As Christmas and New Year celebrations are upon us, I decided to do some research into Champagne. Though I really like the stuff, there are dozens and dozens of French Champagnes to choose from in anything from a reasonable thirty dollars to hundreds of dollars for the non-vintage brands alone. Styles vary from crisp light wines to complex yeasty “serious Champagne”. (I prefer the former.) And then there is the issue of sugar; though Champagne has been the drink of celebration for … [Read more...]
The Souvenir Menu – F&D Foreign and Domestic Food and Drink
Story has it that the Chefs from Lyon France considered themselves better than the rest because in their estimation, anyone could make great food from the greatest of ingredients while they could make even a pig’s ear taste great. Because of some of his uncommon menu items, and his training under some very great Chefs including Alain Ducasse, I asked F&D Chef Ned Elliott if that was in any way related to the way he approached his menu. To my very pleasant surprise the Lyonnais bias … [Read more...]
The Souvenir Menu – Sullivan’s
Sometimes dinner in an old favorite restaurant is just the thing to set the world right again. I hadn’t been to Sullivan’s in while, but have pretty fond memories of many good dinners there. I invited a friend for a good indulgent meal, and a bruised wallet later I was a very happy man. We started with fresh briny oysters served with a traditional cocktail sauce and horse radish, and an order of fried calamari. I noticed that the calamari though very tender had a bit darker breading on … [Read more...]
