Pie In The Sky

The Plate

When in Rome, do as the Romans do: Eat your pasta first. At La Ninfa restaurant, we start with a baked rigatoni, stacked with four layers of homemade pasta sandwiching thin slices of eggplant and molten mozzarella. And while our main course of fresh, flaky salmon is tasty, we will never forget the dessert: tiramisù with about a quarter-inch of cocoa powder on top. It’s so light and creamy that it disappears in our mouths like champagne bubbles. We’ll never be able to eat tiramisù again without thinking of this one perfect slice.

—Waynette Goodson

LA NINFA RESTAURANT AND BAR, HOTEL MAJESTIC ROMA, VIA VITTORIO VENETO, 50 ROME; 39-06-421-441; www.hotelmajestic.com

The Cocktail

Who knew that the most glamorous and historic palace hotel in Paris could also be the hottest new thing in town? At Le Meurice the buzz is on, thanks to a whimsical yet elegant redesign by guru Philippe Starck, who preserved the hotel’s glamour while injecting a good dollop of 21st-century Parisian pizazz. Three-Michelin-Star chef Yannick Alléno presides at the restaurant and at the new Dalí, a chic lobby eatery that is attracting the young see-and-be-seen crowd for all-day light dining (pasta made of vegetables instead of flour, for instance). And cocktails, of course: One sip of the signature Starcky, and you’ll feel very bon chic, bon genre indeed. Sante!

—Mary Alice Kellogg

LE MEURICE, 228 RUE DE RIVOLI, PARIS; 33-1-44-58-10-10; www.lemeurice.com

Le Starcky
1 tsp. fresh ginger
Mint leaves
1 tsp. sugar
4 oz. champagne

Crush ginger, mint leaves and sugar together in the bottom of a martini glass. Add champagne and garnish with a mint leaf.

Order of the Day

What Paul Pacult’s Pouring

THE TORRENT OF TORRONTÉS FROM ARGENTINA

The white grape known as torrontel or, more familiarly, torrontés, is making noise in 2008. The clamor comes as much from the sighs of relief from Argentine winemakers as from the applause of worldwide wine drinkers, who are gradually taking a liking to this whippet-lean, fragrant white that so easily couples with freshwater fish, seafood and the traditionally spicy cuisines of Thailand, Korea, India and China.

Wines made from the torrontés riojano and torrontés sanjuanino Vitis vinifera strains bring to mind a couple of other aroma-forward whites, viognier and muscat, but are typically easier on the budget than wines produced from those two varietals. DNA research points to a familial relationship with another aromatic grape variety, malvasia, one of the hallowed grape types used to make madeira. With pedigree to burn, how can torrontés go wrong?

 

TRIVENTO SELECT 2007 TORRONTÉS; RIVADAVIA, MENDOZA, ARGENTINA ($11)

The flowery, orange-blossom-and-rose-like fragrance alone is worth the money. The taste profile is wiry, tart and softly doused with traces of pineapple and banana. My white wine choice for midspring entertaining. Goes well with tangy tandoori chicken or chicken in sesame-peanut sauce. (out of a possible five)

GREENPOINT 2007 PINOT NOIR ROSÉ; VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA ($16)

This intensely pink wine’s strawberry-patch bouquet won me over instantly. But, in the end, it was the stone-dry and astringent taste of barely ripe red cherry and red currant that put it in this month’s column. Serve it with any dish, from tuna salads to strip steak Provençale. Whoever says that pinot noir can’t make sturdy rosés hasn’t visited Greenpoint.

 

ADEGAS D’ALTAMIRA SELECCION 2006 ALBARIÑO; RIAS BAIXAS, SPAIN ($25)

Albariño is a hidden jewel of a thick-skinned grape that thrives in the cool dampness of Galicia in northwest Spain. This wine’s naturally mineral-like, florist-shop aroma reminds me slightly of nectarines. Its flavor is crisp, acidic and refreshing. Pair it with fried breaded shrimp “popcorn” as a snack, or with pan-fried halibut with brown butter for a supremely satisfying meal.

 

DOMAINE JESSIAUME 2005 SANTENAY GRAVIERÈS ROUGE; BURGUNDY, FRANCE($38)

With an average age of 35 years, the vines that produce the pinot noir grapes for this spicy red burgundy are also responsible for its mature character. Its medium-bodied textural profile makes it an ideal predinner match for mild cheeses, such as Port Salut, or for informal munchy things such as deviled eggs. Yum.

 

GARY FARRELL 2005 PINOT NOIR, STARR RIDGE VINEYARD-DIJON CLONES; RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY, SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA ($50)

The majestic ruby red color and dried-flower (violets) bouquet make for intriguing beginnings. This thoroughbred breaks into full gallop, however, in the mouth as tight tannins allow just enough of the blackberry jam flavor to enchant the taste buds. Match it tonight either with braised lamb shanks or boneless pork roast with jus lié. Lay a second bottle down for three to four years.

Find out what else F. Paul Pacult’s pouring at www.spiritjournal.com.

 

Interview With a Beer Sommelier

How’s this for a job description: drink beer, taste beer with food, talk about beer. Well, that’s all on the heady and daily to-do list of the self-anointed Beer Chick, 35-year-old Christina Perozzi—a former Web site designer, musician and environmental consultant based in Santa Monica, California.

SKY: How did you become a beer sommelier?
CHRISTINA PEROZZI: I was working unhappily as an environmental consultant, and I kind of begged a friend to get me a job at this beer bar she was working at.
SKY: And?
CP: To become a bartender there you had to learn about the beers, because all the beers there were artisan and craft brews. So I started reading about beer. I kind of saw it as cultural anthropology. I started home brewing and just totally became the biggest beer geek.
SKY: Is this Beer Chick persona simply shrewd marketing, or do you actually prefer a good beer to a fine wine?
CP: I don’t think you need to be one or the other, really. Sometimes, beer can pair better with a dish than wine possibly could.
SKY: Some examples?
CP: Ethnic foods and spicy foods have always been difficult wine pairings. Some great beers, like wit beers and wheat beers that can really cool the palate, complement really spicy foods. Mole, a Mexican chocolate sauce, can be complemented with some really great black beers and smoky rausch beers.
SKY: You’ve said this: “C’mon girls. Life is short! Date a bad boy, but don’t drink a bad beer.” What’s your beef with lite beer?
CP: You’re drinking a beer, right? You’re not getting your picture taken with it. Budweiser has only 35 calories more than Bud Light; you burn that sleeping for a half-hour.
SKY: What are the two biggest myths about beer?
CP: The first is that dark beer is bitter and heavy and high alcohol content, when really, the color of the beer has nothing to do with how much alcohol is in the beer or how bitter it will taste. It has only to do with to what degree the malt or grains have been roasted. Myth number two is that you should put a lemon in wheat beer, which is akin to putting Heinz 57 on a filet mignon.
SKY: What do you like most about beer?
CP: You can be having the best beers in the world and they’re not costing you $1,200 a bottle. For $8.99 you can open a bottle of beer brewed by monks who have been making it in their abbey the same way for hundreds of years.
SKY: Are more women drinking beers these days?
CP: There’s been a masculinization of the beer industry—women in bikinis dancing around. The ads appeal to this male sexual fantasy in almost every beer commercial. It’s no wonder women are running from those kinds of images.

—John Grossmann

5 Fab Restaurants for Cheese

Restaurants in Europe have always served cheese as part of a proper meal, and now U.S. restaurateurs have discovered the cheese course in a big way. Almost every new restaurant offers a cheese or two as a dessert alternative, but some, like the five that follow, lavish as much care on the cheese as on every other aspect of fine dining.
(Prices reflect a three-course dinner for one, without wine, tax or tip.)

ARTISANAL 2 Park Avenue, New York City; 212-725-8585; www.artisanalbistro.com; $60

Chef-restaurateur Terrance Brennan pioneered the lavish cheese course at his first restaurant, Picholine, near Lincoln Center. At Artisanal, in midtown, he builds his entire restaurant menu around more than 250 cheeses, kept in peak condition in a fromagerie overseen by cheesemeister Sean Faeth. The French bistro food is hearty, the place has great bonhomie, the options for cheese overload are bewildering, and you can purchase cheese to take home, too.

THE OAKROOM Seelbach Hilton Hotel, 500 Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky; 502-807-3463; www.seelbachhilton.com; $75

The majestic Oakroom in Louisville’s landmark Seelbach Hilton (where F. Scott Fitzgerald set Daisy Buchanan’s wedding in The Great Gatsby) is one of the finest restaurants in the South, and Executive Chef Todd Richards is dedicated to using Kentucky and Ohio Valley products as much as possible. So after polishing off a “Trifecta of Lamb”—with spaghetti squash, white chocolate purée and blueberry/red wine reduction—try some of the local cheeses, including a smoked Port du Salut–style cheese made by Trappist monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky.

GARY DANKO 800 North Point Street, San Francisco; 415-749-2060; www.garydanko.com; $65

According to chef Gary Danko, every night at least 30 percent of his guests order cheese at his California-French restaurant. That’s why he has two carts rolling through this elegantly appointed dining room near the Aquatic Park, each mounted with up to 20 cheeses. Many are from standout California fromageries like Humboldt Fog and Cowgirl Creamery, alongside unusual French, Spanish, even Tasmanian cheeses.

PATINA 141 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles; 213-972-3331; www.patinagroup.com /patina; $70

Inside the Frank Gehry–designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, Patina is one of L.A.’s true haute cuisine restaurants—evident in its exceptional wine list and in its cheese service. Up to 40 items are arrayed on its beautiful cart, such as Capricious cheese from Eureka, California; sweet Gorgonzola from Lombardy, Italy; and Wabash Cannonball from Indiana.

L’ESPALIER 30 Gloucester Street, Boston; 617-262-3023; www.lespalier.com; $75

Located in an 1880 Back Bay townhouse (at least until a move planned for this summer), this eminent French restaurant has epitomized fine dining in Boston since 1978. Chef/owner Frank McClelland is serious about his service of Nantucket scallops with pink grapefruit, and Skip’s Island Creek oysters with champagne gelée. He’s equally serious about his goat’s cheese soufflé with spinach and pine nut purée, and the Victorian silver tray of “Grandes Fromages,” with cheeses like Berkshire Blue from Great Barrington, Massachusetts, all overseen by cheese master Louis Risoli.

—John Mariani