MARIANI’S
Virtual
Gourmet
Joan Leslie and
James Cagney in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942)
❖❖❖ IN THIS ISSUE STAYING AND EATING IN SEDONA, ARIZONA By John Mariani NEW YORK CORNER FELICE 56 By John Mariani NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR PRUNOTTO—TUSCAN OWNERS OVERSEE LEGENDARY PIEMONTESE WINERY By John Mariani ❖❖❖ STAYING AND EATING IN SEDONA, ARIZONA By John Mariani ETCH at Auberge de Sedona Resort The marriage of a resort to a setting seems almost pre-ordained in Sedona, Arizona, owing to the grandeur of the red rock territory that surrounds it. Not to take full advantage of that grandeur would be difficult, for the spreading out of the mountains and mesas, the vibrancy of the colors that change from dawn through twilight, and a monumental scale that demands architectural respect would make any cookie-cutter resort or restaurant look ridiculous. HILTON SEDONA RESORT AT BELL ROCK 90 Ridge Trail Drive 928-284-4040 On a recent visit to the area I checked into the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock off Route 179, just outside the city of Sedona itself while offering easy proximity to the red rock countryside and a nearby golf course. With 221 rooms, including suites, every room looks out on those grand views, while inside there is a gas fireplace, two queen-size beds or one king bed, wet bar and 37-inch HDTV. Check-in is at an unusually inconvenient 4 p.m. On Friday evenings on the Porch Lawn, when the arching skies are clear, high-powered telescopes provided by Verde Valley Astronomy give you a view of stars that dwarfs even the enormity of the Arizona mountains. Jason Flores is the new chef at the indoor and outdoor restaurant called The Shadow Rock Tap + Table, whose name gives you an idea of its casual cast. The handsome bar takes up the majority of the interior, while outside on the porch, below strings of Edison lights, you can relax in Adirondack chairs near a pit fire and enjoy Flores’s very American menu, at pretty modest resort prices, beginning with Shares & Small Bites like lollipop chicken wings ($15) and juicy brisket “street” tacos ($15), then move on to a charbroiled strip steak or smoked short rib with Yukon mashed potatoes, garlic broccolini and amber ale jus ($32). The half roast Cornish game hen with pappardelle, roasted tomato, broccoli di rabe, toasted ricotta and saffron butter sauce ($32) is excellent. All the desserts I tried were original and outstanding, including a cinnamon roll in a Mason jar with caramel ice cream, spiced apples, rum caramel and whipped cream ($12); luscious dulce de leche cheesecake with pecan brittle, cinnamon dust and dulce de leche mousse ($10) and a s’mores skillet of rocky road ice cream, Hershey’s chunks, toasted marshmallows fluff and graham cracker crust ($10). (You can also make your own over the fire pit.)
ETCH 301 Little Lane 800-905-5745 The lead photo of this article shows the babbling beauty of Oak Creek, which runs past Etch, the restaurant at L’Auberge de Sedona, one of the first deluxe modern resorts in the region. On an early summer’s day I sat outside for a leafy and leisurely lunch that went considerably beyond the ordinary menu you might expect. Instead there were highly recommended dishes like citrus-poached prawn cocktail in a Bloody Mary sauce with frisée ($17) and wonderful artichoke bruschetta with boursin cheese, artichoke barigoule, sun-dried tomato and crunchy baguette ($16). Caramelized French onion dip sliders with garlic sausage, bread and a beef patty ($18) is fine for a full lunch course, as is the charred octopus seasoned with Southwest spices and served with shishito peppers and lemon van aigrette ($16). You can have a beef ($24) or bison ($25) burger with warm raclette cheese, or a crispy duck leg confit with peas, smoked bacon, parmesan and jibe berries ($36), ending off your meal with a “grand profiterole” fit for two with espresso crackle, Grand Marnier gelato, crushed Marcona almonds and citrus supremes ($11).
700 AZ-89A 929-862-4444 In so many ways Mariposa is settled into the Sedona landscape with true grace, for it takes full advantage of four panoramic views, foremost on its verandah, which is always packed with locals and visitors having cocktails and tapas while watching in awe the extraordinary sunsets. The interior’s own grandeur is in its latitudinal spaciousness, colors and woven textures that echo those of the hills and the Native-American motifs. The formidable doyenne of Mariposa is Lisa Dahl, who is as much a charmer as she is a feisty businesswoman with a large presence in the area over a twenty-year tenure as executive chef and owner of Mariposa and four other restaurants, employing more than 250 people. Coming from the Bay Area fashion world, she brought flair and personal style to everything she’s done, and it shows in the color and presentation of her menus. The wine list is 135 selections strong. The tapas selection seems almost as long, from mussels baked in a roasted tomato-white wine bouillabaisse finished with grilled chorizo, charred corn and grilled ciabatta ($18) to mushroom flatbread with caramelized onions, roasted garlic, Chèvre, Gorgonzola and white truffle oil ($16). The pulled pork tostadas ($17) are as good as any in the region, and the yellowfin poke with avocado, mango chile salsa, bibb lettuce, chipotle aïoli and crispy shoestring potatoes ($24) is a refreshing way to begin, along with a well-made margarita. Similar items are on the extensive appetizer menu, and the entrees are based on a wood-fired grill that include a meat trio ($58) of filet mignon, bone-in lamb lollipops, and spicy chorizo links, as well as New York strip and ribeyes. (Given Mariposa’s resolutely American menu, it’s odd to find Australian rather than American lamb.) The 34-ounce tomahawk ribeye ($115) with truffle butters and roasted mushrooms almost seems requisite at such a southwestern-influenced table. It comes at a fixed price of $175 for two (plus $35 for wine pairings) that begins with a tiger shrimp cocktail and chopped salads, then the steak, then mixed berries with Grand Marnier and lemon biscotti. All the main dishes come garnished, but the sides are well worth ordering, like “Lisa’s Lovely Lemon Mashed Potatoes” with arugula and almond or with lobster scampi ($11). Mariposa exemplifies the generosity and scale of Sedona, with no one leaving hungry or unsatisfied.
❖❖❖ NEW
YORK CORNER
By John Mariani FELICE
56
New
York has more than its share of posh, high-end
Italian restaurants, but Felice 56 is the first
of real significance since Lincoln Ristorante at
Lincoln Center opened ten years ago. (Last
year’s Leoni made an attempt in décor, but the
food fell well short.) Indeed, Felice 56, has
overcome the problems of a subterranean,
windowless space that used to house a dreary
David Chang restaurant through congenial
lighting, the drama of high ceilings and a
gorgeous landscape mural, making this one of the
most beautiful new restaurants in the city.
The designers created
drama by making the double staircase a shadowy
descent, opening onto a large room and dazzling
lounge done in soft leathers, oiled, stained wood,
white tablecloths and colorful area rugs, adding
palm trees in the middle of it all for extra
effect. The sound level is genteel. (Upstairs is a
pastry and coffee bar.)
The restaurant is part of SA Hospitality Group,
which also runs several Sant Ambroeus far more
casual eateries around town. One of the company’s
partners, Jacopo Giustiniani, contends Felice 56
is a “truly authentic Tuscan experience,” whatever
that means, for there are, happily, several
non-Tuscan dishes on the menu from other Italian
regions, like Rome’s cacio e pepe
and carbonara.
No
matter. The food here, under Executive Chef
Adrian Kercuku, is
excellent, from antipasti to dolci,
and pricing is not unreasonable for this degree of
sophistication and fine cuisine—no $30 risottos as
at Leonti or $37 pastas as at Ai Fiori or
outrageous $179 tasting menus at Del Posto. The
wine list is extensive and being built month by
month, with prices with rational mark-ups: a Grifi
Avignonesi we ordered at $70 goes for $35 in a
wine store.
A bottle of sparkling water for nine bucks
is, however, out of whack. Drink the New York tap
instead. When you sit
down you’ll have an array of freshly baked breads
to choose among, with Tuscan olive oil for
dipping.
Don’t ignore the appetizers here: Fritelle
(fritters) with prosciutto and ricotta proved
irresistible at our table ($17). Pop-in-the-mouth
crocchette
de riso ($15) are firm rice bites with
tomato and taleggio cheese, coated with
breadcrumbs. Battuta di
manzo (pricey at $27) is impeccably chopped
Black Angus beef with Parmigiano and mustard
seeds, and pristine fluke crudi
($21) with a citrus-pistachio pesto was superb.
Out-of-the-ordinary cheeses and charcuterie
($7-$13) like finocchiona
with fennel, Sienese salame,
and a creamy blu del
mugello, made from cow’s milk with
blueberries.
Each of the
pastas we tried was first-rate, all made on
premises, all perfectly cooked to the right
texture. That Roman cacio e pepe
($21) was made with thick tonnarelli
noodles napped with both pecorino and Parmigiano
and cracked black pepper. Pici
all’aglione ($19) is a short, egg-rich
Tuscan pasta with garlic sauce and roasted plum
tomatoes that gave it a smoky flavor, and pumpkin
pasta ($23) of poached butternut squash, crumbled
amaretti cookies, a reduction of red wine called saba and
Parmigiano ($36) was ideal for autumn. Each
night here is a special ravioli, made with fine,
delicately rolled pasta ($30). There’s also an
unusual pappardelle
al cacao ($25) made with cocoa nibs pressed into
the pasta, served with a lusty short-rib ragù,
Chianti-based tomato sauce, cracked black
peppercorns and rosemary.
Main courses stay true to the simplicity of
Italian secondi:
the branzino ($41) comes with tangy sun-dried
tomatoes, olives and a delightful almond pesto,
while braciola
di pollo ($28) is grilled pounded chicken
breast with oven-roasted pumpkin and heirloom
carrots. I was very pleased with an arrosto (roast
beef) in thin slices slowly cooked and served with
a cipollini
onion confit and aromatic herbs ($37). Given
its on-premises café, Felice 56 produces a wide
array of pastries, as well as gelati and
sorbetti brought
in from Sant Ambroeus. The torta della
nonna ($9)—“grandma’s tart”—couldn’t be
simpler, made from sugar dough, vanilla
cream and pine nuts, while, while fritelle di
bosco e zabaione is a lovely rendering of a
berry salad with whipped vin santo cream ($14),
and the zuccotto
($12) is an old-fashioned Florentine alchermes
cake with fior
di latte cream, orange confit and chocolate.
As
a fine ristorante
of real style and considerable finesse, Felice
56 joins Il Gattopardo, Barbetta, Lincoln, Ai
Fiori and Marea in New York’s top rank for Italian
cuisine. Nothing could be more welcome at a time
when too many New York trattorias are just going
through the motions. ❖❖❖ NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
PRUNOTTO—TUSCAN
OWNERS OVERSEE
By
John Mariani
The marriage of two
prestigious and expensive Piedmontese
products both harvested in autumn—Alba white
truffles and Barolo wines—is akin to serving
caviar with Champagne and foie gras with
Sauternes. So, beginning November 8 through
November 17, Prunotto Wines, Urbani
truffles, San Pellegrino, Wine
Enthusiast and Cucina
Italiana magazines are partnering in a
series of dinners at participating
restaurants in New York, Boston, Washington, Miami, Las
Vegas, Denver and San Francisco for a White
Truffle Festival 2019.
Urbani
was established in 1852 as an exporter of
truffles, while Prunotto dates to 1904 as a
producer of classic Barolos and Barbarescos. White
truffles, which are sniffed out by trained
hounds in Italy, haven’t changed in 150
years—though their worldwide popularity since
the 1980s has made them increasingly
expensive—while Barolo and Barbaresco have,
and Prunotto, known for being a traditionalist
winery in contrast to many who have
experimented with mixed results, has had its
ups and downs.
I recently had dinner in New York with
Prunotto’s current commercial manager,
Emanuele Baldi, who told me that in the 19th
century Barolo had been made as a sweet and “vivace”
(effervescent) wine, only becoming a dry wine
in the next century. In the past fermentation and
maceration could last up to two months, so
that in big vintages the alcohol level could
rise over 15%.
In 1904 a cooperative call Cantina Sociale “Ai
Vini delle Langhe” (Langhe is the region where
Barolo and Barbaresco are produced) met to
incorporate, with Alfredo Prunotto as a
witness. The first harvest took place a year
later, but the First World War seriously
impacted the Cantina’s ability to produce fine
wine, and, facing an uncertain economic
future, Prunotto and his wife, Luigina, took
over the control of the co-op and began
exporting their wines. Prunotto retired in
1956, ceding control to wine technicians Beppe
and Tino Colla, who soon began to identify the
better plots and terroirs within the region
for production of better wines, with a new
winery built in 1972.
The biggest change in the
winery’s history came when Tuscany’s wine
giant, the
Marchesi Antinori family, took on the
job of distributing Prunotto’s wines in 1989, then
bought the winery from the Colla brothers in
1994, at a time when the label’s reputation
had flagged. Under
Marchese Piero Antinori’s eldest daughter,
Albiera, further investigations of plots and
terroir were undertaken and land purchased (Prunotto
had prior to that bought all its grapes from
local growers), followed by the planting of
new varietals like Albarossa and Syrah and
crafting new white wines like Moscato d’Asti
and Arneis under the Prunotto label.
Identifying production areas in Bussia, Bussia
Vigna Colonnello, Costamiòle, Bansella, Bric
Turot, Pian Romualdo and Occhetti, the best,
healthiest clones were discovered. The old
100-hectoliter oak barrels were retired in
favor of four smaller sized barrels intended
to allow better monitoring of individual
vineyards’ potential and style. Cement vats
were replaced with stainless steel.
“Back in the 1980s young Piedmontese
winemakers began to travel and taste wines
from France and California,” said Baldi. “I
call them the `Barolo Boys,’ and they came
back to Piedmont with new ideas that Antinori
was able to finance.”
Comparing
Barolo
to orchestra stringed instruments, Baldi said,
“Today our Barolos might express different
weight and style. One might be a violin, one a
viola, another a double bass or a cello.”
Barolos are unlikely to ever be compared to
stringed instruments like a ukulele, harp or bouzouki—for such
a lighter style Prunotto has the white Moscato
d’Asti and Arneis. Barolos and Barbarescos
are based on the hefty Nebbiolo grape, known
for producing big, tannic, long-lived reds.
The name is believed to refer to the fog in
northern Italy called nebbia
that rolls in over the vineyards and has a
cooling effect on the grapes, and they ripen
late in the harvest season, coinciding with
the collecting of the white truffles.
Barolos, called the “King of Wines,” and their
counterpart Barbarescos, the “Queen,” need
time to mature, and Prunotto’s 2010 Barolo,
aged in French oak for 12 months, then an
additional year in bottle, now shows the power
of the Nebbiolo grape when softened by time,
and with just 13.5% alcohol you’ll get the
structure and complexity that defines the
varietal. The 2013 is very much the same,
perhaps a bit fruitier. Bussia Barolo 2010,
from an estate in use since 1961, had 24
months in barrel before a year in bottle,
and it’s a bolder style, but still only 13.5%
alcohol.
Those so-called Barolo Boys of
the 1980s recognized that Barolo could change
for the better, though I’ve also found that
too many producers who rushed into the Langhe
to buy property also rushed their viticulture
and viniculture, often producing
one-dimensional versions of Barolo. Prunotto,
once in danger of becoming backward-looking,
has instead brought its Barolos to the
prestigious heights that include the wines of
Angelo Gaja, Giacomo Conterno and Domenico
Clerico. It’s a classy place to be.
❖❖❖
❖❖❖
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 (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. Publisher: John Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani,
Robert Mariani, Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Gerry Dawes, Geoff Kalish,
and Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographer: Galina Dargery. Technical
Advisor: Gerry
McLoughlin. If you wish to subscribe to this
newsletter, please click here: http://www.johnmariani.com/subscribe/index.html © copyright John Mariani 2019 |