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  April 24, 2022                                                                                            NEWSLETTER



Founded in 1996 

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"FRUIT" By Roy Lichtenstein (1972)

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IN THIS ISSUE
FOR AMERICANS, IRELAND IS A FINE CHOICE
FOR A FIRST TRIP ABROAD

By John Mariani

NEW YORK CORNER
L'ABEILLE

By John Mariani

ANOTHER VERMEER
CHAPTER 16
By John Mariani


NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR

THE WINES OF RIBERA DEL DUERO
By Patricia Savoie



 




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On this week's episode of my WVOX Radio Show "Almost Golden," on Wed. April 27, I will be interviewing Susan Goldman Rubin, author of a biography of Paul Robeson. Go to: WVOX.com. The episode will also be archived at: almostgolden.






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FOR AMERICANS, IRELAND IS A FINE CHOICE
FOR A FIRST TRIP ABROAD
By John Mariani


Dunluce Castle


 

         As the world re-opens to much-missed tourism and Americans in particular are champing at the bit to travel abroad on trips delayed for more than two years, I myself had been turning over in my mind where I first wanted to go. Should I return to familiar favorites like France and Italy, or head for new, more exotic adventures? I put aside any notions of going to Eastern Europe for the obvious reason that Comrade Putin may well wish to extend his current botched mission in  Ukraine to other former Soviet countries. I was also somewhat loathe to get on an eight- to ten-hour flight anywhere, not least because of Covid restrictions and agonizing security measures.
      It made perfect sense, then, to return to Ireland, where I’d made many trips in the past, to see how a country bereft of tourism has fared now that it is open to everyone, without restrictions. The flight from New York is under seven hours, the ease of passage through customs easy and the Irish seem even more congenial than ever to receive their American friends.
The last quarter in Ireland’s hospitality industry has been promising, but there are still plenty of bargains on hotels in every price category.
      My itinerary was to arrive in Dublin, which I know quite well, and then on to Galway, which I know not at all. But I might as easily have followed the roads to wonderfully varied places like Waterford, Killarney, Sligo and up to Belfast, each with its own character.

      There are small villages of thatched roof houses evocative of The Quiet Man movie, and the barren landscapes range from rugged sea coasts with natural rock arrangements that seem created for a purpose, perhaps by Celtic giants or mermaids.  And there are unexpected formations as mystical and monolithic as any in Monument Valley or Australia’s Uluru, like Ben Bulben (below), where, wrote Yeats, “the Witch of Atlas knew.”

      Belfast in Northern Ireland has, of course, gained great attention from Kevin Branagh’s award-winning film of the same name, and it is a city with a history quite distinct from those of the Republic to the south.
       Let me make some general remarks about visiting Ireland right now, for I have many other articles I’ll be publishing about individual subjects in the weeks to come. First of all, the Irish obviously speak English, although depending on the class and county, the brogues can become thick as bark on a tree. But the people are always eager to help a tourist, usually with an infectious humor and curiosity about you. Tell a New York cabbie where you want to go, and you’ll have to listen to him jabber on his phone in an unidentifiable language; in Ireland the cabbie will invariably ask you where you’re from, engage in conversation and get you where you’re going with dispatch. Incidentally, a Dublin cabbie driving me to the airport apologized for the “rush hour traffic as bad as London’s,” which made me laugh and tell him, “This is what you call traffic? In New York this would be Sunday afternoon!”
       In a smaller city like Galway there is no question you can ask a local anything about the landscape for which he or she has a ready answer, even if it’s to dissuade you from wasting your time going to this or that site.
       For the time being, Ireland is not close to being overrun with tourists (although on visiting Trinity University in late afternoon we found the day’s tickets to see the Library’s Long Room and Book of Kells [right] all sold out), and you’re likely to find as many Irish-American visitors on the  streets as natives. Of course, ever since the famine of the 1840s that sent millions of Irish to America and Australia while millions more starved to death at home, there are still fewer Irish in Dublin than there are in New York, and the population—whose Catholic dominance preached the gospel to increase and multiply among the poorest—has been shrinking.
      Indeed, it is well to recognize that that iron-clad Church dominance has only recently been de-fanged in the 21st century. Divorce has only been allowed since 1995. More than a century ago James Joyce railed against the straitjacket that the Catholic church bound its people within, writing, “We have had too much God in Ireland. Away with God!”
    
Yet, even within one generation, and after surviving the elation of the Celtic Tiger boom years between 1995 and 2007, when the country’s GDP rose 229%, followed by the crash of 2008, when it fell by 7.1%, anyone who has not been to Ireland in a while will sense a buoyant spirit among its youth. While happily clinging to the old traditions of their rich culture, they are now as tech savvy and well-traveled as any in Europe.  In his new book  We Don't Know Ourselves A Personal History of Modern Ireland (Liveright) Fintan O’Toole relates the sad and calamitous episodes of Irish history with characteristic Irish wit, not least how the Irish sidestepped ridiculous Catholic rules of moral behavior.  “The law of God was not defied,” O’Toole writes. “It was dodged.”
      He also zeroes in on how, for the Irish who had been through so much, “To be normal was a wonder that deserved celebration. This, I think, was what really changed: ordinary Catholics realized that, when it came to lived morality, they were way ahead of their teachers.”
      Freedom has translated into normalcy, and you feel it everywhere in Ireland, while the old lore, the fiddle tunes and vibrant pubs still flourish, so that a group like the Corrs can join in on a session with The Chieftains (right), while Bono and U2 have achieved an international status comparable to Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones.
       As I shall have great reason to relate in future stories, Ireland’s food scene has never been better by European standards, with a generation of well-trained and self-taught chefs utilizing the astounding bounty of the Irish coastline and sea, while its farmers raise superb lamb and chickens and dairies turn out superb cheeses with their own character.
      A few notes on the mundane: Prices in the major cities like Dublin are comparable to those on the continent, and Ireland uses the euro, against which the US dollar currently competes fairly well. As for tipping, it is never refused but not always expected. In taxis you might round off the fare; in restaurants there is often a service charge, so no need to tip further; if not, ten to 15 percent is fine. Chambermaids can, of course, always use the cash at the end of your stay. By tradition, one does not tip at a bar.
      Driving on what Americans consider the “wrong side of the road” is, to my mind, fraught with danger. I once rented a car in Ireland and within a block had snapped off my left rear view mirror and the next day the right one. The trains are modern, comfortable, fast, run on time and are fairly inexpensive.
      There are, as noted, no Covid restrictions to enter Ireland, but be well aware that the US requires travelers coming back to get a Covid test (available at pharmacies) 24 hours in advance of your flight. You can also get tested at the airport, but leave plenty of time for that alternative. If you test positive, you will have to spend up to nine days in quarantine in your hotel.
       On the other hand, one of the nicer aspects of returning to the US from Ireland is that you go through customs at the Dublin airport. This once took mere minutes but now there’s a lot of rigmarole and snaking lines and a second security check, but once you land at JFK you just walk off the plane, pick up your luggage and exit as if you’d just flown in from Cincinnati.  

 



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NEW YORK CORNER


L'ABEILLE

412 Greenwich Street
212-542-3898


By John Mariani
Interior and food photos by Nicole Franzen
Photo of chef by Melanie Dunea



 

         It may not be true in most U.S. major cities these days, but New York has never ceased to enjoy the flow of elegant, serious new restaurants despite the limitations of the pandemic. Just in the past year the city has seen the opening of Daniel Boulud’s Le Pavillon, the soaring Cucina 8 ½ and Brazilian-Italian import Fasano, the New York branch of Tokyo’s Serashina Horii, as well as other recent eclectic newcomers like Frevo and Wicked Jane, all now joined by the enchanting new L’Abeille.
        Located on a very quiet cobblestone street in TriBeCa that wailing police cars and ambulances do not traverse, it is one long room with French windows, a compact boxwood and marble bar and beautiful golden lighting—particularly so now that the days grow longer and the forsythia is in bloom—including small lamps on the tables, wide plank floors, an air duct cannily turned into a decorative element, superbly comfortable chairs and moss green velvet booths.        Brazilian designer Marta Carvalho has done the opposite of what so many restaurateurs and designers fail to accomplish (or disregard)—a room with a very tall ceiling whose baffling makes it wholly easy to converse at the tables without raising one’s voice by a decibel. Add to this the decision not to have music of any kind playing and you’ll feel that this is what civilized dining is all about, not the cacophony of most modern dining spaces but an oasis of calm where the only sound is that of genial people enjoying each other’s company.
     As is so often the case in fine restaurants, L’Abeille’s women patrons enjoy dressing well in such an ambience, while among their male friends hoodies and t-shirts abound, in contrast to the dark suits worn by a very capable staff. They are led by the lovely Satomi Takagi and beverage director John Mckenna, who has stocked an outstanding, if pricey, wine list.
     
L’Abeille is French for “bee” and a Japanese pun on chef-owner Mitsunobu Nagae’s name. He and partner Rahul Saito shared the same belief that New York would adopt an elegant but unpretentious French restaurant of a kind the four-year-old, immensely popular Le CouCou is.
     Born in Japan, Mitsunobu moved to Lyon, France, to attend culinary school at the esteemed Tsuji Culinary Institute and was inspired by master chef Joël Robuchon’s cuisine. His first chef position was at Régis et Jacques Marcon in Saint-Bonnet-le-Droid, then Le Doyen in Paris, before joining Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon in Tokyo, becoming a trusted lieutenant at L’Atelier Joël Robuchon in New York (now closed).
   
There are two menus at L’Abeille: a $180 seven-course tasting menu (with wine $95 extra) and an à la carte menu at $125.  Since my wife and I wished to taste as many dishes as possible without both being served the same meal, the chef was good enough to swap from both menus, beginning with pop-in-the-mouth fried balls oozing lobster and béchamel, then a luscious foie gras crème brûlée topped with sweet onion ice cream. I could tell this was going to be a meal special for both its rigorous understanding of French technique and a modern sensibility.
      Two kinds of good bread come with soy butter (even better had it not been soy). There was also a creamy disc of foie gras torchon with caramelized mango and a delightfully spicy chutney that went very well with both an Alsatian Pinot Gris and a Chablis.
     Next were translucent raw scallops with a beet gazpacho and makrut lime oil, the kind of dish that might well be found at Le Bernardin or Nobu. Nubbins of very tender poached lobster meat in a vanilla dressing with rosemary and nutmeg are a homage to Alain Senderens, who created the idea three decades ago at Lucas Carton.  Mitsunobu sides it with gnocchi and a large spoon of caviar. Lobster also is grilled with Madeira-scented croquettes, the just-arrived fat white asparagus and a lovely green pea foam. 
 
    I haven’t seen tilefish in a while on menus, and I forgot what a pleasant texture its flesh has, here pan-fried crisp in a ruddy reduction of a bouillabaisse sauce, added to with a fennel puree, potato and lemon, which was a lot for the fish to cope with.
     Roast pigeon was perfectly rosy with a skin glazed with miso to give it a nice saline touch and color, lashed with a bourbon sauce, while American wagyu beef of very good quality (meaning not cloyingly fatty) had a Madeira sauce tinged with coffee and a side of spring’s new  asparagus.
     For dessert we had a chocolate blanc and orange flower blossom with burnt honey ice cream (right), ending off with cookies and jelly candy.          
  The Robuchon effect on Mitsunobu is evident in the intelligence of flavor pairings and lightness of the food, even in a seven-course meal. Some of Mitsunobu’s Japanese heritage also comes through, of course, just as Asian flavors have become ubiquitous in French cuisine all over the world now. Open just two weeks, L’Abeille is clearly drawing a crowd with both enough curiosity and money to enjoy an experience that, if rare elsewhere these days, is very much an ongoing part of what gives New York a special cachet. It is a restaurant to be taken seriously without straining to seem anything more than genially refined in its personalized cuisine and carefully cadenced hospitality.

 

L’Abeille is open for dinner Tues.-Sat.

 

 

 



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ANOTHER VERMEER

By John Mariani



To read previous chapters of ANOTHER VERMEER, go to the archive
 
CHAPTER SIXTEEN


         The group parted and promised to keep each other in their respective loops.  Katie and David left the campus, went across Fordham Road and had dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant on Arthur Avenue.

         Sitting side by side on a banquette at Mario’s, over linguine with clams and a thick veal chop, with a Barbera d’Alba red wine, they hashed over all they had taken in that afternoon.  David hadn’t had time at the conference room to show Katie the list of potential buyers, so he took it out of the folder and placed it in front of them. Seven names, in random order, with an eighth scratched out—the late Ryoei Saito—with a note “Deceased March 1997.”  The other names, with notations, read:

           Igor Stepanossky, Russian oil magnate, probably connected to Russian Mafia

           Nicholas Danielides, Greek shipping magnate

           Hai Shui, Taiwanese petro-chemical magnate

           Jan Dorenbosch, Dutch pharmaceutical magnate

           Harry Balaton, Las Vegas casino owner

         • João Correia, Brazilian, controls 90% of lumber operations in the Amazon rain forests

           Leonard Louden, head of the Lavande cosmetics fortune.

         “So our boy Balaton made the list, but not Steve Wynn,” noted Katie. 
       “From what we gathered from Wynn I don’t think he’s yet in this league,” David said.  “And Balaton said he was making no commitment yet. Did you research any of these other guys?”
         “A couple. Dorenbosch and Danielides. They both have extraordinary collections of Old Masters. I’ll have to research the others, particularly the Chinese tycoon, Mr. Shui.  It’s interesting he’s in Taiwan, not mainland China or Hong Kong, where a lot of the Chinese art market is centered. Do you think there’s a connection between him and the writing on the painting?”
         “I really don’t have a clue,” said David. “It sounds far-fetched.”
         “You never ran across Shui’s name when you were investigating the Chinese mobs in New York?”
         “Not that I recall. I didn’t really work that territory. My focus was the Italian mobs, and there was next-to-no contact between the Italians and the Chinese, especially after the Chinese bought up most of the real estate in Little Italy.”
         “Yeah, I know,” said Katie. “Half the signs down there now are in Chinese. Okay, so we’ll scratch that connection off.”
         “You really are drawn to conspiracy theories, aren’t you? You want there to be a sinister plot afoot in this story.”
         Katie laughed and said, “Don’t you? It’s a better story when there are nefarious deeds being committed. And a lot of the guys on this list don’t sound like they have many scruples.”
         “Probably not, and to tell you the truth, unless that becomes apparent pretty soon, I’m not sure how much more I can help on this . . . I almost said, case. Without this whole thing being a swindle or somebody getting whacked, I’m in way over my head discussing Dutch trading posts and Latin letters, which is the stuff you love to investigate.”
         “Yeah, I do,” she said, sipping the wine, “all of which is to me like a puzzle, even a mystery.  But, listen, look how we started out with the Capone story. He’d stolen the gold from the Feds fifty years ago. It was a whaddaya call it—a cold case?—and the problems we had with those criminals later on was like a byproduct.”
         “I just don’t feel I can take McClure’s money if I’m not really helping you, Katie.”
         She leaned back and smiled. “First of all, crime or not, you’ve been invaluable so far.  And who was it in that conference room who asked the question about the J and the G and the I?  That flicked a switch for everyone at that table. It led to alternative readings and paths to follow.”
         “Well, O.K., if you don’t think I’m ripping off the magazine.”
         “David, you are my researcher and you’re a damn good one.  I need you to get to the people I don’t even know exist, like the people at the F.B.I. and Interpol.”
         It was just what David wanted to hear, because it meant he would be with Katie as long as this story played out.

      

 
"Water Lilies" by Claude Monet

         It was now mid-October and there was no further word about the Vermeer in the media for the next week, so Katie had plenty of time to research the seven billionaires who might bid on it when it came up for auction.  Again and again she turned over the thought that there was not a single museum in the world that could afford to buy the painting but that there were scores of private individuals who had the resources to do so. Not even the Getty could match the financial resources of the billionaire collectors like entertainment mogul David Geffen of whom one despairing museum curator said, “Ninety-eight percent of Geffen’s collection should be in a museum. Museums salivate over that collection.”
         Even narrowed down to a list of seven potential bidders, the idea seemed the height of folly and sheer ego rather than mere greed. But then she knew that in the art world, it is very rare that a work like this would ever lose value, so that these same billionaires could sell it for millions more whenever they chose to.
         She’d learned through interviews with gallery owners and the art media that there are always iconic paintings—Gauguin’s Tahiti, Monet’s water lilies, Warhol’s Marilyn Monroes—that are passionately pursued by those with the money and patience to wait until they come to market.  Just weeks before, the chairman of New York’s Museum of Modern Art paid $50 million for the Still Life, Flowered Curtain, and Fruit (left) by Cézanne in a private deal through a Paris dealer representing an unidentified seller.
         A Miami collector told Katie over the phone, “We all have our wish lists, but we don’t go around talking about them. It gets in the way of our getting the work. We hope that when our friends die, their children won’t like their art. Those are our silent wishes.”
         She also learned that a 1654 Rembrandt portrait of a man named Jan Six (right) was considered the most wanted Old Master in private hands—the Six family itself in Amsterdam, which had had it for 300 years—valued at $150 million.
         Artists and artistic periods might rise or fall in favor, and styles go out of fashion, but with the Impressionists, as one gallery owner told Katie, “Whenever someone goes out on a limb and pays an unprecedented price for an outstanding work, the market always seems to catch up and exceed it.”




©
John Mariani, 2016



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NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR


    THE WINES OF RIBERA DEL DUERO
By Patricia Savoie




      While I knew something of Spain’s Ribera wine region, being there and visiting a dozen wineries—most of which I had not heard of—was like discovering a new wine area. I recently spent a week as a guest of the Spanish wine association of the Ribera del Duero region.
      Ribera del Duero has long been overshadowed by the neighboring Rioja wine region to its north, but the wines are as good or even better in many cases. The best known wines from the region are Vega Sicilia and Pesquera. But a raft of newer wineries has emerged in the past couple of decades, and they are making some outstanding wines.
      The region is one of many wine-producing areas that inhabit the banks of the Duero River, which also flows through Portugal to the Atlantic. Wine has been made there for more than 2000 years, but the region didn’t get its official Denominacion de Origin until 1982.  It is about 40 miles north of Madrid on the elevated northern plateau.
      Weather is low rainfall, with long hot summers followed by hard, cold winters with temperatures often in the freezing range. The Tempranillo grape, which accounts for about three-quarters of Ribera’s production, flourishes in these extremes.
      Ribera has some of the oldest vines you will find. Some are an astounding 150 to 200 years of age. And a large share of the vines are grown without the training wires seen in so many wine regions. Field after field of vines standing on their own, called head trained or bush trained, or in French, gobelet.

      Ribera del Duero wines are almost exclusively red, though some wineries are now producing creditable whites from the Verdejo and Albillo grapes. Any Verdejo wines produced by individual wineries are not classified as a Ribera del Duero DO, where the only authorized white grape is Albillo Mayor.  As mentioned, the red is mainly Tempranillo, which is locally called Tinto Fino. Interestingly, more wineries are now dropping the Tinto Fino name in favor of Tempranillo (right), which is more recognized in export markets.

 

Bodegas Comenge 

A family-owned winery that prides itself on innovation, their vineyards are certified organic by EU. Their white Verdejo ($20)is floral with tropical fruit and good acidity. Very interesting is the 100% Albillo white, for which some of the grapes are frozen before pressing. The Carmen rosé combines the Albillo with Tempranillo. The El Origin is still made with purchased grapes; it’s juicy with good acidity. The Don Miguel ($60) was a favorite of our group of journalists. A touch of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend made for a deep, plum and chocolate nose, strong minerality and velvety tannins. Both the Familia Comenge and the Jacobus are aged (24 months and 42 months) in new French oak. Both are lovely wines.

 

Bodega S. Arroyo

Located in the heart of the Ribera del Duero region, they produce about 500,000 bottles a year, mainly red wines. On their 22 acres of vineyards, of which half are in head-trained vines, they combine state-of-the-art technology with a traditional winemaking approach. The Tinto Arroyo Roble ($15) has a raspberry nose and is a good introduction to the winery. Their Crianza ($26) has nice depth, while the Reserva ($35) has dark cherry and coffee notes. Their Gran Reserva ($150)is a knock-out, with black and red berries and a hint of smoke and spices.

 

Ferratus

Maria Luisa Cuevas, supported by her father and brother in this family wine business, conceived, constructed and personally manages all aspects of production. The winery is 100% energy self-sufficient (solar panels) and renewable. In the past twenty years it has become a benchmark for wines in the DO Ribera del Duero. Many of their 86 acres are planted in vines over 60 years old and at altitudes above 2,800 feet. The Ferratus AO ($20) is fruity, while the Origen ($30) is dense but soft. The Sensaciones ($37) is made from grapes from a single vineyard and shows dark berries and caramel notes. Top-of-the-line Fusiona ($34) gets 20 months in oak barrels; it’s an intense wine with balsamic and tobacco notes.

 

Protos

The first (1927) and one of the largest wineries in the region, this sleek, modern winery sits over miles of caves dating back to the 1500s. Their wines are well known in the US. The white Verdejo ($13) has a tropical fruit aroma with crisp acidity. The rosé, Aire de Protos ($14), is a light copper color with strawberry and floral aromas. Their Tinto Fino ($16) is their leading wine popular in the US. Both the Crianza  ($25) and the Reserva ($35) come from older vines and show soft tannins and spice.

 



Bodega Vina Sastre

Its 56 acres of head-trained vines averaging over 60 years in age produce a range of wines from the crisp white Flavus, made from the local grape variety Cayetana Blanca, to the delicious Crianza ($35) from 70-plus-year vines, and the excellent Pago de Santa Cruz Gran Reserva ($77). They also make a red blend, Pesus, which retails for around $700 a bottle here.

 

Bodega Valduero

Founded in 1984 by the Garcia-Viadero sisters, it cultivates the largest number of head-trained vines, most at high altitudes. The white, fruity Valduero Blanco is made from old Albillo Mayor vines which they rescued. The reds are consistently lush, soft and drinkable. They include the Una Cepa ($47), the Alta En 2 Maderas ($29), which is aged three years in two different types of oak, and the 6 Años ($89), a Gran Reserva level wine which is aged six years.

 

Bodega Severino Sanz

Founded by three brothers, the winery owns 60 acres of vines, much of it Tempranillo that are over 100-years old. The Muron rosé from Tempranillo has lots of fruit and nice balance. The red Muron Crianza is laden with red and black fruit. The Una Cepa, aged a year in oak, shows the same fruits with coffee notes. The Herencia de Llanomingomez aged a year in oak, shows the same fruits with coffee notes.

 

 

Pago de Carraovejas

Founded by an award-winning sommelier in the 1970s, its 554 acres are at 2,900 feet altitude. . The subtle, entrancing Capitel Verdejo comes  from vines that average 100 years (but up to 250) of age. The Ossian ($45) and Quintaluna ($30)Verdejos are less complex, but fine for daily drinking. The red Milsetentayseis 1076 ($85), a blend of grapes grown at 1076 meters (3,500 feet), is balanced and fresh with lots of fruit and floral notes.

 

 

Bodega Fuentespina

With 1,240 acres of vines, this is one of the larger wineries. Average vine age is 35 years, but many are over 100 years. The white Verdejo Circe is from these oldest vines and has great pedigree. The 3 Meses ($12) is an easy wine which spends three months in oak. The F de Fuentespina ($44) is made from grapes from the oldest vines and aged in three different types of French oak. The top-of-the-line Reserva ($30) has spice and chocolate in the nose.

 




 



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BLOCK THOSE METAPHORS!


“A steakhouse offers chefs creativity because of the strictures of the genre, not despite them. A chef opens a steakhouse for the same reason Lady Gaga records a Christmas album or Dylan Thomas writes a villanelle or Jasper Johns paints a flag."— Joshua David Stein  "The New Golden Age of the American Steakhouse," Esquire May 2022

 

 
























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 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.




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The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink by John F. Mariani (Bloomsbury USA, $35)

Modesty forbids me to praise my own new book, but let me proudly say that it is an extensive revision of the 4th edition that appeared more than a decade ago, before locavores, molecular cuisine, modernist cuisine, the Food Network and so much more, now included. Word origins have been completely updated, as have per capita consumption and production stats. Most important, for the first time since publication in the 1980s, the book includes more than 100 biographies of Americans who have changed the way we cook, eat and drink --from Fannie Farmer and Julia Child to Robert Mondavi and Thomas Keller.


"This book is amazing! It has entries for everything from  `abalone' to `zwieback,' plus more than 500 recipes for classic American dishes and drinks."--Devra First, The Boston Globe.

"Much needed in any kitchen library."--Bon Appetit.




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,  The Modern, and Maialino.

                                                                             






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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." 






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,  Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Gerry Dawes, Geoff Kalish. Contributing Photographer: Galina Dargery. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.

 

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