MARIANI’S

December 9, 2007                                                       NEWSLETTER

The Katzenjammer Kids by Harold Knerr (1945)

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In This Issue

NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani

SOLACE

     Reguerio, a Brooklyn kid,  comes well trained, with stints at formidable NYC restaurants like Bouley and Aureole, a stint in France, and a position as exec chef at The Water Club, also on the East River.  Now with his own place he is drawing an Upper East Side crowd that lives in the area's brownstones and apartments, as well as those doctors and researchers who work at Rockefeller University and nearby hospitals, and there is a distinct neighborly feeling about the whole enterprise, with its tall French doors opening onto East 64th Street.
      Inside, the well-lighted front room (above), with a small bar and 30 seats, leads to a 40-seat rear room, and a 38-seat garden patio that must be enchanting in spring and summer.  The cream-colored leather banquettes are as softly comfortable as the mahogany chairs are a little awkward to lean back in. Tablesettings, stemware, and linens are of good quality, and, with tables nicely separated and a good use of brick and wood, there is no  problem having a civilized conversation.
      Reguerio (below) has learned all his lessons well, focusing his talent on a well-balanced menu of contemporary ideas without eccentric flourishes or stylized preparations.  At first glance the items on the menu seem familiar, because he doesn't go into dithyrambs of description. He simply knows how to treat ingredients with respect, beginning with a lightly spiced and seasoned roasted butternut squash soup with a lacing of maple syrup and crème fraîche.  Charred yellowfin tuna--elsewhere a big bore--is here a very tasty, fine piece of fish with a delightful pickle relish, herbed oil, and peppercress. There was everything to love about an eggplant, goat's cheese and tomato terrine with salted hazelnuts, greens, and garlic toast, except that it was a little cold.  Excellent in every respect was a richly flavorful duck confit risotto with turnips, Parmigiano, and a crispy slice of pancetta.
     Among the main courses, Reguerio does a splendid turn on butter-braised lobster (below) with "late harvest corn" and potato hash and the bright idea of a slightly sweet-tangy Concord grape verjus: every element in this dish just sang. Also very good was a prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin with orange and cardomon-dusted fennel with soft. sweet Mission figs.  Now that venison is coming into the market, Reguerio is cooking thick slices of it rare, treating them to a plum compote and the welcome greenery of peppery escarole.  Pan-seared red snapper sat, rather lackluster, fashion in an aromatic lobster broth, with shrimp and lobster.   It needed gusto.

 
WHAT PRICE GLORY?
by John Mariani
 
         With the holidays coming up, it's well worth asking, is a great producer’s Champagne costing twice the price of his regular bubbly really twice as wonderful? This question came vividly to mind at a recent tasting of what are called “prestiges cuvées” (prestige blends), top-of-the-line vintage Champagnes from producers like Moët & Chandon, Bollinger, and Piper-Heidsieck.
    Prestiges Cuvées are actually of rather recent origin:  All the so-called Grandes Marques--Champagne’s top producers--got along for the last 150 years offering just three or four different Champagnes, such as Brut, demi-sec, and perhaps a rose, always blended to a house style. Now these same producers now promote their vintage prestiges cubes, made from the finest selection of grapes.
     Moët & Chandon break-out label, Dom Pérignon, was introduced in 1937 as the first super premium Champagne but didn’t really catch on until 007 made it famous in the first James Bond film, “Dr. No,” in 1962 (below).  More recently, prestiges cuvées like Roederer’s Cristal have caught on with the music and show crowd (although an offhand dissing by a Cristal spokesman of that crowd drove them straight into the embrace of D.P.). A regular Roederer vintage Champagne, like 1996, costs at retail about $100; Cristal from the same vintage runs double that.
      There is a fashion among connoisseurs to recommend years of aging in bottle for a prestige cuvée. Still, there is the possibility of the wine’s losing fruit or taking on slight oxidation.  Nevertheless, the older vintages I tasted showed particularly well, gaining richness and complexity from a patina of age.  The Dom Pérignon ’85 was exceptional, with a well-toasted bouquet and levels of fruit flavor and acid beneath the bubbles.  Cristal ’96 gained dimension after the chill was off the wine, but still tastes a little young, and I found Deutz Blanc de Blancs “Cuvée Amour de Deutz” ’95 continues to show the more elegant style of the 1990s, refreshing and promising a long life. Piper-Heidsieck “Rare” ’90 was typical of the house style, with the kind of ripe fruit I enjoy in Champagne. Marilyn Monroe used to say that a glass of Piper each morning warmed the body.
    Pommery “Cuvée Louise” ’89 was very fine, with small bubbles and an almost bittersweet finish.  The Pol Roger “Sir Winston Churchill” ’95, tasted in magnum showed promise and a definite Pinot Noir advantage, but little more at this point. Age will definitely improve it.
     My favorite was a Gosset “Celebris” Rosé ’98, which, like most rosé Champagnes is rightly proud of its fruit, its good body, and its charm.
     Prestiges Cuvées are as good as Champagne makers know how to produce, and, as usual in such matters, the subtleties of taste are where the romance truly lies.

DISHES WE DOUBT WE’LL MAKE ANY TIME SOON
Recipes from Rachael Ray’s Just in Time! cookbook

Mu Shu Soup
New England Chicken Patty Sammies
Caesar-ish Salad and Fried Ravioli
Cheryl’s Poached Fish
Provençal Tuna Melts
Mac `n’ Cheese `n’ Burgers
Can’t Beet That! Drunken Chicken
Sloppy Joaquins

I consider this the best and savviest blog of its kind on the  web. Potter is a columnist for USA Weekend, Diversion, Laptop and Luxury  Spa Finder, a contributing editor for Ski and  a frequent contributor to National  Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com  and Elle Decor. "I’ve designed this site is for people who take their  travel seriously," says Potter. "For travelers who want to learn about special  places but don’t necessarily want to pay through the nose for the privilege of  staying there. Because at the end of the day, it’s not so much about five-star  places as five-star experiences."  To go to his blog click on the logo below:

MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly.  Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani,  Naomi  Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson,  Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, 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 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.

My newest book, written with my brother Robert Mariani, is a memoir of our years growing up in the North Bronx. It's called Almost Golden because it re-visits an idyllic place and time in our lives when so many wonderful things seemed possible.     For those of you who don't think of the Bronx as “idyllic,” this book will be a revelation. It’s about a place called the Country Club area, on the shores of Pelham Bay. It was a beautiful neighborhood filled with great friends and wonderful adventures that helped shape our lives. It's about a culture, still vibrant, and a place that is still almost the same as when we grew up there.     Robert and I think you'll enjoy this very personal look at our Bronx childhood. It is not yet available in bookstores, so to purchase a copy, go to amazon.com or click on  Almost Golden.                                                                                                                     --John Mariani

copyright John Mariani 2007