Results tagged “bestcellars”

Pair of 8's owner Ron Didner and new Chef Matthew Hamilton (formerly of Prune, Uovo, and Zuni Cafe, pictured at right) pair up with Best Cellars to host the first of this monthly series starting with Wine 101. Wine will be paired with five courses. $70 for a single class and $65 for two or more classes, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Call 212-362-8730 to register. 568 Amsterdam Avenue between 87th and 88th Streets.

It may be cold outside, but it's perfect fondue weather. Riverdale Garden will be serving up classic cheese, hearty herb flavored oil with beef and chicken and, of course, bittersweet chocolate. Complete dinner is $29 including house wine and draft beer, or just drinks and music for $15. Dinner starting at 7PM, music at 8:30PM. Reservations are recommended and can be made on Open Table or by calling 718-884-5232. 4576 Manhattan College Parkway, Bronx.

Just about every animal has been used to market wine these days. Kangaroos, frogs, and goats appear on labels everywhere. But how about a real live dog selling the wine? That’s what you’ll find at Bottlerocket, the new store that opened last month in the Flatiron district. Bottlerocket does everything in its power to deflate the pretentiousness of the wine world. You can’t help but feel comfortable here — even if wine to you means Thunderbird, which they stock right behind the register (as a half-joke). The smart store design is even more user-friendly than Best Cellars but maintains a serious edge too, with extensive “resumes” posted under each bottle. Wines are arranged in cubes according to theme. There are bottles paired with the archetypes of takeout food like Chinese, Thai, and BBQ. At the seasonal section, wines are suggested to pair with current greenmarket items (like asparagus and peas) in a nod to nearby Union Square.

Terroir is one of those concepts where if you put 50 wine geeks in a room and let them talk among themselves, you can create a heated discussion around dirt. Add to that equation a blind wine tasting and hold it at Daniel and it’s possible that a cheese puff and caviar food fight may erupt. The potential to see little bites of culinary genus thrown maliciously at Masters of Wine and industry greats was too good for us to pass up, so Gothamist gladly accepted an invitation to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Robert Mondavi Winery at a panel discussion titled “A sense of place: The future of terroir”

Zocalo is featuring one of our summer favorites with corn specials throughout the menu for one week: Mexican Popcorn at the bar, corn-on-the-cob with chipotle mayo, lime and queso fresco, quesadilla de huitlacoche, and a blue corn cake with roasted pork, tomatillo salsa and fava beans, among others. Zocalo, 174 E. 82nd St., 212-717-7772.

August 5: Taco Chulo Opens

After reading all about sake, now you can learn about it all up close and personal-like. 4-7 pm, Landmark Wine & Sake, 167 west 23rd Street, $30. Call 212-242-2323 for reservations.

Every morning this week we've opened the window onto our fire escape hoping today would feel like a summer, like a craving for sangria. Then, fighting back tears, we put away our new sandals. Again. Every night this week, though, we've been drinking wines like the foodies eat their mac and cheese. On the recommendation of a currently nomadic friend who will always be a Brooklynite at heart, we visited Total Wine Bar in the Slope.

The Queens County Farm Museum, the only working farm in the city, is planning on starting a vineyard. The Post reports that the Farm would be "bottling Chardonnays, Cabernets and Merlots as early as 2007." It seems that the climate in Queens is better suited for wine production than Long Island. Joshua Wesson, CEO of Best Cellars, gives this optimistic yet guarded quote, "It will be interesting to see if Queens wine can capture the taste of the old world, or if it will taste like something from a world no one has ever been to." Bob Ransom of Vintage New York says, "Believe it or not you can grow grapes and make wine in far less hospitable places than Queens." The vineyard needs a name; Gothamist thinks some Queens neighborhoods might be great starting points for one: Shea; Jackson Heights; Forest Hills; Fresh Meadows; Sunnyside.

The Queens Country Farm Museum sells fresh milk and honey daily from its shops, plus sells vegetables during the summer (tomatoes, corn, and eggplant). And, starting in April, on the weekends, they'll start the hayrides again - field trip!

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