GASTRONORMOUS

Pelaverga, Vigna di Terre Rosse – 2004
The Pelaverga is a little-known grape cultivated in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, and is one of the region’s relatively affordable hidden treasures. Famous for its dark Nebbiolo grapes, Northern Italy’s Piedmont region is most closely associated with tannic wines like Barolo. Generally speaking, cottony tannins in any wine are produced by the grape skins. Because Pelaverga is a thin-skinned grape, these wines are not tannic, but uniquely light, fresh, and balanced for Piedmontese reds.

Pelaverga wine is typically clear ruby-red in color, has scents of tart cherries with notes of peppercorn, and possesses a lightness and restrained acidity atypical for a wine of this high alcohol content. Resolved tannins and little acidity make this wine perfect for sipping or pairing with appetizers, light meats, and fish.

Vigna di Terre Rosse displays all these classic varietal characteristics. Vigna di Terre Rosse is shy upon opening, with appealing grapefruit aromas, but within a couple of hours reveals complex and vivid notes of strawberries and cider. This label is fruit-forward, spicy, and has a strong and tart aroma. Perfectly juicy, with hints of clay and minerality following on the finish.

Trying Vigna di Terre Rosse’s Pelaverga reinforces the remarkable breadth and variety of Italian wines. The color of this wine alone, a transparent red reminiscent of cranberry juice, is delicate and distinct. Remarkably airy and smooth, with a thin mouth-feel, this uncommon wine is worthy of any taster’s attention.

[$19.99 at Astor Wines & Spirits]

Please welcome Dion Benetatos to Gastronormous! Dion was born and bred in New York City, and sojourned in Atlanta and Athens (Greece, not Georgia!) before returning here to live in Manhattan’s Union Square area. His Mediterranean lineage pretty much dictates that food and wine be an important part of his life, but he has taken things to the next level by enrolling in sommelier training. I am very excited that Dion will be contributing wine reviews to Gastronormous. I know you will enjoy his reviews, which I will post on Fridays, just in time for your weekend wine-buying. Cheers!

Accidental Hedionist has a piece about cooking with beer. I’m talking like red sauce. With beer. The idea sounds too intriguing to not try, if you ask me.

Artichoke Heart has a recipe for dolmades, which I love, but have never found the guts and determination to make–they seem so labor intensive. These look worth all the work.

I love anybody who has the guts to make a dish that combines rice and potatoes. I’d serve it over pasta with a side of bread. But seriously, it looks delish. [via Bitten]

Nothing against the color blue, but these pumpkins look like they need oxygen. [via Serious Eats]

There aren’t many vegetables less sexy than cabbage, but Smitten Kitchen makes it look irresistable when combined with mushrooms in a savory galette. If my kitchen wasn’t getting torn up this weekend, I would totally try this!

On Saturday we drove down to Sleepy Hollow and Tarry Town, leaf-peeping along the way–the views were beautiful despite the rain. We stopped for lunch in Tarrytown at Lefteris Gyro, right on the corner of Main St. and Route 9. We warmed ourselves up with some delicious soup and other comfort foods before heading over to Union Church of Pocantico Hills, a tiny church that unexpectedly features some amazing stained glass windows by Marc Chagall and a mod Rose window by Miro.  Later we headed over to the the Rockefeller Estate for a tour, which was terrific, and not just because our guide looked, sounded, and acted exactly like James Lipton. The resemblance was eerie. Well, actually more funny than eerie, but in any case it definitely added to the experience.

We then drove back up to Beacon to change clothes before heading farther upstate to New Paltz, where we had a really delicious meal at Beso. The restaurant came highly recommended by several people, so expectations were high, and it did not disappoint.

We arrived at precisely the time of our reservation at this duplex restaurant and were seated promptly. Their wine list was varied in region and price, with bottles ranging from $20 to $100. We ordered a bottle of the Earthworks Shiraz from Barossa, Australia. It was an ok bottle of wine. At first sip I liked it, but after a while I began to detect some unpleasant bitterness on the finish. But, it was one of the cheaper bottles at $27, so I shan’t have expected vini-perfection.

We started with an unusual take on the caramelized onion tart. The quite shallow puff-pastry shell was chock full of flavor: a layer of caramelized onions and beets, all topped with a brown and bubbling later of goat cheese. The beets added even more sweetness to that established by the caramelized onions. All this sweetness was well balanced by the buttery pastry, tart goat cheese, salty kalamata olives, and a reduced balsamic plate-garnish. I could overlook the overdressed greens that accompanied it, because the tart was spectacular.

This fantastic app was followed by a porcini-crusted filet minon special served with fried potatoes and asparagus. Pops-in-law pronounced it fantastic; perfectly medium-rare and flavorful. Moms-in-law didn’t have a huge appetite, so she went for butternut squash soup and a salad. The butternut squash soup was subtly scented with curry and tasted mellow and savory, not too sweet as many similar soups skew. I had the vegetarian shepherd’s pie, which was so much surprisingly better than its mashed potato-spinach-roasted-vegetables parts. It was by far the best entree I have had in months. So delicious. The Hubs had the artic char with brussel sprouts and roasted potatoes dressed in a dijon sauce, and it was excellent–perfectly cooked and perfectly dressed.

For dessert we all shared an apple bread pudding. It was very fall-appropriate and actually almost, to me, tasted more pumpkin-y than apple-y, which was odd but not objectionable. It was served with a scoop of delicious homemade cinnamon ice cream. It was so yummy that we ate a bunch of it before thinking taking the picture you see below.

Overall, it was a great meal with fine service, and if you ever find yourself leaf peeping in the Hudson Valley, I insist, you must stop at Beso.

The Hubs, his visiting parents, and I arrived in Beacon, NY a little later than we had expected, and by the time we set out on foot from the B&B for dinner, it was already nearing 9 pm. We headed over to Main Street, where we passed by a cozy little cafe called the Muddy Cup, which was filled with teenagers scowling out at us, which was amusing because I remember being a too-cool-to-be-this-bored teenager on Friday nights. So though I could almost hear them mutter, teeth clenched, “Peepers! Go home!” at us, I felt for them. On our walk up Main Street, I was surprised to see so many storefronts empty. Beacon is a really cute little town, and it would be nice to see more signs of prosperity there.

We ended up farther up Main Street at Amarcord, a little Italian (mostly Italian–they had a couple Asian things on their menu too, which was odd) restaurant that was fairly crowded for what I assumed was a late dinner hour in this sleepy little town. This, along with the fact that the restaurant is named after one of my favorite Fellini movies, was surely propitious. We waited briefly for a table in the back room, away from the loud bar.

The service was polite and attentive. We each ordered a drink. My glass of red was corked. Strongly so. Without question, bad. I asked the waitress for a different glass of wine, explaining this was corked. She said that that as funny, it was the last glass of the bottle and no one else complained (strange! I found it so strong! I was tempted to ask her to just smell the wine), but then she recommended another wine and took away the offending glass without question, which was nice.

The Hubs started out with an octopus salad—almost more of a tangy marinated octopus—which he enjoyed very much. That was the only starter at the table, besides the complementary bread and tasty  tapenade served. Two of us ordered the butternut squash agnolotti with brown butter sage and toasted pine nuts. I found it to be relatively lacking in flavor and overly buttery, but others liked it more than I did. But, it is clear by now that I am picky (op. cit. corked wine episode), so what can I say! The seared pork chop was served with apple sauce, walnut fennel sausage stuffing, and spinach. It was a hefty portion of both chop and sausage stuffing (which was unexpectedly in sliced-puck form) and pretty tasty. The special porcini mushroom ravioli was very salty and sort of a one-note porcini onslaught on the taste buds. It wasn’t the worst thing I have ever eaten, but I couldn’t eat much of it due to the incredibly intense musty-mushroomness of mushroom ravioli topped with a thick mushroom sauce. I didn’t include a photo of it here because it really didn’t make a pretty picture. Trust me on this one.

I think we all agreed that it wasn’t sock-knockingly good, especially for the prices, which I think were a little high for what it was. But it was a fine meal in a comfortable atmosphere, with good company, and a nice way to start our weekend.

Amarcord
276 Main Street
Beacon, NY  12508
(845) 440-0050

Tomorrow–more food in the Hudson Valley area, inclduing a great meal in New Paltz!

I have been lax in posting not for lack of fodder, but because my life is suddenly very busy. Please check in again later today or tomorrow! Thanks for your patience.

Sorry folks, I went upstate on Friday and was not able to post the feeder until Sunday night:

Cook, Eat, Fret has a story on why she prefers veal stock, but why she made chicken stock. While the post is assuredly a good read, I admit that I am mostly posting this for the arresting photos. All I can say is that I had no idea that chicken feet looked so much like slightly mutant humanoid hands.

Ok, this is not technically a story from the last week, but these pumpkin swirl brownies look totally ah-mazing, not to mention seasonal. [via Smitten Kitchen]

And speaking of pumpkin sweet treats: How about pumpkin maple rum cupcakes at Batch. Whoo! Them look good! I have been meaning to go there… [from Serious Eats]

I love Grub Street‘s guide for waitpeople. I agree with most everything here, especially the be “friendly, but don’t try to be friend” from the title. And, puhlease! if I pay cash and leave $60 on a $41 bill, don’t ask if I need change, just bring me the change, thanks. You have to kiss my ring to get 50% at dinner. The one thing I disagree with is that waiters ask if you want a new drink before you reach 1/3 glass. I think that is a little pushy. Whatever, read the story, it is a good one!

This goes out to a certain someone I know who believes his vote doesn’t matter on account of the electoral college system (you know who you are!): Ben & Jerry’s will give you a free scoop on election day if you show them proof that you voted. Yea! [via Midtown Lunch]

Ok, folks. I am going leaf peeping up the Hudson Valley this weekend and expect to be eatin’ some good food whilst there, so stay tuned next week!

I kept talking about wanting to go to Habana Outpost, located in my Ft. Greene neighborhood, all summer long. But somehow, fall arrived and I still hadn’t been. Knowing the part-year eco-eatery must be closing soon, The Hubs and I decided to stop by for a late supper after a performance at BAM recently.

When the weather is warm, Habana Outpost is a big, outdoor, community party, with cheap food, drinks, and sometimes entertainment.  They are completely solar-powered, much of the restaurant is made of recycled and reclaimed materials, the cups, plates, and utensils are compostable, they collect and recycle rainwater, and they even have a bicycle-powered blender for smoothies ($1 off if you pedal)! In addition, they are dedicated to helping the community through their outreach organization, Habana Works. All around, a pretty cool place.

We weren’t sure whether it would be open, what with the cold weather we were experiencing that night, but they were, and the party had moved indoors. We placed our order inside and took it out to the kitchen truck, pictured here, and then went back inside to find a table. It was pretty crowded, though nothing like during the warm days of summer. A tiny table freed up quickly and we took it (there is no formal seating process, you just grab a table when one is vacated). While we waited for our food we sipped our margarita and “morita” (half margarita/half mojito), respectively. They are tastier than and not as weak as most frozen libations that come from a machine. (But, boy, I have to say I kept getting brain freeze! One was so bad and lasted so long that tears were streaming down my face at the end. I don’t know what about these drinks made that happen so much. I will do some vigorous Slurpee training in the days preceding my next visit).

The food was nothing fancy, but a total delight to eat. The avocado and queso blanco sandwich with veggies and chipotle mayo was simply constructed, but totally delicious. The guacamole, served in a tortilla shell (eco!), was a little under-salted, but was still tasty, with a very thick and chunky texture. The star was their muy delicioso corn, for which they are famous (in fact it is listed on the menu as “Famous Corn”). It is charred on the grill and slathered with mayonnaise, cheese, and red chile. Sounds weird, but it works. I wish we had ordered two! Unfortunately, I was not able to get photos of the food; it was extremely dark (turns out solar power works better during the day).

Habana Outpost the eatery is only open through October 31, so hurry up and get over there, already. In mid-November they will re-open with “drinks, music, dancing, you know, that kind of thing,” according to the guy in charge the night I was there. The celebrating will happen in both the ground level space and the new, basement party den. No word on whether the bicycle-blender will be in the works, but I am sure their head-splitting but yummy frozen drinks will be, so, I’ll see you there!

Habana Outpost
757 Fulton Street (corner of S. Portland)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 858-9500

The Predicate just returned from a visit to Ohio, and she couldn’t wait to call me and rub in, er, rave about, the fact that she had had the best ice cream of her life at Jeni’s. Perhaps, she hated to say it, even better than Tara’s organic, a Santa Fe ice cream purveyor that I adore. I had a hard time believing that, as Tara’s is phenomenal. But then she excitedly told me about Jeni’s unusually delicious flavors, such as: Goat cheese and cognac-fig, salty caramel, crème fraiche with Amarena cherries, and Thai chili ice creams! Or how about pear and riesling or apple cider and five spice sorbet? Only to name a few. Oh my. I must try.

They deliver country-wide, but it is hella expensive, like $70 to have six pints sent to your door. But hey, that’s cheaper than a trip to Ohio. And really, you don’t want to go to Ohio, anyway. (Joke! Don’t get all up on your Ohio horse, now. I was kidding. I have never been to Ohio, but the state has produced some very lovely people, so who am I to badmouth?). It might be too expensive to order for yourself, but this would be a great indulgent gift for the ice cream lover in your life!

Say what? Oh! I totally forgot my birthday is coming up!

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
To order call (614) 488-3224 or go to their website.

As my husband can attest, I am a little more germaphobic than your average person (though not quite at OCD-level), and one thing that grosses me out not a little bit is when you put the colander in the sink and dump the boiling spaghetti in, and all the water backs up so whatever was in your drain is now floating up to mingle with your noodles. I know, ick, right? Well, this colander alleviates that problem with its ultra-legginess. Just look at those gams! Plus, the legs and colander itself is collapsible, so you can store it flat. Genius! [$29.95 at Sur la Table]