Quem Sabe? (Who knows?)

Chanel Allure

This is a story I have neglected to tell you.

Earlier in the summer I noticed that my guy’s brother usually has cologne on when he goes out somewhere nice. I thought maybe I should buy some for my guy. But I did nothing with the idea.

Then…

Several weeks ago, at 11 pm I received a call. The call was an invite to accompany a friend to The Wharf for a local band. Great - Friday night - why not. I went. It was packed. But with a $3 dollar cover, you can’t complain too much.

The band was not bad - it was sort of a reggae/rock situation with the occasional R&B/pop song thrown in to get everyone moving. But as I was standing by my friend talking, dancing, moving out of the way of the hoards making their way towards the bar, a man passed us and left in his wake, an amazing scent.

I was so overtaken by the pleasant smell that I reached across the masses to find out what he was wearing. It took some time to make myself heard, but then in a French accent! — Success. “What are you wearing,” I said. He replied, “Allure, by Chanel,” and of course the French accent was not lost on me. But really, leave it to the French. Why do US men in general not wear cologne? The whole experience was incredible, as Allure was one of the ads I had noted with interest.

It is a pity more men do not wear cologne. Such a pity. The week following this event I began to notice other ads in magazines for cologne. Of course the ads are always highly enticing. There are a ton on the market: Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Boucheron pour Homme, Yves St. Laurent, Burberry, Bvlgari, Hugh Parsons, and Sephora has a list (they are in the mall in Providence should you like to visit). Another place is the colognestore.com. But it helps to get a nice glossy magazine, like any of the fashion magazines, to check out the ads which usually have the scented/folded panel. Or visit the mall and shop around - because often, even the men’s colognes smell far too flowery for a man’s body.

My personal vote is Chanel. A big hip-hip for the French. You can read all about it here. I am sure Mr. Jacques Polge, the “Nose” at CHANEL, who created this cologne, is paid well. Check out this brief interview. And that passion and understanding is the reason why ALLURE HOMME is amazing.

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Another Goodbye @ Atria

The end of the summer is coming. It is obvious. The exit is starting. Last night, for example, I attended another goodbye event.

A small group met at Atria to cheer our friend off. We had a grand time, though the service was less than perfect and my caipirinha was not anything to write home about. However, I will write about a real Caipirinha for your information. A caipirinha is a Brazilian drink made with Cachaca, a sugar cane alcohol from Brazil, that is considered part of the rum family, though it is a light color like vodka and gin and its base is not molasses like most rums, but rather sugarcane juice. It is amazing in a Caipirinha. The drink at Atria (downstairs) was a raspberry Caipirnha. The traditional Caipirinha is far more refreshing because you can actually taste the Cachaca without distraction.

On another note: my foie gras was fine. The link sited for foie gras will not encourage you to try it, but will educate you on what it is and how it is produced. It is a French delicacy that may not be something France is proud of (but then again, they may be…. who knows?), but can everyone be proud of everything?

But the biggest question is: where on-Island can I get a real Caipirinha? Anyone know?

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Lillet vs. St. Germain

My friend’s younger sister was here with us for 3 weeks. She is a college kid from Texas. Today she left on the 7 am and last night we gave her a low-key Monday night send-off.

A group of us had sushi at The Lookout. Then the brave continued on to Balance.

At Balance my friend ordered a drink he first encountered at Atria - a Casino Royale. He said it is the drink he has been looking for his whole life. Later he visited Alchemy, asked for the same drink, but they were out of one ingredient - Lillet. The bartender suggested - St. Germain.

Last night he ordered it from Balance and asked for the St. Germain instead of the Lillet.

A fun tie-in with the former story was - Saturday night - I had friends coming over to eat - I grabbed a bottle of Lillet, not having done my Lillet research, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So, last night a discussion of the two was easy to pursue and in the end we both decided that we prefer the St. Germain.

So, let’s talk about the two.

Both drinks are from France. Lillet is an aperitif and therefore should be served before dinner. St. Germain is a liqueur. Both bottles have great labels and would look good wherever they are placed.

Lillet is fun - it is made, in 12 months, from a variety of white wine cuvées, matured in oak, and fruit liqueur - primarily oranges from Spain, Morocco, Haiti, Tunisia and the Cinchona bark (or Quinine) from Peru, which gives it the slight bitterness - which is refreshing considering the sweetness of the drink. It comes from the Podensac area of Bordeaux and has been around since 1887 - started by two brothers by the name of Lillet.

St. Germain (no, not the DJ) is a liqueur made from Elder flowers. I must say it is completely refreshing, though sweet. The flower is a herbal remedy for many ails and can also be used to make cordial. Their site is great and they describe the taste better than I: A little like asking a hummingbird to describe the flavor of its favorite nectar. Trés curieux indeed, n’est-ce pas?

And during the same evening, I bumped into a Times’ colleague who was tasting a different French liqueur. After I taste it, it will be on this blog too. Next time…..

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Le Grenier

So, like many an Islander, I have been sick for weeks. It is a weird chest thing that teeters on Bronchitis in moments. It has made my usual routine an absolute annoyance. I haven’t been able to row, work has been a drag, anything social or volunteer activities consume far too much energy, cleaning my house drains me, and cooking — well, isn’t it nice to live in town…?

One day, with a fresh burst of energy, I cooked up a storm and produced food to last me a week. However, once it was gone, I was back to square one. One night I ordered take-out from Zephrus. But this week my sick state was craving my mom’s Hungarian chicken soup. Unfortunately, mom is not here. So, the nearest late evening local I could think of that might have a clear hot broth, was Le Grenier.

I wandered in with not much energy to spare around 9 pm. They accommodated me beautifully, even though the waitresses were totally in the weeds. I put in my order for French Onion Soup (Onion Soup Gratinée, which the online menu totes at $9, but this year’s in-house restaurant menu has it at $10). I also ordered their Mushroom Ravioli, and a Demi Caesar. I stood in the entry and waited for my food.

Within minutes I was told that the onion soup could not be served in a to-go order! What! That was the whole reason I had attended this restaurant. (In the past I had ordered onion soup to-go from The Newes in Edgartown.) I was so disappointed, but I rolled with it and ordered instead a mushroom bisque, which in the end was far too salty, at least for me.

I then asked if I should pay with cash or an Island check. I was promptly told by my fit blond waitress in a rather curt manner, that they have accepted credit cards for 30 years, should I want to use one. (Yikes!) Happily, I did want to use one. I paid, received my wares in a Cronig’s paper bag and was on my way, with my soup in a plastic cup.

My only question remains: Though Le Grenier and Zephrus are wonderful when you dine-in. Why do such fine dining restaurants serve less than perfect food when it is ordered as carry out? My salad was a slight bit wilty (but I think the anchovies were happy enough on top of the salad), the raviolis were the savior of the meal, they were amazing, and the soup was too salty, as previously mentioned.

With Café Moxie gone - where else in VH can I go at 9 pm for a prepared soup? The options are slim. We take what we can get out here on the rock.

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Goddard II

So, let’s play a guessing game… Just had my second Goddard experience yesterday. Guess which one it was. Cups of coffee in nearly every scene. Some mob influence. Plenty of rather young women in the film. Boxers practicing with tennis balls. And everyone seemed to live in the same hotel. Ideas?

But a more exciting local thing is the MV International Film Festival which will be here in September. Check out there site. It is looking good - though all the films are not up there yet. This morning on my walk to work, bumped into Mr. Paradise himself and he is already speaking of the Festival in an animated way. For sure it will not be something to miss. I wonder if there will be any films containing Balkan intrigue? Anyone know?

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North End

I was one of the fortunate ones this past weekend — when all the traffic was coming to the Cape — I was happily heading traffic free to Boston to take over a friend’s North End flat for the weekend.

There really is nothing like the North End around. The atmosphere is more European than anything else around, at least in my book. So, my goal was to get all my friends to come into the North End, to avoid driving (how selfish). Well it worked.

Friday night we attempted the affordable. I picked a place on my street, Salem St. called Dino’s, seeing how my RISD grad. friend and her husband needed to keep within budget. They didn’t however like the look. So, we went to a place with more atmosphere (thank goodness - they do have good taste, though no offense, I am sure the food at Dino’s is great!) called La Familia Giorgio’s (which you can read about on CHOWHOUND), literally across from my weekend house. The host who took our name and seated us relatively promptly, right in the front window, was incredibly helpful and friendly. The meal was very affordable and delicious. I have not had a meatball like that in years!

We had two bottles of a nice basic dry table red from Abruzzo made from the Montepulciano grape. (more on Italian grapes). And since I was not in work mode in any way shape or form, completely forgot to get the name…

After a walk around the neighborhood we settled at the little pastry shop called Napoli Pastry. A nice Romanian girl worked the counter all but on Sunday, when what seemed to be the owner was making the lattes with his Italian speaking friends watching on…. It was heavenly. So great, that I went there each morning for coffee and each evening for coffee and/or Lemoncello. Lemoncello is a sweet lemon liqueur from southern Italy and many islands in the Med. It is usually served after dinner as a digestive. Of course they had other fun things like Ouzo and Grappa too and light Italian desserts…. Nothing like the North End.

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Ms. Lynch @ The Catch

The lamb was not humble, it was rich. The crab was ever so soft. The Spring Hill hen egg was unlike any egg I have ever tasted, not only did it have just the right amount of salt and a heavenly glazing of pepper, and sit perfectly on its asparagus pedestal, but it was lightly clothed with Island flowers! The fruits of the forests came in two tender kinds: chanterelle and porcini. The sea was present beyond crab to lobster and someone’s grandmother’s Italian kitchen had shipped over thin firm handmade strozzapreti pasta - oh… sorry, no it was not shipped directly from Italy, it was made by Chef Lynch — and was it ever perfect.

Every single bite was something to savor with delicate movements of the mouth - it was not a meal to rush through or even to eat, it was a meal to deliberate with in close intimacy. And that is just the approach we took.

The dinner in question was at The Catch. It was a fusion of Chef Barbara Lynch (of No. 9 Park in Boston) and her staff with Chef Chris Parsons and his staff.

Our wonderful waitress Jesse was plenty of fun and very helpful. She delighted us with answers to our many questions and concerns as did our runner. Rodica, a passionate young Moldovan lady told us, in detail, about each of the six wines that we sampled, paired marvelously by Cat Sirilie with the 6 courses.

Those wines will be the subject of the rest of the post.

The wine I was dieing to try was: Les Pins - you simply must look up their site. It will help you get a feel for the richness of the deeply sweet buttery taste. (click the left link). And I am not a wine critic by any means, but each glass was enough to make all conversation stop — at least for me — I needed to think my way through each sip.

My second favorite was a red (I am extremely partial to red) from Maremma, Italy. Bottled in 2004. It is from the Tenuta di Trinoro winery. The location is the Tuscan Region, the province Siena, the municipality of Sarteano but in the geographical area in southern western Tuscany called Maremma (which actually touches several other provinces). It not a heavy traffic area. It was made up of coastal flats and salt marshes. These have been drained over time and repopulated. Now it is a grain, olive and grape producing area.

The wine is called, Le Cupole It is mostly created using merlot - which is the reason I loved it so much. I am a merlot lover since the beginning of my wine drinking years.

My first favorite of all favs last night was: Gessami Blanco from Spain. The winery is south west of Barcelona in the Penedès region, so the land is coastal and dry out of the mountains. The family who produce this wine have been making wine since 1881, and it is obvious that they know what they are doing. This white, and I am generally not a fan of white, was so, so refreshing and light. It was the perfect way to start the meal. It was paired with crab in a melon soup, with pickled radish and fennel. Not bad!

I can only image what The Catch and No. 9 Park are like on a regular night. I think I will have to find out.

Off to gallery openings - tonight is both Shaw Cramer, Louisa Gould and Pisano Belushi! Enjoy!

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Bacon Bars & Baby Legs

The baby showers seem to be endless in my summer. And this incredibly stocked country in which we live has a seemingly never ending supply of capitalistic items on sale for the masses.

My latest purchase is just again, too cute, to not discuss.

A brand named Baby Legs. Interestingly started by a mom who knew what her child needed and created it. You can purchase them for $15 a pair at Nochi on Main in VH.

But traditionally, smartly and in a most ostentatious way placed on the counter were some amazing chocolates. They simply destroyed my sense of self-control. Though Cadbury’s Chocolate are not bad here in the US, they are incredibly better in England (Anyone know why that is? That would include Twix and Coke, much better elsewhere.). We, however, are not in Europe. So, it is always fun to peruse stores for the the ultimate chocolate.

My personal taste would be dark and bitter. My partner’s taste is unusual. Therefore we ended up walking out with two kinds of Vosges Haut Chocolat: Mo’s Bacon Bar and the Creole Bar. Both bars were great! The bacon bar is a dark chocolate with a salty-thick hint of bacon - rather like the bowl of peanuts and m&m’s at nibbly parties. The Creole Bar, my fav., was a down right black night dark chocolate, the kind you dream of after watching the book-based film Chocolat. However, I dare say, Vianne (Juliette Binoche) in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, France, could probably make the packaging far more romantic - or maybe it was just the French country side and the red shoes. Who knows.

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The pizza decision

Food is always a fun summer past time here, with loads more places open to choose from, not to mention fresh local food to purchase.

One example was Tuesday night. My neighbor offered me an amazing piece of stripper with a Mediterranean salad. Then yesterday my Irish travelers arrived — three of them. I knew this visit would leave ample opportunity for food outings.

The first night the food discussion began — eat in or out, cook in or order take out, eat in and then drink out? The options are endless. We decided on Pizza.

The Islander’s in the room began the pizza debate - Bob’s, Paesan’s, Edgartown Pizza Pasta Shoppe, Rocco’s, or Gio’s?

We decided OB was too far and Bob’s too greasy (though 2 minutes away). There was a mini fight between Rocco’s and Paesan’s, which was promptly settled when we called Rocco’s and there were closed (it was 8:10 pm - pity it was not a Friday). The Edgartownian in the room said Rocco’s was also to greasy, she suggested the Edgartown Pizza Pasta Shoppe. She insisted. She called ordered a pizza, called a friend who drove it to the high school, met her there and picked it up, though the Irish asked her not to go to all the trouble. She said, “If you are going to have pizza, it simply must be a good experience.”

The pizza was amazing. The Irish were happy. I and the other Islanders in the room were happy and the night ended well. Who knows what tonight dinner will bring!

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Bourbon Country

There is just nothing like it.

We stepped out of the car; my father, mother, boyfriend and I and the air was thick with Bourbon. Only a smell one could dream of…. that is, if you like whiskey, especially the Kentucky kind.

So, my roots, at least on the pa’s side, are in Tennessee. Now the folks live in KY and home for a visit I went. This trip I had a special friend with me — Dad gave him the grand tour, caves, Old Hickory’s birthplace, dinner with the Bosnians, a family wedding (at which the temperature was 95 degrees), a real traditional southern wake (though we don’t call them wake’s in the south and where no one but me had on less than formal attire), and a visit to Bourbon country.

Bourbon happens to be my fav., my drink of choice and the brand I favor highly is Maker’s Mark.

The day we took the tour up towards Bardstown, KY and bourbon country, we started out late and hit the distilleries after closing time — and I am sad to say, we made it within 20 miles of my distillery in Loretto, KY — but those 20 miles remain yet untraveled.

Well, at least I can order a cold one on the rocks on-Island. Welcome back to New England.

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