San Diego

I recently made a whirlwind trip to San Diego where despite my hectic time schedule, I managed to take in a little of the local culture. First, I went to Mission Bay.

Mission Bay on the Pacific is saturated with joggers, rollerbladers, cyclists, and surfers. While there, I decided to check out a local tradition, the Lahaina Beach House, where I sampled Fish Tacos and Blue Moon wheat beer.
The Lahaina Beach House is a very small and simple bungalow bar, with a view of the Pacific from its outdoor deck. Loud rock music, sunshine, palm trees, waves and beer accentuate the surrounding hard bodies and bikinis and makes the deck at Lahaina Beach House a great place to people watch. Later that night, I was introduced to a couple of San Diego beers, Stone Pale Ale, and Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale. Both beers were good, Stone being a strong example of a Pale Ale. Red Trolley kept me coming back for pint after pint, though. The beer was malty, carameley, and smooth. It was excellent to drink while walking along Mission Bay.

I was fortunate enough to find some time for lunch the next day, and decided to eat at the Fish Market by the battleship Midway on the Navy Pier in San Diego harbor. My lunch guests and I ate on the "top of the market" patio overlooking the bay. I ordered the scallops topped with black olive tapinade, rosemary potatoes, rapini, and roasted tomatoes, and washed it down with a San Fransisco beer, Anchor Steam Pale Ale (Okay, maybe more than one.) The scallops were excellent, however, while I like tapinade, I found it overpowered the delicate taste of the scallops.

It is maddening to visit a city with so much to offer, and have little or no time to experience it.

Maria Callas

Maria Callas. She was a beautiful woman with an amazing, haunting voice that gave me an aesthetical experience many times when I listened to her recordings.

Although I recognize haut couture as a high form of art, and appreciate its beauty, I am not the kind of man to spend a lot of time looking at or thinking about clothing. However, When I attended a Maria Callas exposition in Paris, I found one of her dresses on display to be quite striking. I found it so striking that I purchased a post card of the dress. It is my only post card on the subject of clothing. Maybe it was because I had heard so many excerpts of her recordings, and saw many photographs of her throughout the morning. Staring at the dress in real life, I was imagining her alive: wearing the dress, moving, and singing. It was intoxicating experience.

I thought about the idea of scanning the post card from time to time, and somehow incorporating it into my blog, but the idea was intermittent and fleeting. Then, yesterday morning my friend MonkeyPosh told me of the death of Luciano Pavarotti. I think I was the last person on earth to know. I was surprised how many of my friends that normally listen to pop, rock, country and other non-art music made comments throughout the day about how they had been touched by Pavarotti's music. Inevitably, I read about Pavarotti's life and accomplishments, and my thoughts naturally came back to Callas, one of my favorite opera heroines, and the beautiful, striking dress I saw in Paris. Here it is:

(Click to Enlarge)

Two Fine Cabs, One Short Night

Last night I had wine with a couple of fellow-wine lovers at the Deep Fork Grill. First we ordered a bottle of 2003 Ferrari Carano ("FC") Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was served in nice Riedelesque Burgundy wine glasses. It was a pleasure to drink out of "thin" lipped glass instead of a "fat" lipped glass like so many restaurants today. This is one of the main reasons, after cost, I prefer to drink at home.
The FC was truly a pleasure to drink, it was very bold, with pronounced flavors of red fruits, chocolate, and tobacco. Tannins were present, but not overpowering. This wine was such a pleasure to drink that the three of us soon finished off a plate of bacon wrapped grilled chicken with artichoke hearts and spicy sauce, and the bottle. You know the wine was good when someone jokingly wrings the bottle as if to get to the last drop. Not wishing to over-imbibe, we opted to order by the glass. I am glad we did, as we each ordered a glass of 2002 Bennett Family Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. If the first wine was excellent, and it was, this wine was a step above. The wine was balanced: bold and smooth at the same time. It was like drinking silk, and yet was very complex, and three dimensional.

Butte de Chalmont

Latitude: 49°12'50.81"N
Longitude: 3°24'39.86"E

The Butte de Chalmont is the site of a work of art by Paul Landowski. It is located in the Picardie region of France, in the Department of Aisne. It lies within the triangle created by Reims, Soissons, and Château-Thierry.

Map View (Must have Google Earth). Photo Copyright 2007 Water Into Wine.

Historically it commemorates the 2nd battle of Marne, July 15 - September 16, 1918. The 2nd battle of Marne is known as the last German offensive, and would become the Allies first offensive. Casualties in the battle were estimated to be French (95,000), British (13,000) and United States (12,000) German (168,000). For detailed historical information, there are excellent sites here, here, here, here, and here.


At the bottom of the butte, there is a large statue of a woman, who personifies France, facing northeast over the Plateau du Tardenois. The inscription says "La France". There is a rocky trail that leads up the terraced butte. At the top of the butte is a conglomerate of many statues, which personify those lost in the battles. The inscription reads "Les Phantomes".


From the top of the butte is a beautiful view of the Plateau du Tardenois. One can easily climb on top of the phantoms for a photograph.


The site is a wonderful place to have a pique-nique, or even a casse-croûte, and a fantastic area for a ride on the bicyclette. Arrive via bicycle from Beugneux from the north, or Walée from the south. The perfect starting points for a bicycle ride/pique-nique are Fère-en-Tardenois (birthplace of Camille Claudel) due east of Butte de Chalmont or Neuilly-Saint-Front, due west.


A little slice of Pâté de Campagne on baguette with a few cornichons, Saucisse sèche, and a chausson aux pommes for dessert while overlooking the Plateau of Tardenois: very relaxing.

2003 Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel

Vintage: 2003
Winery: Bogle
Grape: Old Vine Zinfandel
Country: California
Region: Clarksburg

The significance of "Old Vines" is spiciness. This wine is spicy. A Zinfandel made from 35 year old vines is just starting it’s journey into becoming spicy. A 100 year old vine doesn’t produce a lot of grapes, but the product is very spicy. The problem is lack of regulation as to what qualifies as "Old Vine". Additionally, Old Vine Zinfandels are often blended with grapes of various ages before bottling to produce an appropriately spicy wine. Bogle states the vines used to make this wine are between 40 to 80 years old.

Although it is true you should never buy a wine for the label, I really like the Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel label. The painting of the gnarly old vines on a background of Autumn hues gives me a Pavlovian response.

Dark burgundy with a crimson halo, this wine has very intense fruit, including blackberry, blueberry and prune with a black pepper and balanced tannic finish.
If you like spicy wines, this wine is very good for the money. It is also, as its label suggest to me, perfect for drinking as the days of summer pass into Autumn.

2003 Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintage: 2003
Winery: Concha y Toro
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon- Marques de Casa Concha
Country: Chile
Region: Maipo Valley, Puente Alto Vineyard

A friend of mine, call her Posh Monkey, requested I provide her with information on a good red wine. This review is especially for her. Although she only asked for a good red, the wine under review is a VERY GOOD wine at under $15! Although I usually do not rate wines with points, I would say this wine hovers around 89.

Concha y Toro produces an entire spectrum of wines, but is often remembered for the less expensive wines of which many are familiar. I was remarking to a connoisseur, you know, the kind who constantly makes allusions to Château Pétrus, that Marques de Casa Concha is one of my favorite wines for the price. "Concha y Tora?" he asked. I told him to try it, but could tell he would not without some prodding. I brought him a bottle from my personal collection, and gave it to him. The next time I was at this friend's home, I saw several boxes of Marques de Casa Concha in his "cellar" area. He commented that he has shared this wine with several connoisseur friends who also like it.

Now, I had noticed that the price had gone up lately, and kicked myself for not buying more. I went from paying less than $10 to about $14 per bottle. I couldn't help but wonder if my blabbing about good inexpensive wine helped make the price go up. Or maybe several blabbers like me made the price go up- you know, all that supply and demand stuff. Anyway, it is still a bargain considering the quality, and you should try it, or the 2004 if it is more readily available in your area.

The delicious full-bodied wine is very bold with heavy oak flavors, striking but very drinkable tannins and red currant, fig, and cherry flavors. This wine is a pleasure, I mean a pleasure to drink, and I believe over time will become even more balanced. (Although I have seen the suggested peak projected to be 2007!) What makes it all the more pleasurable to drink, is that it is under $15. Despite the price, the taste is like you might expect from a wine of about $30. Hooray for Chile!

Le Repas Français (d’invitation)

I absolutely adore to eat dinner the French way. The Anglophile way of eating is to bring everything to the table at once. I ate this way my whole life until I visited France. The first time I ate dinner with a French family, approximately six hours after arriving in France for an eight month stay, and a plate of cold cuts was brought to the table, I thought for sure I would die of starvation. I did not realize that meals are brought to the table in courses. In short, I thought cold cuts was dinner.

Another reason I thought that was the whole dinner, is that the French actually take the time to sit together and talk. There is usually what seems to be an inordinate amount of time for the Anglophile between each course. Although dinner is by no means timed, I provided educated guesses at the length of time that might be spent per course to give you an idea. A typical French dinner consists of an apéritif, followed by hors d’œvre, a plat principal, salade, fromage, dessert, café. When guests are invited, they do not generally know what will be served, and do not find out until that course is brought to the table. That is part of the magic. The full French dinner goes something like this :

1. Apéritif
2. Hors d’œvre/ Entrée
3. 1er Plat Principal
4. Trou Normand
5. 2ème Plat Principal
6. Salade
7. Fromage
8. Dessert
9. Café
10. Digestif

Let me break it down for you :

1. Apéritif

This could be a lot of different things. In an informal setting, the apéritif often takes place in a living room around the coffee table. Often times a selection of liquor is offered including Martini & Rossi, whisky, cognac, etc. A modern take on the apéritif is to drink champagne. Amuses-bouche usually go along with the apéritif. In an informal setting, this may be nuts, processed cheese such as La Vache qui rit, or sausisse seche. Formally, canapés, or other fancier appetizers may be served.

Time : Up to an hour to sit, talk, snack, and drink. Then the party normally moves to the table.

Friends share champagne, and American dishes learned during their time as exchange students.

2. Hors d’œvre/ Entrée

This can be anything from soup, to a slice of smoked salmon with capers, dill, and crème fraîche, crudités, or the plate of cold cuts I mentioned above. It is usually a small portion. If champagne was served for the apéritif, it is often carried into the hors d’œvre/ entrée. Another option is to serve a wine which will carry over into the 1er Plat Principal.

Time : About 15 minutes to eat, and 15-30 minutes down time while the chef prepares the next, and first large course.


3. 1er Plat Principal

This is the first large course. I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule about what must be served, but it seems like it was usually seafood. For example, Stingray with capers (to die for), sauce, potatoes with butter and parsley. Of course, baguettes are served sliced on a bias, and it does not seem to be rude to sop up the sauce with the baguette. Of course, if seafood is served, a white wine such as Sancerre would be served.

Time : About 20 minutes to eat, and 20 minutes to sit and talk.

Paella

4. Trou Normand

The Trou Normand is a shot of eau de vie that is taken between two large courses. I am told that it helps when one is stuffed to the gills by helping digest what is in your stomach to make room for the next course. Traditionally Calvados is drank, but I have seen other eau de vies. The modern twist on the Trou Normand is to pour a shot of Calva on apple sorbet. When I ate with young Parisians, the sorbet Calva combination was almost always served. When I ate with people of the older generation, or people in small villages, it was often times a shot.

Time : About 15 minutes. At this time, some dinner parties I went to even pushed the furniture aside and danced for about an hour before moving onto the 2ème Plat Principal.

5. 2ème Plat Principal

This is the last large course of the dinner. Again, . I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule about what must be served, but in my experience, it was usually a red meat dish, such as Tournedos Rossini, again in sauce, with some type of vegetable dish on the side. I also saw pork, lamb, or even a second seafood dish such as langoustines served. Unless seafood was again served, a red wine such as a St. Emilion would be served.

Time : About 20 minutes to eat, and 20 minutes to sit and talk.

Poule au Pot

6. Salade

I thought this was very strange the first time I experienced it. I was so used to eating salad at the beginning of the meal, and thought it strange to eat it at the end of the meal. I am told that the French believe eating salad after the meal helps with the digestion, whereas if it is consumed before the other food, it cannot "help the food pass." After many many meals in France, I believe salad should be at the end of the meal.

Time: 15 minutes.

Fresh is best

7. Fromage

At this point, a plate of different cheeses are brought out. One can take as many different cheeses as one wants, and as much as one wants, but it is considered rude to leave it on your plate. For this reason, my practice was to take only a sliver of unfamiliar cheese, then ask for seconds if it pleased me. The rule when eating cheese is start with the least strong and make your way up to the strongest. Of course, the French eat their cheese with red wine, and baguette slices, never crackers.

Some of the cheese will linger on the palate for a long time after consumption. A sip of red wine will recall the stronger cheeses over and over. It is for this reason that the French say, "a real eater of cheese stays with his cheese." Translation : "No dessert for me please.

Time:15 min. There is often a pause between fromage and dessert.

Farm Cheese

8. Dessert

However, I have heard that saying every time I ate dinner, but rarely saw anyone refuse dessert. A dessert at a daily dinner would consist of whatever fruit is in season, and yogurt. At a full meal, it could be a tart tatin, a crème brulée, pears poached in red wine, well, you know all the classic French desserts.

Time: 20 minutes.

9. Café

This is served in a very small cup, but is still very strong coffee. Coffee is not usually served with the dessert.

Time: 15 minutes.

10. Digestif

The final drink of the night. Usually something strong like cognac, whiskey, brandy, mirabelle eau de vie, etc. Myself I prefer Grand Marnier.

Time: Up to several hours.