A few weeks ago, I finally had the opportunity to travel the short 60 or 70 miles from San Francisco to sample the magical juices from one of the world's most talked about regions--Napa Valley. February is an interesting time because unlike summer/fall, which is harvest season, the vines are bare and it was also raining all weekend. This year specifically was unique for Napa's vitners because of the bizarrely warm weather all through the holidays and January. A woman at Clos Du Val explained that while the vines "hibernate" much like roses during the winter, the warm weather may have affected them strangely and the wine makers will not know the ramifications until they actually tast the wines some time from now. That aside...
I had stressed about planning and coordinating, when in reality, all you really need to do is drive down the Hwy 29 or Silverado Trail (which are parallel, North-South highways running all the way from Napa proper, through Yountville, Rutherford, Oakville, etc to Calistoga and beyond) and pull over at whatever winery looks good to you. Some are more touristy (and more expensive) and some are small and unrecognizable because they only sell their wines at their winery (not in stores like my beloved Trader Joe's). So we decided to try out all types of wineries and what they had to offer...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Laiola: Spanish Wine, Tapas, and LOTS of Salt!
I've been to Laiola on Chestnut at Fillmore twice now: once for a full meal a few weeks ago and last night for Happy Hour. I have conflicting opinions of the small, attractive, Spanish restaurant. Let me explain...
The wine list at Laiola has only Spanish wines, which makes sense for the restaurant since it's Spanish, and is ok so long as you like the mild, anti-climactic flavors of Spanish wines. And I didn't mind the flavor, especially after tasting how incredibly salty all the food is! When we first went a few weeks ago, we ordered the following:
-Marinated olives (lemon, thyme, etc...ironically the least salty thing on the menu)
-Chickpea croquetas (6 pieces that look like steak fries, made of ground chickpeas and cheese; delicious but salty)
-safron rice stuffed squid (cooked perfectly, my favorite besides the olives)
-whole roast sole (pretty great, but on a bed of kale that was really salty!)
-quail (delicious, moist and gamey, but again--salty)
To drink I had the Tempranillo Reales which was $13 for a 1/3 bottle caraffe. It was mild, fruity, earthy...borderline bland. But it really did help cut the salt of everything else.
Last night we went back for happy hour because I had heard it was good. The menu was actually pretty meager= olives, chickpea croquetas, ham, patatas, and 1 cava, 1 red, 1 white, and 1 rose. Everything was $5, but somehow added up quickly and was not completely satisfying. I had the red, which was another Tempranillo, the olives, and the chickpea croquetas. I wanted something more to eat since this would count as my dinner, but they didn't have much to offer and I didn't want to risk getting something excessively salty again.
The highlight of my time there (besides the olives) was the fact that it was pretty much empty and the bartender offered us a tasting of another wine he had, a 2004 Alesia Pino Noir from the Sonoma Coast. The bouquet on this wine made my Tempranillo smell like water. It was fruity, floral, and just had a lot more going on than the Tempranillo. And of course, it wasn't Spanish and it wasn't on the menu.
In short, I like Laiola for its atmosphere and some of its small plates, but since Spanish wine isn't my favorite, Laiola needs something more to keep me going there (but not more salt, please!!!)
The wine list at Laiola has only Spanish wines, which makes sense for the restaurant since it's Spanish, and is ok so long as you like the mild, anti-climactic flavors of Spanish wines. And I didn't mind the flavor, especially after tasting how incredibly salty all the food is! When we first went a few weeks ago, we ordered the following:
-Marinated olives (lemon, thyme, etc...ironically the least salty thing on the menu)
-Chickpea croquetas (6 pieces that look like steak fries, made of ground chickpeas and cheese; delicious but salty)
-safron rice stuffed squid (cooked perfectly, my favorite besides the olives)
-whole roast sole (pretty great, but on a bed of kale that was really salty!)
-quail (delicious, moist and gamey, but again--salty)
To drink I had the Tempranillo Reales which was $13 for a 1/3 bottle caraffe. It was mild, fruity, earthy...borderline bland. But it really did help cut the salt of everything else.
Last night we went back for happy hour because I had heard it was good. The menu was actually pretty meager= olives, chickpea croquetas, ham, patatas, and 1 cava, 1 red, 1 white, and 1 rose. Everything was $5, but somehow added up quickly and was not completely satisfying. I had the red, which was another Tempranillo, the olives, and the chickpea croquetas. I wanted something more to eat since this would count as my dinner, but they didn't have much to offer and I didn't want to risk getting something excessively salty again.
The highlight of my time there (besides the olives) was the fact that it was pretty much empty and the bartender offered us a tasting of another wine he had, a 2004 Alesia Pino Noir from the Sonoma Coast. The bouquet on this wine made my Tempranillo smell like water. It was fruity, floral, and just had a lot more going on than the Tempranillo. And of course, it wasn't Spanish and it wasn't on the menu.
In short, I like Laiola for its atmosphere and some of its small plates, but since Spanish wine isn't my favorite, Laiola needs something more to keep me going there (but not more salt, please!!!)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Superbowl Sunday: Mediocre Football, Great Excuse to BBQ!
Everyone knows the Superbowl is never about the game. It's just a great excuse to get together with loved ones and break all those New Year's Resolutions. Sure you promised you'd go vegetarian for a few months, or cut back on alcohol. But all that flies out the window come the last Sunday of the month.
Now, I do enjoy watching sports on TV or live, but for some reason, I never really get around to watching the Superbowl game. Even though yesterday's game was surprisingly more exciting than usual, it could barely hold my attention. I guess I do have good reason though, what with the pounds and pounds of chicken, ribeye, burgers, sausages, prawns, salmon, veggies, and the like rotating to and fro the bbq. And that's not all we had...I'm referring, of course, to the 750 ml bottles of Chimay circulating. I know I know, kind of random and "fancy" for a superbowl party, but that's how my friends and I do it. Firstly, it's 9% alcohol, so you can get away with drinking less to save more stomach space for the above-mentioned pounds and pounds of food. Secondly, the flavor actually pairs pretty nicely with red meat and chicken. We usually marinate the meat in beer anyway, then having a dry, somewhat bitter beer like Chimay to pair with that is simply devine. I will say, however, that it wasnt the best match for the spicy prawns we had. The beer wasn't sweet enough to take the Cayenne pepper sprinkled on the shrimp. But, then again, I'm also sensitive to spiciness, so maybe it is a good match. What do you guys think? What beer did you drink yesterday? Anyone have wine with their bbq?
Now, I do enjoy watching sports on TV or live, but for some reason, I never really get around to watching the Superbowl game. Even though yesterday's game was surprisingly more exciting than usual, it could barely hold my attention. I guess I do have good reason though, what with the pounds and pounds of chicken, ribeye, burgers, sausages, prawns, salmon, veggies, and the like rotating to and fro the bbq. And that's not all we had...I'm referring, of course, to the 750 ml bottles of Chimay circulating. I know I know, kind of random and "fancy" for a superbowl party, but that's how my friends and I do it. Firstly, it's 9% alcohol, so you can get away with drinking less to save more stomach space for the above-mentioned pounds and pounds of food. Secondly, the flavor actually pairs pretty nicely with red meat and chicken. We usually marinate the meat in beer anyway, then having a dry, somewhat bitter beer like Chimay to pair with that is simply devine. I will say, however, that it wasnt the best match for the spicy prawns we had. The beer wasn't sweet enough to take the Cayenne pepper sprinkled on the shrimp. But, then again, I'm also sensitive to spiciness, so maybe it is a good match. What do you guys think? What beer did you drink yesterday? Anyone have wine with their bbq?
TJ's: a Booze Inventory to Be Remembered
Ah Trader Joe's. I love that store. For fresh produce and protein, I'm all about Whole Foods. But for the fine variety of alcohol, it's TJ's. I can always count on them to have the obscure pilsner I tried in Berlin a few years ago, or that Yellowtail Cabernet-Merlot blend I became so fond of in college because of its flavor and its price ($5 is a little steeper than TJ's famous "Two Buck Chuck" but it's worth it!). TJ's prices and variety of beers, wines, and spirits might even make it better than BevMo in my mind. And it was a particular vodka that reminded me of why I love TJ's...
Over the holidays I was discussing with my family the different vodkas out there, and what taste tests have revealed. We perused the Internet to see what everyday people like us have said. Apparently, Grey Goose scored fairly low because they infuse it with some "flavor-eliminating" substance that actually makes it taste a little strange. Stoli was ranked fairly well (and that has a decent price point too), and of course Belvedere, Chopin, Hangar One, and all the top shelf vodkas did well. But the one vodka that supposedly outshined all the rest, was one neither I nor my family had heard of: "Tito's Handmade Vodka" made in Austin Texas!
And where did I stumble across Tito's Famous? Good ol' TJ's. And a fifth of it was only $17.99! Now, I have to be honest: I haven't tried the stuff yet (yesterday was the Superbowl so we opted for beer) but I'll report on my findings as soon as I do try it.
In short, Trader Joe's hasn't let me down in the booze department. And their chocolate snacks are really great too. I'll let you know what I think of Tito's Handmade Vodka.
Cheers,
Laura
Over the holidays I was discussing with my family the different vodkas out there, and what taste tests have revealed. We perused the Internet to see what everyday people like us have said. Apparently, Grey Goose scored fairly low because they infuse it with some "flavor-eliminating" substance that actually makes it taste a little strange. Stoli was ranked fairly well (and that has a decent price point too), and of course Belvedere, Chopin, Hangar One, and all the top shelf vodkas did well. But the one vodka that supposedly outshined all the rest, was one neither I nor my family had heard of: "Tito's Handmade Vodka" made in Austin Texas!
And where did I stumble across Tito's Famous? Good ol' TJ's. And a fifth of it was only $17.99! Now, I have to be honest: I haven't tried the stuff yet (yesterday was the Superbowl so we opted for beer) but I'll report on my findings as soon as I do try it.
In short, Trader Joe's hasn't let me down in the booze department. And their chocolate snacks are really great too. I'll let you know what I think of Tito's Handmade Vodka.
Cheers,
Laura
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