As the eight of us maneuvered on a street corner to hail two NYC yellow cabs, my son asked me why we were traveling from 66th and Central Park West to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for dinner. “Aren’t there any nice restaurants in Manhattan?” It was a fair question. I explained I had booked a table for […]
Three-Step Classic Wine List Gameplan
Drawing up the perfect attack on a classic restaurant wine list creates the same adrenaline level NFL coaches experience prepping for Sunday games. At least it seems that way; it’s both exciting and nerve wracking knowing one or two calls can define a dinner’s outcome. Planning is required. Have we worked with the restaurant’s wine […]
Calvet-Thunevin Hugo On Turtle Creek Mansion List
Once again I found myself staring at a classic wine list, this time at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, that was deep in severely marked up classic Bordeaux, Burgundy, and California Cabernet. Looking for an after dinner bottle to enjoy with some colleagues did not call for $300 California Cabernet, $600 Burgundy, nor […]
The Wine and Food Culture Divide
I’ll admit to spending more time than it’s probably worth thinking about nuances in wine and food culture. For example, I ponder how obvious it is that most of us Americans act with righteous self confidence buying, ordering, and cooking the foodstuffs and ingredients we prefer. We’ll ask questions freely when shopping or ordering to […]
WineChap.com: When Wine Lists Matter Most
I am guilty of choosing and patronizing restaurants with quality wine lists first, great food second. Preferring a reasonable level of symbiosis, my restaurant choices are disproportionately weighted by wine programs. If this resonates and you are more jazzed by contents of a subterranean cellar than walk-in refrigeration, or you just need a dose of […]