Small Bites: Drinking (and dining) with dinos and artisanal ice cream goes big

Wine Enthusiast invades the Field Museum this Friday night with 500 wines and 45 restaurants for Toast of the Town 2012. And on the USA Character Approved Blog, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams keeps growing, but keeps it real.

We are serious museum geeks. Marion refers to the Field Museum’s annual Members Night event as “the happiest night of the year.” Not only do you get to go behind the scenes, talk to real scientists and poke around in their offices—you can do it with a drink in your hand. So when Wine Enthusiast asked us if we’d like to attend Toast of the Town Chicago at the Field, with 500 wines from nearly 60 wineries and foods from more than 45 restaurants, well, let’s just say we were excited. Continue reading “Small Bites: Drinking (and dining) with dinos and artisanal ice cream goes big” →

French 75: A cocktail blast from the past

This classic cocktail, made here with gin and champagne, has a storied past, albeit with many versions. And it packs a wallop that lives up to its artillery-based name. Recipe below.

We’ve been drinking more cocktails lately, and I blame Michael Romane. Yes, cocktails have been the new black with the drinking crowd for a while now. But except for the occasional martini or gin and tonic, Marion and I have tended to reach for the wine list in bars or restaurants. Until our friend Michael started telling us about his cocktail making—and drinking—adventures. Continue reading “French 75: A cocktail blast from the past” →

Sipping summer, falling for bourbon: Seasonal cocktails for changing seasons

A pair of cocktails, one with pear vodka and cucumber, one with bourbon and thyme, reflect the changing seasons—and how culinary trends are elevating the art of the cocktail. Recipes below.

This week, Blue Kitchen moves from the stove to behind the bar. And since I do much better on a stool in front of the bar, I’m turning things over to my friend Michael Romane, a passionate amateur mixologist.

When I first sat down to write this article, I began to write in depth about the history of the cocktail. After a few paragraphs, I realized that I had only just gotten to the Prohibition era. At this rate, I wondered how many words it would take me to get into recipes. Maybe it was time to try a different intro…

I love cocktails. Continue reading “Sipping summer, falling for bourbon: Seasonal cocktails for changing seasons” →

Brew with a view: Eataly opens a 15th floor rooftop brewery, Birreria

Birreria, Eataly’s new rooftop brewery and brew pub, is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post.

One thing I love about New York is how the city makes use of every square inch of outdoor public space. And how the city’s residents embrace this space. The recently expanded High Line, abandoned elevated railroad tracks turned into a park and immediately (and perhaps obsessively) loved by New Yorkers, is an obvious example. But so too are smaller, quieter spaces. On the Upper West Side, the Broadway Mall Association maintains gardenlike median strips with benches at each cross street. Those benches are almost always populated by people enjoying a morning coffee, a bit of sunshine or just being outside.

So I was a little surprised that it took New York, perhaps the most vertical city in the world, so long to discover its rooftops. Continue reading “Brew with a view: Eataly opens a 15th floor rooftop brewery, Birreria” →

Put a sommelier in your smartphone

18th century lexicographer, writer, critic and probable Tourette Syndrome sufferer Samuel Johnson once said, “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.” When shopping for wine, I frequently use the second kind of knowledge. And most often, my source is Marion. She not only knows much more about wine than I do, she remembers more about it. (Note to self: Could that be because I drink more of it than she does?)

But now there’s a smartphone app that possibly knows even more about wine than Marion and me put together. And it’s free. Continue reading “Put a sommelier in your smartphone” →

Small bites: Drinking greener and finding umami in a tube

Recycling your wine corks and capturing that elusive fifth taste are the subjects of a pair of recent USA Character Approved Blog posts.

We recycle as much as possible. We dutifully save aluminum and tin cans, plastic milk jugs, all manner of paper and more wine bottles than I’m comfortable admitting to and haul them all off to a recycling center. But one thing we’d been routinely tossing until Marion figured out they would compost was wine corks. Now it turns out they’re also recyclable. And if that sounds a little trivial, consider this—every year, around 13 billion of them are produced. Continue reading “Small bites: Drinking greener and finding umami in a tube” →

Sierra Nevada brews Estate Homegrown Ale from the ground up

The subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post is a beer that borrows a page the winemaking playbook.

For years, beer marketers have tried to tell us water made the difference. Pure Rocky Mountain spring water. Artesian wells. Now one brewery is betting the difference is in the dirt. Pioneering California microbrewery Sierra Nevada has apparently learned a thing or two from all its winery neighbors. They’ve introduced Estate Homegrown Ale, brewed from organic hops and barley grown on the grounds of their brewery. Continue reading “Sierra Nevada brews Estate Homegrown Ale from the ground up” →

Small Bites: Make any room a wine tasting room and Chicago gets a coveted little red book

We have spent some memorable afternoons in winery wine tasting rooms. Okay, and a few blurry ones too. Sampling and comparing wines is a great way to learn about wine. But unless you live in a wine growing region, it can also be expensive when you figure in airfare, hotels and repairs to the rental car.

Now, TastingRoom.com brings wine tastings to you. Through their website, you can order six-packs of sample-sized (50ml) bottles of wine based on a theme—wine-producing regions, hidden gems, specific varietals or even individual wineries. Then you can hold your own wine tasting stumbling distance from your couch. Continue reading “Small Bites: Make any room a wine tasting room and Chicago gets a coveted little red book” →

Wine drinkers healthier, but should the credit go to the wine or them?

In a trio of studies on wine and health, one questions whether it’s the wine or lifestyle that makes drinkers healthier; the other two show that it’s indeed the wine (or at least the grapes) that may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

As a fan of wine, shall we say, I’m always happy to pass along good news about wine and health. Well, Wine Spectator’s website recently reported on three studies that did my heart good. The first was “a new French study, scheduled to be published in an upcoming issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, that finds that people who drink moderate amounts of wine are healthier in several key categories than nondrinkers.” And this being a French study, “moderate” to them meant drinking a half bottle of wine a day. Continue reading “Wine drinkers healthier, but should the credit go to the wine or them?” →

We’ll drink to that: Open That Bottle Night 11, Saturday, February 27

The idea behind Open That Bottle Night is a simple one. As a Wall Street Journal article puts it, “Whether it’s the only bottle in the house or one bottle among thousands, just about all wine lovers have that very special wine that they always mean to open, but never do.” So in 2000, husband and wife WSJ wine columnists John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter proclaimed the last Saturday in February Open That Bottle Night, an excuse to enjoy that special bottle you’ve been saving.

This Saturday, February 27, marks the 11th anniversary of this noble invented holiday. And OTBN is not all about opulence. As Brecher and Gaiter say, “You don’t necessarily want to open your ‘best’ wine or your most impressive wine, but the wine that means the most to you, the one that you would simply never open otherwise.” They also offer some tips on enjoying your special bottle to its fullest: Continue reading “We’ll drink to that: Open That Bottle Night 11, Saturday, February 27” →