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Holiday Pastries, Erice, Italy (2008) by Galina Stepanoff-Dargery

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In This Issue

FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS FOR HOLIDAY GIVING by John Mariani

NEW YORK CORNER: ICON by John Mariani

NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR: WHITE BURGUNDIES by Brian Freedman

QUICK BYTES

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FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS FOR HOLIDAY GIVING

by John Mariani

The year-end holidays have traditionally been the time when the most cookbooks are sold, some even to people who intend to cook from them. Many are given as gifts to that friend “who loves to cook,” others because they will look divine on someone’s new coffee table.
Since every kind of cookbook on every possible subject has already been published—and the celebrity chef cookbooks are lagging these days—the industry must come up with dazzling-looking, glossy cookbooks or highly authoritative ones or, often, witty takes on a subject. Having gone through scores of new cookbooks this year, here are those I believe are well worth cooking from and reading.
(1998 paperback)

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Food Wine: The Italian Riviera & Genoa by David Downie (The Little Bookroom, $24.95)--Outside of general guidebooks to Italy, few individual regions have had single volumes dedicated to their gastronomy, and this, one of a series of "Terroir Guides," is both thorough in its listings of places to eat and drink, from ristoranti and focaccerie to pasticcerie and chocolate shops, as it is a well-written depiction of what makes Liguria so very special--and heretofore underrated--as a territory for wonderful food and wine, with its rippling, seafood-rich coastline, its famous basil that goes into making pesto, and its ties to the cooking of Southern France. Excellent, evocative photos too.

Notes on a Cellar-Book by George Saintsbury (U. of California Press, $29.95)--For the sheer pleasure of reading about wine, Notes, which first appeared in 1920, has been re-published by the University of California Press. These very personal, charmingly eccentric notes are as much a model for wine writing as they are an historical document revealing how wines were once regarded and how times have changed. Saintsbury (1845-1933) was what used to be called a “man of letters,” erudite, chatty, and given to strong opinions beautifully nuanced, so that he can write of his era, “It is true there is nothing that some servants will not break,” noting how his parlor-maid “was evidently well up in the doctrine of transmission of forces” by arranging decanters and wineglasses so precariously in a cupboard that she managed to break the entire contents and the door itself in one quick movement—“a beautiful demonstration in physics, but I wish it had occurred somewhere else.”
He wrote at a time when dry Champagne was considered an uncouth beverage, and he dismisses the romantic notion of the bubbly by writing, “For my own part, `toujours champagne’ would nauseate me in a week or less.” It was also a time when, after a lunch of salmon and beer washed down with a bottle of Burgundy, a sturdy fellow like Saintsbury thought nothing of shaking off his woozy indulgence by walking twelve miles back to town.
If ever there were a companion with whom to sit by a fire and sip a glass or two of Port, Saintsbury would be one to regale you until the embers fade or the bottle is empty.

The Ecco Guide to the Best Wines of Italy by Ian D'Agata (Ecco, $13.95)--The subtitle of Ian D’Agata’s new book, “The Ultimate Resource for Finding, Buying, Drinking, and Enjoying Italy’s Best Wines” is not in the least inflated. Not since Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch’s comprehensive, but now outdated, Vino Italiano came out in 2005 has anyone treated the subject in such depth as D’Agata, who runs the International Wine Academy in Rome and is a man of tremendous knowledge and enthusiasm for his subject. His modus operandi was “to write a guide that gives a complete overview of Italy’s best wines, with enough wines included so that the picture you get is accurate and thorough, without turning it into a telephone book or an encyclopedia.” He breaks the book into three sections: The first, his choice of the 200 top wines in Italy, all, at the time of writing, imported into the U.S.; second, more lists, like the best wines at $25 or less; “cult wines”; wines made from native grape varieties, and more. The last section is concise 37-page discussion of Italian wine history, culture, varietals, regions, and wine laws—just about all anyone needs to know on the subject.

Second Helpings of Roast Chicken by Simon Hopkinson (Hyperion, $24.95)--A very pretty book and an engaging one by a British author and former chef who writes as if he were standing next to you in his kitchen, a glass of white wine in his hand, as he guides you through the not-at-all tedious processes of simple cookery, from making a lemon chicken soup with parsley and cream to a Roquefort mousse. Along the way you get to know his preferences and prejudices,and he has a wonderful streak of nostalgia for childhood foods that are so often lost in today's fussy, clinical food assessments. Chapters are arranged by ingredient, with personal essays followed by several recipes, none impractical for the home cook.

Urban Italian by Andrew Carmellini (Bloomsbury USA, $35)--Andrew Carmellini has one of the highest reputations as a cook of fine food--not necessarily the same thing as haute cuisine--first at Café Boulud, then at A Voce, but his heart and soul are in the myriad wonders of contemporary, that is, urban, Italian food. Here, as at A Voce, he exacts his classic training for precision and good taste on Italian classics and new ideas alike, from "peperonata modo mio" and "risotto terrazzo--man style" to gutsy oldtimers like tripe alla parmigiana and "potatoes antico modo," made with three pounds of potatoes and two pounds of butter.

Asian Dining Rules by Steven A. Shaw (Wm. Morrow, $15.95)--Finally, finally!, someone has demystified the often inscrutable ways of eating at Asian restaurants. And fortunately that someone is the ebullient happy eater Steven Shaw, aka "The Fat Guy" who runs the eGullet website. He dispels myths on almost every page ("Only at the very best Japanese restaurants do you get real wasabi, which must be freshly grated."), and gives you great hints like getting a table near the kitchen at a dim sum restaurant when the freshest, hottest dim sum comes out first. He gives hints on "barbecue mistakes to avoid" at Korean restaurants, why "the cheapness of Asian cuisines has been a blessing and a curse," and why going to a Chinese restaurant without a Chinese-speaking friend is pretty useless if you want the real thing. For sixteen bucks, this will save you both money and angst.

Dining at Delmonico's by Judith Choate and James Canora (Stewart Tabori & Chang, $45)--I'm so happy when lavish books on fairly arcane subjects of gastronomy come out, and Dining at Delmonico's is an important contribution to American restaurant history, since "Del's" was the very first restaurant to open in the U.S., way back in1837 in New York's Financial District, at a time when communal tables and eating outside were the rule. Judith Choate and James Canora do a splendid job chronicling the history, from the excesses of the Gilded Age to the down times of Prohibition and Depression, which makes this book seem even more timely right now.

Spices by Fabienne Gambrelle (Flammarion, $29.95)--A very beautiful book that does not supplant several other recent books n the subject but makes its subject more appealing and accessible, spread over two gorgeously packaged volumes with superb photos by Sophie Boussahba. One volume traces the importance of spices in human history--after all Columbus was looking for a spice route to the Orient, not new lands to conquer--while the second treats of fourscore spices, how to blend them, and how to use them in recipes. Tied with ribbon and set in a slipcase, this is a remarkably well-priced gift book for the real foodie or serious cook.

¡Sabor! A Passion for Cuban Food by Ana Quincoces Rodriguez (Running Press, $29.95)--O.K., the book has the decidedly contrived look of an attempt to launch a campaign to get a very pretty woman into the celeb food chain, maybe her own TV show? And her perky comments seemed designed for sound bites. Nevertheless, the recipes are not only sound but true to the Cuban food culture, modernized just enough to make them well worth trying in the home kitchen with easy access to just about every ingredient.

Andrew Jefford’s Wine Course by Andrew Jefford (Ryland Peters & Small, $29.95) is very attractive, well photographed, and a decent price. Jefford is a columnist for Decanter Magazine, and from the very first pages he puts his subject into admirable perspective: “Our love of wine is in part a love for the earth itself. . . . The drawback to this small universe of differences is that wine is necessarily complicated. Dozens of countries, tens of thousands of producers, all of them producing a new vintage every year: this is something that cannot be simplified.” But, in 20 “Projects” with titles like “How to Taste,” “Grapevines: Meet the Family,” and “The Human Role,” Jefford does the best he can to make wine approachable and fascinating, with just enough info to help the tyro understand everything from texture in a wine and why terroir matters to the characteristics of varietals (he calls merlot “the most carnal of the world’s red wines” and syrah “the wine world’s greatest actor, capable of extraordinary transformation”).

NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani

ICON

W Hotel
130 East 39th Street (near Lexington Avenue)
212-592-8888
www.iconrestaurantnyc.com

     The W Hotel chain has been aiming at a youth market for some time now, and the problem is that youth (i..e., 20-35) tires quickly of programmed hot spots and furnishings, but W tries to keep things hip, sleek, and swanky.
     That means a sexually charged Randy Gerber-conceived Wet Bar, music pumped into the dining room, and a casual approach to everything. In the case of Icon, this means red velvet, shiny surfaces, and a play of bright light and deep shadows; in other words, a typical W design, flashy but soon to look dated.
      Despite this, the cuisine of chef Michael Wurster (below), a New Yorker with experience at Lutèce, Le Cirque, The French Laundry, and Eleven Madison Park, is an impeccably crafted testament to his solid training, so that his technique is evident, his ideas his own, and his respect for ingredients sound. And with a $66 six-course tasting menu available, he is serving one of the great bargains in Manhattan for food of a high caliber. The prices à la carte, though, are on the high side, with appetizers $12-$16 and entrees $22-$39. Portions are pretty generous.

Right off the bat I was impressed with his crispy duck confit with basil mustard, micro greens, raisin paper, and lavender smoke--a dish that just skirts being overwrought by putting everything on the plate into subtle equilibrium. Equally delicious was his creamy, rich terrine of foie gras with sweet Concord grapes, gewürztraminer, spiced bread and licorice greens--pulsating sweet, salty, meaty, vegetable flavors working well together. A wild mushroom risotto with a touch of thyme and laced with mascarpone and Parmesan was straightforward and luscious, and there was both wit and savoriness in chicken lollipops (below) done like Buffalo-style wings, here served with Maytag blue cheese and celery--perhaps not a big improvement on a bar favorite but fought over at our table nonetheless. The only disappointment among the appetizers was a dish of Nantucket bay scallops that were sadly fishy, served with too much else on the plate--truffled potatoes, Guinness, a poached egg and romaine lettuce hearts.
Still, fat, creamy sea scallops "black tie" was a noble homage to the famous creation of Chef Daniel Boulud when he was chef at Le Cirque, the mollusk layered with black truffles and braised bacon with endive and shallots. Monkfish "surf and turf" came with wonderful osso buco-stuffed ravioli, pea shoots, fennel pollen and a mustard sauce, the monkfish itself of good, tender quality. Crispy veal breast was not all that crispy, but it had good flavor enhanced by a polenta cake, baby beets and carrots.

     Just about everybody is serving pork in myriad forms these days, and Wurster does it as a "suckling pig quartet," with braised belly with sour apple "pop rocks" (not bad actually); 12-hour roasted loin with figs, raisins, pinenuts and cabernet vinegar (very good); basil-scented sausage with butterscotch (nice idea), and shoulder with pearl onions and smoked bacon bits (wonderful). The real problem with the dish was that the pig's skin, which should crunch in your mouth, was so tough I could barely saw through it with my knife.
     Two desserts won out--a "72% Chocolate `Kit Kat' bar with layers of praline and a happy-making root beer float, and a plate of cinnamon donuts with a "black & white" (chocolate and vanilla) shake--over a cloyingly sweet "Snickers" bar with frozen nougat, peanut butter sauce and chocolate ice cream.
      Wurster is definitely a chef I'll keep an eye on in the future. So should you. For now he's doing terrific work, albeit in a place that doesn't quite seem serious enough for his talents.

Icon is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

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NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR

WHITE BURGUNDIES
by Brian Freedman

With wine, it’s easy to get caught up in the vagaries of style, specifically in the latest tendency to stress, say, super-ripe fruit, or aggressive oak, or any of a hundred other vineyard and winery decisions that ultimately determine the nature of the juice in the bottle.
But the best white Burgundy, in so many ways, is different. Like the most revered wines around the world, these chardonnays manage to maintain a sense of both idiosyncrasy and predictability, which is not an easy trick to pull off. In that regard, they remind me, oddly enough, of the reds of Priorat, where the land itself comes through with a clarity that verges on the startling. What makes good white Burgundies even more miraculous, though, is the fact that they don’t have the advantage of blending to pick up slack where it might be needed. They are, in the end, profound expressions of a specific place in a specific year, much like the best rieslings from, say, the Mosel.
Chardonnay Grapes

     Regarding that sense of place, there are few regions in the world where the minute differences of soil, aspect, drainage, etcetera are as intricately mapped out and understood as they are in the Côte d’Or. Vineyards right next to each other, even adjacent parcels within the same plot of vineyard land, often manifest themselves in profoundly different ways through either the chardonnay or pinot noir planted on them.
     The downside of this deep-level understanding of the land in the Côte d’Or is that it has led to a profusion of names that often refer to frustratingly small or confusing plots of earth. The labels of these wines, in their occasional verbosity, are reminiscent of certain German ones with their lines of text explaining everything you need to know about the juice inside in some sort of vinous code. (A personal favorite: Domaine Chandon de Briaille Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses: Music to the ears of wine geeks, but gobbledygook to everyone else.)
      The good news is that, because of the length of time so many of the best vineyards in Burgundy have been studied (Cistercian monks of the Middle Ages worked to decipher the relative merits of a number of plots), there are certain characteristics you can expect, or at least look for, from vineyard to vineyard. Some of the most famous distinctions in the region are with the grand cru reds of Vosne-Romanée: The differences between Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, and Richebourg are fascinating to experience, especially considering their proximity on the map.
    The same goes for Burgundy’s whites: Consider, in the Côte de Beaune, the modest geographical distance covered by Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, and Montrachet: For grapes grown in such close proximity to each other, the differences are astounding. Those, in the end, are what make the whites of the Côte d’Or so exciting: The land itself speaks as clearly through these wines as it does anywhere else on the planet. And while there are clearly some major differences from producer to producer (or negoçiant to negoçiant), the best allow the land, above all else, to take pride of place.
      The vintage of 2006 was a solid year for the whites of the region. Coming on the heels of the much-discussed 2005, while not nearly as easy a situation to work with from a viticultural standpoint (a hot, promising early and mid-summer was followed up by a damp August before better conditions prevailed leading up to harvest), 2006 nonetheless rewarded smart, attentive work in the vineyard and careful consideration in the winery. The result of such labor sings through with beautiful clarity in the Pierre Morey Meursault “Les Tessons” 2006, a wine that exquisitely demonstrates the aging potential of the best of the vintage. And while the wine is still quite young, the long life it should enjoy in the cellar is deliciously, elegantly clear.
     It starts off with a round wave of stone fruit and oak on the nose, but that quickly dissipates into subtler lemon curd and gentle spice notes. This Meursault, though, is all about the structure at this point, a singing acidity that buttresses a minerally mid-palate and an almond-skin and floral finish that lingers for well over a minute. The oak and acid still need time to integrate a bit more, but the power and balance of this bottling promise a long, rewarding evolution.
     Another recent white Burgundy highlight came at Eric Ripert’s new Philadelphia restaurant 10 Arts, where Southern Wine and Spirits recently held a lunch featuring Louis Latour’s 2006 Burgundies, both red and white. This always seems like the best way to get to know a wine: At the table, enjoyed alongside a dish prepared with that particular bottling in mind. All my tasting notes, however, were taken before I tucked into the food: Tasting is one thing; enjoying is often another experience entirely. Fortunately, a lunch like this provided ample opportunity for both.
     The Louis Latour Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru “Chateau de Blagny” 2006 is a bit more giving than the Morey. Not better or worse, mind you; just different. Its texture is heavier and more creamy, with an appealingly toasty nose and ripe peaches on the palate. Despite all this depth, however, it remains surprisingly light on its feet. Excellent now, but it should continue to improve with medium-length cellaring. Latour’s Chassagne-Montrachet 2006 is a more masculine wine, with apparent vanilla, peaches, lemon rind, and a subtle waxiness. There’s a solid core of minerality here that carries through to the finish, and enough acid to keep it all fresh and balanced. Slightly longer cellaring will benefit this one, too.
     Then, finally, there was the Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2006, a linear, fabulously structured wine that shows exactly what sets the region’s Grand Cru vineyards apart. The sense of density here, the profound concentration, promise years of evolution. But with the right food, like the rich, subtle dishes prepared by chef de cuisine Jennifer Carroll, the wine can be enjoyed even at this stage of its life; the grated lemon and brown butter character make it difficult not to pop the cork right now.
    Michel Véniat, the Commercial Director for Maison Louis Latour, said at the lunch, “The Grand Cru in Burgundy is a miracle.” I’d take it a step further: The land itself in Burgundy is miraculous. And its ability to make itself known in often profoundly different ways, through the grapes that grow on its vineyards, is one of the great gifts of our long-ago wine history, manifested in the bottlings we enjoy today.

Brian Freedman is food and wine editor of LifeStyle Magazine (www.lsmagonline.com), restaurant critic for AroundPhilly.com and AroundAC.com, director of wine education at the Wine School of Philadelphia and editorial director at ClassicWines.com.

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CHE STUPIDO!

Italian prosecco wine producers are not happy with
an Australian company’s new Rich Prosecco in cans,
using photos of Paris Hilton in its promotion.

OOPSY!

After London celeb chef Antony Worrall Thompson (left) recommended the weed henbane as “great in salads,” the magazine Healthy & Organic Living pointed out that you could die from eating it, causing “a loss of consciousness, seizures, trembling of the limbs, and, in extreme cases, death.” The magazine suggested Thompson must have meant the herb fat hen.

QUICK BYTES

TO ALL PUBLICISTS: Owing to the amount of material sent to this newsletter regarding Christmas and New Year's dinners--many of which are only announcements as to price fixed dinners--it is impossible for me to include any but the most unusual of events for those holidays in Quick Bytes. --John Mariani

* In Dallas Lavendou is offering a Menu d’Alsatian incl. specialties from choucroute to tarte aux mirabelles, at $34.95 pp. Lavendou also serves French High Tea by reservation and offers French cooking classes each season. Call 972-248-1911; www.lavendou.com.

* From Jan. 14-19 the 1st Annual Cabo Wine & Food Fest 2009 will be held at Pueblo Bonito Oceanfront Resorts and Spas, with Mexico's Champion Sommelier Juan Carlos Flores. www.cabowineandfoodfest.com.

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MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani, John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, Suzanne Wright, and Brian Freedman. 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.