January 2007
Posted: Jan 30, 2007 12:13pm ET
I read David Myers’ blog on his wonderful experience at Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurant in Paris, and how the French chef is genius. And I agree with him wholeheartedly. The guy is genius. The problem is that his brilliance isn't always manifested on the plates that arrive at your table, especially in his other restaurants around the world.
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Posted: Jan 29, 2007 10:52am ET
It’s amazing how excited people get about pizza in Los Angeles. I went to Pizzeria Mozza over the weekend and the 60-seat restaurant was heaving with people. We could barely get into the door! In fact, it takes a month to reserve a table for dinner.
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Posted: Jan 26, 2007 4:38pm ET
I have seen and had my share of fake wines. I was having dinner the other night with Geddy Lee of Rush and he reminded me of the time we opened a bottle of 1961 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle that was bogus.
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Posted: Jan 25, 2007 6:29pm ET
I had a fun dinner last night at the restaurant Campanile with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of Rush. They are in Los Angeles finishing a new album that should be out very soon. Alex says it will be a new sound for Rush, “heavier and more powerful than before.
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Posted: Jan 24, 2007 3:16pm ET
Only a few things are better than a great steak and a fabulous glass of red. I have been to many of the best restaurants in the world, but some of the most satisfying gastronomic experiences have been a simple grilled piece of meat and a glass of red.
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Posted: Jan 23, 2007 12:54pm ET
Last weekend I was asked to retire with the men to partake in fine cigars and Vintage Port while the ladies chatted in the sitting room, and I was pinching myself a little bit. I couldn’t believe that my old high school buddy, Tom Unvert from Newport Harbor High School (I was known there as Jim Reordan), had finally conformed in Newport Beach to some of the civilized pleasures that I had learned while living in London.
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Posted: Jan 22, 2007 2:27am ET
James Laube shared some high-octane reds from his cellar over the weekend. And they were outstanding. They included 2004 Turley Petite Sirah Napa Valley Hayne Vineyard , 2004 Pride Syrah Sonoma County and 2002 Lewis Alec's Blend Napa Valley.
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Posted: Jan 19, 2007 1:19pm ET
I may have considered killing someone for a glass of good red last night, and James Laube would have been my accomplice. The two of us went up to St. Helena to celebrate the 60th birthday of none other than Mr.
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Posted: Jan 18, 2007 5:49pm ET
I have been in Napa for a couple of days now, visiting the magazine’s office, and I have a strange déjà vu sort of feeling when I walk the streets of downtown, which is a rare enough activity for car-crazed Californians who seem to drive everywhere.
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Posted: Jan 17, 2007 3:24pm ET
I tasted a couple dozen California reds yesterday with James Laube and Tim Fish in Wine Spectator 's Napa office, and I was struck by how many of the reds seemed slightly off or tainted. Most of the wines were Napa Valley Cabernets, but we also tasted Cabs from Sonoma.
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Posted: Jan 15, 2007 3:20pm ET
Sake: Are you as frustrated as I am with the stuff? I absolutely love sake, especially with great sashimi and sushi. I was at a supercool Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles this weekend that is completely off the radar.
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Posted: Jan 11, 2007 9:10pm ET
I bought the last two bottles of 1996 Dom Pérignon at the border of Honduras and Nicaragua. Doesn't that seem a little excessive? I got them at a bargain $120 a bottle. And 1996 is one of the best vintages ever.
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Posted: Jan 8, 2007 11:43pm ET
I arrived from Miami in Managua in good shape and was swiftly transported to lunch at a friend’s house. He used to live in France for a long time. He laid on an incredible lunch of crab soup. (Crab soup is something the locals eat to help hangovers … but we hadn’t even drunk anything yet!).
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Posted: Jan 8, 2007 9:17am ET
My children and I went to our last meal on Saturday before they had to return to England for school. I chose Carlito’s Gardel, the Argentine restaurant I like on Melrose in Los Angeles. I win all around here.
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Posted: Jan 5, 2007 10:22am ET
It was like we were at my home in Tuscany. My son, Jack, was speaking Italian to our waiter and joking with him that he should support the Florence soccer team instead of Torino’s Juventus, while my daughter Isabel was eating a pizza Margherita that looked thin, crunchy and delicious, like it had been made at our local pizzeria in San Giustino Valdarno.
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Posted: Jan 3, 2007 12:00pm ET
I arrived at my father's house in San Diego the other evening and there was an open magnum of wine sitting on the kitchen counter, with "Zin '05" marked on the side of the Burgundy-shaped bottle. "I wanted you to try this wine and let me know what you think," he said.
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Posted: Jan 1, 2007 1:53pm ET
HAPPY NEW YEAR. Where did 2006 go? I hope 2007 is a good year for everyone. I spent my New Year’s Eve at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Rancho Mirage and then at a movie with my 12-year-old son, Jack.
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