Gary great show as always.In Wantagh LI there is a little place called Snaps with a very talented Chef/Owner who is a lot like you. You both take what you do very seriously but are not serious about it,try new and quality things yet have some fun. If you go back to yesterdays comment #51 you will see the wines we are opening in a few weeks at my 40th B-Day dinner at Snaps. We will most likely have 8 to 9 courses matching some pretty nice wines. If your going to be on LI shoot me an e mail.

Rao’s,Daniel,Luger’s, come on people stop trying to impress ol Vaynerchuk. First it takes you months to get in there on a weekend and Rao’s if you dont know some one, fugedabowdit!!!! Obviously mispelled on purpose. Gary wanna have a great meal? Be entertained by the owner Renato?(who is a character)and drink some nice wine come with me to Piccolo Angolo in the west village. I was there a little while back and Tony Soprano himself was busing tables. He really was, it was hysterical! Alan V.you ever had NY pizza before? Just wondering after that comment. Gary, have you ever had The Prisoner before? If so what did you think of it?

Gary,

Posting today because you said we had to in order to keep listening! Haven’t posted before, but did blog about you and your most excellent vidcast in some detail here (after hearing about you in the WSJ and checking out your programs): http://whdwight.blogspot.com/2006/08/tribute-to-passionate-craftsmanship.html

Favorite restaurant in Palo Alto, CA: Osteria on Hamilton and Bryant. Great little restaurant for pasta and Chianti with friends in a boisterous communal atmosphere. You can’t help but enjoy yourself.

Keep up the great work – your vidcast is a treat to watch at the end of a long day.

Bill
—-

Gary love the show, been watching for a long time, first time poster.
QOTD – You have to check out Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa Florida, best wine list you will find ANYWHERE. Me some friends and family go there once a year and have some awesome aged steaks and aged wine, and the prices are very reasonable( for the wine too! ).

Gary, if you are going to travel then you should come out to Woodinville, WA before the rain comes back. You did an episode on Woodhouse Family cellars so time to visit the winery (which you can also eat at one weekend a month). While here you can see many of the other local wineries and eat at the Golden Goat which does not feature any local wines, they only feature Italian – the place is awesome. You will often see many local wine makers eating there.

Couple comments – I tend to watch your episodes in batches (2-3 at a time) so do not get upset I do not comment. Secondly I wish your big wine event was not in the middle of crush. This weekend we start crushing Merlot and a couple whites and this will continue well into Oct so makes it hard to attend – will try and work something out.

cheers

LMA – Great call on Blackbird. I go there at lunch from time to time. I used to work just a few blocks from there. They’ve got a great wine list for it being such a small place. I also love that they have a cheese plate option for dessert.

Ok, especially for mister Gary V.! My very first comment 😉

I really love your show. I have been watching since the Carmenere episode, so shame on me for not commenting earlier. Not many of the tasted wines can be obtained easily here in Europe, but it is still quite educational.

Looking forward to seeing some more Italian wines (Vino Nobile? ;)) on the show.

Peace
W.

First post, long time watcher. Now I can sleep tonight knowing there will be more Wine TV in my house.

We’re plannig a visit from Connecticut this fall to the Wine Library store. I’m making my list and checking it twice (it really will be like Christmas day for me!). Keep the episodes coming….I’m learning a lot!!

Bob.

QOTD – For me, nothing has come close to the dining experience I had at Per Se in NYC. We had the 9 course chef’s tasting menu that included combinations of foods that you would never have dreamed of pairing together, but were just incredible. As each new selection was announced and placed before us, there was nothing you could have done that would have wiped the smile off my face. Having a new wine with each course wasn’t so bad either! At $210 per person (without the wine), though, it’s not something most of us could do very often. Some of the more special dining experiences for me have come at smaller, more intimate restaurants–places like Antonella’s in South Orange, NJ. The dishes are creative, the food is fresh, and almost everything is done by the husband and wife owners and their son.

Gary, As usual, great show. As a person very new to wine its a great source for me and my fiancé when looking for some yummy wine. We just got engaged recently and I was wondering if you could recommend a special bottle of wine I can get for her. Price isn’t reall a concern. I just want to wow her! She is really into New Zealand Sav Blancs right now…

Restaurant- Via Allegro Ristorante in Toronto. They received the Grand Award from the Wine Spectator for their wine cellar and they have really beautiful and delicious food.

Cheers,

Geoff

Gary,

QOD: Since you live in Manhattan I’ll stay away from those. In Brooklyn here are a few good and interesting places I like: Blue Ribbon,Saul,and Da Tommasso’s. On Hilton Head Island, SC would highly recommend Michael Anthony’s – great Italian food and fantstic wine list. In Washington DC, I recommend Equinox – interesting seasonal menu and excellent wines.

Nick P

Hi Gary,

Very good episode and I think it is great idea to do this every couple episodes and catch up on questions. The more questions you answer, the more comments/questions I think you will get.

Best Restaurant(s)

Steak – Manny’s, Minneapolis, MN
Spanish Tapas – Meson Sabika – Naperville, IL
Sushi – ToJo – Vancouver, BC
French – Ambria, Chicago, IL
German – Mader’s, Milwaukee, WI
Italian – Spiaggia, Chicago, IL
Seafood – Ocean Grille, Minneapolis, MN
Neighborhood Bar – Bunnies, St. Louis Park, MN

Sorry could not help myself and pretty hard to pick only one favorite!

Take care,

Bruce

Gary,
I must say I am a lurker. I have watched every episode and have not commented yet. Great episode answering the viewers questions. Very informative. As for your QOD: Even thought I live in NJ, the most memorable restaurants are on the west coast. I don’t know if it was the company, the food, the experience, or a combination of all of them but they truly stand out in my mind.
The first would be Prime at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and the other is Redd in St. Helena. I would go back to either in a heartbeat. Thanks for the blog and keep up the good work.
Thanks
Mark Z

GV,

Very good episode. As you know there are a ton of great restaurants in NYC. One that might be interesting for you to try would be The Tasting Room or how about Telepan. There are just too many to list them all, but both these places us only seasonally fresh ingrediants and have very nice wine lists as well. If you are ever in the New Haven area you must go to Sallys Pizza and in St. Louis an old favorite is Harvest where you have to have the bread pudding.

enjoy

Gary,
Great episode as always. That was a great question you were asked about when to drink the Las Cases. I’m sure there are many of us wanna-be-winos that also have a bottle or 2 that we just dont know when to drink. Short of us all emailing you and asking, what’s the best way to know when to open a bottle? Especially if you have just one? A few years ago when my wife and I were just starting to really get into wine we bought 1 bottle of the 1996 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato (from the Wine Library, at a great price of course!). When do we drink it?

As for the QOD, coincidently the last poster and I appear to both be from Brooklyn. So… if you ever happen to swing by Park Slope in Brooklyn, I highly recommend:
– Stone Park Cafe
– Tempo
– Al Di La

As for Manhattan, our personal fave right now is Bar Americain. Bobby Flay puts out an extremely flavorful menu with a great wine list to match.

Enjoy!

Paul B

Gary,
I need to make one correction on my last post. Redd is in Yountville, NOT St. Helena.

Thanks
Mark Z

Gary,
I like that you are answering more questions at the end. Friday is pizze night every week & I’ve been searching for that perfect bottle. I will defintely seek out the Chinon.

My wife & I have 2 great restaurants:
Piccola Venezia – decor leaves much to be desired but then again thats not why we go there. We’ve never ever been disappointed. Service is top notch. Their Fusi alla Grappa is a MUST try. They will almost always make anything for you thats not on the menu so always ask.

Acappella – outstanding!! Very expensive but definitely worth it. Its in Tribeca NYC about 2 blocks North of the WTC. This restaurant is very special to us. We only go once a year on our anniversary & after dinner we walk to Ground Zero. Its an emotional day because we have reason to celebrate but we always take the time to remember those we lost.
They serve this antipasto dish with fried mushrooms & a great spice to it. Its awesome.
ps HBO filmed an episode of the Soprano’s here.

Piccola Venezia
42-01 28th Ave (42nd St)
Astoria, NY 11103 * 718-721-8470
http://www.piccola-venezia.com/

Acappella Restaurant
1 Hudson Street
New York, NY
http://www.acappella-restaurant.com/

Gary,
I like that you are answering more questions at the end. Friday is pizze night every week & I’ve been searching for that perfect bottle. I will defintely seek out the Chinon.

My wife & I have 2 great restaurants:
Piccola Venezia – decor leaves much to be desired but then again thats not why we go there. We’ve never ever been disappointed. Service is top notch. Their Fusi alla Grappa is a MUST try. They will almost always make anything for you thats not on the menu so always ask.

Acappella – outstanding!! Very expensive but definitely worth it. Its in Tribeca NYC about 2 blocks North of the WTC. This restaurant is very special to us. We only go once a year on our anniversary & after dinner we walk to Ground Zero. Its an emotional day because we have reason to celebrate but we always take the time to remember those we lost.
They serve this antipasto dish with fried mushrooms & a great spice to it. Its awesome.
ps HBO filmed an episode of the Soprano’s here.

Piccola Venezia
42-01 28th Ave (42nd St)
Astoria, NY 11103 * 718-721-8470
http://www.piccola-venezia.com/

Acappella Restaurant
1 Hudson Street
New York, NY
http://www.acappella-restaurant.com/

Hi, Gary
Please do tell us more about zinâ??s. I think it is really underappreciated wine. Also, I would like to see a comparison between Primitivo and Zinfandel.

QOTD:

I like many restaurants but these come to mind:

Jules in East Village for good food, live jazz, wine
Harvest in Closter, NJ, again, live jazz Tuesdays, good wine and food
Umeya excellent sushi BOYB in Cresskill NJ.
Salmon River in Midtown when I am in the mood for fish.

I have a ton of favorite restaurants but the ones that I can always rely on are Trattoria Romana in Staten Island (although their wine list isn’t the greatest) and a new one that I am really digging is Loucas in Edison, NJ. Great Italian food, BYOB, and reasonably priced. In fact, I am going there on Sunday! For a once in a while, fine dining experience, my favorite places are the River Cafe in Brooklyn and Erminia in Manhattan. Definitely check those places out if you have never been there.

G- wonder if you should have only one day a week (eg. Mondays) where you focus solely on questions, kind’a like in this episode. All my favorite restaurants are overseas… that would be one hell of a WLTV episode.

Gary,
Very good EP, and loved the Jets sign. Your description of the Ridge I.S. Zin has me curious and salivating, as I am familiar with the Lytton Springs and Pagani Ranch. I agree and abide by the comment about buying as many different wines as possible when shopping, rather than cases of one wine. QOTD: I’ll mention two. Lucia’s Restaurant and Wine Bar in Uptown Minneapolis is a beautiful little restaurant that serves excellent food at very reasonable non-pretentious prices in an elegant/quiet atmosphere where the service is fastidious and friendly. Another fave for great food and a fashionable dining experience is Mark’s of Las Olas in Florida.
Gary here is a QUESTION for calling you to the carpet, and I hope you get to it because you’ve never answered one of my questions. About eight or nine months ago we were doing a blind tasting where we were comparing different red varietals using California wines in order to learn how they are different from one another in color, body, smell, taste, etc. Shopping at Wine Library, there was of course an abundance of bottles to choose from across a big range of price points when it came to Cab Sav, Pinot Noir, Petite Syrah, Shiraz, and Zinfandel. However, there were just a handful of bottles to choose from in the entire store when it came to Cabernet Franc – the varietal you mentioned in today’s EP. So, my questions are: A) Why does it seem that Cabernet Franc is used more often for blending than bottled on its own? B) For viewers and/or drinkers who have never had a Cabernet Franc, what are its virtues, such that they should seek it out as you encourage them to do – especially if it is scarce to find? If you can, please address whether/when WL will carry more Cabernet Franc (i.e., a search on CA Cab Franc on WL site currently results in a greand total of three hits).
Thanking you if you rise to the challenge, CK

For something a little different I’d recommend The Place, Boston Post Road, Guilford, Connecticut (http://www.ctnow.com/dining/hce-hta-ctn-burd-artsep07,0,3542518.story?coll=hce-headlines-dining). It’s bring your own so you decide on the wine list, and you can’t beat it for a get togehter with friends.

One other thing, have you mentioned cellartracker.com on wine library TV? It’s a great way to find out what people think of just about every wine on the planet and you can keep track of your own wines.

Gary,
You have to dine in Houston to truly enjoy a world class French bistro: Cafe Rabelais (http://www.caferabelais.com/). Owner Christophe Paul is from Provence/Southern Rhone but his Sancere, Bordeaux selections are unbelievable.

Having said that if you want to meet at the French Laundry in Napa, I’m a big Go!

Thanks for answering the q’s – Fluff in H-town

Mike I – Are you from Guilford? That’s where I grew up. I love The Place. It’s amazing how many restaurants people have posted that I’ve either eaten at or heard of.