The Case for Cases
I already wrote about searching for wine values and provided a strategy on how to buy. Hopefully you are putting some of this into action.
Now, if you find one wine that you like and are floored by its value, I encourage you to scrounge up the money and buy a case of it. You are not going to drink it like water. So perhaps you can just consider this to be an advance purchase of something you would be buying over time anyhow.
Buying a case does a few things for you, many of which most people do not consider attempting with value wines:
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How Do You Like Your Meat?
Lucky for me, I don’t tend to go to steakhouses very much. If you have access to excellent dry-aged prime beef, and you have some skills manning a hardwood fired grill, why go out?
But on those rare occasions I do make it to a temple of beef, I will try to order something I cannot make myself. Given that I do not have access to a 1800 degree oven, I would never even attempt to make a steak black and blue. That I save for the experts. For this preparation I choose the filet. And yes, I know, it is not the beefiest steak, but for me this is an exercise in contrasts, textures and temperatures that I enjoy. So sue me.
I’ll save my bone-in rib-eye for the grill, since it needs to be cooked a little bit longer to really melt the connective tissue. Yum.
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A Slice of New York
Let’s talk about New York style, thin crust pizza. I approach this topic with great trepidation, because everyone has their own take on the subject. Everyone has their favorite places, and the places they would never set foot in. Let’s not go there.
I view NY Pizza as street food. You are walking down the street, feeling a little hungry, and you can grab a slice for sustenance. A pizza parlor should have a counter, so you can eat in the shop, either standing up or atop a stool. Actual seats and tables are optional. The service should be brisk and no nonsense. People are in a hurry. If that means the staff is surly, so be it. Maybe they will have paper plates, but most likely you’ll get the goods on a sheet of wax paper.
So here is what I have come to look for in a pizza joint.
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One is the Loneliest Number
Just so you all know, nepotism is alive and well. My sister left the below comment on my original post of how to shop for value wines.
Annie writes:
James Bond is a Saboteur
There are movies that have done damage to cocktails. There was that ridiculous Tom Cruise movie that turned barmen into showboating acrobats. But Sean Connery, with the help of Ian Fleming, has done the most to damage the central icon of cocktail-dom: The Martini.
I’ll say this once. Martinis should be stirred.
And when I say Martinis, by the way, I’m not talking about anything served in a stemmed cocktail glass. I am talking about specifically about the classic combination of gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters and ice.
Be Brave, Bold Wino
Any idiot can plunk $30 or more down at a reputable wine merchant and walk away with an excellent bottle of wine. It takes a special kind of idiot to be able to achieve similar ends with a ten-spot. And it takes an unbridled optimist to even attempt the feat with a fiver.
Today, there really isn’t any bad wine. Eric Asimov writes:
In fact, you won’t find much bad wine anywhere in the wine-producing world anymore. Science and technology have come too far for that. Bad wine nowadays is boring, characterless wine, and most cheap American wine is insipid.
Real Deal Diners
There are some advantages to living outside of the big city. To live in a town where old institutions have not been torn down to make way for newer shinier things.
One big advantage: Diners.
Not those shining palaces of gleaming aluminum off the highway that charge $8 for an omelet. Not the sit-down restaurant with an obligatory counter where you can order countless numbers of dishes from all over the world. Not refurbished classic diners that serve all manner of gourmet breakfast specialties. Read more…
Make Your Own Damn Sauce
There is no excuse for buying jarred pasta sauce from the supermarket.
“But I have no time.”
“But I barely know how to boil water.”
Nonsense.
This “recipe” is the gateway drug of home cooking. It is so easy, fast, and infinitely better than what you get from the jar. You will be amazed. Part of the secret is to use a decent olive oil (extra virgin, first cold pressed if you can find/afford it) and tasty canned crushed tomatoes. We use the Tuttorosso, but were long time fans of the Muir Glen yellow stripe. Read more…
Grilling v. Barbecue
Generally speaking:
One doesn’t barbecue a hamburger. Burgers get grilled.
Ribs often get grilled, but really they should be barbecued.
It’s almost summer, so if you are unclear on the concept, it’s time to get straightened out. Read more…
Fussy Manifesto
Being fussy is different than being a snob.
A snob will look down their nose at something simply because of what it is:
– Wine that costs less than $5 a bottle.
– Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.
– Diners.
A fussy person will just insist that whatever it is, it is the best of its kind that it can be, and will not settle for less. Sometimes the line can get a little fuzzy. And if you want to think of me as a snob, I can live with that.
But I do know what is good.
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