MARIANI'S VIRTUAL
GOURMET
Christmas Dinner at Bob
Cratchitt's in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
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IN THIS ISSUE THE CLASSIC AND THE NEW IN NEW ORLEANS PART ONE By John Mariani NEW YORK CORNER UTSAV By John Mariani FESTIVE HOLIDAY DINING By John Mariani NOTES FROM THE SPIRITS LOCKER GIFTS OF GOOD CHEER By John Mariani ❖❖❖ THE CLASSIC AND THE NEW IN NEW ORLEANS Part One By John Mariani
No matter what anyone
tells you, New Orleans is a very tough place to
love in summer. When I was there this August,
the heat and humidity kept me from the pleasures
of merely strolling the streets of this nobly
revived city. Not every
district has bounced back yet from Hurricane
Katrina, and some may never do so, but the
vibrancy of the reclaimed city is most palpable
in the restaurants, where, incidentally, the air
conditioning is always on. So in
a city where the cold tap water runs warm in
summer, staying inside is to be recommended as a
survival strategy.
GALATOIRE’S
As I have for years, I make
my first lunch in town at Galatoire’s,
still venerable but not in the way some
restaurants in New Orleans rest on their faded
laurels. Galatoire’s
is better than ever, wholly refurbished, and Chef
Michael Sichel maintains a kitchen of remarkable
consistency. Right
now, though December 24, Galatoire’s is offering
a Reveillon 4-course menu at $45.
COMMANDER’S PALACE
There seems little debate
that Commander’s Palace ranks at the very top of
New Orleans fine dining restaurants, and there is
no question it has been one of the most
influential restaurants in America, both for its
promotion of modern Creole cuisine and for a
commitment to service emulated but rarely reached
by restaurateurs around America. Dinner: daily; Lunch Mon.-Fri.;
Jazz Brunch: Sat. & Sun. NEXT WEEK: BRENNAN'S and EMERIL'S ❖❖❖ NEW YORK CORNER
By John Mariani UTSAV 113 West
46th Street (between
Sixth and Seventh Avenues)
NYC’s Indian restaurants are of three kinds:
those that service the Indian communities,
serving regional food of a vast sub-continent;
those serving a Pan-Indian menu of standard
Anglo-curries and vindaloo dishes; and those
that aim to show both the variety and the
distinctiveness of modern Indian cuisine. Utsav
is open daily for lunch and dinner; À la carte
and a fixed-price dinner at $38. ❖❖❖
FESTIVE HOLIDAY DINING IN NYC
GABRIEL KREUTHER
(41 W. 42nd Street) Will have a New Year's Eve
"Night of Style and Glamour" with first seating at
$175 second seating $450; bar lounge opens at 9 PM
with passed canapés and Billecart-Salmon Brut
Reserve Champagne. Call 212-257-5826
SIRIO RISTORANTE
at the Pierre Hotel will hold a $325 four-course
dinner & dancing La Festa menu by Chef Massimo
Bebber. It will commence at 9:00 PM and go until
the wee hours, whereas a $115 three-course menu
will be served from 5:30PM – 7:00PM; Call
212-940-8195
STELLA 34 (Macy’s,
Herald Square) will hold “Breakfast with Santa,”
an Italian
breakfast feast complete with take-home treats for
children and Prosecco bellinis for adults, a visit
from Santa and his elves, photograph with Santa
Claus, carolers singing holiday favorites;
Sessions are available at 8:30am and 10:00am Dec. 19, 20,
23, & 24;
Pricing
begins
at $40 for children and $55 for adults.
RESTAURANT
DANIEL (60 E
65th Street) will
offer a Six
Course Tasting Menu at $625 (Wine Pairings, $250) and
a Four Course Prix Fixe – $215 (Wines $110). Call
212-288-0033.
GRAND CENTRAL
OYSTER BAR & RESTAURANT will celebrate
the Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve
and New Year’s Eve, including holiday desserts.
The four menus will be available for both lunch
and dinner, beginning at 11:30 AM, with the final
reservation for dinner at 10:00 PM. Call
212-490-6650.
21
CLUB (21
West 52nd Street) will celebrate
this festive season with the Salvation Army Band
singing your favorite Christmas carols and Holiday
tunes while guests savor a menu of ‘21’ classics
and seasonal fare. 2015 Performance
Schedule: Lunch Seatings: 11:30 A.M. and 2:15
P.M. December 5, 12, 16-24. $95 three-course
prix fixe menu; Dinner Seatings: 5:30 P.M. and
8:30 P.M. December 18-23; $145 three-course prix
fixe menu. For reservations, please call 212-
582-7200.
WALLSÉ
(344 W 11th Street) celebrates its own 15
anniversary with an Austrian Christmas on
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Chef Chef Kurt
Gutenbrunner will be serving his legendary
Christmas Goose as part of a four-course meal at
$150 per person with an optional wine pairing for
$120 per person. Call 212-352-2300.
KOA Restaurant (12 West 21st Street) will
offer a Christmas Menu at $75, with vegetable
wrapped
in thinly-sliced pork belly with spicy, sweet soy
sauce, Dragon fruit and shrimp ceviche, yuzu
pepper sauce; salt-crusted filet mignon with spicy
Chinese miso sauce; ramen, and Strawberry
Romanoff. Call
212-388-5736.
TAVERN ON THE
GREEN (67th
Street & Central Park West) will be offering a
Special Christmas a la carte and
three-course prix fixe
menu Christmas Eve for $95/person,
$55/children. There will also be a three-course
prix fixe menu available
for Christmas Day for $125/person,
$75/children. 212-877-TOTG
(8684)
TOQUEVILLE (1 East
15th Street) offers a three-course menu
($95/person, $55/children 10 and under) with a
variety of seasonal appetizers, entrees, holiday
cocktails and desserts. Holiday cocktails include
the Pear Bellini and the Tocqueville Toddy. Call
212-647-1515) ❖❖❖ NOTES
FROM THE SPIRITS CELLAR
By John Mariani
OBAN
LITTLE BAY ($75)—One's preference for
Scotch whisky, whether it’s a blend or a premium
or a single malt, is largely built upon
familiarity, occasionally upset by the discovery
of one new to one’s palate. People
not inclined to smoky, peaty Scotches will never
care for those from Islay, while others may find
single malts too well-bred for everyday
drinking.
I have settled on my favorite (at least
for now) with the newly released Little Bay, a
single malt distilled in small copper pots and
selected from various batches. It is
made in the West Highlands and has a
characteristic fruitiness along with all the
other notes of sea spray and briar. For
me it is impeccably balanced for both an
aperitif with a splash of water or after dinner
for a night cap.
CHIVAS
REGAL EXTRA ($44.99)—Long before single malts
began to wedge into the Scotch market,
Chivas Regal reigned at the top rank of blended
whiskies, and this new release is a blend from
spirits matured in Oloroso sherry casks, which
intensifies the traditional flavors that Chivas
drinkers love, and it’s being released at a very
good price for 2016. It makes a terrific Rob Roy
cocktail.
LAPHROAIG CAIRDEAS
2015 ($275)—For those who do like their Scotch
brawny, smokey, and very peaty, Laphroaig has
always been the go-to label, and this special
edition, released during
Fèis Ìle 2015 and marking the distillery's 200th
anniversary, uses floor-malted barley from the
distillery's own small malting floor, and is
matured in ex-bourbon casks for around a dozen
years. It is bottled at 55% alcohol. THE GLENROTHES
VINTAGE RESERVE SPEYSIDE SINGLE MALT
($55)—Speyside single malts, being lighter
and distinctly sweeter, are easy to love for
those beginning to explore beyond blended
whiskies. Glenrothes’ is a combination of
different vintages aged in a variety of casks.
The oldest constituent goes back to 1989. It’s
very fragrant, has a softness on the palate, and
a honeycomb sweetness, makes for a creamy long
finish at 40% alcohol.
THE BEN RAICH
SPEYSIDE 17 YEAR OLD SOLSTICE SECOND EDITION
($74)—While it has the sweet mellowness of
Speyside malt whiskies, this is “heavily peated” and
has a fine briney finish. It is aged first in
bourbon barrels, then in tawny Port barrels,
bottled in 2011 at 50% alcohol.
CITADELLE
GIN ($25)--I'm not a big gin drinker because I
find it is so often made with little
discrimination beyond its
suitablilty in a classic martini--this at a time
when martinis seem to be made with anything but gin--but
this new French gin by Pierre
Ferrand, made in the Cognac region, has a
definite juniper component and a remarkably fresh
touch of heat. Triple distilled in small Cognac
pots from French wheat, the botanicals, which
include coriander from Morocco, orange peel from
Mexico; cardamom and nutmeg
from India; licorice
from China; cubeb pepper from
Java; juniper, savory, violet and star
anise from France; fennel from the
Mediterranean; iris from
Italy; cinnamon from
Sri Lanka; almonds and lemon rind
from Spain; cassia from
Indochina; angelica from
Germany; grains
of paradise from
West Africa; and cumin from
Holland-- do not fight each other but
blend seamlessly into a richly flavorful--not
flavored--gin as good on the rocks as in a
Martini. There is also a Barrel-Aged variety
at $35.
PIERRE
FERRAND DRY CURAÇAO ($30)--The fact is, most of
the orange liqueurs out of the Caribbean, even
Curacao, are cloyingly sweet and whatever they use
to give it the vague flavor of orange is
dubious. Which is why I have always sworn by
Cointreau, very expensive but whose use of various
orange peels gives it a seductive, bittersweet
edge. Now, with Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao, there
is a very worty competitor that shows that the
liqueur need not be a treacly sweet
additive. This new curaçao is not bone dry
by any means but its sweetness makes it delicious
both as an aperitif (especially on cracked ice) or
as an after dinner cordial, and when used as the
sweet component in a margarita, it really makes a
big difference in taste.
❖❖❖ FOOD WRITING 101: TRY NOT
TO MAKE A RAVE
SOUND LIKE THE WORST RESTAURANT ON EARTH
Sam Bompas and Harry Parr of London have come up with the idea of bottled distilled tears, extracted, pasteurized, and then tinctured into bottles of bitters, suggesting they'd make great holiday gifts. ❖❖❖
Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com. I'm proud and happy to announce that my new book, The Hound in Heaven (21st Century Lion Books), has just been published through Amazon and Kindle. It is a novella, and for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas, romance, inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope you'll find this to be a treasured favorite. The story concerns how, after a New England teacher, his wife and their two daughters adopt a stray puppy found in their barn in northern Maine, their lives seem full of promise. But when tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and the spirit of are the only things that may bring back his master back from the edge of despair. WATCH THE VIDEO! “What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw “He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human insight, soul searching, and deft literary strength that John Mariani pours into this airtight novella is vertigo-inducing. Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best comment.” – James Dalessandro, author of Bohemian Heart and 1906. “John Mariani’s Hound in Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal of an American family, along with the requisite dog. A surprise event flips the action of the novel and captures us for a voyage leading to a hopeful and heart-warming message. A page turning, one sitting read, it’s the perfect antidote for the winter and promotion of holiday celebration.” – Ann Pearlman, author of The Christmas Cookie Club and A Gift for my Sister. “John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella pulls a literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the cosmic and the intimate, the tragic and the heart-warming – a Christmas tale for all ages, and all faiths. Read it to your children, read it to yourself… but read it. Early and often. Highly recommended.” – Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling author of Pinkerton’s War, The Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road To Woodbury. “Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an animal. The Hound in Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing that is forged in the spiritual relationship between a man and his best friend. The book brings a message of hope that can enrich our images of family, love, and loss.” – Dr. Barbara Royal, author of The Royal Treatment. ❖❖❖
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FEATURED
LINKS: I am happy to report
that the Virtual
Gourmet is linked to four excellent
travel sites: Everett Potter's Travel Report: 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." THIS WEEK: 5
MYTHS ABOUT RIVER CRUISES
Eating Las Vegas is the new on-line site for Virtual Gourmet contributor John A. Curtas., who since 1995 has been commenting on the Las Vegas food scene and reviewing restaurants for Nevada Public Radio. He is also the restaurant critic for KLAS TV, Channel 8 in Las Vegas, and his past reviews can be accessed at KNPR.org. Click on the logo below to go directly to his site.
Tennis Resorts Online: A Critical Guide to the World's Best Tennis Resorts and Tennis Camps, published by ROGER COX, who has spent more than two decades writing about tennis travel, including a 17-year stretch for Tennis magazine. He has also written for Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, New York Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Esquire, Money, USTA Magazine, Men's Journal, and The Robb Report. He has authored two books-The World's Best Tennis Vacations (Stephen Greene Press/Viking Penguin, 1990) and The Best Places to Stay in the Rockies (Houghton Mifflin, 1992 & 1994), and the Melbourne (Australia) chapter to the Wall Street Journal Business Guide to Cities of the Pacific Rim (Fodor's Travel Guides, 1991).
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly.
Editor/Publisher:
John Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani,
Robert Mariani, Misha
Mariani,
John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein,
Andrew Chalk, Dotty Griffith and Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Dargery, Bobby
Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry
McLoughlin.
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