Red Is Life

Absinthe Or Blowfish

"They're pouring Absinthe..." swept the tasting floor - prompting my change of course for a miniscule plastic cup filled with the elixar - sipped then tossed back - interesting - complex - different - just don't get it - though in all fairness - have never set out to do a Toulouse Lautrec - i.e.- total inebriation via Absinthe distilled from the maximum allowable amount of wormwood - consuming beverage - until recently -  "banned world wide" -

With "Forbidden" Absinthe as a base reference - click over to Adam Platt's - To Die For - in New York Magazine this week - May 5, 2008 - where he goes one better - eating - experiencing is a better word - deadly Blowfish (tiger fugu) - in particular - shira-ko - a.k.a. - the engorged fugu sperm sac - you can fee Platt's "numbness" as each bite provokes thoughts of "am I about to die" & "in for a penny - in for a pound" -

Getting paid to be a food critic - may be the fantasy - after reading - To Die For - you'll want to "keep the day job" -

Wildwood

220 seats for BBQ & Bourbon - beer if you insist - 18th & Park Avenue South -

WIldwood's space is large - bar is long - bourbon selection is deep - menu is maturing -

Too cute for hardcore BBQ aficionados - but they will do great -

Planning return visit - if only to work through the rest of the brown spirits -

Not A Plain Jane

Jane is an American bistro on Houston Street - very simple decor - very good food - nice selection of wine -

Casamento's

Among the oyster obsessed - Casamento's is close to the Holy Grail - a must stop on the NOLA circuit -

Driving down Magazine - the storefront is small - if you blink - you'll miss it - and - like any celebrity - access is almost impossible - hours are limited - lunch - tues thru sat - 11:00 thru 2:00 - dinner - thur-fri-sat - 5:30 thru 9:00 - the season is limited - they close for the entire summer - everyone wants to go - there is a line in front BEFORE the doors open -

Tried for lunch on Thursday - missed by 15 minutes - this time - had to make it -

Mandina Redux

Drive down Canal - way down Canal - away from the lights of French Quarter - into what appears to be the deserted part of town - your mental images of the aftermath of Katrina heightening the sense desolation - when the colored lights appear - far off on the left - first as a flicker - then beacons of light - beckoning - finally - the pink box with slight overhang of a building - Mandina's -

BullDog Tavern

Late NOLA lunch - first choice Casamento's - we were too late - second choice - just plain closed - third choice - BullDog Tavern - yes they were still serving -

Pinot & Cubans

Invited for a cigar - perhaps some wine - maybe dinner - to the Grand Havana Room - used to be Top of the Sixes - 39 floors above 5th Avenue -

More Musical Chairs

More restaurants - closing - rumored to be closing - opening -

Not Just More Pizza

Columbus Bakery closed - renovations started immediately in the space - "another pizza shop" - resignation rushed through the neighborhood -

Dorothy & John's Mis-Adventure

Tastings - Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher's - class - weekly - Wall Street Journal wine column - took to four - 4-Star - New York City restaurants - Le Bernardin - Jean Georges - Daniel - Per Se - ordering food tasting menus with "paired" wine tasting menus - the results are eye opening - rarely does the first line of a review at this level  include the words - "... cautionary tale"

An Unlucky Pairing - Ordering The Tasting Menu Can Mean Being Treated Like A Rube - 022908 - WSJ