Today, I ate perhaps my 20th “Finding Nemo” fish burrito from Edwin’s, deli here in Yorktown, and it’s about time I reviewed it. This is a Friday lunch special that Lance, George and I order every time we remember to, and it always rocks! A generous amount of breaded flounder chunks are interspersed within a bead of rice, topped by avocado, spicy chipotle mayo and a touch of raw onion, rolled in a soft, un-grilled wrap. Not only is there a savory/spicy flavor interplay that leaves a beautiful sting of heat in the throat, but there is a surreal textural contrast between the mild crunch of the fish batter and the tenderness of the rest of the wrap. This burrito is weighty and dense, and on some days can make for two meals. I highly recommend that you indulge in one the next time you’re in Yorktown Heights on a Friday.
–Michael Koehler
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Gaja and Pizza
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After all of these sophisticated meals that we blog about, and the precise wine pairings that we painstakingly arrange, I thought it would be a refreshing change to do something a bit less chic (but perhaps even more sinful). So I took home an expensive mature red blend from the celebrated Piemontese producer Angelo Gaja and drank it with comfort food from our favorite neighborhood pizzeria, Nona’s (right next to Suburban). The results were magical, crushing the myth that food and beverage pricing should correlate, and further proving that sometimes high-end wines just make sense with simpler foods.
The Food:
A classic veal cutlet parm hero, no extras, no adjustments. The boys at Nona’s make a nearly perfect version of this comfort food standard. They’re careful to choose tender cutlets which lack that sinewy, un-bitable texture (don’t you hate it when the veal won’t tear and the whole cutlet slides out of the bread and burns your chin?). Their breading is savory, their sauce mild and salty, and their wedge breads crispy and fresh. My favorite touch: they’re conservative with the mozz! What more can one expect from this Italian-American favorite? Price: $9.50
The Wine:
1999 Gaja Sito Moresco, an unconventional Langhe Rosso that, in addition to Nebbiolo, contains Cabernet and Merlot. It opened up right away, offering an aromatic onslaught including red currants, Kirsch, coffee bean, licorice, leather and tobacco. The maturity of this blend explains its elegance…..the tannins have softened but not faded. The acidity is alive, but still the flavors are a bit simpler than the nose. The finish is a bit short, but is very Piemontese nonetheless. Nebbiolo still dominates, but is perhaps tamed by the Bordeaux varieties. Price: $50.
The Pairing:
The wine clearly went from good to great after my first bite of the sandwich. A gamey flavor in the veal revealed similar aspects in the wine. The fatty, savory flavors in the breading and the mozzarella accentuated the licorice notes in the Nebbiolo, while the salty/acid nature of the tomato sauce challenged the wine’s structure, the latter eventually prevailing. Likewise, this rich-yet-understated Italian wine was responsible for adding lift and complexity to a dish that generally becomes monotonous about halfway through. Bottom line: Do try this at home!
-Michael Koehler
After all of these sophisticated meals that we blog about, and the precise wine pairings that we painstakingly arrange, I thought it would be a refreshing change to do something a bit less chic (but perhaps even more sinful). So I took home an expensive mature red blend from the celebrated Piemontese producer Angelo Gaja and drank it with comfort food from our favorite neighborhood pizzeria, Nona’s (right next to Suburban). The results were magical, crushing the myth that food and beverage pricing should correlate, and further proving that sometimes high-end wines just make sense with simpler foods.
The Food:
A classic veal cutlet parm hero, no extras, no adjustments. The boys at Nona’s make a nearly perfect version of this comfort food standard. They’re careful to choose tender cutlets which lack that sinewy, un-bitable texture (don’t you hate it when the veal won’t tear and the whole cutlet slides out of the bread and burns your chin?). Their breading is savory, their sauce mild and salty, and their wedge breads crispy and fresh. My favorite touch: they’re conservative with the mozz! What more can one expect from this Italian-American favorite? Price: $9.50
The Wine:
1999 Gaja Sito Moresco, an unconventional Langhe Rosso that, in addition to Nebbiolo, contains Cabernet and Merlot. It opened up right away, offering an aromatic onslaught including red currants, Kirsch, coffee bean, licorice, leather and tobacco. The maturity of this blend explains its elegance…..the tannins have softened but not faded. The acidity is alive, but still the flavors are a bit simpler than the nose. The finish is a bit short, but is very Piemontese nonetheless. Nebbiolo still dominates, but is perhaps tamed by the Bordeaux varieties. Price: $50.
The Pairing:
The wine clearly went from good to great after my first bite of the sandwich. A gamey flavor in the veal revealed similar aspects in the wine. The fatty, savory flavors in the breading and the mozzarella accentuated the licorice notes in the Nebbiolo, while the salty/acid nature of the tomato sauce challenged the wine’s structure, the latter eventually prevailing. Likewise, this rich-yet-understated Italian wine was responsible for adding lift and complexity to a dish that generally becomes monotonous about halfway through. Bottom line: Do try this at home!
-Michael Koehler
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Pinot Noir Exposed
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Pinot Noir Exposed
Saturday, November 7th, 12-5pm
We’ll span the globe for Pinot Noir in its various forms, and invite you to sample them. Featuring Pinots from California, Burgundy, Oregon, New Zealand & more.
Table 1:
NV Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut Rosé
2008 Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir
2008 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir
2007 Hamacher H Pinot Noir
2008 Saintsbury Garnet
2006 Mugnier Nuits St Georges 1er Clos de La Marechale Monopole
Table 2:
2007 Drouhin Laforet Bourgogne Rouge
2007 R.Stuart & Co Big Fire Pinot Noir
2008 Saint Clair Vicar’s Choice Pinot Noir
2006 Calera Pinot Noir
2007 Paraiso Pinot Noir
2006 W.H. Smith Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Table 3:
2006 D’Allaines Bourgogne Rouge
2006 Lucie et August Lignier Morey St Denis Les Sionnieres
2006 Camille Giroud Volnay 1er Les Taillepieds
2007 Melville Estate Pinot Noir
2008 Melville Estate Pinot Noir
Table 4:
2007 Seguin-Manuel Bourgogne Rouge
2005 Pipers Brook Vineyard Pinot Noir of Tasmania
2006 Hernando Cortes Pinot Noir
2007 Takler Pinot Noir
2008 Eradus Pinot Noir
2008 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir The Bohan Dillon
Hope to see you here!
.
Pinot Noir Exposed
Saturday, November 7th, 12-5pm
We’ll span the globe for Pinot Noir in its various forms, and invite you to sample them. Featuring Pinots from California, Burgundy, Oregon, New Zealand & more.
Table 1:
NV Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut Rosé
2008 Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir
2008 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir
2007 Hamacher H Pinot Noir
2008 Saintsbury Garnet
2006 Mugnier Nuits St Georges 1er Clos de La Marechale Monopole
Table 2:
2007 Drouhin Laforet Bourgogne Rouge
2007 R.Stuart & Co Big Fire Pinot Noir
2008 Saint Clair Vicar’s Choice Pinot Noir
2006 Calera Pinot Noir
2007 Paraiso Pinot Noir
2006 W.H. Smith Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Table 3:
2006 D’Allaines Bourgogne Rouge
2006 Lucie et August Lignier Morey St Denis Les Sionnieres
2006 Camille Giroud Volnay 1er Les Taillepieds
2007 Melville Estate Pinot Noir
2008 Melville Estate Pinot Noir
Table 4:
2007 Seguin-Manuel Bourgogne Rouge
2005 Pipers Brook Vineyard Pinot Noir of Tasmania
2006 Hernando Cortes Pinot Noir
2007 Takler Pinot Noir
2008 Eradus Pinot Noir
2008 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir The Bohan Dillon
Hope to see you here!
.
An Unexpected Delight
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Just thought I’d share some fun notes with you about a forgotten bottling of well-made American juice. Returning from Chicago this past Monday, where I drank not a single impressive wine, Lady Deborah and I stopped at an old-reliable for burgers and Captain Lawrence on draught. Finally settling at home, our minds and palates still hungered for some good vino. We decided to crack a bottle of something interesting, meaning, something that was either potentially great or potentially disappointing, but satisfying nonetheless. We settled on a bottle that had been rolling around the bottom of our Eurocave for years which we have been ignoring for one reason or another. It was a 1992 Villa Mt Eden Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendocino…..the last bottle of its kind leftover from Deborah’s Sleepy Hollow restaurant Goldie’s by the Bridge, which has been closed since 1998. What we unearthed, while not extraordinary, was an unexpected delight.
Deborah explained to me that this vintage of VME was the last one made at the hand of Jed Steele before he moved on to pursue his own now-famous label, Steele. This bottle even bears his signature. In the mid-nineties, it sold on Deb’s list for $45, and probably all got consumed too young.
The bottle I opened this week was certainly past peak, but not by far. I pulled the intact cork and poured a couple of ounces into each glass, careful not to agitate it too much. The initial whiff revealed a maturing claret-styled red that, although was full of excellent olive and beef blood aromas, seemed to be delicate and fading fast. The taste was quite left-bank in character (licorice, tobacco, sandalwood), but the West Coast nature of this Cab was ultimately revealed through its sweet currant fruit. The tannins had softened to the point where the wine lacked the material to harbor its pretty flavors. By the third pour, the aromas turned horsey and slightly maderized…..not a bad thing at all, but hinted at the wine’s ensuing collapse. And with an absence of ample acidity, we felt it coming. We then rushed to finish the bottle, whereupon savoring the final sip we declared that it truly had more soul than most others of its ilk, and would have made a lovely game dinner wine.
Sometimes, you just never know what’s hiding inside a bottle of questionable development. What I’ve learned is…..there’s only one way to find out. –Michael Koehler
.
Just thought I’d share some fun notes with you about a forgotten bottling of well-made American juice. Returning from Chicago this past Monday, where I drank not a single impressive wine, Lady Deborah and I stopped at an old-reliable for burgers and Captain Lawrence on draught. Finally settling at home, our minds and palates still hungered for some good vino. We decided to crack a bottle of something interesting, meaning, something that was either potentially great or potentially disappointing, but satisfying nonetheless. We settled on a bottle that had been rolling around the bottom of our Eurocave for years which we have been ignoring for one reason or another. It was a 1992 Villa Mt Eden Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendocino…..the last bottle of its kind leftover from Deborah’s Sleepy Hollow restaurant Goldie’s by the Bridge, which has been closed since 1998. What we unearthed, while not extraordinary, was an unexpected delight.
Deborah explained to me that this vintage of VME was the last one made at the hand of Jed Steele before he moved on to pursue his own now-famous label, Steele. This bottle even bears his signature. In the mid-nineties, it sold on Deb’s list for $45, and probably all got consumed too young.
The bottle I opened this week was certainly past peak, but not by far. I pulled the intact cork and poured a couple of ounces into each glass, careful not to agitate it too much. The initial whiff revealed a maturing claret-styled red that, although was full of excellent olive and beef blood aromas, seemed to be delicate and fading fast. The taste was quite left-bank in character (licorice, tobacco, sandalwood), but the West Coast nature of this Cab was ultimately revealed through its sweet currant fruit. The tannins had softened to the point where the wine lacked the material to harbor its pretty flavors. By the third pour, the aromas turned horsey and slightly maderized…..not a bad thing at all, but hinted at the wine’s ensuing collapse. And with an absence of ample acidity, we felt it coming. We then rushed to finish the bottle, whereupon savoring the final sip we declared that it truly had more soul than most others of its ilk, and would have made a lovely game dinner wine.
Sometimes, you just never know what’s hiding inside a bottle of questionable development. What I’ve learned is…..there’s only one way to find out. –Michael Koehler
.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Let's End This!!
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When the owner of the store is a Yankee fan..one has to deal with stuff like this...
Let's Go Yankees!!!
When the owner of the store is a Yankee fan..one has to deal with stuff like this...
Let's Go Yankees!!!
Monday, October 26, 2009
My First Attempt at Braised Short Ribs
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At out "Big Show" this past Saturday, Pratt's Inn served up some of their famous short ribs to our hungry customers. I sneaked back for a taste and immediately knew that I had to have more. If you have never had a perfectly cooked short rib...let me tell you...you are missing out on something very special. The perfect blend of crispy crust, tender meat and melted ribbons of fat explode in your mouth. It really is quite a treat. So after I hit the hardware store (Sunday's are very exciting in my house), I headed over to the butcher to get some short ribs.
I rushed home and scoured the internet for a recipe that piqued my interest. I found a few that I liked, got the general idea of what to do, and decided to wing it. Here is what I came up with....
I first salted and peppered the ribs after letting them come to room temperature. Next I seared them in some butter and garlic until a nice crust was formed on the outside.
In a dutch oven, I had already placed chopped onions, carrots and celery...along with a full bottle of red wine and about 3 cups of chicken stock.
Once the searing was complete, I put the ribs into the "sauce", covered the pan and put it into the oven for about two hours. I then took the lid off and let it continue to cook for anouther 45 minuted or so (until the sauce reduced to where I wanted to to).
When this was complete, I took out the ribs (the bones had already fallen off), placed them on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler until sufficiently crisp.
Serve it up...
The result? They came out great...the kids thought they were a bit bland, but loved them with some gravy. I would welcome suggestions as to different ways to prepare them.
I went with a bottle of La Massa IGT 2007. It was a nice match.
- Lance Cerutti
.
At out "Big Show" this past Saturday, Pratt's Inn served up some of their famous short ribs to our hungry customers. I sneaked back for a taste and immediately knew that I had to have more. If you have never had a perfectly cooked short rib...let me tell you...you are missing out on something very special. The perfect blend of crispy crust, tender meat and melted ribbons of fat explode in your mouth. It really is quite a treat. So after I hit the hardware store (Sunday's are very exciting in my house), I headed over to the butcher to get some short ribs.
I rushed home and scoured the internet for a recipe that piqued my interest. I found a few that I liked, got the general idea of what to do, and decided to wing it. Here is what I came up with....
I first salted and peppered the ribs after letting them come to room temperature. Next I seared them in some butter and garlic until a nice crust was formed on the outside.
In a dutch oven, I had already placed chopped onions, carrots and celery...along with a full bottle of red wine and about 3 cups of chicken stock.
Once the searing was complete, I put the ribs into the "sauce", covered the pan and put it into the oven for about two hours. I then took the lid off and let it continue to cook for anouther 45 minuted or so (until the sauce reduced to where I wanted to to).
When this was complete, I took out the ribs (the bones had already fallen off), placed them on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler until sufficiently crisp.
Serve it up...
The result? They came out great...the kids thought they were a bit bland, but loved them with some gravy. I would welcome suggestions as to different ways to prepare them.
I went with a bottle of La Massa IGT 2007. It was a nice match.
- Lance Cerutti
.
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