Hill Country
From the Village Voice: This institution succeeds in perfectly re-creating Central Texas barbecue, emulating Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas. Brisket and beef shoulder are the cuts to order here, along with the refreshing cucumber salad, and maybe the green-bean casserole. Grab a slice of white bread and wrap up the 'cue. Then sit back and enjoy the country crooning. 30 West 26th Street, 212-255-4544
I’ve tried it. Not quite up to the real thing in Texas, but what is?
Where were you? I waited all evening. We actually had wine left at the end. The food was very good.
Bill,
Not Katz’s, but 2nd Ave deli tomorrow for breakfast, probably with Enrico. At a minimum, gribenes, latkes, blintzes and patrami sandwich.
The 89’s we had at NoMad last night were, on the whole, disappointing. Ken should be posting notes.
Off to Maialino for lunch.
You need to get up to Bmore soon.
Tom, no longer possible. I am a legal Eye-talian immigrant. Not going to Carolina in my mind. Or otherwise!
The boys is back in town, eh? And disappointing? Did Ken not open the mag of 1989 Gran Bussia and the Collina Rionda that I sent for you guys?
That seemed to be the feeling of several people, but not me. I think you’re drinking too many great wines! 
Here’s my short notes:
1989 A Conterno Cicala - lovely
1989 A Conterno Colonello - more structure, better
1989 Clerico Bussia - beautiful
1989 Clerico Ginestra - off, dirty
1989 Produttori Barbaresco Asili - gorgeous and intense
1989 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo - needed more air, exotic
1989 Gaja Barolo Sperss - simply great, wotn so far
1990 Gaja Barolo Sperss - same great wine as at Antonio’s but not enough air, too bad
1989 Bartolo Mascarello - OTH
1989 Burlotto Monvigliero - something special, not like anything else
1989 Conterno Cascina Francia - great, but a DD at 1pm was not enough
1989 Giacosa Falletto Riserva - ditto, but even greater, wotn
The Gaja Barbaresco and the 90 Sperss were decanted about 1.5 hours before we drank them. The rest were double decanted in the early afternoon. Dinner was 7pm- midnight.
ken
did you have the chicken?
Some of my buddies went to Maialino the new Danny Meyer place. They were ultra impressed. I do like NoMad. Mainly for service. The food is excellent however.
Lots of good suggestions here for outsiders like me.
I have not been to Maialino, but the menu impresses me. None of this “free-range, diver Asian pear from an undisclosed location in the southwest corner of Maine” crap. Two or three ingredients max, simply described and turned into honest, straightforward dishes that are authentic when ingredients permit and adapted well to American ingredients when the originals are not available or do not travel well. None of Molto Mario’s beef cheek ravioli that do not have beef cheeks in them…
Maialino is a good one. Next time you are here Don, we should go.
Yes.
You are right on target. And the food goes so well with aged Barolo.
One of the benefits of being an old fart and a cook is that you can read menus and pretty much taste the dishes. I stop reading when an appetizer gets to the fourth or fifth ingredient, the description of each of which reads like a Neal Martin tasting note. It no longer matters to me if the dish is good or not; it is overreaching, and one or more ingredients is likely to be masking one or more of the others to some degree. That was the beauty of the Maialino menu…no BS, just dishes with a couple of complimentary ingredients. The worst that could happen is mediocre execution, and even then you would still have something worth eating. That is true Italian cooking. He says, having eaten truly bad Chinese takeout in Neive tonight!
Ken
How was the chicken, if You don’t mind me asking?
Off the hook?
Sadly no, “Over the Hill”, oxidized, prematurely old.
Quite special. They put black truffle under the skin of the breast and then cut up the dark meat and serve it in a truffle cream sauce. If they had cooked one of my shoes in that truffle cream sauce, it would have been damn good. This preparation made it particularly friendly to the Nebbiolo. When I post my notes on the wines, I will post photos of the food as well.
Nebbiolo with truffled shoe? I think I’ll give that one a pass 
Not just any shoe. My shoe. I have been marinating in Nebbiolo for years. It flavors my shoes.
A head to toe wineaux! Love it 