The Grape American Road Trip Wine Dinner

The Grape American Road Trip

Ovvio Osteria

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm

2727 Merrilee Drive Fairfax, VA 22031

The Mosaic District

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
6:30pm Reception 7:00pm Dinner

Cozy up with Ovvio in welcoming Andrew Stover of Siema Wines
in our first wine dinner of 2015, featuring 

wines from emerging American wine regions and 

delicious paired delicacies from the creative mind of Chef Richard Ketzler

Reception

Sliders

McPherson Cellars Sparkling Wine, Lubbuck, Texas

The mushroom sliders were outstanding and of the two I had a clear preference for them. The wine, made from 87% riesling and 13% vermentino grapes, reminded me of prosecco and was a nice complement. 

First

Saffron Poached New York State Apple, Baby Arugula, Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Shindig Vidal Blanc, Finger Lakes, New York

Shindig is a delicious wine. I liked the presentation of the salad more than the taste.

Second

Olive Oil Poached Blue Fish, Pine Nut Pesto, Pickled Cabbage

Bedell 'Taste White' Sauvignon Blanc/Albarino, North Fork of Long Island, New York

I liked the label of this wine more than the wine itself. I really enjoyed the Chef's explanation of this dish. He poached the Blue Fish in olive oil to remove some of the gamey flavors, and then added the cabbage to restore some crunch. 

Third

Dry Rubbed Leg of Lamb, Stone Ground Grits, Green Chili Puree, Tequila Agave Drizzle

Arizona Stronghold 'Mangus' Sangiovese/Cabernet/Merlot Blend, Cochise County, Arizona

This was my favorite dish and my favorite food and wine combination, with the dessert combination a close second. The wine is a full-bodied complement to the flavorful lamb. I thought the lamb was done to perfection, but what really blew my taste buds away was the grits under the lamb. The green chili puree really tied the flavors together. Fantastic!  

Fourth

Smoked Venison Ravioli, Mushroom Puree, Red Pepper Coulis

Stone Hill Estate Norton, Hermann, Missouri

I enjoyed the story about this wine. The Norton grape is one which was developed in Richmond Virginia. German immigrants settled Hermann, Missouri in the mid-1800's and established many breweries and vineyards in the familiar-looking hills. Hermann is still an important center of German culture and tradition.    

Fifth

Queso Flan, Orange Pound Cake, Blackberry Compote

Duchman Family Orange Muscat, High Plains, Texas

I had never been served flan on pound cake before, but I really enjoyed this and will seek it out again. The orange zest in the pound cake and the orange blossoms in the sweet muscat wine were spectacular together.

 

I had a great time at this event. I recommend the venue wholeheartedly. The Chef did a fantastic job with the food menu. Everything I tasted was creative and distinctive. For the most part, the wine pairings were successful and the Sommelier explained them with clarity and panache.

Great Meal Inspired by Forks the Book

You already know I participated in the Kickstarter campaign that brought the world this incredible book: FORKS


And you also know that Melanie Grace and I recently enjoyed meeting Allan Karl, in person during his book promotion tour when he stopped at The Organic Butcher in McLean


This brings us to Part 3 of the story: How Mel prepared a delicious, FORKS-inspired meal--our first recipe taken from Allan's book. Based on the result, this was the first of MANY dishes to come!

Bolivian red quinoa salad

Our first recipe from FORKS was the Bolivian red quinoa salad, found on pages 86-87 of the Kickstarter edition of FORKS. 

almond-crusted salmon filets in a lime-and-dijon mustard sauce

We served the quinoa salad along-side baked, almond-crusted salmon filets in a lime-and-dijon mustard sauce, and paired it all with Flying Dog Agave Cervesa.

Flying Dog Agave Cervesa

It was a pleasure making the gorgeous food photos come to life in our kitchen, and even more fun savoring the flavors, textures, and aromas of Bolivia. Life is Delish!

The first of MANY dishes to come! 

Culture, Cuisine, and Connections: Thank you, +WorldRider!



Read more: http://www.forksthebook.com/

Nationale Feestdag Belgique

I love to celebrate and I love Belgian beer, therefore I should love any reason to celebrate with Belgian Beer, right? The sting of Belgium's defeat of USA in the recent FIFA World Cup may have kept me from sipping Belgium's awe-inspiring brews for a time, but that time has passed. The sting of defeat has subsided to the point that once again, I can seek and savor solace in a chalice.

No, it's not Independence Day!
Let's go to the party and enjoy great Belgian beers,
but let's also demand a more historically accurate poster
for next year's party 

So while almost any any time is the right time for Belgian ale, I was disappointed to see the poster above advertising a local restaurant chain's celebration. The All-Belgian lineup is great, but the call to celebrate "Belgian Independence" is disappointing.  

"Dear Pizzeria Paradiso (Old Town): July 21st is Belgian National Day, NOT Belgian Independence Day as your poster implies. Love your All-Belgian draft lineup and will continue to love all three Paradiso locations, but would appreciate some attention to the historical facts in future posters. Belgium had gained independence from the Netherlands a year before their constitutional monarchy was adopted on this day in 1831."

Here are some links to previous PhilosFX posts which contain more information about Nationale Feestdag Belgique, or Belgian National Day.

nationale-feestdag-belgique-2012
belgian-national-day-2011

FORKS: One Man's Quest for Culture, Cuisine, and Connections

Look what arrived in the mail today #FORKS by @WorldRider. Three years, 35 countries, and one motorcycle. What a great story! Thanks for the inspiration, Allan Karl! 

Carnival 2014: Alexandria and Environs

This is the fifth installment of an 8-part series on Carnival, the Fifth Season--and the biggest party on the planet!

Dateline: ALEXANDRIA, March 4, 2014

I make my home in the northern Virginia city of Alexandria, and I know better than to wear my favorite tie to work on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. And so do you, if you have been reading along. Welcome to the latest in a series of posts on Mardi Gras, past, present, and future--from Nebraska to New Orleans to Rome to Mainz and now here at home.

On the morning of Fat Tuesday, the Pat O'Brien's
hurricane glass is empty, the Cafe du Monde
coffee cup is full, and there's nary a bead in sight.

Last year, I found the baby in the King Cake at the Alexandria Brew Crew's Mardi Gras party, so that means I must provide this year's treats.

New Orleans-style King Cake

Speaking of Fat Tuesday treats, my Harley-riding girlfriend is Pennsylvania Dutch, and she recently educated me about Fasnachts and Fasnacht Day. A Fasnacht is a fried doughnut served traditionally in the days of Carnival / Fastnacht or on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent starts. Fasnachts are made as a way to empty the pantry of lard, sugar, fat, and butter, which are traditionally fasted from during Lent.

The Pennsylvania Dutch in the area surrounding Lancaster, Pennsylvania, celebrate Fastnacht (the holiday) with fasnachts (the donuts). The central Pennsylvania church featured in this PennLive article makes tens of thousands donuts each Fasnacht Day. Most chain supermarkets in eastern Pennsylvania offer fasnachts, although a few offer Polish Pączki  (Pooch-key) instead. Commonly, pączki are round, rather than having straight sides, and they are filled with jelly, or sometimes creme filling. In parts of Maryland, the treats are called Kinklings, and are only sold in bakeries on Shrove Tuesday. The German version is made from a yeast dough, deep fried, and coated or dusted in sugar or cinnamon sugar; they may be plain or filled with fruit jam. In contrast, Pennsylvania Dutch fasnachts can often be potato doughnuts, and may be uncoated, dusted with table sugar, or powdered with confectioner's sugar.

Doughnut? Or Donut? Kinkling, Pączki, or Fasnacht? It seems there are as many ways to get fat as there are fat pills. Fasnacht (the donut) is sometimes spelled Fastnacht (the German holiday), Faschnacht (similar to Fasching), Fosnot, Fosnaught, Fausnaught, Fasnacht, Fassenacht, Fasnet, etc. You get the picture: fun comes in many forms.

Naturally our Donut Day party included a variety of locally made treats based on Old World traditions. We started late, after 8, because eating, drinking, and merry making is especially sinful late at night. And we went after it pretty hard, because passion fuels greatness.

By nightfall, the hurricane glasses were full, the coffee
was gone, beads were plentiful, and the infant King appeared

Our Fasnacht Day / Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday menu:

• Del Ray Pizzeria Butcher Block pizza (5 meats), 
• hot Krispy Kreme donuts, 
• Pączki (one with a hidden baby Jesus and guess what? I was the lucky finder again this year!), 
• ice cream sandwiches with homemade chocolate chip cookies and homemade chocolate ice cream,
• hurricane punch, and 
• beads. Lots and lots of purple, green, and gold beads. 

Music? Think, "Big Easy": jazz, brass, zydeco, Cajun, Creole, and a bit of blues

• Roy "Professor Longhair" Byrd 
• Preservation Hall Jazz Band
• Tom Waits
• Jelly Roll Morton
• The inimitable Dr. John
• Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five
• Fats Domino
• The White Stripes
• Tab Benoit
• Sidney Bechet
• Wynton Marsalis and
• The Animals, singing House of the Rising Sun

Participating in the biggest party on the planet

Now that we have gotten all of that partying out of our systems and cleaned our pantries of such guilty pleasures as sugar, butter, and lard, we can turn our solemn attention to our mortality, to the dust from which we came and to which we shall return, and to the hope we have in our risen Savior.

The baby King symbolically rising
from a miniature Hurricane glass

On to EASTER!


PS--The Carnival season is called Fastnacht in southern Germany, Switzerland, Alsace and Austria. The word Fastnacht originates from the German words "fast", which is the shortened version of the verb "fasten", which means "to fast", and "Nacht", meaning night, indicating the eve of the traditional Lenten fasting period observed by many Christian denominations.

PSS--there are three more installments planned in this series on Carnival. Watch this space for posts about Carnivals of the Future! 

SeekABrew US Distribution Map

SeekABrew US Distribution Map

For readers who join me on The Quest for Brewed Nirvana, I would like to share a helpful tool.  The US Distribution Map by Seek-A-Brew is available HERE.

The home page looks like the screenshot above. Press Virginia, for example, and you will learn that 137 brewers distribute their wares in our fair state, as of the latest version.

The site offers a compare feature, which returns a Venn diagram of two states. Here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, particularly in NoVA, we also have easy access to beers distributed in nearby states of Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and the District of Columbia. By going across the Potomac to the north, Virginians gain access to 12 more brewers as shown in the table below. We can also venture east of the Potomac and enjoy 16 more brewers who distribute in Maryland.  Just a bit more effort to cross into Delaware and we are rewarded with access to 4 more.

Welcome to Beervana. Yes, Santa Claus, there is a Virginia!  

#	Virginia not DC	Virginia and DC	Washington, DC not Virginia
1	Blue & Gray	21st Amendment	Ale Asylum
2	Blue Mountain	Abita	Anchorage
3	Bluegrass	Allagash	Arcadia
4	BridgePort	Anchor	Black Diamond
5	Buffalo Bill's	Anderson Valley	Brewers Art
6	Caldera [Limited]	Atlantic Brewing	DOG (Pub Dog)
7	Carolina	Atwater	Elysian
8	Central City [Limited]	Avery	Lakefront
9	Cigar City [Draft only]	Ballast Point	Port/Lost Abbey [Limited]
10	Clown Shoes [Limited]	Bard's Tale	Pretty Things
11	Cricket Hill	Bear Republic	Speakeasy
12	Dark Horse [Limited]	Bells	Uncommon Brewers
13	DC Brau [Limited]	Bison
14	Erie	Blue Point	Maryland not Virginia or DC
15	Evil Twin [Limited]	Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams)	Appalachian
16	Foothills [Limited]	Boulder	Brewers Alley
17	Fort Collins	Boulevard	FiftyFifty [Limited]
18	Great Divide [Limited]	Breckenridge	Lake Placid
19	Hardywood Park [Limited]	Brooklyn	Legacy - CLOSED
20	Highland	Butternuts	McSorley's (Pabst brand)
21	Hook & Ladder	Cape Ann	Old Schoolhouse
22	Iron City	Cisco	Oxbow [Limited]
23	Left Hand	Coronado	Perennial [Limited]
24	Legend	D.L. Geary's	Prairie Artisan Ales
25	Lost Coast	Devils Backbone	Rahr & Sons
26	Maine [Limited]	Dixie	Saint Somewhere
27	Mountaineer	Dogfish Head	Slumbrew
28	Pike	Duck-Rabbit	Sly Fox
29	Sprecher [Limited]	DuClaw	Thomas Hooker
30	Stevens Point	Epic (Utah)	Union Brewing
31	Terrapin	Evolution
32	Thirsty Dog	Firestone Walker	Delaware not VA, DC, or MD
33	Thomas Creek	Flying Dog	Iron Hill [Limited]
34	Three Heads	Flying Fish	Moab
35	White Birch [Limited]	Fordham	Stevens Point [Limited]
36	Yards	Founders	White Birch
37		Full Sail
38		Goose Island
39		Gordon Biersch
40		Great Lakes
41		Green Flash
42		Harpoon
43		Heavy Seas - see Clipper City
44		Hoppin Frog
45		Jolly Pumpkin
46		Kona
47		Lagunitas
48		Lancaster
49		Laughing Dog
50		Leinenkugel
51		Lion Brewery
52		Long Trail
53		Lost Rhino
54		Mad River (Steelhead)
55		Magic Hat
56		Matt (Saranac)
57		Maui
58		Mendocino
59		Moylan's
60		Napa Smith
61		New Belgium
62		New Holland
63		North Coast
64		Old Dominion
65		Ommegang
66		Oskar Blues
67		Otter Creek
68		Peak Organic
69		Penn
70		Port City
71		Pyramid
72		Redhook
73		River Horse
74		RJ Rockers
75		Rogue
76		Schlafly
77		Sea Dog
78		Shelton Brothers (importers)
79		Shenandoah
80		Shipyard
81		Shmaltz (He'Brew)
82		Sierra Nevada
83		Sixpoint
84		Smuttynose
85		Southampton
86		Southern Tier
87		Spoetzl (Shiner)
88		St. George
89		Starr Hill
90		Stillwater
91		Stone
92		Stoudt's
93		The Bruery
94		Tommyknocker
95		Troegs
96		Uinta
97		Victory
98		Weyerbacher
99		Widmer Bros.
100		Williamsburg AleWerks
101		Yuengling

Hi-Tech Super Bowl Ad Bowl

We're having a super "Bowl" party at Casa del Foam.

MetLife Stadium: That's a big bowl

Ingredients:

• "Bowls" of smoked turkey chili 
• salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese and a "bowl" of house-baked tortilla chips
• The 48th NFL Championship Game, aka Super "Bowl" XLVIII
• Advertisement competition, aka Ad "Bowl"

When it comes to bowls, bigger is better

Technology levers:

• large flat screen TV
• DVR to record and review the pre-game and the big event 
• twitter #SuperBowl and #SB48
• Untappd @FoamFan
• Laptop computers, tablets, smart phones
• http://www.cbsnews.com/media/super-bowl-commercials-2014-watch-and-vote-in-our-poll/
• http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/tech/mobile/super-bowl-tech-tips/

Nice bowl, but that's not us--not today

Not happening:

• Washington State and Colorado are the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.  Those in pot-friendly states are free to recreate as the law allows. Casa del Foam is in Virginia, so--no bong "bowl" here! And no hash brownies, either.
• No 9/16ths of a second wardrobe malfunctions. At Casa del Foam, wardrobes will either function, or malfunction for several seconds.
• The High Line Park in New York City will include a giant "bowl" amphitheater suspended over West 34th Street. Casa del Foam is not quite that lush.

Enjoy the food, fun, foam, and frolicking football fandom. And remember to vote for your favorite ads!

For your information:

Superbowl Commercial Previews

CBS News Super Bowl Commercials 2014 watch and vote poll

USA Today Ad Meter (Home Page)

USA Today Ad Meter (Voting for registered Ad Meter Panelists only)

propaganda techniques

bleacher report latest info on cost of 2014 super bowl commercials

Great New Beer Map

http://editorial.designtaxi.com/news-bountifulbreweries140114/chart.png

H/T: LK, aka bluesandbarbq

A Reference for Beer Lovers in the Washington, DC Area

Craft Beer Lovers who live in the DC area are so fortunate! We have so many brewers, breweries, and brew-pubs in our area now that keeping up is actually getting to be a challenge!

This is a good problem to have, yes? 

One way to solve the "problem" is to make and maintain a list of area brewers. I have been doing that as a service to PhilosFX readers for some time now, via periodic updates to my Burgeoning Brewing Scene post. I get tons of help with this labor of love from readers far and wide. And I am very grateful to fellow beer enthusiasts who appreciate and support this modest effort with suggestions and updates.

Now I am offering a new twist...




A Symbaloo Web Mix of  Current DC Area Breweries

I have compiled a list of DC area breweries (55 and counting!), and saved their web sites on a single reference page called a "web mix." The software that allows me to make this custom dashboard is available free from Symbaloo.com.  I will share a link to this web mix with anyone who is interested. 

The breweries are shown in alphabetical order. I am mainly following currently "open, local, craft" brewers. I define "local" as those within 100 miles (2 hours) of the US Capitol Building. Once the frame of 64 tiles is full, I'll trim the content by removing breweries furthest from the US Capitol Building. 

Beer brewed locally by non-locally owned chains, e.g., Gordon Biersch, Rock Bottom, Chophouse, etc., is not included here, but you can see those, plus "tied house" retail outlets such as the Dogfish Head Ale Houses, on my other post.

The only exception I have made to the above "open, local, craft" rule is Portner Brewhouse and Craft Brew Test Kitchen. They are not quite open yet. Perhaps I am merely offering some positive energy to a venture I truly believe in. 

>> Questions or updates are welcome in the Comments section. << 

Which Wine Am I? Che Syrah, Shiraz

Does your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator correctly predict the type of wine that suits you best?

Most readers are familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a popular interpretation of Jungian psychology that helps explain a person's personality in terms of individual preferences. The figure above illustrates the four elements which define 16 personality types. Most readers probably also know their individual MBTI profile.

The VinoLovers have added another twist on the MBTI. Their beautiful online catalog sorts the world of wine into 16 types. These types are then paired with the most appropriate Myers-Briggs types based on common personality indicators.

http://glossi.com/grace_vinolovers/64882-the-type-of-wine-you-are-according-to-your-myers-briggs-profile

I agree with the write-up for my Myers-Briggs type, ENTP, and I do like Shiraz / Syrah. However, if we were to run this experiment the opposite way and choose personality type by preferred wine, I would be a Malbec-loving ISTP!

Why doesn't it work both ways? LOL

"If your life were a movie, would anyone watch?"

L.I.N.K.S. #5: Is alcohol good for you?

L.I.N.K.S. that Lure, Intrigue, Nurture, Kindle, or Stimulate, Part 5

Is alcohol good for you? 

Sure, that beer tastes good, but is it good for you? This seems a reasonable question to ask this time of year. It's autumn, and the wet-hopped harvest ales are everywhere, along with the Oktoberfest Maerzens and the spicy pumpkin ales. Thank goodness for chocolate, coffee, and stout--the key ingredients to one of my fall favorites: imperial chocolate coffee stout!   

Alcohol is both a tonic and a poison. The difference lies mostly in the dose....  

As they say, all things in moderation. There is strong medical evidence that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol reduces risk of heart disease. Have a look at these five L.I.N.K.S., and see your yourself! 

1. Medical evidence links moderate drinking and reduced risk of heart disease (MNT)
2. Moderate drinking seems to be good for the heart and circulatory system (Harvard)
3. Risks and benefits of alcohol comsumption (NIH)
4. 5 hidden health benefits of alcohol (Livestrong)
5. How alcohol may affect longevity and heart health (HuffPost)


Here are links to previous entries in the L.I.N.K.S. series. Enjoy!
L.I.N.K.S. 1 (Interesting): http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2010/12/links-that-lure-intrigue-nurture-kindle.html
L.I.N.K.S. 2 (Random): http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2011/01/links-that-lure-intrigue-nurture-kindle.html
L.I.N.K.S. 3 (Mysterious): http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2011/03/links-that-lure-intrigue-nurture-kindle.html
L.I.N.K.S. 4 (Building informed and engaged organizations, teams, and individuals):  http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2011/05/links-that-lure-intrigue-nurture-kindle.html