Gelatto is one of my favorite things to eat, especially on a warm summer night. And Georgia has plenty of those hot, sticky, humid summer nights that require slow movement, slow talking and of course gelato as a primer. So what is gelato? And where did it come from? Gelato is milk and sugar combined with additional flavors like fruits or chocolate or nuts. Gelato typically has less than 55% air so that it has a dense and luxurious texture. Gelato made without milk, but in the same process, is sorbetto (sorbet). But I love the fat and therefore go for gelato 9 out 10 times when given the choice. Surprisingly the butterfat (milk fat) content for gelato is only 5-8% whereas traditional North American ice cream runs in the range of 10-18% (god bless Ben and Jerry’s). This higher percentage of butterfat is due in large part to the increased amount of cream used in N.A. ice cream.
So where did gelato come from? If you dig a little bit in the past history has two interesting anecdotes. The Chinese not only created paper and gun powder, but they created the first ice cream machine using rock salt in the agitation process to harden the shaved ice or granita that they were making over 2000 years ago. It is reported that Marco Polo brought not only pasta back to Italy but ice cream as well. Though there is good evidence that ice cream was being made and eaten by Roman emporers centuries before Marco Polo went on his global tour. Sorbetto was most likely introduced to southern Italy via the Arabs who also brought with them sugarcane. The Arabs had a long history of using mountain ice combined with sugar and fruit to make Sharbat (sorbet).
And today we have the Italians to thank for the beautiful advances in this dulce that we now can enjoy nearly everywhere. But not all gelatos are made equal. As with all great food you have to start with excellent base products in order for the finished product to be truly amazing. At Oh Gelatohhh they only use real fruit and traditional Italian techniques in making their gelato. And they hold true to standard Italian classics like Ricotta and Fig, Straciatella, Gianduja and Dulce de Leche.
I sat outside on a bench at City Market Ellis Square in downtown Savannah and enjoyed my delicious serving of Ricotta and Fig gelato. It dripped slowly down my hands as I tried to savor the experience for as long as possible. Tropical storm Fay was still brewing to the south and had already thrown thunder heads up to Georgia as a precursor to the coming rains and the sky was pastel pink, purple and blue on the tips of these giants thunder clouds that stretched across the horizon. Thankfully the clouds were accompanied by a cool breeze and I sat listening to music at Ellis Square and enjoyed a fantastic gelato.
The moral of my tale: search out the best gelato that you can. Sit outside on a hot summer nightand. Let it run down your fingers like you were a little child. Return to a simpler time in life (for at least five minutes) and enjoy the gift of milk, sugar and fruit. Oh ya, and if you are in Savannah stop in at Oh Gelatohhh.
I recently stopped in at Laurent Gras’ new phenom restaurant L20. L-2-0 - As in Laurent and Water, seafood and sunshine, service and ambiance, savory and sweet, etc. What an amazing amount of detail in the food. A few days before we ate at L2O I had to make a small hand delivery of some very old and amazing madeiras. I stood at the back door of the kitchen. I was waiting for Mr Marello to arrive to receive the handsome parcel and I was able to watch the kitchen for a stretch. It was 3:30 in the afternoon and the normal hussle of a kitchen preparing themselves for dinner service is what you’d expect. This was a scene out of the deep entrails of the NY City’s three star Michelin kitchens a la Ducasse. Tight, humming, tense, no conversation, extremely serious countenances on each man and woman, and a fleet of people. This is why gastronomes go to restaurants like Per Se, La Bernadin, Alinea and Charlie Trotters. To experience what a squadron of intense cooks can and will prepare for you to delight, amaze and impress. If you fancy yourself an at home cook who raises the bar, ask to get a visit of a prominent kitchen, to be a fly on the wall, just to get a feel for the intensity and focus of a professional team.
I stood at the back door way and watched as a dozen people scurried about from task to task. There was zero wasted effort, no time for joviality, everyone was there to execute a particular task and prepare for a long evening of service. One of the line cooks was meticulously cleaning the back room where I stood, and essentially apologized for asking me to move the hell out of his way, because he didn’t have time to slow down and I was terribly in the way.
That’s a kitchen!
Suffice it to say that the seafood we had was some of the most flavorful and delightfully presented plates that I’ve seen in years. Of course L20 is expensive, so come prepared to be wowed, drop a brick of dough, and sit for the long haul to experience everything that Gras has in store for you. Oh ya, try the vintage Madeira…1908 Boal will rock your world, or 1875 Malvasia will spin your head (19th Century Wine!!!).
I travel quite a bit for this wild and great wine company and I am very fortunate to meet all types of people from every corner of the USA. Being in the beverage business sometimes requires a bit of drinking and it still boggles my mind that outstanding bartenders are rare in “any town” USA. Bartenders should be the pinnacle of the service profession because their job is the most demanding outside of the pro’s in the kitchen. I thought it would be good to list the ingredients that make an excellent bartender (I’m ranting because of a lame ass bartender that I had last night - location to remain anonymous).
A superlative bartender should hold the golden bar of service at the highest level and in order to achieve this they must be highly organized. Have an excellent memory not only for guests proclivities but also a catalogue of drinks and historical context of cocktails. They must have excellent wine acumen if the bar serves a complex and deep wine list. Attention to detail and activity in their surroundings is critical. Knowing when the guests need attention, another drink, food or simply to be left alone is not hard to discern, but if the bartender does not take the job seriously then he/she won’t make the effort to pay attention to the small details. The bartender is not only a professional, but they are masters of multi tasking. Often the same bartender that makes your delicious libations at the bar is servicing the entire restaurant as servers come every few minutes during a busy evening to snatch away fresh cocktails that sail out to the main dining room.
So why is it that the really good bartenders are in the minority of the population? I kick myself for not knowing what a good sales gig I once had working the front of the house in restaurants years ago. I mean, who in the sales industry make 15-20% commission without ever having to cold call, canvass and find their customers. The customers come to you each night and all they want is knowledgeable and competent service. It is a shame that in America the service in the front of restaurants is looked down upon as a mediocre job or a job that is only in passing. I say to be of service to others, in whatever fashion you choose, is one of the most noble endeavors that we can make.
So go to your local watering hole, where you know the bartender is amazing, and tip him/her extra tonight and thank them for being a professional.
It’s been 10 years since I’ve walked through the gardens in Boston. And I must admit that I forgot how beautiful the city is in the summertime. The verdant, ripe and rich landscape is adoringly accented by the twisting and curving streets of Boston and the aroma of fresh blossoms and honeysuckle seem to fill every park and garden. I was duly impressed with the change in the restaurants as well. It seems that Bean Town is growing up and has begun to offer extremely good food and wine at regular and more affordable prices. Every major city in America has their own version of Newbury Street where the typical suspects and styles of ABC town can be found mixed in amongst the interesting and boutique. Walk just a bit off towards downtown and you’ll find the latest incarnation of chef Kerrin Oringer, James Beard best NE award winner, KO Prime. As the name sounds this is a steak house. I am such a fan of the modern steak house, out with the old and in with the clean and new. It’s like spring cleaning across the steak halls of America wiping away the heavy wood paneled, dark and smoky restaurants, and in with the crisp, light and balanced steak houses of the 21st century. The menu is balanced between heavy and light, meat and sea. What a delight to have sashimi, so light and refreshing and then to finish with hangar steak and bone marrow.
Service is the least talked about aspect to dining, and in my opinion, one of the most important elements to creating an excellent dinner. When I go out to eat I am not only looking for excellent food, excitement in the ingredients, caringly prepared and executed but also attentive service. Americans have become all to immune to the young PDQ waiters who are simply there to get a pay check and who don’t really care about doing their job well. I still tip well even when service is bad (old habit of having spent time in the trenches and feeling obliged) much to my own chagrin. So I am asking where is the pride in simply doing a job well? If you don’t know your product or the basics of how and when to get food and beverages to a table then what good are you to the restaurant and the chef that has labored over her food.
This being said I am so happy to say that all of the restaurants I visited in Boston all had stupendous service. And KO Prime was dynamite from top to bottom. I had an especially interesting conversation about organic beverage options that they are trying to use as much as possible at the restaurant. Even down to organically sourced spirits. When you are in Boston stop in for dinner or at least a quiet drink at the bar.
Very rarely in my life have I been at the right time and place for anything special involving celebrities, sightings and/or sport events. I’ve never had a good seat at a Big Ten football game, never caught a home run, or even a foul ball at an MLB game, and I’ve never sat next to a movie star in a restaurant. That is until the fourth Monday of June. I was fortunate enough to participate in a charity event that involved one of our wines, SNAFU, at a killer Chicago wine bar (JUICY WINE BAR), where the Cubs baseball team celebrated their sweep of the AL Central first place White Sox while supporting a fundraising event for Chicago students.
80’s music was floating through the air as the team arrived and were ready to get down with tasty BBQ from SMOKE and delicious wines. We even had some junmai ginjo sake for Fukudome. The sun was setting on the patio and everyone was in happy summertime moods that matched with the perfect weather.
Highlights from the night were speaking with pitchers Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood and Scott Eyre who all have a great zest for the juice and know what they’re talking about. And watching the MLB pitchers learn how to saber a Champagne bottle (opening a bottle of Champagne by cracking the top of the neck off with a heavy knife or saber - please don’t try this at home). Or perhaps it was walking by a Lamborghini in the parking lot. Since all little boys dream of driving expensive race cars, then as adult hood settles into our aura we let that dream float away in the warm winds of summer that when you come face to face with one of the beauties of the 21st century automobile design your heart skips a beat. I don’t know about you but my lifestyle doesn’t afford me such luxuries, nor my friends, so I’m never this close to celebs and their cars. Simply put, how f…g cool!!!
Baseball and wine seem to have something in common. They are both so much better when you pay attention to the details, read the stats so to speak. Knowing where wine comes from is as much the enjoyment as the drinking. And watching professional baseball players do what they do so well is just as exciting as knowing what they’ve done in the past. The drama, the expectation, the highs and lows are in both wine and baseball. And this very well may be the year. So keep drinking for the love of the wine and lets get some more runs!
From the creators of Town Hall and Salt House in San Francisco comes their third restaurant, Anchor and Hope. Just opened in April, 2008. As you can imagine the theme is seafood and the decor exotic/shabby chique. Large black sea-creature fish are painted on the wall above the bar as you walk in the restaurant demanding attention and screaming to all that it is about the seafood. Open and airy, recycled and used timbers adorn the tall vaulted roof and back wall with exposed brick feels comfortable and hip at the same time. The space used to be an auto repair garage and still retains the large openess of a single workspace. It reminded me of a shabby chique decor that ran into Japanese anime on its way to the Bay Area. Very unique, simple and well done (whether you like the screaming painted fish or not).
The wine list is a thoughtful blend of domestic (mostly Californian wine) and a surprising array of Mediterranean styled wines like Vermentino of Sardenia, Northern Spanish Albarino or Viognier from the Var in Provence, France. Perhaps not enough white wine selections as I would like to see since it is a seafood driven restaurant. Some of the dishes that we ate were simple and well executed, but perhaps lacked pizzazz. But the fish stew was magical. Monk fish, mussels, clams, chorizo and a spicy broth all sopped up with crunchy fresh sourdough bread. That was dynamite. If you are a fan of Doug Washington and partners Mitchell and Steve Rosenthal’s Salt House or Town Hall then you must stop by for a visit at Anchor and Hope.
Ask for the “Fries with Eyes.” It is a killer little surprise.
I have to say that when you find something good there’s no reason to keep on looking. My wife and I spent a night in Napa Valley and went back to one of our favorite restaurants, Bouchon. It is the ideal, romantic and exquisitly executed bistro that holds very true to the Lyonaise concept restaurant. Small, traditional, charming with soul filling food. I remember the first time we went to Bouchon 6 years ago and my wife smiled as the waiter placed our bread directly on the table wrapped in wax paper. “Just like in France,” my wife said as we smiled at each other.
Every detail at Bouchon is attended to from the mis en place, custom stenciled plate ware, perfect temperature control of the wines and elegant and charming service. We were excited to start with foie gras (an outlawed dish in our hometown of Chicago, I know, don’t get me started) which was as decadent and rich as you could imagine served with the crunch and tart delight of lightly sauteed rhubarb. We had an excellent Macon (superb value oriented wines that are crisp, chalky and citrus balanced) and an amazing grouper entree as well as the chicken. I remember being told by a chef friend of mine in San Francisco that if you wanted to know how good the chef is at any restaurant try the chicken. If you cannot execute a chicken dish to perfection then all your other dishes are called into question. Not that we were wondering whether the food was going to good to excellent, but the chicken was a magnificent pairing to our Macon white Burgundy. And of course when you are eating traditional food all we wanted was wholesome goodness and satisfaction. Bouchon does it again!
This blog is about traveling across the country. I see so many unique and hidden gems that have incredible people, amazing food, excellent wine, drinks, beers, cocktails that I felt it was important to write about them. Please feel free to share your travel stories and thoughts about the places in your backyard, or from the traveling road.
