tastedc

Good suggestions, except that Aglianico (even the unoaked regional versions) is too tannic for fish. When tannin and fish oil combine, they create a distinctive metalic taste that most people find unpleasant. Try a Barbera instead - particularly one with little or no oak. Barbera's unique combination of high-acidity and low tannins make it the ultimate red wine for fish.

Kathy,

I'm going to experiment - I'm going to get me an Aglianico and some Red Snapper and see if you're by gosh right! But it IS an overstatement - par example, salmon and pinot noir - excellent! Tuna and Tempranillo - also good! I get more of the metallic with cheese and red wine - the majority of pairings I see with cheese and red wine don't work for me! To be totally honest with everyone - the above menu is actually not particularly wine friendly - that could take alot of explaining, but to simplify - eggplant is more of a red wine veggie, especially if you char the skin - pasta is neutral, but with tomatoes, I automatically think Sangiovese or the equivalent red - then you serve a relatively "light" fish in a pretty light preparation, I'm thinking white wine, high acid, but I hate light whites after reds - maybe even move the fish course to before the pasta - or change the sauce!

Here is the menu:

Snack to Start: Mushroom Pate

First Course: Eggplant salad with Basil

Second Course: Linguine with homemade Tomato Cream Sauce

Third Course: Poached Red Snapper with Butter & Shallot sauce on a bed of Spinach

Fourth Course: Profiteroles: stuffed with coffee & vanilla ice cream and lots of chocolate sauce on top

Question: Each dish looks really great, but I'm not sure together - I'll explain...Eggplant is pretty filling and so is Linguine especially with a cream-based sauce - mushroom pate to boot. I would "lighten" one of the courses - probably the Linguine - because it's a bit hot outside, maybe take the cream out of the sauce. This of course changes the wine. Prosecco or inexpensive sparkler with the Mushroom Pate, a "bright" white wine to pair with the basil in the Eggplant salad (New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Austrian Gruner Veltliner, maybe a Riesling from Germany), a Sangiovese from Italy or California for the Linguine in a Tomato Sauce (I'm suggesting not doing the cream!), and since it's not a good idea to go from Red to white, go with a really light Red for the Snapper, an Oregon Pinot Noir or maybe an Aglianico from Southern Italy. I don't drink wine with dessert - unless the wine IS dessert, so maybe some really good coffee and an after-dinner Cognac with the Profiteroles, especially considering that the rich chocolate sauce doesn't need to be paired with wine!!

Hope that helps...

That's a direct quote from James Tan - he explained it well - if you caught a fish, and ate the flesh right-away, it would have absolutely no flavor - it would be too bland. Also, the history of sushi comes from fishermen trying to preserve their catch in salt and vinegared rice. I read somewhere that there's a place in Japan where they store fish in barrels, add salt and vinegared rice and keep it like this for months until it gets an "interesting" aroma, and then they serve it - it's almost like cheese some have said!!!

Yep, next class is Saturday, May 13th at Uni, buy tickets at www.tastedc.com - I'll probably get hell for the plug, but what can I do??

Uni Sushi Class Photos from Sept 17th, 2005

I hold Sushi classes there all the time - here are photos of James Tan who is the owner/chef, making various sushi presentations. The menu of items is below. Most interesting tidbit I learned from him is that fresher fish is NOT necessarily better for sushi, that fish, like beef, gets better with a little aging, especially tuna. On the other hand, he mentioned that supermarket fish can be rather old, so buyer beware at stores. But if you want really fresh fish, Black Salt's market on MacArthur - very nice!

Basic California Roll Preparation:

-Extreme Picante Escolar Roll

-Classic California Roll

-Spicy Tuna Roll

-Spicy, Crunchy Crawfish Roll

Assortment of Sushi Including:

Tuna (Maguro)

Salmon (Sake)

Tilapia (Izumidai)

Shrimp (Ebu)

Cabana's Bloody Mary Bar

Bottomless Bloody Marys at Cabanas - $7.95 all you can drink/mix with an order of an entree...

Couple points from the organizer:

-Tickets are $65 IF you purchase at the Website TasteDC Cheese and Wine Fest,

-Cheeses will be broken down at each table by type: Fresh, Soft-Ripened, Natural-Rind, Pressed, Blue-Veined, and possibly 1 more category - so each table will stick

to that category of cheese,

-Wines have not been chosen but are based on simple wine and cheese pairing formulas eg. Ports and dessert wines will be suggested as pairing with blue, Sauvignon Blancs with goat cheeses, etc.,

-A handout will be given to explain the basics of cheese, and cheese and wine pairing - most of what I have personally learned is from 3 cheese classes Jill Erber instructed for TasteDC, these classes were at TasteDC's Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

-Crepes were not listed on the website, so they are Chicken with smoked Mozzarella, Salmon and Asparagus and a Vegetarian crepe as well, more details on that one soon,

-Desserts are pastries from Patisserie Poupon,

-Overall, it's a 1st year event, and a feeling out event, so any ideas to improve the concept are welcome. It's important to note that this is not a Foodie Event per se - in other words, most of TasteDC's events are for people who "enjoy" food, not necessarily study, analyze, critique food - I leave that to Rockwellian's!

-Cameras will be allowed and attendees can take as many pictures as they like and use them for posting on their websites/blogs or whatever!

Charlie Adler, President

TasteDC

"TasteDC - DC's Taste!"

Much of the sugar decorations used to decorate cakes is nearly inedible or isn't practical to eat - I took a very short class on making cake decorations on a Smithsonian culinary tour a few years ago (there used to be a cake decoration school in Gaithersburg right next to L'Academie's headquarters) and the instructor basically said that the sugar designs were not to be eaten, they simply weren't made for flavor. Art vs. taste, so to speak...but, you have to taste Duff's cakes, they look good AND taste great!

From Yesterday's Metrocurean Metrocurean OYA Article

What began as a friendship forged on a snow-boarding trip has made it all the way to the kitchen at OYA. James Stouffer and Jonathan Seningen were recently hired to share the top toque duties at OYA, following the departure of opening chef Kingsley James back in July. The pair met while snowboarding in Argentina this summer.

Job has been filled, but will likely be looking for a Special Events person mid to late 2006

Washington Post Food Section - also known as Washingtonian Lite!

My impression of all his icings are that they are more butter than buttercream, so the question is what is the best temperature to serve butter? And doesn't butter really melt well on your tongue, I mean haven't you ever put the really hard butter served to you on bread and taken a bite and allowed the butter to melt lovingly down your throat? I think his cakes and cupcakes are really just one more excuse to add this lovingly rich fat to your diet, they are not produced for subtle nuance..

From Sugar Rush on the Foodtv.com website

Go wild with Duff Goldman as he makes a canon cake,

Good, bad, indifferent, Warren is supporting ALOT of local pastry chefs by putting them on his show like Duff, ?Palena? (website is listed in 1 of his programs), Marriott Wardman, Windows Catering, and who knows how many others, the website won't list them until the show has been aired. So ultimately, Warren has boosted the DC pastry industry - Hoorah!

Didn't Woo Lae Oak move to the old Sam and Harry's in Tyson's Corner, the old Inkwell space?

When I went almost a year ago when they first opened, they had a Ceviche Bar, is that still open? I thought that was Supercool, I mean Mexican Sushi, great concept! Also the very high ceilings and decor, the space is pretty dramatic, even at a Zaytinya level!

But that location seems so strange, I mean Zaytinya is a winning location in so many ways, but Crystal City is primarily day-time defense contractors, and not much evening walk-by traffic - even worse, Oyamel specialize in Mexican wines and Virginia ABC restrictions on obtaining wines in their state are so convoluted and ultimately costly, that Oyamel's Mexican wines are quite limited and a tad bit pricey...

It's pushiness masquerading as service. They want to drain the bottle. They want to have you order another. And who knows if the person sitting across from me even WANTS more wine? All drinkers are not created equal.

Last time this happened, I cut it off at the pass. I hid the bottle of wine under the table, refilling glasses for my guests per their instructions on how much to pour.

I'm totally confused by what he's trying to say even after reading it several times...I think he's trying to say that less expensive restaurants push sales on wine by pouring more even if people at the table don't want more wine - sort of like when waiters push dessert at the end of the meal? Hiding the wine is an etiquette No-No, I mean if a restaurant won't obey your wishes about not pouring wine in certain glasses, then go to the manager or don't go back to the restaurant! It seems that when you go to seated restaurant that you should NOT pour your own water, replace your own cutlery or linens, etc.. and you should ask for service...

Of course, I have a similar pet peeve - I hate when I'm served white wine in an ice bucket with freezing water and ice, and the waiter pours some and then puts the wine back in the freezing water - that ruins the wine experience, you can't taste a white wine when it's too cold!

Hector was still at Cabanas when I checked last month, and he's been there for about 1 1/2 years - but, who knows, chefs come and go all the time! He's a great chef and a really nice guy to deal with as a professional, here's a recent photo of him at work:Hector Photo

I went to the Dumpling Bar when it first opened and although it was very good, it seemed that prices didn't make sense - maybe 3 times more expensive than the equivalent food at a Dim Sum Restaurant. On the other hand, the ambience is very hip/chic...I've been to Cabanas which is in the same complex, and this is another restaurant often ignored because it's in the touristy Harbour area, but the chef is Veteran Chef Hector Guerra, who originally worked under Roberto Donna of Galileo and Yannick Cam of Le Pavillion, so there food is very good as well, and priced fairly...yes, Cabanas is also owned by the Tony and Joe's people, but they have allowed the management of Cabanas to have more freedom on their cuisine.

My good deed for the day (month!): http://www.restaurantkolumbia.com/ - Jamie Stachowski is an awesome chef!

If Laine Mullins is still the Special Event Coordinater at Ortanique, she's the best of the Best, whatever she says is honest and fair, so you're in excellent hands! I actually got kicked out of Ortanique a few years ago because I was dancing on the 2nd floor to a live band and one of the bartenders stuck the bill between me and my dance partner - while we were dancing!!! I went ballistic, a bunch of us still laugh about the episode, especially the part about when we went to the manager of Ortanique at the time, and he KICKED US OUT!!! Seems like they support aggressive bartenders!

What are you willing to pay, be specific?

Essentially, if you close down a restaurant, you have to guarantee their lost revenue for that night, so it will definitely be a few hundred dollars per person...

Trouble has been brewing there for awhile, especially after they filed for bankruptcy/reorganization! Bad concept: 2 floors, 2 KITCHENS (!) AND 2 different dining concepts, but really only 1 chef to run the whole thing...unfortunately, I think the Banks haven't been focusing on running a business, and I think the place was more used for partying then for selling food...I noticed the problem when I held a cooking class there and the chef didn't show up on time, Sharon wasn't prepared and she didn't know the financial deal I had arranged with Jimmie...food was very good though, but this is simply a case where food and reputation can't keep a place alive unless the management is there to run an operation. Lack of management killed this establishment, assuming it has closed? The phone number has a strange answer, call for fun: 202-248-6007

Saw the CoCo's Cafe episode last night - these boys shouldn't be in the restaurant business! But for $30K, the consultants did a fantastic job fixing up this hopeless place, but I'm still trying to think what they did with the bathroom that was basically in the middle of the restaurant...

Second, I forget what part of the American history and culture is rooted in McDonalds or TGI Fridays.

Here it ´tis (repeat 4 times) - Sung to the tune of the B-52's "Good Stuff":

McHistory - The WHOLE Story of American Culture

The List

We should at least give other wine tastings equal time, since this poster seems to be "plugging" this event!

This is not a supply-side issue, i.e., big, evil, nasty corporations turning us into gastronomic zombies. That reminds me of the worst kind of college-campus neo-Marxist conspiracy theorizing. Rather, it's the demand side: a large mass of poorly educated consumers. The reasons for this in America are cultural and historical.

How true...

that they do far more than meet demand, that their greatest triumphs involve creating and manipulating it.

Anti-globalization is SO profound, but such BS, I mean everything we do on the internet is global, anybody want to close this Bulletin Board down? The French are classic at this argument - that people need to be "culturally" protected -BS...don't replace my freedom of choice with socialist/state dogma, OK, I may choose McD's, but THAT'S MY CHOICE! On the other hand, the French really respect food, I congratulate them on that! Watch the movie Mondovino - it takes the anti-globalization argument and places it in the wine world - the Bad Guys are Robert Mondavi, Robert Parker, and Michel Rolland, the Good Guys are small "artisanal" wine producers and people who care about what they put in the bottle. The glass is either half full or half empty as they say!