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Passion and Prosecco
One of my favorite ways to start a conversation is to ask a trivia question, so here it is. We all take Prosecco for granted – if one wants to casually have a glass of wine with bubbles, Prosecco would handily beat any other sparkling wine as a top choice, no matter where in the world you are. Now, for the trivia part: do you know when Prosecco first appeared in London? I will give you few moments to ponder that question. Meanwhile, few basic facts: Prosecco hails from the hills of Veneto, where wines (still wines, it is) were produced for more than 500 years; Charmat-Martinotti method, used in the production of Prosecco, with the secondary fermentation taking place in a steel tank instead of the bottle (“secondary fermentation” is what produces those adorable bubbles), was first created in 1895. So when do you think Prosecco showed up in London?
The answer: 1989. And all due to the tenacity and passion. Bisol family had been producing the wine in Veneto for more than 20 generations (yes, I do call this a passion). When Gianluca Bisol approached his father and said that he wants to bring Prosecco to London, the father’s response was very quick (cue in Italian pronunciation and emotional hand gestures): “you are crazy!”. That didn’t stop Gianluca, and to London off he went. It appears that his father was almost right – selling unknown sparkling wine, door to door, in the downturn economic times, was not going swimmingly well, by any measure. Until a lucky coincidence (well, people would call it “luck”, but we all know that luck usually works best after applying lots and lots of hard, dedicated effort), when at one of the best restaurants in London, Gianluca met wine director who was not only Italian, but also born and raised in the same Veneto region, and was extremely happy to see his beloved Prosecco. As they like to say it in the books, the rest was history. Today, Prosecco outsells Champagne in UK 3 to 1. And annual production of Prosecco hit 540 million bottles in 2015. Just to finish with historical references, Prosecco made it to the US in 1992/1993 (in case you are wondering).
I had a pleasure of meeting Gianluca Bisol at lunch at Marta restaurant in the New York City, and we spend two hours talking, tasting wines and of course, eating tasty food (detailed account follows). This is where I heard the story of Prosecco concurring the UK, as well as many other interesting facts which all together can be summarized in one single word – passion. Passion for the land, vines and wines. Passion for the whole Veneto region. Passion for the traditions which are more than 20 generations strong. But also a passion for the not stopping, for continuing to innovate and to create – new wines and also new wineries.
Our tasting included 7 different wines, out of which 4 were Bisol wines, but 3 were from the winery called Maeli Colli Euganei, the winery which Gianluca helped to start in 2010. Actually the plan was that at the lunch, Gianluca will be joined by Elisa Dilavanzo, the owner of Maeli winery – unfortunately, Elisa got sick and had to stay behind, so Gianluca had a duty of representing both wineries – which he completed with flying honors, as you can imagine.
We started our tasting with 2014 Maeli Fior d’Arancio DOCG Sweet (6% ABV, SRP $27, Residual sugar 115 g/l, 100% Fior d’Arancia, a.k.a. Yellow Muscat) – nice sweetness, clean, minerality, beautiful sweet nose, bright white fruit, nice honey notes. The grapes for this wine come from volcanic soils, which gives it an interesting complexity, saving it from been “one singular note sweet bore”. It is not surprising that last year this wine was selected as “Best in Class” by Tom Stevenson in the UK in the sweet sparkling wines category. Another interesting fact is that in 2015, Maeli winery started Maeli Chef Cup competition, which will be now an annual event, where world-renown chefs compete to create the best dish pairing for Maeli Fior d’Arancia – if you are interested, here is the link detailing the 2015 competition.
Our next wine was NV Bisol Cartizze Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze D.O.C.G. Spumante Dry (11.5% ABV, SRP $42, Residual sugar 23 g/l, 100% Glera) – some sweetness on the nose, but body very restrained, creamy mouthfeel, delicious aftertaste, beautiful supple palate. The wine can age – Gianluca had an opportunity to taste 20 years old Bisol Cartizze wine – it retained bubbles, but obviously acquired aromas of more mature fruit. As you can see, this wine is designated as Superiore di Cartizze D.O.C.G – Cartizze is a single vineyard, 106 hectares (about 255 acres) in size , one of the best vineyards in Italy (most expensive for sure). 139 families own parcels of the Cartizze vineyard – Bisol family owns their parcel for 21 generations. The cost of land on Cartizze is $2.5M per hectare, or $1M per acre – not sure if anyone is selling though.
Time to eat something, right? The first two wines were paired with the selection of appetizers:
Suppli Cacio e Pepe (Risotto Croquettes, Pecorino, Black Pepper) – nice crust, tasty, works the best with the wine.
Bietole Ai Ferri (Plancha-seared Forono Beets, Ricotta, Hazelnuts) – good, nice flavor, good acidity, hazelnuts work well to complement the wines.
Nebrodini Arrostiti (Wood-fired Mushroom Salad, Kale, Mustard Greens, Thyme, Lemon) – nice, good flavor.
We continued our tasting with NV Bisol Crede Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Spumante Brut (11.5% ABV, SRP $25, Residual sugar 7.5 g/l, blend of Glera, Pinot Bianco and Verdiso). “Crede” is a “type of clay-laden soil with particular characteristics that greatly benefit the grapes”, according to the wine’s tech sheet. The wine had delicious nose, touch of fruit, fine mousse, perfect acidity, crisp, clean finish.
Now we go back to Maeli with our next wine, which was also the only still wine we had in the tasting. 2014 Maeli Colli Euganei Bianco Infinito ∞ Veneto IGT (12.4% ABV, SRP $24, Yellow Muscat 60%, Chardonnay 40%, aged 5 month in steel tanks, 3 month in the bottle) had nice aromatics, touch of lemon on the nose, vanilla, nice complexity on the palate. The name of this wine (infinito) comes from the accident – one of the workers called Elisa to inform her that one of the barrels needs attention, and when she asked which one, he said “infinito”. As she couldn’t understand what the worker was talking about, it appeared that the number “8” was written on the barrel at an angle, and so from there on the wine took the name “infinito”.
Now, the dishes which were paired with these two wines deserve their own commendation. You see, I rarely eat pizza. When I do, my absolute preference is that the pizza would have crisp, crunchy, literally paper-thin crust. This is exactly what I got at Marta – three pizzas, one better than the other (Funghi was my absolute favorite):
Stracciatella (House-made Stracciatella, Basil, Olio Verde) – perfect pairing. Delicious pizza – very thin crust.
Funghi (Fontina, Mozzarella, Hen of the Woods, Hedgehogs, Red Onion, Thyme) incredible, amazing flavor mushrooms and thyme. Great pairing with Bianco Infinito
Porri e Pancetta (Leeks, Bacon, Fontina, Scallion) – great flavor, very good pairing.
Last three wines were truly special and unique – but none of them are available in the US at the moment, unfortunately. 2015 Private Cartizze Zero Dosage Brut Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze D.O.C.G. (second fermentation in the bottle, 12 month on the lees) – first Classic Method sparkling wine from Cartizze, 2015 vintage was bottled 45 days ago, 2011 was the first year of production, 3000 bottles produced in 2015 – classic champagne, yeast, outstanding.
Then we had 2011 Maeli Colli Euganei Rosévento IGT Spumante (12% ABV, Residual sugar 6.9 g/l, 100% Pinot Nero, 36 months on the lees) – another Classic method sparkling wine, yeasty, classic Rosè champagne nose with strawberries, delicious!
The last wine was truly unique – NV Jeio noSO2 Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Spumante Extra Brut (100% Glera) – this innovative wine was produced without any added sulphur dioxide (hence the name), made specially for the sensitive consumers. The wine is packaged in the clear bottle wrapped into the foil, to protect it from the sunlight (the wine we were tasting was brought by Gianluca directly from the winery, so it didn’t have any foil or labeling, except the small pieces of paper around the bottle’s neck. The wine had an amazing nose, floral with a touch of white fruit, very dry and again, floral on the palate – very unique compared to any sparkling wine I had before. Delicious – you need to try it for yourself (well, you might have to visit the winery for that).
Our last two dishes were Pollo Ubriaco (Chicken Breast, Charred Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Fresno Chili, Mint), perfectly executed, and Salmerino (Arctic Char, Crispy Potato Cake, Horseradish Crema) – delicious, potato cakes were outstanding ( I would eat the whole plate alone), and the fish was cooked perfectly.
That’s all I have for you, my friends – a wonderful encounter with passion, great people, unique wines and delicious food. Next time you are in a mood for some bubbles in your glass, Bisol and Maeli offer a great range, suitable for any palate and taste. And even if you are not craving pizza right now, go visit Marta in New York – I’m sure you will be happy. And by the way, feel free to ask your friends if they know when Prosecco was first sold in London – you might become a party star, at least for one night. Cheers!
Marta
at Martha Washington hotel
29 E 29th St
New York, NY 10016
Ph: 212-651-3800
http://www.martamanhattan.com/
Vintage Vespa: Podere Brizio Brunello Dinner
Brunello needs no introduction for the oenophiles. Quintessential, coveted Italian wines, coming from the heart of Tuscany, made from the signature Italian grape Sangiovese (Sangiovese Grosso clone, to be precise). Brunello di Montalcino was the first area in Italy which received in 1980 the status of DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), top quality level designation for the Italian wines; Brunello are some of the most expensive wines coming from Italy today, with some of the bottle prices exceeding $500 on the release (Biondi Santi, Soldera). Wines had been produced in Montalcino for a very long time, going back to the middle ages – it is said that King Charlemagne frequented hills and taverns of the beautiful region – however, back then Montalcino was known for its white wine, called Moscadello. In the 1600s, the red Brunello started to take over the Moscadello, and today, most of the people don’t even know that the white wines are produced in the Montalcino region, as it is the powerful reds we all associate Montalcino with.
Podere Brizio is a relatively young estate in Montalcino, founded in 1996. The estate has about 30 acres of vineyards, practices sustainable viticulture and in the process of becoming certified organic. The grapes are harvested by hand, natural yeasts are used in the winemaking process. Folks at Podere Brizio love the Montalcino history so much that they put “10 Parpagliola coin, coined in 1556 as a symbol of the Republic of Siena in a year in which about 600 noble Sienese families took refuge in the fortress of our town in order to keep the Sienese Republic alive” on the labels of their wines. Podere Brizio produces about 50,000 bottles annually, with the whole production consisting of 3 red wines – Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino and Brunello di Montalcino Riserva.
Now, let’s talk about the dinner, which took place at the restaurant called Vespa in Westport, Connecticut. Not only Vespa offers delicious Italian and Mediterranean food, but the restaurant boasts a wine list which has a lot of unique and interesting wines – when was the last time you saw Erbaluce from Piedmont, Cinque Terre Bianco from Liguria, Frappato from Sicily or a “wine geek special”, Rosso del Contadina from Frank Cornelissen, Sicilian maestro of natural wines? Owner Bobby Werhane has special affinity for the uncommon wines and not afraid to put them on the wine list, which of course makes Vespa a perfect food and wine destination for any foodie and wine aficionado alike – and Vintage Vespa is the series of the wine dinners which serves as a testament to that.
The wines made it into the decanters at some point
We tasted through 4 different wines from Podere Brizio – 2013 Rosso, and Brunello from 2010, 2007 and 2001 vintages, so in essence, this was a vertical tasting. There was one small challenge – the wines were not sufficiently decanted prior to the tasting. Brunello typically are big wines, and they need an ample time in the decanter, or they will not show all its beauty – as you will see from my tasting notes below, this is what happened.
Our dinner consisted of 4 courses. We started with Chicken Liver Pate (Red Onion Mostarda, Toasted Brioche) which had great texture and was absolutely delicious. To my surprise, 2013 Podere Brizio Rosso di Montalcino worked very well with the dish, contrasting the sweet nuances with its tart acidity.
Our second course was Ricotta Cavatelli (Braised Pork Shoulder, Tuscan Kale, Golden Raisins, Toasted Pine Nuts) – again, outstanding, touch of heat and great flavor, hearty and heartwarming (sorry, 2010 was too tight for that, so no pairing notes).
Our main course was Prosciutto Wrapped Veal Tenderloin (Pickeld Sautéed Carrots, Almond Purée) – my notes mostly consist of the exclamation points – wow! flavor! presentation!, so yes, the dish was a treat for the eyes and taste buds alike. After decanting, 2007 Brunello was an excellent complement to this dish, and 2001 Brunello worked very well too.
The desert was outstanding – Coffee Crunch Profiteroles (Mascarpone Cream, Cappuccino Gelato) – imagine a marriage of a classic Profiterole with classic Tiramisu – yep, that was good. And no, we didn’t try to pair the dessert with the wine, we just enjoyed it by itself.
All in all, this was one delicious dinner we have to thank the Executive Chef David White for.
I did my best taking the tasting notes, juggling both delicious food and conversations with other guests, so for what it worth, my tasting notes are below:
2013 Podere Brizio Rosso di Montalcino (13.5% ABV)
C: Garnet
N: Tobacco, earthy undertones, violet
P: Clean acidity, medium body, tart cherries, blackberries, tobacco
V: 7+
2010 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino (14.5% ABV)
C: Garnet
N: Violet, raspberries, blackberries
P: closed. Hint of tart cherries, but not much else
V: the wine was not decanted initially – and this is way too young, needed lots of time in the decanter. No rating.
2007 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino (14.5% ABV)
C: Dark Garnet
N: Touch of plums, but mostly closed
P: Plums, nice tannins, good acidity.
V: 7+, needs time – should be decanted for at least 2 hours
2001 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino (14% ABV)
C: dark Garnet, not a sign of age
N: Intense crushed berries, tar, leather, blackberries
P: Fresh tannins, great acidity, open, vibrant, great concentration and structure
V: 8/8+, just started to open, will shine in 5-10 years.
There you have it, my friends. Delicious food + Great wines = Vintage Vespa. Make sure to keep an eye on Vespa (probably their Facebook page is the easiest) so you will not miss the next wine dinner. Or better yet – head over to the restaurant and just make your own wine dinner – I’m sure you will not be disappointed. Cheers!
Vespa Westport
2A Post Rd West
Westport, CT 06880
Ph:(203) 557-9057
http://vespawestport.com/
Restaurant Files: A Bistronomie Experience, or Brunch at Noir Stamford
No, “Bistronomie” is not defined in Merriam-Webster, not yet anyway, but I expect that you have no problems understanding its meaning – a Gastronomy experience in a Bistro setting, right? It also means that you can eat dessert when you want, but we will talk about it later. Before we continue, I have to give the usual warning – there are lots of food pictures ahead, proceed at your own risk (not sure if “risk” is a right word, but I’m sure you got my point).
Welcome to the recently opened Noir Restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut, which identifies itself as an American Bistronomie. The restaurant looks nice and cozy from the moment you enter, sporting dark quiet decor with interesting paintings on walls – your brain tells you “ha, that looks interesting”, putting you into the right mood, or rather anticipation, for the food to come.
We visited restaurant for Sunday brunch, so what do you typically start your brunch with? Let me rephrase this: when greeted with “what would you like to drink” as you get situated [during brunch], what is the first thing which comes to mind? You might be better than me, but my brain stops at a very pedestrian “mimosa!”. The mimosa was very tasty, but then I actually noticed the cocktail menu – small, but each item on the list looking very intriguing. I had an opportunity to try a number of cocktails and they we all very creative and delicious – and needless to say, visually appealing. I can’t even name a favorite cocktail – well, may be 3 favorites – The Jazzy Latina, The Cabo Mule and The Piscomatico – as I was going from “wow” to “excellent” and back to “wow”.
Our brunch started somewhat traditional with Devilled Eggs (caper aioli, bacon, pimentone) – I love devilled eggs, so I really had to contain myself to behave (meaning: not to move half of the serving dish into my plate), also this was just the beginning of the meal. The dish was very tasty, and as we eat with our eyes first, I can’t help not to commend the presentation.
Our brunch continued – first surprise – with Fresh Fruit with Yogurt. A peculiar side note: few days ago, I read an article suggesting that we eat our fruit all wrong at the end of the meal, which is not right for our digestive system, and instead, we should start our meal with the fresh fruit. I can’t really comment on that, but I can tell you that the fruit was nice, fresh, ripe and tasty.
Next up – Biscuits and Gravy (Homemade buttermilk biscuits, savory sausage gravy). I don’t know even how this works – I don’t have strong cultural connection to the South, where this would be a typical dish – but I love fresh biscuits and savory gravy – this dish was superb. The dish which followed was Pastelon (sweet plantains, seasoned beef, mascarpone cheese), and it even prompted me to do a little research – it appears that “Pastelón is a sweet and salty Puerto Rican version of lasagna or casserole”. I can easily see the similarity with lasagna – the dish had nice layers. I have to also say that it was not overly sweet.
At this point we are in a middle of our meal, and the next up is … remember what I told you before about the Bistronomie? Well, it is not that it is mandatory feature, but yes, we arrived at the dessert in a middle of our meal! First we had Monica’s French Toast (caramelized challah bread, Grand Marnier, browned butter), which was delicious, and it was followed by Banana Foster Griddle Cakes (spiced pancakes, caramelized bananas, praline pecans) which was “please give me a big spoon and everybody leave the room”.
Done with dessert, back to savory! Eggs Benedict, anyone? Isn’t it a classic brunch dish? Yes, I think so. And topped with a little crab? Yes, I know I’m now talking. Crab Eggs Benedict (jumbo lump crab, toast English muffin, hollandaise) – outstanding.
Following an American classic (I always think of Eggs Benedict as a French dish, but it was actually created in the USA) was another Southern specialty – Crispy Chicken and Waffles (home fried crispy chicken, jalapeño maple syrup). I have to tell you that chicken was crispy and tender, and jalapeño maple syrup was simply a stand out. Then we were served Short Rib Hash (slow braised short rib, home fries, fried egg) – isn’t fried egg makes everything look and taste better? I think it does. Overall, this was very tasty dish with one little gripe – the short rib itself was too salty – for sure for my personal taste.
Finishing up on the high note was one last dish, yet another Southern classic – Shrimp and Grits (Cajun Herbed shrimp, creamy grits). While shrimp were perfectly cooked and very tasty, the creamy grits were simply out of this world.
All in all, this was a spectacular meal, and I can’t recommend Noir Bistronomie high enough as location for your next dinner, brunch or simply a place to have a drink at. And before we part, I also would like to thank Chef Francisco Ciciliano who came to speak to us for a few minutes at the end of our food journey.
And of course I have to acknowledge and thank the staff at Noir Stamford for all the wonderful drinks and for taking great care of our group.
So, what do you think about the Bistronomie? Are you going to ask for it now by name? Cheers!
Noir Stamford
225 Summer Street
Stamford CT 06901
Ph: 203.323.2711
https://noirstamford.com/
Hours:
Tuesday thru Thursday 5PM – 10PM
Friday & Saturday 5PM – 11PM
Sunday Brunch 11:30AM – 3PM
Wagyu and Wine
Wagyu burger, anyone? How about glass of Cab with it? Or may be a Pinot? Luckily, it is easy to solve that dilemma – as long as you have Capital Grille restaurant close by. Until November 22, Capital Grille has a special offering on the menu – 2 styles of Wagyu burgers, which you can pair with either 2012 Justin Isosceles Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles or 2013 Landmark Overlook Pinot Noir, California, all for a fixed price of $25, which I think is a great deal for a lunch with a glass of nice wine.
It is so happened that my wife had a day off in a middle of the week – despite the fact that we both work in the same small town, our schedules never align for two of us to have lunch together during the week. As soon as I found out that she will be off on Wednesday, the plan was ready – lunch at Capital Grille it is!
Before we talk about pairings, let me talk about the wines. 2013 Landmark Overlook Pinot Noir, California was a perfect example of California Pinot Noir – touch of smoke, ripe fruit with good acidity, ripe plums, perfect balance – definitely an excellent wine. 2012 Justin Isosceles Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles (15.5% ABV, 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc) was over the top delicious, ripe, exuberant, showing a touch to sweet to my liking, but still delicious and very palatable wine.
And the burgers arrived. The Cheeseburger was served with Fried egg and crisp onions, and the other burger was served with Gorgonzola and black truffle ( this was my choice, and while I ordered it medium-rare-plus, somehow it had a very limited flavor – don’t know why…). So which wine do you think worked better with which burger?
The result of the pairing was very interesting. Landmark Pinot Noir ended up perfectly complementing either one of the burger, and unfortunately, Justin Cab was somewhat fighting with both. No, there was no competition – but Landmark Pinot Noir still won as a pairing choice.
Or at least it did so for me, so you should use your chance to find out. Head over to the Capital Grille, and let me know which pairing will work for you. Not in the mood for a burger? Go find those wines, as they were delicious. Cheers!
Restaurant Files: Tabard Inn in Washington DC
Do you like restaurants with charm? In a lot of cases, people go to the restaurant for the good food and good service. Don’t get me wrong – these are my priorities too. But for me, experiencing a pleasure of just “being inside” is a great bonus too. You walk in, just glance around and say “ahh, I like it here” – this is what I mean by “charm”. You are at the restaurant, waiting for your dining companions to arrive, then you are walking to your table, get seated and situated, and all that time you are thoroughly pleased with surroundings and the atmosphere – I hope you get what I’m talking about here.
If you happened to be in the Washington DC, and would like to visit a restaurant with the charm, I got a recommendation for you – Tabard Inn Restaurant in the area known as Dupont Circle. The restaurant is located inside of the actual hotel (I would designate it more as a B&B) under the same name – Tabard Inn, with the rooms available throughout the three adjacent townhouses – but as I didn’t have a pleasure staying there, we are, of course, will be talking only about the restaurant.
I’m assuming you got my point about the atmosphere and ambiance (relaxing, pleasant, “old glove” comfortable), so let’s talk about food and wine – starting with the wine of course. I really liked the wine list at Tabard Inn – lots of good selections with reasonable prices. The wine list was well rounded internationally, so we managed to make two very interesting ( and highly successful!) choices. For the white, we had 2013 Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko Santorini, Greece (14% ABV, 100% Assyriko, $55 at the restaurant). The group I was dining with typically prefers red wines. However, after trying this wine, the waiter had a hard time to keep the open bottle on the table – the wine was disappearing very quickly. Delicious nose of the white fruit, same white fruit on the palate, crisp, refreshing, medium-bodied, perfectly round – this was one excellent wine (Drinkability: 8).
I managed to surprise myself with the choice of red. It is seldom that I would consciously choose Bordeaux at the restaurant, don’t ask me why. Somehow this wine caught my eye – 2006 Bordeaux for $52. 2006 was a good year in Bordeaux, so why not? When the wine arrived, there was a nice surprise – it was from even a better vintage, one of the best from the 2000 decade – 2005. 2005 Chateau La Croix St André, Lalande-de-Pomerol (13% ABV, 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc), was at the peak of maturity. Stunning depth of dark fruit with spices, black currant, eucalyptus, classic, concentrated and delicious (Drinkability: 8+).
While Tabard Inn restaurant is not necessarily advertised as “farm-to-table”, the menu is focused on the seasonal ingredients and changes all the time. As the group, we usually like to share some appetizers, but somehow this time around, everybody were really focused on conversation (and the wine 🙂 ), so pretty much no food sharing took place. That simply means that I can only tell you about the dishes I selected for my dinner.
For the appetizer I had Tuna Tartar – very tasty, served with the sesame crisps. My main dish was Gumbo (Andouille sausage, shrimp, chicken confit, swordfish, fried oysters) – overall it was tasty, but when I hear “Gumbo”, my first thought is “Louisiana Gumbo” – the dish I had was lacking spicy heat for my personal preference (try to guess if I left anything on the plate because of that).
I had dessert in both standard and liquid forms. I’m a sucker for a bread pudding in any form, so when I heard that dish mentioned by our waiter, I had no choice – and it was very tasty. For the liquid dessert we shared a bottle of 2014 Elio Perrone Sourgal Moscato d’Asti Piedmont DOCG, which was perfectly balanced, not overly sweet, with fine bubbles and nicely refreshing, just a right finish for an excellent dinner.
Looking for the restaurant with the ambiance, charm, great wine list and delicious, seasonally-appropriate food in Washington, DC? I think I just told where to find it. Cheers!
Tabard Inn
1739 N St NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone:(202) 785-1277
http://tabardinn.com/restaurant/
Wines Worth Seeking, and The Food To Match
When it comes to the wine produced in the world, Italy is an unquestionable leader – Italy produces more than twice as much wine as country in the second place – France, and 10 times more than US, which is #4 on the list (numbers from 2014). That essentially means two things:
- There are plenty of Italian wines available at any wine store, definitely the case in US.
- There are lots and lots of producers in Italy which are just starting to conquer the worldwide markets – and they often make wonderful wines.
What is the first region which comes to mind when you think about Italian wines? I bet it is Tuscany for the most, followed probably by Piedmont and then may be the Veneto. Well, we are not going to talk about any of those. Producer which I would like to bring to your attention comes from much lesser known area in central Italy, up on the Adriatic coast – the region called Marche.
Hills of Marche (source: San Giovanni web site)
I can confidently state that 6–7 years ago, absolute majority of the wine drinkers in US never heard of the region Marche. Over the past few years, the situation changed, and Marche wines started showing up in the wine stores, often offering a nice surprise to the consumers who are not afraid to venture out of the all so familiar Chianti, Barolo and Pinot Grigio.
As you probably guessed by now, Marche wines is what we will be talking about today – let me introduce to you Azienda Agrobiologica San Giovanni winery, located on the Piceno hills, few miles from town of Offida. Offida gives name to the Offida DOCG, a wine production area focused on the grape called Pecorino.
San Giovanni winery was officially founded in 1990 (the family was making wine for much longer time). The vineyards extend across 75 acres around the green hills, at an average altitude of about 1000 feet (320 meters). From the very beginning, the winery was built on all organic principles, with utmost respect to the land and the environment. As you would probably expect, the winery practices dry farming and uses only natural yeast. In a quest to produce wines most attuned with nature, San Giovanni winery is even using a different type of natural cork, produced from the sugar cane. As I was reading online, sugar cane corks are touted specifically as the best enclosure for organic wines, and they even boast negative carbon footprint, as sugar cane captures carbon dioxide – not sure how that works, but here is a link in case you want to educate yourself.
Before we will talk about the wines, one more important note about San Giovanni wines. Not only all the wines are organic, they are also Vegan! There are no animal products used in production of the wines, and in 2014 the winery became certified vegan as “Qualità Vegetariana Vegan” by CSQA.
San Giovani uses typical local varieties to produce their wines – Passerina, Pecorino, Trebbiano, Montepulciano and Sangiovese. Overall, San Giovanni makes two different lines of wines – Gyo, meant for an early consumption, and a group of wines more of a “reserve” level (I’m using the word “reserve” here as a very loose term, for the lack of common group’s name). During the tasting, which was also accompanied by a delicious meal, we had a pleasure of trying 4 different San Giovanni wines.
Here are my notes:
2014 Sangiovanni Gyo Pecorino Falerio DOP, Marche (13% ABV, SRP $13, 85% Pecorino, 15% Trebbiano)
N: White fruit, touch of grass
P: Hint of lemon peel, nice plumpness – almost Chardonnay-like, silky. Medium+ body, touch of bitterness.
V: 7+, nice
2014 Sangiovanni Kiara Pecorino Offida DOCG, Marche (13.5% ABV, SRP $20, 100% Pecorino) – this wine is named after owner’s daughter, Kiara. An interesting note – it is considered that Pecorino is at its best after 3 years in the bottle.
N: Bright stone fruit, leeches
P: sweet notes on the palate, apricots, medium to full body, nice acidity, good balance, long finish.
V: 8-, excellent
2014 Sangiovanni Gyo Ross Piceno DOP, Marche (13% ABV, SRP $13, 70% Montepulciano, 30% Sangiovese)
N: crushed fruit, fresh, blackberries
P: soft warm red fruit, nice layers, silky texture, polished and balanced
V: 8. Would be perceived as an expensive wine in the blind tasting. I would gladly drink this wine every day.
2014 Sangiovanni Leo Guelfus Piceno Superiore DOC, Marche (13.5% ABV, SRP $20, 70% Montepulciano, 30% Sangiovese, 18 month in oak, 18 month in the bottle)
N: Concentrated, plums, cherries, touch of herbs
P: Wow! Delicious, fruit, layers, spices, silky smooth, refined, long finish
V: 8+/9-, outstanding wine by itself, and one of the best values you can find at a price. This might be the wine with the best QPR I tasted throughout entire year.
As I mentioned already, the pleasures of the evening were not limited only to the wines. Our tasting took place at Cotto Wine Bar, a wonderful small outpost of authentic Italian cooking in Stamford, Connecticut.
Our hosts spent quite a bit of time going over the menu, looking for the dishes which would help to showcase the wines. As a first course, we had an excellent selection of various cured meats and cheeses – both Gyo and Kiara Pecorino wines perfectly accompanied these, providing nice backbone of acidity.
Next two pasta dishes arrived – Fettucine alla Bolognese (Fresh Homemade Pasta, Meat Ragu, Shaved Ricotta Salata) and Gnocchi alla Genovese (Basil Pesto, Oven Dried Tomato, Pine Nuts, Fresh Perline di Mozzarella), each one being very tasty. Sangiovanni Gyo Rosso Piceno was a perfect suitor here, weaving itself into the flavor profile of the dish.
Our last course consisted of two meat dishes – Agnello Scottadito (Grilled Lamb Chops, sauteed Brussel Sprouts, Pine Nuts and Raisins) and Straccetti Arugula e Parmigiano (Thinly sliced USDA Prime beef served with arugula, Parmesan Cheese and Balsamic Vinegar from Modena), meat cooked to perfection and delicious on its own. The Sangiovanni Leo Guelfus Piceno Superiore, with its firm structure, dark fruit and gentle tannins, perfectly complemented the meats, happily elevating every bite.
There you have it, my friends. Of course, there are lots of wines out there. But the great part of enjoyment of wine comes from the joy of discovery. And this is exactly what I’m taking about here. Sangiovanni wines bring together lots of unique qualities – not only these are tasty wines, but they are also organic, they are good for vegans, and they deliver an outstanding QPR. These are definitely the wines worth seeking.
And if you are ever in Stamford, and craving good Italian food, Cotto Wine Bar might be just “it”. Cheers!
Cotto Winebar and Trattoria
51 Bank St
Stamford, CT 06901
Phone: (203) 914-1400
http://cottowinebar.com/
Missing Vino Volo at Newark Airport – Oeno is Just Not It
Don’t know if you can figure out from the title, but yes, this will be a rant. There were a few rants in this blog before (I even have a dedicated category for that) – and every time I contemplate the same question – “should I do it or not”. The problem with the rant is that while it is often a quick “feel good” solution for the “rantee”, it can theoretically have some consequences for the object of rant. But outside of the letting the steam to blow off from a bad experience, I see the rant as a criticism, and criticism is a good thing – it identifies problems which can be fixed (or not, of course). Okay, let me not making this post a rant about rant – let’s proceed to our subject.
I’m regularly traveling for business for the long time. As previously reported in this blog, the situation with food significantly improved at most of the US airports. And not only with food, but with wine as well – on a multiple occasions I wrote happy posts about Vino Volo stores available in many airports – including the one at Newark Airport in New Jersey (here is the link). At Vino Volo, you can always expect to find an interesting wine flight at a reasonable price, especially considering the airport location, and a tasty and thoughtful bite of food.
Now, as it happened last year, Vino Volo was kicked out of the Terminal C, and replaced by the restaurant called Oeno Wine Bar. Oeno tried to replicate Vino Volo’s model by offering wine flights as well as wine by the glass and by the bottle, and of course, food to go with it. So far so good, right?
First thing as you walk into Oeno is that nobody greets you. Okay, quite common at the airport. Next, you have to find the table, sit yourself, and start navigating the iPad on the stand which crowns every table at the restaurant. The iPad presents all the food and wine, grouped in the number of categories. 
Now, as you try to dig into the wines, there are a few surprises which one runs into. First of all, the prices – there are 6 wine flights offered, priced either at $36 or $54 – most of the Vino Volo flights were priced under $25, so $54 for the tasting flight, seriously? The prices for the glass of wine range from $10 going into the $40s (not bad for the airport, right? – $40+ for a glass of wine on the go). But – for me, an oenophile who was served by Vino Volo very amicably, the biggest gripe is the full lack of information. Despite the fact that you have in front of you an iPad, an electronic device which allows to have pretty much an unlimited amount of information for each and every item offered, Oeno menu provides literally no relevant information. It seems that the only reason to offer the menus on the iPads is to make it easy to charge the customers in dollars or in frequent flyer currency – points/miles. Nobody cares also to provide a service with that, make sure people actually like what you are offering (yes, I mean “information” by the service).
Let me advance my gripe further. Considering complete lack of information, I decided to at least order something inexpensive, so I went with Jelu Pinot Noir, at $10.50 per glass. I couldn’t figure it out where the wine was from, as no information was available. After tasting something pretty much undrinakble – hot, unbalanced, biting wine – I had to look it up. It appears that this was a Pinot Noir from Argentina, and it also appears the the whole bottle cost as much in retail as I paid for the glass. Had I known that this was a Pinot Noir from Argentina, I would simply avoid ordering that – you can hardly go wrong with Malbec from Argentina at any price level, but when it comes to Pinot Noir, you better know the wine and/or producer.
Leaving the wine aside (as I did with my glass), the food was also marginally successful. I ordered a Smoked Salmon Panini. While I understand that Panini is a pressed sandwich, I didn’t expect that smoked salmon panini would be put under a hot press. Ever had hot smoked salmon? This is not the most delicious food in the world, as the heat accentuates the saltiness of the salmon, and really makes it marginally enjoyable. Never mind the price of $14.25 – for that amount of money, you can have 2 or even 3 excellent sandwiches in most of the European airports…
The iPad system at Oeno is really focused on getting money or miles (the points) out of you, at the same time providing as little service as possible, as you do everything on that iPad (you have to place an order and pay before anything gets to your table). To add insult to the injury, the tip of 20% is added to your payment at the time of the order (for some reason it is called “check-out”, even it is the first thing you have to do to get your food). The only service you get is your food placed in front of you, but nevertheless, you are paying as you are at a high end restaurant with great service.
And the last thing which I found extremely annoying: the push to get you to use your frequent flyer miles. If you travel enough, I’m sure you know that all those “rewards points” don’t come very easily, with the airlines constantly looking for the ways to reduce your frequent flyer benefits. Now, every item on the menu has price both in dollars and in miles. For the glass of Prosecco, you could elect to pay $14.10, or use 2,020 miles. As long as you don’t analyze the numbers, and have millions of frequent flyer miles in your account, you probably don’t care about “just 2000” miles. Now, think about this: if you have no status with United, to earn the same 2000 miles, you have to buy a $400+ ticket (it should be $400 before taxes and fees), as you are only getting 5 miles per dollar on United. If you are short 2,000 miles for your award ticket, you can buy them from United, at a measly price of $70 – but here you are, offered to spend that same 2,000 miles on a glass of bubbly instead of $14. And when you refuse to do so, you are asked to fill out a survey to explain why did you refuse the offer to pay with miles. Don’t know about you, but I find this preposterous.
Okay, let’s end this Friday rant. If you travel through Newark airport, and especially if you are an oenophile, I have only one recommendation for you – avoid Oeno. Unless someone at Oeno wakes up and makes changes to transform it into really a desirable destination, as Vino Volo was. Until then, take your hard earned money elsewhere, and – Vino Volo, I miss you very much… Cheers!
Oeno Wine Bar
Newark Liberty International Airport
Terminal C
Gates 70-89
Wine Dinner at Brasserie Louis
I love traditions. I’m not talking about anything which is covered in dust and lasted for hundreds of years. I’m talking about simple life pleasures which you call traditions as long as it is something you do repeatedly, hopefully with joy and pleasure.
For about 5 years, we get together with group of friends for a weekend in August, which we call an “Adults Getaway”. The program for the “adults getaway” usually includes driving to an interesting small town within 200 miles radius, a wine tasting if there is a winery near by (doesn’t have to be a winery – one year we visited Hudson Distillery, for instance), a tasty dinner, a stay over at a nice B&B – but primarily lots great and fun time together.
When it comes to the tasty dinner, we usually try to control that experience as much as possible – that translates into finding local restaurant which will be willing to host us and work with us to create tasting menu, and ideally, allow us to bring our own wine which we will of course pair with the dishes on the menu.
Few weeks ago we got together for our “adults getaway” at Lewisburg in Pennsylvania. Our “anchor” for the trip was visit to the local winery, Fero Vineyards, which will be a subject of a separate post. For the dinner we contacted a few local restaurants, and finally decided to have our dinner at Brasserie Louis.
We didn’t have any specific dining theme in mind, and the suggested menu we received from Scott, owner of Brasserie Louis, exceeded our expectations – 11 different dishes – the dinner looked very promising. Now we had to decide on the wine pairings and go have fun. 11 dishes doesn’t mean we have to have 11 wines – we settled on 7 wines, as two of the desserts really were calling for the two different wine pairings.
The day arrived and we all got together (overcoming some interesting difficulties, such as flat run-flat tire, which appears to be a serious ordeal, especially during long distance travel) and here is the account of the wine dinner with all the details.
Appetizers:
We started with Shrimp Ceviche (diced raw shrimp pieces in lime juice with cilantro, bell pepper, salt and pepper) – very nicely executed dish, great flavor, touch of heat. Our wine pairing was 2014 Fattoria Laila Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC, Italy (13% ABV, $11) – wine had a good open profile with some flower and white fruit notes, but most importantly, it paired perfectly with the flavor of ceviche, complementing and enhancing the dish.
Our second dish was Wild Mushroom Tart (puff pastry with wild mushrooms, Gruyere cheese and shallots topped with greens and a balsamic glaze) – another excellent dish, with peppery arugula melding well together with the earthy mushrooms and adding lightness to the cheese. The wine pairing here was NV Anna Codorniu Brut Rosé, Spain (12% ABV, $13, 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay) – one of my favorite Sparklers, Anna Codorniu always over-delivers, with good structure and good body. Here the pairing was also successful, with the wine complementing the dish very well.
Intermediate:
Our “in-between” dish was Harvest Salad (baby arugula with goat cheese, beets and candied walnuts tossed with a Champagne vinaigrette) – nice crunch, fresh, simple – and we used the same Anna Codorniu with this dish, and again, this was an excellent pairing.
And now, for the Main Course:
We started with Hand formed Crab Cake (lemon Beurre Blanc sauce, green pea risotto) – this was easily the best dish of the evening. You know how often crab cakes contain a lot of other “stuff”, various fillers (corn, peppers, etc)? This crab cake had just honest goodness of a pure, delicious crab meat – I only had anything similar in Maryland, which can be called a crab cake capital with its blue crab. This was just a “wow”dish. Our wine pairing was also excellent – 2013 Jean-Luc Colombo La Redonne Cotes du Rhone, France (13.5% ABV, $20, 70% Viognier, 30% Roussanne) – Jean-Luc Colombo is a very good producer out of Rhone, and this was one of his higher end wines – plump, full bodied, silky – complemented mild crab cake flavors spot on.
Next up – Black Sesame Crusted Yellowfin Tuna Steak (Yuzu teriyaki glaze) – the dish was nice and simple (tuna was a touch overcooked to my taste, I like it rare), and it paired very well with one of my all-time favorite red wines – 2013 Laetitia Estate Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley, California (13.9% ABV, $20). Laetitia makes an excellent range of Pinot Noir wines, where Estate is an introductory level wine – which makes it perfectly ready to drink young. Delicious California Pinot Noir profile – smoke, plums, touch of earthiness – outstanding. The pairing worked quite well by complementing and enhancing the flavors of the dish.
We continued with Duck a l’Orange (pan seared duck breast, Grand Marnier reduction) – this was an okay dish (my piece of duck was slightly overcooked), but the sauce was excellent and fresh. We used the same Pinot Noir for the pairing, and wine and food worked together well.
Taking a break from the proteins, our next dish was Ratatouille (Provencal vegetable stew of zucchini, squash, wild mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, eggplant and sweet potatoes, touch of Parmesan cheese). This was the dish where the mastery of the Chef combined with amazing Pennsylvania vegetables (I’ve traveled all over East Coast – nothing beats PA vegetables, I’m dead serious) to bring out simply a perfection on the plate – vegetables still had a crunch, and the whole dish was just another “wow” experience.
Our choice of wine for the this and next 2 dishes was 2008 M. Chapoutier Domaine de Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem Cotes de Roussillon Villages, France (14% ABV, $55/magnum). M. Chapoutier needs no introductions as one of the very best producers in Rhone, and this wine was outstanding – complex, with a touch of roasted flavors, great minerality, lavender. However, there was one problem – this wine didn’t pair well with Ratatouille, and it didn’t pair well with two other dishes. In some cases, it was indifferent (didn’t complement or contrast), and with Ratatouille it was even working against the dish. Well – it is what it is – we still enjoyed the wine and the food – just separately.
Our next dish was Lamb Chops (herb mustard crusted rack of lamb, minted demi-glace) – meat was nicely cooked, and of course lamb and mint jelly is a classic combination.
We finished our main course with Filet Mignon (grilled filet, scalloped potatoes and wilted spinach, truffled veal demi-glace) – the presentation was very interesting, with the steak knife put directly into each piece of the meat. The meat was cooked very well, and overall dish was tasty. And this was probably the only dish where Cotes de Roussillon wine paired marginally acceptable.
Finally, we are at Dessert!
We had two desserts to finish our evening. Strawberry Zabaione (egg yolks, sugar, Marsala wine, fresh strawberries) was very tasty and not too sweet. We paired it with NV Tütidì Brachetto Piemonte DOC, Italy (7% ABV, $12/1L). Brachetto is a lightly fizzed wine with a nice fruit notes, and it perfectly complements wide range of lighter desserts – and this was a case of a perfect pairing – they were delicious together.
We finished our dinner with Flourless Chocolate Cake, which was paired with Mount Palomar Limited Reserve Port, Temecula Valley, California (18% ABV, $38). Port and Chocolate – do I need to say more?
There you have it my friends – our wine dinner at Brasserie Louis in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. What is left for me to do here is to say Thank You to the owner Scott, Chef Chris Rubino and all the staff at the restaurant who made sure we will have a great time. Cheers!
Brasserie Louis
101 Market Street
Lewisburg, PA 17837
Phone: (570) 524-5559
Facebook: Brasserie Louis
How Good Celebrity Chef’s Restaurant Can be? Mesa Grill in Las Vegas
Have you ever watched any of the cooking competitions on the Food Network or any other food channels on TV and wondered – how good those chefs really are? Okay, I’m going too far – they must be good at cooking, that shouldn’t be questioned. But – many of those celebrity chefs own restaurants, and in some cases, multiple restaurants, and it is obvious that they don’t personally cook there on an average day, so how good those restaurants can be?
When it comes to the celebrity chefs, Bobby Flay is surely leading the pack. He is an Iron Chef, and he has his own show “Beat Bobby Flay”, where he is fiercely competes with guest chefs – no questions, Bobby Flay knows how to cook.
Bobby Flay owns multiple restaurants around the country. During my recent trip to Las Vegas, I stayed at Caesars Palace casino – which happened to be a home to one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants, Mesa Grill. As you can imagine, I had to use such opportunity to try it out.
We arrived at the restaurant at around 6:30 p.m., and to my surprise we were told that yes, no problems, you will have to wait only for 5 minutes (of course it was in a middle of the week, but still I was expecting a much longer wait). 5 minutes later we were sitting at the table.
Let’s start from the wine list. The wine list was reasonably sized with good diversity – California, Washington, France, Italy, Spain. There were enough of the reasonably priced wines (under $50); overall, most of the wines were prices at the triple retail. Spanish wine selection was particularly good – Rioja, Ribera Del Duero, Priorat. We settled for 2012 Dominio de Pingus Psi (14% ABV, $85 restaurant wine list price, 100% Tempranillo). This wine comes from the vineyards neighboring the main vineyard of Dominio de Pingus, one of the most “cult” wineries in Spain. The wine was perfectly restrained, with the nose of dark black fruit, firm structure on the palate, young, but well integrated tannins, licorice and fresh acidity. Great wine to have with food and without (finding this wine in the stores might be a challenge though).
And now, let’s talk food. First, the bread basket appeared, featuring Jalapeño bread, raisin and walnut bread and corn bread. All bread was excellent, but Jalapeño bread was a particular standout, delivering nice kick few moments after you would finish chewing on it.
Our appetizer was Goat Cheese “Queso Fundido” (Rajas, Blistered Serrano Vinaigrette + Blue Corn Tortilla Strips), served with house made tortilla chips. Nice presentation, great flavor, touch of heat, very tasty.
There were lots of good choices for the main course – Sixteen Spice Chicken, Cascabel Chile Crusted Rabbit and Mango+Spice Crusted Tuna Steak all sounded very appealing, but I had to settle for Blue Corn Crusted Halibut (Warm Salsa Cruda, Sweet 100 Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Oregano + Jalapeno). Our waiter mentioned that Halibut was in the prime season, and somehow all the ingredients sounded very appealing, thus I had to go with it. The dish was just “wow” – great dance of flavors, very creative use of Kalamata olives to add saltiness instead of capers, perfectly cooked fish – delicious! As an added bonus I have to mention that our Tempranillo wine perfectly complemented the dish, enhancing the earthy profile – this happened to be a spot on pairing. We also enjoyed a side order of Roasted Corn (Chipotle Aioli, Lime Cilantro + Cotija) – I generally like this dish often called “Mexican Street Corn”, and the one at the restaurant was nicely done.
Choosing the dessert was also very hard – I wanted to ask for a bite of every dessert on menu, but then I had to bully down that inner kid and we only asked for one – Chocolate Cajeta Cake (Chocolate + Vanilla Swirl Ice Cream + Salted Chocolate Crunch) – the cake was a bit dense, but overall the combination with crunch and ice cream was very tasty.
Overall, this was an outstanding dining experience, and I’m glad to see that my fear of disappointment never materialized. Of course Las Vegas became a culinary mecca nowadays, but in itself this is no guarantee of an amazing meal – thus I’m glad to recommend Mesa Grill as well worthy your attention when you will have an opportunity. Another win for Chef Bobby Flay and a great meal for us. Cheers!
Mesa Grill
3570 Las Vegas Boulevard S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone: (877) 346-4642
http://www.mesagrill.com/las-vegas-restaurant/
Restaurant Files: Skipper Restaurant and Chowder House, Cape Cod
And we are back again to the wonderful and relaxing Cape Cod. No, I’m not lucky enough to visit Cape Cod again, but I get to re-live some happy and tasty moments while writing this post.
Skipper Restaurant (full and official name: The Skipper Restaurant and Chowder House) first opened in 1936 in South Yarmouth, and it had been around ever since, opened from April to October. I’m not sure how we found The Skipper Restaurant last year – I guess by reading some of the online reviews, but I can tell you – when we were planning this year’s trip, visiting Skipper Restaurant was unquestionable, mandatory part of the Cape Cod vacation.
Skipper Restaurant serves quintessential New England food. I’m using the word “quintessential”, which sounds big and imposing, but to me, there are few dishes which say, or better yet, scream “New England” – New England Clam Chowder, Baked Seafood, Fish and Chips and Lobster Roll would be my perfect list. You can find all these dishes at the Skipper Restaurant, and boy, are they tasty!
When it comes to the New England Clam Chowder, I don’t know what places have better bragging rights than the Skipper Restaurant, which is a triple crown holder, as the winner of Cape Cod, Boston and Newport Chowder festivals. If you like New England Clam Chowder than Skipper Restaurant is a must stop for you, as the Clam Chowder doesn’t get any better than the one which is served here. It doesn’t have anything extra, like bacon – just cream, clams and potatoes, honest, dense and delicious. I know this picture will not do justice to the dish, but then taking pictures of the soup is not that easy in any case:
It is not only seafood which is tasty at the Skipper Restaurant – they are also famous for the overabundant appetizer of onion rings – a very dangerous dish, as once you start eating those, you can’t stop! And the bread basket which shows up on the table first, belongs to the same “dangerous” category – I think we went through three of them before the main dishes arrived (and it was not because we had to wait for the long time 🙂 ).
And our main course included all the best dishes New England cuisine can offer – Baked Seafood Sampler, Fried Calamari, Fish and Chips and of course, the Lobster Roll:
Each and every dish was excellent in its own right – fresh, succulent, flavorful and delicious – let’s leave it like that to avoid excessive drooling on your part. And of course, I have to mention the service, which was friendly, attentive and helpful – exactly what you need to make it for the great restaurant experience.
If you plan to visit Skipper Restaurant (and if you are on the Cape Cod, I would say this is simply a must), just a bit of advice. The restaurant doesn’t accept the reservations, therefore you need to prepare to wait – but the experience worth the wait. If you are okay with an early dinner ( and considering the amount of food you will be offered, early dinner is a great idea), come to the restaurant at around 4:30 or 5 – your wait will be quite reasonable. Another “duh” advice – if you can, avoid Friday and Saturday nights – those are the busiest and your wait will be the longest.
We are done here, my friends. If you would like to experience quintessential New England cuisine, you don’t need to look further than Skipper Restaurant – I’m sure you will not be disappointed. Cheers!
The Skipper Restaurants and Chowder House
152 South Shore Drive
South Yarmouth, MA 02664
Phone: 508-394-7406
Last Bottle Sign Up ($10 credit)
Talk-A-Vino 