Blog Archives

Thoughts on My Year of 94 Books

One Hundred. The thought occurred to me that if I really pushed I could hit 100 books read for 2022. But so what if it’s 94? Though 100, triple digits, is a milestone number, it’s not a failure if you don’t summit. I’d be happy to climb 94% of Mount Everest (and come back alive [More]

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The Longest DJ Residency…Ever?

While sweltering in my Greenpoint, Brooklyn apartment a few years ago, I started listening to a DJ’s mixes for the International Fountain at Seattle Center. I liked the chill, mostly instrumental vibes; seamless and mildly hypnotic. Best of all I could daydream about frolicking in a fountain in the temperate Seattle summer rather than getting [More]

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My Profile of Odd Fox Coffee for Fresh Cup Magazine

Ever stop in a neighborhood spot and be totally charmed, then pitch an article about that place to a publication? And the editor says, “YES, WE WILL PUBLISH THAT.” (Ok, the reply was not all-caps.) I was delighted to write a profile of Odd Fox Coffee, located right in my Greenpoint neighborhood, for Fresh Cup [More]

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Amplify Your Rosé Life

There’s a fried chicken place in Manhattan called Dirty Bird to Go on 14th that also, surprisingly, houses a natural wine bar called Verre de Terre. This is where I discovered the Amplify Wines “Pink Flag” Rosé of Counoise My methodology of choosing this wine consisted of seeing three rosés on the bottle list and randomly [More]

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Hungarian Rosé Six Pack is All I Want, Forever

I found out about the Dúzsi Tamás winery and its Hungarian rosé menagerie thanks to fellow Greenpoint resident and ace wine entrepreneur Athena Bochanis. (We were introduced by Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly fame. Thank you, MP!) In 2013, Athena started a company called Palinkerie Fine Hungarian Imports, bringing in many cool and exciting wines. [More]

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Why are Rosé Bottles Crazy with Shapes and Packaging?

I read Tamlyn Currin’s “On a pink soap box” from Jancis Robinson’s site with great interest. It focuses on the trend of rosé wine bottles coming in all kinds of shapes and sizes. As well as labels you might charitably define as whimsical but more likely garish. Currin brings up many important points regarding this [More]

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Gere Attila Portugieser: A Summer Red from Hungary

I love discovering new things. Like a grape called Portugieser. Which is not from Portugal. In this case, it’s in a bottle of red wine from Hungarian producer Gere Atilla. I got it at a tiny and charming wine shop in the East Village with the slightly un-google-able name of Wineshop. I’d like to think [More]

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Rube’s Steakhouse Provides Memories, A Huge Grill, and Wine Advice

When I was a student at Grinnell College years decades ago, one of the biggest treats was a road trip to Rube’s Steakhouse in Montour, Iowa. Grinnell is in between Des Moines and Iowa City, off I-80. You could drive to Rube’s in under a half hour. It’s a pretty amazing grill-your-own steakhouse in rural Iowa, [More]

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