Archive for Monkey Dish

Sunday Wine Dinners at Maldini’s

Sunday September 12, 2010Maldini’s Ristorante Italiano6:30 p.m. 5-course Wine DinnerOpening toast, Cinzano Asti Spumante1st CourseOctopus & Shrimp Salad with Extra Virgin Olive Oil Lemon Sauce2008 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina Campania2nd CourseFa…

Monkey Dish

Chef 2 Chef, Walter and Jason

A couple weeks ago Jason Alley, chef/owner of Comfort, and Walter Bundy, longtime chef at Lemaire, got together over dim sum at Full Kee to discuss duck tongue, pickle chicken sandwiches, visiting superstars, and new restaurant plans. Continue reading …

Monkey Dish

Homemade Lardo

Basically Italian fatback, this cured pork product should be made with the best quality pork back fat you can find. Factory-farmed pork will not have the layers of flavor and depth of taste that humanely raised animals offer. The fat needs to be at lea…

Monkey Dish

Wine Dinner At the Clifton Inn, Charlottesville

Celebrating wines from our own backyard…Barboursville Wine Dinner Presented by Luca Paschina, WinemakerWednesday, August 4, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.Four-course dinner with wine pairings$79.00 per person (tax and service charge are additional)StarterStatione…

Monkey Dish

Mistake of the Plate–Missed Food Connections

Dreamy taco bell asian…… (TACO BELL)________________________________________Date: 2010-07-09, 8:20PM EDTReply To This Post ________________________________________It was only the second time-our eyes met, when you said, “hot or fire”. “Fire”, I sai…

Monkey Dish

Brasata al Barolo

In the tiny, hilly town of Serralunga d’Alba, located in the heart of Piedmont, and only a few grapevines away from Barolo, I dined on the regional beef specialty: Brasato al Barolo. Bellissimo.One might think braised beef in red wine is too wintry f…

Monkey Dish

Flowers After Five Wine Tasting at Lewis Ginter Tonight

Thursday, July 1, 5-9 p.m., Flowers After 5 @ Lewis Ginter Botanical GardensThe 2010 summer tasting series at Lewis Ginter starts tonight, with Virginia Opera and Virginia wine from Barboursville. Each Thursday in July and August, Lewis Ginter features…

Monkey Dish

S. Bartolomeo:This Town Reveres Pinocchio & Produce

Crossing from France, greenhouses on a hilllemon tree on a bar/pizzeria patioView from the boardwalk

Monkey Dish

Lunch in Alba, Vincafe

Vineria Ristorante Vincafè s.r.l. Via Vittorio Emanuele, 12 – 12051 Alba CNtel. +39 0173 364603

Monkey Dish

Pupatella, 5104 Wilson Blvd, Arlington Va

While catching up with friends in Arlington, I stopped by Pupatella Neapolitan Pizzeria & Friggatoria for take-out. Beside being incredibly reasonable ( my bill was $55 for three pizzas, panuozzo (fresh, stretched flatbread sandwich), arancino, white a…

Monkey Dish

Pupuseria Dona Azucena

13574 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Woodbridge, VA This place does everything right, and by everything, I mean one thing, pupusa. If you go, you’ll see an open,industrial-sized kitchen manned by women making masa cakes. Lots of them. Ever worked in a kitchen wi…

Monkey Dish

Scene from a bar in Milan

Big Night–Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich match broadcasted live in piazza later that evening. A quiet start to a lawless evening of people watching. Observe the bartender with his mise en place, orderly, efficient, professional.The square during Inter …

Monkey Dish

Chef2Chef:jannequin and ellie

Chef to Chef: Jannequin and EllieChef to Chef returns with a conversation between two of Richmond’s favorite female chefs: Jannequin Bennett (formerly of TJ’s and Ellwood Thompson’s) and Ellie Basch (owner of Savor Cafe). Learn about their though…

Monkey Dish

da Giacome Ristorante Milan

da Giacome RistoranteTo begin, soupy pizza, served from the pan via trolley, molten. Service in Italy, across the board, is superior to southern France. Seamless and hospitable but best of all, it’s calm service–at least in Milan and Barolo.Fritto di …

Monkey Dish

Chez Freddy, Nice

Scenes from the square in Nice. The buildings are the color of gypsy cloth. A still from Vendor is the Night. We stopped at an outdoor cafe, Chez Freddy, for the house specialty of southern France, bouillabaisse. I think we tried most everything else o…

Monkey Dish

le pique-nique

Pastis 52 on a thousand-year-old stone tablefresh,soft cheese (similar to a fresh ricotta, which has the richness and texture of icecream) with peas and roasted tomato, on puff pastrypickled green cherry tomatoes, and wheat berry and chicken salad in …

Monkey Dish

Mas de La Pyramid

After a quick get-to-know-you day in Avignon, our guide, Marlene, takes us to Mas de La Pyramid (farm of the pyramid)a former Roman rock quarry in St Remy de Provence. To get to the farm, you enter the grounds of a still-operating sanatorium (quiet ple…

Monkey Dish

Mas de l’Olivier CastelaS

“Castelas” is Provencal for “old castle”. This castle looms above the Vallee des Baux de Provence, guarding the old olive groves of CastelaS,owned by Catherine and Jean-Benoit Hugues.Although the frost of 1956 killed most of the trees in the 45-hectare…

Monkey Dish

Lunch at Cafe New Ground, Avignon

Asian fusion, inexpensive, tatty mid-Century modern interior. The local white wine was fruity and oily. Loved the wine and the foie gras.Salmon tartare with local eggplant. Eggplant pops up on the menu often in Avignon, as does acacia honey, olives, ol…

Monkey Dish

Grilled Pig Liver

The fifth quarter, or butcher’s cut, is offal traditionally kept by the butcher for home cooking. Often inexpensive and always tasty, RVA’s monthly column, Fifth Quarter, offers less-traveled recipes that are both good and offal.The fourth installm…

Monkey Dish