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Articles about Sommeliers are people too

John Tesar Hosts an Underground Dinner

The raging trend of underground dinners, secret supper clubs, and pop-up restaurants continue. The most recent chef up, I should say under, is John Tesar. While he waits to finalize details on Spoon, the restaurant he plans for Preston Center, he’s keeping in culinary shape by hosting a series of underground dinners. Last Saturday night, Tesar popped up at The Milestone Culinary Center where a sell-out crowd of around 55 people got up close and personal with JT. The menu was classic Tesar with a few novelty acts thrown in. The wine was classic Scott Barber.

Below, every picture tells the story. (more…)

posted by Andrew Chalk | April 9th, 2012 11:52am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Openings, Restaurant News, Sommeliers are people too, Wine Pairing | 5 Comments »

Chalk Talk: Upcoming Wine Events in Dallas

Here, in chronological order, are a few significant wine events coming to Dallas.

Wednesday, February 22,  7pm: Honig Vineyards at Bailey’s Prime Plus with winemaker Michael Honig.

Thursday March 1st, 6:30pm:  Paraduxx and Duckhorn at Ruth’s Chris in Dallas and Arlington.

Tuesday March 28th, 7pm: Krupp Brothers at Nana with winemaker Tres Goetting.

Full details below.

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posted by Andrew Chalk | February 13th, 2012 3:21pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, Copy/Paste Press Release, Sommeliers are people too, Wine Pairing |

Big Dog Wine Tastings Program Resumes at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas

I’m glad that Pappas Bros. Steakhouse really uses their massive wine cellar. While other high-end eateries present highly populated lists or display a large inventory of wine, Pappas Bros. services their customers and parlays their 2,000+ choice cellar into multiple formats of wine tastings. One of the best is the monthly tasting of several wines with themes chosen by Wine Director Barbara Werley, MS. The first of the 2012 tastings took place last Friday. The theme was Cabernet Sauvignon – Everybody’s Favorite Varietal. I attended as an invited guest.

Werley confirms California Cabernet is the most popular wine category among the patrons at Pappas. So popular that she said she would have to check her records to find which of several also-rans came in second (white Burgundy is the likely contender). It was fitting that this tasting of a dozen Cabernet Sauvignons should focus on California. Nine of the wines in the tastings were produced in California.  Those choices were rounded out with one Ozzie wine, a rosé from South Africa, and a sample from Washington State.

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posted by Andrew Chalk | February 6th, 2012 3:45pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, Sommeliers are people too, Steak, Steakhouses, Wine Pairing | 1 Comment »

New Winter Menu at Bailey’s Prime Plus

Bailey's Prime Plus Execuchef Grant Morgan

Execuchef Grant Morgan and sommelier Jennifer Jaco have settled in to their relatively new jobs at Bailey’s Prime Plus. Earlier this week, Bailey’s held a media dinner at their Park Lane location to showcase their new winter menu and tell us about enhancements to the wine program.

The wine program enhancements are exciting. The number of selections on offer has doubled from 300 to over 600 and Jaco is now building a series of ‘verticals’  (i.e. several vintages of the same wine) to offer depth as well as breadth. These numbers are in the ballpark for receiving a ‘Best of Award of Excellence’ certification from Wine Spectator magazine. There are only 907 restaurants in the world with this designation or better (and only 5 in Dallas) so it confers considerable prestige. The other side of the wine program is the acquisition of some interesting bottles from ‘off the wall’ places. She served us some with the meal (more on that below). The bottom line is that Bailey’s is serious about the quality of their wine program.

Jump for the bounties of winter. (But first a juicy tidbit: Jennifer Jaco is the girlfriend of Michael Ehlert, the chef Ed Bailey lured from DBGB Kitchen & Bar in New York. I spotted Ehlert in the kitchen at Bailey’s where he’s busy testing his menu for the soon-to-open The Chesterfield.) Okay, let’s eat. (more…)

posted by Andrew Chalk | December 9th, 2011 10:12am | filed under Andrew Chalk, As the Restaurant Turns, Poor World Series Performance Cost CJ Wilson $25 Million!, Restaurant News, Sommeliers are people too | 2 Comments »