytime. Fresh, briny Chesapeake Bay oysters were nice way to start.

2nd Course- Beef Carpaccio with Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. Beef carpaccio was decent, but questionable in the use of tomato and corn in December.

3rd Course- Lamb Slider and Deck Fat Fries with Bell's Best Brown Ale. This course was fine. A slider, some crispy fries, not much not to like and it was executed well. Tasty match with the Brown Ale, too.

Interlude--This item, brought over from Fox Bros. and not listed on the night's menu, was the best taste of the night. Succulent Duroc pork belly with Fox Bros Bbq sauce and cole slaw on buttery toast. Not surprisingly, this was a great bite as it is in the Fox Bros. wheelhouse.

Course 4- Braised Georgia wild boar paired and cabbage purse with Bell's Porter. Decent dish, lamb a bit tough, and the dish was luck warm by the time it came to the table.
Course 5- Bell's Black Note Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout paired with a Bourbon caramel chocolate eclair. Bell's Black Note is one of their rarest beers. It also packs quite a punch at 11.5% alcohol. It's a good dessert beer, but it is big, rich beer and best in small doses.

Overall, this was a fun night with some very good beers, some decent bites and good company. While I've been a fan of Bell's, this dinner certainly cemented Bell's as belonging near the top of my go-to list for American craft beers.