Wow, can you believe it's 4th quarter already?  This year is going by so quickly...

The end of the year is a big gift-giving season, from the holidays to hostess gifts, I think it's good to have some extra gifts on hand for "emergency gifts".

Here are some sets available at Sherry Lehmann that are great gifts.

Veuve Clicquot Traveller's Gift Case (Yellow Label Brut 750 ml with 2 glasses) $59.95

The travel case with handles can be used  for wine, or you can remove the inner lining and use it as a bag for other things.

They also make this adorable rose version with a half bottle (no glasses) $39.95.

And this one by Pommery, Brut Royal Gift with two glasses, $32.95.

(picture with flutes not available)

Cheers!

The other day I wrote about tasting the Argiano 2004 Brunello... Well here's another great wine from Argiano: Non Confunditur 2007 IGT.  The blend is cabernet, merlot, syrah and sangiovese.  Here is a link to the pdf tasting profile at the Argiano website.

It rated 91 points from Wine Spectator.  Here is their review: "Offers an interesting combination of currant, raspberry and meat on the nose. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a spicy dried fruit aftertaste. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah. Best after 2011. 9,200 cases made."

Saturday I was running around getting errands out of the way, you know the annoying things like getting watch batteries replaced and finding special lightbulbs at Home Depot... it was 6 pm and I was finally on my way home walking up Third Avenue and I realized I was STARVING, having had nothing but a grande skim latte all day...

So I stopped in at Accademia di Vino (Third & 64th) for a quick bite at the bar.  I have walked by this spot a thousand times and thought it was certainly time to give it a try.

The bar was surprisingly full and loud (music) for the early time.  The bar area in the front is the only part of the restaurant that is upstairs, the dining room is downstairs which is why I think this space has been challenging for restaurants in the past. The bar is a bit small but nice, it has bar stool seats and several high tables with seats which are good for eating with a small group. The bar has hooks for you to hang your bag on, which I think is a great thing. It's amazing how many bars forget this small (and inexpensive to provide) detail.

I got a seat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine.  I think the wines by the glass were a bit overpriced, but they had a fairly nice selection.  I got the carpaccio di manzo, which was delicious except that I hadn't read the menu carefully enough and it had raw red onions on it which I don't like.  Otherwise the preparation with very lean beef, shaved fennel, a tiny bit of fresh mint, parmigiano and black truffle vinaigrette was wonderful.  I just pulled the onions off. 

The menu is very nice. They offer 3 different carpaccios, all $15, the others are salmon and tuna. They also have salumi and cheese boards, each 3 choices for $15. They have some nice salads, among them: escarole with hazelnuts, mint and pecorino and a classic endive salad with gorgonzola, walnuts and apple.

They also have grilled pizzas ($16-19), pastas ($19-25), and entrees like herb crusted salmon with lentils ($29) and rack of lamb with roasted tomato and black olive conserva ($38). Other entrees are between $26 and $64 for a prime aged ribeye for two. You can looks at the full menu here.

I LOVE frozen treats.  We're lucky that here in Manhattan we have Pinkberry, Tasti D Lite, The Light Choice, etc...  Well, here's a new one to eat at home:  Yovation Vanilla Honey Granola Frozen Yogurt.  It's a very tasty vanilla with granola bits in it. It contains live yogurt cultures and a probiotic culture that helps with digestive health. 

You can find it at Wegmans stores in NJ.  Unfortunately I can't find it in Manhattan.  You can order it online, oddly enough... the $95 price for 5 1 quart containers includes shipping, dry ice and foam cooler.  I would be nervous about getting a frozen item shipped to me, but if they offer it, it must work.

PJ Wines now has the Frescobaldi 2005 Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva for $16.99!  That's a great price, especially because it is eligible for their case discount.  (wines whose price end in a 7 are not discounted, but do count towards filling up a case!)  So with the case discount price it's only $15.29!  That's fabulous.  Most places sell it for $19.99 or $21.99, some don't even offer a case discount..

This wine was one of Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2008.  It was number 76 and rated 90 points.  Here is their review: 

Offers plummy fruit, with hints of flowers, citrus and light chocolate. Medium-bodied, with a balanced and tasty palate, fine tannins and a clean finish. Structured. Best after 2009. 83,000 cases made. -JS

Here are the tasting notes from Frescobaldi:

Nipozzano leads with a medium-saturated ruby red, then quickly releases a lovely florality on the nose, showing violets and sweetbriar, which soon yield to fruitier impressions of morello and sour cherr. Last to emerge are spicy notes of clove and tobacco leaf. It enters warmly alcoholic and pleasantly dry in the mouth, impressively full-bodied but not heavy, and with well-focused tannins that are in judicious balance with the other components. The finish is appealingly crisp and long lingering. 

It's one of my favorites! I wrote about it previously in my post Top 5 Mid Priced ($20-30) Italian Red Wines.

I am surprised to hear that the New York Culinary Experience (Oct. 3 & 4) is almost sold out!  It's a very pricey event at $1,395.  You'd think it may be a tough sell since we're still coming out of the recession.  It is an exciting prospect however to be able to cook next to famous chefs!  The schedule includes sessions like "The New American Table" with Marcus Samuelsson (Aquavit), "Modern Italian Cuisine" with Scott Conant (Scarpetta), "Chocolate Creations" with Jacques Torres (Jacques Torres Chocolate) and "Holiday Dinner" with David Waltuck (Chanterelle).  There are also Q&A sessions with Ken Friedman (Spotted Pig), Sirio Maccioni (Le Cirque), Joe Bastianich (Babbo, Lupa, etc) and Dan Barber (Blue Hill). Quite a line-up!

It's a great event if you can afford it!  Buy tickets here.  The price includes classes, breakfast, lunch and a closing reception each day.  If you buy 2 or more tickets, you get $100 off each ticket. The event takes place downtown at the French Culinary Institute (462 Broadway).

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went down to SoHo to walk around and get lunch... We checked at Balthazar just for the heck of it, to see how long the wait with no reservations would be - - 1 hour!  Okay, so we kept walking West on Spring St and ended up at an old favorite: Mezzogiorno (Spring St. between Thompson and Sullivan).  They had outside tables and just above those, tables inside that were open to the outdoors.  We sat at one of those inside tables, it's perfect - just as good as being outside and elevated for a good view of the street and outside area (good for people watching)

We had the most fabulous lunch! To start we shared the CARCIOFI SALTATI IN PADELLA CON PISTACCHI E PARMIGIANO, which is baby artichokes sauteed with bits of pistachio nuts and served with parmigiano reggiano and lemon.  Oh my goodness, this was fabulous. They were cooked perfectly and utterly delicious.  Then we had the TAGLIOLINI ALLO ZAFFERANO CON SUGO PICCANTE DI GRANCHIO, homemade pasta with crab meat in a spicy light tomato sauce. Again, amazing!!!  The pasta was the perfect level of al dente and the sauce had just the right amount of spice not to overpower the taste of the crab. 

We also discovered a new wine from their wines by glass selection: MarcheRosso Fontezoppa 2007, a sangiovese/cab/merlot blend.

It was medium to full bodied with a nice round mouthfeel. Very tasty, we wrote the name down so we could look it up.  It's not a very popular wine in wine stores apparently, only 2 results came up in Wine-Searcher.  The best one being Shop Rite wines in Mercerville, NJ at a very reasonable price of $12.99/bottle.  A good find for sure!

I'm looking forward to going back to Mezzogiorno soon.  I would definitely order both dishes again!

Last night I had the Argiano 2004.  I thought at first it was a little weak, although super smooth.  After it had time to open up it was really quite superb!  I have had Argiano's Brunello in the past and consider it one of my go-to Brunellos... but I am always bad at remembering the way past vintages tasted (exactly) so when James Suckling says it's the best ever from Argiano it's hard for me to say I agree.  I guess I should start a wine journal...

Here is the short review from Wine Spectator:

Delivers raisins, blackberries and roses on the nose. Full-bodied, with a soft and silky tannin structure and a long and delicious finish. This is the best Brunello ever from here. Best from 2010 through 2016.

94 POINTS

--James Suckling, Wine Spectator

It's price in the market is between $40 and $50 depending where you buy it. Morrell's in NYC and Zachy's in Westchester have the worst prices...at $49.95 and $49.99 respectively.  Sherry Lehman is already sold out.

Harvest in the Square at Union Square Park is next Thursday, Sept. 24th from 7:30 - 9 PM (6 pm for VIP entrance).

It features tastings from participating restaurants, NY microbreweries and wineries (both NY state and non-NY).  This year a ton of great restaurants are participating including: BLT Fish, BLT Prime, Blue Smoke, Blue Water Grill, City Crab, Gramercy Tavern, Olives, Union Square Cafe... (and many more).  North Fork wineries include: Bedell, Corey Creek, Paumanok..

Tickets are $115 in advance and $125 at the event (if available), purchase online here.  The VIP admission is $400, purchase here.   The event is put on by the Union Square Partnership and proceeds will go towards the ongoing beautification of the park.

Ed's Chowder House will be opening tomorrow in the former Center Cut space at the Empire Hotel, across from Lincoln Center.  I love a good chowder!  Growing up in New England it's kind of a classic thing, my Gramma made a fabulous corn chowder and we'd get some great fish chowder in Portsmouth, NH.  I'm more of a red chowder girl now (Manhattan or Baltimore Crab).... anyway, the prospect of a new chowder house is certainly good news.

Ed's Chowder House is a Jeffrey Chodorow (of China Grill and Asia de Cuba fame) restaurant. The Ed is Chef Ed Brown.  The chowders available will be: sweet corn, new england, manhattan style blue crab, and "Ed's loaded" shellfish chowder.  YUM!

Interesting appetizers include savory lobster crumble, smoked Chatham cod cakes and scallop ravioli.  Mains include peppered tuna steak frites, herb crusted skate with horseradish mashed potatoes, jumbo lump crab cakes, Chatham cod with potato chip crust, spinach and mustard sauce.  They also have a bunch of simply grilled fresh seafood.  You can take a peak at the full menu here.  It's a seafood lovers dream!!

The design of the place looks a bit too sleek for a "chowder house" to me, but pleasant anyway.

I can't wait to try it!