MARIANI’S

Virtual Gourmet


  November 1, 2020                                                                                            NEWSLETTER



Founded in 1996 

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Sean Connery (1930-2020)

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IN THIS ISSUE
HOW TO KEEP FOOD COSTS
 DOWN ON VACATION

By John Mariani

NEW YORK CORNER
LOVE AND PIZZA
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
By John Mariani


NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN ZRALY
By John Mariani




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HOW TO KEEP FOOD COSTS
 DOWN ON VACATION

By John Mariani



 


         One of the greatest pleasures of traveling—currently just a pipe dream for most people—is the food of the region visited. It is utterly baffling to me that people who eat little but hamburgers at home will order them away from home. And odd as it seems, there are families on vacation who see the sights, ride the rides and take home the souvenirs, but try to save a few bucks by cutting back on the good regional food.  I understand how expensive eating on the road can be, but I also believe that eating out at new and interesting places in new and interesting destinations is one of the principal reasons to travel at all. The Grand Canyon may nourish the soul but it does nothing for a growling stomach.
         One learns as much about a place through its food culture as through its museums. Sampling a wonderful breakfast soup in San Antonio tells you more about that Texas city's Mexican roots than an afternoon stroll through the touristy Paseo del Rio. A bowl of gumbo in New Orleans is a first-rate introduction to Creole culture—as it is distinct from Cajun. And if you want to do a crash course in Midwestern hospitality, go for a $16.95 pan-fried chicken dinner (kids eat for $9.50) at a place like Stroud's in Kansas City (left) with all the sides rather than gobble down a bucket of overly salty KFC.
         There are a few general rules about food to follow while traveling with your family around America. First of all, no matter what hotel or motel you stay in, don't ever order room service or take anything out of the minibar. The gouging that goes on in these two areas is atrocious—$10 for a canister of mixed nuts from the minibar that elsewhere would cost you about $2. Instead of paying $5 and up for bottled water or soda in your room, buy it around the corner at a deli for $1. As far as I know, hotel security guards, if they exist, do not stop families carrying in brown bags of food through the revolving doors, so bring food back to the room.
         Room service is always a rip-off, even though the hotels insist they lose money on the service because a staff has to be paid 24/7 to make it work. It seems that no matter what you order from room service for breakfast—whether it's bacon and eggs or a croissant and coffee—the bill always comes to $26 or more, including disgraceful service charges (which, incidentally, negate any need to tip the server).
         I always find more variety, more personalized service and more regional flavor at the coffee shop that's always across the street or around the block from most hotels.  Plus, endless refills of coffee.
         Lunch is probably the biggest bargain we have in this country. In Europe lunch is often the major meal of the day, and, until recently, prices have been the same as for dinner. Now, though, many restaurants in England and France are doing as American restaurants have always done—they have lunch specials or prices sometimes one-half what you'd pay at dinner. True, in many cases in many cities the lunch menu is lightweight and doesn't show the full range the kitchen does at dinner, but it’s still food from the same chef a
nd the same kitchen. In New York, of all places, you won't believe what a steal it is to eat a full-course lunch at the city's finest, most deluxe restaurants. If you happen to hit town during a Restaurant Week, you’re in for a royal treat at a peasant’s price. Outside of New York, however, few of the best restaurants in, say, Atlanta, Houston, Denver, Las Vegas and Cleveland are even open for lunch. Those that are serve menus of soup, salad, pasta and chicken.
     Increasingly I have seen more and more top restaurants offering a separate children's menu. You might expect this at Disney world's fast food operations in the Magic Kingdom, but you'll also find it at their first-class dining rooms like California Grill  and Citricos, which I consider terrific restaurants by any standard.
         I've also found that many fine restaurants have either an "early bird" dinner or a "pre-theater" dinner, which are remarkably well priced and, since you are traveling with children who probably prefer dining early, they offer a way of dining inexpensively and well while leaving the family free to do whatever it wishes after 8 p.m.
         Every city now has a slew of good "family style" restaurants that offer excellent value for the money. I am not talking about the ubiquitous chain restaurants like Cheesecake Factory, Hard Rock Cafe or Red Lobster, which can actually get pretty expensive and whose food is only a cut above fast food. I mean Italian and Asian eateries that serve large portions of delectable food that is meant to be shared.
        Head for a city's Chinatown, and you can feast on dim sum at a place where you're charged by the number of plates you choose. And to visit Miami without a visit to the neighborhood called "Little Havana" is to miss the true flavor of Latin culture in that city, like the black bean soup and the palomilla steaks at the Versailles restaurant.
        Once the South and Midwest were dimpled with spanking clean cafeterias, most now sadly gone.  There are still some local cafeterias, though, where the food is very fresh, with nightly and regional specials, plenty of options for vegetables and salads and an array of pies, cakes and other desserts that will widen your eyes and not damage the budget too much.
         I am always a bit squeamish and very careful about street food, even in America, where vendors are rarely checked out by the local health departments. In foreign countries, especially Asia, you are taking a chance eating on the street, not because the food is tainted but because it may contain local bacteria Americans have not before encountered.
     
One of the most wonderful ways to eat cheap on the American road is to drop in on a country fair, which can always be counted on to offer an extraordinary array of local and ethnic eats, from funnel cakes and grilled sausage to stuffed pizzas and fat pretzels. If you hear of a fair anywhere within twenty miles of where you're staying, gas up the car and go.
       And here's another small tip: Remember how your mother always told you not to eat anything sweet too close to dinner lest you spoil your appetite for the meal she's been cooking? Well, if my family has had a good, wholesome breakfast and lunch, I would let my kids (now my grandchildren) have something sweet—maybe a small candy bar or ice cream cone—before dinner, which does indeed cut their appetite, especially for ordering more than they can possibly eat, which is a given with kids.
      
Last but certainly not least, pick your meals as you'd pick your monuments. If you plan to be on the road most of the day, have a large breakfast and go light (and cheap) at lunch. If you plan to get in late at night, make lunch the big meal. I am not in the habit of skipping any meal, but at least one of them should be light and inexpensive. And snacking throughout the day is the worst way to bust the budget.
    
Heed these rules and, at least once or twice on vacation, go for the big splurge. You've earned it.


 



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NEW YORK CORNER
By John Mariani
                                                           

LOVE AND PIZZA

    Since, for the time being, I am unable to write about or review New York City restaurants, I have decided instead to print a serialized version of my (unpublished) novel Love and Pizza, which takes place in New York and Italy and  involves a young, beautiful Bronx woman named Nicola Santini from an Italian family impassioned about food.  As the story goes on, Nicola, who is a student at Columbia University, struggles to maintain her roots while seeing a future that could lead her far from them—a future that involves a career and a love affair that would change her life forever. So, while New York’s restaurants remain closed, I will run a chapter of the Love and Pizza each week until the crisis is over. Afterwards I shall be offering the entire book digitally.    I hope you like the idea and even more that you will love Nicola, her family and her friends. I’d love to know what you think. Contact me at loveandpizza123@gmail.com
—John Mariani


To read previous chapters go to archive (beginning with March 29, 2020, issue.

LOVE AND PIZZA

By John Mariani

Cover Art By Galina Dargery




CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO



         After breakfast the next day with Giancarlo, there was much to do to prepare for the party, and though Nicola offered to help, the staff seemed put off by the offer.  For it was not a guest’s job to do any work while at the villa, and their pride was somewhat offended.
         About noontime the guests began to arrive, and for the first time that day Nicola saw the marchesa, now resplendent in a very simple dress the color of gianduja, trimmed in white at the neckline, shoulders and hem.  She said a quick hello to Nicola then excused herself and began greeting her other guests, without, Nicola was encouraged to see, much warmth.
         Giancarlo was far more ebullient with his guests, many of them relatives, including his two sisters, who were very gracious meeting Nicola.  The older sister looked much like her mother, the younger apparently inherited her father’s looks, though Nicola had not yet met the paterfamilias himself.
         Finally, around one o’clock, with the luncheon about to begin, the elder marchese appeared, walking with a cane and helped to the table by Giancarlo, who, Nicola saw immediately, got his chin and nose from his father.  The old man was clearly infirm but he had the eyes of a hawk and his hair, brushed back, was full and thick, slightly turned up at the nape of his neck.  He was dressed in the style of the country gentiluomo he sometimes was—a beautiful tweed jacket and putty-colored cavalry twill trousers.  The only off note was his shoes, which were clearly made for the old man’s comfort, not style.
         Once the marchese was seated and greeted by various guests, Giancarlo brought Nicola to the old man’s side and introduced her. Giancarlo said, “La signorina parle italiano molte bene, Papa.
         The marchese smiled at Nicola and began speaking to her in a rapid, Piemontese-inflected Italian that she found difficult to keep up with, so she kept her responses to a minimum.  But the old man kept asking her questions about her background, saying he noted a southern Italian accent in her voice.  Nicola explained it was probably a mix of Abruzzese and Neapolitan accents that she’d grown up with, so that, try as she did to muffle them, the Italian sounds of  ah” and “oh” might both emerge from her lips as “uh”; “chee” like  shee” and “gee” like “yee.”
         Nicola realized immediately that the marchese heard those sounds all too clearly, marking her as a southerner, just as the sounds the marchese made, shortening Italian words like sabato to saba and numero to nùmer, showed he was a northerner.  And she was able to pick up the meaning of what the old man said in a low voice to his son in strictly Piemontese dialect: “She’s American and speaks like a low-class southern Italian.”
         The remark infuriated Nicola but she held back telling him she knew what he’d said.  But when Giancarlo glanced at her, he knew she had understood.  He turned away from his father, took Nicola by the arm and said, “Don’t pay any attention to him.  He’s old, he’s proud—”
         “And he’s prejudiced against southern Italians,” said Nicola.
         Giancarlo seemed shocked by what she had just said about his father, took a little breath and said, “Well, I like the way you speak, cara. Avanti, let’s just have a good meal.”
         Most of the guests, knowing nothing about Nicola, were struck by her beauty and how well she dressed, so the luncheon was full of pleasantries and good food.  They sipped Piemontese sparkling wine with the carne cruda (above), raw, seasoned chopped veal, much like steak tartare; then the pasta arrived—the great Piemontese contribution to Italian gastronomy, agnolotti del plin, meat-stuffed pasta morsels the size of a finger tip, cooked in a chicken broth and glossed with butter and sage.  By tradition the agnolotti were served in a napkin (right), from which guests take their portion, and everyone applauded when waiters came carrying the napkins heavy with pasta.
         The main course was a simple roast veal with rosemary-scented potatoes and spinach, ending the meal with bonèt, a rum-laced chocolate and crushed almond  pudding (below).
         But there was still a birthday cake to come, brought with ceremonial pomp on a plate that was a family heirloom and presented to the marchese, who by then was quite tired but delighted by the attention and deference shown to him throughout the day.  His guests asked him to say something on the occasion of his 90th birthday.  At first he waved away the request, but urged on, he picked up a glass of wine and spoke: “Grazie, grazie, i miei amici e mia famiglia. I wish I could say this is a happy occasion for me, but getting old is nothing to applaud.  I am only happy that I have reached a milestone and can still be with you.”
         He then spoke with affection of his family, citing his wife for staying by his side for so many years and his daughters for making him a very proud man.  Then, clearing his throat, the old marchese said, “And to Giancarlo, who I know will also make me proud by keeping both the Cavallacci family and the Cavallacci industries strong when I leave this world.  And, of course, I hope he will soon marry a beautiful Piemontese girl who will give me grandchildren before I die. So he had better hurry up!”
         The guests laughed and applauded, but Nicola’s heart sank.  She looked over at Giancarlo but he was busy thanking his father, kneeling at his side and kissing his cheek, speaking softly to the old man and assuring him that his son would not disappoint him.
         The party ended at twilight, and most of the guests left, with Giancarlo’s older sister and her husband staying the night at the villa.  Nicola lingered by an old stone wall until Giancarlo was finishing his thank-you's and goodbyes.  
         “So, Nicolina, now you have seen a little of my family and how we live up here on the farm. What do you think?”
         Nicola breathed out and replied, “It’s very beautiful, Giancarlo. It seems so peaceful.  You make me think a city girl like me from the Bronx could actually live on a farm in Italy.”
         Immediately Nicola regretted saying what sounded like an attempt to have Giancarlo propose marriage, which was, in fact, the last thing she wanted at that moment.  Had they not been lovers the remark would have passed with a smile, but with all she’d seen and heard that day, Nicola had already shed any fantasies she might have had about ever marrying Giancarlo.  The divide between Belmont and Piedmont was far too wide. 
         If Giancarlo sensed that a bough had been broken, he did not show it.  Instead he seemed relieved that the guests were gone and his parents retired and that now he had Nicola all to himself.  For, if he had not fallen truly in love with this wonderful girl, he loved her in so many ways that were new to him.  He loved her for her beauty, her intelligence and for the unpretentious way she acted around him, without the social mannerisms of his class.  He was optimistic about the relationship and was very open to see what happened next.
         What did happen was that Nicola and Giancarlo spent another night in separate bedrooms, and the next morning Nicola asked if he could possibly drive her back to Milan. Giancarlo said he could but that he could not stay with her because he had to get a flight out of Linate Airport to Rome that evening. 
         Nicola had to fight very hard not to beg him to put off his trip, asking instead if it was so very necessary and trying to coax him to stay in Milan by reminding him of the marvelous night they’d spent at the hotel.
         “Nicolina,” he said. “You have no idea how many times—every day, every night—I think of that night and want to make love with you again.”  Then, sounding very Italian, “I am in pain from just thinking about it! My heart throbs in my chest!”
        Nicola sighed and let her cheek fall on his shoulder.
         “I feel the same pain,” she said. “And only if I know when we will be together again—alone—will it go away.”
         “Soon, very soon, cara. I promise.”
         The couple drove back to Milan, not talking much but not in tears either, and when Giancarlo stopped outside her dorm, he grabbed her tightly to him and said, “I will try to come back to Milan next weekend, okay?”
         And Nicola realized that that would be a change of his original plans and said, “Try very, very hard, Giancarlo.”


 


© John Mariani, 2020

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NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR




FROM WINDOWS ON THE WORLD TO COVID QUARANTINE:
    AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN ZRALY

By John Mariani


 



         No one would argue that Kevin Zraly wasn’t one of the most seminal wine educators back in the 1970s, when Americans had so few approachable venues to learn the fundamentals of wine tasting. It was an era when California wines of quality were just emerging as a force in the market, and restaurants around America were beginning to list them on their menus. At the age of 25 he was appointed Wine Master at the spectacular Windows on the World restaurant atop the World Trade Center destroyed on 9/11.  In 1976, he established his Windows on the World Wine School, which has now graduated more than 20,000 students and his Windows on the World Complete Wine Course book has been one of the best sellers in its field—3 million copies—and a new, revised edition has just appeared on the book’s 35th anniversary. He was the recipient the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. I thought it would be a good time to take a perspective on the wine world, especially during the Covid crisis, by interviewing Zraly.


1. What projects were you involved with before Covid hit and what happened immediately following?

I was incredibly busy before the Covid lockdown.  In 2019 I had traveled to more than 60 cities around the world for wine tastings and corporate events, and I was on the same pace for 2020. In addition, I had already started the Advanced Wine Classes in February and was in Napa Valley in early March at a CIA conference. While I was there, I was able to catch up with John Belcher, Dorothy Gaither and Warren Winiarski to celebrate their donation of their writings to the Warren Winiarski Wine Writers Collection at the UC Davis library.
    I am, of course, sad about what our country is going through with this pandemic.  However, the mandated isolation did force me to take a break and slow down, which for me ended up being a good thing.  It gave me time to finish the 35th anniversary edition of my Windows on the World Complete Wine Course book, which includes a new chapter—"Windows on the Wine and Food Revolution, 1970 - 2020."  It is a thoughtful, personal reflection on my 50 years in restaurants and what has changed in wine and food during my career.  I honestly believe it is some of the best work I’ve ever done.
    I was so engrossed with the book and finishing it that I really wasn't thinking about what would come next.  Then in April, three of my regular corporate clients called and asked if I would do a virtual wine tasting event. I had no idea what they were talking about!  So, I discovered Zoom and we were off!  I started doing corporate and private wine tastings via Zoom and then decided to bring back the Windows on the World Wine School in a virtual format, with Wine.com as a partner. 


2. How have wine sales been affected by Covid? Are people drinking more and eating at home?

I am certainly doing more of both!  The irony of all of this is Prohibition!  Exactly 100 years ago in 1920, Prohibition began, and alcohol was banned by the government.  Now, in 2020, the government has decided that alcohol is an Essential Business and wine sales are soaring.  I recently read an article that said online wine sales are up more than 250% from last year.  My retail sources tell me that wine sales are booming, up anywhere from 25 to 50-plus percent.
    Before Covid hit, my New Year's revolution was to drink every wine 20 years and older from my cellar, so isolation gave me a lot of time to do that. I also learned to cook!  I never cooked before, as I ate out all the time. I did try to make blueberry muffins, which were pretty good, and sourdough bread, and while it was edible, I will leave all that to the bakers.  I also rely on the Joy of Cooking cookbook, which has been in my house for more than 14 years, and I never even opened it until Covid hit. Now it's my go-to book for all things cooking related!   
 


3. Let's go back to when you began in wine. When did you first develop an interest and how did that turn into a career?

In 1970, I was a history and education major in college, living above a pizzeria.  I needed a job to support myself, so I went downstairs and asked the owner if she had any work for me.  She told me to go and see her son, John Novi at the DePuy Canal House (a four-star-rated New York Times restaurant at that time). John hired me as a waiter and eventually I became the bartender in charge of ordering wine. When people would ask to see the wine list, I rattled off the fact that we had the top three: red, white and rosé.  One night, a disgruntled customer gave me a paperback book about wine, which I read cover to cover.  From then on, I was hooked on wine.  As a history major, my interest in wine was a natural progression, and it became an all-consuming passion.  At the same time, John and I were contacted by the local community college to teach an adult education class about wine and cheese. There I was at 20 years old, getting paid to teach wine!  Also, during that time, I visited the wineries of the Hudson Valley (all three of them). I also went to see the wineries of the Finger Lakes and worked with Dr. Konstantin Frank. If Long Island had wineries, I would have visited them too, but that didn’t happen until 1973. 
    At that time, the drinking age in New York was 18, but it was 21 in California, so I had to wait until the summer of my 21st birthday and then I hitchhiked to California in 1972. I traveled to Napa, Sonoma and as far south as Santa Cruz on this visit, but there were very few wineries, maybe 30, that were making quality wines. Upon my return, I approached my college and persuaded them to let me teach an accredited (two credits) wine course, and they somehow agreed. I was now a junior in college teaching only seniors about wine! 
    After graduating college, I went to Europe and visited the major wine regions and wineries of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany.  Prior to arriving, I wrote letters to each, requesting tours and meetings—same as I did when I went to California.
    When I came back from Europe, I got a job as a wine salesman in New York City and I was given the Windows on the World account (above) , which had not yet opened.  I went down to sell them wines, and even though I wasn’t looking for a job, Joe Baum, Alan Lewis and Barbara Kafka happened to be looking for a young American and offered me the position of Cellar Master. I was 25 years old, and I stayed at Windows from the day it opened in 1976, until September 11, 2001.   


4. What was the wine market—imported and US—like in 1980?

The reason I wrote the new chapter, “Window to the Wine and Food Revolution, 1970-2020,” is that the wine market has totally changed.  The best-selling wines of the 1970s were Riunite, Blue Nun, Lancers, Mateus, Yago Sangria and the jug wines from Gallo, Almaden and Paul Masson, all marketed non-descript wines: all white was Chablis and all red was Burgundy. The quality California wines were in the early stages.
    At that time, America was a liquor market not a wine market.  On page xviii of the book, you will see that American's consumed 1.3 gallons of wine per year, per person.  Today it is 3.14 gallons per person. In Europe, the only countries making good wines were France and Germany.  There was no talk of wines from Argentina or Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Today, these countries are producing world class wines.
    The population increased and Americans started traveling more, especially to Europe, and they started eating out more. Restaurants got better in the 1970s with more farm-to-table menus, and as the quality of restaurants got better so did the quality of wines.  I parallel the food and restaurant growth with the growth of the wine market.

5. But by 1980 Italy  was producing a great number of high quality wines, from Gaja Barbarescos and Biondi-Santi Brunellos to  much improved Chiantis, Pinot Grigio and sparkling wines.

I was referring more to the 1970s, when I was in Spain, Italy, France and Germany and experienced their wines firsthand.  Most of the wines were not very good and some of them undrinkable, from Chianti, Rioja, and even the French wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy were not of the quality that they are today. When I visited Château Margaux in 1975, the weeds were higher than the vines!  However, there were a few exceptions as you point out:  Angelo Gaja was way ahead of his time and producing great wines, and so was Biondi-Santi, he was one of the very few producing Brunello de Montalcino at the time.  Even Vega Sicilia in Spain was producing world-class wine. However, many wineries were not making good wine, even in the '80s, the 10 years didn't make that much of a difference. I do agree that things were getting better in the '80s, but it really took well into the 1990s to have a consistent quality of wines from Europe.  

 


5. How did the WW School begin? Was it a success from the start

One of the reasons I was hired at Windows on the World was because of my education and history degree as much as it was for my wine knowledge.  Windows on the World restaurant started in 1976 and included a private luncheon club. I started the Wine School in the fall of 1976 and it was only open to our club members.  We started out with 12 students because one bottle of wine served 12 people during a tasting!  Then the class grew to 24, and then to 36, and members started bringing their own guests and eventually we grew to 150-plus students. It was such a tremendous success, we opened it to the public in 1980.  It ran for 40 consecutive years (including after the 1993 bombing and the September 11th destruction), graduating more than 20,000 students. Four years ago, I began the Advanced Wine Classes because I wanted to do something smaller (36 students) and more intimate so that I could focus less on the entertainment aspect of the classes and concentrate more on tasting wine.


6. Did you do much scouting abroad for wines?

For me, New York City is really the wine capital of the world. Every wine maker and owner comes through New York, and you can get or taste almost anything here.  However, when I first started and went to Europe after college, I spent 10 months visiting wineries. Then, when I got the job at Windows on the World, Joe Baum told me to create the biggest and best wine list that New York has ever seen, and he didn't care how much it cost!  One of Joe's friends was Alexis Lichine and he told me to call him, so off to France I went with Alexis on a buying spree.  We amassed an unbelievable cellar in a very short amount time, and soon after the opening, Windows on the World sold more wine than any restaurant in the world. 


7. Did you ever study for a Master of Wine?

No. When I started studying wines, it didn't exist in the US. I was self-taught and was the youngest American sommelier in the U.S. at 20 years of age, and the first American sommelier in New York City, at 25 years of age in 1976. Now,  people have started referring to me as "the Father of American Wine Education." The Master Sommelier came to the U.S. in 1977 and the Master of Wine in the 2000s.  The British created the MW and the MS. To this day, I still don’t understand why we Americans don’t have our own wine education degree. 


8. What were the high points of wine interest in America?

I think today is the high point.  The U.S. is the number one consumer of wines in the world and all 50 states have wineries.  If you told me that 50 years ago, I would have told you that you were crazy. It has been a great experience to watch this happen over the past 50 years. 


9. What do you think of the 100-point scale?

Never used it—nor British poetry—to describe wines.  My philosophy is you either like a wine or you don't.  


10. What do you think of high alcohol wines? 

I do not drink wines that are overly alcoholic.  It's not my style.  I am more into finesse and elegance than power.  I also find the high-alcohol wines hard to pair with food.   


11. What are the effects of global warming on vineyards?

On the positive side, they are making very good sparkling wines south of London. On the negative side, Bordeaux is allowing new grapes to be planted that will not be affected by a shorter growing season, making for a more balanced wine.  In fact, every wine region is looking at the same problem, especially in warm climate regions, like Napa Valley. 


12. After the pandemic ends, what will the world of wine be like?


The wine world will need to regroup, and it will take a long time.  Sales may be up, but people are going to lower-priced wines, and there are some very good wines under $30.  I list over 800 of them in the back of my book.  Retail and online stores are doing better with the lower pricing, but restaurants are struggling, and sommeliers are in the worst position.  Restaurants that use to employ five sommeliers to manage the floor are now down to one because they can't afford to keep all five.  I feel bad for those that have studied to become a sommelier because the future, the next couple of years anyway, doesn't look good for them; there are no new jobs available in the wine industry. 
 


13. Tell us about the update of your book.

The Windows on the World Complete Wine Course was a difficult book to put together. Not only from a content standpoint, but also from a technical one because of the placement of all the artwork, labels, maps and charts.  Everything has to follow a specific format to maintain the original style. Due to the Covid-19 shutdown, I had the time to really work on the new chapter and update this book beyond any other edition. I'm am very proud of this book.  As always, it takes a team of people helping me with it, and I had the resources of the best editors and art department at Sterling Publishing.  I feel like the 35th anniversary edition of this book is complete. It's the best it's ever been. 

 

 

 

 

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RESTAURANTS THAT WILL
NEVER BE ON OUR WISH LIST

"The meal cost $400 and came with rules. No. 1: No using cellphones, except to document the dinner and the chefs preparing it. 'Please do the Instagram, the Facebook, the Twitter; give me the fame, I need the fame,' said Gaggan Anand, whose restaurant bore the same name. Clad in black, with a booming voice that suited his hulking figure, he stalked between a vast kitchen island and an L-shaped table for 14. 'Those of you with good cameras, if you can take a photo of me scratching my ass, you get a bottle of Champagne.' Rule No. 2: 'If this is on your ‘Things to Do in Bangkok’ list, you’re in the wrong restaurant.' Anand wore his hair in a messy bun; he sounded like a principal scolding a group of wayward adolescents. “If you are here to judge me, you are in the superwrong restaurant, because we are [expletive] judging you.” He went on: `This is not a, what do you call it?' — his fingers curled into air quotes — “ ‘fine-dining experience.’”—Sheilah Mariker, "The Fed Up Chef," NY TImes (10/25/20).







 

YES, PLACE YOUR NAPKIN ON THE SEAT
OF THE CHAIR THAT THOUSANDS OF OTHERS HAVE SAT ON BEFORE YOU

"Napkin etiquette can be more complicated than you might think. You may think that gently folding your napkin and putting it to the left of your plate is the way to go when you get up from the table. . . . The most proper thing to do is to gently fold your napkin and place it on your chair."—"11 Little-Known Etiquette Rules You're Likely to Break." Daily Meal (10/20)







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 Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com.



   The Hound in Heaven (21st Century Lion Books) 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 Christmas are the only things that may bring his master back from the edge of despair. 

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“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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The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink by John F. Mariani (Bloomsbury USA, $35)

Modesty forbids me to praise my own new book, but let me proudly say that it is an extensive revision of the 4th edition that appeared more than a decade ago, before locavores, molecular cuisine, modernist cuisine, the Food Network and so much more, now included. Word origins have been completely updated, as have per capita consumption and production stats. Most important, for the first time since publication in the 1980s, the book includes more than 100 biographies of Americans who have changed the way we cook, eat and drink -- from Fannie Farmer and Julia Child to Robert Mondavi and Thomas Keller.


"This book is amazing! It has entries for everything from `abalone' to `zwieback,' plus more than 500 recipes for classic American dishes and drinks."--Devra First, The Boston Globe.

"Much needed in any kitchen library."--Bon Appetit.




Now in Paperback, too--How Italian Food Conquered the World (Palgrave Macmillan)  has won top prize  from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.  It is a rollicking history of the food culture of Italy and its ravenous embrace in the 21st century by the entire world. From ancient Rome to la dolce vita of post-war Italy, from Italian immigrant cooks to celebrity chefs, from pizzerias to high-class ristoranti, this chronicle of a culinary diaspora is as much about the world's changing tastes, prejudices,  and dietary fads as about our obsessions with culinary fashion and style.--John Mariani

"Eating Italian will never be the same after reading John Mariani's entertaining and savory gastronomical history of the cuisine of Italy and how it won over appetites worldwide. . . . This book is such a tasteful narrative that it will literally make you hungry for Italian food and arouse your appetite for gastronomical history."--Don Oldenburg, USA Today. 

"Italian restaurants--some good, some glitzy--far outnumber their French rivals.  Many of these establishments are zestfully described in How Italian Food Conquered the World, an entertaining and fact-filled chronicle by food-and-wine correspondent John F. Mariani."--Aram Bakshian Jr., Wall Street Journal.


"Mariani admirably dishes out the story of Italy’s remarkable global ascent to virtual culinary hegemony....Like a chef gladly divulging a cherished family recipe, Mariani’s book reveals the secret sauce about how Italy’s cuisine put gusto in gusto!"--David Lincoln Ross, thedailybeast.com

"Equal parts history, sociology, gastronomy, and just plain fun, How Italian Food Conquered the World tells the captivating and delicious story of the (let's face it) everybody's favorite cuisine with clarity, verve and more than one surprise."--Colman Andrews, editorial director of The Daily Meal.com.

"A fantastic and fascinating read, covering everything from the influence of Venice's spice trade to the impact of Italian immigrants in America and the evolution of alta cucina. This book will serve as a terrific resource to anyone interested in the real story of Italian food."--Mary Ann Esposito, host of PBS-TV's Ciao Italia.

"John Mariani has written the definitive history of how Italians won their way into our hearts, minds, and stomachs.  It's a story of pleasure over pomp and taste over technique."--Danny Meyer, owner of NYC restaurants Union Square Cafe,  The Modern, and Maialino.

                                                                             





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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:






Eating Las Vegas JOHN CURTAS has been covering the Las Vegas food and restaurant scene since 1995. He is the co-author of EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants (as well as the author of the Eating Las Vegas web site: www.eatinglasvegas. He can also be seen every Friday morning as the “resident foodie” for Wake Up With the Wagners on KSNV TV (NBC) Channel 3  in Las Vegas.



              



MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly.  Publisher: John Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani, Robert Mariani,  Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Gerry Dawes, Geoff Kalish, and Brian Freedman. Contributing Photographer: Galina Dargery. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.

 

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