The Celestial Adventures of a Gastronaut

NEW LOCATION

2009-07-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, new location, new look, same ole content. Come visit me at: http://gastronautadventures.wordpress.com

A Test

2009-05-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

Before I left the wine conference, I was allowed to take half a bottle of the Napa Cabernet home. JACKPOT! I let it sit out over night to get more air into the sacred grape-y liquid. A day later with 15 or so hours of decanting it was ready to drink. I bought a beautiful t-bone steak and I pan fried it in butter with a little salt and pepper to taste. By 7pm the wine had transformed dramatically. OH MY, my first kiss from this wine had the aromas of fine leather shoes. It tasted like a freshly tared driveway that was pelted with a million ripe plumbs and flaked between layers of oak. The colour was beautiful, it almost had a red brick quality, thank you oxygen. Slurp wine, swallow wine, insert steak, chew steak, repeat. The steak was good, rare, just the way I like it. Back to the wine, my last sip was the most epic. The wine had brought back those dark cherry notes, it had a creamy mid palate with that hint of green pepper, it had a deep soil and dirt component and on the finish it was silky smooth. SO COMPLEX! The tannins had mellowed out and were pleasantly smooth, the dryness had developed into a layered wine adventure. To say the least, it was a beautiful transformation. The wine went perfectly with the steak, the pairing was just what I needed to celebrate a job well done. Not only did I get to torture my housemates by teasing them with my steak and red wine, but I took my own magic carpet ride through the transformation of an excellent wine.

California Wine Fair

2009-05-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Last month, I was invited to represent the Silver Oak table at the California Wine Institute's Wine Fair at The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. It was a dream come true. I've been wanting to work in the wine industry for months now and this is my shot, my first chance to wow them, to show the big leagues what I have to offer. I showed up, I opened my bottles to breathe and then before I knew it, it was lunch time.

Course One: tuna carpaccio with a green olive tapenade, a drizzle of olive oil and a big stemmed green olive in the centre of the plate. This course was a great start to the meal, it prepped my stomach, my mouth is salivating, and I am ready for more.

When you're at a wine conference you have to taste everyone else's wine. Who ever happens to be the wine representative at your table, he/she starts cracking open their bottles. My boss started opening some of the wine he is quite proud of. He represents four wineries at this show, Jordan, Cline, Jacuzzi, and Silver Oak. He opened a bottle of Jordan Chardonnay that in my opinion was a little over oaked, accompanying the oak was a lot of butter in that glass with a fain taste of smoke. It was pretty one dimensional, when I was sipping this wine it felt as though all of the other flavours were overwhelmed by the oak.

Course Two: lamb, with heirloom beets, extra thin beans done in butter, with a bean salad melody. The lamb was great, my boss accompanied the lamb with a big glass of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was beautiful, leathery, silky, fine tannins, and it definitely held up well to the lamb. Great Red.

Between courses my job was to run back to the conference room to set up ice buckets to chill down all of the white wine for the four wineries my boss represents. It wasn't a big deal, I tend to inhale my food, so I am usually the first person done at my table anyways. I got the ice, everything was chillin' and I made my way back downstairs for the cheese course.

Cheese: we were served three Quebec cheeses with all of the fixings: grapes, a walnut-y dark rye style bread, and nuts. Nuts, cheese, grapes, soft buttery cheese, and white wine, absolutely delectable. There was a big ole piece of stinky blue cheese on the plate that I tried first with a big gulp of my left over Cabernet, it was just the right pairing to bring me back to my childhood dining room. As a child, an over bearing french man accompanied by my father would teach me the finer details of pairing gorgonzola and premier grand cru Margaux. Now you all can see that from a young age I was trained to be a foodie and oenophile.

Dessert: a chocolate mousse cup with a kirsch dipped cherry. More Cabernet with the chocolate only because it just felt right, and I love Cabernet and chocolate.

Once the food was done we rushed back up stairs to man our stations so the sommeliers and restauranteurs could come, try the wine, ask questions, and hopefully buy some. All of the professionals would be out by 5pm, it was now 2pm. A second round of people were coming in at 7pm, the general public who are there to learn, mingle, try some appetizers, and of course, drink some wine.

I was serving up a 2004 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet. A majority of the people were perplexed by this situation. "Why are you serving the same wine twice?", I was asked. I had to assure them that they are two totally different wines, from different areas, with different recipes. I had to share with the people the differences. The Alexander Valley Cabernet's crop is found in Sonoma Country, it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon as opposed to the Napa Cabernet which is more of a Bordeaux blend. The Napa Cabernet is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. The people tried both, and an alarming amount thought the wine I was serving was the best in show. I didn't think much of the first sip of the Alexander Valley Cabernet. I double decanted each bottle and funneled the wine back into the bottle. After this process took place, I noticed a great difference, there is some merit to what those guys at Silver Oak are doing. My question is, can you not get the same value in a $50 bottle, dare I say in a $30 bottle? Do I really need to fork over $87 at the SAQ to get this sort of value in a wine? Most definitely not. Could I get the age ability and the depth of flavours somewhere else? Probably yes. Over priced, yes I think so, mind you it is a cult wine. Californians line up at the vineyard to buy these wines, they sell out every year. The high prices are more likely due to the sheer demand for their wine and Silver Oak's policy to maintain small yields, therefore limiting supply and driving the price higher.

If the Alexander Valley Cabernet was showing a little weak due to the price point, what does this leave for the Napa Cabernet? Well, being double the price of the Alexander Valley, it sets a precedent. This is the big leagues and this wine is meant to be cellared for 15 or more years. My first encounter with this wine led me to believe that this wine really needs a steak. There is a typical cherry and cassis nose, there was a nutmeg and white pepper mid palate, and there was a green pepper, or vegetal finish. The finish was long. It seemed like it blissfully lingered in your mouth for minutes. This is a good wine. I heard from many people that it was the best in show, which is pretty damn good when Mondavi, Duckhorn, Hess, and Stags Leap are all there. Silver Oak is one of those wines that people like, and they like it a lot. Every 15 minutes someone would come up to me and say, "oh, I have 3 bottles of the '97 left.",or "oh, this is way better than the '01 I have. " These people love this wine and they know their stats. I had to baffle them with the bullshit I memorized from the Silver Oak website. Ooops, I guess the secrets out, but then again, that is one of those many talents I picked up at school.

I luckily had been to a majority of the wineries that were present at this conference. It was cool to see what was going on. I mingled, I networked, and sold three cases of wine, all in all it was a good day at the office.

Le Muscadin

2009-04-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to a place that feels so familiar that you've been there 1000 times before? It is kind of like that place you used to hang out at, you moved away, came back 10 years later, and it has never lost a beat. I just experienced that. I went to this restaurant called Le Muscadin. It used to be on St. Paul in Old Montreal. What an institution. In my opinion it was the landmark Italian restaurant in Montreal. Excellent food, great portions and it was a truly rustic Italian experience. Though they've changed location it has the same feel. It's like walking in and feeling I've been here before, even though I haven't. It was a great feeling. My family and I walked in, they took our coats, we sat down at a great table. In my opinion it was the Godfather table. We sat with our backs away from the door, we had a pure clean view of whoever was in the restaurant and who ever is coming into the restaurant. Reason being, so you can kill the dude coming in before they try and kill you. We haven't eaten in this establishment in about ten years, we asked about said owner, he is still around but is on leave due to a hip surgery. It is all fine and dandy. We ordered a great bottle of Barolo. A 2003 Paolo Conterno. We sat, had the wine decanted and enjoyed an aperitif. I had a 1/2 and 1/2 white and red Cinzano with a twist. It was sweet, it was dry, it was perfectly layered so you could see the amber bottom of the red vermouth, the clear white vermouth top with the ice, and the knotted twist of lemon. Simple, classic and just the way I life it. I am ready to eat. A bowl of bread came. It was literally a circular loaf of bread, cut through the equator, and topped with a beautiful olive oil, tomato slices, salt, parsley, and oregano. It was light. When you bit into the bread, the cunchy warm crust cracks like snapping a stick over your leg, next comes the light airy middle, and finally the tomato, salt, parsley and oregano topping. I'm salivating. I can't fill up on this bread ... it's so good ... ok fine, I will have another slice. I salivate more. Oh thank God ...

Course One: Escargots in a white wine cream sauce. Wowza, so rich, there must be a pint of cream in this. It was a nice way to start the meal. The escargots were al dente and the richness of the sauce was spot on to balance the chewiness of the escargots. These guys know what they're doing. It was a creamy rich and chewy delight. I wanted more, I licked my plate clean. I was chomping at the bit, but it was time to try the wine ... oooh, a distraction.

The Barolo, it had been decanting for 45 minutes now and you could smell the aromatics coming from the glass across the table. For some reason, just by catching the faint wiff from my place in front of me, I knew this was going to be a good one. Regardless of the name and the connotations that come with Barolo, just the scent I got from across the table, I knew the wine was off the chart. I brought the glass closer. It was opening up, I could get some black cherries. as I got my nose further into the glass in the hopes of getting more of the fumes into my narrow nasal passages I could get a dirty dust, it felt like I got stuck in a sandstorm. There was a sandstorm of dust and soil in my nose. I could smell the heat, the alcohol seeping from this wine. You could see it in the legs, big sultry legs hugging the glass, it was 14.5% alcohol. That's a big wine. It's like walking down the street and brushing shoulders with a football player and being nearly dropped to the floor in the process. This wine will knock your ass on the ground if you aren't careful. Now a taste, ok now you taste those cherries, a little acidity in the mid palate with a sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper, more of that dirty dust and a long tannic finish. This wine needs time, we opened it early. The tannins felt like someone was taking a metal ruler and scraping my tongue. I could feel the tannins all over the inside of my cheeks and back to my molars. All I could feel and think of was this astringently dry sensation. This dryness that has taken over my mouth was exciting. we let the wine sit until our food came.

Course Two: I had veal scaloppini flambed in cognac and cream with porcini mushrooms. Dare I say rich again? The wine went perfectly with the veal, the mushrooms, the cognac, it was beautiful. There were three stocks of asparagus on the plate that were nicely rolled in butter, and these neat cubes of butternut squash that were cubed, salted and sort of citrus-y. You couldn't believe me if I told you, but it was citrus-y. These cubes were crunchy which was the awesome part. I had this beautiful veal that was a melt in your mouth, the mushrooms were al dente, we had crisp asparagus, crunchy butternut squash cubes, and the garlic mashed potatoes that were perfectly piped for your viewing pleasure. I think the balance of the textures on the plate were pretty good.

Dessert: I had this decent chocolate cake. Half was ganache, the rest was portioned between the actual cake part. You know, the normal cake-y stuff, but then there were layers of chocolate mousse. I had to have the chocolate because I had a little Barolo left. Red wine and chocolate, it makes me drool Homer Simpson style. I was stretching these last few drops in my glass. It was heaven.

Espresso: brewed to perfection, creamy head and hot as the dickens.

Grappa Time: Amazing and grappa have never really coincided before in my vocabulary. These high-test alcoholic experiences are usually like having rocket fuel being poured down your throat with that unforgettable burn that is only pleasurable for masochists and 151 proof rum aficionados. This grappa was not like that. This special production grappa called Poli Grappaioli. You could actually smell the grapes used to distill this drink. You could smell a hint of the warming alcohol but nothing that will burn your nose hairs off. When you sipped it and let your saliva mingle with the grappa it produced an oily texture and when you swallowed it, it was all warmth, no burn, and a white grape finish. It was pleasurable and the most amazing grappa / eau de vie experience of my life.

On the way out, our waiter gave my mom a red rose, and a hearty good bye from our Le Muscadin friends. It was an exciting, eventful, and educational evening out. Something that all good nights out should be about, learning, eventfulness, being satiated, and having fun with friends and family.

Au Pied de Cochon

2009-03-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

I was thinking as I walk down Duluth, It's been five years in the making ... I've dreamed about eating at this restaurant for five long years. I've wanted to bask in all things foie gras and pork related. As I walk through the glass door I can hear the roar of the people. Its packed. "Allo", the kind girl said, "ouais, reservation pour 1 ... Russo", I answered ... "en ce moment svp", she said. I waited ... took off my coat. She waved me over and look-y here I am bar side with a prime view of the kitchen. As soon as I sat down after putting my coat on the hook someone was there to help me. "Something to drink?" ... I pleaded, "I'm having a difficult decision of choosing something to go with the cassoulet or the duck in a can? ... the waiter said, "we're out of the cassoulet" decision made. "Ok, so pinot noir with the duck then?", I asked. The waiter said, "I have a great gamay if you'd like to try?" I said, "bring it on." He brought over this gamay ... it was so tempting I couldn't say no. I took a sniff ... currant ... swirl ... sniff ... ahhh cherries, hibiscus ... vanilla ... now a sip ... acidic at the front of the pallet, black pepper in the middle and a smooth medium length finish. It was delightful. Very well balanced. He said the duck would be about twenty minutes ... so what did I do? I sat back and watched the show. The kitchen entertainment was enough for me. It was a throw back to my dishwashing days at the Inn ... it seemed that everyone was in the juice, going full tilt like a well oiled machine. Chef Picard was doing the diplomatic thing making sure everyone was satisfied with their meal ... he walked around the restaurant like an endearing host. He even took a moment to say hi to a fan boy like myself.

Course 1 - amuse bouche ... it was a foie gras cube that I had to wait till it cooled because of the molten foie gras centre. I waited a minute and popped that sucker back. I bit into the cube and foie exploded in my mouth almost shooting out to attack one of the line cooks in the face, but I saved myself from the embarrassment. It was good. I wish I had sauternes to go with it but whatever, it was good with the gamay. I finished my first glass before my duck came out but thankfully glass two came promptly.

Course 2 - Canard en Conserve, the presentation was genius. My server came by and served me this large plate with a piece of toast and a beautiful cheese on top. He brought with him this can emblazoned on it was the au pied do cochon logo. He brought a can opener, opened it in front of me and took the can over the toast and dumped it. The steaming duck, foie gras, and braised vegetables piled over the taost in this heavely display of dinner. I immediately dug in. The duck ... perfectly medium rare. Quite an amazing feat considering they cooked the whole damn thing in the can. I scooped some of the duck, foie, veg, and toast on my fork, I piled it into my mouth and it was absolutely luxurious. Orgasmic comes to mind ... the way the gamay, the duck, the sauce, and the foie worked together to attack my mouth was what dreams are made of. It was the most rustic, humble, genuine, and innovative duck i've ever had. There were sprigs of thyme throughout the sauce, but everything was just so tender and so flavourful that there was no way you couldn't eat every last bite. The portions are generous ... any farmer who is looking to get full, or even grotesquely full would be quite happy if you could even finish a 3 course meal here. I just had the duck and I was begging for mercy. Well, I knew I was filling up so I thought to myself ... do as the Norman's do ... a shot of calvados. So I ordered their youngest Calvados by the glass, the 3yr old Roger Groult. AMAZING! Spiced apple with a creamy finish. I can literally feel why they call it a digestif ... I suddenly feel capable of attacking dessert.

Course 3 - I ordered a baked apple pie. It was a piece of bread and on top was a cored and pealed apple with walnuts in the middle and it looked as though half of the peal was baked on top with browned butter. I've never seen anything like it before. Baked apple, and the calvados went together perfectly ... dare I say another orgasmic experience? ... Two in one night, how lucky can I get. I still feel that the apple pie was slightly over shadowed by the duck in a can. How often can you say you say that the best meal you've had in months came out of a can?

At the end of the meal Chef Picard came around to make sure everything was up to par. We talked shop and he suggested I stop writing what was going on around me and just love. Maybe there is a lesson to learn out of all of this. Food isn't supposed to be that serious, its a gustatory pleasure, for me, beyond pleasure, Picard is right ... its love. I should sit back and eat foie gras ... there is nothing better. So lets enjoy it for what it is, pure delightful rich fatty duck liver in all its glory ... so tender, so ooy gooy that you could spread it on your toast in the morning ... now thats what I call breakfast! Foie gras is one of my guilty pleasures and I know from now on there is only one place I want to go to get my fix ... au pied de cochon.

The restaurant url:

www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca

Watch them open the duck in a can table side:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=llUGqul4TtQ

A Lucky SAQ Find

2009-03-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

February 28th 2009, I came back to the city early for a breakfast meeting for my Organizational Behaviour course and after the meeting I decided to go exploring downtown Montreal. I popped in and out of stores but there is always one store that I go into and dream. You know the one, you just walk up and down the aisles and dream of the stuff you could have. Well, for me it's the SAQ signature on St. Catherine. The upstairs is full of spirits ... beautiful spirits, 50, 60, 70 year old cognacs ... eau de vie's from Chateau Mouton Rothschild ... it makes me shutter when I think about it.

Downstairs you will find the wine cellar. This isn't any old dainty basement ... this is a serious collectors dream. As you walk down the stairs you see big bottle formats of Chateau D'Yquem, Montrachet, Meursault, Chateau Palmer, HEAVEN! So I get to the bottom of the stairs and I see a Biondi-Santi display ... hmmm interesting ... I look around an there are people holding glasses of wine ... even more interesting. I was thinking to myself, um, am I intruding on a function? I step off the last stair and I walk down my favourite section ... the Bordeaux rows. I am walking and walking and I realize its not a private tasting, they're giving it out to everyone ... for free. So I walk over, the clerk says, "would you like some?" I nodded with a big smile on my face. They were serving the 2001 Biondi-Santi Brunello. It lists in this SAQ for $175 a bottle. FANTASTIC! How did I get so lucky ...? I brought the glass to my nose for a big sniff ... I immediately nosed the red fruit and the earth, the terroir, a very faint sent of the barn but it still was closed. I swirled it around the glass but it didn't help me get anything else out of the nose. This wine needed 10 years plus to open up, or perhaps 8 or 9 hours in a decanter. In an attempt to aerate the wine, I walked through the store dreaming of the stuff I want to buy if I had the money. Well, the ream of trying this one is over.

There was a Montreal wine rep present and someone from the Biondi-Santi vineyard in the cellar. I talked with the wine rep for a few moments telling him my affiliation with the brand. I had tried the 1998 reserve 5 years ago and it was splendid. Luckily I still have one left. They were rather impressed that a young guy like me had even tried it. They were telling me it was a great vintage and will mature for at least 70 more years. I told them that I think it needed a little bit more air because as I walked through the store the wine was becoming more and more fragrant. I was picking up tobacco notes and that barn smell was even more present. Beautiful beautiful wine, decision made, if I ever stumble upon $200 I know what I'm buying to put a sleep for 15 years... Biondi-Santi 2001 Brunello.

The Not so modern Hangover Helper

2009-03-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Consciousness: check. Pounding headache: check. Stomach cramps: check. Dry mouth: check. Will to do nothing: check.

All right, I have a hangover. Currently, I'm doing my normal hangover routine, lying in bed and yelling obscenities until my roommates wake up. When I opened my eyes this morning, I found myself in my bed. Left look, right look: all right, no passed-out drunk people are in bed with me. So I leave my room and go for the powdered Gatorade in the kitchen. But alas, there's none left.

What next?

Well, if any of you are as lazy as I am when hung over, Stooley's is your answer. I drag myself back to my room to find my pants and jet out the door to Stooley's. When I sit down in a booth, a waitress asks what I would like to drink. I stare at her blankly for five seconds. She can tell I'm hung over.

"Just water then?" she asks. "Wait a second," I reply.

I search the menu and the words "hangover helpers" stand out. I ask for one: "lava juice"-two raw eggs, Clamato juice, and Tabasco. The result, however, is not very pleasant.

What was I thinking? Raw eggs? I feel like I'm going to vomit from the amount of beer I drank the previous night. So I pipe up and say, "can you give me a splash of beer in that juice? I'm gonna need it." She comes back and I see those two raw eggs floating in that Clamato juice like two jelly fish in an ocean of liquid tomatoes. Just looking at it makes me want to vomit. As my headache's pulsating beat begins to speed up I take that tall glass and chug it down.

Texture: interesting. Taste: Clamato and beer. Hangover: still present. Dammit! It didn't work. I wave over the waitress. "Give me rye toast and that Spanish omelette, do you have that?" She nods. "Perfect, oh and 3 glasses of water and some OJ on the side too, please." I chug back the first two glasses, and sip on the third, waiting. Fifteen minutes later, the waitress magically appears with my omelette and I quickly chow down on my omelette. As soon as those sweet, sweet eggs hit my stomach, the cramps instantly went away. As I sipped on the orange juice, my hydration came back and that disgusting dry mouth was gone. I almost feel back in order except one thing: that headache. As I am finishing my last piece of rye toast, however, the pulsing headache slows down to non-existence.

Yes, I win! In the mater of 45 minutes I went from raging hangover to calm. I just divided and conquered the hangover - well, thanks to Stooley's.