Category Archives: de cibo

More pizza porn…

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Here are some of the pizza pairings suggested in the wake of last week’s post, Pizza, pairing, and Pasolini. I’ve also posted some more pizza pornography just for the fun of it…

Haven’t found great pizza in Austin yet but I’m still looking!

I’m trying to get Tracie B to make me my favorite pizza: alla bassanese (the way they make it in Bassano del Grappa), with white asparagus and a fried egg in the middle. I bet that Texas Espresso’s Italian has had it that way (he’s from Monselice in the eastern Veneto, not too far from Bassano).

Thanks, everyone for the pairings! And special thanks to Dr. V for getting the whole thing cooking…


A16 (San Francisco)

I know that only Italians (and only a very small bunch of them) will follow me….try CHINOTTO (the best alternative to coke in the world).
— Francesco (Vinonostrum)

I am partial to Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Zinfandel, Brindisi, and Salice Salentino with pizza.
— Thomas (Vino Fictions)

A16 bis (San Francisco)

I’m Italian and live in Italy, but I don’t have a PhD in Italian. Like Big Moz said, going to the pizzeria is the normal get-together- not only for young people. I’ve never seen anyone order wine with pizza unless it’s someone who doesn’t drink beer at all (in which case of seen them order the house red wine). No doubt about it, beer is usually drunk with pizza.
— Matteo

One of my first loves with pizza back in my ‘tator days was Renato Ratti Dolcetto. The play of the Dolcetto fruit and acidic tomato sauce was awesome! These days I have fallen in love with well-made lambrusco, and that for me is the best mach I can think of at the moment. Try “Acino” Lambrusco from Corte Manzini, or even their base level Lambrusco Secco… PERFECT!
— Wayne (The Buzz)

Da Vinci (Bensonhurst, Brooklyn)

I know it’s not so Napolitano but old fashioned Barbera sound pretty good to me. On the other hand, some Frappato is not so bad.
— Alice (Appellation Feiring)

The combination of pizza with wine is endless, as both can carry such a broad range of subtle flavors, textures and aromas. From Chianti to Amarone, and the Ribera del Duero mentioned [below]. Even when it’s not a perfect match, there is still chemistry, like a relationship that doesn’t work, it still has much to offer.
— Global Patriot

Lucali (Carrol Gardens, Brooklyn)

When we make pizza, as we are going to tonight since we are freezing out posteriors off, I like to drink a Nero d’Avola or a Puglese red with some stuffing. My significant spouse usually goes with Zin or a red Rhone. Try a decent red Rioja or Ribera del Duero sometime.
— Marco (Anima Mundi)

My preference for a perfect pizza partner is either Piedirosso or Précoce d’Espagna.
— Alfonso (On the Wine Trail in Italy)

La Pizza Fresca (Gramercy, Manhattan)

You can pair pizza with many Italian white wines (like Falanghina, or Lacrima Christi, or Soave), and overall with some good rosé wines from Apulia (Negroamaro grape) or Abruzzo (Montepulciano grape).
— Franco (Vino al Vino)

Ok, cold nastro azzuro on draft aside, you musta to dreenk a frothy gragnano (all of you northerners are suggesting lambrusco, how about its cugino meridionale? doesn’t it just make more sense? this is the pairing of tradition with the panuozzi of the eponymous city). Or, agreeing with franco, a crisp and fruity falanghina would be my second choice.
— Tracie B

Personally the only thing I ever want with my pizza is a cold European beer (preferably Menabrea), though if the wine in question was Lini’s Labrusca Rosso I could perhaps be swayed…
— James Taylor (VinoNYC)

Emozionante! Produttori del Barbaresco Pora 2004

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Above: No mixed emotions for me when it comes to 2004 Produttori del Barbresco. This is the stuff dreams are made of…

Last week took me to Dallas where I attended the Vias Imports tasting at the Italian Club of Dallas. It was an emotional occasion for me: I still hadn’t tasted any of the 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco crus and I was entirely geeked to taste the Pora (the only cru presented). I’ve been drinking 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco classic Barbaresco (i.e., blended from different vineyards) and the wine — from a cool and climatically balanced vintage — is showing gorgeously now. It’s going through a beautiful, open period in its youth. (Tracie B and I opened a bottle the other evening for dinner but finished it the next night with her killer nachos as we watched the Golden Globes: the wine actually became more tannic the next night!)

In my experience, Pora is among the softer Produttori crus and can be more approachable in its youth. No mixed emotion for me about this wine: I was thrilled to taste it and it’s sure to be one of the greatest expressions of this wine in my wine-drinking life.

Above: Always the gentleman, Alfonso Cevola jumped behind the tasting table to pour for food and wine writer Renie Steves.

I was also excited for my first taste of the 2005 Produttori del Barbaresco classic Barbaresco. The wine from this warmer vintage is more concentrated and not quite as elegant as the 2004. It is already very approachable and leans toward fruit flavor more than its older sibling.

Above: Salvioni’s 2003 Brunello di Montalcino is probably the best 2003 Brunello I’ve tasted.

Other highlights for me were the 2002 Gravners (Breg and Ribolla, less extreme than in previous vintages I’ve tasted — thank goodness!), Damijan 2004 (always), Dettori 2004 (probably my favorite wine from Sardinia, totally natural in style), Salvioni 2003 Brunello (incredibly balanced alcohol for this super hot vintage, so elegant and terroir-driven), and the 2006 bottlings of Dolcetto by Pecchinino (classic vintage for this wine, I really dug them).

Above: The Italian Club of Dallas has a busy social and cultural calendar.

One surprise was a wine that Robin really likes, Tenuta San Leonardo (Gonzaga) 2004 San Leonardo. I’m never such a fan of Bordeaux-style wines from Italy but this was showing nicely. It was interesting to taste it side-by-side with the 2003: I think that the cool summer of 2004 made for some great wines in Italy.

In other news…

Don’t forget to come see me, Tracie B, and NNP at the Mercury Lounge in NYC on Monday February 9. I’ll be posting updated info for our France 2009 mini-tour next week: we got bumped up to a better show than we thought in Paris… details to follow…

Above: Pickled jalapeños at a wine tasting? Only in Texas!

*****

The 1980s Richard Simmons look didn’t really work so well for Mick, did it?

I and my (new) desk

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Above: my new desk, given to me by Alfonso, means a lot to me.

“Though I always say, I and My Chimney, as Cardinal Wolsey used to say, ‘I and My King,’ yet this egotistic way of speaking, wherein I take precedence of my chimney, is hereby borne out by the facts; in everything, except the above phrase, my chimney taking precedence of me” (Melville, Herman. “I and My Chimney.” Putnam’s Monthly Magazine. March, 1856).

Herman Melville was remarkably fond and jealous of his chimney — so much so that it inspired a transgressive syntagmeme.

I and my desk: my new desk is a synecdoche for my vita nova here in Austin. The last year and a half have been filled with some amazing adventures but I am simply thrilled to be in one place again, to have a desk, and to feel purpose, meaning, and direction in my life again. My peregrination has happily come to an end.

Thanks for the wonderful desk, Alfonso! It has found a good home with me and I with it…

In other news…

Last night, I seared a beef filet and served with a red wine reduction, fennel braised in white wine, and pan-roasted fingerling potatoes.

Tracie B and I paired it with Dora and Patrizia’s excellent 2004 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Sanguineto). The wine showed beautifully: classic red fruit flavor, brilliant acidity, a little bit of delightful secondary fermentation, and balanced alcohol — a gorgeous manifestation of Sangiovese, terroir, and a classically Tuscan vintage. This is one of those wines that genuinely expresses its place and the people make it. I love it. (Thanks again, Lance, for finding it and turning me on to it!)

*****

I and my chimney will never surrender.
— Herman Melville

De austinopoli: a new category and an ichthyophagian surprise

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Above: “Maguro sashimi and goat cheese with cracked pepper, Fuji apple and pumpkin seed oil” at Uchi in Austin. If that’s not fusion, then grits ain’t groceries and eggs ain’t poultry…

There’s a new category at Do Bianchi: de austinopoli or on the city of Austin. It appeared for the first time over the weekend, with the “beans don’t burn in the kitchen” post (btw, I swear it wasn’t me who burned the beans: they were burning in Tracie B’s neighbor’s apartment). Austin is my new home (my new desk is arriving this week!) and I’ve already begun posting about our enogastronomic experiences here in Texas. (On Kim’s recommendation, I’ve been reading T. R. Fehrenbach’s Lone Star, a history of Texas, which I find fascinating — the book and the historia.)

Above: “Avo bake, creamy baked tiger shrimp and krab [sic], served in an avocado.” We ordered this dish on the recommendation of my new hair stylist, Felicia. It was a fresh and delicious take on the ubiquitous crab/shrimp casserole you find in Californian “sushi” restaurants.

I’ll confess that I was highly skeptical when so many of my friends (Californians among them) suggested that I take Tracie B to Austin’s top “sushi” destination Uchi. Raw fish in land-locked central Texas? Not exactly in line with the Danny Meyer motto if it grows with it, it goes with it.

What we found was not a “sushi” restaurant per se but a truly delightful and entirely playful “fusion” menu. The restaurant’s signature dish, in particular, “Maguro sashimi and goat cheese” (raw fish and caprine dairy?) seemed to challenge the very tenets of our occidental palates. (In many parts of Italy, for example, the mixture of fish and dairy is considered as taboo as the contact of meat and dairy in kashrut.)

As Franco often points out, rules are rules: I cannot conceal that we both found the confluence of textures to be ethereal (including the delicately unctuous quality of the pumpkin seed oil), the savoriness of the fish an excellent complement to the slightly sweet cheese, and the fattiness of the materia prima utterly decadent.

Rarely do you find waitstaff so knowledgeable (our bartender Scranton was extremely helpful in navigating the unusual menu and negotiating the extensive sake list; he made the long wait at the bar on a Friday night well worth it). We thoroughly enjoyed our experience.

Above: “Tomato katsu, panko-fried green tomatoes.” Need I say more?

In other news…

Who’s Who in America just published these interviews I did with Josh Greene, Eric Asimov, and Lettie Teague (click to read). We had fun with the Q/A and you might be surprised by some of the responses. Buona lettura!

*****

If I don’t love you baby,
grits ain’t groceries,
eggs ain’t poultry,
and Mona Lisa was a man.

“It’s frequently beans”: fire narrowly averted in Austin

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I’d never had to call 911 until today. Tracie B and I were hanging around her apartment this afternoon and I was working on the final touches to my Italian cinema translation when we heard a smoke alarm sounding off. We were greeted by a waft of smokey aroma when we went outside.

Emergency services put me on the line with the fire department and it took them about 5 minutes to get here. They broke down the door of apartment 109 (across from Tracie B’s) and found a pot of beans burning on the stove. They told me that I did the right thing by calling, saying that the apartment could have easily been lost, as could have the apartment above it.

“It’s frequently beans,” said one of the fireman stoically.

The police came as well and so did a fire department Chaplain (above). He shook my hand before they left.

Thank goodness: everything worked out ok.

What they drank for Christmas

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In keeping with a Do Bianchi tradition born last year, here are notes and images from friends from both sides of the Atlantic on what they ate and drank over the holiday season. Thanks to everyone for reading and clicking Do Bianchi this year! I’m looking forward to 2009 and grabbing life by the “longhorns.” Happy new year!

Dan (aka Jean-Luc Retard) writes that “Puro was a big hit in Scotland,” where he spent the holiday with Kate’s family. “I think I’m the only Jew who received a kilt for Xmas.” See y’all in Paris, man!

In Erbusco (Franciacorta), Giovanni drank my new favorite Franciacorta, Camossi rosé disgorged in October 2007. Giovanni is ALL ABOUT disgorgement.

Writing from Bergamo, Franco gave me a case of Nebbiolo envy. What would Freud say? Note: those are both magnums. Franco, we sure had an interesting 2008, didn’t we? What a ride! Long live Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, my friend! Un abbraccio…

“If I still have that mag of 61 Latour or 66 Lynch Bages,” chimes in David from Los Angeles. “I will photo and poo poo as I still don’t get it. I try, but I don’t get it.” David, I know, I still don’t get it either! I miss you, dude…

“My 83 year old mother faded fast post Prosecco,” wrote Ron from San Diego. “We went on to a Biondi Santi we had been holding since 98. Merry Happy.”

In Philadelphia, McDuff and family enjoyed some Champagne by Bereche, “a roaring fire, a couple of fun movies, take-out from one of my favorite spots and a single bottle to enjoy with it all.”

Biondivino in San Francisco uncorked some obligatory Paolo Bea.

“Two bottles of cheery Chidaine rosé bubbly” paired well with Howard’s menorah in the Hollywood Hills.

In Milan, Alessandro drank a wine that I love, 2001 Brunello di Montalcino by Il Paradiso di Manfredi, a wine that my friends the Marcucci brothers turned me on to.

In the borough of Brooklyn, 1999 Billiot was the wine BrooklynGuy and BrooklynLady “opened as an aperitif with friends before Christmas dinner, the night before our daughter [BrooklynBabyGirl2] was born.” Congratulations BrooklynPeople! And, Neil, thanks for all the support and the friendship this year. It meant a lot.

Jayne and Jon had a Christmas feast of “Carnitas and tomatillo à la Jayne” at their San Diego restaurant. Guys, what can I say? Thanks for helping the Jar get his groove back on in 2008. I’ll never forget this amazing year we spent together. You are the best…

Alfonso weighed in from Dallas, with something special from our home state: “We had our last bottle of 1986 Hanzell Pinot Noir… the color and the aromas and the flavors were a marriage of all the best things one would look for in a classic California red wine.”

Alfonso, what can I say? I simply cannot thank you enough for everything you did for me in 2008. You were our Galeotto and “he that wrote it” too… I love ya, man…

Among other good stuff we opened this holiday season in Austin, Tracie B and I paired a Donnafugata 2006 Ben Ryé with Mrs. B’s excellent homemade Chex mix… soooooo yummmy…

My dearest beautiful Tracie B, love of my life, what a wondrous year 2008 was. I guess that everything does happen for a reason…

On the seventh night of Chanukah, my true love gave to me…

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I know I promised that I wouldn’t post until after the New Year, but last night’s dinner was just too good not to share…

Above: Damn, that girl can cook! Tracie B fries up some latkes in her grandmother’s cast-iron skillet.

On the seventh night of Chanukah (click for HebCal link), Nous Non Plus’ film and television licensing agent and my good friend Michael came over last night with his girlfriend Jessica for Tracie B’s latkes, brisket, kasha, and roast broccoli.

Tracie B fried the latkes in her grandmother’s cast-iron skillet. Click here for the recipe she used.

My only contribution was a sour cream and horseradish sauce. We paired with a bottle of Taittinger La Française, courtesy Jessica and Michael.

Her brisket was oh-so good, melt-in-your-mouth-tender, with sides of kasha and roast broccoli. Who knew I’d find the cure for Jewish boy stomach in Austin Texas? We paired with Bruno Colin 2005 Maranges La Fussière 1er Cru Rouge, good although the wood was far from integrated. Tracie B suggested decanting with good results.

Stove-top roasted chestnuts for dessert. An Italian touch on a chilly eve.

Next year I doubt I’ll be spending Chanukah in Santa Monica but I do love the song:

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: Jaynes bids Jar adieu

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Above: Erik (Benoit), Nicholas, and Jon Erickson (co-owner with his lovely wife Jayne), at the bar at Jaynes Gastropub in San Diego — my “habitat” for the last 12 months. Benoit wrote me this beautiful “farewell” post at his excellent blog, AntiYelp.

Following my 3-day Dantean solo drive halfway across the country (think Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, George Jones, a little Paul Simon, a lot of Willie, and the obligatory Gram — all set to a desert landscape), I am posting today from Austin, Texas, my new home.

On Friday night, I completed my last shift at Jaynes Gastropub in San Diego (although I’ll surely make a cameo appearance or two in 2009).

When I clocked out, a few friends joined and they threw me a lil’ going away party (fyi, all of my friends in music and in San Diego call me “Jar” or “the Jar,” my nickname since junior high days)…

In her quest to get me to love Bordeaux, Robin Stark brought this excellent 95 Angelus. We decanted and tasted about an hour later. I was impressed by the wine’s bright acidity (not what you see in modern-style bored-oh). Thanks, Robin!

My high school friend John Yelenosky brought this 99 Poggio Salvi Brunello di Montalcino, which showed beautifully. (Click here and scroll down to see our high school senior pics.) John and I had a great 2008 playing music, drinking Produttori del Barbaresco, and just hanging out — like in the old days… Gonna miss you, bro!

That’s me with Jayne’s dad, the inimitable Frank Battle. In September, I officiated at his daughter’s wedding to my good friend Jon Erickson. Mr. Battle, you’ve got a lovely daughter.

Jayne and Jon and everyone at Jaynes Gastropub: I’m gonna miss you! Thanks for helping me get my pour and my groove back on in 2008!

Down and out in Beverly Hills (but still drinking well)

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Above: chefs shop at the Cheese Store in Beverly Hills, arguably the top fromagerie in Los Angeles.

Last night found David Schachter and me at his place up Coldwater Canyon, drinking label-damaged 1996 Giacosa Barbaresco (David’s contribution) and munching charcuterie and cheese from the Cheese Store in Beverly Hills (I stopped in the flats on my way up).

Above: life’s too short not to drink well.

The Giacosa was a little cloudy and had begun to sherryize slightly (possibly because damaged?). This wine should have had many, many years ahead of it. But even in the twilight of its life, this powerful Barbaresco from one of the greatest and most classic vintages in recent memory showed admirably well.

I really liked the aged taleggio from the Cheese Shop but I was a little disappointed to find that the prosciutto and bresaola was a bit dry and not sliced as well as it could have been. But who’s complaining?

In other news…

Legendary Italian winemaker Giacomo Tachis weighs in on the appellation system debate. Read more here.

*****

This old town is filled with sin
It’ll swallow you in
If you’ve got some money to burn
Take it home right away
You’ve got three years to pay
And Satan is waiting his turn
The scientists say it’ll all wash away
But we don’t believe anymore
‘Cause we’ve got our recruits
In their green mohair suits
So please show your I.D. at the door

This old earthquake’s gonna
leave me in the poorhouse
It seems like this whole town’s insane
On the thirty-first floor your gold-plated door
Won’t keep out the Lord’s burning rain

— “Sin City,” Flying Burrito Brothers

I soliti ignoti and blogs I’ve been reading lately

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My friend and co-editor of VinoWire, Franco Ziliani, has posted recently on the Wine Spectator‘s Top 100 List (my translation is posted at VinoWire) and James Suckling’s top Piedmont picks (in Italian). Franco points out rightly: it’s simply appalling that Giacomino (Lil’ James) Suckling and the Wine Spectator elide an entire swath of traditionalist wines and even include wines virtually unknown to Italians and their palates. After all, aren’t they the Italians’ wines first and foremost? If you want a list of Nebbiolo not to get me for Christmas, read Suckling’s article (to be published on December 15). His wines are the soliti ignoti, the usual suspects, that appear on his list every year and he arrogantly ignores the wines that have historically defined the region. (See IWG’s post.)

Over at Montalcino Report, winemaker Alessandro Bindocci has published some interesting posts about olive oil made from depitted drupes and “integrated farming.”

Ever the devoted fan, I always love to read Simona Carini’s excellent blog Briciole. And I owe Simona a thanks for the help she’s been giving me with the desserts in a translation I’m doing for Oronzo Editions.

Alice Feiring posted this conflicted take on the California Conundrum.

Tracie B just posted this irresistibly delicious piece on pasta e fagioli (but, then again, I might be a bit biased when it comes to her cooking).

And on a totally unrelated note, I’m in the Marines Too! reminds me that we are a country at war and that world conflicts affect the lives and hearts of the people who live in my hometown.

*****

Even if you don’t understand Italian, watch this clip from Monicelli’s 1958 classic, I soliti ignoti (literally, the usual unknowns or the usual suspects but released in English as Big Deal on Madonna Street). Totò’s performance is brilliant…