MARIANI’S

  February 27, 2005                                                        NEWSLETTER

                                                                                 Oscar Night Edition

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NEWS UPDATE:  My new web site's home page is now up and running, which I will update with food & travel information and help link readers to other first-rate travel & food sites. To see it, click on: home page

ACCESS TO ARCHIVE:  Readers may now access an Archive of all past newsletters--each annotated--dating back to July, 2003, by simply clicking on www.johnmariani.com/archive .

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OSCAR NIGHT MOVIE QUIZ
by John Mariani

      Once again it's Academy Awards Night, so I thought it would be fun to give a quiz of great moments in the movies when food, drink and restaurants played a part.  See how you do. Answers are at the end of this newsletter.



1. In which movie did Michelle Pfeiffer run a trendy restaurant in L.A.?

2. In which movie did Jason Robards Jr. order "a hamburger and a flashlight" in a dark  restaurant?

3. Which restaurant was featured in both "the Sweet Smell of Success" and "Wall Street"?

4. To which restaurant did Jimmy Stewart repeatedly take Kim Novak for dinner in "Vertigo"?

5. Which diner was the setting for the movie "Diner"?

6. To which restaurant did Jack Nicholson take Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment"?











7. In which movie did Jack Nicholson throw all the dishes on the floor of a truck stop diner?












8. In which NYC deli did Meg Ryan fake an orgasm?












9. In which Bronx restaurant did Al Pacino kill a police captain in "The Godfather"?











10. In which James Bond movie does Sean Connery set a waiter on fire?











11. In which movie does a starving Charlie Chaplin eat his shoe?

12. In which movie do Reese's Pieces play a part?

   The success of  “Sideways” and the controversy over the documentary "Mondovino" (to be released  sometime in March) will probably send  Hollywood   producers into the vineyards for more wine stories. Already scheduled is a film with the unimaginative title “Death in the Vineyard,” to be shot in New York’s Finger Lakes this July. For copycat producers seeking titles more likely to appeal to the wine crowd, here are ten  suggestions:

Last of the Manischewitz

The Pleasure of the Sierra  Madre

 The Thirst of a Nation

         Italians from other parts of Italy love telling visitors that Milan is not really an Italian city. 
Which is only true if you think of flamboyantly baroque cities like Rome, Naples, and Palermo as typically Italian.
 In fact, Milan is a Gothic Lombardian city, second in population to Rome, and extraordinarily rich in art, from the exquisite Duomo and glorious Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (left) to the great Pinacoteca di Brera and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.  It is a European business center, somewhat less of an industrial city than it once was, and has an indigenous cuisine among the best in Italy.  Add to that the proximity of the beautiful Lakes District, and you have one of Italy's grandest and most sophisticated cities.
      What the Four Seasons Hotel, converted from a convent,  brought to Milan ten years ago in terms of modern luxe at a time when most of the old grand hotels were still stuck in the 1960s, the year-old Park Hyatt Milano (1 Via Tommaso Grossi; 011-39 02-8821-1234) has brought into the 21st century.  Indeed, in terms of its luxury, its modernity, and its business amenities, this is one of the two or three finest hotels in Europe right now and likely to remain the gold standard while others catch up.
       The recasting of an 1870 building by architect Ed Tuttle, who also did the excellent Park Hyatt Vendôme in Paris, has resulted in a seamless match of the 19th and 21st centuries, beginning with a glass dome (right) above the lobby restaurant (below, left) that echoes that of the nearby Galleria.  Here (an area with wireless internet access), wrapped in travertine marble, with walnut-backed banquettes and alabaster panels, you may have a lovely breakfast up until 10:30 AM, then an all-day menu until midnight. 
     The hotel has a spa with gym, 117 rooms--including an extraordinary aerie on the top floor that overlooks the city--and a lovely, very chic Park Bar, where you're likely to run into any of the fashionistas who traipse through Milan at any time of year.  Guest rooms are superbly decorated in a warm minimalist style, with taffeta walls and fine linens throughout, travertine marble baths, spacious vanities and closets, Bang & Olufsen video and satellite systems, and beautiful artwork.
      The service staff, overseen by manager Claudio Ceccherelli, who came from the Villa d'Este, is as accomplished and as multilingual as any in Italy.
    The hotel's main dining room is The Park (below), a serene, low-lighted pastel-colored in the same marble and fabrics found throughout the hotel, with artwork by Kim Rebholz.  The stemware is beautifully shaped, from Milanese wine emporium Spazio Scarpitti Enoteca, and the china is Limoges.

     Chef Fabio Brambrilla has a light touch with Italian and Mediterranean flavors, starting with an amuse of prawns in a cloak of fried cappellini, with a puree of eggplant.  This might be followed with a fresh porcini salad with a poached egg, Parmigiano shavings and black truffles, or swordfish carpaccio with Sicilian oranges and marinated red onion.  Buckwheat noodles come in a fondue of pumpkin with black truffle shavings, and he does a fabulous risotto simmered in red wine with casera mountain cheese--a superb example of modern pasta making.
For entrees I enjoyed pan-fried guinea fowl with chestnuts, a potato mousse and black truffles, and a fillet of fine cod in a sauce of white onions and sautéed chanterelles.  If some of the cooking lacks an intensity you come to expect in Italian food, it is of a refined style and quite personalized and out of the ordinary in Milan.
      Desserts are very beautiful, from glazed figs with goat's cheese ricotta ice cream and raisin sweet bread to a citrus cake with warm dark chocolate soup and fior di latte ice cream, again desserts you will not easily find anywhere else in town.
      The Park's wine list is immediately one of the grandest and deepest in Italy. 

      Over near the Brera is one of my favorite small Lombardian trattorias, Nabucco (10 Via Fiori; 011-39-02-860-663; www.nabucco.it), set down a narrow cobblestone street, with a pretty patio out front and a series of three cozy dining rooms inside.  The people here are very amiable, English is spoken, and the winelist, though somewhat short of Lombardian bottlings, is solid and moderately priced.  Our bottle of a slightly sparkling La Tossa Colli Piacentini Valnure '03 was just $24, and it was delicious to sip outside in the sun as my wife and I shared a plate of pink shrimp with sweet red peppers and spinach as an antipasto. Housemade tortelli stuffed with arugula, and ravioli with ricotta and a dressing of sage-butter were excellent, simple and light for lunch (which is why the Milanese women don't gain wait, and we followed this with a crisp, buttery costoletta alle milanese, a classic of the city's gastronomy.  Our meal, with wine ($28), coffee, water, service, and tax, came to about $120.

      
      I wish I could report that there was anything at all to praise about the 300-year-old Boeucc, a venerable ristorante on the beautiful Piazza Belgioioso.  Behind a fine 18th-century façade is a very tired restaurant (right) whose clientele looks much the same and whose deluxe trappings went out of fashion around the time Emilio Pucci made his first wrap dresses. The draperies are heavy draperies, the columns, marble, the chandeliers crystal, all in need of refreshment, although the stained glass window is quite attractive. 
        The wait staff wears tuxedoes, even at lunch, and the food is lackluster, in a style that calls up the word "continental." The restaurant's web site says the place is frequented by the "elite of management, style, culture, art, theater, music and international politics," though the crowd on the day I visited just looked as if they wanted to get through lunch and back to the office.  Except for a stellar winelist, there really is very little to recommend from Chef Dino Miso's menu: Tagliolini with lobster seemed tossed together, a very un-Italian duck with orange sauce was insipid, and pumpkin ravioli bland.  This is not one of those once-in-a-lifetime restaurants that's seen better days, Something tells me there were no better days.
     And the place is not cheap: Figure on about $60 per person, before wine, but including tax and service.
    
    
     Certainly the best restaurant in Milan is not in Milan.
         It is in a charming small hill town named Soriso, about half an hour from Malpensa Airport.
       Al Sorriso (18 Via Roma;  03220983-228; www.alsorriso.com ) is run with the ultimate in Italian hospitality by Angelo, Luisa Marelli and Paola Valazza.  Angelo, who speaks several languages fluently, is the impeccably dressed front man, his wife Luisa is the chef, and Paola, their daughter, is also now in the kitchen preparing a menu that balances regional  specialties and ingredients with true culinary refinement.
       There are eight rooms at the inn (below), each lovingly decorated, and the Valazzas treat their guests like family members, ever going far beyond the call of duty to make them feel comfortable.  There is almost nothing they can't or won't do for their guests, as when two American businessmen arrived three hours late for dinner because a massive snowstorm had closed most routes to the restaurant.  Though the men were the only guests that night, the Valazzas and their entire staff stayed to serve them a beautiful dinner and take care of their rest.  Then, suddenly, in the middle of the night, one of the men had an urgent call that demanded he be back in the U.S. the next day, but the snowstorm had grounded every flight out of  Malpensa Airport.  Ever willing to accept a challenge, Signore Valazza somehow located a friend at the airport who said there was one flight leaving for Brussels in the next hour or so.  He immediately revved up his SUV and drove his guest, through blinding snow, to Malpensa and got him on the flight.  That is typical of the care Il Sorriso doles out daily.
     And what of the food and wine?  Well, it is among the best in Italy and all of Europe, matched, in my opinion by only two a handful others. The wine list has extraordinary breadth and depth both in Italian and international bottlings, so Sig. Valazza is as likely to have you try a superb Gewürztraminer eiswein as he is to serve you a glorious old Barbaresco or Barolo from a small estate.  There is also a very lovely selection of dessert wines by the glass.
     There are various options for ordering here: There are two different  120 Euro menu ( $156), including tax and service,  of seven courses, or you may order à la carte, with antipasti running 36-38€ ($47-$50), pastas 28-36 €s ($36-$47), and main courses 34-38€  ($44-$50).
     You will be seated in a dining room of ideal size for the kind of exquisite cooking required.  Tables are set with the finest linens, silverware, and stemware.  The menus are beautifully printed.  The service staff is young and extremely dedicated to the ideals the Valazzas have set here as their personal standards of taste.  Nothing I have ever been served at Al Sorriso (I always leave it to Signora Valazza to choose for me)  has been less than stellar (the restaurant has three Michelin stars, by the way).  She might send out a confit of sweet onions with goose liver made specially for them in Italy, in a sweet-sour agrodolce sauce.  A creamed tomato and basil soup, called a passata, comes with nubbins of shrimp and a flan of black rice with olive oil and melon. Raviolini stuffed with local cheese and glossed with butter made in the Alps and scented with marjoram shows how something so simple can be so ravishingly good.  Other pastas include egg pasta agnolotti stuffed with duck meat in an aromatic sauce of herbs and funghi porcini, and ricotta-and-spinach gnocchetti with squares of good liver and a sweet Gorgonzola sauce.
 
    For main courses seafood and meats are equality tantalizing. Of the former you might wisely and happily choose rombo chiodato (what the French call turbot) with a ragoût of mushrooms and beets with a subtly sweet accent of acacia honey.  If you love lamb, you will be delighted with the quality of the rack here, coated with seasoned breadcrumbs and thyme.  The breast of squab is superb, cooked with balsamic vinegar with Vignola cherries.  Loin of locally raised rabbit is perfumed with rosemary and served with olives and a little peperonata.
    There are excellent cheeses and desserts are modern and sumptuous, from a chocolate sformatino (flan) with gianduja of hazelnuts and honey with a Moscato zabaglione to a lovely dish of cooked green figs with fig ice cream and a sauce of bilberries.
    Assuming you need not fly back to the U.S. in the middle of the night, you may follow such a rapturous meal with a very quiet sleep in a very comfortable bed.  Tomorrow you may wander the small hill town and start thinking about lunch with the Valazzas, who are always and ever there. 

          The number of good restaurants in NYC is impossible for me or anyone else to keep up with, so it is with genuine delight that I found myself catching up with a Greek restaurant that has been pleasing its neighborhood customers for three years now and doing so with gusto and spirit.  Ethos is a small, very comfortable, brick-walled 75-seat restaurant that is not very different from many others in style but does what it does with  a fervent desire to please.  If I lived in this neck of the Manhattan woods, I would be here at least once a week.
     It was a bitter cold New York night when I visited but the place was packed with people who seemed to revel in the familiarity of the place, and waiters seemed to know most of their clientele.  In warmer weather they open the windows to the street (left), which may not resemble Plaka but has its al fresco charms nonetheless.
     Owners John Capetanos, John Colombus, Kyriakos Depountis, and Chef Costas Avlonitis are clearly the kinds of restaurateurs who are in this for the long haul by appealing to their regular customers while trying to win favor with newcomers by treating them all the same.  Ask a waiter for some restaurant recommendations in Athens, and he'll write them down for you before you leave.  Ask for a good wine suggestion, and you'll have that immediately and dependably.
     The menu covers all the usual bases, "με αέρα"-- with panache--from dishes like tender octopus skaras grilled over charcoal with olive oil and lemon to some of the best spanakopita I've ever tasted, the ideal blend of crisp phyllo, herbs, spinach, and feta cheese.  I also have high applause for the saganaki melted with a hot pepper sauce.  A roasted eggplant and garlic dish called meltizanosalata and the grapevines called dolmades were all right but came to the table too cold. 

      Ethos follows the now well-established custom in NYC of showing their fresh fish on ice (below), and they are prepared whole and priced by the pound, so you may choose from impeccably grilled tsipoura (porgy), kalogria (sea bass), barbounia (red mullet), lavraki (striped bass) and others.  For me there is nothing better than fish grilled over charcoal and served on the succulent bone, with just olive oil and lemon, and some crispy lemon-roasted potatoes on the side.  With a good bottle of Agiorgitiko, I am as happy as Alcaeus when he wrote, "Throw a log on the fire and mix the flattering wine."
       There are several clay pot dishes here, including very good, though not particularly creamy, moussaka with ground lamb, and delicious arni, braised lamb in a tomato sauce with herbs and kefalograviera cheese.  On the side order horta (steamed dandelions) or fasolakia (stewed string beans). 
   Desserts are the usual card of sweet Greek specialties, but they are not cloying here and meant to be shared over a cup of strong, dark Greek coffee, here properly prepared to your taste.
       At a time when cost drives restaurant success, Ethos is in  it for the long run, with appetizers $6-$13 and main courses $14-$24 and whole fish priced by the pound, from $14-$19.

ONWARD AND UPWARD IN LAS VEGAS



“Waitresses [at the Coyote Ugly Bar in Las Vegas] in jeans, spiky belts and tiny-tank tops bark orders at the lively crowd, rewarding the brave souls who dance on the bar with shots of liquor poured directly into their mouths.  Disobey and you may get more than you bargained for.  'Michelle was shy and decided she didn’t want to take her bra off,' scoffs the Coyote. 'That means you have to get down on your knees and take five shots.' . . . By the time she hits three her head jerks to the side. Face wrinkles, nose wrinkles. But she holds it down and takes the remaining two before leaving the stage.”—Emily Gannon, “You’ve Been Served: Drinkeries Take on New Sex Appeal with Hot Waitress Action,”  M Lifestyle.

TOO BAD THE SHRIMP DIDN'T HIT THE SURGEON

 I will be hosting a very special and, I think unique, cruise event this summer from June 4-16 on the  S. S. Crystal Serenity.
    I have chosen some of my favorite places in the whole world to visit and dine at, including Alain Ducasse’s illustrious three-star Louis XV restaurant in Monaco, and the enchanting Don Alfonso on the Amalfi Coast.  You will be treated to the finest these and other dedicated restaurateurs have to offer in their unique way.     I will be telling you everything worth knowing about the food and wines of the regions we visit—Dubrovnik, Barcelona, Monaco, Florence, St. Tropez, Sorrento, and Rome—including the best places to find haute cuisine to the most charming trattoria or the liveliest bistros and cafes.    
     My wife Galina, co-author with me of The Italian American Cookbook (which we’ll sign copies of), will also be giving an exclusive cooking lesson onboard I know you will enjoy.
    Between relaxing and enjoying yourselves onboard and coming with us to the loveliest sites and restaurants in the Mediterranean, you will have a unique and memorable trip and, I hope, become as familiar with these glorious places, cultures, and people as I am.     Galina and I look forward to seeing you onboard in June!    For details, go to http://www.festivalsafloat.com/html/mariani/letter.html
-- John Mariani
  

QUICK BYTES

* For the month of March, Seafood Brasserie in Santa Rosa, CA,  will raise money for Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa's Breast Care Center by hosting "Women Change America"/Sonoma Women in Wine, a series of wine tastings nearly every Mon., Wed., &  Thurs. There is no charge; money will be raised thru silent auctions held in conjunction with the tastings: March 2--Mazzocco Vineyards: March 3--Chalk Hill Estate; March 7--Chateau St. Jean, and many others. Call 707- 636-7388.

* The White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine, features a series of special weekends this spring:  March 4-6 & 18-20: A tour the wine cellar; wine tasting with cheese on Friday afternoon; a Saturday afternoon blending and tasting with  and a 6-course dinner with wines. $448 pp; April 1-3 & 15-17: April Arts Series: Cocktail party at the Mast Cove Gallery with prominent local artists; a special Gallery tour including the VIP treatment and a lecture by artist Dennis Perrin; breakfast and tea at the White Barn Inn each day of stay; and a 4-course dinner;  Two-night package from $419 pp; April 22-24, 2005:  Cooking School Weekend with  Chef Jonathan Cartwright incl. signed copy of his cookbook, cocktail party, tour of the kitchen and wine cellar, cooking class, and 6-course dinner.  Two-night package from $486 pp; May 608 & 20-22: May Maritime Series: Cocktail party; Sat. Boat Building tour with lecture; cruise aboard True Blue, continental breakfast and afternoon tea each day; and a 4-course dinner.  Two-night package from $439 per person, double occupancy. Call 207- 967.2321 or visit www.whitebarninn.com.

* On March 7 Wisteria in Atlanta  will host a wine dinner with Rubissow-Sargent Winery,  with a 4-course dinner prepared by Executive Chef Jason Hill.  Winery owners George and Marina Rubissow will be hosting the event.  $65 pp. Call 404-525-3363.

* Starting March 7, Chef Ken Vedrinski of Sienna in Charleston SC will be offering a special family style dinner, “Mama Volpe’s Italian Feast,” incl. antipasto, fritto misto, pasta, chicken and veal, and carafes of wine. $42 pp.
Visit www.siennadining.com or call 843-881-8820.

* On March 11& 12  Wine Rave NYC will be held at the Metropolitan as an entertaining way to taste and learn about wine and spirits, with a sampling of more than 200 wines from around the world,  seminars, and food. General admission is $48 pp,  $80 for a VIP ticket that includes special VIP hours, priority admission to seminars, access to a VIP lounge area and a complimentary gift.  Visit www.wineravenyc.com, or call 212-352-9900.

* On  March 11 & 12,  a lunch will be held by Empty Bowl and the Houston Ctr. for Contemporary Craft to benefit the Houston Food Bank.  For a minimum $20 donation, diners receive a soup prepared by the Houston Food Bank Community Kitchen, along with bread and water, then select a hand-crafted bowl.  Events will be held at Heritage Hall in the JP Morgan Chase Bldg on March 11, and the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft on March 2.

* On March 11 & 12, Chicago's one sixtyblue presents a selection of wines, incl. Peter Michael, Bryant Family and Pride Mountain at a 5-course meal prepared by Chef Martial Noguier, in the  private dining room. $300 pp. Call 312-850-0303.

* From March 12-20 Philadelphia’s Twentieth Anniversary KitchenAid The Book and The Cook will be held, featuring 72 cookbook authors and food and wine teamed with chefs and restaurateurs at 65 of the region’s  restaurants and caterers at 78 dining events. Cooks and authors will include Marcus Samuelsson, Ming Tsai, Giuliano Bugialli, Patricia Wells, John Mariani, Michael Romano, Anne Willan, Mary Ann Esposito, Jim Coleman, Zarela Martinez, Michael Jackson, David Rosengarten, and Paula Wolfert.  The final weekend is The Culinary Market & Showcase  in the Ft. Washington Expo Ctr., with over 125 exhibit booths of food and wine exhibitors; an extensive collection of cookbooks;  and dozens of authors on hand for book signings.  For info on all events visit www.thebookandthecook.com. To obtain a copy of the printed Official Event Guide, call 215-545-4543 or 888-742-1336.

* On March 13, Daniel Boulud of Daniel in NYC joins Alain Ducasse of Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, Thomas Keller of Per Se, Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, Masa Takayama of Masa, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten of Jean-Georges, for a dinner and auction to benefit CITYMEALS.  Visit www.danielnyc.com

* On March 14 NYC’s Estiatorio Milos will host a  benefit dinner for the Gennadius Library of Athens, in conjunction with the traditional “Clean Monday” celebration with  a buffet dinner with wine and dancing with live music from Gregory Maninakis and the Mikrokosmos Ensemble. Each guest will receive a gift bag with Kir-Yanni wine and Mercouri olive oil and "Clean Monday...recipes for fasting in style" cookbook  by Diane Kochilas. $175 pp Call 609-683-0800 Ext. 14. . . The restaurant will also be hosting their traditional Greek Easter lamb roast on April 30.  Call 212-245-7400.

* Spanish food and wine authority Gerry Dawes will be speaking on various culinary topics at the  Museum Restaurant at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Friday nights during the Salvador Dali exhibition. The cost of the dinners with all wines is $125 for non-members of Museum, $100 for members.  The schedule:  March 18 -  Basque, Taberna del Alabadero, Wash., D.C., Basque wines from Rioja; April 22: Levante, Valencia; This event may be with the chefs from Ca Sento (Valencia) and El Poblet (Denia);  May 13 : The cuisine of Castilla-Leon with the wines of the Ribera del Duero. Call 215- 684-7990.

* The Mark, New York, announces its 2005 schedule for “The Wine Scene with Richard Dean," a series of  wine tastings, seminars and gourmet meals. March 21: Chapoutier, with Gerard Boyer,  $95 pp; April 4:  Canadian Dinner, with Amy Meyer of Bouquet du Vin,  $90.; April 11: Louis Jadot, with Olivier Masmondet,  $120; April 18:  California Wine Dinner, with Dan Cohn of B.R.Cohn Winery,  $90;  April 25: Domaine Fournier Loire Valley, with David Milligan, $85; For complete list  call 212- 879-1864.

* For  St. Patrick's Day, The Merrion in Dublin is offering 2 packages at savings and added values up to 40% for visitors, with accommodations at  €130 ($169) pp  in a double or twin room in the Garden Wing, a Black Velvet Cocktail on arrival, full Irish breakfast. Guests may extend their stay for an additional €125 ($162.50). Or, for €195 ($253.50) pp:  All the above plus 2 grandstand tickets for the St. Patrick's Festival Parade, incl. a box of nibbles for guests to keep hunger at bay while enjoying the parade.  Valid from March 11- 20. Call 011 353-1-603-0600 or Leading Hotels of the World at 1 800 223-6800;  www.merrionhotel.com.

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MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly.  Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani,  Naomi  Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson,  Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, Lucy Gordan, Suzanne Wright. Contributing Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery,  Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.

 John Mariani is a columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Diversion and the Harper Collection. He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink (Broadway), and, with his wife Galina, the award-winning new Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press).   To order books from Amazon.com, click on the book front below.

copyright John Mariani 2005