Tag Archives: Dallas

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!

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

Sofa King Tasty: a urban foodie’s tour of Dallas

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Italian Wine Guy and the Queen of Dallas Eats took me and Tracie B on a tour of urban Dallas last Saturday. It happened to be the 45th anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination and there were a lot of folks gathered at the Grassy Knoll in a bizarre, carnivalesque commemoration (see Alfonso’s post here).

Above: one of the official slogans at the Twisted Root Burger Co. in Deep Ellum (Dallas). If the paronomasia isn’t immediately apparent, read it slowly and you will discover the pen is mightier than the sword.

Above: one of the “chef’s favorites” at the Twisted Root, the “Western Burger.” Top that with spicy bbq sauce and you’re in serious business, although, I must confess, I was still paying for my eating binge the next day! See the dog below…

Above: “Bleu cheese and Tangy Buffalo sauce” is one of the recommended dressings for the all-beef hot dog at the Twisted Root. Sofa king tasty…

Above: owner Quincy Hart on the mic, calling out orders on a busy Saturday. I can’t recommend this burger joint highly enough: the vibe of a restaurant is so important and Quincy’s schtick delivers belly-ache laughs along with great belly-bustin’ food. Lunch there was one of those “I’m officially having fun” moments.

Above: the Mozzarella Company is an old-school cheese monger that reminded me of my Brookalino days (minus the accent). In the pasta she made that night, Tracie B used some salt-less cow’s-milk mozzarella (as good as any I ever tasted in the old neighborhood in Brooklyn) and the next night we sampled its killer goat cheese aged in hoja santa leaves (leaves provided by Alfonso form his garden).

Above: no foodie’s tour of Dallas would be complete without a visit to the amazing and aptly named Tom Spicer, purveyor of some mighty fine farm-to-table produce and musician extraordinaire. I cannot begin to explain how his “Kalimbass” works… Click on the YouTube link to see the impromptu concert he gave us in his excellent and unique shop.

Amazing Amelia and the Tortillas del Rancho (Dallas)

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Above: tacos al pastor at Del Rancho in Garland (Dallas), Texas. Dora at Bahia Don Bravo in La Jolla will always hold a special place in my culinary heart but Amelia’s tortillas can’t be beat.

Tortillas del Rancho Restaurant
220 W. Kingsley Rd. #426
Ridgewood Shopping Center
Garland (Dallas), TX 75041
972-926-1550

Tracie B and I spent the weekend in Dallas hanging out with Italian Wine Guy and the Queen of Dallas Eats. Many great wines were opened (coming soon), fiorentine were grilled, many tall tales told, a Grassy Knoll was contemplated on the 45th anniversary of the somber and sobering day (was irony born that day or did it die?), and a grand time had by all.

Above: the kitchen at Tortillas del Rancho delivered deliciously lime-soaked and lightly fried cornmeal dough topped with gently piquant roast pork.

I am rushed today by a few deadlines but couldn’t resist posting about the amazing Amelia (one of my editors admonishes me for my love of alliteration but the allure of Amelia’s food is truly ambrosial).

Tortillas del Rancho has recently expanded with a new location and a new tortilleria.

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A famous example of alliteration (and anaphora when read in context):

    Amor, ch’a nullo amato amar perdona
    (Love, which absolves no one beloved from loving)

    Inferno, 5, 103

That same canto gave Italian (and amorous) literature another one of its most memorable lines:

    Galeotto fu ‘l libro e chi lo scrisse
    (A Galeotto was the book and he that wrote it)

    ibid., 137