MARIANI’S

            Virtual Gourmet


  October 2, 2005                                                        NEWSLETTER

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                                                              Colt 45 Malt Liquor Ad (circa 1977)


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In This Issue

Noshing on Nantucket  by John A. Curtas

NEW YORK CORNER: Bottega del Vino  by John Mariani

QUICK BYTES

Noshing on Nantucket
          by John A. Curtas

Photo: Linda Holch         hhh                                                         
New Englanders are always telling you
Nantucket isn’t as nice as it used to be.  But I have a feeling people have been saying that for about a hundred years.  Still, strolling the streets on a balmy 80-degree day in late July, it is hard to find anything to complain about.   The cobblestone streets, culled from recycled rocks used as ballast on Nantucket whaling ships, are as rocky as ever, and there’s still Congdon’s Pharmacy right next door to the Nantucket Pharmacy, replete with wooden screen doors and old-fashioned lunch counters. The only franchises on the island are the two supermarkets and one Ralph Lauren store.
       As an off-and-on visitor since 1985, I can claim some perspective on how things have (or haven’t) changed since the boom-boom eighties, but I tend to look past such things and concentrate on eating seafood.  My usual haunts are all  still there--Sayles Seafood for great chowder, lobsters from the tank, and clambakes to order; the Straight Wharf Fish Store for off-the-boat swordfish, blues and striped bass; and Mac’s Diner at Children’s Beach for the best sugar doughnuts on earth.  Small, light, ethereally cakey and always warm, they have supplanted The Downyflake for island fried dough supremacy. But I digress.
       With only a few days to spend among these old haunts, my two dinners were spent checking out an old favorite and then a relative newcomer.  Years ago I would stare into The Club Car (
1 Main Street; 508-228-1101; click here)jj, and wonder who had the cash to appreciate “The Cuisine of Michael Shannon.”  With its raging bar scene in the railroad car that gives this place its name, the dining room (right) is slightly dowdy, with old money décor and classic French cooking, The Club Car is a throwback, but these days the tariffs don’t seem as intimidating (especially if you live and dine in Las Vegas, as I do), and the dining room and the food served there seem to fit like a comfortable old shoe .
       Five years ago Shannon turned over the stoves to Tom Proch, his sous-chef since 1984, who'll tell you he had never heard of Nantucket when he came to the island after graduating from Johnson & Wales in Providence in 1983.  But he took to it like a fish to water and now lives there full time with his wife and two children.  In the off season (the restaurant opens before Memorial Day, and closes after the last weekend in October, then reopens for the month of December), he makes his way as a jack-of-all-trades, pounding nails and doing whatever odd jobs come his way.  But when he hangs up his tool belt and mans the stoves, a classically trained French chef comes out.
      There is also a bit of fusion to his menu, especially in the appetizers: "Octopus in the Style of Bangkok" is not something that would have been a big mover in 1988, but these days these charred half-circular strips are visible on more than a few tables.   Complemented by lime, mint, cilantro, and sweetish Tiparos fish sauce, they disappeared quickly at our table.  Likewise, the broiled sesame eel--sushi-quality unagi, albeit in a larger guise, spent little time on anyone’s plate.
      For those seeking more traditional fare, the cold Nantucket lobster salad, and Sauternes-poached duck foie gras, provided satisfaction at both ends of the appetizer spectrum: one, a citrus-spiked exercise in seafood freshness, the other a testament to old-school richness.  Of all the superb starters, the sautéed calf’s brains with brown butter, lemon, capers and aged balsamic, was the most un-Nantucket-like but also the one that showed Mr. Proch’s chops.  These elements coalesced in a sweet, savory, and sour way to accent but not overwhelm the creamy, delicate texture of the main ingredient.
      Main courses tread between old standards demanded be on the menu by the Old Money--chicken breast (given a nice twist with morels and tasso ham), rack of lamb and dry-aged sirloin, and the incredible seasonal seafood
Nantucket is known for.  In his  chop-thick swordfish steak and lightly breaded and sautéed striped bass, Proch respects the superb main ingredients while dressing  them up with things like lobster butter sauces and Italian couscous, giving them a heaviness the appetizers avoid.  He is deservedly proud of his Wisconsin veal, but eating meat in Nantucket in high season is like going to Rome for fried rice.
    fProch was the man I consulted when I needed a recommendation for my only other dinner on the island.  Without missing a beat he said Oran Mor (2 South Beach Street; 508-228-8655; click here ; open April 1-January 1) and American Seasons (80 Centre Street) were the best of the rest.  A ten-minute stroll let me check out both menus, (note: everything in downtown Nantucket is, at most, a ten-minute stroll from everything else), and we opted for the elegant simplicity of Oran Mor’s bill of fare over the elaborate, ingredient-heavy and Olives-like descriptions of American Seasons.  That being said, everyone on
Nantucket raves about the latter it as well.
      Oran Mor means “the good song” in Gaelic, and for nine years that is what chef-owner Peter Wallace has been singing in his kitchen.   Seasonal local produce is featured, and the menu has but fourteen items divided among three categories. Eliminate the carnivore choices  and you will quickly settle on either right-off-the-boat tuna with corn water, polenta, and hot oil; striped bass with island produce; or fluke with Polpis harbor seabeans and urfa pepper butter.  Starter courses are scarcely more numerous, featuring an off-beat Caesar salad with savory parmesan pudding, White beans with red bean vinaigarette (why do so many chefs have a thing for beets?), Ecuadorian seviche with popcorn and mango salsa, and foie gras with almond milk, golden raisins and capers. We took the seviche because the server recommended it, and the quail because it had  no description whatever: all the menu stated was: "Quail-return from Argentina."  Since I assumed the bite-sized birds hadn't just gotten back, Wallace must have picked up a technique for perfectly grilling tiny birds, and I was right.  And since we were committed to going all over the map with him for our appetizer courses, we went whole-hog and had the Thai hot pot with littlenecks and somen noodles as well.
      That hot pot was a textbook example of what a classically trained chef can do with an exotic cuisine.   Polished and intensified, the elements of this simple stew were all there, just made better by a skillful hand.  Wallace builds on a classic seafood broth with Thai seasonings  that highlighted this superior shellfish without overwhelming it.  Likewise, pristine chunks of fluke in the seviche were given a quick tasty bath in lime juice and fresh peppers.  With small bites of popcorn surrounding the small peppery pile of fish and vegetables, it looked like deconstructed seviche, with the scattered bits of fresh popcorn being a playful homage to the wacky Spanish.
     Service was outstanding, as it is at most of the high-end restaurants on Nantucket.
  The eclectic wine list, featuring everything from steely Rieslings from the Rheingau  to spicy Shiraz fruit bombs from McLaren Vale, is by far the most varied on the island. No by-the-glass offerings top $12 a glass, and markups are in the 100-150% range, making most bottles a relative bargain.
      I’d like to expound on the delicious desserts at both these deserving places but can’t.  There were oh’s and ah’s aplenty as one sweet or fruity concoction after another passed our table at both restaurants, but my mind was elsewhere. For the past twelve years, no evening on Nantucket has been complete without a trip to The Juice Bar (12 Broad Street), where an almost-warm waffle cone piled high with fresh, vanilla chocolate chip ice cream beckons.  I can’t say if it’s the best ice cream on earth or not, but strolling the cobblestone streets on a foggy Nantucket evening, with the baked scent of those cones in the air, and the silkiness of fresh cream on your tongue, is about as good as it gets. And it’s still the only place I’ve ever been where grown men aren’t embarrassed by wearing pink pants with little whales all over them.


NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani

Bottega del Vino
7 East 59th Street
212-223-3028

www.bottegadelvinonyc.com

                                   dddddddd       There are, for the moment, two Bottega del Vinos in the world:
The original in Verona, Italy, and a new one in New York,
and if you can’t find your favorite Italian wine at either,  you probably won’t find it anywhere else.
     The original BDV
(3 Via Scudio di Francia; 045-800-4535; click) opened 116 years-old ago in the Veneto's most beautiful small city, and it has long been a mecca for wine lovers, with 3,000 different wines and 130,000 bottles.  It's a charming, very neighborly place, quite rustic, with good, hearty Veneto cooking.
     The NYC offshoot, which opened late last year,
has been designed to evoke the same rustic charm of the original. Yellow walls are lined with shelves crammed with wine bottles. Folkloric motifs are painted on dark wooden pillars, and there are Italian gastronomic sayings stenciled about, including "Dio mi guardi da chi non beve vino"--God protect me from those who don't drink wine.   There’s a long tasting bar up front, even a gelati stand.
     The owner of both restaurants is Severino Barzan, whose clientele includes the kind of faithful regular who recently flew to New York to celebrate the restaurant’s opening and spent $20,000 on wine that night.  The next day he flew back to Italy. The NYC operation also has several very silent partners, and they clearly look for BDV to become a serious competitor to Harry Cipriani around the corner.  For the moment BDV lacks that latter's cachet, but the food is much better and the wine list superb, thus far drawing the city's avid enophiles,  fans of the Verona original, and a slew of high-style corporate diners, including Bulgari, Ferrari, Gucci, Tiffany, Sony, and Disney from offices nearby. Some take the gorgeous downstairs private dining room (below), which is also the restaurant’s wine cellar, with thousands of rare bottles arrayed around the walls.w222222222222222
      Chef Fabio de Guidi, from Verona, has kept the food pretty close to the original’s, although they dropped horsemeat from the NYC menu. Early on the restaurant had problems both in and out of the kitchen, with a service staff that needed management and food that sometimes  arrived tepid and lackluster.  The service has been improved, although the restaurant still needs a single, warm and welcoming personality who has not yet developed.  The food, however, has improved measurably in every category.
      You might begin with something as simple as fresh buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes and basil, or a selection of cured meats like bresaola, salumi, and prosciutto.
    444444777777777Since this is one of the few Italian restaurants in NYC that takes its regional pedigree seriously, it is in your best interest to order the Veronese specialties here, beginning with a lusty paste e fasoi, their version of pasta and bean soup.  Among the other pastas, I highly recommend the ravioli (which changes daily), and the risotto cooked in Amarone wine, impeccably tender and suffused with flavor.
     Beef also gets the Amarone treatment, slowly braised to a velvety texture, traditionally served with polenta. Baccalà alla vicentina is always on the menu, and I was absolutely mad about the trippa alla parmigiana, a hefty dish of very tender tripe stewed in tomato and enriched with plenty of Parmigiano cheese. It's a dish you used to see in NYC Italian restaurants in the past, but now BDV is one of the few that do it at all, and they do it splendidly.  Also recommended is the fegato alla veneziana--calf's liver sautéed with the sweetest, soft onions imaginable. If you want seafood, by all means order the branzino roasted and then drizzled with balsamico.  For dessert the best item is the caramel torta.
     
The wine list has been growing and growing, with an ample selection of bottlings from the Veneto, especially a collection of rare Amarones. Many wines are only available at auctions or at BDV, including trophy bottles like 1988 Quintarelli Amarone,  1978 Angelo Gaia Sori San Lorenzo Barbaresco, and 1985 Sassicaia,  along with an impressive number of Bordeaux like 1961 Château Latour. One of the most strikingly beautiful wine rooms for private dining in NYC is here (left).
     BDV opens daily at 8 AM for Italian breakfasts of pastries and coffee, and they serve panini throughout the day.  Pasta prices run from $19-$22 as main courses, with other main courses $24-$40.

  

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FIRST, WRESTLE REPTILE TO THE GROUND, CUT OPEN AND REMOVE TAIL MEAT, THEN PROCEED TO COOK AS USUAL


Crocodile. If You Don't Have It, Substitute 1 lb (500 g) crocodile tail meat with 1 lb. (500 g) alligator tail meat.

Alligator: If You Don't Have It, Substitute 1 lb (500 g) alligator tail meat with 1 lb. (500 g) crocodile tail meat.
    --From The Food Substitutions Bible by David Joachim (Robert Rose, 2005).






MAYBE THERE WAS TOO LONG A LINE AT THE DRIVE-THRUttjj


A 63-year-old man accidentally drove his car through the glass wall of a Greek restaurant in Wilster, Germany, then proceeded to sit down and eat his dinner, while being questioned about the occurrence by the local police.







KATRINA RELIEF EVENTS

* On Oct. 11 NYC and New Orleans Chefs unite to host “New” Chefs for a “New” New Orleans Economic Development Fundraiser at the Cornell Club, with  host and New Orleans native Frederick of the Tony Award-winning plays Glen Garry Glenn Ross and Take Me Out. Participating Chefs: Rene Bajeux, René Bistrot, Bob Iacovone, Cuvée ; Chuck Subra, La Côte Brasserie;  Tom Wolfe, Wolfe’s and Peristyle; Daniel Esses, The Bank Café, all from New Orleans; Kim Kringlie, Dakota, in Covington, LA, and from NYC Galen Zamarra , Mas; Michael Rizzo, The Cornell Club;  Stephen Rice, Bubby’s. Entertainment and silent auction.  $175 pp, with checks payable to:  New Orleans Tourism Rebirth Fund.  (Write the phrase “New Chefs Event”),  Venue PR, 359 Avenue of the Americas #2 NY, NY  10014. Please include guest names and an e-mail address, so that we can send you a confirmation #.  TAX ID NUMBER #20-3462666.  Info at  www.newchefs4neworleans.org or contact Katie Callahan, 212.758.5322 or Katie@venuepr.com



QUICK BYTES

* On Oct. 4 Chef Carmen Gonzalez of Restaurant Carmen in Coral Gables, FL, welcomes Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supery Winery, for a 5-course dinner. $75 pp. Call 305-913-1944.

* On Oct. 10, NYC's `21' Club will hold a Bouchard Père et Fils and William Fèvre 5-course wine dinner prepared by chef Stephen Trojahn. $150 pp. Call 212-582-7200.

* On Oct. 10  Owner Christian Wölffer and Winemaker Roman Roth of Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, NY, will hold a “Harvest Party,” with  guests going grape picking and stomping, hay rides and pony rides, a barrel rolling competition, dancing to live music, an abundant feast of country fare, and Wölffer’s wines.  $75 pp, $15 for children. Call Sue Calden, 631-537-5106, ext. 20.

* On Oct. 14-16 the Fifth Annual Wellfleet OysterFest in Wellfleet, MA, will take place with live bands, educational exhibits, an oyster grant tour, cooking demos, children’s activities, a pet parade and over 70 artisans, and the Oyster Shuck-Off, and kick-off golf tournament, followed by Disco Night at The Lighthouse. Visit www.wellfleetoysterfest.org.

* On Oct. 14 Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas, CA, will hold its Third Annual Malibu Wineries Dinner w/Barrel Tasting. $130 pp. Call 818-222-3888 or go to www.saddlepeaklodge.com.

* Classics Restaurant in Cleveland, OH, announces its fall wine dinners:  Oct. 12: Domaine Romanée-Conti, $650 pp; Nov. 30: Gaja, $275; Dec. 14: Domaine Dujac, $200; Call 216-707-4157or visit www.classicsrestaurant.com.

* On Oct.16-19 and Oct. 20-23, Il Pellicano in Porto Ercole  is offering 4-day gourmet cooking course packages, incl. classes with Chef Antonio Guida, wine and olive oil tastings, the opportunity to meet with local vintners and ocean- view accommodations. In addition, guests will meet with local vintners from Maremma, participate in olive oil tastings and enjoy a Bulgari spa treatment at the Beauty Center.  $2,145 per couple; $1770 for singles.   Visit www.pellicanohotel.com.

* On Oct. 19, Restaurant Jean-Louis in Greenwich, CT, will welcome Mireille Guiliano,  CEO  of Cliquot, for a dinner at which she will sign copies of her book, French Woman Don’t Get Fat, and  read excerpts. $139 pp.   Call 203- 622-8450.

* From Oct. 22-29 Niche, the Nevis International Culinary Heritage Exposition, will feature cooking demos and lunches and dinners prepared by Caribbean and international chefs, incl. Wayne Nish of NYC’s March Restaurant; Learn about cheese and wine from Marc Refabert of Fromages.com;  Choose from 8 places to stay, from plantation inns to the Four Seasons, Nevis with all properties offering special rates.  Check Where to Stay page. $1,500 pp, excl. of accommodations, and 800 for companions attending only the cocktail parties and dinners. Go to www.nevis-niche.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, Bloomberg News and Radio, and Diversion.  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).  

 Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com by clicking on the cover image.


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copyright John Mariani 2005