DRIVING THE CALIFORNIA
COAST, PART FOUR
by Christopher Mariani
NEW YORK CORNER
Giano
by John Mariani
NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
Wines of Catalonia, Part Two
by Mort Hochstein
❖❖❖
DRIVING
THE CALIFORNIA COAST
PART FOUR
by Christopher Mariani
Napa
Valley, photo by Brent Miller, winecountry.com
Having just experienced the most
splendid lunch at Auberge de Soleil, we jumped
into our convertible and took a short drive to Meadowood
(below),
a destination that perked up ears with every
mention along the way. We were in the final
stages of our week-long road trip, which started
in San Diego and had taken us along the coast on
the magnificent Pacific Highway. Wrapping up the
end of our trip in Northern California was the
perfect way to conclude our amazing journey.
With great
anticipation, we entered the grand property at
Meadowood, driving
along a long beautifully landscaped road and
came to a charming gatekeeper who welcomed us with
a smile. His amiable demeanor was simply an
introduction to the type of service we would
receive during our short stay.
We followed
a narrow winding road trimmed with tall trees
leading to the property’s main house and immediately
we were greeted by the hotel manager who
personally walked outside to meet us in the
parking lot, welcoming us by our last names
(pronounced perfectly) and helped us unpack our
luggage from the trunk of our car. Our check-in
was effortless, a quality most hotels could learn
a lot from, without all that puzzling typing,
typing, typing into the computer.
Within moments, we were
escorted by golf cart to our impressive lodgings,
which resemble magnificent townhouses. Before our
escort left the
house, I mentioned we were slightly fatigued and
contemplating pushing our dinner reservation at
Goose & Gander in St. Helena back one hour so
we could rest. Just minutes later we received a
call from the front desk stating our reservation
was set one hour later, and the property SUV would
be waiting to drive us to dinner at ten minutes to
8 pm. We realized at that moment we wouldn’t be
lifting a finger for the rest our stay. The staff
and management’s insight to our daily needs was
truly remarkable. It was as if they new exactly
what we were about to ask before we asked it.
Their constant but gentle attentiveness to our
requests made our stay particularly enjoyable.
There are few hotels across the country that can
compete with this high degree of refined
hospitality.
The backyard of our
residence was a lush green, well-manicured grass
croquet court. An outdoor wooden patio, where we
spent our morning sipping hot coffee (left),
allowed for quiet relaxation and privacy from the
rest of the property. The bathroom was almost as
large as our bedroom, beautifully furnished in
white marble with massive mirrors, a style and
standard California set for the rest of the world
to follow. Our extremely comfortable
living space, with a functional fireplace, had
giant oak wood beams lining the ceiling. The
bedroom was the largest of all rooms, elegantly
decorated in a simple, clean all-white design with
every amenity one could desire, including
comforters and silent temperature controls. There
was little aspiration on our part to leave our new
home.
Unfortunately, we did not have
the opportunity to eat at recently renovated The
Restaurant at Meadowood (below), which for three years
now has maintained three Michelin
stars, under Chef Christopher Kostow, who
features a nightly ten-course dinner at $225, with
wine pairings an additional $225 from a
1,200-label cellar.
We were
chauffeured across the Valley to St. Helena
by the hotel car—an especially nice touch because
the highway police are very tough on drivers leaving the
Valley’s restaurants-- and dropped off in front of
Goose & Gander.
The restaurant, set in a 90-year old
structure once owned by a local bootlegger and
afterwards the Martini House restaurant, is
charmingly homey at first glance. Hanging yellow
bulbs lead guests through the front doors, flanked
by two 100 year old cedar trees, which open
up into a dimly lit dining room decked out in
dark, polished redwood. The space looks as if a
masculine steakhouse and an upscale pub were
combined as one, showcasing mahogany-colored
leather banquets, sturdy oak tables, wood-beamed
ceilings and a staff dressed in all black
anxiously awaiting your arrival. Downstairs is an
extremely popular Basement Bar.
Owners Andy Florsheim and Chef Kelly
McCown both have long tenure in the business,
Florsheim operated the Pollo Campero restaurants
throughout Chicago and Florida before moving to
the Napa Valley to launch Oliver Jade Restaurant
Management, which developed Goose &
Gander. Native San Franciscan Kelly
McCown (below)
had been with Martini House when it opened on
2001, and as sous chef at the Wine Spectator
Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America in
Greystone. The room
(below)
was bustling with excitement as guests conversed
over multiple bottles of wine and hearty dishes
like the G&G burger, topped with
Gruyère cheese, smoked bacon, melted bone
marrow and a side of duck fat fries. We started
with some smoked corned croquettes and a small
plate of charcuterie, filled with thick slices of
chorizo and soppressata, along with a duck pâté de
campagne. For appetizers, the spicy
skillet roasted whole prawns with garlic-butter,
rosemary, chilies and silky polenta is a must
order. The prawns are to be eaten with the shells
on, adding a wonderfully crispy texture to the
bold dish. Octopus came grilled seasoned with
smoked paprika while sea scallops came alongside
sweet smoked white corn, crispy pancetta and
sliced avocado.
The entrees continue to impress
us, with ricotta gnocchi glazed in a white truffle
pesto sauce with fava beans and shaved
Parmesan cheese. The flat iron steak was as hearty
as anticipated, sided by cream spinach,
béarnaise butter, sautéed mushrooms
and giant battered onion rings. It is clear that
executive chef Kelly McCown is serving hearty,
even heavy food but with grace and flair, making
sure to balance each dish well, using bold
flavors and texture combinations. After
another glass of red wine and some terrific
desserts, we called our driver and headed back to
Meadowood for a splendid night’s sleep. Goose & Gander
is open for dinner nightly. Snacks range
from $2 to $6; Small Plates $8 to $18; Large
Plates from $14 to $26.
In the morning, after a light
breakfast, we drove to our last California
destination, San Francisco. Along the way we
stopped at few notable wineries on highway 29,
including Cakebread Cellars. St. Helena highway is
blanketed with wineries, neighboring each other,
all competing for prestige. I recommend spending a
few hours hopping from winery to winery, casually
tasting various wines. The wineries’ objective is
always to sign you up as a wine club member, but
resist their sales pitch and simply enjoy a basic
red and wine tasting for around $25.
A few hours later we crossed
the Oakland Bay Bridge and entered the beautiful
bay area, staying at the Ritz-Carlton SF
(left).
It has been three years since I last visited the
Ritz, but it was as if no time had passed.
Familiar hotel employees remembered me at first
glance, welcoming me back by my last name,
treating me like the most important man in the
hotel. The level of customer service was
outstanding, a benchmark for the Ritz-Carlton
brand which never wavers. Our room was on the club
level floor, where guests experience their own
concierge, willing to
do just about anything to improve our stay, with
many free amenities and one of the best
complementary food spreads I’ve ever seen in a
business lounge. Freshly baked quiches and
croissants were in abundance, along with smoked
salmon and an array of artisanal cheeses. There
was sliced filet mignon, cured meats and an
endless supply of sparking wine. In theory, one
does not need to leave the club member floor when
traveling for business, but the extra fee for
staying on the club level is worth every penny if
you take full advantage of what is offered.
That evening, we dined at the
hotel’s very own restaurant, Parallel 37 (below left), located
on the lobby level, previously a highly regarded
but very formal dining room. now wholly
transformed. A lovely hostess ushered
us to our table where we spent the next two hours
enjoying the hotel’s newest culinary creation, a
project in the works for some time. The room is
modern in design, showcasing sleek lines, a chic
décor, coated in earth tones and different
patterns of dark wood. The service staff was
relaxed, well familiar with the impressive menu
selection. The kitchen is led by Michael Rotondo,
a talented young chef with a true sense of
balance, who previously worked under Charlie
Trotter in Chicago.
Our meal
started with two glasses of sparkling wine and a
celebratory toast to the final days of our
memorable road trip. For starters, heirloom
tomatoes were topped with crispy duck confit and
drizzled with aged balsamic. There was a terrific
ceviche of hamachi served with avocado and beans,
one of chef’s simple yet well-executed seafood
dishes. Sweet soft shell prawns sat on top of corn
ravioli and made for one of the best dishes of the
night. Risotto was mixed with
tender lobster knuckles, roasted beets and a
subtle lemongrass oil. The meats were as
impressive, including a juicy pork tenderloin
served with ripe mission figs and pickled
chanterelles. Coconut and green curry complemented
a wonderful flank steak seared medium rare, full
of flavor and complex depth.
Hotel restaurants have not
always attracted outside diners, but in this case,
I assume the city is already buzzing over this
year-old dining destination.
The following and last
day of our California trip was spent walking along
the marina, eating casual food and visiting the
city’s gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge, spanning the
choppy Bay with a backdrop of scudding clouds as a
totem of all the beauty and civilization that
Northern California has to offer. This was end of
our amazing California road trip, one I will never
forget and cherish always.
❖❖❖
NEW YORK CORNER
by
John Mariani
GIANO 126 East 7th
Street (between First Avenue
& Avenue A)
212-673-7200
gianonyc.com
The
first thing everyone hears upon entering Giano
is the booming "Benvenuto!" of owner Milanese
Paulo Rossi (below),
who seems to be everywhere at once, behind the
bar, schmoozing with a table of Asian guests,
suggesting a new wine he loves on the list, and
generally kibitzing throughout the night.
He is the epitome of the grand Italian host and
he plays his part very well, half Roberto
Benigni, half Alberto Sordi.
Giano (from the name of
the two-faced Roman god who could see both past
and future at the same time) is a long slip of a
55-seat dining room off East Seventh Street
in Greenwich Village, where it has for
five productive years been winning the locals'
hearts with an ebullient welcome and excellent
cucina italiana by chef-partner Matteo Niccoli,
also from Milan. There is a garden, open till
October cools down, that seats 20 that right now
is a welcome respite. But we dined up
front at the table right at the open windows,
offering a wonderful view of the street life of
a neighborhood not too long ago an iffy place to
stroll through. It has always had its
share of Indian restaurants, but as time has
worn on and the Lower East Side has
gentrified, people of every stripe have brought
colorful vitality to the area, from the families
with baby strollers to the hipsters buying cup
cakes at the bakery across the street.
It was a lovely autumn night,
cool and murmuring with city sounds, putting me
in mind of Milan's Navigli section, with its
small boutiques, food stores and trattorias.
The curved 12-foot long bar
at Giano is said to be made from Sicilian
sea salt and resin and the decor combines both
the rustic of oak tables and brick walls set
with votive candles with sleek modern Italian
design and gilded ropes strung like curtains
from the wooden ceiling. It's very homey and you
may have the sense of being somewhere you'd like
to keep to yourself. But word has
gotten out that this is one of the best downtown
trattorias, with a good, reasonably priced wine
list and a menu whose nightly specials are well
worth listening for.
The night we dined, one of
those specials was a salad of crisp, peppery
arugula with almonds, sweet peppers, and hearts
of palm whose textures were impeccably melded as
an appetizer. Also very good were fat sweet
asparagus wrapped in smoky Speck ham
and lavished with a rich fontina cheese sauce. Rigatoni all'amatriciana was
a superb rendering of this classic macaroni
pasta, lusty with onion and tomato, a sizable
portion for $15. From the Tyrol comes a dish of
nice, chewy tagliatelle with Speck, mushrooms
and an enrichment of Parmesan-laced cream.
Risotto with wild mushrooms had good taste but
the rice itself was overcooked and somewhat mushy.
The assumption that baccalà
on an Italian menu is going to be the salted,
re-hydrated cod previously dried to leathery
hardness is a reasonable one, but at Giano baccalà refers
only to fresh cod Livornese style, pan-seared
with tomatoes, black olives and capers, served
with crispy white polenta--a very good seafood
dish. The filet of beef is of excellent
quality on its own, gaining enhancements from a
balsamico
glaze, basil-scented mashed potatoes, braised
onions and the welcome addition of crispy pancetta bacon
to bring in even more flavor.
I also recommend
the pollo (chicken)
alla milanese
(right),
which takes its cue from vitello (veal) alla
milanese, pounded thin, breaded and sauteed,
then sided with cherry tomatoes and
arugula. Not surprisingly, it has as much
flavor as if it were veal at a far more
expensive price (the now notorious veal
parmigiana at Carbone is fifty bucks!), and at
$17.95 a real bargain.
Chef Niccoli makes
the few desserts here but puts effort into them,
including a good, not-too-sweet, very light
tiramisu; a classic crème
brûlée, and an interesting take on
budino,
a pudding that is served with an icy
underpinning of coffee.
Giano might seem to be one of
a score of downtown trattorias worth visiting,
but the hand of a true Italian chef in the
kitchen is evident at Giano, and in Paulo
you are getting a vivacious slice of Italian
hospitality so often lacking in places where the
owners are rarely there and the chef might be
off at events three nights a week. Giano looks,
smells and tastes like the real thing.
Were I a local, I might not tell anybody at all
about it and keep it to myself.
Giano is open for dinner Tues.-Sun.;
2-Course $21.95. Dinner entrees
$12.95-$22.95.
❖❖❖
NOTES
FROM THE WINE CELLAR
Wines of
Catalonia, Part Two
by Mort Hochstein
Castell Del
Remei
Castel Del Remei (above and right)
is located far into western Catalonia, about 75
miles from Barcelona in the province of Lleida.It is
hot, low lying country, and is bone dry for most
of the year. Annual precipitation amounts to
less thanten inchesfrom a smattering of rainfall in the
spring and autumn. It’s a hot
Mediterranean climate but fortunately cooled in
the evening by maritime breezes that refresh
grapes baking under a hot summer sun.Grenache,
Tempranillo, and similar indigenous grapes such
as Macabeo flourish, and the estate, sprawling over some
1,000 acres, with about a fifth of its land mass
dedicated to estate grown grapes, also cultivates smaller
plantings of Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.
Once a village of some 50
families existed on the property, but now its
six buildings stand alone, along with a historic
church that is opened for festivals and
holidays. Castell Del Remei, however, retains
its own postal code.Since 1780 when vines were
first planted on the estate, it has posted
several landmarks in the history of Spanish
wine, most notably becoming the first in the
nation to cultivate Cabernet Sauvignon. Sales in the
property’s early years were largely bulk made
for for other wineries.In1871,
financier Manuel Girona imported a team of
growers and an oenologist from Bordeaux and
became the first Spanish grower to cultivateinternational
varietals
such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon.Castell
Del Reimi went on to produce estate wines
modeled on practices he had observed in France
and subsequently
his was the first winery in Catalonia
to sell wine under its own label. By the
1920’s, Castell Del Remei was the largest
producer of quality wines in Catalonia.
The
region became a battle ground during the Spanish
Civil War and the plant, under siege, was nearly
destroyed when an ammunition dump nearby
exploded and much of the facility had to be
rebuilt.
Joan Ignasi, a descendant of the founding
family, ran the company until his death in 1950,
when Castell Del Remei fell into disrepair for
three decades.The family of Manuel Cuisine bought the
historic facility in 1982 and set out to restore
it to its earlier glory. They replaced
antiquated equipment, revitalized the vineyards
and hired well trained staff. Today, behind
thick, centuries' old walls are gleaming
technology and modern offices, while the
facility overall retains a colorful and rustic
atmosphere. Manuel
Cusine’ says the essence of making good wine is
“the people, their teamwork and commitment.“The
leader of his winemaking team is Isabel Marza
Salles, and under her direction Castell Del
Remei produces a range of wines based on
indigenous grapes from small, neighboring
vineyards and estate grown European varietals
.We tasted several at the winery and at its
eponymously named restaurant. The
flagship wine here is "1780," named for the
vineyard's founding year. It is a blend of
Cabernet, Tempranillo, Merlot and Syrah, a big
bruiser, with deep intense flavor. It rests a
year and a half in French and American oak and
another year in bottle and sells for about $45.
Gotim Blu is a less expensive version of that
wine, with similar characteristics, released
after ten months in oak, selling for about $20.
The red wines of the region characteristically
have a powerful aroma and balanced taste and are
basically flavorsome and well structured. The
whites, generally in the $20 range, are light
and fruity; our favorite was Planell Blanc, the
least expensive at about $10.It is
one of Marza Salles’ most delightful
innovations, a citrus bomb of grapefruit and
lemon based on Chardonnay and Macabeo. It’s a
light and totally enjoyable blend, one that I
went back to several times during our tasting. With an assist from a partner winery,
Castell Del Remei markets its own sparkling
cava, based on the traditionalindigenous
grapes, Xarel-lo and Parellada. Salles has
also been experimenting with a 100% Cabernet
which has yet to be named. She is aiming for
release next year
Llopart
There
we were at an ancient family estate 45 miles
west of Barcelona. It was hardly some
impoverished Russian shtetl, so why were the
music and lyrics of“Tradition” from “Fiddler
on the Roof” playing in my head? Jesi LlopartI Llopart,her
fullname,and
severalgenerations of her family were educatingus
about the wines produced on this historic
estate.This
was no customary discussion. It was more of a
sharingrelationshipwith
warm and outgoing Catalans,devoted
to the land and their wine.
TheLlopartshave been farming this ground since 1385,
raising the familiar Mediterranean crops, wheat,
olives and grapes. It wasn’t until 1887that
they focusedon bottled wines, and one century later
became among the first to emphasize cava. Their
hilly 234-acreestate is in the heart of Catalonia’s
cava belt, not far from thetwo
giants of the industry, FreixenetandCodorniu.
In
huge, automated facilities,those
industrial firms churn out severalmillion
bottles of cava every year. Their sparklers areinexpensiveand afamiliar
sight in restaurants and bodegas throughout
Spain and much of the world. In contrast,Llopart
produces450,000 bottles of cava annually andalmost
everythingis done as it was in centuries past,from
pickingto
riddling, and there’s usually a family memberon
hand, whether in the field, cellar or office.
Llopartcavas, crafted by family
patriarch Pere Llopart I Vilaros and his younger
aide Pere Llopart Llopart, agemuch
longer, on averageabout three years, and as
long as five, before release. That sort of
productionmeans greater quality, and a higher
sticker price, about $15 for the least expensive
label and much higher for the reserve wines,
even higher for the top of the line cava,Ex
Vit, which comes from60-year old Macabeo and
Xarel.lo vines, the classicCava
grapes, along with Parellada.
In
threevineyard
sites extending over 60 acres, the Lloparts also
cultivateChardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot
Noir, andindigenous
grapes such as Grenacheand
Monastrell. They produce six types of cava,and two
rosés. Under the DO Penedes label, the
house also produces two still wines , Clos del
Fossils, from Chardonnay and Xarel.lo,and one
red, Castell de Subirats, a Bordeaux style blend
of Merlot
and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tasting at the family villa gave a new
dimensionto
the term wine cellar. We descendedpainstakinglythrough
a trapdoor and threaded our way down a narrow
staircase to an underground maze and finally
into a candle lit roomwith parents,
siblings, teens andsub-teens packedaround
a table groaning with home-cooked food, anda
lineupof
cava.
Members of the extendedLlopart
familyjoined
in thefestivities
and we all chanted or hummed and enjoyed songs
bya
guitar player, yet anotherfamily
member.I
could grasp the emotions, if not the language
which was certainlynot from “Fiddler on the
Roof.” More like country and western, Catalan
style.
The standouts among the sparklerswere
the 2008 Gran Reserva Brut,flavorful
with a toasty oily nose, richer andslightly
sweeter than expected, andthe
2010Rosé Reserva, rich with ripe red
fruit and a tadbitter long and lively finish.The
estate, ancient in many aspects, ultra modern in
others,is worth a visit, and the
familial warmth makes it even more memorable.
To read
Part One of this article, click here.
❖❖❖
NO
CHICKEN, PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH
"Let's not pretend: the only people who
order the chicken in restaurants
are those who don't care enough about their
dinner. . . . For the most part, chicken is the
beige of the restaurant world; it's the Ikea
shelving unit, the Vauxhall Vectra. It does the
job, but not much more. You can do it better at
home. The only downside is you have to tidy up
afterwards."--Jay Rayner, "Kingly
Court," The
Observer
. . . AND WHY THERE'LL
ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND
Glasgow locals
and politicians want restaurant and bakery Riverhill
Coffee Bar to stop
selling "Breaking
Bad Crystal Meth" cupcakes, because
they seemed to "glamorise drugs."
The baker refused, saying that the cupcakes are
nothing more than a tribute to his favorite
TV show.
❖❖❖
Any of John Mariani's
books below may be ordered from amazon.com.
My
latest book, which just won the prize for best
book from International Gourmand, written with
Jim Heimann and Steven Heller,Menu Design in America,1850-1985 (Taschen
Books), has just appeared, with nearly 1,000
beautiful, historic, hilarious, sometimes
shocking menus dating back to before the Civil
War and going through the Gilded Age, the Jazz
Age, the Depression, the nightclub era of the
1930s and 1940s, the Space Age era, and the age
when menus were a form of advertising in
innovative explosions of color and modern
design.The book is
a chronicle of changing tastes and mores and
says as much about America as about its food and
drink.
“Luxuriating
vicariously
in the pleasures of this book. . . you can’t
help but become hungry. . .for the food of
course, but also for something more: the bygone
days of our country’s splendidly rich and
complex past.Epicureans
of both good food and artful design will do well
to make it their coffee table’s main
course.”—Chip Kidd, Wall Street
Journal.
“[The
menus] reflect the amazing craftsmanship that
many restaurants applied to their bills of fare,
and suggest that today’s restaurateurs could
learn a lot from their predecessors.”—Rebecca
Marx, The Village Voice.
My new book--Now in Paperback,
too--How Italian Food Conquered the
World (Palgrave Macmillan) has won top prize from the
Gourmand
World Cookbook Awards. It is
a rollicking history of the food culture of
Italy and its ravenous embrace in the 21st
century by the entire world. From ancient Rome
to la dolce
vita of post-war Italy, from Italian
immigrant cooks to celebrity chefs, from
pizzerias to high-class ristoranti,
this chronicle of a culinary diaspora is as
much about the world's changing tastes,
prejudices, and dietary fads as about
our obsessions with culinary fashion and
style.--John Mariani
"Eating Italian will
never be the same after reading
John Mariani's entertaining and
savory gastronomical history of
the cuisine of Italy and how it
won over appetites worldwide. . .
. This book is such a tasteful
narrative that it will literally
make you hungry for Italian food
and arouse your appetite for
gastronomical history."--Don
Oldenburg, USA Today.
"Italian
restaurants--some good, some glitzy--far
outnumber their French rivals. Many of
these establishments are zestfully described
in How Italian Food Conquered the World, an
entertaining and fact-filled chronicle by
food-and-wine correspondent John F.
Mariani."--Aram Bakshian Jr., Wall Street
Journal.
"Mariani
admirably dishes out the story of
Italy’s remarkable global ascent
to virtual culinary
hegemony....Like a chef gladly
divulging a cherished family
recipe, Mariani’s book reveals the
secret sauce about how Italy’s
cuisine put gusto in gusto!"--David
Lincoln Ross,
thedailybeast.com
"Equal parts
history, sociology, gastronomy, and just
plain fun, How Italian Food Conquered the
World tells the captivating and delicious
story of the (let's face it) everybody's
favorite cuisine with clarity, verve and
more than one surprise."--Colman Andrews,
editorial director of The Daily
Meal.com.
"A fantastic and fascinating
read, covering everything from the influence
of Venice's spice trade to the impact of
Italian immigrants in America and the
evolution of alta cucina. This book will
serve as a terrific resource to anyone
interested in the real story of Italian
food."--Mary Ann Esposito, host of PBS-TV's
Ciao
Italia.
"John Mariani has written the
definitive history of how Italians won their
way into our hearts, minds, and
stomachs. It's a story of pleasure over
pomp and taste over technique."--Danny Meyer,
owner of NYC restaurants Union Square Cafe,
Gotham Bar & Grill, The Modern, and
Maialino.
❖❖❖
FEATURED
LINKS: I am happy to report
that the Virtual
Gourmet is linked to four excellent
travel sites:
I consider this the best and
savviest blog of its kind on the web. Potter is a
columnist for USA
Weekend, Diversion, Laptop and Luxury Spa Finder,
a contributing editor for Ski and a frequent contributor
to National
Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com
and Elle Decor.
"I’ve designed this site is for people who take
their travel seriously," says Potter. "For
travelers who want to learn about special places
but don’t necessarily want to pay through the nose for
the privilege of staying there. Because at the end
of the day, it’s not so much about five-star
places as five-star experiences." THIS WEEK: Tarpon
Fishing in Belize.
Eating Las Vegas
is the new on-line site for Virtual Gourmet
contributor John A. Curtas., who since 1995
has been commenting on the Las Vegas food
scene and reviewing restaurants for Nevada
Public Radio. He is also the
restaurant critic for KLAS TV, Channel 8 in
Las Vegas, and his past reviews can be
accessed at KNPR.org.
Click on the logo below to go directly to
his site.
Tennis Resorts Online:
A Critical Guide to the
World's Best Tennis Resorts and Tennis Camps, published
by ROGER COX, who has spent more than two decades
writing about tennis travel, including a 17-year stretch
for Tennis magazine.
He has also written for Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, New York Magazine, Travel &
Leisure, Esquire, Money, USTA Magazine, Men's Journal,
and The Robb
Report. He has authored two books-The World's Best Tennis
Vacations (Stephen Greene Press/Viking
Penguin, 1990) and The
Best Places to Stay in the Rockies (Houghton Mifflin,
1992 & 1994), and the Melbourne (Australia) chapter
to the Wall Street
Journal Business Guide to Cities of the Pacific Rim (Fodor's
Travel Guides, 1991).
nickonwine:
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Seasons Magazine; Wine Columnist, BusinessWeek.com;
nick@nickonwine.com; www.nickonwine.com.
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