MugZ77

I spent a couple of days in Denver this week, and I have to join in the praise of rioja, Jennifer Jasinski's newish Med-local place on Latimer Street in the LoDo section of town. I sampled a couple of the house pastas, the best of which was the black-truffle gnocchi with mushrooms and arugula. I also tried the roasted Colorado leg of lamb with goat cheese polenta, grilled Roma tomatoes, and bacon-wrapped treviso. The lamb was served without the bone in sight and sliced in medium rare rectangles -- much like how Tom Power does his lamb dish at Corduroy. Although Jasinski's lamb is cooked perfectly, the flavor of the accompanying sauce is better and richer at Corduroy. What's more the goat cheese polenta was somewhat dense. Indeed, my biggest gripe about the place was how heavy-handed it was with cheese (a delicate Hawaiian hearts of palm salad was marred by a too-strong parmesan chip). But Jasinski excels with meats, pasta, and bread (the lavender sourdough is out of this world), and that's what you should stick to if you visit. For dessert, my host recommended the chocolate s'mores pot de creme -- a wonderful dish that turns the classic on its head by using housemade graham crackers as dipping sticks into a marshmallow-topped chocolate pot. This is a fine spot for a nice dinner out in Denver. I should say too that the wine list at rioja is exceptional; although, as its name suggests, it focuses on Spanish wines, it has a number of interesting and reasonably priced American and French offerings. We ended up with a bottle of 2005 Alvaro Palacios "Les Terrasses" priorat for the table. I also revisited Panzano in the Hotel Monaco for the first time since 2002. Panzano is where Jasinski made her name before jumping ship to start rioja and sibling Bistro Vendome. Oh, how Panzano has fallen. The service is clueless, and the food is uninspired. The one saving grace is the housemade bread, which remains outstanding. But Panzano is now a place to skip completely while in Denver. (And, yes, Dora, Vesta Dipping Grill is still kicking. I liked it too when I first went a few years back.) Michael

I had a decent meal at Louie's Backyard for lunch on Saturday, while I was briefly in town for a wedding. The outdoor setting is really incomparable -- on a beautiful house's outdoor deck, right on the water. I had the Key West shrimp salad sandwich, which wasn't overrun by mayonnaise and had lots of flavor. My girlfriend had the grilled grouper sandwich. Not flashy choices, but each was better than it ought to have been. What's more, their wine list is better than one would expect in those parts. My one gripe was the service, which was OK if only you could get it. On the way out, we stopped at the aforementioned Alabama Jack's in Card Sound, on the way up to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The first poster advised not to eat here, and, unless you prefer all of your food fried hard, he's generally right. But two notable exceptions are the outstanding conch fritters and the onion rings. Of course, the best thing about Alabama Jack's is the clientele; it's a roadhouse, and you find all sorts of characters there. This site tends to focus on food, but, if you ever participate in the "Duval Crawl" while in Key West, a great first or last stop is the Smallest Bar in Key West. It is precisely that -- tucked into a covered alleyway between two buildings. If Alabama Jack's is a small cavalcade of personalities, the Smallest Bar is the Rose Bowl parade of interesting folks. The bartender provides non-stop verbal entertainment, and locals and quasi-locals actually drink there (we met the owner of a local pawn shop and his Harley-riding pal). On a side note, I noticed that Yuengling is on tap or available by the bottle everywhere in Key West. Having gone to school in Philadelphia, I'd thought that Yuengling was more or less a regional beer. Why the strong presence so far south? Michael

Thanks for the excellent tips. Now that I'm living in California, I won't need to make a special stop at In-n-Out (as I used to do each time I visited from D.C.). But has anyone heard things -- good or bad -- about Copley's on Palm Canyon? Its main claim to fame appears to be that the restaurant is in what used to be Cary Grant's house. In March 2006, the New York Times included a mention of it in a piece on the resurgence of the area. Has anyone tasted the food? Also, from what I understand, there are a fair number of old-school, red-sauce Italian places down there. Any worthy of recommendation? Looking forward to date shakes, Michael

I'll be relaxing in Palm Springs over the Christmas holidays. Any tips on where I could get some good grub in those parts? Thanks, Michael

Thanks to all for the replies. I just got back a few days ago and have much to report. We hit Sydney, Melbourne, and Tasmania. Although the quality of ingredients was unquestionably at its finest in Tasmania, we had our very best meal in Melbourne at Vue de Monde, which certainly belongs in the same class as the French Laundry or Lumiere. Australia also has an extensive juice Sydney Although we didn't eat at either Tetsuya's or Rockpool in Sydney, we enjoyed some excellent, though not earth-shattering, meals. I also liked Sydney because the various bars often serve an excellent selection of Australian wines by the glass. Because it was one of the late Johnny Apple's top 10 restaurants, we first tried Billy Kwong, which was opened in the Surry Hills district as a collaboration between Bill Granger of the Sydney upscale breakfast house bills and Chinese chef Kylie Kwong. Upscale Chinese food was on the menu, but the place was anything but a typical Chinese restaurant in America or Australia. The room was neighborhood-minimalist, and the wait-staff was dressed in casual-black. Wines are the beverage of choice on the menu. We had the fried dumplings, spring rolls, the crispy duck, and the Kurobuta pork belly fried rice. We enjoyed the fried rice the most, with the duck coming in a close second. It ain't particularly cheap, though; the meal came in at around US$80 for 2. I don't know that it was worth the cost. (If you still plan to go, the nearby Dolphin Hotel is a great place for a pre-dinner drink.) For my money, a better bet for upscale Asian is Phamish in the Darlinghurst-Paddington section. True, it's Vietnamese and not Chinese, but the two shared some dishes in common -- and the quality of those dishes far exceeded Billy Kwong's. The spring rolls, for example, were tight like cigars and spilled fresh cilantro, shrimp, and pork. I could eat the fried-shallot-topped rice every night. We also had the kaffir lime/sweet chili prawns and a fantastic ginger chicken, whose sauce alone made the trip worth it. The place does a brisk takeaway business, so you can get your meal to go if you're not willing to put up with the bustle. We brought a Clare Valley riesling to enjoy with the oustanding food. Not too far away on Darlinghurst Road is Fish Face. The restaurant, which is an upscale-casual neighborhood place, is actually shaped like a fish. Very high quality fish dishes. We tried the kingfish and the fish and chips, which were made with flathead tails. Real winner here is the fish and chips. Costly at AU$27 (about US$22), but what they're known for. They use a light beer batter, and they fry without leaving even a trace of oil. One of the things I liked most about Fish Face was that the chef knows how to season and salt his food. We also had a great meal at Zinc in the posh Potts Point neighborhood. Zinc is a tad cheaper than the rest of the spots in that area, and we had our top service in Sydney there. I had the $25 winter prix fixe -- an amazing value for the food and the location. It included a celery-leek soup, a veal preparation, and peach cobbler. Potts Point also features a small, but outstanding farmer's market on Saturday mornings. Of course, we ate at the aforementioned bills. The place pissed me off because it's so stereotypically L.A. -- beautiful people who receive special treatment on account of their beauty. We waited 40 minutes for a table for two, while pairs of Surry Hills hipsters scored their tables upon arrival (it doesn't take reservations). What's more, the service is slow for the number of people working front and back of the house. In any event, we did enjoy our breakfast. We had the creamy and fluffy scrambled eggs with bacon and the sweet corn frittatas, which looked like a high-end version of a breakfast sandwich -- frittatas working as bread and bacon and a roasted tomato on the inside. Another highlight -- something anyone who's interested in food should do -- was an early-morning tour of the Sydney Fish Market. We saw all sorts of native fish go up for auction and wandered the auction floor with our knowledgeable guide. You can even eat scrumptious Tasmanian oysters for breakfast -- which we did. The bar front. If you like impeccably made cocktails, you should run to the Kirketon Hotel bar in Darlinghurst. They make proper drinks, often with their own ingredients. If beer is your thing, try the Australian Hotel in the Rocks district. They had more Australian beers on their list than I saw anywhere else (except at Transit in Melbourne), and you can even eat kangaroo pizza there. A definite lowlight was the fish and chips at Doyle's in Watsons Bay. Clearly cooked from frozen and certainly overpriced, but the view from the outdoor deck is unmatched. Melbourne We didn't find Melbourne to be as much up our alley as Sydney, but we did have our best meal of the trip here at Vue de Monde. Vue de Monde is the love child of El Bulli and the French Laundry. It's tucked away on Little Collins Street in the central business district. Recently, it's been ranked among the best restaurants in the world, but always behind Tetsuya's and Rockpool. That's a shame because it's the most oustanding fine dining experience I've had in some time (indeed better than Manresa in my new town), and on par with the French Laundry and Lumiere. No joke. The restaurant has no written menu. Instead, you may opt for the chef's signature menu (about 10 dishes for AU$250, exclusive of wine pairings), or you may choose the number of courses you'd like to eat and, after a discussion with your server about your likes and dislikes, have her select the courses for you. Out of sheer curiosity, we went down this latter route.. We told her that we wanted to try foods that we couldn't easily get in the States, but that we were game to try anything else. And we asked for eight courses (which we boosted to nine after our final savory course). It makes little sense to give a blow-by-blow of our stunning meal, as you can find countless such recaps on various blogs and as the menu changes regularly. But our favorites were the Queensland softshell stuffed with Western Australia blue swimmer crab, Australian truffle risotto (which reportedly is a specialty of the house), King George whiting with potato scales (a play on the ubiquitous fish and chips), a frozen blood orange-Campari lollipop, and Roquefort ravioli. The wine pairings were perfect and thoughtful (oloroso sherry with the risotto, for instance). And even though the food was highly sophisticated, the service wasn't at all stuffy. It was young, fun and conversational. Everyone was excited about the food. The feel is leagues away from a place like Citronelle. A nice final touch was their e-mailing me -- unrequested -- a copy of the menu and wine pairings we had. This place should be getting the ink that Tetsuya's and Rockpool gets. Other highlights included the Church Street Enoteca in the Richmond neighborhood; the antipasto, which reminded me of the small plates you might get at the start of the meal at Komi, wowed me, as did the Moreton Bay bug risotto (essentially, lobster risotto). Also great was the Pacific BBQ Seafood House in South Yarra. We learned when we arrived that Anthony Bourdain loves the place; it's real-deal, down-and-dirty (in a good way) Chinese. The top dishes were the fresh scallops in garlic sauce and the fried softshell swimmer crab -- a behemoth in chili and garlic for a mere AU$6.80 (about US$5). And if you want abalone prepared expertly, this is the place to get it. A fun bar is the Transit in Federation Square -- excellent beer selection and a cheap pub menu. Tasmania Tasmania impressed us the most of anywhere we visited, largely because the ingredients -- the cheeses, the wines, the seafood -- were so fresh and amazing. What's a bit disappointing is that there are relatively few places that know how best to handle the ingredients -- witness the countless iterations of fish and chips. But the ones that do it right are making some of the best food on the planet. In the Launceston area and the far northeast, we drank wine more than we ate, visiting about five wineries in the Tamar Valley region. The area is cool, and its wineries are turning out some excellent small-production sparkling and pinot noir. We wished that we could have brought more back to the states, but airline rules, laws, and shipping have made things so difficult that it makes sense to drink what you buy while you're in Australia. Top wineries were Dalrymple (which, we learned, has been sold to a major mainland Australia outfit) and Delamere (if it tells you anything, one of the two wines I managed to get back to the States was a pinot noir from Delamere). While tasting, eat at the Krelinger Estate, which produces Ninth Island pinot noir -- some of the little Tasmanian wine that comes to America. I had a lovely Tasmanian ocean trout salad. If you drive around the coast, the best fish and chips (er, scallops and chips) in the northeast are at Captain's Catch in St. Helens. They've got a delectable beer batter, and you can eat on the water (though you do have to pay an extra AU$0.40 for sweet chili sauce). Heading further south, the only restaurant worth eating in in Swansea on the east coast is the Ugly Duck Out. As zaf at dcfud has already asked, the real question is "how the hell did this chef end up in Swansea (pop 529)." We happened upon the place upon finding everything else closed. It used to be a fish-and-chipery, but the chef -- whose been there for a couple of years -- kept the name but transformed the menu when she and her husband bought the place. You can still find fish and chips, burgers, and such, but you can also find some of the best beach cooking anywhere. The chef has traveled extensively (she told me that s spent time cooking in Colorado) and has incorporated international flavors into her menu. We had a delectable roast chicken dish, Tasmanian scallops (with the roe on) and Queensland shrimp with brown rice, and a dozen oysters from 10 minutes away in the aptly named Great Oyster Bay. This place may been too far ahead of its time in Swansea, so stop in if you're ever passing through this far-off neck of the woods. While you can. Hobart, of course, is Tasmania's capital and its gastronomic center. We wandered through the Salamanca Market (I bought some Tasmanian leatherwood honey) and had some great food. Our two favorites were Jackman & McRoss and amulet. Jackman & McRoss is a Food & Wine photoshoot-ready cafe in Battery Point (apparently, there are two other locations, but our apartment was steps away from this original outpost). We had our best pies of the trip here (meaty Huon Valley mushrooms with red capsicum -- a/k/a red peppers and local goat cheese, among others) and fine tea. Their breads are also to die for. amulet is an upscale neighborhood restaurant in North Hobart -- about a 20-minute walk from the CBD. One of our favorite restaurants of the trip. They do wonders with locally sourced meat and produce. With only six other diners in there the night of our visit, I have no idea how they stay in business, though the fact that it was the dead of winter might explain the quiet. We started with South Bruny Island oysters -- thankfully "natural" and served merely with lime and seared Spring Bay scallops. The mains were Cygnet bacon-wrapped kingfish and, the best fish dish I've ever eaten, the hot smoked and maple glazed Tasmanian ocean trout with blueberry wild rice and tarragon butter. For dessert, we did a cheese course, a glass of local late harvest chenin blanc, and a chocolate souffle. This is where to go in Hobart. Other highlights were the braised wallaby shanks at Zum in Salamanca Square and the sushi at Orizuru Sushi Bar on the docks.

Thanks for the tips. I've put tiger pies, bills, and the Lord Nelson Pub on my agenda. The photos of the food at Pier look amazing, though I think I'm saving my all-out dinner for Vue du Monde in Melbourne. I'm also aiming to hit Billy Kwong in Sydney, as Johnny Apple was rarely wrong about eats. Thanks, Michael

I'll try one more time: any new intel on Australia? My itinerary includes Sydney, Melbourne, and Tasmania. Any must-trys? Thanks, Michael

Go with Bedell/Corey Creek and Lieb Family -- two of the better wine stops on the North Fork. If you're looking for somewhere to eat, try the Frisky Oyster down the road in Greenport.

Any new intel on Australia? I'll be going to Sydney, Tasmania, and Melbourne in August.

In Toronto, I'd highly recommend the Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar. I last ate there in April 2005, and it reminded me a great deal of Chicago's Avec or Seattle's Lark, both of which I adore -- and not as pricey as the places previously mentioned: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/no...d=1154654629478 http://mydinnertable.typepad.com/home/2007..._kennedy_w.html

I will be moving from D.C. to the San Francisco area in mid-May. I'd like to bring much of my 200-bottle wine collection with me, and I'm trying to determine how best to move the wine such that it doesn't get overheated or otherwise destroyed during the process. Does anyone have experience moving large quantities of wine over long distances? Any moving companies with climate-controlled storage to recommend to me? Any other ways to do it that won't cost me an arm and a leg (and are within the law)? Thanks, Michael

I didn't say that it was, Joe. But then again, neither is Pazo, which Carolyn said she was also considering, among others. And I'd personally prefer Sotta Sopra over Pazo. Do you have any suggestions to offer her?

I'd opt for Charleston over Pazo in a heartbeat, though if you're considering restaurants with as diverse atmospheres as Charleston and Pazo (even though they've got the same owner, as Jamie points out), you should consider Sotta Sopra in Baltimore's Mount Vernon district. I had dinner there last night and was quite impressed by the food preparation, the deft seasoning, and the quality of the ingredients (though the service was a tad off, perhaps owing to the fact that I showed up toward the end of the pre-theater rush). Tried the osso bucco, the veal agnolotti, the crab gnocchi, the beet salad, the duck confit salad, the ricotta cheesecake, the arugula salad, blood orange sorbet, and the giandula pot de creme -- very, very good, all of it. Happy to describe in more detail if you'd like to PM me. Michael

I'll be in San Francisco for work next week. Might anyone recommend a good spot for a solo diner for dinner? I'm not averse to making a reservation for one via OpenTable and sitting at a table, but I'd prefer to sit at the bar somewhere. I'll be staying close to the Embarcadero. Thoughts? Already on the agenda for the trip are Ame (Friday night) and Cyrus in Healdsburg (Sunday night). Thanks, Michael

That's precisely what I'm getting at, Joe. It's easy to find virtually any book you want via the Web, but I was simply wondering whether any local bookstores carry a notable selection of food and wine books. I like to page through before I purchase. And if I like something and if the price is reasonable, I'd prefer to buy it on the spot rather than wait it out. I'll have to check out Idle Time and Riverby. Any others that should be mentioned? Michael