Wine Berserkers - international wine social media, online community, and discussion

Glad to see you enjoyed your meal at Troquet and I agree with you on your assessment of Time Out. I've had two good experiences there, but agree it's very overwhelming!! Since the original thread title includes Portland, Maine, I also wanted to pop in with one more recommendation for anyone looking...

Michel Abood and I once had a La Tâche with a pizza. Remember that, Michel? EPIC pairing. Didn't hurt that we were in the South of France. If I'm forced to go more pedestrian, Champagne, Lambrusco or Barbera are my go-to pairings with pizza. Luckily, Ops and Roberta's have plenty of choices in NYC.

Anyone tried Sota's new spot yet? Went to Maison last night. Open only 3 weeks and excellent nonetheless. A big warehouse space with nothing on the ground floor (it begs for a wine bar) and the kitchen and restaurant seating is on the balcony level above. Kitchen counter seating, a long shared tabl...

Kelly Walker wrote: ↑
September 28th, 2019, 7:04 pm
Michel,

Great to hear things have gone so well in your venture. I have fond memories of Trois Gros!

Thanks Kelly but I've never been to Trois Gros. Are you cheating on me with another Michel????

blarmston wrote: ↑
September 27th, 2019, 9:50 am
Congrats Michel! Lets organize a San Diego meet up dinner soon!

That would be great, but only after OND quiets down sometime in mid-December or even early January. I'm traveling all over the place until then.

Fantastic! But why did they take a picture that didn't show what watch you were wearing? Thanks all! That picture was taken while I was on a business trip in Massachusetts, so my usual travel watch is the Tisell 9015-A Antique MIYOTA 6H-Date Automatic. It's classy looking, not too big or small, and...

Sad to see Saturne go...

M.Kaplan wrote: ↑
September 21st, 2019, 5:26 am
Is a renewal appointment now required? When I renewed three years ago, I did so online.

When I renewed it looked like another interview would be required based on what the page says, however I was never asked to schedule one. I just renewed everything, hit SEND, and waited 3 months.

How the hell did you manage THAT? The super-duper, handy navigation app got us TO the train station in SJC, but put us on the street just to the west of station and across the tracks just as the train was arriving. Michel hoofed it across the tracks and managed not to get mangled. Good recovery. Br...

I applied for Global Entry renewal as it was expiring at the end of October and finally got re-approved. It only took about 3 months.

How the hell did you manage THAT? I ended up on the wrong side of the tracks, so I had to decide whether to run in front of the train as it arrived or wait and run around the back, climb onto the platform, and hope they wouldn't leave without me. I chose to run around the back, which as it turns ou...

Thanks for hosting Todd, Jen, and great to see everyone. That was a blast, and thank you to Bruce for dropping me off at the train station. You're welcome. Todd told me to make sure I ran you out of town, so I complied. neener Bruce Indeed, I almost got run over by the train too. [cry.gif]

Thanks for hosting Todd, Jen, and great to see everyone. That was a blast, and thank you to Bruce for dropping me off at the train station.

Todd F r e n c h wrote: ↑
September 4th, 2019, 12:26 pm
Forecast is creeping up a bit - now a high of 81, was 77 or so. Aim late if the weather stays hot, and we'll do an even-later start to keep it cool.

Let me know if you plan to bring something, so I know what to fill in. Will be shopping Friday!

Just please no Speedos.

Cris Whetstone wrote: ↑
August 26th, 2019, 8:23 pm
Anymore talk of wine themes? Wines Brad hates maybe?

You mean good wine?

mark rudner wrote: ↑
August 1st, 2019, 8:40 am
awesome pic of your son and the pig
i'm not sure my kid would be in the same room with it!

We've been adamant about introducing new dishes and foods almost from the day he was born. He is quite an adventurous eater, especially for a nearly 5 year old. We are very lucky.

I forgot to mention we also visited a classic that doesn't get much press anymore: Balthazar. It's amazing to me that after all these years, not only is the place banging all day (we were there from 12:45pm to 2:30pm), but service is still outstanding and the food is still really good. It's not grou...

I was in town with my wife and 4.5 year old boy for a week to visit family (and this was their first trip back since we moved to San Diego 3 years ago) so we hit up some of the usual spots (Wu's, Ops, Maialino). Wu's was a slight disappointment, the food was good but not great (though the fried anch...

K John Joseph wrote: ↑
July 10th, 2019, 12:53 pm
Imagine how kickass this offline would be if TWO K@NES showed up! Just sayin...

TRUST me, you don't want two Brad Kanes showing up. Sign of the Apocalypse and all that.

Have well aged (by now) Burg, comes with a set of large plastic cups, red, of course: . . . Rossi Burg.png 99 Points rating, year in and year out, Hobo Paradise magazine Brad loves Burgundy, so this is right in his wheelhouse (kidding, for those who don't know Kane, he despises Burgundy - except, s...

On Brad Kane's CA tour, I agreed to host a shindig at my house (in San Clemente, CA), theme to be determined, but I have plenty of big hunks of Flannery we can throw on the grill (as long as someone ELSE agrees to grill, as I'm not so good at it). Likely theme will be 'bring some good wine, don't b...

WARNING= Mobile passport switched to a freemium version a few weeks ago. I usually read review before updating apps, and when I noticed there was an update I went to the Play store and started reading. Apparently it's now $15/year so the app can do what was once free: scan your passport, and keep yo...

Thanks everyone for the help. We ended up booking the Westin Vendomme which I believe is in the 9th. It's our plan to walk as much as we can while in Paris. That's in the 1st, right by the Tuileries and the Louvre, but still a lovely place. Paris, overall, is a very walkable city. You aren't far fr...

Oh man, what a blast from the past. EMP was so much fun, but like many here I haven't been back in ages. Last time there was the grid menu.

Rigmarole (11th) should be included as a destination. Counter seating and several tables. There’s a 49€ and 69€ menu or you can go a la carte. We opted for the 69€. Mostly cooked on binchotan. Raw scallops, picked vegs, several cooked fish, several yakatori, a pasta with half a langostine, several ...

I was in NYC for a few days on my way back from VinItaly and before heading to New England so I had to stop back in at Ops, consistently one of the best pizzas in NYC (and SOOOO much better than anything we get out in San Diego). Absolutely fantastic. IMG_20190413_201929.jpg IMG_20190413_202106.jpg ...

All of the spaces are really cramped :D Both Clown Bar and CAM have kitchens that can fit inside a food truck. Speaking of CAM, I have dinner plans there on Sunday... Too funny that out of all of the places in Paris, I can't stop going back there and it's not for the wine or "French" food. It's jus...

Looking through my pictures I realized I forgot to mention one of my last dinners in Paris was at an Italian joint in the 11th, Retro Bottega (https://www.laretrobottega.com/). It's primarily Puglian food from a Puglian chef, Pietro, with a ton of well-chosen Italian natural wines (several of which ...

Yes to both. [berserker.gif] To jump on a tangent... this is what I was telling you about at dinner. You could fund a third world economy with what I spent on it over two years :) http://www.lebeurrebordier.com/en/new-le-beurre-a-loignon-de-roscoff/ My guy didn't have that or I would have grabbed i...

Yes to both.

Came back from Paris via JFK on Sunday night and discovered something: you can't use both Mobile Passport and Global Entry at the same time. So if you've already used MP, then Global Entry won't work for you, and vice versa. I had figured I'd see which line was shortest, and when I saw an open GE ki...

I just got back from 3 weeks in France and had some amazing meals (shocking, I know). Favorite places included: -Shu (Kushiage style literal underground hole in the wall - it was an old coal storage basement, Chef is NY-born, CA-raised, and worked in Tokyo and Paris before opening this in 2009): htt...

Not Paris but Angers yesterday (Tuesday). There was a joint Gillets Jaunes (Yellow Jackets), union (CGT) and school kids demonstration. Everyone was very motivated but happy, and as one person told me, "Make fun of the French all you want, but at least we still fight for our rights." Hard to argue w...

Dinner last night with Andrew and my British ex-pat buddy Neil at Paul Bert was fantastic. Felt like I was home. IMG_20190201_205150.jpg Fried monkfish cheeks IMG_20190201_205219.jpg Herve Souhaut St Joseph Clos des Cessieux IMG_20190201_210817.jpg Côte de Boeuf for 2 IMG_20190201_210843.jpg Frites ...

I'm in Montpellier until Wednesday 30th, happy to meet up 31st or 1st. I have an early morning TGV to Angers for the trade shows on Sunday so I'd rather stay home and sleep early on Saturday.

Going to CAM Import/Export this Sunday :) #thesmiths I took Mike Grammer to Amarante on a Sunday and it was pretty good, iirc. Hate you. [cheers.gif] I'll strongly support all the recommendations for Clown Bar, as well as the others folks mentioned. Brutos is also on my favorites list for Sunday di...

Going to CAM Import/Export this Sunday :) #thesmiths I took Mike Grammer to Amarante on a Sunday and it was pretty good, iirc. Hate you. [cheers.gif] I'll strongly support all the recommendations for Clown Bar, as well as the others folks mentioned. Brutos is also on my favorites list for Sunday di...

Can't wait to be back, leaving Friday for 3 weeks in France.

Wow, talk about a blast from the past!

Something doesn’t compute here: restaurant sommeliers are pushing orange, borderline flawed “natural” and other wierd-ass wines...and Alsatian wines are a hard sell? And for anyone who thinks that Alsace should get out of the Riesling business, put together a tasting of Schlossbergs from Weinbach, ...

As an importer, we took a gamble on a small producer of biodynamic Alsatian wines this year ( http://vincent-fleith.com/ ) despite my better instincts. The price was right and the quality outstanding. I knew it would be a very tough sell, but even I wasn't prepared for the resistance. Buyers love t...

Yes, sorry, I should have mentioned that. It's a standing room only place, from what I remember. It's also first come first served, so getting there earlier is better. It's more of a riff on a tapas bar.

Thanks! Sounds like no-ones been to Pur. I love fish, so am likely going back to L'escalier du Bistro. The other choices are le grand bains (never been but recommended by Paris by Mouth) and Au Passage. Any opinions on the relative merits of those three? Never been to any of those places, but for f...

Tom G l a s g o w wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2018, 8:43 am
Thanks all.

Before you go make sure you check Wendy Lyn's website, she regularly posts about places that open in August (and during/after the end-of-year holidays). She lives there and does high-end tours of interesting places.

Was in Provence earlier this fall. We saw armed guards in almost all the train stations in the larger towns. The guards actually made me more nervous because they stare you down. The TSA folks just touch you. Honestly, that's been the case since the 1980s. They've had heavily armed soldiers at airp...

Glad to hear it's back on point. BTW the Il Farneto Rio Rocca is a wine we import, was it the Spergola or the Berzmein (Marzemino)? In any case hope you enjoyed it and that it went well with the dish. Thank you for sharing that...it was the Spèrgle. Just a lovely white that paired beautifully with ...

My wife and I ate at Vinland last Thursday. For those of you who are not familiar with the restaurant, it's chef/owner is attempting to create the Noma of Maine: all ingredients are sourced from New England, with 90% from Maine. That means no pepper, no olive oil, no lemons, etc. It got a lot of bu...

Andrew Kotowski wrote: ↑
November 23rd, 2018, 6:04 pm

jordan whitehead wrote: ↑
November 21st, 2018, 4:45 pm
Who?
I didn’t realize I was eating dinner with a superhero; I always assumed he was a bit of a Joker

Uuuuuugh.

Michel, Loved the writeup. Couldn't tell from your website: where can I find out where your wines are available in CA? Paul, our wines are available in most of CA, through retailers around the state. Is there any store in particular you're thinking of? For most states I'd need to check with our loc...

Mark Cochard wrote: ↑
November 20th, 2018, 8:50 am

Michel Abood wrote: ↑
November 20th, 2018, 8:33 am

Mark Cochard wrote: ↑
November 20th, 2018, 7:55 am
OK, I'll look for the Fleur de l'Europe Brut Nature.

Let me know if you are interested in getting distribution in Delaware.
I work at a wine store in Wilmington.
Mark, let's talk. We are in MD, VA and DC but not DE (yet).
PM Sent

Hah hah I think our emails crossed simultaneously!

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