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Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines that they have reviewed over the past 12 months and select the most exciting for the Top 100. This year’s number one is Casanova di Neri’s Brunello di Montalcino Tenuato Nuova, 2001. This type of Sangiovese-based red has become increasingly popular since its first vintage in 1993, making Casanova di Neri’s region in Italy famous. Made at a family run winery, Brunello di Montalcino is what Wine Spectator calls, “one of the best examples of the recent winemaking renaissance in Tuscany.” Read Article.
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Sake Expanding Beyond Sushi Bars
Famously floral, fruity and sometimes earthy, the aromas of sake waft out of many a cocktail glass today. For creative bartenders, the classic Japanese beverage adds a distinctive accent to everything from martinis to Cosmopolitans to takeoffs of sangria. Given the clip at which sushi and Asian cuisines in general are entering mainstream culture, some pundits say it's just a matter of time before sake becomes a standard bar ingredient. Read Article.
Enhanced Flavor or Controversial Cooking?
What is sous vide cooking? Sous vide (pronounced 'sue- veed'), is a form of cooking in which food is placed into a plastic bag and vacuum sealed. The sealed, or 'cryovacked' bag is then placed in hot water and simmered, allowing the enclosed food to cook to a desired level, or temperature. Although this style of cooking has been in practice in Europe for over thirty years, and is still commonly used there today, in the US the technique has not yet been fully accepted by the professional culinary community. However, with today's hurried and harried lifestyles, the appeal and significance of sous vide cooking is embraced by a sizeable, yet still small, segment of food industry professionals. Perhaps, with time, this method of cooking will catch on with a larger portion of the commercial food industry and the American dining public. Read Article.
Wine continued:
From the December 2006 Issue of Wine Spectator
In 2006, we reviewed nearly 13,500 wines from around the world in blind tastings. Nearly 3,000 of them earned outstanding ratings (90 points or higher on our 100-point scale). We then narrowed the list down based on four criteria: quality (represented by score); value (reflected by release price); availability (measured by case production or cases imported ); and an X-factor we call excitement. But no equation determines the final selections: These choices reflect our editors' judgment and enthusiasm about the wines we tasted.
Thirteen countries are represented in our 2006 list, making this the most diverse group in the history of the Top 100, which debuted in 1988. The average score of the group is 93 points, while the average price is $49. We hope our selections stimulate discussion, and lead people to a deeper engagement with the world of wine. The full list is available in this month’s issue, or by clicking here.
Chodorow, whose New York-based company operates such popular, high-end properties as China Grill, Asia de Cuba, English is Italian, and Red Square around the country, said he expects Maxim Prime to benefit from cross-branding synergies with Maxim. "It wouldn't be promotion simply for the sake of promotion," Chodorow said, noting that he had not yet discussed specific strategies with Stephen Colvin, president and chief executive of Dennis Publishing U.S., Maxim's parent company. "But they will express in the magazine the lifestyle we express in the restaurant." He added that Maxim likely would host some high-profile events at the restaurant and that there would be other tie-in events as well.
To expand the concept, China Grill Management is working with Dan Smith, the former president of Jillian's, a Dallas-based chain of eating and entertainment venues. Maxim has a circulation of about 2.6 million, making it one of the top 25 most-read magazines in the country, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Maxim is the latest in a growing line of media firms to license a restaurant brand. Playboy magazine successfully operated a chain of clubs in the 1960s and 1970s, and the magazine even had a short-lived ownership stake in a casino in Atlantic City, N.J., during the '80s. Hustler publisher Larry Flynt also launched a small chain of Hustler Clubs. In addition, two other media-backed chains, ESPN Zone and Fox Sports Grill, have emerged as popular dining and entertainment destinations, and have been expanded to about eight units each around the country.
Chodorow said there are no plans to dress Maxim Prime servers provocatively. "If someone comes in expecting that, they'll probably run away," he said. "Will the staff be attractive? Hopefully, there will be an element of attractiveness. But they won't be busting out of their shirts. They probably will be dressed like servers you would find in any new, upscale New York lounge." He added, in fact, that women would be a major target audience of the new steakhouse. "Maxim has a large percentage of women readers," he said, "and we plan to create an environment that is women-friendly. It will be sexy and sophisticated."
The menu is expected to set the tone for the new-generation steakhouse. "Right now, if you go into an upscale steakhouse like the Palm or Peter Luger's or the Strip House — all of which I really like — you leave really full," Chodorow said. "You're ready to go home and go to bed. For this new generation, dinner is not the end of the evening." The plan for Maxim Prime is to offer high-quality fare, but in scaled-down portions, he continued. "If you were in Europe, you would never be served a 16-ounce steak," Chodorow said. "I think that big portions are great, but I'd rather charge people less and give them an amount that they can eat comfortably. I think there's inherent value in that." He also discussed the possibly of developing a menu for the lounge area that could potentially featuring "threesomes." "It might be a protein, starch and vegetable," he said, "like a 5-ounce sirloin steak, hash-brown potato cake and a timbale of spinach. "It's not as if we won't have large portions available, but people will have options — they can get 5 ounces of grilled tuna or half a Maine lobster," he continued. "But guests will still have the steakhouse experience." By offering smaller portion sizes, Maxim Prime likely will generate a smaller check average than more traditional red-meat palaces. Chodorow said he expects the per-person tab to run in the high-$50 to low-$60 range. "I would think it would be about 25 percent less than traditional high-end steakhouses," he said. "We'll offer a lower price point without compromising quality."
Chodorow said the Maxim Prime menu would help the chain differentiate itself from the highly competitive steakhouse pack, which appears to be growing at a superheated pace. In New York alone — where Chodorow said he might open the inaugural Maxim Prime — the 2007 Zagat Survey reported the number of notable high-end steakhouses had risen to 93 last year, up from only 28 in 1993.
He said Maxim's decor also is expected to help the brand distinguish itself from the competition. While each restaurant will have common elements, they will be designed differently. "If you're in an Asia de Cuba in New York or San Francisco or London, they're all different looking," he said. Maxim Prime will be "darker, sexy, and very comfortable, with a lot of leather furniture”, adding that one section would be, “very loungy, very European, kind of clubbish with low furniture and tables. It all has to look cutting edge. We're definitely not doing something that looks like it's from the 1800s — it will be very 21st century."
"People are starting to look at sake just like they look at flavored rums," said Ralph Rosenberg, director of operations for the Star Restaurant Group in Washington, D.C., and author of The Shogun, a sake-and-hibiscus tea creation at Zola restaurant. "If they have an active bar program and seek something different, slowly they'll come around to it."
Although sometimes referred to as rice wine, sake is akin to beer in that it is fermented from a starchy mash of grain. But that's where the similarity to suds ends. The four basic types of sake are distinguished from each other by the amount of milling the individual rice grains undergo as well as by brewing method and ultimate flavor profile, according to sake authority John Gauntner's Sake World website. The milling is crucial, because it removes compounds from the grain that would create undesirable flavors. For example, junmai-shu sake is pure sake made from rice that generally has had at least 30 percent of its kernel removed. The type called honjozo-shu is milled to a similar degree but also has a small amount of grain alcohol added for lightness and aroma. The two types that are considered premium and superpremium in quality, ginjo-shu and daiginjo-shu, are milled at least 40 percent and 50 percent, respectively and thus are lighter and more complex in flavor.
At Liquid Kitchen, the bartender said he prefers to use sake as a modifier rather than the base ingredient of a drink. He leans toward "a fragrant and slightly sweeter style" that won't obscure the other elements of a drink. He prefers daiginjo-shu, "the most complex and massively fragrant" type but not overly dry. And although the sake purist might blanch at mixing high-grade sake, he rationalized it: "I usually use no more than one-half ounce, so cost does not become a huge factor, and because of its quality, it really does stand out." His Katsuya Fresh cocktail, made for Katsuya restaurant in Los Angeles, combines muddled cucumber slices, a half-ounce of daiginjo-shu, an ounce-and-a-half of vodka, fresh lime juice and simple syrup. It's shaken with ice and strained into a cocktail glass and garnished with a thin cucumber slice and a piece of sashimi on a pick.
Because sake packs pronounced character with a relatively low 15-percent-to-17-percent alcohol content, it can ramp up the flavor of a drink without boosting the strength much. It's also a first-rate stand-in for vodka, gin or rum in drinks for an establishment that lacks a hard-liquor license.
Such an operation is Betty's Wok & Noodle in Boston, where sake allowed general manager Junior Portal to make a virtue out of necessity. The Asian-Latin eatery opened in 1999 with what Portal claims was Boston's first sake list. Due to the eatery's proximity to a church, a school and Symphony Hall, the authorities granted it a license only for beer and wine. So in order to have a cocktail program, Portal started mixing sake. "It actually was a blessing," he said. "It gave us lots of press.
"The Asian-Latin theme gave us great creative license," Portal added. Hence such creations as the Sake Mojito, with sake, fresh lime juice, sugar and mint; the Loca-Motion, with sake, passion fruit juice, coconut and grenadine; and the Bettypolitan, with sake, cranberry and lime juice came about. Customers don't miss rum or vodka, Portal said, noting: "They're very happy with our sake drinks. You can have several without falling on the floor."
Sake Sangria is a signature refresher at Sumile, a Japanese restaurant in New York City. Chef Christian Schwaiger mixes it with a 70-30 ratio of sake to dry white wine, plus cut-up peaches, pineapple, cantaloupe, orange, yuzo, apple, lemon and pear. "Sake works better with fruit in sangria than wine," noted Schwaiger. "It's a lot crisper and fresher in flavor." The sake choice is Akitabare Junmai Sake, which he described as dry, mild in flavor, good for mixing and moderate in price.
At Blowfish, a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar in San Jose, Calif., bar manager Christopher Bradford touts the Manga Mojito, made with muddled mint, Gekkeikan sake, lime juice, simple syrup and mango puree. He chose the mild Gekkeikan "because it's not a sake with huge floral or melon-like aspects that compete with the other flavors in the drink." Another crowd pleaser is the Peach Nympho, a simple pairing of Sho Chiku Bai Junmai Nigori, a creamy white, unfiltered, slightly sweet sake plus white peach juice.
Bringing in lots of converts to sake is Crave, a restaurant-lounge in Dearborn, Mich., with Asian-Mediterranean fusion cuisine, a sushi bar and 30 variations of the sake martini. The best-selling Lychee Saketini is a mélange of Ozeki sake, vodka, lychee juice and sugar. Other choices include the Banana Caramel Saketini, with sake, dark rum, crème de banana, butterscotch schnapps and caramel, and the Passion-Mint Saketini, with sake, gin, passion fruit juice, lime juice and mint.
"Right now, it's hard to find sake in many places around here," admitted general manager and co-owner Alex Ramadan. "But it's slowly branching out from New York and California. In three to five years, it will be really popular."
Sous vide is a form of vacuum sealing that slows the growth of microorganisms and allows food to stay fresh for longer periods of time. Usually, after food has been cooked with the sous vide method, it is either used immediately, or refrigerated or frozen for later use. Often, the sous vide technique is only part of the cooking process of a selected item. For example, many chefs like to partially cook cuts of meat, poultry and seafood using the sous vide method, then finish the dish in a frying pan or oven. When done professionally, a vacuum sealer machine is needed to correctly seal foods in plastic for sous vide cooking. What these machines do is remove all of the air from the bag, then seal the plastic tightly around the food, using heat. The food is then cooked in hot water, utilizing another piece of equipment called a thermal circulator. This ensures that the food cooks at a precise and constant temperature for a designated period of time.
Cooking times for sous vide cooking can range from seconds to many hours, depending on what is being cooked. While, undoubtedly, sous vide cooking produces a dynamic taste and tender meat, fish and poultry, it is questionable that the technique will gain wide acceptance on the American culinary landscape. Yet, ironically, sous vide cooking has been practiced in American homes daily by people who eat and consume 'boil in bag' frozen food items. Many, if not most of those products, ranging from peas in butter sauce, to chicken teriyaki and rice are heat sealed and tightly encased in plastic, before being submerged in hot water. That’s the same basic principle as sous vide cooking.
Some controversy does surround sous vide, perhaps accounting for its less popular reputation in America. There have been several instances of spreading bacteria through its use, however in all of the reported cases the foods in question had already reached a spoiled point before being cooked. No actual evidence exists that links unhealthy bacteria with the technique itself.
Some may ask “What's the point?" or "Is it really necessary?" For most chefs, the selling point of sous vide cooking is the creation of intense flavor and otherwise unattainable texture; however, it is certainly not a required component in modern food preparation and cooking processes. Like pomegranates, goat cheese, black truffle oil, mache' leaves and foam, sous vide cooking is quite possibly yet another trend for people to desire and pay attention to, for a while.
Jeffrey Chodorow's China Grill Management has teamed up with the publisher of Maxim, a magazine targeted at younger men, to enter the crowded upscale-steakhouse market with a new concept designed to appeal to diners in their 20s and 30s. Called Maxim Prime, the high-end steakhouse is expected to debut in early 2007 and then grow to 15 to 20 locations over the next five years. While Maxim magazine generally is known for its revealing covers portraying scantily clad female celebrities, Chodorow said the new restaurant would not be the next Playboy Club. "Maxim is a lifestyle magazine for a new generation," he said. "Sure, there are women in it, but there really is a lot more to it." Read Article.
