2008 ended in a flurry of activity, as work was incredibly busy the last quarter. On top of that, I had an appendectomy a few days before Christmas. Thankfully I was able to celebrate a bit on New Year’s Eve with a fantastic 2005 Araujo which is one of the best Cabernets I’ve ever had. Here’s to having more time in 2009 to celebrate life with family and friends!
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
October?
October 3, 2008I can’t believe it’s already the 3rd of October. I know, I know, the 3rd always comes after the 2nd, and October always follows September, so how can I be surprised? Well, each year just seems to go by faster than the year before. I think it’s because our perspective (we’re always in the “now”) changes relative to how much history we have. My 3-year old is just barely starting to grasp the concept of time (like last night when we got home from dinner and I peeked in on her and she said “is it time for breakfast, Daddy?” Uh, no–it’s 10 p.m. Go to sleep.). I remember when I was young how long an hour seemed, and today a week or even a month can pass by without hardly realizing it.
I’ve been to Italy since the last post, and we had a bottle of the 2002 Benanti Lamoremio, on the recommendation of the waiter at Victoria Pizzeria. This little joint, just off the Duomo in Milan, is one of my favorite pizza places anywhere. Maybe not as good as Baffetta in Rome, but pretty close. And the wine was very nice–I’m not a huge fan of Italian wines, but this is one that I’d seek out and purchase if I didn’t already have so much wine as it is.
Joel Robuchon
September 21, 2008We ate dinner at Joel Robuchon last night with our good friends Jon and Annett Trail. We were celebrating Jon’s 40th birthday, and this was a good place to do so. We ate on the first floor at La Cuisine (vs. the ground floor’s Atelier) and had a very enjoyable meal. We did the tasting menu, which Carolynn and I always appreciate because we don’t need to make any decisions and get to taste a large variety of items. Highlights included the foie gras with parmesan foam, the langoustines, and the mullet. Drank an ’03 Colgin IX Estate as well as a white Burgundy recommended by the server (can’t remember the name–St. Francois? It was an ’06 Chablis, but, despite holding the bottle, I never really looked at the details). The meal was expensive to be sure, but extremely satisfying, especially when shared with good friends.
Le Petit Zinc
September 18, 2008This isn’t much of a wine post, but I was struck by something as we ate dinner last night at Le Petit Zinc in Paris.
For dessert we had a soufflé, and it was served with Grand Marnier. A whole bottle. Don’t misunderstand me–the whole bottle was not placed at our table with the thought that we’d drink of. If that was an assumption then I’m sure we would have gotten pre-measured portions to pour on the soufflé. We were a bit confused, since they also brought tiny little glasses, so we asked our waitress if we were supposed to drink it or pour it on the soufflé. She said “either, both, whichever you prefer.” I just can’t imagine this happening in the US, for good reason, but it was a cool experience.
Wacky wines
September 2, 2008I wasn’t a participant in the normal sense, although I did swing by for 10 minutes after a business dinner to see what was up. Arkansas Asti? Cabernet with (intentional) residual sugar? Lenoir? These were some wacky wines to be sure, and most probably aren’t worth drinking, but it was certainly interesting to have my horizons expanded. Thanks to Don for opening up his house and to Steve, Stan, and Charlie for providing the experience! Also, the wines and notes can be found here.
