Hungry Travelers - Page 39 of 83 - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Preview two bright wine pours for spring

Posted on February 15, 2018February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

Winemakers often go out on tour this time of year. In the northern hemisphere, they've just bottled and released their lighter wines. In the southern hemisphere, the harvest hasn't quite come in. We sat down with Florian Lacroux from Provence and Hamish Clark from New Zealand last week at Stephanie's on Newbury (stephaniesrestaurantgroup.com). They were making the rounds for the wine giant E. & J. Gallo (gallo.com). That company has taken its name off jug wines (Naked Grape, Barefoot Cellars, and Carlo Rossi make them instead) while producing fine varietals under the Gallo Family Vineyards, Gallo Family Estates, and Gallo Signature labels. But California can't make New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or Provencal rosé. That's where Clark and Lacroux come in. Gallo imports one wine from...Read More

Small-town culinary greatness: Patty Queen’s Cottage

Posted on February 11, 2018February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

One of the pleasures of touring rural France, Italy, or Spain is discovering amazing country restaurants far from population centers. The U.S. has some places like that, too. But few of them can match the Cottage Restaurant & Cafe (427 Farmington Ave, Plainville, Conn.; 860-793-8888, cottagerestaurantandcafe.com) for staying power and consistently terrific food. Located at a nondescript crossroads in Plainville, Connecticut, a little southwest of Hartford, the Cottage should be celebrated as a Nutmeg State treasure. Full disclosure: We met Patty Queen at a 1996 book party celebrating the publication of Julie Stillman's Great Women Chefs (https://goo.gl/Rxutaq). Queen was among the youngest chefs featured. Ever since, we've been driving more than 100 miles to eat at the Cottage three or four times a year. We're...Read More

Brilliant Sancerre boosts saffron & roasted-squash pizza

Posted on February 8, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

We have to admit that we prefer good Sancerre to the New World versions of Sauvignon Blanc—even the highly touted wines from New Zealand. The French take on the grape drinks well with cold-weather dishes. So when we pondered a pizza pairing for one of our favorite Sancerres, we remembered a hearty risotto. We often make a risotto with saffron and onion broth that is studded with bits of bacon, roasted butternut squash, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's perfect with a zingy Sauvignon Blanc. Surely those flavors could be adapted to a pizza. The Wine: Domaine de la Perrière Sancerre 2016 The pairing was perfect. This Sancerre is fermented cold with wild yeasts and ages on the lees about three months. The yeast notes from the...Read More

Drink Progressively at Harvest in Cambridge

Posted on February 5, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

One of the pioneers of New American Cuisine, Harvest restaurant (44 Brattle St, Cambridge, Mass., 617-868-2255, harvestcambridge.com) continues its innovative ways with contemporary New England fare from chef Tyler Kinnett. “The Book and the Cook” dinner series highlights recipes from a new cookbook—usually with the author appearing to explain the food and the approach as well as to guide the Harvest staff in the kitchen. The series kicked off 2018 with Urban Grape's Drink Progressively, by Hadley and TJ Douglas with recipes by Gabriel Frasca, the accomplished executive chef of Straight Wharf (straightwharfrestaurant.com) on Nantucket. As you can see from the photo at top, all three showed up for a great dinner and book signing. This was an unusual event in the series, since the...Read More

Firing a steak with Argentina’s Francis Mallmann

Posted on February 2, 2018February 22, 2018 by David

Some of the best food writing these days appears in the pages of venerable old Esquire, where the late Jim Harrison set the tone the way Hunter S. Thompson defined the ethos of Rolling Stone in its heyday. I was reminded of that when I got an email tickler in my mailbox pointing me to an overblown but heartfelt profile of one of the greatest chefs I've ever met. The online article (please go read it before it's taken down) by Jeff Gordinier is entitled “Is Francis Mallmann the Most Interesting Chef in the World?” Well, yeah. One of the most memorable evenings of my life was the pre-opening opening of Mallmann's Siete Fuegos at the Vines Resort & Spa (Tunuyan, Mendoza, Argentina, +54 261...Read More

Trimbach Pinot Blanc sparkles with Alsatian flatbread

Posted on January 30, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

Wine preferences are a funny thing. Most wine drinkers name the grapes of Bordeaux and Burgundy as their favorites—irrespective of where they are grown. Few name Alsatian wines, yet we think they are the very model of magnificent cold-climate viticulture and winemaking. When we first met, we drank a slew of Rieslings, Gewürtztraminers, and Pinot Gris from many of the great names in Alsace. You could say we got to know each other over glasses of spicy, sophisticated, dry whites. So we were pleased to see a Trimbach Pinot Blanc in the mixed case from Esprit du Vin (edvwines.com). It was like running into an old friend. The Wine: Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2015 Pinot Blanc isn't usually the first grape that comes to mind in...Read More

Ogier Reine Jeanne spices up fennel and sausage

Posted on January 27, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

As one of our California-born, Europe-based readers pointed out in response to our last pizza post, Americans often drink soda or beer with pizza. Europeans almost always drink wine. We're happy to choose the evening wine and then decide what to eat with it. Having a 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape on hand suggested a bold pizza. And since fennel is one of the dominant flavors of southern Rhône valley cuisine, we naturally gravitated to roasted fennel and a limited amount of Italian sausage with fennel seeds. The Wine: Ogier Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2015 As the photo above shows, the wine was the 2015 Antoine Ogier Cuvée Reine Jeanne, one of eight different versions of Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Ogier. It's named for Jeanne of Naples, the Countess of Provence who sold...Read More

Maison Empereur is Ali Baba’s cave for foodies

Posted on January 24, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

Julia Child reportedly lamented her husband Paul's transfer from Paris to Marseille in the early 1950s, but she took solace in the cuisine of Provence. Perhaps she had already assembled a full kitchen battery at E. Dehillerin in Paris (edehillerin.fr). If not, she also had the riches of Maison Empereur (4, rue des Récolettes, +34 04-9154-0229, empereur.fr) at her fingertips in Marseille. Tucked into a corner of old Marseille a few hundred meters from the Old Port, this “hardware store” (quincaillerie) founded in 1827 claims to be the oldest in France. More than 90 percent of the products sold at Maison Empereur carry the Enterprises du Patrimoine Vivant label, a certification of excellence in traditional artisanry and industrial processes. Yes, you can buy nuts and...Read More

Pastis: the heady sip of Marseille

Posted on January 23, 2018February 23, 2018 by Pat and David

Amid all the shops selling olive oil soap in Marseille, we almost overlooked La Maison du Pastis (108, Quai du Port, Marseille, +33 (0)491-90-86-77, lamaisondupastis.com). True to its name, the delightful little shop specializes in the anise-flavored liqueur that is popular in Marseille and throughout southeast France. Pastis was widely promoted in the 1930s as an alternative to the more potent absinthe, which had been banned by the government. That way, the French could continue to enjoy an anise-scented “apero” or apéritif before dinner without the brain and liver damage linked to La Fée Verte (the Green Fairy). A few large producers dominated the pastis market for the first half-century or so. But by the 1980s, a number of boutique producers began to infuse different...Read More

Bouillabaisse without fish but full of ceremony

Posted on January 18, 2018February 23, 2018 by Pat and David

If there's one subject more contentious in Marseille than the sanctity of the Olympique football team, it's the proper recipe for bouillabaisse. Some sources argue that it's a poor fisherman's stew made up of bycatch, while the charter of the Marseille Bouillabaisse organization specifies at least four kinds of fin fish and two optional shellfish. That the dish is usually served in two courses and spiced with pricey threads of saffron argues that maybe it was always a dish for the wealthy. Most of those fish species are expensive imports where we live, so we're always happy to find another way to enjoy the dish. Nina Olsson, the force behind Britain's NourishAtelier.com, has provided a really striking vegetarian alternative for bouillabaisse in her recent cookbook,...Read More