Virtual
Gourmet
HOME
| BOOKS
| ABOUT US
| CONTACT
❖❖❖
"KATRINA'S CHOICE" (2013) BY GALINA DARGERY HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! ♡♡♡ ❖❖❖ THIS WEEK LAS VENTANAS AL PARAISO By Andrew Chalk In Defense of LaGuardia Airport By John Mariani NEW YORK CORNER Le Cirque Cafe By Marcy MacDonald NOTES FROM THE SPIRITS LOCKER San Antonio's Best Cocktails Right Now By Andrew Chalk
❖❖❖
The Very
Well-Named
It
should also be mentioned that the resort makes
departure less stressful than at other resorts.
Mexican government-approved resort personnel called
Airport Ambassadors escort Las Ventanas guests through
airport security and into a private VIP lounge with
wi-fi, dining and beverages.
❖❖❖
Vice President Joe Biden’s recent
characterization of LaGuardia Airport as being akin
to one in a Third World country is neither idle nor
flippant. Indeed,
many would argue that airports in some Third World
countries are even more modern than LGA. But to
me, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
And
then there is the uniquely beautiful, very
old-fashioned Marine Air Terminal (above), opened in
1940 as a landing base for the great flying boats like
the two-decker Pan Am Clipper (left), its first
departure on March 31, 1940, carrying just nine
passengers. The
outbreak of war and the demise of the flying boats
meant the closure of the Marine Air Terminal in 1950,
though it was re-opened in 1985 for the Boston and DC
shuttle and other flights. There was, for a while, a water
taxi linking the airport to Wall Street.
Looking at that mural in that fine building, I
am reminded of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s sentiments at the
end of his novel The Great Gatsby,
when man felt “compelled
into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood
nor desired, face to face for the last time in history
with something commensurate to his capacity for
wonder.” LaGuardia Airport
may not be the most modern airline terminal in the
world, but for those who remember a time when flying
was a wonder, not sheer agony, there’s still something
of the old spirit there.
❖❖❖
NEW YORK CORNER Le Cirque Café
![]()
Not exactly the kind of thing one says about
one of the most elegant of New York's great
restaurants, but since the opening of its new
performance space, Le Cirque Café, it's become
the coolest new hotspot in town. Its enormous portholes suggest the kind of Old World ocean liner crossings that made the long-defunct White Star Line come alive. Sculptural umbrellas of all sizes hang upside down from the high ceiling. And when young crooner, Cole Rumbough, sang “Pennies from Heaven,” gourmands at almost every table looked up. Just 23, Rumbough comes to this exclusive world naturally: his grandmother, actress Dina Merrill, was brought up in the 1950s, and now her grandson has a repertory of 500 songs from the period. He is finishing his last year of music study at The New School and uses his accomplished classmates as his small back-up orchestra.
Le Cirque is famous for so many dishes that we
mixed our tastes with old and new entries. The
Caesar Salad "Le Cirque" never disappoints as it
perfectly replicates the intentions of the original to
which the kitchen adds strips of chicken that enrich
but don't dominate the rest. The
Fall Garden Greens of radicchio, endive, sesame with a
raspberry vinaigrette, was perfectly dressed,
delightfully crunchy.
A simple shrimp cocktail is anything but
here—six-inch jumbos with a cocktail sauce with the
extra snap of Tabasco. "Tempura-Style" fried calamari was
new to us, the batter light and crunchy, and Burgundy
truffle risotto made with Vialone Nano rice with
shaved truffles, was impeccably executed.
I could have survived on the breadbasket alone,
but there were several main courses to consider, and
different wines to imbibe. The grilled petit steak
might have been just another strip steak, but, ordered
black-and-blue, it was crisp on the outside and almost
still mooing on the inside. Served with wild
mushrooms, the jus
was perfect for dipping the pommes frites. We ordered
Peter Michael Les Pavots Cabernet Sauvignon 2009,
which rounded off the dish perfectly.
Scottish salmon was served medium-well, exactly
as requested, soft without being rubbery.
Accompanied by acorn squash, watercress, orange,
and tiny rutabaga made it even more decorative and
tasty,accompanied by a crisp Philippe Colin
Chevalier-Montrachet 2007.
And who could resist the Mini Cheeseburgers "Le
Cirque" (right),
with like
three kinds of mustard, paired with a nice Rocca di
Frassinello Baffonero Merlot? Either
Coffee? Only if you want to stay awake; the
decaf (with a shot of Drambuie) if you don't have far
to go. That and Cole Rumbough's songbook warmed
this freezing night from the inside out.
Cole Rumbough (left)
performs once monthly on Wednesdays.
San Antonio, which you might be
surprised to find is the nation’s seventh largest
city, has become something of a factory for
cocktail innovation since the advent of the San
Antonio Cocktail Conference two years ago. Having just
returned from the third annual conference, I can
report that it is bigger, better and ever more
national in attendance.
James
Stewart, Marlene Dietrich and Brian Donlevy in
"Destry Rides Again" (1939)
Ocho--This bar in the Hotel Havana on the
River Walk may be Cuban-themed, but manager Sandra
Puente describes it as very much pan-Latin.The airy
street-level bar is paired
½ oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur ½ oz lime juice ½ oz simple syrup ¾ oz grapefruit juice
The theme here is constant innovation and and an autarchic approach to ingredients. They make their own cordials, ginger beer, tinctures, bitters and vinegars. Maple vinegar, cranberry vinegar, and others are everyday components here. Peña is a big fan of using vinegars instead of citrus to add depth in the acid component of a drink, with new cocktails coming out weekly. The most popular are rewarded with a place on the regular menu. Rather than turn over part of the small building to a kitchen, The Brooklynite supplies food through an ever-rotating selection of food trucks that park right outside the front door. Not surprisingly, the place gets packed at weekends “85 percent locals”, says Peña. It is good to know that they take reservations if you want to be sure your party can get a particular table. Peña demonstrated the ‘Gibraltar’ to me, a cocktail he devised based on a Champs Elysées.
1 ½ oz Calvados 3/4 oz pear liqueur ½ oz fresh lemon 1/4 oz simple syrup Mezcal in a spray container.
BAR 1919
–Named in memory of
the year that saw the ratification of the 18th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, instituting
Prohibition, 1919
is located in the Blue Star arts and entertainment
complex on the river walk a mile south of town. The
bar itself is easy to miss, being at basement level on
one end of an undistinguished mixed use strip. Inside,
the atmosphere is in the “not see and not be-seen”
genre of design; the lights are low, the windows
covered over’ all light projects out from the bar. 1919 runs an unusual loyalty program. Customers with coins minted for the bar can obtain discounts on a different drink each week.
For a taste of 1919,
Marsh made me a True Azul and served it in a vintage
glass (left),
from 1944 in fact.
1 1/2 oz infused tequila (1919 uses a reposado infused with poblano, serrano and red bell peppers), 1/4 oz crème de violet 1/2 oz honey syrup 1/2 oz fresh lime juice Smoked sea
salt
Bohanan’s—A candidate
for ground zero in the San Antonio cocktail
scene, this
steakhouse owned by Mark Bohanan is regarded
as one of the best in Texas. The bar was opened in
2008 in the downstairs space of the same building. In
2011 he did a serious makeover, bringing in Sasha
Petraske of New York
Bartender
Alex Smith showed me how they make an Old Fashioned at
Bohanan’s. This is a cocktail built in the glass.
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters 1 spoonful club soda 2 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon Ice to chill 3-4 inches of orange zest
Place the sugar cube in an Old Fashioned glass and sprinkle Angostura bitters on top. Add club soda. Muddle to a paste so that the sugar cube is fully broken up. Add
bourbon and ice cubes. Garnish with orange zest.
Wine Column Sponsored by Banfi Vintners
by
Cristina Mariani-May,
One of my personal favorite wines can best be
described as pure romance in a bottle. Rosa Regale,
a sparkling red from Italy, is the poster child for a
Valentine’s Day wine.
Sparkling, heart-colored red, festive,
relatively low in alcohol, fruity, Rosa Regale goes
great with savories such as ham and quiches, and is a
sensual pairing with chocolate, especially dark
chocolate as well as raspberries and strawberries. There’s
even a legend that Julius Caesar, when competing with
Mark Anthony for Cleopatra’s affections, sent the
Egyptian monarch a shipment of Brachetto, the
exclusive grape in Rosa Regale. For those
same reasons and more, it is also a But
with that said, let’s look into other wines that are
suitably romantic, for February 14 or any day either
side of the calendar.
Another appropriate Valentine wine is Principessa
Gavia Gavi, a crisp, dry, elegant and
flavorful white wine made from Cortese grapes and
backed by a romantic tale.
If red calls to your heart, though, try L’Ardí,
a Dolcetto d’Acqui redolent of berry fruit flavor and
as easy to drink as your lover is to look at. In the
local Piedmontese dialect, “L’Ardí” (pronounced
Lar-DEE) means “bright, bold and brave,” specifically
referring to a fun and adventurous young man. And what
could be more romantic than that?
Rosa Regale - Aromatic with a hint of rose petals
and raspberries, a unique sparkling ruby-red wine –
great with savories and especially well suited to
desserts, particularly chocolate. It is also
delightful as an aperitif.
Principessa Gavia Gavi – Piedmont’s premier dry white wine
with an intriguing
crispness which exalts the fruitiness of this
historic and noble wine. L’Ardí
Dolcetto d’Acqui – A lively and quaffable red wine made
from Dolcetto grapes from Piedmont. Ruby colored and
redolent of fresh grapes and ripe cherries, with a dry
finish.
❖❖❖
THE
LEGEND OF SAMURAI SUSHI
ODDEST OPENING LINES
OF A RESTAURANT
Any of John Mariani's
books below may be ordered from amazon.com.
❖❖❖
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: HOW TO
INTRODUCE YOUR CHILD TO SAN FRANCISCO
![]()
![]() 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). ![]()
![]() MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John
Mariani.
Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani, Robert Mariani,
John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein,
Suzanne Wright, and Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery,
Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.
To un-subscribe from this newsletter,click here.
© copyright John Mariani 2014 |
|||||||||||||