CA Burger Joints Add Wine to Their Menus

File this under “I Wish They Could Do This in New York”.
A number of “quick-serve” restaurants in California have added wine selections to their existing menus, in order to cater to a more upscale clientiele, and offer a more elegant dining experience:
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907310349
Wine doesn’t go with everything.  But when in doubt, go with a nice Gewurtztraminer.

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No Wine in NY Grocery Stores!

The State of New York has had a tumultuous relationship with wine and liquor sellers over the years. 
A few years back, liquor stores (the only place you can buy wine and hard liquor in NY) were clamoring for the state to rescind the Depression-era ”Blue Laws” and allow them to open their doors on Sundays.  They got their wish [...]

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Don’t Judge a Wine by its Label

And I know you would be tempted, with a name like this:
The wine’s true name is actually ”Cat’s Pee on a Goosberry Bush”, but Puritanical American standards have added a silent “h” for bottles sold in the U.S.   The label is cute – reminds me of the demonic expression usually present on my cat’s face.
I opened a [...]

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Isn’t THIS Ironic?

Irony Wine.  I love it.
I haven’t yet seen this wine on the shelves here in the CP (and no one up here carries it just yet, according to the website), but I am going to run right down to the liquor store and ask them to order me some.   With a name like that, [...]

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Stand Back – I’m Pouring

I had a very intriguing offer yesterday from a friend…
My friend C. moonlights as a “pourer” for various liquor distributors and wineries, pouring wine in tasting rooms, fundraisers, and the like. We got to talking about how much we both enjoy wine, and she mentioned that she’ll be pouring for Standing Stone Vineyards (NY Finger [...]

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An Elegant Birthday Dinner, Dahling

This past Saturday night, my wonderful husband took me to a very elegant restaurant that I’d been dying to try for many years – The Scrimshaw at the Desmond in Albany. I’ve been to several weddings, conferences, and sales meetings at the Desmond over the years, but had never experienced any of their restaurants [...]

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Celebrating Restaurant Week in Schenectady

Last night, Bob and I joined my friends Nell and Skip for dinner at Parisi’s Steakhouse in Schenectady. The occasion was Schenectady’s 3rd annual Restaurant Week (Jan 29-Feb 2), which I’m proud to say I had a hand in starting back in 2005.
The deal is this: for the low price of $19.62 (1962 signifies [...]

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Wine Recommendation

Yalumba Shiraz Viognier 2006
Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery. And boy do they make a good wine!
I absolutely love this one – it’s a blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier (which is a white grape), and it makes a terrific wine for just sipping in front of the fire. We had [...]

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Pork and Pinot…Perfected

I recently discovered the best way to prepare pork chops – they will come out juicy, tender, and amazing every time.
Brine: Dissolve 2T salt and 2T sugar in 1 cup of lukewarm water. Let sit about 5 minutes, until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Meanwhile, put 4 pork chops (doesn’t matter what kind or how [...]

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