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]
As a former retail wine buyer, I have a particular love for cool wine labels. (And a loathing for lame ones….) So it was really great to interview Randall Grahm of California’s Bonny Doon Vineyard about the iconic and original labels adorning his wines. The depth and breadth of art and artists is really fascinating. [More]
Got the chance to have lunch at a legendary New York City spot, Keens Steakhouse, established in 1885. It provided me with the perfect opportunity to subvert the “Cab and a slab” classic pairing and have white wine with steak. One of the things that helped this pairing is the salad. Greens, radishes, and a [More]
It’s not often you pour a wine and the first sip brings forth an involuntary “Wow!” Especially on an inexpensive wine. But this was the case with an red Italian gem I purchased at Grapepoint Wines, the Vigneti del Sole Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (2016). Three things off the bat I liked about this wine, just looking at [More]
I’m in the middle of reading New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson, which I bought at the excellent bookstore, WORD, in my neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The plot? As the sea levels rose, every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. For the residents of one apartment building in Madison Square, however, New York [More]
Navigating a big restaurant wine list is daunting. Possibly scary. For a geek like me, it can also be hella fun. I was reminded of this when I was at Nice Matin, a French restaurant in New York City’s Upper West Side. The wine list there is excellent. (Not the one pictured, BTW.) And it is big. [More]
One of the many things I love about what I do on the internet, in print, and face-to-face? Answer wine questions! Bring. Them. On. Sure, I enjoy hobnobbing with my industry pals/geeks and getting really esoteric. But I also delight in fielding queries from people outside of the industry. I dig enthusiastic wine drinkers who [More]
I’ve never been a big fan of the Bloody Mary. The classic brunch cocktail, in the sad guises I’ve had it, was often full of gloppy tomato juice and mix, seasoned and garnished with an everybody in the pool, XTREME!!! flavor overload. This all changed when I took a class at Astor Center in New York [More]
