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Bodega Luigi Bosca, Premier Argentine Wine with Deep Family Roots

I knew when I met Alberto Arizu, Jr., Commercial and International Affairs Director for Argentina’s Bodega Luigi Bosca winery, I would love him.  I am already a friend and fan of his brother Rodrigo, and his winery Vina Alicia.  I was, however, looking forward to meeting Alberto Jr., who is the 4th generation of the Arizu family at one of the oldest wineries in Argentina, to see how he compared.  To my delight, at a luncheon held a few weeks ago at Sevy’s, I found him to be as eloquent, gracious and charming as his younger brother, and speaks as passionately about growing grapes in Argentina and making high quality wine as some of the best wine makers in the region.  (more…)

La Calle Doce in Lakewood Is Open for Business (So Go and Get Some Fish Tacos)

Fried calamari with chipotle dipping sauce.

I know this isn’t news, really. The soft opening for this Lakewood favorite happened back in April; the grand opening took place in May. But I hadn’t been since long before the fire, so I thought I’d share some thoughts about the new space. For one, it’s bigger and brighter and more beautiful than before—not that I have any real complaints about the old space. I used to live in Lakewood and ate at La Calle Doce quite a bit. It served its purpose as a neighborhood Tex-Mex joint just fine. The big deal here is seafood, though, so at a media dinner last night we were bombarded by plate after plate of seafood specialties. Calamari–fat, meaty strips–had just the right chew, and I loved the heat of the accompanying chipotle dipping sauce. Another hit: shrimp cocktail, which is presented kind of like a soup in a fiery (but cold) tomato broth. The wedge of avocado cut through the heat and made it a refreshing summer appetizer. (more…)

Wednesday Rant: Fixing the Star Rating System. Is it Possible? I Think So and I Have the Solution.

Oh, Leslie “Catch a Falling Star” Brenner, you are a troublemaker. Just when Bill Addison sorta got a handle on his stars, he split the scene and left you with a spectacular mess to clean up. You’ve done a good job, and I’m with you on the baked potato—it’s a super dish to judge a restaurant by, but I’m off task.

However, I disagree with something you wrote a couple of weeks ago about the DMN star system. June 19 on Eatsblog.:

“If a restaurant is serving brilliant main courses and charging $50 for them, that’s far less impressive to me than if it’s serving brilliant main courses and charging $22 for them, and I definitely consider than when assigning a rating. If you charge $50 per entree you can afford much more help in the kitchen. It’s a lot of money to charge, and my expectation is that the dish will be stellar. And if you’re asking a diner to pay that kind of money, the whole experience, including service and ambience, had better be stellar too. At the lower end of the financial scale, if I find a restaurant with good, honest cooking, where you pay, say $10 for an amazing chile relleno stuffed with brisket, that’s definitely appreciated and it’ll be rewarded.

First of all, I don’t see a direct relationship between a $50 entrée and the number of folks in the kitchen. There are too many other variables, like food costs, to factor in, but I’m losing myself. I would move forward to the remark you made in the comment section under the post above.

“It’s hard to imagine giving a five-star rating to a great $10 chile relleno place. Service and ambience are also considered when assigning a star rating, and while it wouldn’t be impossible to imagine service and ambience at that level someplace selling $10 chile relleno, it would be very unusual.”

Let me say this about that. You are wrong. And because I’m on deadline, I’m going to make this long and drawn out. And then I’m going to propose a peaceful solution.

I like fancy food but I love down, dirty, and dive-y too. If I search my taste memories, the ones that rise to the top fastest are generally a great chile relleno or a cheeseburger with green chiles. I ate at Alain Ducasse last year. Besides the 10,000 Swarovski crystals hanging from the ceiling and the cheese trolley, nothing else I was served knocked my chaussures off. The meal was $3,500 for five people with two bottles of wine (at $250 per).

So here is the deal. Use any symbol you want: Stars, Stripes, or Dollar Signs. I’m partial to Hearts. Then pick three colors and assign a price point to each color. For the sake of argument:

♥♥♥♥♥= entrees above $20

♥♥♥♥♥= entrees between $10 and $20

♥♥♥♥♥=entrees below $10

It’s even pretty. Now I will use a couple of my recent dining experiences and demonstrate.

♥♥♥♥ Five Sixty

♥♥ Rathbun’s Blue Plate

♥♥♥♥♥ Breakfast at El Jordan

♥♥ Alain Ducasse

This peaceful and pretty guide is not only reader friendly, it is critic friendly—you can let your freak flag (heart) fly and love Wolfgang and chiles rellenos the same amount. It’s about food and the passion we all attack it with. And for the record, if ANYONE out there steals this idea, you will have to deal with my lawyer—and he makes rattlesnakes look like newborn kitties.

Mid-Afternoon Commercial Break

Tip of the toque to DB for this little clip.

I Had Lunch With Harvey Gough and All I Got Was Another Black Eye

Harvey threw this steak at me.

Seriously. Earlier this morning I walked into Buzzbrews on Lemmon and as I approached the table where sat one Harvey Gough, he reeled his hand back and threw a frozen steak at me. AGAIN.

It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in a cargo container on an isolated Air Force base in Uzbekistan with an ice pack on my eye after Harvey had hit me in the face with a frozen sirloin. In case you missed the escape, it’s all here in black, white, and red.

Anywhoo, Harvey and I never kissed, but we made up. He’s now happily married and has a gorgeous 4-year old daughter who looks just like her mother. Besides our trip in late 2002, Harvey has taken many missions overseas to feed the troops.

Harvey and I met today to discuss another (im)possible mission. I’m sure it will never happen, but it’s always fun to listen to “Harvey Stories.” I know, you either love him or hate him—the stories of his abuse to customers at his Goff’s Hamburger store are almost (he wishes) legendary. But he has some tales that, if published, would be a best seller. (Oh, let’s cast the movie!) I can’t tell you all of the things going on with Harvey—he’s got a few irons in the fire. But stay tuned. There will be news. Hey Harvey, DUCK!