MARIANI’S

  March 20, 2005                                                                  NEWSLETTER

                                                     Valencian Clementines (2004)   Photo: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery

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VALENCIA, Part One by John Mariani

ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS AT Michelin and Relais & Chateaux for 2005 by John Mariani

NEW YORK CORNER: Lo Scalco by John Mariani

QUICK BYTES

Valencia, Part One
by John Mariani
Photos by Galina Stepanoff-Dargery

    Those who have already plied the usual tourist routes of Spain to Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, and Mallorca, may only then think of next exploring Valencia, the very beautiful and amazingly modern city in the Levante.  Not to do so is to miss a region of great beauty and modernity and a gentleness of life still palpable in the street festivals and nightlife.
       To the south is sun-burnt Alicante and sprawling outwards are vineyards of remarkable diversity.  Fertile and fecund, Valencia's coastal plain has been called the "garden of Spain," and there is even a significant rice production in paddies just outside the city.  Valencia has also lent its name to an orange.
     Although the region was colonized by the Greeks, Valencia takes its name from the Latin word valentia, meaning "strength" or "vigor." For hundreds of years the Moors dominated the region, until El Cid captured the city in 1094. It returned to Moorish rule in 1102 until Jaume I of Aragon drove them out for good in 1238.  Things went well after that, so that by the 15th and 16th centuries Valencia's  economy, acadamies and cultural life rivaled those of Barcelona's.
     Still, while the fortunes and touristic pleasures of other Spanish cities flourished in the post-Franco period, Valencia, now with one million inhabitants, had to play catch-up and has done so with a vigor that shows first and foremost in the diverting of the river Turia, which had for decades brought destructive flooding.  Now the Turia flows beneath a magnificent municipal park, and the river's former bridges are now lovely edifices that span the greenery from the Paseo de la Alameda and  streets on east  side to the Paseo de la Ciudela and streets on the west.  Within this park  are museums and exhibition spaces of daunting progressive architecture, certainly among the finest in Europe, with more to come.  At a section called the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias (right), designed by Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela, there is an oceanographic museum, a Museum of Science, a Hemisphere, a Palace of Arts, and a Palace of Music, all within steps of each another.  Also nearby  is the exceptional and admirably lighted Museo de Bellas Artes, with extensive medieval and early Renaissance masterpieces along with works by Andrea del Sarto, Van Dyck, Murillo, and El Greco, and roomful of Goyas.  But the late self-portrait of Diego Velasquez (left) is one of those paintings worth a journey in itself, a proud but sympathetic face that seems to have seen all the world's virtues and vice. Indeed, not to visit Valencia is to miss these and other treasures you probably never knew existed. But they are here in impressive numbers.

     The heart of Valencia is its historic center, anchored by the  august double towered entrance to what was once a walled city.  The spiritual heart of the city, however, is its glorious  Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral,  built over 200 years  and attentuated with baroque and rococo flourishes (the final spire was erected in 1736), although many of these accretions  were removed when the Cathedral was restored close to its original style.
     The proximity of everything you want to see in Valencia makes a two- or three-day visit ideal, and there are plenty of good hotels centrally located from which to fan out.  We stayed at a pleasantly serviceable modern place, the Hotel Husa Dimar (80 Gran Via Marques del Turia; 963-951-030; www.husa.es), which seemed to be just a block or two from everything, including the extremely helpful  Valencia tourism and convention bureau (41 Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas;  963-606-353), where you can obtain a "Valencia Card," which offers 1-3 days of free public transport and discounts in museums, restaurants, and shops.
      The city has a splendid, immaculate food market, especially impressive for its glistening array of seafood. There is a market where you may observe people learning the art of weaving and sewing, a ceramics market, and another massive edifice (right) transformed into a dazzling exposition of contemporary café society, with several late-night spots where the well-dressed Valencians come for drinks and coffee and exhibit the kind of vitality that is driving the city. (I shall be treating of Valencia's restaurant scene in an upcoming article within the next few weeks.)
      Visiting the area's vineyards is well worth renting a car for, and many of the best and most modern are open to the public for tastings.  You might want to make your first stop the Wine Museum in Utiel, which has an unique round-shaped cellar and good exhibitions of the history of winemaking in Valencia.  There are also ancient wine caves set deep into the earth in the charming old town of Requena, whose archeology dates back to the Fifteenth Century, and these too may be visited on a guided tour. 
    The region's vineyards are Spain's second largest producer--after La Mancha--and a new, young generation of  winemakers is now stressing quality over quantity, estate bottlings over bulk wine, proving that formerly low-regarded local grapes like Bobal, Verdil, Muscat, and Monastrell can be made into wines of power and complexity.  “Everyone around here said, ‘Don’t be stupid. Bobal is just a bulk wine,’" recalls ponytailed vintner Alvaro Faubel Frauendorff of the Dominio de la Vega winery, which only released its first bottles in 2000. "It’s easy to make a `typical’ regional wine, but it’s much harder to make a very good one.”  He has certainly succeeded: His Reserva ’01 (40% Bobal, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Tempranillo) is a magnificent red wine, with a powerful bouquet of cinnamon and flowers, a peppery beginning and very big finish with softening tannins.  “This wine needs sunglasses,” says Frauendorff. The price? Eight euros, about $10.25.
     Even at the large cooperatives there has been a major shift towards higher quality. Bodegas Bocopa is comprised of 1,800 wine growers on 8,000 hectares of land and represents 60% of the Alicante region’s wines under D.O. (denomination of origin) regulations. In 2000 a new, state-of-the-art facility was built on the Alicante-Madrid motorway to process the grapes and wines of its members. And I had a chance to taste Bodegas Gutierrez de la Vega's superb dessert wines (one of them served at last year's royal wedding) he names after an aria, "Casta Diva," from Bellini's Norma.
     The Valencians are so feast happy, that it is highly probable that whatever time of year you visit you'll run right into one going on in the streets and plazas of the old city. A religious holiday, a saint's day, a military victory, a harvest--all reason enough for a feast.  In the town of Bunol, La Tomatina festival draws 30,000 people who throw 240,000 tomatoes at each other.  But the grandest festival is Fallas de San José, held this month and dating back to the Middle Ages.  The city of Valencia shuts down, the streets teem with revelers, there are parades of women in traditional, very expensive gowns and jewels created specially for the pageant, flowers are strewn before Nuestra Senora de los Desamparados (Our Lady of the Forsaken), patroness of the city, and they hold the  "Nit del Foc" (Night of the Fire), on which humorous cardboard figures called "fallas" are set afire in the plazas.
      It is this cherished traditionalism and religious overtones that buoy Valencians' pride, but they are well aware, as you too will be, that this is quickly becoming one of the most modern cities in Spain.

      For more on Valencia visit www.turisvalencia.es

     "The Food of Valencia," will appear within a few weeks.

ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS: THE NEW MICHELIN GUIDE France 2005 and RELAIS & CHATEAUX  2005

    As sure as spring, but with somewhat more of an on-time arrival, the new Michelin Guide to France 2005 and the new edition of Relais & Chateaux members for 2005 have just been published.  And while there are no shocking revisions in either, both guides provide a good way to track what's going on at the higher levels of hotels and restaurants.
      The Michelin Guides, with sales of 1.5 million copies a year, covering 12 European countries,  have had some rocky days over the last few years, not least this,  when the company had to withdraw 50,000 copies of its guide to the Benelux countries for rating a place that had not yet even opened. The Ostend Queen restaurant in Belgium was awarded a "Bib Gourmand" ("an establishment offering good-quality cuisine for under 25€"); its consultant was three-star chef Pierre Wynants, who told  La Libre newspaper that Michelin's recommendation was "based on the plans and the menu" and that editors "decided to mention us in the 2005 edition so that we should not wait for a year."
   But this was not the first time Michelin had rated  a restaurant that was not yet open.   A few years ago, the restaurant at the Hotel Meurice in Paris hung on to its one-star rating (it now has two) despite the hotel's  then being closed for renovation and not due to re-open for three or four months after the Guide came out. 
 London's Michelin Building with Bibendum balloons       On that occasion, then-director of the Guides Bernard Naegellen told me that "we felt confident because they would have the same staff as when they closed."
       But the real nagging problem with the Guides is their secretiveness, which subsequent directors have tried to lighten up in recent years. In the past the workings of the inspectors--even their numbers--were as secret as a Masonic Lodge's; restaurants were never told why they won or lost a star, even though winning a star meant overnight success, and losing one  a tremendous step backward.  Michelin never even hints at  what their rigorous guidelines might be, though they become obvious when you walk into a two- or three-star dining room.  Michelin insists they have never required a  restaurant invest millions of dollars in decor, but no two- or three-star restaurant in the Guides is ever anything but ultra-deluxe, from the silverware on the table to the golden faucets in the w.c.  Not knowing how they can improve their standing can be enormously frustrating for  restaurateurs and hoteliers, and rumors fly feverishly through  the  hospitality community in the weeks prior to the March publication.  This year, the cat was out of the bag when a bookstore in Corsica began selling the 2005 edition days earlier than stipulated pub date. Everyone I spoke to in France last week knew the results days before the book hit the bookstalls everywhere else.
     So what's new about the 2005 France Guide?   There is only one new three-star restaurant, Le Clos des Cimes in the town of  Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid.   All the three-stars in Paris held on to theirs.   This year Michelin added a new  feature--"Rising Stars," printed in red, for restaurants on track to win a star or go to two or three, if they keep up the good work.  There are  11 new two-star additions, including, in Paris,  Les Ambassadeurs at the Crillon, Apicius, and Astrance.   The  "Rising Stars" that may rise to three stars are Maisons de Bricourt in Cancale, L'Oasis at La Napoule, Le Meurice in Paris, Pré-Catalan in Paris, and Château Cordeillan Bages in Pauillac.  There are 42 one-star additions, with 18 in the "Rising Star" category.
      The appearance of the France Guide is always news, but the big news this year is that Michelin, after years of trying to figure out how to do it at all,  is going to issue a guide to New York this November.   Inspections are well underway, and the hospitality community in New York  is fretting as to how  much clout Michelin  will have  in  a city whose  restaurant ratings have for so long been dominated by the  Zagat Guides, which does no inspections whatsoever and  ranks restaurants solely on what people choose to send in, whether they've ever visited the restaurants or not.  
        My suspicions are that the Michelin Guide to New York will be fodder for enormous foodie  chatter, and reputations will be in the balance.  The question I have is  how will Michelin will be able to rate the myriad kinds of restaurants  New York possesses.  For although  Michelin has been a bit more liberal towards non-French restaurants in its European guides, French or French-style restaurants overwhelmingly dominate in every European country covered. The Guides seem to have difficulty  assessing restaurants whose food doesn't fall into their inspectors' idea of posh dining.  Shockingly, not a single restaurant in London has three stars, though  there are two in Bray-on-Thames. According to Michelin, three-star restaurants are extremely rare in Italy, Spain, and Germany.  
        Were I to hazard a guess as to which New York restaurants will merit three stars from Michelin, they would all be French--Daniel,  Alain Ducasse,  perhaps Jean-Georges.  Michelin seems to care not a fig whether or not a name chef ever visits the restaurant that bears his name as long as the meal was good.  There are other idiosyncrasies that may make the New York ratings difficult.  Maguy Lecoze of the great Le Bernardin once told me that Michelin informed her that her restaurant, then in Paris,  would never get three stars because it only served seafood. What Michelin will make of marvelous NYC restaurants like Gotham Bar & Grill, San Domenico, Eleven Madison Park, Felidia, and Danube is anybody's guess.  How will they rank NYC steakhouses?  Time will tell.
     Relais & Chateaux (www.relaischateaux.com), now in its 51st year,  does not so much rate small hotels and restaurants as it does accept them into their prestigious fold, described as "the prestigious global association which serves as an ambassador for the French `art de vivre' and the highest culinary standards.  Each establishment embodies the association's quality charter of the five `C's'--Courtesy, Charm, Character, Calm and Cuisine."
    One must apply for membership and pass rigorous inspections, and currently 440 properties are members,  some of whom have this year received special trophies for having an exceptional spa or contribution to environmental protection. 
     This year 19 properties have become members, including Mosconi restaurant in Luxembourg, Hotel Copernicus in Krakow (Poland's first), Spondi restaurant in Athens,  and Restaurante Atrio in Caceres, Spain.  The five new "Relais Gourmands" members (reserved for restaurants of outstanding quality) are Atrio and Santceloni (both in Spain), Jean-Paul Bondoux in Buenos Aires, Mosconi in Luxembourg, and Spondi in Athens.
    Thirty-four properties left the association in 2005, "two-thirds for reasons of quality." What the other third left for is not specified, but the list can only make one wonder about big names like Pierre Gagnaire in Paris, Ermitage Am See in Küsnacht (SW), Ambasciata in Quistello (IT), the Morrison House in Washington, DC, and the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, CA.   For future comparison, the only NYC member of Relais Goumands is Jean-Georges.
     
 

NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani

Lo Scalco
313 Church Street
212-343-2900

      There hasn’t been all that much culinary excitement in TriBeCa in the last couple of years, its thunder stolen (for the moment) by the trendier Meat Packing District, where a new restaurant seems to open every ten minutes (and closes three months later).  TriBeCa may, in fact, have as many good restaurants as it needs, from Montrachet and Chanterelle to Nobu and Danube, all within a block of one another.
      But the arrival of Lo Scalco is nothing but good news, for the area could still use an Italian restaurant of this style and scope, and Chef Mauro Manfrici and his designer wife Kimberly, has given real spark to the neighborhood.  Mauro, who was born in Trieste and worked previously at both Felidia and I Trulli, as well as in France at Le Moulin de Mougins and in Italy at San Domenico, has fashioned his menu according to ingredients in categories that allow you to choose that ingredient in several forms.  It’s an intriguing idea, though if you go with a table of four, you’ll be sharing plates before long.
       Kimberly’s dining room design (below) is a striking balance of seeming minimalism with the dramatic flair of arched white beams and ceramic chandeliers that evoke the comforting aura of a small church, the lineaments of a baronial barn, and, with its striking painting of a Renaissance courtier up front, a shot of Renaissance elegance.  The tables are nicely separated and well appointed, the lighting flattering, and the sound level mercifully civilized--a rare virtue these days.
       When I visited, the ingredients categories (which change with the seasons) were carciofi (artichokes), asparagi, pomodoro (tomatoes),  scampi (langoustines), sogliola (sole), vitello (veal), agnello (lamb), and anatra (duck). with three dishes within each category, and they may be had as appetizers or entrees, although the entrée portions are standard size and run $28-$34.  There are also tasting menus at $48, $58, and $64.
       Since there were four of us at the table, we picked and chose widely, starting with a roasted artichoke and quail salad whose flavors mingled very well, the artichokes tender as the quail breast was juicy.  Asparagus and squab tortelli with a marjoram sauce was delicious, and green tomatoes with swordfish and capers from Pantelleria was a delightful form of what might be termed sea and  soil. There are also three different pastas with three different tomato sauces.
     Roasted branzino came succulent and sided with scampi tails lightly perfumed with rosemary—simple, perfect, delicate. Sole may be had within a large, long ravioli with caviar and chives or as a roasted filet, while braised veal shank with saffron, lemon and sage formed one of the heartier of dishes.  If you’re up for lamb, choose among a lamb chop with a lovely,  light fondue of pecorino cheese, tomato, and basil; or sliced leg of lamb filled with vegetables  and a baby arugula salad on the side; lamb lasagna comes with a fava bean purée and crisp pancetta.
     And for duck, there is an appetizer of duck prosciutto graced with balsamic vinegar and a tangy apple salad, or as a ragù mixed with taglioline, a quail’s eggs, and a little foie gras for good, lusty measure. Roasted duck breast comes with fresh herbs tolled with the skin and meat of suckling pig—a marvelous tour de force and a great dish.
     There is a good selection of nine Italian cheeses each night—varieties you won’t easily encounter elsewhere—and a page of desserts, sorbetti and gelati that includes a “crispy lasagna” with pastry cream, apples, and banana, and a creamy rice pudding with fresh berries and ice cream.  Best of all was a sweet walnut-pear tart with bread pudding ice cream.
     The wine list at Lo Scalco is very well chosen to go with Manfrici's fare, and it  is fairly priced for various budgets.  The service may still need some time to settle in.
     Lo Scalco’s name refers to a chef in an aristocrat’s home, and, aside from a few service gaffes, you may well feel you have come to a modern Milanese barone’s country home where his chef is cooking in a 21s century style that reveals much about his very refined, personal taste.
       Main courses run $28-$30, with a 4-course tasting menu at $48, five at $58, and six at $64.

Ker's Winghouse of Atlanta won a suit brought by Hooters of America, Inc., which accused Ker's of copying several features of their waitresses' outfits--sexually provocative tight-fitting shorts and T-shirts. The court clearly stated that the Hooters uniforms play a "functional role."  Trade and patent lawyer Anton Hopen stated (in Nation's Restaurant News) that "There's no question that Hooters Girls add value to the restaurants, but a larger question that came up was `Does using attractive women in a state of semi-undress have a particular function?"

"The next morning, pushed by that irritating and misguided American urge to get out and see something 'worthwhile' (and not having completely learned from Mussolini's mistake), John and I left the premises.  Neither of us had ever been to Verona, about an hour away, so off we went, guidebooks in hand. First, I fell flat on my face, a victim of the city's endless maze of cobblestone streets and sidewalks (as well as my unwillingness to wear anything other than Manolo Blahnik high-heeled boots).  Next we went to a highly recommended wine bar, whose menu included donkey stew and horseman.  That was it. I no longer had the slightest desire to see Juliet's silly balcony--I longed instead for the cozy warmth of Bob's Bar, where I could  make my own drink in an antique glass."--Julia Reed, Food & Wine.

 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
  

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).  

copyright John Mariani 2005