Manoavino Taste!

Oatmeal Cookies for Breakfast? Well Sure Especially Those From The Little Daisy Bake Shop

Truth is, I am nursing a little hangover here, had a great dinner at Spuntino with my good buddy Greg last night. The wine was oh so good.

This classic and perfectly executed oatmeal raisin cookie and a stiff espresso is just what the doctor ordered and I am feeling chipper again. 

I bought a couple of them at The Little Daisy Bake Shop, Jennifer Snyder's wonderful bakery in Upper Montclair.

A Simple French Picnic Dinner with a nice bottle of Domaine des Senechaux Chateauneuf du Pape

This all started after we saw the great new film by Julie Deply, 2 days in New York, with  Chris Rock, and while the film is not French, Julie and her fictional family were quintessentially so and got us craving something French. 

I had a bottle of Rhone Valley wine handy so with a quick trip to Whole Foods we were on our way.

Biking and Lunch in the CatskillsAshokan Reservoir and Sunfrost Farms

Up in the Catskills near Woodstock is the great Ashonka Reservoir which has a great walking or biking path. There are a lot of great biking routes in this region, you can find maps and information here. It is just under a 2 hour drive from Montclair. I like to bike along water and so we picked this route. After a vigorous ride we drove over to a favorite lunch spot, Sunfrost Farms. And then into Woodstock for a causal stroll.

A Favorite Southern Italian Summer Dinner with Two Perfect Southern Italian Summer Wines

Here are two wines that go so well with one of my favorite summer meals, linguine with white clam sauce. They are actually both the same wine, Costamolino, Vermentino di Sardegna by the noted family vineyard Cantine Argiolas, but since Vermentino ages so well the difference between the 2008 and 2011 is dramatic.

Tasting Room - This Has Got To Be One Of The Best Ways To Experience and Discover New Wines

Tastingroom.com is this very cool site that offers small sample bottlings of top wines. For the price of a single bottle you can taste six. We ordered the "A Taste Adventure ... Reds for Picnics" sampler and tasted them with a Vietnamese influenced picnic dinner, grilled pork tenderloin and all the fixings. 

All the wines were good, two we loved, two we thought were very good, the last two we would pass on, they would have paired better with another dish, but it was good to know what they were like.

The whole concept, the way Tasting Room sells wine, I think is fantastic.

Rye, Williamsburg, Step Into Another Time And Place, American Cuisine As It Should Be

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a place that people are very passionate about, loving it or hating it. A true melting pot of very diverse cultures from extreme hipster, to the extremely orthodox. One thing is for sure it is a haven for passionate yet jaded diners like me.

Behind this mysterious door we found a magical American dining experience that felt like another story book time and place. 

Three Wise Monks Pub Again - Now They Are Serving Good Food along with the Great Beer

Three Wise Monks is a great place to explore beer, especially when Brian's (the owner) sister Danielle decides to manage the busy bar. She's off on vacation to Granada with her husband now but will be back.

Sunday Dinner with a Beautiful Tuscan, Rocca Di Castagnoli Stielle Toscana

Fond memories of a week in Tuscany came forth with just a sip of this superb wine from the beautiful Chianti region, made near the charming little town of Gaiole in Chianti. I picked it out for a rare Sunday dinner of the entire family as both our kids were home for a few days. It is called Stielle Toscana from the farm of Rocca Di Castagnoli.