Thursday, October 28, 2010

Where I've been, what I've seen & what I've heard.......

Where I've been...
- Seasons 52, new at Biltmore Fashion Park featuring a seasonal menu of nothing over 425 calories. Great wine list.
- The River Palm Steakhouse in Edgewater N.J. great steaks and seafood frequented by many VIPs in NY/NJ area. Considered one of the best in the area.
-The Local in Saratoga Springs N.Y. some tasty English pub grub in small town upstate N.Y. They do a great Sunday brunch too!
- Amura Sushi in Orlando Fla.(Sand Lake Rd.) surrounded by chain restaurants this place is a favorite among locals. go next door for a pre or post meal cigar.
- Sushi & Thai Cafe in Boca Raton Fla. 1 of 4 locations in area w/ extensive menu for Thai and sushi. great for the vegans in your life. always a must for me when in the area.
- Via Della Pace in NYC's east Village. Homemade pasta is the specialty.
-Maialino in NYC's in Gramercy Park Hotel. Authentic Italian restaurant that was hoping on a Mon. in Sept. interesting Italian wine list too.
-The Upper Deck @ Boston's on the beach in Delray Beach Fla. Good lobstah bisque and broiled lobstah. Sports bar downstairs do good bar food.
-La Grande Orange's Cubano sandwich is really good.
- Bobby' Burger Palace in Paramus N.J. Bobby Flay's quick casual burger joint. Only a few out there so far. Good burgers at reasonable prices. Please come to Phx.
-Ronnie's Hot Bagels & Cafe in Hillsdale N.J. one of the best Italian sandwiches I've had in a while.
-Wandering Horse Buffet @ Casino Az.'s Talking Stick Resort. One of the best deals around for lunch buffet($12.95)
- Tweetups at Switch located on Central & Virginia in Phx. and the new location of Los Taquitos, a family owned Mexican taco's, burritos and margaritas featured on The Food Networks "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" Original location at 48th st& Elliot in Phx. and the new one at 16th st. & Glendale in Phx.
- To many burgers to mention. See reviews. https://www.examiner.com/burgers-in-scottsdale

What I've seen...
-R.E.D w/ Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman & John Malkovich. Retired CIA agents coming out of retirement who are up to some old tricks to catch some bad guys. Entertaining.
-Harrison Montgomery w/ Martin Landau about the goings on in apartment building in SF's Tenderloin district. Very limited release. Gotta search for this one.
- Stone w/ Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton & Milla Jovonovich. retiring prison counselor(DeNiro) debating to parole prisoner(Norton) and being influenced by prisoners wife(Jovonovich). Good performances, a tad bit slow drama.

What I hear.....
-Justin Becketts new Becketts Table opened last night and the Twitteratti seems to like it.
-Oregano's relocating old town Scottsdale location to the old SugarDaddy's down the street in near future.
-As Tweeted a while back Patsy Grimaldis's is opening a burger joint called "Coal Burger" at Scottsdale Quarter.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Change of seasons & change in your wine?

Does the change in color of the leaves and temperatures mean you should be changing your wine preferences? I've never entirely believed in that rule, as there really are no rules with wine drinking. "Drink what you like, when you like is" my motto and as the holidays approach & temps. take a dive is it time to start drinking big reds & put away the whites wine? No I say. I've always keep an open mind to wine drinking(and so should you!) but if I drink wine I usually will let the food dictate my wine selection, not the weather. People usually think of pinot noirs as a common pairing for holiday fixings, but a riesling from Australia or Alsace will compliment the meal also. Why wait for New Years Eve for the bubbles, the cool, crisp bubbles still taste really good watching the kids trick or treating on Halloween. What goes better with apple or pumpkin pie, than a late harvest riesling or dessert wine. So as we change seasons twice a year, don't feel as if you have to change your drinking habits or play "by the rules". Remember the motto "Drink what you like, when you like"