NOW'S THE BEST TIME TO VISIT NANTUCKET
PART ONE
By John Mariani
WHAT IS BON
APPETIT MAGAZINE TRYING TO SELL US?
By John Mariani
NEW YORK CORNER
REGENCY BAR & GRILL
By John Mariani
NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
WHAT I'M DRINKING THIS SUMMER
By John Mariani
❖❖❖
NOW'S
THE BEST TIME
TO VISIT NANTUCKET
Part One
By John Mariani
“Ant-hill in
the sea,” Herman Melville called it.
“A mere
hillock, and elbow of sand ... Some gamesome wights
will tell you that they have to plant weeds there
... That pieces of wood in Nantucket are carried
about like bits of the true cross in Rome; that
people there plant toadstools before their houses,
to get under the shade in summer time; that one
blade of grass makes an oasis, three blades in a
day's walk a prairie.”
That was back in 1851.
Times have certainly changed. For, despite
very strict landmark and preservation commissions
that dictate the shape, colors and shingles of all
structures and prohibit national chains from opening
downtown (though somehow a Ralph Lauren boutique
slipped in), Nantucket was planted and landscaped a
long time ago. In summer it can be as crowded
as Disneyland; in winter, as dreary as
Lapland.
The best time to go is
from now until November (when many hotels and
restaurants close). The tourist season is still high
right now, but those one-time visitors and
day-trippers have slackened off.
Given the fact that
Nantucket is both difficult and expensive to get to
and because everything on the island is shipped in,
this is a pricey destination, and as such, the
entrepreneurs and restaurateurs have to make their
money fast and in volume. As one told me, “During
the season every night is Saturday night for us.”
The most
splendid resort outside of the congested downtown is
The Wauwinet Inn,
in its present form for 26 years, but with a history
as an inn since 1875, named after a local Indian
chief, this at a time when the steamship fare was 50
cents and a shore dinner 75 cents. Today owned
by the Karp family, The Wauwinet is, if preciously
so, the epitome of New England island elegance. And
the restaurant here, Toppers (right), claims a consistent spot
on everyone’s list of favorites.
Although they
were serving a Sunday “Bubble Brunch” at Toppers, I
was able to avoid the clichés of that
in-between meal by going straight for the tart
flambé ($17) slathered with
crème fraîche and piled with sweet
onions, crisp lardons of bacon and a bubbly layer of
Gruyère on a fine pastry crust. Also
delicious was the Wauwinet turkey hash ($19), an
abundance of poultry meat with two eggs, mushrooms,
peppers, red bliss potatoes, a rich chicken
velouté and caramelized onions.
I could hardly
resist trying the lobster roll ($28) on a brioche
bun with Boston Bibb lettuce, pickles and the
delectable addition of a brown butter mayo (below) that
made it just different enough from most others.
Hand-cut French fries were crisp and greaseless
beside the lobster roll. Indeed, frying seems
a bonafide virtue in this kitchen, for its fish and
chips was so good I asked for the recipe.
Start with great fish, it’s tough to fail. With a glass of Corton
Rognet 2005 and a breeze off the water, life
was very good that afternoon. The Wauwinet, by
the way, has one of the finest wine lists in the
nation to go with Chef Kyle Zachary’s American menu.
And for
dessert--though they are part of the brunch
starters--have the cinnamon sugared churros fritters
($10) with a dark chocolate sauce. Then
linger.
The
Wauwinet is located at 120 Wauwinet Rd;
508-228-8768. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
Sunday brunch.
.
Oddly enough, it’s tough to
find really good restaurants on the Nantucket
seaside, but Cru
(below) is
easily the best. It’s always jammed and
managing partner Jane Stoddard is always there to
direct an amiable crew on how best to appeal to a
casual, hungry crowd willing to splurge on a bottle
of Champagne.
You can dine
inside or out, but the sea will always be within
view and you’re surrounded by worn docks, bobbing
boats and colored sails, so you get the
quintessential Nantucket experience at Cru.
That is, except for the pounding music they play in
the restaurant unnecessarily.
I had an
outstanding lunch here, via Chef Erin Zircher,
beginning with devilishly good hush puppies ($7)
with a tender pâte choux pastry. There
are also at least a half dozen species of oysters.
Seafood salad ($20) was as fresh and sunny as the
sea itself (below),
a smoked fish dip comes with cucumber, radish and
grilled focaccia ($14), and fried Ipswich clams
($24) with a Meyer lemon tartar sauce are kept
creamy in texture and crisp on the outside.
Sea scallops and white anchovy ($26) with chickpeas
and chickpea panissa
logs with red peppers and green beans manifests a
kitchen dedicated to pristine freshness.
Cru serves its
lobster roll ($28) cold, which is the way a lot of New
Englanders like it, so who am I to argue about such
a huge amount of lobster packed into a good
roll? If I like mine warm, so be it.
I finished off
with a finely textured Key lime pie in a jar.
Cru
is located at 1 Straight Wharf; 508-228-9278; Open
for lunch and dinner daily.
Possibly
the most evocative meal I had on a summer’s evening
was at the renowned American Seasons, (left) whose
dining rooms, both inside and out, pretty much nail
down the word “cozy” to a tee. But it’s a very
well wrought coziness, via lighting at its most
romantic, slatted ceiling, bare tables, candles in
wind funnels, and nature murals of more than a
little interest, as is the menu, which is definitely
not traditional Nantucket. Chef Michael LaScola draws from many nations
for recipes, but they are always very much his own
ideas; his wife, Orla Murphy, oversees a 500-label
wine list of small producers.
I let myself be
guided by Orla’s recommendations and ate widely
across the menu, beginning with a fine chicken and
carrot terrine with lovely zucchini fritters and
tangy-sweet apricot slaw ($16.50). Spicy but not too hot kimchi
pancakes ( $16.50) made with succulent pork belly,
smoked shrimp and sesame dressing might have come
from the best Korean restaurant in Boston, while
tilefish---a species often in need of help to bring
it alive--got plenty of enhancement from smoked
tomato grits, bacon succotash and buttered corn
broth ($34).
What distinguishes
all of Chef Michael's food is an exceptional
attention to contrasting flavors and, especially,
textures, so you always get a taste of salty and
savory, briny and tangy, along with crispiness and
spark. Portions are also very generous.
The crowd, by the
way, knows precisely what is meant by the owners’
request for “casual, proper attire -- No jackets or
ties required.” This is not a place to play the
beach bum.
American
Seasons
is located at 80 Center St; 508-228-7111. Dinner
nightly.
Part Two of this article will appear August 31.
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WHAT IS BON
APPÉTIT MAGAZINE
TRYING TO SELL US?
By John Mariani Is this a Bon Appetit food critic?
The
announcement of the 50 nominees for the best
restaurants of 2014 in Bon Appétit magazine is,
not for the first time, cause for gourmets,
gastronomes, connoisseurs and foodies to scratch
their heads in wondering what the magazine is
trying to tell--or sell--us about the state of
dining out in America. And what it tells us is
that, unless yours is a restaurant that is very
edgy, cheaply decorated in worn-out
clichés, often highly uncomfortable, and
largely ego driven, you haven’t a chance of
getting onto such a list. Now, let me say straight
away and loudly--and I will repeat this throughout
this article: I am in no way criticizing the food in
these restaurants, largely because I have not eaten
in every one. I have, however, dined in many
of them, lavished praise on several, and put some of
these same restos on my own list of Esquire’s Best
New Restaurants in America.
No one has more respect
than I do for the hard work and creativity that goes
into opening and maintaining a restaurant in America
these days. Nor am I questioning the taste of the Bon Appétit writers
who searched far and wide, at some expense, for
their nominees.
What I am questioning is
what clearly appears to be an attitude problem here,
one that glorifies novelty, youth, eccentricity and
hipsterism for their own sake, while ignoring the
excellence of those veteran restaurateurs who still
believe in setting a good table, offering unique
design and décor--often to the tune of
millions of dollars--pouring significant capital
into an enduring wine list of depth and breadth,
hiring a chef who deserves to be paid top dollar for
his experience and ability to run a professional
kitchen, a service staff that sees to every aspect
of their clientele’s comfort, then charges a fair
price for the quality level of the entire dining
experience.
Walk into any of BA’s nominated
restos and you won’t find any décor by Adam
Tihany or David Rockwell. In most you won’t
find widely separated tables--forget entirely about
now anathema tablecloths!--or fine china and
silverware. You won’t find a pleasingly
dressed wait staff. Instead, you will find a
banality of design clichés--exposed brick and
duct work, hanging exposed light bulbs, antique
tiles, salvaged wood, old counter
stools--that were new-ish ideas a decade ago.
You’ll find cramped quarters, diner counters with
backless stools that don't spin, ear-splitting
noise, crappy music, hour-long waits,
no-reservations policies, a wine stock made to last
no more than a month, and a staff, however amiable,
wearing whatever they felt like that morning.
And that's
what you're paying top dollar for.
The argument goes that
one shouldn’t care about any of that if the
food is "freaking" good. And, again: I am in no way
criticizing the food in these restaurants, although,
perusing many of the menus from the list, I have to
wonder if those with three items as main courses,
one of them a salad, another a hamburger, really
rise to the ideal of “best.” Maurice in
Portland, OR, is a bakeshop and luncheonette; Thai-Kun (right) in
Austin is a food court; Palace Diner (below) is,
well, a diner; Rose’s
Meat Market & Sweet Shop (above) in
Durham, NC, is a sandwich spot--“not actually a
restaurant,” says BA--The London Plane
in Seattle is a grocery with lunch items. Do
these really qualify as candidates for the best
restaurants of 2014?
Yet
you’ll pay as much or only slightly less for the
food at these places as you would at a restaurant
that spent heavily on décor, staff, kitchen
and amenities, often in very high-rent
neighborhoods. For instance, BA’s choice
of Coltivare Pizza &
Garden in Houston (which takes no
reservations) charges $30 for pork with creamer
peas, corn, tomato broth and peaches. Odd Duck in
Austin charges $41 for lamb shoulder with chickpeas,
yogurt and naan.
At High Street Market
in Philadelphia, with its coffee shop booths and
backless stools, you’ll pay $22 for tortelloni with
asparagus, guanciale
and vegetable ragôut.
The $10 dessert is now ubiquitous. These
prices are high, and included in them may be
cheap wine glasses or Mason jars, paper napkins, tin
ware, mismatched china, Formica tabletops, dime
store salt and pepper shakers, a single washroom for
both sexes, and nothing to buffer the noise.
Quaint and casual shouldn't cost so damn much.
Yet the same people who rave over
High Street Market's $22 tortelloni balk at paying $25 for
the tortelloni
with robiola, mascarpone, asparagus and basil at the
very elegant Ristorante
Morini in NYC, or the risotto with imported
scallops, shrimp, lobster, clams, cuttlefish and
octopus for $24 while lounging in a cabana at the
very posh Bartolotta
in Las Vegas (below).
These large restaurants, by the way, are as jammed
as any on BA’s
list of places with six stools.
What BA is pushing
is an agenda that insists fine dining is either
dead, no fun or simply transformed into anything at all
as long as it tastes
"freaking" good. One has to wonder if the words
“fine,” “refinement” and “exquisite” mean more to BA’s writers
than their overuse of worn-out phrases like “really
tasty,” “seriously delicious,” “outrageously
delicious,” “heavy on indulgence, luxury, and--of
course--deliciousness,” “the whole experience is a
trip,” “beyond satisfying,” “as right now as it
gets,” “couldn't feel more of the moment,” “awesome
cocktails,” “watch the chefs do their thing” and
“manages to marry sophisticated techniques with a
dorm-room stoner's idea of flat-out
deliciousness.” They sound like what you might
have read in TheVillage Voice
back in 1968.
Such hipster prose
is hardly surprising since, as the director of one
city’s tourist board told me, “The Bon Appetit writer
who came to town told me he didn't want to eat
anywhere the chef didn’t have tattoos.” I don't
think he was kidding. Indeed, it appears that if a
restaurant has any pretensions at all to elegance,
subtlety, refined and beautiful design, an
experienced staff and a great wine list, BA has next to
no interest in it. Where are superb new
restaurants like NYC’s Bâtard, Rôtisserie Georgette
and Beautique
(below),
where the staff is in designer outfits, the china is
by Vera Wang and the seat fabrics by Jean-Paul
Gaultier? Fiola
Mare in DC, which has a glass wall and
verandah over the Potomac, gorgeous marble bar,
roomy banquettes, and tufted, turning stools with
backs? Marti’s
in New Orleans, with its historic murals, swag
curtains and exquisite chandeliers? St. Cecilia in
Atlanta, with soaring ceilings, gorgeous leather
booths, and first-rate wine list? They likely were
not considered because they don’t fit the funky cool
mold. Even "casual chic" has become a suspect
term. True, you can't eat the furniture but
dining in such places is not an ordeal and you pay
accordingly for the fine cuisine and decor, as you
would for a Zegna suit or Ferragamo loafers.
The BA restaurants are more the equivalent of $300
blue jeans. Also
surprising is that so many of Bon Appetit’s
candidates for Best New Restaurants of 2014 actually
opened way
more than a year ago, including Serpico in
Philadelphia, Trois
Mec in L.A., Sir and Star in Olema, CA, Uncle Boons in
NYC, Ribelle
in Brookline, MA, Gunshow
in Atlanta, and others. So, why they are
being considered for 2014 is a puzzle?
Once
again: I am in no
way criticizing the food in these
restaurants. I applaud them all and hope you
try them out. But the problem with BA’s list is
that it is so lopsided. However seriously one wants
to take the Michelin
Guides or the controversial Restaurant magazine
awards, the number of jam-packed, very high-end,
highly creative, innovative and well designed dining
rooms run by some of the great master chefs on the
planet on those lists make it obvious that such
restaurants are far from moribund and cannot be
ignored, unless one’s purpose is to deny that they
have anything to do with that empty phrase “the way
we eat today,” which actually means, “the way our
editors ate last month.” Apparently "we"
does not include those people who pack restaurants
like The French Laundry in Yountville, CA;
Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, NY; Tony's in
Houston; and Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas.
To consider for
inclusion only restaurants--even those that are “not
actually a restaurant”--with a hipster edge and to
sniff at all else is like a theater critic reviewing
only Off Broadway shows, a film critic only indie
productions, a music critic only hip hop, or an
automotive critic only compact cars. There’s
plenty to love among such enterprises, but they are
not the whole story of what goes on in those worlds.
Apparently, BA editors
think only their restaurant choices are.
❖❖❖
NEW YORK
CORNER
By
John Mariani
REGENCY
BAR & GRILL
Loews Regency Hotel
540 Park Avenue (at 61st Street)
212-339-4050 regencybarandgrill.com
The re-opening of the
Loews Regency Bar & Grill is occasion to
applaud, but not
because it has now filled the void it left upon
closing for the Power Breakfast crowd that used to
fill it every weekday morning.
Time
being so valuable in an ever more hectic New York,
the Business Breakfast is still a way for
executives, media types and politicians to hobnob
over eggs ($23 for two) and a bagel ($7) and exit
quickly for the office (although some guys have two
breakfasts, back to back!). So, after fifty
years, during the closing and refurbishing of the
room, those regulars--some daily like Rev. Al
Sharpton, whose religious denomination apparently
requires no vow of poverty--had to find other
venues, and the East 60’s is an early morning
wasteland for breakfast.
Now the
Bar & Grill is open again bright and early at 7
a.m. and packed as usual, which is nice to know.
What I am happiest about, however, is that at
lunch and dinner, Executive Chef Dan Silverman,
formerly at The Standard, has been given the
go-ahead to bring culinary luster to the room, whose
previous reputation made the “hotel dining room” a
slur term.
The place
looks better than ever, very sleek, with a vivacious
bar up front and a long, two-level dining room done in soft
executive dining room colors, with double
tablecloths, an Op Art rug, bookshelves and abstract
paintings. The booths (above), up one
slender step, are tough to squeak into but difficult
to leave, for they are among the most comfortable in
New York. The mirrored walls above them are hung
with black-and-white photos of Upper East Side
totems. I was so
happy to see Wine Director André Compeyre,
formerly of Alain Ducasse’s Benoit Bistro,
overseeing a formidable list that’s been updated and
better priced, even offering some excellent New York
State wines usually ignored by New York City
restaurants.
Silverman
(left) sets
a menu in line with the restaurant’s name, an
American grill seasonally focused. So, if the
soft shell crabs ($24), with a vegetable pistou, are
still on the menu, by all means enjoy them. I
ordered a tomato soup ($18) as a good indicator
whether this child’s lunch item could be transformed
into an adult pleasure, and Silverman did himself
proud. The soup tasted as if he’d squeezed
every drop of goodness from summer’s tomatoes and
cooked them up to taste like their very essence,
accompanying them--nice touch--with grilled cheese
crostini.
I tried
an outstanding pasta--tagliatelle with a veal ragù and large dose of Parmigiano ($28)
that would rank with the best Italian restaurants’
in the city.
Pan-roasted Dover sole ($65) is another telltale
dish, and the Grill’s version, plump and meaty, with Meyer
lemon, parsley and brown butter (a very, very
generous pool of it) was so rich you could share it
with another guest and be completely satisfied.
When
you’re talking about great ingredients like Dover
sole (right),
you are also talking about veal and lamb. Silverman
(left) gets
the former from Pennsylvania and his veal chop with
wild mushrooms and creamed spinach ($48) is
nonpareil. So, too, are the Colorado lamb
chops, served with Swiss chard and a crispy shank
($46), though the sauce with the dish was bland and
a bit muddy in color and texture. I think I’d
go with them simply grilled next time.
Pastry Chef Jeff Sytsma,
most recently of The Elm, stays within the American
crayon box with the signature Regency Chocolate Bar
(below),
composed of feuilletine crunch and dark chocolate
ganache topped with cocoa nib sorbet; good old
carrot cake is made new with a cream cheese mousse
and walnut crumble, accompanied by rum raisin ice
cream. Bring extra forks. And order the
cookie plate. All desserts are $12.
So,
let the honchos claim their spot at breakfast.
I’ll go back for the food and wine at dinner.
One caveat, the major misfire at the
restaurant when I visited two weeks ago was a slack
staff that seemed far more interested in re-setting
tables than paying attention to guests. But
then, I’m not Reverend Al.
Having had
the most beautiful New York summer of my life, I
have put awayall
thoughts about warm weather wines versus cold
weather wines--in itselfa
rather useless pursuit--and just pluck wines from my
cellar or at arestaurant
to go with whatever I am eating.Here
are several I have been enjoying immensely this
month. 2005
Domaine Chevalier Père et Fils Corton
Rognet ($110) - For those whocannot bring themselves to lay out
exorbitant money for a first-rate redBurgundy, this may be a more moderate
option. The vineyard, nearAloxe-Corton and Corton
Charlemagne, produces a wine with typical
Burgundyfinesse
in a somewhat lighter style, and the 2005, if you
can still find it,
has evolved beautifully to a maturity that makes it
a wonderful winewith
poultry or game. 2011
Patrick Javillier ‘Les Tillets” Meursault
($50) - Most of thisdomaine’s
wines are
Chardonnay and Javillier is one of the finestproducers, a believer that longer
time on the lees produces more character,and this beauty can only get better
over the next five years. But itshoneyed hints and its superb aromatics
make it well worth drinking rightnow with any seafood, not least one in
a rich butter-based French sauce.Les Tillets, by the way, refers to a
medieval lime tree. 2011
Benjamin Leroux Clos de la Cave des Ducs Volnay
Premier Cru ($100) -Volnays are iffy wines from the
Côte de Beaune, so it’s important to knowthe producer. Its reds are
light in color, but this Premier Cru shows thewine at its best. The vineyard is
managed biodynamically and the terroir ofthe small estate shows in its
richness, power and mineral strength. It isstill developing and should emerge in
a couple of years as a grandexpression of Volnay. 2012
Isole e Olena Collezione Privata Chardonnay
($38) - Not all Italianchardonnays hit the high notes of
Angelo Gaja’s masterpieces, but this farmore modestly priced example gives a
lot of pleasure for the money. Thename refers to two estates owned by
the De Marchi family in Tuscany, and,while better known for their Chiantis,
they produce this fine, lush whitewine whose grapes receive a
great deal of sun and are harvested fairlylate. 2013
Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
($17-$20) - There are nomore than a handful of California
Sauvignon Blancs I care to drink becausetoo many are cloyingly grassy and too
floral. This fresh entry is,however, much closer to a crisp
Sancerre while still showing off its boldCalifornia grip on the palate.
No color to speak of, but the flavors areall arrayed in a charming balance of
fruit and minerals. And the alcohollevel at 13%
is totally sensible for a white wine.
2010 Williamsburg Winery Adagio ($72) -
This price tag for a wine made inVirginia may put some people off, but
it is a very good and very persuasiveargument that the state’s wines now
demand respect. This is a Bordeauxblend of 42% Cabernet Franc, 30%
Merlot and 28% Petit Verdot--no CabernetSauvignon--yet it has enormous depth
and complexity picked up from 18months in oak, and the winery’s
keeping the alcohol down to 13% is much tobe applauded.
❖❖❖
GREAT ADVANCES IN MODERN SCIENCE
WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR
Physicist
Manuel Linares has created an ice cream that changes
color as you eat it, made from "entirely natural
ingredients."
WHY THERE'LL
ALWAYS BE AN IRELAND
Irishman Anto Wickham paid $5,000 to have a local
coffinmaker build him a ten-foot tall coffin in the
shape of a Jack Daniels bottle. The
designer says it was "very complicated" because "there
are so many curves in a Jack Daniels bottle and it is
almost cut like a diamond," but adds it's fine because
"there was no rush" on the craftsmanship. Wickham also
plans to be delivered to the gravesite in a Guinness
van.
❖❖❖
Wine Column Sponsored by Banfi Vintners
The Man in
the Window by Cristina Mariani-May co-CEO of Banfi Vintners America's leading wine
importer
Christian Scrinzi know where he stands.
As head winemaker for the historic
wine house of Bolla, Scrinzi knows the stakes.
Leading producer of
Veronese wines and the ambassador for Italian wine
around the world, Bolla has a century and a quarter’s
worth of iconic imagery to uphold, and expectations to
meet.
“A winemaker for such a producer is
nothing more than a short window into that winery’s
history,” Scrinzi admits. “He must maintain and
uphold the standards of that house, be aware of its
past, and be conscious of its future. He must usher it
responsibly into that future.”
Value is what Bolla is known for, but it is also known
for innovation, quality, and making wines with a sense
of place.
Yes, there were years when
Bolla seemed to have lost its way and followed the
siren call of quantity over quality, but today Bolla
is back to its roots, literally and figuratively.
It no longer chases fashion and trends, and has
returned to the typicity of its native soil and
microclimate – a rich dichotomy of fresh young wines
such as Soave, Valpolicella and Bardolino, which speak
of tradition and ‘terroir,’ alongside the ultimate
sartorial wine, Amarone.
To make the wonderful wines of
Verona, Scrinzi has forged an alliance with Bolla’s
agronomist GianAntonio Marconi. Marconi is the
direct professional heir to Franco Bolla, the man who
forged strong relationships with the grape growing
families that have conferred their fruit to Bolla for
multiple generations. Even a “volume” producer
like Bolla must ensure quality from the ground up in
order to produce wines with a sense of identity and
integrity. It all begins in the vineyards, after
all. Historically,
Scrinzi
(left) looks
to Bolla’s origins, literally, with a wine called “Le
Origini,” an Amarone that harkens back to founder
Abele Bolla’s preference for the wine that was a
century ago unique and unusual as a “big” wine, made
rich from fruit that dried naturally in ventilated
attics called “fruttai.” Amarone is by now a
tradition that has succeeded and is a proving ground
for all Veronese producers, and Bolla interprets it in
its own inimitable way.
But Scrinzi did not limit himself
to the successes of the past; he chose to also examine
the “failures” of the past, as it were. In
the 1980s, Verona had an inferiority complex.
Amarone was not very well known yet, and the “Super”
wines of Tuscany ruled the roost. Super Tuscans
were wines that combined Tuscany’s native Sangiovese
with the “international” (really French) varietals
such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. They met
with great success, and the Veronese wondered, “why
not me, too?”
So Bolla
created a wine called Creso. They
based it on Cabernet, with a small percentage of the
local grape, Corvina, to
give it needed acidity and a local touch.
It did well “back in the day,” but in fewer than ten
vintages the
novelty wore off, and Creso was pulled from
production. Years
later,
with his philosophy of learning from the past, Scrinzi
tasted through every
vintage of Creso, and sought to find the core value in
what the wine had to
say. He didn’t mind the “international
touch,” but decided to turn the blend on its head.
He made the wine predominantly from Corvina grapes,
and for
the international touch kept Cabernet but dried those
grapes in the style of
Amarone.
The resulting
wine is intense, deep, ample and complex; it is
elegant, powerful and
persistent, with distinctive flavors of ripe berries,
cocoa and plum, wrapped
in silky, velvet tannins. Creso is the
embodiment of Verona’s mastery of wine, combined with
a diplomatic touch that
brings the new world to its territory - but on local
terms.
Cristina Mariani is not related by family or
through business with John Mariani, publisher of this
newsletter
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Any of John Mariani's
books below may be ordered from amazon.com.
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:
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: 5
MYTHS ABOUT AIR MARSHALLS
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:
An engaging, interactive
wine column by Nick Passmore, Artisanal Editor, Four
Seasons Magazine; Wine Columnist, BusinessWeek.com;
nick@nickonwine.com; www.nickonwine.com.
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John
Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani,
Robert Mariani, John A.
Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, Andrew Chalk,and Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery,
Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.