A Red for Mid-Autumn Festival

It’s time for the Chinese Mid-Autumn (Moon/Lunar) Festival! Otherwise known as a time for moon cakes—the Chinese version of fruitcake!

I purchased a red wine (of course it has to be a RED wine) to help celebrate the holiday: Tratturi Primitivo Salento 2013.

 

I chose a Primitivo as I wanted to share the joy in drinking this type of red wine with the family. Plus, I thought it was a fitting pairing to accompany the Mid-Autumn Festival as the traturri are the ancient grass plains trails that shepherds in the olden days used in Puglia during the autumn so that their sheep, cattle, etc., may be led to warmer grazing areas.

 

The color is a deep, ruby red. But the finish is smooth and delicate!

 

Cheers, too, to a Super Blood Moon night!

Ovest

513 West 27th Street

(between 10th and 11th Avenues)

Continuing my love of trying out brick-oven pizza places that offers Neapolitan thin-crust pizzas, I went to Ovest. Situated in an off-the-beaten path block in the Highline, the restaurant has a comfortable and cozy environment, with a very cool-looking wine rack.

The walls are also decorated with white masks from the interactive play Sleep No More, which is staged across the street from the restaurant. It’s odd to see how gentrified the neighborhood has become, as I recall the days where the old warehouse buildings were the homes of decadent discotheques.

 

 

As it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we chose to sit on one of the tabletops, facing out to the street where we could people watch. As we knew we were going to order pizza, we went for a bottle of the Tormaresca Torcicoda Primitivo 2012. If I see that a Primitivo (the Italian version of Zinfandel) is offered on the menu, I am naturally inclined to order it as it’s a red that’s not too heavy, and the finish is wonderfully smooth.

Best of all, it’s the perfect pairing for meaty pizzas!

We went for two individual-sized (or small) pizzas. We, of course, had to order the restaurant’s signature Ovest pizza: containing mozzarella, tomato sauce, spicy salame, ricotta, and black pepper. Very good, but thought there was a bit too much ricotta.

As we wanted some greens or vegetables to offset the spicy meats, we ordered the Arugola pizza topped with mozzarella, tomato sauce, and prosciutto. LOVED it. Must be a fan of arugola to enjoy. And I am a fan!

Pros:

Good thin-crust pizza.

Affordable pricing!

Offers a leisurely and unhurried atmosphere.

Cons:

Though our server was pleasant, wish he were a bit more knowledgeable or helpful with food suggestions. I was surprised that he didn’t mention any of their specials, I only noticed that there were brunch specials when I was leaving and finally noticed their blackboard advertising them!

Final Thoughts

Will return as the pricing is right, and I want to try out some of their pasta options.

 

Summer of Rosés

To mark the final days of summer, I had to have my final fix of rosés.

When my local liquor store was out of the rosé I was hoping to purchase, they recommended the Domaine des Nouelles 2014 Rose d’Anjou—a sweet, crisp wine with a copperish coloring.

A disappointing rosé, as I actually found it too sweet.

Another disappointing rosé was Joseph Mellot’s 2014 Sincérité Pinot Noir Rosé. The big wine trend of this summer was the Sancerre Rosé, so was intrigued to try a Pinot Noir Rosé.
 

Unfortunately, I found it to be too sweet and too fruity.

 

A rosé that I really enjoyed was the 2014 Château du Rouët.

It is an elegant dry wine with a lovely light salmon coloring and a refreshing finish. And, most importantly, it’s also offered in a half-bottle size for $9.99! Perfect if one is not looking to spend $20 for a whole bottle.

Finally, my local liquor store received another shipment of the rosé that I was in search of: the 2014 Côtes de Provence M de Minuty Rose. First, the bottle is beautiful and elegant with a long neck.

 

The taste is dry and crisp and perfect to drink on a hot summer day!

Cheers!

 

Happy Labor Day!

 

City Crab and Seafood Company (FAREWELL WINE DINNER!)

235 Park Avenue South

(corner of 19th Street)

It is definitely the end of an era. On August 30, 2015, City Crab closed its doors, as the space will be taken over by the recently shuttered Union Square Café.

 

To mark our final meal, my sister and I attended City Crab’s final Wine Dinner on Tuesday, August 25, 2015. A four-course meal, paired with wines from Berringer.

 

 

Upon arrival, I was pleased to see that the restaurant was crowded with other diners wanting to have a final meal at one of the best-known seafood establishment in the city.

The Wine Dinner was held on the third-floor level of the restaurant. Table setting was lovely. And immediately upon being seated, I was poured a glass of the Berringer Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley 2013.

 

Very light and very floral and very easy to drink. A bit too easy to drink, because I must have had three glasses before the appetizer was even served. Luckily we did have a bread basket!

Kitchen was slow the entire evening. Not sure why. Perhaps they were not expecting so many patrons on a Tuesday evening? Or were they understaffed, due to the fact that the restaurant would be closing in a few days? But after going through nearly three glasses of the sauvignon blanc (drinks were unlimited!), we were finally rewarded with mini shrimp cakes topped with a Cajun remoulade that were being served on trays.

 

The shrimp cakes were definitely worth the wait! And small enough so that you could pop entirely in your mouth. The remoulade was a bit spicy, but not overwhelmingly so and it paired wonderfully with the sauvignon. Best pairing of the night!

After another seemingly interminable wait, we were served the official first course of our four-course meal: chilled seafood salad of lobster and mixed shellfish. Delicious! The seafood was fresh, particularly the lobster. Best course of the night!

 

Salad was paired with the Berringer Chardonnay, Luminus 2013. Buttery taste. Bit heavy finish.

 

The second course came again after a very long wait. And again not sure why. Especially since the second course was fusilli pasta with sausage and tuscan kale Bolognese sauce. It would seem to be a pretty basic dish, but my sister’s pasta was undercooked. My plating seemed rushed, which didn’t make sense since it took such a long time for the meal to arrive.

The pasta was paired with the Berringer Pinot Noir, Napa Valley 2011. Light and even a bit bubbly.

 

After yet another interminable wait, the third course arrived: cabernet braised short ribs with a polenta crostini. I barely had any shortribs on my plate, but what I did taste was rather bland and uninspired. And after my sister choked on her dry polenta, I didn’t even bother to try mine.

The third course was paired with the Berringer Cabernet Sauvignon, Knights Valley Riserve, 2012. Very bold, full bodied, and earthy. In my opinion, best wine of the night!

Evening ended with the fourth course of the night: vanilla bean panna cotta with balsamic-fig reduction. Again, serving was sloppy. See my sister’s dessert:

In comparison to mine. The kitchen seemed to have run out of the fig reduction on my plate.

Dessert was paired with the Berringer Nightingale 2008. Very sweet wine.

 

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

City Crab will be missed for what it excelled in. Seafood and shellfish!

Mezzetta Imported Spanish Martini Olives

Continuing with my olive obsession, I recently purchased a jar of Mezzetta’s Spanish martini olives. The fact that the olives are extra large made it particularly appealing.

 

Delicious! Particularly over a kale salad with red beets.

 

They taste great alone as well. But be careful though. You don't want get tipsy, as these olives are marinated with dry vermouth.

I only dared to eat three to five olives at a time!