Got Cheese?
June 2005
Wine and cheese at the end of a meal. It was a flash back to life in Europe for me. During the last decade or so living in New England, the cheese plate and its role as a foil to the conclusion of a great bottle of red wine has eluded me. It's just not fashionable and rarely offered. Perhaps, because we New Englanders don't linger over the end of our meals. I am not sure. Maybe the restaurants want us out so they can seat another party. Maybe we live such hectic and driven lives that we no longer have any interest in lingering over that last glass with some fine cheese. Maybe we just don't have the cheeses that Europe has – definitely not the case!
Is Your Brain Surgeon Qualified? All about Keith Hicks and the Gunsmoke Saloon.
June 2005
One of the more interesting debates in the restaurant world, centers around the background and qualifications of a chef, especially celebrity chefs. Where did they learn to cook? Who did they cook under? Where else did they work? The dining public seems preoccupied with lineage and pedigree almost to the point of ignoring the obvious – can a chef really cook?.
In the wine industry, it seems that screw caps are the tide and middle-aged wine drinkers, or oenophiles, as we like to be called, are the wannabe King Kanutes, trying to turn back the tide.
Each year, Boston's chefs battle it out to produce the best food creation that imitates art. This year, “Edible Art” was held at the Top of The Hub's Skywalk on the 50th floor of the Prudential building in Boston. Throngs of well heeled guests admired the food sculptures, tasted samples from some of the leading local restaurants, sipped several varieties of wine, listened to live music all as they watched the sun go down over the “Citgo” sign. The event supports the Art Institute of Boston and included a silent auction of some of the student's work.
Because we are giving away a cruise for two, we decided to make a sacrifice and see for ourselves what it's all about. We packed some suntan lotion and headed down to the Caribbean to check out cruising, see what the food and facilities were like and decide if it was anywhere near as good as promised.
Wine Pairing dinners are all the rage at the moment. They allow a chef to bring together the best of their cooking with some great wines for an almost always appreciative audience. We recently ventured out to Newport to the Chanler one of the countries top hotels to try out a wine pairing at the Spiced Pear, the hotel's highly regarded restaurant.
I spent this week going from place to place in Dallas shooting food pictures and interviewing chefs. Dallas is a booming foodies paradise. There seems to be about three restaurants for every adult (actually there are around 12,000, but who's counting?). One of our first ports-of-call was “Aurora” a New American restaurant with European influences. The outside held no clue to the wonders that lay within and let me tell you, wonders there were. Avner Samuel is one of the few chef-owners who has started a new fine-dining restaurant that is almost certainly destined to ascend to the very pinnacle of his profession
Mohegan Sun is situated just inside the Connecticut border, a short drive off route 395. It's easy to get to, easy to park and the casino is a adult playland complete with everything you need for a fun weekend or day out. The most surprising thing is the wonderful décor. The architecture and surroundings are on a par with anything you see in Las Vegas. You can wander the complex, gamble, shop, eat and drink, all in high-class and attractive surroundings.
The Charlestown Pond Oyster of Rhode Island, Gallagher’s favorite, is harvested only for McCormick & Schmick’s, and is the best East Coast seller. Its flesh is flat and silky, and its flavor begins salty, but lingers a subtle sweetness. Hafner prefers West coast oysters, and favors the Kumamoto oyster of Humboldt Bay, California. These oysters are cupped in smaller and deeper shells, and although meatier then the Charlestown variety, are creamy in texture and are much sweeter throughout.
33 Restaurant -- New Chef, New
Look September 2004
Nothing stands still
in the restaurant business and owners
Greg Den Herder and Igor Blatnik have
given the 33 a new look and taste for
the fall season. Their revamp includes
a new chef, new decor and an all new
menu.
The biggest of these changes is certainly the arrival of Chef Anthony
Dawodu from the Aujord'hui Restaurant at the Four Seasons in
Boston.
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