tommy:eats

Stew Leonard's coming to: Paramus

I noticed a "coming soon" sign in an old furniture store on Route 17 North in Paramus.  "Stew Leonard's" "Stew Leonard's Wine and Spirits" followed the "coming soon" bit.

Biagio's: Paramus, NJ

I’m guessing the Bergen Record recently changed their business model and decided to ramp up their online ad revenue.  And how do you get advertisers to pay you for online ads?  Traffic.  And how do you get traffic to your website?  By having your editors share their opinions on cooking and lifestyle and restaurants and stuff?  Yeah, maybe a little.  How do you *really* get traffic to your website?  Answer:  allow anyone to use it as a soapbox.  And that’s just what the Bergen Record did when it opened up its main site and its Second Helpings food blog to reader comments a few weeks ago.  Now, idiots like you and me can post practically anything (although I’m sure they have guidelines as far as what stays up) in response to the editors (and each other). 

Did I read Second Helpings to see what Bill Pitcher was reporting on before the comments opened up?  Sure, every now and again.   But you can bet that I’m checking more often these days, hanging on every word that TruffleWhippedCreamGal says about A Mano or what SherlockGnomes says about the Allendale Bar and Grill.  Oh the Record is getting multiple hits from me every day, that’s for sure.

And what brilliant timing for the shift to open comments:  they had just published a most unflattering and somewhat brutal review of a well-loved family-run Bergen County restaurant:  Biagio’s in Paramus. 

I sat here on the morning after the review was published, reading the various comments left by fans of Biagio’s (and more here).  I was extremely entertained.  People were clearly taking this very personally.  “Attack my favorite restaurant!?!?!  How DARE you!?!?!?!  You, ma’am, have no idea what you are talking about and should be stoned, publicly.  I am officially canceling my subscription to the Bergen Record.  You need to apologize for being so mean!!! Fire her!!!!!”

The collective reaction was interesting.  I mean, you trash someone’s favorite restaurant, and you are, in essence, attacking them.  And then people hate you.  And I get that.  People have no doubt grown up with Biagio’s (the family has owned the restaurant for quite a few years).  They’ve had birthday parties there.  Graduation parties.  Weddings.   Hell on each of my two recent visits (a weekend day and a weekday night), there was a party going on in one of the private rooms (they have several for your partying pleasure).   The regulars know the owners by name and they’re known by name.  That makes people feel good.  About themselves.  About the restaurant (or, the “establishment”, as its fans like to refer to it in those comments).  Biagio’s is woven into their memories, into the fabric of their very being.  This, I think, partly explains why they don’t realize that Biagio’s simply does not serve very notable food.   Perhaps Biagio’s fans weigh those aspects more than the actual food.  Perhaps they really don’t give food much thought to begin with.  The former is no doubt true, but I’m not about to discount the latter. 

And hey, there’s nothing wrong with not giving food much thought.  I don’t give much thought to a lot of things that others are fanatic about:  clothing, electronics, cars, and pretty much everything but food (and music).  The difference, though, is that my feelings aren't hurt when a magazine reviews my crappy Onkyo receiver and gives it a bad rating:  I’m comfortable with the fact that my Onkyo receiver isn’t all that good.  It serves my needs, and that’s just fine by me. 

But it’s really not important why people like Biagio’s.  I’m sure they’re very nice people, some of whom clearly do not spell very well or write very often, but I’m not going to put much more thought into it.  All I know for sure is what I think about Biagio’s.  You want to know too.  Admit it.  That’s why you’re here, right now, reading this nonsense.  So here you go, complete with crappy cell phone pictures.

Franklin Hill Vineyard: Blues berry wine

This tasted just like it looked.

I really can't recommend this wine.  Or anything this color.

But if you're in Pennsylvania, check out their other wines.  PA wineries can produce some tasty ice wines on occasion.

Franklin Hill Vineyard website

Some more doins: Ridgewood, NJ: Septemberish, 2007

A recent newsletter from the nice people at Ridgewood's Broad Street Smokehouse (Update:  now closed)mentions that Super Cellars will be moving from its current local across from Whole Foods to a new location at 33 Godwin, in what I would think is the old Palmero plumbing building.  That's a big spot, and I think it has parking.  Super Cellars is a decent wine store with some interesting beers as well.   It's a shame its moving from the "other" side of the tracks, though.  That side just gets no damned respek.

Speaking of the other side of the tracks, Starbucks has opened right there on Godwin, a coupla doors down from Silver Oak Bistro.  I don't care what you say, Starbucks has some good coffee.  I stop there just about every morning.  It's nice and convenient now that it's on the NYC-bound side of the tracks in the morning.  Even if you don't like their coffee, you have to admit they practically created the industry for that Starbucks-style pendant light that you find over kitchen islands all over America.  Not mine, however.

Looks like Gen Sushi and Hibachi has opened where that horrible upscale Chinese place used to live on East Ridgewood Ave.  I think there's one in Montvale as well.  It sure do look purdy, but I can't say I'm all that excited about it.  I bet the kids will love it, though.  Update:  More thoughts on Gen Sushi here (click).

What else is going on around Ridgewood.  Oh, well not really Ridgewood, but Biagio's on Paramus Rd seems to be almost done with that facelift of theirs.  I stopped in expecting to see a new and improved Biagio's (that wouldn't be hard -- OK, so I've never eaten there.  But I just kinda know these things, ya know?), and found the same sticky bar with the same i'll-get-to-you-when i'm done talking-to-the-regulars service that they used to have.  I waited 3 minutes and walked out.  I ended up at El Cid, which happens to have some decent sangria.  Nice and brandy-y.  Not too sweet either.

Fascinating moment in service at Federal Grill: Allentown, PA

I ordered myself a glass of (red) Zinfandel from Renwood to go with my burger.  It was a modest pour at the modest price of 7 dollars, and in a decent glass.

Server: How is the [red] wine?

Me: [Elated] Very good.  And it's chilled.  That's wonderful!

S: That's the only red wine we chill.

M: [Perplexed, but not necessarily surprised] Why don't you chill all of them?

S: Red wine isn't supposed to be chilled.

M: [Defeated already and knowing it]: Sure it is.

S: [Adamant] No it's not.

M: [Requesting logical explanation] Why do you chill this (red) one then?

S: [Not providing, to my mind, logical explanation] Because that's the only one that's required to be chilled.

I'm not sure at what temperature the Federal Grill is serving their non-Zinfandel reds, and I'm not interested in finding out.  I'll stick to the Zin.

As I always try to stress, it's my opinion that a lack of wine education isn't the fault of young servers, but rather it's a management/training issue.   In the case of Federal Grill, they actually do have a wine education program for their servers, and the servers taste and discuss all of their wines.  I think that's fantastic, and more restaurants should take their lead.  Hell, there's no doubt in my mind that this young server knows more about wine and food than I did at her age, and I bet a lot of that has to do with the fine job that the management is doing with this program. 

BUT, and here's the rub, red wine isn't meant to be served warm or room temperature, and the fact of the matter is that it always tastes better somewhere in the 60's...preferably the low 60's.  Wine that is too cold will lose all nuance and nose (and taste).  Red wine served at "room temperature" (in my house that's about 71 degrees) tends to be too "hot" (a blast of alcohol in the nose) and just not all that pleasant to drink in general.  The reality is that restaurants serve, and people drink, white wine much too cold and red wine much too warm.  I'm guessing the three top reasons for this are 1) ignorance, 2) cost, and 3) cost.

Methinks that this concept is lost not only on the general public, but on people in the wine industry as well.  So, it might take some time for everyone to come around.  I'll wait (I gots no choice).  Until then I'll continue to order reds with a bucket of ice while attempting to change the world one server and one restaurant at a time.

On to the burger...

Felice: Oradell, NJ

It's been open for a few years now, but I've never had much of an interest in going to Felice in Oradell (same owners as Regina's Steakhouse in Teaneck, which serves wet-aged steak, contrary to their website's claim of dry-aged steak, and Le Jardin in Edgewater).  Reports on the internet and my sixth sense for this type of thing suggested to me that this was yet another red sauce Italian-American place, and one with a liquor license ta boot (I'd rather bring my own most of the time, especially at basic mom-and-pop places).

But curiosity got the best of me the other night after spending some time on their website and looking over the menu more carefully.  I figured that there's a chance they're actually serving good pasta, even though they might not be aiming for the stars.  I'm happy to report that this seems to be the case.

Lahori Chicken: Suvir Saran, Stephanie Lyness, and Riesling

I've been a fan of Indian food since my college years, when I first explored New York City in search of new and different foods like Thai and Vietnamese (they were "new" to me, since I had spent my whole life at the Jersey shore, and went to NYC only for museum visits, the circus, and a Yes concert on their 90210 tour, or whatever it was -- none of those trips included much eating).  I still remember my first visits to A Taste of India, which was, and I believe still is, on Bleecker in the Village.  These were certainly new and exotic flavors to my palate, and there's no reason you should care about any of that whatsoever. 

For some reason I've never tried to cook Indian food.   I've butchered Thai, and Japanese, and most other culture's foods, but never Indian.  A few weeks ago I figured it was about time, so I consulted a trusted source:  Suvir Saran.

Fleming's Steakhouse: lots of wine, but no clue

Fleming's Steakhouse is a chain that serves USDA Prime wet-aged beef.  They offer over 100 wines-by-the-glass, and that's a good thing.

My second visit left a bad taste in my mouth.  Specifically the taste of TCA and poor customer service.

2005 Blue Fish Riesling

My friends J and C brought a bottle of Blue Fish Riesling over for a party and didn't open it and left it.  And then I drank it.  Woo-hoo!!

Carbonara: hold the cream. I'm beggin' ya.

A few years ago we went to Italy for the first time.  Needless to say, we had a lot of memorable meals.  One dish, though, stood out.  It's the one we talk about the most.  It was spaghetti carbonara at a little unassuming place in Rome called Ai Tre Scalini.

Sitting in the shadow of the Coliseum we really didn't expect much (not that a bad meal in Italy isn't excellent by most barometers).  In fact, we only stopped in because the restaurant that we had planned on visiting had a line out the door, which was probably a bad sign anyway. Boy did we make the right choice.   The carbonara was so pure, and simple, and perfect.  Al dente pasta (obviously), crunchy yet soft and luscious pieces of guanciale that burst with flavor when chewed.  It was like no carbonara I'd ever eaten.  We liked it so much that we walked, literally, 5 miles in the rain later in the week just to order it for lunch again (you'd do the same).  This time it was fettuccini.

I've tried several times to duplicate this dish, with just OK results.  I think I'm actually getting close.  Finally.

Fascinating service moment of the week: Le Cirque, NY

At the bar at Le Cirque, in New York:

Villa Maria does its part to explain screwcaps: right on its bottles

Thank you, Villa Maria, for coming up with one of the best explanations of the use of screwcaps, and for making it so clear and obvious to the casual wine drinker.  Thank you a million times.

Aitor Ider Balbo Vinas de Balbo 2004

70% bonarda
30% malbec
100% cheap

Cherry red.  Hot on the nose, not too much on the palate.  Bone dry and some red berries.  Mellow tannins. 

pepper and salt pork: at home with Dr. L riesling

"Pepper and salt pork."  "Salt and pepper shrimp."  Goshdamnit every time I see any derivation of those words on a menu I get all crazy.   It's one of those dishes for which I actually get a physical craving:  the back of my throat gets all itchy and feels almost empty.  And if I don't get the flavor of Pepper and Salt Pork, I get all antsy.  And you don't want to see me when I'm antsy. 

These are dishes that are typical found on Shanghainese and Sichuan menus.  China 46 in Ridgefield, of course, has slammin' versions of these dishes.  Oh how I do love China 46.  But honestly, there're only so many times I can go to China 46 before Cecil starts really getting annoyed with me.  So, on occasion, I have to resort to making a facsimile at home.

Pepper and salt pork couldn't be simpler.  The secret ingredient isn't black pepper.  The secret ingredient is white pepper.  Ahhh, they said.  I can't stand white pepper.  It's got a weird fishiness to it that just doesn't compliment beef (beef, of course, gets the brunt of my pepper usage).  I don't even like it mixed in with black peppercorns. I recall a time about 3 years ago that I literally got into an argument with the manager of City Hall restaurant in NYC (known forever after that day as, you guessed it, "Shitty Hall"). <skip this whole part> I was really looking forward to trying their burger, as I had been reading rave reviews on it.  It came to the table, I grabbed the peppermill, and gave it a couple few-4-25 turns.  When my teeth sank into the burger, instead of getting all excited about its wonderful burgerness, I got a palate full of white pepper.  I asked the waiter why there was white pepper in a pepper mill, who said "that's the way the chef likes it."  Clearly a lie.  I asked "does the chef put white pepper on his steaks when he cooks them?"  He offered to get the chef to discuss this with me.  Well, the chef didn't come out, but the (a) "manager" did, and he said that it was a mix of peppercorns, and not white pepper (a mix, of course, is very fancy).  I opened the mill and poured about twenty into my hand, and upon noticing some random colors, he proudly and victoriously proclaimed "SEE!".  My manager friend's brain neglected to process that out of the 20 peppercorns, 17 where white.  Stupid friggin' white pepper. </skip this whole part>

Anyway, I'm almost over that episode, and I've certainly learned that white pepper is your friend (just not on burgers or steaks).  On to the quick, easy, cheap, and healthy process...

Korbel Brut Rose NV

Hey look, say what you want, this stuff is pretty damned drinkable.  Yeah, yeah, I had my doubts, too.

In college, back in the eighties, I was introduced to "champagne."  Specifically, Korbel Brut (which is not champagne, although they somehow manage to call themselves champagne, further adding to the miseducation of Americans, and others, I'd think, probably even including Lauryn Hill).  Korbel was very very fancy.  It was sophisticated.  It was exciting.  It was, perhaps, the first sparkling wine that I'd ever had.  And for those reasons, it will always have a special place in my heart.  But, I don't think I'll ever drink the stuff again. 

Drink as much wine as you possibly can

There's simply no better way to learn about wine, and more importantly, to learn about your taste in wine and define and refine that taste, than drinking a bunch of wine.  Rather than drinking a lot of one wine, I try to drink a little bit of as many wines as I can (this adds up to "a lot" of wine, of course).

And how do you do that without going broke?  Simple:  you go to one of the many wine tastings and wine events that are happening all over NJ, NYC, and wherever you live, every week.

2004 Sogno Uno

Porn star turned soon-to-be-ex-porn star Savanna Samson is releasing her own italian wine.  it's called Songo Uno, meaning "Dream One".  the New York Times has an article on it in today's (2/26/2006) Sunday Styles section.  robert parker apparently gives it a 91.

409 cases were produced, which means it probably won't be easy to come by.  i'd like to get my hands a few though.

it's 70 percent cesanese, 20 percent sangiovese, and 10 percent montepulciano creating a "complex wine with hints of pepper, earth and cotton candy."  sounds like it will go down easy.

probably won't age well.

watch out for sediment.

bottoms up.

[insert play on words here]

2004 falanghina feudi di san gregorio

falanghina?  that was a new one to me when i first tried it at NYC's Otto. 

Otto has a fascinating italian wine list, and knowledgeable and friendly bartenders.  put those two things together and you've got an opportunity to try a bunch of wines along with some good pasta and OK pizza.  in fact, i go to Otto for the pasta, salumi, antipasti, and wine, and not for the pizza.

falanghina grows in campania for sure.  it's a full-bodied white, and a nice change from the usual italian varieties that i normally drink.  the 2004 falanghina from feudi di san gregorio has notes of banana and smoke.  its golden yellow hue is very "pretty", if that's a reasonable descriptor for wine.  it's got great acidity that makes you chew your tongue.  a very nice food wine, and just heavy enough to play nice with the olive oil in tuna crudo.

the bottle is about 15 dollars at carlo russo in ho-ho-kus, and 12 at Bottle Kings in the area.  the guys are carlo russo are really good, know their stuff, and are passionate about their products.  they have a wine tasting every saturday afternoon, and, in my experience, they'll match prices of competitors when you're buying a case or are a familiar face.

taurino salento rosso notarpanaro 1999

if you're like me you know that wine goes with everything.  while i can appreciate beer with some food, i'm not one of those people who will get on the soap box and tell you in the tone of an expert "oh no, you have to drink beer with asian food."  no, you don't.  you have to drink riesling, gewurtz, and other alsatian and germanic wines.  are we clear?  good.

pizza likes wine, too.  i haven't had much luck with whites, but fruity, simple reds do the trick for me.  a bit of acidity goes a long way too, what with the tomatoes and all.  a little tannic?  no worries, you've got cheese.  last night i picked up a Taurino Salento Rosso Notarpanaro for a pizza dinner.   this wine is primarily made from the Negroamaro grape, and comes from Apulia (Puglia as it is known it Italy), which contains the heel of the boot. 

not a great match to my mind.  i got some petroleum in the nose, and a bit too much berry fruit for my taste.  after a hour it became unpleasant altogether, and i had to fall back on a simple 8 dollar sangiovese called Tosca.  that did the trick.

it should be noted that The Wheel of Fortune was on the TV during dinner (as the photo above suggests).  it's just a fabulous and fast-moving show these days.  i remember thinking, about 20 years ago, that no one could replace chuck.  but Pat has really come into his own.