living like lulu

Hot Date: Faking Your Way Through the Wine List

You finally get the chance to take out just about the hottest girl you know in real life, and of course, you will take her somewhere nice. Unfortunately, nice usually means the waiter is going to hand you a wine list at some point. Girls go crazy for guys that know wine, and although you could wax poetically about the virtues of a good IPA, you know diddily about grape juice. Here is a quick guide to faking it, ordering a bottle to impress, and most importantly, landing the second date.

To begin, girls love bubbly. Start with sparkling wine. If you can splurge, get a bottle of Champagne, and by the way, if it's from France, it's Champagne - everyone else in the world has to call it "sparkling wine". Some examples of good, mid-priced, fairly ubiquitous champagnes are Moet and Chandon, Perrier-Jouet, and Verve Clicquot. These can be had for between $40 and $60 a bottle. There are more expensive examples that are tasty, like Taittenger, but if you can find any of the above on a wine list, you will do just fine. However, if you are on a budget, order a glass or a "split". That is a smaller bottle, containing about one and a half glasses. Try to find something from the French, or pick a higher-priced American or Australian version. If the glass or the split is less than ten dollars, you may want to skip this altogether. Cheap sparkling is better off in a mimosa.

Okay, so everything is going well. What is she ordering? Is it chicken or fish? Pork with a light or creamy sauce? Your best bet is white wine. Some people will tell you that it doesn't matter what you eat with what you drink, but that is crazy talk and those people probably don't have taste buds. A simple rule that you can follow is red with red and white with white. Trust me, there are so many exceptions, but you don't know anything about wine and you are not hear for a lecture, and I am keeping this brief. A safe choice to remember is pinot grigio. It is everywhere, and everyone loves it. There are many styles, but they all tend follow a pattern. Dry, crisp, and it goes great with just about everything. If your date claims to only like piesporter or reisling, then let out a sigh of relief, because that means that she is equally clueless. If she seems to know her stuff about wine and wants a chardonnay, then ask the server for a chardonnay from the Central Coast of California. These wines are not too oaky, not too buttery, not too overwhelming. Another bonus is that the Central Coast Chardonnays are less expensive than their Napa Valley sisters, which are general way too over-oaked anyway. Also keep in mind that if your lady friend doesn't want champagne to start, order either of these whites for hors d'oeuvres.

But wait...what if she orders Beef or tuna or something with the look of blood? Thanks to the movie, Sideways, Pinot Noir is everywhere and thus easy to find. It is a red for all dishes. The best pinot noirs are from France and Oregon these days. In France, they call their wines by the place where the grapes are grown, which in pinot noir's case is Burgundy. So if you want to sound really cool, ask the server for a "Burgundy" and hope they don't have more than one. Likewise with the Oregon wine. Usually, the French pinot noir is pricier than the American. Now if you want to be so super-cool that you definitely make her night memorable, ask for a Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Shat-oh-noof dew pop). It is exquisite and goes really well with steaks or game. It's from the south of France, along the Rhone River, blending thirteen different grapes into a red-colored ambrosia. She'll be blown away, and probably a little tipsy.

Or you could just give her the list. Try to impress her with your knowledge of fantasy football instead.

My Favorite Restaurant in Chicago: Kevin

Who's on First?  What's on Hubbard?

A Series of Evenings at Kevin

Chicago, Illinois

With a popular sports bar on one side and a nightclub on the other, Kevin could not seem more out of place.  This block of Hubbard Street is home to three other bars and club, with the usual suspects lined up outside.  The first time, I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

Kevin proves to be an oasis in the middle of a dining desert.  Immediately upon entering, my fears were assuaged.  Soft organic hues, old jazz, and a seven-seat bar framed in what looks like a minimalist Frank Gehry take on a deconstructed pagoda greets the hungry visitor who wanders in.  Oh, wait, few wander in…most guests seek out Kevin.

The dining room is long, somewhat narrow, but not cramped.  Light walls, a high ceiling and purple rice paper lights make Kevin more spacious.  Bas-relief stalks of wheat line one wall with cushy booths along the other.  This place is for "inside voices."

A drink at the bar is recommended, but hardly required.  There isn't an emphasis on cheesy specialty drinks or martinis, but if that is what you are into, the bartender is game.

What Kevin does offer is a superb wine list, which is so extensive I have never read the whole thing.  Not that I haven't tried, but my servers have always been quick to make a good suggestion, I just give up and give in.

Kevin takes its name from Chef Kevin Shikami, formally of Confusion in Chicago.  He is one of those chefs who is actually in the kitchen, every night, behind the line, cooking.  That seems like such an anachronism now that it could be considered quaint.  He changes the menu daily, working with what is delivered that morning.

You absolutely must try the tuna tartare.  Yes, yes, tartare is becoming so ubiquitous it will soon be passe, but Kevin's is outstanding.  Kevin is Japanese, so it is an Asian-inspired tartare, with a deft touch of wasabi and soy, seaweed, pickles, and a slice of seared tuna to mark a contrast of the fish.

Other appetizers are all so enticing, that on one occasion, I ordered nothing but starters.  I must have been Spanish in another life, as I tend to nosh on several dishes, tapas-style, even when I don't mean to.  Kevin likes to work with a lot of seafood, such as scallops and prawns, but his oxtail moo shu was the highlight of one evening.  And if you have the right server, you can artfully inquire as to whether the now-illegal-in-Chicago fois gras is on the menu that night.

I would not go so far as to say that Kevin does Japanese cuisine per se, but there is a healthy portion of Japanese ingredients on his menu.  In my eyes, that is a good thing.  He is somewhat playful in style as well.  A server told me that Kevin's vegetarian entrée is sushi rice and pickled vegetables wrapped in a portobello skin rather than nori.  That is clever, and tempting even for a carnivore like myself.

Kevin serves carefully constructed entrees.  Some are more classic, like seared Bison with red wine reduction; some have a Chinese twist, such as pork loin with Chinese mustard and pot stickers.  I have heard that Kevin is quite the man when it comes to broth, so his sauces are delicate but flavorful.  In any case, they are indispensable to the dish in question.

Service is on point at Kevin.  It's not overly stuffy, and the servers have personalities.  Especially Carlos.  But one thing that I look for in a server is knowledge.  You can tell that the kitchen communicates its fare with the servers, and the servers pay attention.

I will also admit that dessert is key to an exceptional dining experience for me.  Much like the dinner menu, desserts are carefully prepared daily by Pastry Chef Cindy Schuman (formerly of Aubriot).  I would go so far as to say the final course of your meal at Kevin will be decadent, classic with a tendency toward seasonal products.

However, if you are one of those people who skip dessert, your server will bring out petit fours because every good girl or boy deserves chocolate.

Kevin is open for lunch as well, so if you are not one to spend upwards of $150 to $200 for dinner for two, try lunch.  There is no excuse to not eat good food, and Kevin's lunch is an affordable alternative that still offers fresh seafood and impeccable presentation.

Kevin

9 West Hubbard

Chicago, Illinois

312.595.0055

www.kevinrestaurant.com

Celebration, Florida

My friend, Brittanie, and I were driving through Florida on our way from the east coast to the west coast of the state.  Now, if you have driven through Central Florida, I am sure that you can attest that there is very little to look forward to –either the chain-laden sprawl of Orlando or swampland and more swampland.  Don't get me wrong, I find swamps very pretty in their own way, but the Floridian version of swampland is not so much.  I know it has very important functions for the ecology (something that most Floridians are only coming to understand), but seriously, the road trip across the state is dullsville.

So what is a girl to do?  Find an adventure.  Or a reasonable facsimile of one.

Celebration, Florida is a planned community outside of Orlando.  It was built by Disney, and let me tell you, it seems like you drove into a Disney movie from the early days of picket fences, wrap-around porches, and perfectly groomed yards where you expect PollyAnna to be frolicking.

Now, most people would feel a certain nostalgia for a homey place like Celebration, and perhaps stop the car and walk down the street to a chorus of "good mornings" from the overly friendly citizens of the town.  Not us.  We were frightened.  But that didn't make us leave.

As we drove around, I pulled out the video camera, as I didn't think anyone would believe us that this place existed.  I had originally heard of Celebration on NPR about a year before our visit, but I still doubted that anyone would believe that a place this perfect could exist.  A woman rode around on a bike, with a basket on the front.  We saw her again and again.  She was wearing a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, and get this, she had a puppy in the basket.  I mean, really!  When we turned a corner, we saw a nuclear family playing football in their front yard.  We started to suspect a conspiracy.

The downtown area of Celebration was currently shut off to traffic – for a pie festival!

Birds were peacefully grazing in parks.  I assumed they were the same animatronic birds that Disney used on the Jungle Cruise ride.  The woman-puppy combo was paid to ride around all day.  And the football family was cued as to our approach by some central control office that told them to commence playing just for our observation.

We did find the fly in the Celebration ointment when we tried to leave town -- wait, or did we?  Was it more of the Celebration plan?  The roads all led to the back of the development, and they end in more swampland.  It took us quite a while to wind our way through the streets that had only empty houses.  But those houses looked exactly the same as the houses closer to the center of the town.  Was it meant to confuse and disorient visitors so that they finally gave up, bought a house, and ate huckleberry pie?

We eventually backtracked, and found our way out of Celebration.  It was a scary half-hour, but we calmed each other down by imagining Hedwig from Hedwig and the Angry Inch moving there.  We actually developed a whole screenplay in that thirty minutes.  Let me know if you are interested in developing it, and you have the right connections.  wink.

Host a "Blind" Wine Tasting Party

Whether you are looking for an excuse to have a party, an excuse to show off your wine expertise to all your friends, or just an excuse to drink, a "blind" wine tasting party might be just what you are looking for.

Of course, you could have your everyday, run-of-the-mill wine tasting party, and have everyone swirl, sip and make comments on body and bouquet while reading the label, but why not make it a game instead?  See who really knows their grapes and regions, instead of just who knows their tasting terminology.

Here are some tips on how to host your "blind tasting" party.  You can tweak the rules a bit, and easily make it a beer tasting party for those of you who prefer hops to grapes.

1. Have everyone bring a bottle. 

It would be easier for one person to visit the wine shop and get everything, sure, but then that person would not get to join in the fun.  It's best to set a price level, say $20 a bottle (or more depending on how many rich friends you have).  Then make up some rules for the bottle, for example, no brands that a major super market chain would carry.  Not that you can't find decent wine at your chain, but the chances are if everyone goes to the same grocery store, you may end up with two of the same wine.  And since this is a blind tasting, it should be wines that are special and can challenge people.  That's what makes blind tastings fun.  Encourage your friends to seek out wines that are unique, and then everyone can hopefully learn something…even that one guy that knows everything and isn't shy about saying so.

2.  Get the brown paper bags ready.

Since everyone will at least know the one wine that they brought, don’t let anyone put their bottle in a bag that is different than any other.  Also, the brown paper bag can cover up the shape of the bottle, for example, rieslings and gewurtztraminers usually come in long slender bottles that easily give away what they contain (of course, other wines may or may not use the same shape of bottle, but I'm trying to keep this general). 

3. Figure out a tasting order.

There are some concerns that must be addressed at this point.  You do not want to try a dry cabernet and then a sweet white wine.  You can, but usually you should try to have an order in a tasting, usually start with off-dry whites like rieslings, to drier whites like chardonnays and then move onto the reds.  It may be a good idea to have some stickers for sub-categories such as LW for light whites, DW for dry whites, R for reds (add a Rs for any pink wines that may show up).  If dessert wines are present, you may want to put those aside for last.  You can use masking tape pieces instead of stickers obviously, just try to have them made up before hand and uniform, so no one can cheat and write the letters in distinct handwriting so as to know what their bottle is.  Maybe your friends don't cheat; maybe it's just mine.  Have everyone put the appropriate sticker on the bag at the same spot.  If the person isn't sure, tell them to make their best guess, or have a miscellaneous category. 

3.  Have some sheets ready for the guesses. 

You can do this anyway you think would work.  I have simply listed numbers on a page, with a couple of lines for each number.  This way, the taster can write down the wine they think it is, and then some tasting notes as to why they guessed the way they did.

Here's the tricky point.  Do you divulge the wine right after tasting, or at the end?  I like to wait until a group of similar wines are done, such as when the whites are done.  That way you can compare wines against each other for clues.  But this is entirely up to your group of tasters.  Maybe take a vote.

4.  Taste the wine.

Remember to take your time.  A wine can change over ten minutes or twenty minutes.  Let everyone discuss and maybe debate the wine being tasted.  Trust me, the more wine they drink, the more fun the discussions will become.  Also, encourage people to eat crackers and cheese or other little snacks and to drink water.  One, it clears palattes after each wine, and two, it will prevent your guests from getting drunk (or at least try to prevent).

Other tips

Depending on how much work you want to put into your party, you can supply the food, or have it be a potluck of appropriate wine tasting fare.  This usually includes cheese and crackers or bread, maybe some cured meats, grilled vegetables, but nothing too strong as to take away from the wine.  If you are doing dessert wines, someone should probably bring something sweet and probably chocolate.  You should probably let guests know what category of food to bring, so everyone doesn't show up with sharp cheddar.  Although, you could always tell everyone to bring a cheese, and have a similar blind tasting in cheese.

Depending on your wine glass supply, ask your guests to bring glasses or rent some glasses from a party rental business.  You can always find cheap glasses at thrift stores as well.  You really don't need to have a clean glass for each wine, but definitely have some water pitchers out with some "dump" buckets for the "cleaning" water.

Depending on your group, you can have prizes for the most wines correctly identified.  Maybe a bottle of wine.  Or maybe just bragging rights.  Either way, a blind wine tasting can be both fun and educational, so start your planning.

The Importance of Wine Service

I am a bit of a snob when it comes to restaurants, but not in the ways that you would think.  I could care less about the reviews, the stars given, the hotness of the chef.  I don’t give a hoot about who eats there or how they are dressed.  I do however care about wine service (and service in general, but that's a whole other story).  I don’t mean that the server has to be in a tuxedo or Armani suit.  I don’t need or even want formal dining service.  It makes me uptight.  I admit I put my elbows on the table, so I do like things a bit more casual.  But casual does not mean that service should be compromised.

I recently moved to Portland, Oregon.  And let me just say that service is a mixed bag out here.  And that is being kind.  Of all the places I have dined at, only two places properly served the wine (and one of those places – a wine bar no less, gave me a wine list after asking for it twice, and then the server disappeared for twenty minutes while I was wineless – criminal!!).  Most restaurants have opened the bottle, poured out my glass, then the glass of my companion, actually stuck the cork BACK in the bottle, and left.  Serving wine doesn’t need to be a snooty procedure, but come on, there has to be some civility to it.  Never, never, never put the cork back in the bottle.

You want your wine to breathe.  Sure, oxygen is not wine's best friend as O2 is the culprit behind a wine being corked (most of the time), but once you are drinking the wine, after it has been aged or whatnot for the correct amount of time, oxygen brings out nuances and flavors in wine that you might not taste right away.  That is why most wines are decanted – to aerate the wine.  That means letting oxygen get to the wine faster, for all you newbies.

Furthermore, there are a couple of other things wrong with the wine service I described above.  Always pour a taste for the host or whoever ordered the wine.  My boyfriend is a sommelier, so I usually let him order the wine.  So he should be served the taste.  Then you serve the females at the table, clockwise is preferred, but who really cares about that.  Then the gentlemen are served.  But even that girls-then-boys thing is a bit old-fashioned, and I don't care about that.  I'm also young, so if it's older people at the table, I would stick to the ladies first rule.  The host is served last.  The server should then place the bottle on the table, usually centered or close to the host, but not in anyone's way.  Seriously, how hard is that?

So please, if you are a server, or know someone who is, pass this on to him or her – know how to serve wine.  It's not hard.  It would do you/him/her good to learn how to serve wine properly.  I am a recovering server, and trust me, your tip will definitely be in the higher range if you at least act as though you know what you are doing when it comes to wine service.  As a bonus, many times, the host will offer you some, if he/she thinks that you are not a complete idiot and would appreciate the wine.