MARIANI’S
Virtual
Gourmet
Trolley card
poster card for Wrigley's gum, circa 1900.
❖❖❖ IN THIS ISSUE SOUTH OF NAPLES LIE GREAT FOOD AND WINE By John Mariani NEW YORK CORNER BEDFORD & CO By John Mariani NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR ADELSHEIM VINEYARDS By John Mariani ❖❖❖ SOUTH OF NAPLES LIE GREAT FOOD AND WINE By John Mariani The view of the Bay of Naples from Don Alfonso's Farm
Before a
traveler embarks on the treacherously
winding and ridiculously narrow drive
along Italy’s Amalfi Coast, there are
towns and pleasures along the way just
south of Naples and before you get to
Sorrento, not least, of course, Mount
Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii. And
in the foothills of the volcano lies one
of the most enchanting attractions I
know of in Southern Italy: Cantina
del Vesuvio, where, on
30 acres of very rich volcanic soil,
Maurizio Russo and his partner, Esther
Grosso (left), produce
excellent wines and run a little
trattoria serving some of the best
local food in the area. The shop at Cantina del Vesuvio is
open daily (closed Sundays in Jan. & Feb.).
Reservations should be made at +39 081 536
90 41 or through info@cantinadelvesuvio.it
From
the simple to the sublime is but a one-hour
drive. Set in the hill town of Sant’Agata sui
Due Golfi is the extraordinary Don Alfonso 1890,
which is not just one of the loveliest boutique
hotels in Italy but one of Europe’s very finest
restaurants, run by the redoubtable chef Don Alfonso Iaccarino
and his dear, charming wife, Livia, who have had
the hotel and ristorante
since 1982. ❖❖❖ NEW YORK
CORNER
By John Mariani BEDFORD & CO 118 East 40th Street (near Lexington Avenue) 212-634-4040 bedfordandco.com
No
one ever accused John DeLucie of not being a
first-rate chef in the NYC American style. He
first burst upon the scene at Graydon Carter’s
way-too-trendy Waverly Inn, then went out on his
own with partners in the Crown Group, opening
American grill restaurants up and down Manhattan
until the ceiling fell in on them. You
can Google the reasons for the group’s collapse
in the NY
Post, but DeLucie is nothing if not
resourceful, so it’s good to find him back at
the stoves, since February, at Bedford & Co.
in the Renwick Hotel.
The tavern-like room is windowless
and low-lighted, largely done in dark wood that
could use brightening, not least the dark brown
tables with black placemats on them. The
sound level is fine for conversation, and the
crowd at the adjacent bar does not intrude. The
service staff, however, seriously needs to get its
timing down. Bedford
& Co is open for breakfast, lunch and
dinner, as well as brunch on weekends.
❖❖❖ NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
By John Mariani ADELSHEIM
VINEYARDS
As someone who has enjoyed
Oregon wines over the past few decades, I have
to remind myself that the industry is still
going through adolescence compared with states
like New York and California, whose vinous
histories date back hundreds of years. There
had been plantings in Oregon as early as the
1860s and a small wine industry, largely
producing fruit wines, burgeoned just before
Prohibition shut it down in 1919. ❖❖❖
THOSE BANANA PEELS?
A group devoted to not wasting food named Salvage Supperclub is now hosting Dumpster-dinner series using recycled food from trash bins. A NPR reporter attended one San Francisco dinner (right) that consisted of wilted basil, bruised plums, past-their-prime tomatoes, vegetable pulp, surplus squash, whole favas, garbanzo bean water, dairy whey, sweet potato skins and overripe, peel-on bananas.
“I first
learned that the world could be a wondrous place filled
with magical delights when, as a little girl in
Brooklyn, I walked up to a Good Humor truck. There, for
sale, was a stick of ice cream that has an entire
chocolate bar inside of it. Chocolate candy. Inside ice
cream. Are. You. Kidding. Me. Good Humor introduced me
to joy and awe.”—Liz Tuccillo, “My Life in Ice Cream,” Food & Wine
(August, 2016). ❖❖❖
SPONSORED BY BANFI VINTNERS Summer’s
Perfect
Pairing: Crab and Gavi By John Fodera, TuscanVine.com
With the
unbearably hot and humid weather we’ve been
experiencing this summer in the Northeast, a quick
trip to New Jersey’s Long Beach Island was a
refreshing break for the body and soul – as well as a
delight to the taste buds. While Maryland may be more
famous for crabs, NJ’s bays supply similarly
scrumptious crustaceans, and the sweet, succulent
scallops caught off of LBI’s coast cannot be matched.
Fresh, local catch inspired this simple seaside
recipe. ~ Soft Shell
Crabs with lump crab meat, diver scallops and
rigatoni. This is decadence from the sea. ~
The recipe began by boiling
the pasta. Simultaneously, I sautéed the soft shells
in some lemon, white wine, and olive oil, and helped
myself to a crab as I cooked. Hey, chef's
preference! While
doing so, I opened a lovely white: 2015 Principessa
Gavia Gavi from Castello Banfi's Piedmont estate, an
excellent value from what is shaping up to be an
excellent 2015 vintage.
Made from 100% Cortese grapes grown in
Piemonte, the Gavi DOCG zone was promoted from DOC
status in 1998.
The nose of the wine is
replete with white flowers, peaches and citrus notes
that carry through on the palate but add a
distinctive, shale-like, minerally note that I love.
The crabs seemed to bring out a certain saline aspect
in the wine that was very mouthwatering and before I
knew it, almost half the bottle was gone before lunch! (Yes, it
was nap time on the beach afterwards.) Vinified
completely in stainless steel, this retains its
freshness from start to finish and is crisp, lively
and refreshing.
❖❖❖
Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com. The Hound in Heaven (21st Century Lion Books) is a novella, and for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas, romance, inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope you'll find this to be a treasured favorite. The story concerns how, after a New England teacher, his wife and their two daughters adopt a stray puppy found in their barn in northern Maine, their lives seem full of promise. But when tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and the spirit of Christmas are the only things that may bring his master back from the edge of despair. WATCH THE VIDEO! “What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw “He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human insight, soul searching, and deft literary strength that John Mariani pours into this airtight novella is vertigo-inducing. Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best comment.” – James Dalessandro, author of Bohemian Heart and 1906. “John Mariani’s Hound in Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal of an American family, along with the requisite dog. A surprise event flips the action of the novel and captures us for a voyage leading to a hopeful and heart-warming message. A page turning, one sitting read, it’s the perfect antidote for the winter and promotion of holiday celebration.” – Ann Pearlman, author of The Christmas Cookie Club and A Gift for my Sister. “John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella pulls a literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the cosmic and the intimate, the tragic and the heart-warming – a Christmas tale for all ages, and all faiths. Read it to your children, read it to yourself… but read it. Early and often. Highly recommended.” – Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling author of Pinkerton’s War, The Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road To Woodbury. “Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an animal. The Hound in Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing that is forged in the spiritual relationship between a man and his best friend. The book brings a message of hope that can enrich our images of family, love, and loss.” – Dr. Barbara Royal, author of The Royal Treatment. ❖❖❖
❖❖❖
FEATURED
LINKS: I am happy to report
that the Virtual
Gourmet is linked to four excellent
travel sites: Everett Potter's Travel Report: 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:
Eating Las Vegas
JOHN CURTAS has been covering the Las Vegas
food and restaurant scene since 1995. He is
the co-author of EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50
Essential Restaurants (the fourth
edition of which will be published in early
2016), as well as the author of the Eating Las
Vegas web site: www.eatinglasvegas.
He can also be seen every Friday morning as
the “resident foodie” for Wake Up With the
Wagners on KSNV TV (NBC) Channel 3 in
Las Vegas.
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John
Mariani.
Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani,
Robert Mariani, Misha
Mariani,
John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein,
Andrew Chalk, Dotty Griffith and Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Dargery, Bobby
Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.
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