Sun Jan 31, 2010
Gil Scott-Heron - Lady Day and John Coltrane 1 comments (189 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 31, 10 | 11:32 pm
Bogie
Bulgogi as a hogie. Enjoy it with Lonardi Valpolicella. Both are available in the Shops at Kerrytown. Together they cost a $20.
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Thu Jan 28, 2010
First El Barzon Wine Dinner
It was nice. Thanks for coming. Here's the menu.
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Tue Jan 26, 2010
Hot. Sandwiches.
Keep warm friends. Keep friends warm.
Better Made
Better Made Chips have been made in Detroit since 1623. There is a Factory Outlet Store at 10148 Gratiot.
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Sun Jan 24, 2010
Chilling on a Sunday
Before cleaning the cooler, we like to chill in it.
It Seems Like a Good Song
0 comments (122 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 24, 10 | 4:00 am
Play This 2 comments (126 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 24, 10 | 3:31 am
Detroit
This was taken in Detroit, the land of dreams ...
You should be here.
Do you know?
Did you see what he said? OMFG! Unbelievable, That's what it takes.
Fri Jan 22, 2010
Silex Slope Chenin
The 2007 Pinon Vouvray wants to be open for DAYS. It's weird on opening, heavily sweet and alkaline, like a steamy concoction of lavender, chamomile and Chartreuse. On day two, driven across two counties without a closure, it's full-on dry and bracing, and magnificent.
Thu Jan 21, 2010
Finding Sangiovese ...
... can be a bitch.
Something of a brand-bubble has afflicted all of Tuscany and, maybe to a lesser extent, the entire botanical entity known as Sangiovese. In the past 6 months I've tasted dozens of such things that are meant to sell for less than $20 only to be disappointed and even, dare I say, disgusted. Brands that serve price points are particularly and inversely vulnerable to the vicissitudes of popular demand. (See $12 Pinot Noir during the past decade for another example.)
Memories of 1997 Straccali, for example, intruded on my recently attempted drink of the 2008; the former was such an unexpectedly delicious wine, while the latter conforms to decades long plunge in quality; the 2008 is as empty a wine as I have ever tasted.
And now in the space of two weeks I find two.
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Honeybee's New Eggs
I had been making a special 14 mile trip to buy these eggs, now they are a short bike-ride away, at Honeybee. I think they taste pretty good, and it's hard to beat the economics. The other two choices have been some $1 - $1.50 brand (I bought 7 or 8 dozen in 2009, they were weak, with one scary one) and Horizon at $4.50, a worse option. Tasty Fresh Large eggs are $1.99 a dozen.
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Wed Jan 20, 2010
Cultivating Failure
Of course, Waters herself is guilty of nothing more terrible than being a visionary and a woman of tremendous persuasive abilities. It's the state's Department of Education that is to blame for allowing these gardens to hijack the curricula of so many schools. But although garden-based curricula are advanced as a means of redressing a wide spectrum of poverty's ills, the animating spirit behind them is impossible to separate from the haute-bourgeois predilections of the Alice Waters fan club, as best expressed in one of her most oft-repeated philosophies: "Gardens help students to learn the pleasure of physical work." Does the immigrant farm worker dream that his child will learn to enjoy manual labor, or that his child will be freed from it? What is the goal of an education, of what we once called "book learning"? These are questions best left unasked when it comes to the gardens. More...
1 comments (157 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 20, 10 | 8:45 amTue Jan 19, 2010
pico de gallo, mole verde, strozzapreti norcina, ...
In case you missed it, here is Eric Asimov's excellent article on Randall Grahm and Bonny Doon. (Only 10 days are left until the El Barzon debut of the new Bonny Doon wines.)
Remember, Detroit and natural wine go together.
Sun Jan 17, 2010
So What
2 comments (124 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 17, 10 | 11:06 pm
Thu Jan 14, 2010
It is Confirmed
This was a big week. On Tuesday I met with Chef Norberto Garita and members of the wine trade to sort out various food and wine pairing questions. As you might expect, the subtle nuances and integrity of wild yeast fermented wine are gastronomic magic with fresh Mayan-French-influenced cocina Poblana. From what I can tell browsing the internet, this is a groundbreaking if retrospectively obvious discovery.
Then today I received confirmation: Southwest Detroit musical artist Steve Jarosz of Grupo Escobar will entertain diners on the 28th with a live performance. Woo! Maybe you remember his work on this viral video:
It feels like a new decade.
Wed Jan 13, 2010
El Barzon's First Wine Dinner
This is on Jan 28th - $39 inclusive. Tickets are selling fast. Call or email with your order now.
Earlier, an email exchange with Randall Grahm drew 460 views.
Yesterday I met with Chef Norberto Garita, Elisa Weber-Saintin and members of the media to taste and discuss pairing options for the new more strictly natural terroir-wines of Bonny Doon.
The excitement grew as we proceeded. The good news is we are including a seventh wine. But there are one or two problems yet to solve.
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Tue Jan 12, 2010
Sadat X and Brand Nubian
The greatest wine vlogger of all time is Sadat X. He recorded some music with Brand Nubian a little over 15 years ago.
This reminds me a little of The Goats.
Sun Jan 10, 2010
Barley
Barley has been around for a while. I boiled some from Hampshire Farms and decided to make some kind of couscous out of it. Recipe after the jump.
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How To Taste Wine
I wrote this for a lovely group of customers I met in my favorite wine shop. Allow me to share: More...
0 comments (191 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 10, 10 | 8:22 pmSat Jan 09, 2010
Randall Grahm Emails
My head is swerving. I'm planning the menu. Randall Grahm is helping. Here are some excerpts of our exchange: More...
2 comments (800 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 09, 10 | 10:19 amFri Jan 08, 2010
Natural Wine ... from California
This is a major announcement.
A new decade of natural wine begins on January 28th. On that night, at 7pm, the new Bonny Doon wines will be introduced to Michigan wine drinkers at El Barzon.
Randal Grahm's trailblazing Bonny Doon winery has been radically downsized, or rather "doon-sized" (link and link). This has allowed him to dedicate his production to biodynamic methods (learn more here). All ingredients are listed on the label. Also, these new wines come with new Michigan wholesale representation.
El Barzon has been selected to introduce them.
Come drink six new wines, carefully paired with six courses. Seating is limited; buy your ticket now. $39 includes tax and tip. You can email or call me or call Chef Garita at the restaurant.
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Major Announcement
The staff here at Detroit Drinks is preparing to make a major announcement. We are waiting for one final verification. Over the next 24 hours redirect your browser to this page for valuable news.
2 comments (159 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 08, 10 | 12:27 pmWed Jan 06, 2010
Roast
Roast features excellent beers and a beautiful menu. It's between downtown and Foxtown on pretty Washington Boulevard. During the summer you can park downtown and walk past it on your way to the game.
Nearby 23 Grille is raining 3 point plates down, all the time.
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Tue Jan 05, 2010
2009 in 3 pictures 0 comments (192 views) | Posted by: putnam | Jan 05, 10 | 1:39 am
Sun Jan 03, 2010
Sadat X - Keep Doing It
As of this moment, the fucked up factor is a 1000 point scale (see minute 7:45 - 8:40.) I love you too Sadat X.
Previously Unpublished: My Final Cloverleaf Newsletter
Two years ago now, the last newsletter I wrote for Cloverleaf was defensive and curt. I prefer the few others that immediately preceded it (scroll past the first few screens and get to the pictures.)
Sometimes wine is described as "prodigious" or "profound" or "backward." At Cloverleaf we mostly recommend wines that are "funny" or "too funny" or "hilarious."
I reread these now only to recognize plenty of generic wine salesman huff and puff. But then I was also feeling emotional at the time.
Then I stopped working at Cloverleaf. I resigned, electing effective unemployment. I'm not saying it was a rational decision, and I'm not saying it wasn't. I had written the newsletter essentially from its inception in 2001. The transition was aptly captured by what I presume to be Evan's test messages -
2008-01-29
Testing testing testing new installation!
* sdfsdfsdf"
I recently found a file named "newsletter" on my desktop dated 2008-01-28. Did I ever share this with you? It was conceived never to see the light of day. Read it in all its withering, ponderous glory - after the jump.
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Sat Jan 02, 2010
buddy
fish sandwich
In spite of my aversion to National Public Radio, cable television and human society in general, I still occasionally succumb to the serial panics that seem to affect society and the behavior of individuals in it. Take overfishing, for example.
Apparently all the sexy large fat-bellied fishes are going to be extinct soon. If it only deprived rich consumers of their carnal pleasures that would be fine with me. But I gather that these large fish occupy some sort of specific position in something called a "food chain." When these fish go away there will be nothing to eat the medium sized fish, like herring and sardines. Then those will proliferate. Too many will cause castastrophic depletions of crill which will cause a toxic abundance of algae, or something like that. That would be bad.
So I have decided it is my duty as a consumer and ecologically minded human to eat more herring (and sardines.) Recipe after the jump.
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