Red Is Life

Luke

There’s a big billboard - right pass the Super Dome – Lüke - A John Besh Restaurant – 10 foot high letters – my cynical New York knee jerk – Tourist Trap !! -  but - John Besh ?? - he's the  "It" chef of New Orleans – a James Beard Award winner – what’s going on –

Two days later – exploring New Orleans by car – cigar smoking – radio playing - NPR’s All Thing Considered – they interview John T Edge – a Mississippi food writer who i've read and written of before - and -  Brett Anderson – the food critic for the Time Picayune – NOLA –

"What’s new ??"... "What's hot ??" - the correspondent asked - amidst the responses – "Lüke"

Checked online – reviews from May when LUKE opened – table service "disjointed" enough to destroy the best meal – even as other reviews cited the food and flavors – ran it by the Concierge – “everything has been fixed” – drove uptown to Tulane for wife and daughter  - debate – agreement – go for it –

Only regret – we almost canceled – i.e. – what a meal !!!!

Not Treated Equally

The amount of federal aid provided to Mississippi and Louisiana is not proportional to the amount of damage each state suffered...

So states the independent GulfGov project -

BarVespa

100 wines by the glass - cheese bar - salumeria - panini bar - olive bar - Balthazar bread -

Just opened - two half blocks south of parent Vespa - 1609 Second Avenue btwn 83rd & 84th - 

Vineyards Are Forever

Wightman Cellars -  Tri Leopard Vineyards - Cabernet Sauvignon - 1996 - served at the Thursday tasting - an absolute home run - rich - balanced - on varietal - i.e. - everyone was able to figure out it was a Napa Cab - fragarant and engaging aroma - rich taste - dark color - but when I did my pre-tasting research - practically came up blank - even the phone number I found on the web - had been re-assigned to someone who answered - they're no longer here and we don't know where they went -

I somehow envision vineyards like artwork - vintages llke individual works - come and go - are good and not so good - occassionally downright bad - but the body of work - the vineyard itself - is forever -

Peter Luger

As comments on Red Ia Life's previous post - The Palm Is The Palm - proved out - no restaurant recommendation fires the emotions of New Yorkers more than naming their favorite steakhouse -

On any day - the knee jerk poll puts Peter Luger at the top of the class - but - as today's (9/19/07) Frank Bruni review -  The Original Masters of Blood and Butter  - documents - don't be so quick -  for while things can be as they have been - things may not be - and - the total package may be off - particularly when compared to the current landscape -

Bottom line - when Luger's is on - "No other steakhouse serves a porterhouse so breathtaking" - but even Bruni had to go back repeatedly before he could make that remark -

Its a good read -

L'automne Is Back

Copain's - L'automne - 2006 -

Wrote about this magnificent - affordable -  Pinot - a year ago - Find It Buy It -

This year is equally great - rich - fruit forward - 13.5 % alc. - smooth - tasting more mature than the label indicates -

Best of all - it appears to be available  - in NYC - Chambers Street Wine - Acker Merrall (West 72nd) - Westside Wine (83rd & Columbus) -

NOLA +2

New Orleans two weeks ago - just days before anniversary of Katrina +2 -

Pinot Paradise

LA via Beverly Hills - escaped the "compound" for a ride up the PCH - over Malibu Canyon - 101 North - zig - zag - Wades Wines -

Last visited this unique merchant in 2002 - "Pinot Paradise" in an industrial park - plus Cab - Chardonnay - even a touch of France -

Big web presence - they turned me onto The Prisoner - but there is nothing like being on-site - particularly with Wade - himself - to do the hand sell -

Got exactly what I was looking to experience - expert guidance to great wines from low production vineyards - unavailable in NYC - worth the trip -

Stay tuned for tasting reports -

Mandina's Great Come Back

Mandina's - great restaurant - great come back - Brett Anderson's great Times-Picayune article on its rebirth -

We were there two plus years ago - studied The Sazarac with Randy -

Wish them the best - and - its a great read -

Dante's Kitchen

My daughter raved about Dante's Kitchen all summer long - "when you come visit me at school - we have to go" -

Asked a New York based friend with a second house in the Garden District about Dante's - "I wanted to have my engagement party there" -

In NOLA to help "set up" for the new school year - parents of college students can translate "set up" for non college student parents - mentioned brunch at Dante's to her roommate - she lit up -

Sunday morning - we were there - exceeding its pre-press - amazing !!!!