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ChiantiandFava

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Everything posted by ChiantiandFava

  1. ChiantiandFava
    And my non-traditional suggestion for this season would be Fantome L'Hiver--best saison producer on the planet (that I've tried so far).
  2. ChiantiandFava
    I decided to homebrew a Mad Elf clone this year, both to avoid the markups and as Xmas presents. I'll let everybody know how it turns out. Procrastinated for a little while so it's still in primary fermentation. If anyone decides to try this out too I'm sure I'll have some suggestions to make your attempt a little easier (11% is definitely the highest ABV I've aimed for).
  3. ChiantiandFava
    Just quickly while glancing at the bookshelf--The Dispossessed (LeGuin), Darkness at Noon (Koestler), Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller). Then there are a couple books in the sci-fi category that are partially concerned with dystopia like The Forever War by Joe Haldeman and Old Man's War by John Scalzi. I'll write more about the why later.
  4. ChiantiandFava
    Yes. A few of McCarthy's defining characteristics that spring to mind-- sparse/brutal syntax, layered/complex imagery, half-disembodiment/third person exploratory or three quarter's view. Regarding that last one, his characters are known as "the kid", "the man", "the boy", "the fisherman." Generally, you see what they see but not what they think--commentary seems to conjure itself ephemerally, rather than from an opinion/experience. Three quarters view is what's used in video games in which you see over your character's shoulder and control his/her actions but presumably not their thoughts. "The crumpled butcherpaper mountains lay in sharp shadowfold under the long blue dusk and in the middle distance the glazed bed of a dry lake lay shimmering like the mare imbrium and herds of deer were moving north in the last of the twilight, harried over the plain by wolves who were themselves the color of the desert floor. Glanton sat his horse and looked long out upon this scene. Sparse on the mesa the dry weeds lashed in the wind like the earth's long echo of lance and spear in old encounters forever unrecorded. All the sky seemed troubled and night came quickly over the evening land and small gray birds flew crying softly after the fled sun. He chucked up the horse. He passed and so passed all into the problematical destruction of darkness."
  5. ChiantiandFava
    In case you get addicted to McCarthy like I did after reading The Road-- In order of readability, easiest to most challenging (of what I've read)-- No Country for Old Men The Road Blood Meridian Suttree Just realized that list is almost in order of latest to earliest writings, very interesting. Re: Into the Wild. I enjoyed how harsh Krakauer was on McCandless at times--the film glorified him way too much. As to what I've read recently, I get trapped in the sci fi genre for half-years at a time. Greg Bear is a talented writer (Forerunner Trilogy, part of the Halo universe), Iain Banks (Culture series) was a bit disappointing--way too descriptive for me.
  6. ChiantiandFava
    It was both a generalization and a comment on class. There are tons of restaurant employees who view their work as their calling, or just as importantly, treat it as such. It's a convoluted argument and probably has little bearing on the OP's post but-- FOH employees have to invest both time and effort to attain a higher skill level, this is often undermined by a "this is only temporary" or "this is less important work" type attitude. That's true everywhere. I don't think it's difficult to see how a place like DC, filled with intense ambitions and expectations, could intensify or diffuse these mindsets.
  7. ChiantiandFava
    Power politics aren't very appetizing ehh? I think these dramas are more prevalent/exacerbated by the expectations of living in DC--that is, so many of your FOH employees aren't proud to be working in restaurants and would rather be in the non-profit/government world like their friends.
  8. ChiantiandFava
    Block 15 is a good spot. I thought of it as a great place to meet up/catch up with people rather than a dining destination--it's also a favorite of many OSU grad students because of the fair pricing. Too bad you didn't try out Les Caves, great beer bar and very trendy brunch spot.
  9. ChiantiandFava
    Ehh, sounds similar to how most wine is made. I am concerned, given the constant crush of demand and amount of power Pepsi/Coke wields, about the pressure put on workers rights and quality of life.
  10. ChiantiandFava
    "Mr. [Three Big Duds Writer], what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
  11. ChiantiandFava
    That's a smart way to do a friends and family/soft opening for some good causes.
  12. ChiantiandFava
    Just FYI round trip tickets to PDX from BWI are usually around $290 ($240 from PHL). I didn't get to check out a ton of places while I was out there in the fall but-- Heater Allen- Based in McMinnville, some of the best lagers I've ever had. Especially the "coastal" amber lager. Argyle- Situated right in the traffic nightmare of Dundee. Still wines were a mixed bag but their sparklers are splendid. Try to get the low/zero dosage if it's available. Old Oak- Right off the main drag in McMinnville. Nice slightly upscale neighborhood bar, very reasonable prices, no food. Blue Moon- Blue collar bar in the Mac. I'll have another patty melt and budweiser please.
  13. ChiantiandFava
    Maybe another angle to go with the possible glass/cork/other theories--late 80s, early 90s is when NZ SB took off. They were early champions of limiting to the utmost degree possible the amount of oxygen hitting their whites in the early stages of winemaking (by using closed presses, stainless steel everything, hoses charged with argon, etc.). The French, seeing their success, may have copied some of their practices/equipment. It's been shown a little oxygenation in the early stages can actually prep a white for aging. NZ SB is definitely not concerned with aging.
  14. ChiantiandFava
    I would expect other corporate style restaurants to take advantage of this move by going the opposite direction and playing up their good ol' fashioned human hospitality (I'm looking at you cracker barrel).
  15. ChiantiandFava
    [No list, just random comments] Glad to see a beer from Evolution mentioned, I mostly come across their IPA and ESB but both are damn good. My discoveries from this year have been beers from Horseheads Brewing (out of Horseheads, NY with almost no distribution), Ninkasi (great beers out of Eugene, OR) and Heater Allen (some of the best American lagers I've ever had, made in McMinnville, OR).
  16. ChiantiandFava
    I realize any mention of price point triggers a rant from Joe H., I agree with basically everything he says--but I rarely buy wine over the $20-25 range. If I do, it's for a special occasion or to cellar. In that range you have Glen Manor's Sav Blanc and... For a point of comparison you can get dozens of delicious wines from the Finger Lakes for under $20. I know, apples and oranges. That's why I brought up the supply issue. Estate wineries are fantastic, you don't have to worry about growers not implementing your vision--you have total control. But in the great wine growing areas there are tons of vineyards, without wineries, that help the region thrive. These vineyards also help keep prices reasonable and provide cushions for estate wineries if there's a major weather event (hail, frost, hurricane). I'm just worried that VA is a little top heavy right now.
  17. ChiantiandFava
    Milbank's definitely right to point out the bottleneck of supply/demand the top Virginia producers are encountering. It's not that the top producers aren't worth what they're asking, it's that the wines won't find their way into the hands of the casual consumers or millennials (or simply the price conscious) at these price points. This may become exacerbated by another supply issue-- a Charlottesville winemaker was telling me how the growing problem is that many newcomers want to build wineries but few want to plant vineyards.
  18. ChiantiandFava
    The danger is with casual sniping, but I think the outing process you go through to register yourself on this site would mitigate most of that. It might be a nice counter to the vagaries of at-will employment.
  19. ChiantiandFava
    Just a heads up, this is available now streaming on netflix.
  20. ChiantiandFava
    I've been googling but I can't find a restaurant that offers a raw cucumber covered in whipped cream as an entree.
  21. ChiantiandFava
    Agavero Orange is pretty tasty stuff--I'd have to second Combier though, nice round/soft orange flavors to complement whatever strong artisanal liquor you wind up using.
  22. ChiantiandFava
    Zero tolerance during shift. I always appreciated the post-shift drink though--of course once that door is open you have to be pretty vigilant. A compromise is getting the line cooks/servers to bring/buy their own drinks after the shiftie, the sous or head chef has to be the enforcer on when/how this is allowed though.
  23. ChiantiandFava
    Did Elk Run not enter the competition? Their reds are uneven but I found their whites (particularly the Gewurztraminer and the Pinot Gris) to be very good.
  24. ChiantiandFava
    I've only been here for three years but here are my $.02. Todd- Reactionary. Prefers tuxs to t-shirts. Loves to play assholes' advocate with things that people really care about like the local food movement. Tom- Predictable. Does not convince the reader he is an authentic authority on the subject matter. Makes normative statements without explaining reasoning. Tim- Yeah I'd drink with that guy. No complaints. And you didn't ask but-- Dave- Timely and explains clearly, though a bit slippery in what he actually likes/dislikes (compare this with Asimov whose taste is well defined).
  25. ChiantiandFava
    It could be the combination of just having read The Road and working 44 hours in a vineyard this week but I'm pretty sure people are responsible for their own actions. If you're the host and you know it's 100 degrees and you know it could be dangerous for those in your party to be in the heat you make plans for shelter--you don't rely on a restaurant to take pity and open early. The perfect compromise would have been if the host/ess came out and explained the policy while giving the group some water and directing them to shelter--"play some pool with the hobos at Bedrock," for instance. This could lead to a rant about how the hospitality industry shouldn't be beholden to constantly being nice to people but I'll leave that for another time...
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