Link of the Day: Opening Wine Sans Corkscrew

I know its only about 1pm but I am calling it. By beating out Foodiggity's post featuring Seven of the Greatest Food Moments in Muppets History, Ready Made has claimed the Link of the Day prize with its 5 ways to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew tutorial. The link includes five short videos and all are worth a look (if you have to skip one #2 isn't all that exciting but nonetheless merits inclusion). I am now headed out to find the equipment necessary to do #4! What a party trick.

Brewfest 2010

Twitter, so useful for finding out about cool events around NYC. Courtesy of @SkeeterNYC, mark your calendars for Brewfest June 19th on Governors Island. Admission gets you a 4 ounce glass you can use to sample over 300 types of craft beer made by 100 plus breweries from the US and abroad. Tickets aren't cheap, $55, but the price includes water taxi transport in both directions and assuming the weather cooperates, what a fun way to spend a summer day. "Music lovers" tickets are also available for $25, which includes transportation and gains you access to the live bands and food vendors (list looks promising), but no beer. Perhaps they should have named this one the "your pregnant friends can come too" ticket. The last 3 years reportedly sold out so if this sort of thing is up your alley click through to get tix. You now have 6 weeks to work on your tolerance.

Anti-Schnitzelism

This just in, the Business Insider's Clusterstock reports that a Citi employee called the cops on the Scnnitzel Truck today. After the truck's proprietor showed his permits, Citi then resorted to claiming the Schnitzel Truck posed a terrorist threat. I suspect whoever is responsible for the company cafeteria's P&L may be behind this but seriously? They are going to bombard the building with thinly pounded meat and potato salad? This certainly one-ups the Anti-Schnitzelism I exposed back in September when Eisenberg's threatened the Schnitzel Truck.

So what is it about the Schnitzel Truck that people find so objectionable? Its German-ish name? Its ability to take lunch orders over the phone and have them waiting for customers when they arrive? The mobile deliciousness of it all? Or maybe, just maybe, Citi is holding a big short position against the schnitzel market.

[April 29 Wall Street Journal post script here. Yes, this made the WSJ.]

[April 30 The Schnitzel Truck returns to its spot in front of Citi. So Tweets the Truck:   schnitzeltruck: Vassup to all our schnombies. Today is judgement day on 54th & lex. Come show your support for the humble schnitz truck.. Be there @ 11:30]

Eat for Less with Blackboard Eats

The value theme continues! I have been a subscriber to Blackboard Eats for some time now but wanted to observe what it was all about before recommending it. After a trial period, I can say this is junk mail worth getting. Blackboard Eats is a service which sends you discount opportunities via email for restaurants in New York or LA (San Francisco coming soon). But the discounts aren't for T.G.I. Friday's or Applebee's as you might expect. They are for legit places you'd probably eat at even sans discount, and the promotions tend to be 30% off your entire check with very limited restrictions (like it has to be used at dinner, for example).

This week, Blackboard Eats is promoting Cabrito on Carmine Street. Cabrito's food is modern, upscale Mexican in a fun, casual setting. And Chef Dave Schuttenberg, formerly of Fatty Crab fame, can cook (I have eaten at both). In January of last year Cabrito earned a very favorable one spot from Frank Bruni, missing an at least two-star review due to some inconsistency in food and service from visit to visit, which Schuttenberg and owner Zak Pelaccio have had ample time to address and hopefully have. You can go find out yourself for 30% off plus a free Margarita, courtesy of Blackboard Eats.

Blackboard Eats has also recently promoted West Village mainstay August, Boqueria Soho, I Sodi, Aquavit, Dinosaur BBQ, Resto, The Highlands.... you get it, a good variety of places in terms of location, tenure, and category of fare that you would actually want to dine at (and there are plenty of Brooklyn joints too!). Oh, did I mention signing up is FREE? I get a totally tolerable amount of email from them and as best as I can detect they have not shared my info with anyone else. And there are no embarrassing coupons to whip out, just a code you share with your server. This one is a no brainer folks, sign-it up!

Spotlight on Value: 2 Italian Reds

Examining our recycling bin last week, I noticed that Dan and I have been economizing a lot more when it comes to wine. There are just as many bottles, perhaps even more, but the total value of the empty shells that once held wonderfully fermented grape juice is decidedly less. If I were a sociologist perhaps I would hypothesize that given the recession we have been drinking more, which means we in turn have reduced our per bottle spend. But that doesn't mean we have been enjoying any less. Or only drinking wines from Argentina and Chile, though we do enjoy many of those.

In fact, let's take a trip to the Italian aisle. I spy a bargain in this 2008 Sigillus Primus Vigna D'Oro from Apulia (aka Puglia) which is a blend of three grapes: negroamaro, primitivo and anglianico. So what does all this Italian mean? It is a robust red wine from the part of Italy that looks like the heel of a boot. It is medium to full bodied and round but just when you question whether the wine is too smooth, the fruit reveals a little spice. Best with food, we have enjoyed this wine with everything from grilled lamb to shepherd's pie. And at $7 on sale at Astor right now, you really can't go wrong. (For you out-of-towners Astor has a great website and gladly ships.)

Not cheap enough? Try this Lilla Moltepulciano from Abruzzi. I recently picked up a bottle for $5 and felt like king of the world but that was a fluke. The 2007 is priced at $5.99 at Astor right now, though, and it is worth all five hundred and ninety-nine of your hard-earned pennies. Everything from the color, to the nose, to the mouthfeel, to the finish-- even the label-- suggests a much more expensive wine. But for the price of a non-fat-double-decker-vanilla-hazlenut-absurd-i-can't-believe-you-drink-that-latte, you can get a remarkably likable wine which pairs well with almost any meat dish and also happens to love cheese, a quality more rare in red wines than you'd think. It is velvety but with just enough tannin and contrast notes to remind you it isn't a ho hum plain jane. Salute!

Kitchen Tool Corner: the Le Creuset Saucier

As much as I know one can technically do most things in the kitchen with one good knife and one good pot or pan, I am a tool for kitchen gadgets and cookware. Every once in a while, Dan will come home to find me sitting in the dark surfing Williams-Sonoma.com or some other website full of shiny, fancy kitchen toys and he'll look at me hopelessly and say, "Cooking porn again?" Had he only known he could have proposed to me with a KitchenAid Stand Mixer with full attachment suite, he could have saved himself a lot of time and money.

And while Dan may not appreciate it, I am very pleased to introduce you to a recent addition to my cookware collection, the 2.25 Qt Saucier from Le Creuset. My father told me I had to have it. I debated it's merits. I wanted it for sure, who doesn't want new Le Creuset cookware, but I grew concerned that I would catch hell for bringing home yet another pot. "You have to have it," he insisted, hands wildly gesticulating in the air. "I use it for everything. Where is the button? Oh here, add to cart." And with that, a beautiful friendship between lady and pot was formed.

This thing is The. Best. And I have indeed used it for "everything." Just this past week I have used it to make caramel, poach prunes and kumquats, whip up a cream sauce, shore up my gravy, reheat soup.... the list goes on. This is a total kitchen workhorse and my only regret is not owning two of them. Maybe I will also have to get the 3 qt, after all one can fit inside the other for storage right? It cooks great, cleans like a breeze, and is safe for the stove, oven, and fridge. Like most good cookware its a tad heavy and a decent investment at mas o menos $165, but it is useful beyond compare. Do not cheap out and buy the Martha Stewart version or any other version. Buy this pot. There is nothing like real Le Creuset and taken care of properly it will last forever. Like my mother always says, "Why do you keep buying them, one day you'll have all of mine."