IN THIS ISSUE ALONG THE
RIVIERA, Part Two By Misha
Mariani
NEW YORK CORNER
MAREA
By John Mariani
NOTES
FROM THE WINE & SPIRITS CELLAR
A GOOD YEAR FOR BIBULOUS BOOKS
By John Mariani
❖❖❖
ALONG THE RIVIERA
Part Two By Misha Mariani
Grace Kelly and Cary
Grant in "To Catch a Thief" (1955)
When
considering Italian vacation spots, the usual
suspects always come to mind. Sicily. Portofino.
Venice. Rome. Florence. But what and where is
Alassio? A small town located on the Italian
Riviera that never seems to be part of the
conversation, it is the home to one of the most
marvelous estates and scenic views you can find
in Italy. In the late 19th
century, two Scottish noblemen took up residence
there for their entire winter vacation. Quickly
recognizing the beauty of this small town, they
bought two pieces of land along the hillside and
began constructing what would end up being one of
the most beautiful and breathtaking natural parks
and landscapes I have ever set eyes on.
The
property has changed hands a couple of times over
the past century and quarter, but what was always
a major focus and commitment by all of the owners
was the appreciation of and dedication to
preserving this estate’s aesthetic landscapes and
gardens. What began as an infatuation with
horticulture owing to travels around the globe led
to the planting of hundreds of exotic plants
amidst the region’s indigenous varietals. What was
created was a natural park of such beauty that
just to walk the grounds for a day is worth a
visit to Villa della Pergola .
My
wife and I weren’t just lucky enough to tour the
grounds and admire the beauty that makes up this
natural landscape; we also had the good fortune to
stay a night and dine at itsexceptional
restaurant. Villa
della Pergola (right),
as well as Villino della Pergola and La Casa del
Sole, has a number of different suites all
dedicated to different residents who might have
stayed at the estate over the course of history or
were once owners who perpetuated its glory.The
night we stayed there, we were shown to the Thomas
Suite (below),
also called “the blue room,” dedicated to Sir
Thomas Hanbury, a British businessman who at the
age of 25 created the great botanical gardens at
Capo Mortola in Ventimiglia.
The walls were painted a soft
periwinkle blue with white crown molding.
Furniture was adorned with plush white quilted
cushioning, a bow window looked out over the gulf
of Alassio, and 19th century portraits of Sir
Thomas hung over the bed’s headboard, paying
homage to the estate’s history. Villa della Pergola isn’t home to
just beautiful gardens and luxurious suites. It
also has Restaurant NOVE, which served up
one of the best meals wehad over the course of two
weeks of travel. My wife and I settled in for
lunch at a table outside in the garden underneath
what I believe is one of the oldest trees on the
property. The tables were adorned with dove grey
linen tablecloths, white linen napkins and fine
silverware. We
started off with a glass of Champagne and then
moved into a multi-course menu showcasing Chef
Giorgio Servetto’s
impressive talents. The cuisine at NOVE is
definitely elevated and takes a page from more
modern techniques and philosophy. But what can
often get lost in such an approach, as happens
with too many young chefs in an effort to dazzle, is a focus on the food
itself. At NOVE, the essentials of good cooking
don’t get lost. First came an assagio
of creamy burrata
enrobed in tomato jelly over a dollop of basil spuma, a
beautifully successful rendering of the old
classic “Caprese salad.” This was followed by verdure con
bagna cauda, a dish of raw or barely
blanched vegetables with a “warm bath” of anchovy
dip and a touch of heat (right). Albenga
zucchini was presented in perhaps our most
memorable dish of the year, with what looked like
a colorful camouflage of dried and powdered fruits
and vegetables —a display of modernism in cuisine
as tasteful as it was visual appealing. This
was followed by al dente risotto made with seppie ink
and a touch of lemon
and a besugo,
a local fish, with spring pea puree, pole beans
and quenelles of tomato confit. All of this was
finished off with a perfectly made espresso, and a
hazelnut mouse sandwiched between a thin sheet of
chocolate and passion fruit gelato (left).
Villa
della Pergola proved to be one of the top-notch
estates in Italy, and I’m grateful we had the good
fortune to experience it. It’s never easy saying
goodbye to somewhere you love and found so much
enjoyment in, but it was time to travel on and we
said our bittersweet farewells and continued along
the Riviera.
Our journey
then took us along the Ligurian coastline and we
finally hit the French border. Our drive took us
past the gastronomically acclaimed Menton in
France, into Monte Carlo for two nights at the
Metropole,
and then into St. Tropéz, where the famous and
über-wealthy dock their yachts and head into town
to splurge on clothing, dining and partying till
the wee hours of the morning. For me, St. Tropéz
wasn’t what I had expected. Whatever romantic idea
I had of it was quickly spoiled by the mainstream
tourist trap restaurants along the harbor and even
down the small side streets, where you would hope
to find a quaint little local place.
While disappointed, we were
happy some locals recommended Plage des Salins, which is 600 yards of
beautiful sand and crystal waters with such a high salt
content swimming to the bottom is a challenge.
We dined at the exquisite restaurant La Voile in
the La Réserve
resort (right)
located just outside the small hilly town
Ramatuelle, which is what most people must
imagine when they think of countryside towns in
the south of France. The town resides with
winding pedestrian streets that traverse homes
that go back to the Middle Ages. But La Réserve
is no Middle Ages structure. It is an elegant,
refined, modern, state-of-the-art property that
boasts tranquility, relaxation and a state of
mind that connects you to the beauty of the
ocean and its coastal views all accessible
throughout the property. In addition to the
regular room and suite accommodations, La Réserve also has a number of private
villas that can be rented. La Voile, the
restaurant, stakes its claim in the center of
the resort, with open floor-to-ceiling
windows looking out onto the ocean. This is
where we had lunch. I remember the feeling when
I sat down. It was this immediate moment of calm
and relaxation, much like that feeling you get
immediately after your first sip of a cocktail
after a long day, only the drink wasn’t
necessary this time to obtain that feeling.
The
man responsible for the menu at La Voile is Chef
Eric Canino. With the mission of La Réserve (left) to be a
health and tranquility resort, his cuisine runs
parallel to this effort. His dishes and cooking
are dairy free, and the only fat used in his
preparations is olive oil. Up until this point, as
a former cook and someone who puts as much butter
as eggs in his scrambled eggs, I would frown on or
dismiss such a non-dairy idea. Nevertheless,
Canino has accomplished a delicious surprise; his
food is laser focused, entirely committed to
quality of the ingredients, much of which comes
from the onsite garden, and so perfectly balanced
I marveled at the talent of this chef.
For
our lunch, we started off with an amuse bouche
of tender artichokes cooked in a barigoule
with a fine herb vinaigrette and
shallots cooked with sakura
vinegar. Octopus (below) was perfectly
braised and served with peeled new potatoes,
roasted baby peppers, herbs from the garden and
extra virgin olive oil. The most pleasantly
surprising dish was a quinoa salad, which my
wife ordered,that was accompanied by pomegranate,
cucumber, avocado and a chimichuri sauce.
Perhaps it was my narrow-mindedness, but I
hadn’t had high expectations for the quinoa
salad (right).
That changed immediately after my first taste.
The olive oil and avocado added the richness and
fat depth typically lacking it other examples,
and it was all perfectly balanced with bold
flavors of the sauce and a striking acidity to
bring it all together. Following
our appetizers, I thoroughly enjoyed the grilled
whole Dover sole with riz japonais
au basilic thaï, spiked with just the right
amount of sakura vinegar, Thai basil and dressed
with a touch of brown butter, capers and tiny toasted croutons.
This complemented my wife’s suprême de
volaille rôti et légumes de saison,
roasted breast of chicken with seasonal
vegetables.
Dessert was no less
impressive—a
mille-feuille à la vanille de Madagascar, perfectly
brittle to add texture to the vanilla-hinted
pastry crème and accented with toasted
hazelnuts. Tarte au citron meringue et gel yuzu (left) was
delicious, exciting the palate with its citrus
dimensions. And allow me to remind you that this
was all enjoyed while sitting next to the open air
and looking out onto the sea.
To
wrap up
our trip, we hopped in the car and headed back
to Milan. But before doing so,
we picked up a freshly baked baguette, some
French butter, and a small wedge of
cheese so that we could make ourselves a little
lunch without stopping. Despite
all of the luxurious meals and dining
experiences we'd had, there is very little
that measures up to the perfection that is a
truly great sandwich made from such
glorious French products.
With
our bellies full and being fully caffeinated by
espresso (only in
Italy can you get a perfectly made espresso in a
porcelain cup in a highway gas
station), we landed back into Milan where we
settled into the über-luxurious
Baglioni Hotel
Carlton, located on the innermost ring
of via
Senato, central to everything you'd want to see
and just a five-minute walk from the Duomo di
Milano, La Scala Opera
House, the Brera Gallery, the Galleria Emanuele
and the
heart of the fashion district. You couldn’t be
better situated to take
advantage of what of the city offers.
Our
suite was styled in a traditional décor of
patterned hard
wood floors, heavy woven draperies, decorative
crown and wall molding, ornate
ceiling chandeliers and a coffer ceiling (above).
Some of Baglioni’s other suites and
accommodations are done with a bit more
modern/contemporary flare, with deep,
bold red velvets and clean, hard lines.
Regardless of your taste in interior
design, you will find yourself pampered
throughout your stay.
The
Baglioni isn’t just a place to rest your head,
as they have a full
accoutrement of amenities from fine dining at
the upscale clubbish restaurant, ll Baretto (left)--particularly
popular before the opera--to casual
bites and cocktails in the Art Déco Caffe
& Terrazza, to pampering yourself
in the
health & wellness spa. It's also a good
business traveler's hotel, with comfortable
public rooms to meet in. A lavish
breakfast is inclusive, and the hotel features a
number of special offers, like "Stay an Extra
Night" and discounts of rooms booked a week in
advance, making it one of the less expensive
deluxe hotels in Milan.
❖❖❖
NEW
YORK CORNER
By John Mariani
MAREA
240 Central Park
South (off
Columbus Circle) 212- 582-5100
I
once asked a noted Italian restaurateur why a
city like New York couldn’t have at least one
restaurant where the seafood is every bit as
good as I’d find in Italy.His
answer was distressing: “If I were to bring in
the best quality seafood from Italy, I’d have to
charge so much money no one could afford it, not
even in New York.”
Sadly, most Italian
restaurateurs in the city use that excuse to serve
inferior seafood like farm-raised branzino and
salmon, frozen langoustines and scallops long out
of their shells.So, when Michael White opened Marea at
Columbus Circle ten years ago, it soon became
patently obvious that he could
charge an appropriate price for the highest
quality seafood and people would pack the place.Since
opening day Marea has rarely had an empty table,
and it is the restaurant that made White an
internationally known chef of real clout.
Photo: Noah Fecks
Today, White’s Altamarea Group runs
five restaurants in NYC, three in New Jersey and
one each in Washington, London, Hong Kong and
Istanbul.I
can only vouch for a couple of those in NYC, so I
have no idea if a distance of up to 8,000 miles
affects his operations, but I have certainly found
that Marea, which means “tide” in Italian, has
maintained its eminence as one of the city’s great
Italian restaurants.A recent visit did nothing
to change that opinion.
As for the prices, yes, à la
carte, they are very high, but the fixed price of
$109 for four courses is an outright steal—crudo,
oyster or appetizer; pasta, entree, dessert.Otherwise
you might pay $25 for the crudo,
$25 for an appetizer, $35 for a pasta, $47 for a
fish and $16 for dessert.By the
way, Marea’s branzino
is wild and salmon is a fish rarely put on the
menu.
The
wine list, under Francesco Grosso, numbers 750
labels, largely to complement the seafood (Marea’s
menu does have a couple of meat dishes), and
features the best Italian white wines available.
Photo: David
Axelrod
The menu begins with
some crostini
topped with anchovies and salsa verde
or lobster with pickled tomatoes and smoked aïoli
($11-$15).Then
there are the raw fish—ten or more—any one of
which is an example of what should be
served elsewhere and so rarely is—Long Island
fluke with candied ginger and apple; Pacific jack
mackerel with fig and fennel and more.It is crudi of
this quality that has made crudi
popular in Italy.
There is a caviale (caviar)
section, but none is from the Caspian Sea (whose
fishing is forbidden under international law), and
prices are brutal—$170-$385, a
range once charged only for the best Russian or
Iranian beluga and osietra.This roe
comes from China (I trust no
food that comes out of China these days) and
Germany (who knew?). Then there are several
American oyster varieties offered (six pieces
$24, twelve pieces $44). Appetizers are very
much seasonal, and right now Marea is serving a
confit of tuna belly, razor clam, pickled chili,
hazelnut and saffron aïoli ($24), and excellent
grilled octopus (right)
with smoked potatoes, radish, pickled red onions,
chilies and tonnato
tuna cream ($25).
Don’t go to Marea looking for
the usual pastas found everywhere else. Executive
Chef Jared Gadbaw and Chef de Cuisine Molly
Nickerson are cooking up the kind of pastas you
really will
find along the Ligurian and Adriatic coasts,
like gnocchetti
with Atlantic shrimp, chilies and rosemary; squid
ink conchiglie
with pork and seppie
sausage flavored with sage; and a consistently
fine risotto with wild mushrooms.All are
impeccably al
dente. Marea stays fairly
simple—as it should—with main course seafood like
Pacific snapper with eggplant, cucumber, cipollini
onions, lamb’s quarter and pistachio ($45);
roasted halibut with ragù and
smoked trout roe ($47); and whole fish and
shellfish with four different sauces, intended for
two people.
Photo: Noak Fecks
You may opt for a plate
of cheeses from list of six Italian or American
selections ($18 for three; $32 for six), but you
should not miss desserts (all $16) like a crostata
with poached pear and a mascarpone semi-freddo,
walnut and dark chocolate; bomboloni
banana donuts with lemon cream and chocolate
hazelnut sauce; and panna cotta
with pinenuts, black mission figs, rosemary and
brioche and sorbet.Sixteen bucks is way too pricey for affogato,
which is nothing more than vanilla ice cream with
espresso poured over it, but you do get a cookie. Marea is a
sophisticated dining venue, very much in the NYC
spirit of fine dining, but it is unpretentious,
its genial atmosphere set by veteran General
Manager Sean Smith and a passel of long-time
servers. The wine list is very comprehensive and
tilts towards the very expensive.
As you enter there is a
beautiful lighted bar and a sushi counter, then,
down a couple of steps, a moderate sized dining
room beautifully lighted from above and set with
fine table linens and exquisite stemware—the
wineglasses don’t just ping, they chime. I recall
in the past that Marea could be a very loud
restaurant, but, on my recent visit, seated in the
middle of the room, conversation flowed without
raising our voices.
It’s an adult restaurant, so it
has a semblance of a “dress code,” however
minimal—no shorts or open shoes for men—and most
men do wear jackets; those few wearing t-shirts
must have drifted in from a Seinfeld
bus tour.
So Marea, as Le Bernardin did
with French seafood, proved that people will pay a
good price for high quality, especially when the
entire experience fits a distinct standard for
fine dining in NYC.Oddly enough, few Italian restaurants
around town, or anywhere else, have picked up that
challenge when it comes to seafood—not when
there’s so much second-rate product available to
be sold at nearly the same prices.
Marea is open
Mon.-Fri. for lunch; Sat. & Sun. for brunch;
dinner nightly.
❖❖❖
NOTES FROM THE WINE AND
SPIRITS LIBRARY
A GOOD YEAR FOR BIBULOUS BOOKS
By John Mariani
So far this year I’ve been
impressed with the quality of books on wine and
spirits being published.They are authoritative,
comprehensive, engaging and make good gifts for
your connoisseur friends.Here
are some I’ve particularly enjoyed.
RUM CURIOUS by
Fred Minnick ($25)—This is the second (his first
was on Bourbon)in what I
hope will make a complete series on spirits by
America’s premier writer on the subject. Minnick
is an entertaining writer who puts enormous effort
into research, both scholarly and on the ground,
visiting, interviewing and tasting at scores of
distilleries and rum companies.Rum’s story is richer than
any other liquor’s, beginning with the
ignominious trade whereby African slaves were
brought to the Caribbean to work the sugar
plantations to make rum to ship back to Europe,
and continuing into the 20th century, when rum
runners plied the American seacoast during
Prohibition.His detailed notes on scores of
rums from different countries have the sense of a
very dedicated connoisseur.
THE COMPLETE BORDEAUX: The Wines,
the Châteaux, the People by Stephen
Brook, 3rd edition ($75).I would
not necessarily include a subsequent edition to a
book that first appeared ten years ago, but so
much has changed in Bordeaux, not least concerns
about global warming and global marketing, that
this thoroughly revised volume is requisite for
anyone wanting to understand what is happening in
a region that clings to tradition.There
are write-ups of 13,000 wineries, and Brook shows
how changing hands—the Chinese now own more than
100 chateaus, including some of the most famous,
like Château Fronsac—may mean changing ways.
THE BLOODY MARY BOOK
By Ellen Brown ($18)—The indefatigable Ellen Brown
has now turned her
talents, focus, wit and palate on one of the best
loved and most misunderstood cocktails in the
world. As a staple of the weekend brunch, the
Bloody Mary has suffered many watered-down
indignities, so Brown gives a thorough report on
how this classic became a classic in the first
place.She
then adds in numerous but sensible variations on
the drink and good advice on garnishes and some
canapés that go well with a pitcher of Bloodys.
STRAIGHT UP: The
Insiders’ Guide to the World’s Most Interesting
Bars and Drinking Experiences By
Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley ($19.99)—The
authors’ last book, Distilled,
won the Fortnum & Mason Drink Book of the Year
award in 2013, and this is a fine follow-up,
providing plenty of sound advice on the best bars
around the globe, from Singapore’s Jigger &
Pony to L.A.’s Harvard & Stone. They give a
description of atmosphere, crafted cocktails, and
bar etiquette, along with profiles of bartenders,
although mixologists come and go with the seasons.
❖❖❖
FOOD WRITING 101: TRY NOT TO
SOUND TOO LUSTY
"LA lays out a singular feast of worldwide
cuisines (and remainsmy
favorite
food city in America), but like the rest
of the country, it’s experiencing a surge of Italian
restaurants — the kinds serving the carby, saucy,
cheesy, herby, garlicky sustenance for which the human
soul lusts."--Bill Addison, "Best New Restaurants of the
Year," Eater.com.
DUMB AND DUMBER AND REALLY
REALLY DUMB
From Tom
Jenkins's compilation of restaurant chefs' "58
of the Stupidest Food Orders Ever" in FineDining Lovers.com:
"Can I have a
caprese salad, but with no tomato, no mozzarella."
"Is the ice cream soft or
hard, I am allergic to soft ice cream."
A woman asked
if I could remove the "sour" out of the sourdough bread
we served.
"Cappuccino
with the foam on the side.
"No burger, no onions, no
tomato, no egg, no bacon, no pickles, no fries, no
anything, Just buns."
"Paella without rice, please."
"I want the stuffed salmon. I don't like
the taste of salmon though, so don't make it taste
like salmon."
"Can I get
the special with fettuccine? I'm allergic to penne."
"You're allergic to a shape?"
"The other day
I got a ticket that read: “Cheese plate (no dairy).”
❖❖❖
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.
“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.
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.
❖❖❖
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: PALM
SPRINGS ARCHITECTURE
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.
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,Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Geoff Kalish, Mort
Hochstein, and
Brian Freedman. Contributing Photographer: Galina
Dargery. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.