We here at Astor are overwhelmed with sadness at the devastation in Haiti. In order to help, we have added an "Elements of Wine" class to our calendar on Monday, January 25th, and will pass on 100% of ticket sales to support the relief effort.

I'm not speaking about the proper temperature to serve a chablis. (50º-55ºF says Jancis); nor am I speaking about the temperature at which the middle of a pork roast should be (I didn't feel like looking that one up); but rather something to me that is much more intriguing.

Allow me to temporarily kidnap you from sitting in front of your computer screen and propose to you this scenario: You have just brought home your piping hot General Tso’s chicken and have set it down in front of a nice fresh episode of  “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” You take the first few bites and are in heaven. The outside is crispy, the inside is juicy and tender and the sauce is spicy, sweet and it is the perfect adhesive for the chicken fried rice (that’s right, I double up on my poultry) ::SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE:: exclaims your cell phone as it begins your Kelly Clarkson ringtone. You pick it up and it’s Dave, your best friend calling you from the west coast. You get up and walk away from your noisy telly, and towards your bed. You catch up and he tells you about firing his friend’s gun using RC cars as targets, and you tell him about that girl that wouldn’t call you back. After you both stop being interesting you bid each other adieu and you return to your dinner of exotic cuisine, only to discover that it’s no longer even warm, it’s damn cold! It immediately becomes up appetizing as you think of the best way to reheat it. Stop…

Right there… Why? Why is it better warm? Why are so many foods better warm? I understand that you can eat it cold, but it’s not the same. I know that there are people out there who enjoy cold pizza, I’m one of them. Although there are the few who say that cold pizza is better than warm pizza and there is a very simple explanation for that, they’re lying. Probably to seem more interesting, but I digress…

I’ve done my fair share of thinking, conversating and researching this phenomenon, but interestingly enough the internet has very little to say on this matter. Here are some of the possible answers I have compiled. Perhaps you could contribute some of your own ideas. It would certainly make you seem interesting… to me at least.

-         An expectation of certain foods to taste and feel a certain way

-         A solidifying of fat, affecting texture and taste

-         A nurturing factor, similar to taking a hot shower

 

This blew my Monday morning addled mind. A British man apparently has invoiced Pret A Manger, amongst 50 other companies, for time wasted waiting on line. And apparently Pret A Manger, as well as 3 other companies ARE PAYING HIM! This gives me a whole new perspective on lunch.

My question to you is, who would you invoice for your idle time?

Read: Telegraph.uk via GrubStreet

To be filed under ‘Things I had to Learn the Hard Way’: Multiple Brooklyn Brewery Coffee Stouts + many many pours of saké + a Kolsch nightcap = a great time…followed by queasiness, a pretty hardcore headache, and a general sense of malaise.  The fact that all of this went down on a Wednesday night and Thursday morning, respectively, meant that I had one rough day of work ahead of me.  After my go-to hangover cure (toasted jalapeno bagel with veggie cream cheese and a gallon of blue Gatorade) failed to produce any serious relief, I began to feel a bit desperate.  That is until I remembered that just the day before, like mysterious gift from the party gods, a sample of this had arrived in the mail.  Hangover Buster.  I’m aware that the photo is awful and blurry, but that’s quite reflective of my state of mind when I took it.

I’ll admit it; I was sketched out by this product.  More specifically, I was sketched out by this statement:

I’m still unclear as to why they’re quite so serious about the water being room temperature.   But, I was in dire straits.  What choice did I have?  So I mixed it up in my empty Gatorade bottle (because I’m a classy lady) and hoped for the best.

I kid you not, mere moments later I was already starting to feel better.  My headache was gone, I could think clearly once again, and the slightest physical exertion (sitting upright) no longer made me feel like death would be sweet relief.  Granted all of that was replaced by a racing heart, a freakish level of productivity, and the sudden urge to run around the block for an hour or two.  Turns out there’s a hefty dose of vitamins in each serving, plus an insane amount of caffeine.  And willow bark which, according to Wikipedia, is traditionally used as a remedy for aches and fever.  Who knew?

Final verdict: Astor Center does not recommend making a habit of ingesting things that randomly arrive in the mail.  I can, however, confidently admit that not feeling like death for an entire day is absolutely worth a heart palpitation or two.

Years ago I read a quote from troubadour Steve Earle where he stated, “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boot and say that.”. While I know it was said slightly tongue-in-cheek, I'd like to just go on record stating that I emphatically disagree with that line of thinking. Please. Have you read the lyrics to “Visions of Johanna”, “To Ramona” or “Idiot Wind”?! The reason I bring this up is that there’s something about the boldness behind his chosen words which I was reminded of this past weekend while enjoying a bottle of rosé. Not any bottle of rosé though. As a matter of fact, I will go as far as to say that R. López de Heredia in Rioja produces the best rosé in the whole world.  And this uber-traditional producer has had a bit of time to perfect their skills as they’ve been making wines for a hundred and thirty-one years.

There are so many aspects of this rosado which set it above and beyond its fellow pink bottlings. To start with, the issue of that color pink. It's not. While most rosés are celebrated each spring with the vibrancy of a current vintage, the Lopez de Heredia is eleven years old before released and has taken on a more copper-orange hue. The grape breakdown is Tempranillo, Garnacha and Viura. While aging may vary per vintage, the most recent 1998 spent four and a half years in oak barrels and then six more in bottle. Not only does the light tawny color get me every-single-time, but the nose(!)...it's unforgettable. Tangerine, apricot, orange blossom and dried fruit with notes that remind you of oxidized sherry. To say this wine is complex and rich would be the oenological understatement of the year. And the minerality in the finish, I'm still tasting it this Monday afternoon. Yes, it's that long.

The gourmands of Astor Center will tell you this is best paired with something along the lines of Middle Eastern, Indian or Thai.  I chose to savor it on its own while watching Guy Maddin's Brand Upon The Brain!. But this is really something you should not simply take my word for.  Be adventurous and pick up a bottle at Astor Wines & Spirits tonight.

Oh, and Townes Van Zandt had this response to Mr. Earle's comment, "I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table."

Although we have different conversational flourishes for describing a flashy gent nowadays, raspberries are still dear, even in the age of commercial farming. I prefer to enjoy mine only when they are in season and I can buy them at the greenmarket. One way to extend their availability and to make the most of a $5 pint is to use them to flavor spirits - their shelf life becomes very long, and one pint will give you about a quart of liqueur if you follow these simple instructions:

Raspberry Liqueur

Wash your pint of berries and place them in a quart mason jar with a tablespoon of sugar to get their juices flowing. Cover the berries with two cups of high-proof spirits (I use Devil's Springs vodka, but if you have access to higher proof stuff, go for it) and allow to infuse for at least four days and up to a couple of weeks in a cool, not-too-bright place. Shake the mixture from time to time. Strain, rinse your quart jar, put the strained vodka back in the quart jar, and top with two cups of 1:1 simple syrup. Hey presto - homemade raspberry liqueur. 

You can get raspberries at the market through August, but if you don't have access to fresh berries or inclination to make things at home, I recommend you use Mathilde Raspberry liqueur, or for real Van Buren-esque decadence, use Clear Creek's Loganberry liqueur.

The Martin Van Buren

• 1.5 ounces Sazerac Rye - chosen for its creamy notes and peppery finish
• 1.5 ounces raspberry or loganberry liqueur
• Two dashes orange bitters
• Orange twist 

Shake the rye, liqueur and bitters with ice until frothy and a deep violet color. Strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice and garnish with the twist.

As a big fan of The State, which recently came out on DVD, I was happy to find this posted on MTV.com. It was hard not to think of the current bacon craze we're in the tail end of...

Robert Kenner, Director of Food, Inc. on the Daily Show with John Stewart.

I’ll give it to you straight – I’m in love with Movia’s wines.  I love the radical thinking, the creativity, and the fact that winemaker Ales Kristancic is creating some of the most bizarre and beautiful wines on the planet out of sheer love for those wines, without so much as a nod in the direction of traditional rules of vinification.  Here Pinot Noir can be blended with Cabernet and Merlot; and why not?  Ribolla Gialla can be made into breathtakingly odd, golden, even cider-like wines without the least bit of intervention from human hands after harvest, and can have the potential to age for decades.  Puro, Movia’s spakler, can sit on it’s lees until it’s ready to be consumed, at which time the purchaser may embark upon a 5-part ‘Optional Opening Procedure’ that, when followed, includes manually disgorging under water.  I love the spirit of experimentation and whimsy that you can taste in the finish product.

 But what I’m loving most these days is their newest offering, Quattro Mani, which retails for $11.99 at Astor Wines.  

Quattro Mani (‘four hands’) is the brainchild of Italian wine importer Paolo Domeneghetti.  For this particular project, Paolo asked four well-known winemakers from different parts of Italy each to create a wine based around an indigenous grape that is at once affordable and reflective of the terroir of the specific region from which it came.  Movia produced a wine of true personality from the Tocai grape, full of fresh, summery notes of basil, spearmint, and fennel, coupled with an unexpectedly rich texture and boatloads of minerality.  

The first time I tried the Quattro Mani Tocai it was without food after a long day at work, which did this little weirdo no justice at all.  The herbaceousness was too overwhelming, the texture too heavy.  A straightforward, crisp and refreshing white it is not.  Movia’s Tocai is a wine that truly shines with food, as I realized last night, when I tried it with Brad Farmerie’s brilliant steamed snapper with prawn dumplings, bok choy, and kaffir lime-heavy sesame broth at Double Crown.  The floral nature of the kaffir lime managed to both compliment and lessen the intensity of the herbal notes in the wine, allowing the richness of the fruit to come forward.  Revolutionary thinking meets practical pairing, at its best.