Hail to the. . . Red Wine? Sips for Tailgating This Fall
• November 6, 2012

My parents used to tailgate in high style at the Strawberry Hill races in Virginia when I was growing up. I remember my mother packing up the station wagon with her sterling silver platters and chafing dishes to lay the prefect tailgate display. There was pea salad, spinach dip in pumpernickel bread, carved watermelons in crystal bowls, Jefferson cups, strawberries and powdered sugar in silver bowls and, of course, a huge Smithfield ham on its massive platter. All would be laid out on the back of the table-clothed tailgate of the Oldsmobile. I remember my sister and I running around and checking out the other tailgate parties along the rope. I also remember Dad and his associates standing around in tweed jackets with patches on the elbows mixing cocktails from shiny silver flasks of whiskey.

I tried to recreate my parent’s flair of entertaining and southern hospitality several years ago for Gold Cup. Silver platters? Check. Strawberries and powdered sugar? Check. Linen table cloths? Check. Flasks of whiskey? No check! This time we packed the SUV with wine.

Be it tailgating at the horse races, Redskins games or your alma mater’s homecoming, wherever there is an outdoor sporting event, there will be wine and food. If it’s your inclination this fall to pack up your car and entertain with style out the back of it too, do it with wines that will please tailgaters and their palates.

First, a couple of rules of thumb for selecting and serving wines for tailgates to make your spread easy and delicious:

1. Pair simple but flavorful wines with simple foods.

2. For fancier foods, by all means breakout the champagne. In my opinion, champagne goes with everything.

3. Food-friendly red wines varietals like Tempranillo or Sangiovese will please a wide range of your tailgaters palates.

4. Offer a semi-sweet white and a dry white, if you can, for the “I only drink white wine” tailgaters.
Here are a couple of recommendations to bring along to the game:

White Burgundy

Big oaky chardonnays don’t always pair well with food. So while you want to make sure you have some whites on hand for your sports fans, serve a lightly oaked, more subtle chardonnay like this white burgundy (French Chardonnay) from Pouilly Fuissé, France: LaBoure-Roi Vallon D’Or 2011.

Riesling or Pinto Gris

Riesling from Washington State that is on the sweeter side is generally liked by many new wine drinkers. So for those new alums returning for Homecoming and tailgating with you at you alma mater, you might consider packing the Pinot Gris or Riesling from Columbia Valley’s Cht. Ste. Michelle. These wines are simple but travel well. Both wines will pair well with spicy barbecue sauces and more complex spicy foods like red pepper hummus and savory dips.

Red Zinfandel

Segehsio Family Vineyard’s Sonoma Valley Zinfandel is a red wine for tailgates involving grilling. With its red fruit and spice flavors, this is a great food wine. It has a good amount of acidity. Acidity in wine compliments fats in meat. With grilled meats remember to choose a wine that has structure but not heavy tannin. Serve with grilled burgers, steaks, and sausages with onions and peppers.

See Seghesio Family Vineyards for more red zinfandels.

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is traditionally found in great Riojas from Spain but it is also found as a single varietal wine simply bottled as Tempranillo. Like red zinfandel, its level of acidity and plum/cherry flavors make it very food friendly. This wine will appeal to many different palates. Pair it with ribs and Latin fare like guacamole and chips and salsas. Try Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva.

You could also toast RG3 and the Skins out at your next FedEx Field tailgate with a bottle of Redskins Reserve wine. Bottled to celebrate the team’s 80th anniversary, this Cabernet Sauvignon is a limited edition. It has been spotted in the restaurants at FedEx field as well as Harris Teeter.

So step up your tailgating game and try some of these wines (along with the beer). And remember the most important rule of tailgating with wine: Don’t Forget the Corkscrew! Cheers!?

Flavorful Fusion
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Bangkok Joe’s, a restaurant located in Georgetown for the past nine years, caters to finest Asian cuisine and sees itself as the best Asian restaurant in the DC area.

“What makes this restaurant unique from any other restaurant?” you might ask. “We don’t use the same sauce for each dish. We incorporate different sauces for different dishes. That’s why it tastes so good,” said Jimmy Phomsivilai, Bangkok Joe’s general manager.

If you’re looking to reserve a table over the weekend, keep in mind that Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest days of the week with an average of around 350 to 450 people a night. A reservation is highly recomended.

Once you enter this fabulous restaurant, you’ll be overwhelmed by the fine décor. Bangkok Joe’s was decorated by Jordan Mozar, who also designed the Cheesecake Factory. The space is filled with a welcoming atmosphere. “Three things we are about—atmosphere, friendliness, and good food consistently,” said Phomsivilai.

Unsure of what to order when you arrive? According to Phomsivilai, Pad Thai is the most popular dish for an entrée while dumplings come in first for an appetizer. What’s his favorite dish? “I really like the lobster and pine nut steamed dumplings and I would recommend the Grilled Salmon,” said Phomsiviai, “It’s a fusion of Salmon with lo mien noodles. We are fusion, not just Thai.”

Still not convinced? Bangkok Joe’s is also home to “The best happy hour in D.C.,” according to Phomsivilai. “All beers, drafts, bottles, wines, martinis, and regular drinks are half priced. It’s from 4-7 every night, seven days a week.”

Located at Washington Harbour, Bangkok Joe’s is perfect for fine dining or unwinding. From the friendly staff to the excellent happy hour, Bangkok Joe’s has it all. “Come see us at our happy hour!” said Phomsiviai. For more information visit Bangkok Joe’s at 3000 K Street NW, or go online to www.bangkokjoes.com or call 202.333.4422.

Cocktail of the Week, Pisco
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Superfluous holidays such as Sweetest Day, National Grandparents Day and Boss’s Day are often referred to as “Hallmark Holidays,” because many believe they exist primarily for commercial reasons such as increasing the sales of greeting cards and not to truly appreciate significant people. There are other celebrations that seem downright silly, such as International Pancake Day (Feb. 21), National High Five Day (April 19) and Talk Like A Pirate Day (Sept. 19).

In the country of Peru, there is one holiday that may appear excessive at first, but is truly a celebration of national pride. This is National Pisco Day, which is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in July.

Pisco, which is considered a symbol of Peruvian nationality, is a type of grape brandy or Aguardiente, distilled from Muscat grapes. Pisco is produced and exported from both Peru and Chile, and both countries claim to be the original producers. It has become a fierce source of contention between the two nations. According to SouthAmericanFood.com, the Spanish conquistadores brought grape vines to South America in order to make wine for their own consumption and export. Distilling Pisco was an easy way to use leftover grapes that were undesirable for wine making.

The patriotic spirit surrounding National Pisco Day is amplified because the holiday falls very close to Peruvian Independence Day, celebrated on July 28, often with a toast of pisco.

I was fortunate enough to be in Cusco, Peru, to take part in the festivities for both holidays. To kick off the merriment, I was given a shot of Pisco from Lizardo Valderrama Gilt, my host in whose home I was staying. The shot had a strong and powerful grape nose to it, but it went down surprisingly smooth. Its dominate flavor was grape with notes of earthiness, spice and tart fruit with a clean and bracing finish.

To further explore this spirit, I met up with my newly minted friends, Suzanne Harle and Sabrina for a few rounds of cocktailing. We started off with the most popular Pisco tipple, the Pisco Sour, a mixture of Pisco, lemon, bitters, a sweetener and an egg white. We headed to the Crown, a second-story restaurant with a gorgeous view of the Plaza Des Armas for their two-for-one happy hour. The egg white gives this cocktail a smooth, full body while tart lemon citrus flavor is a nice compliment to the woody pisco. So good that it is hard to detect the amount of alcohol in the drink. That may explain why we left the bar wearing balloon hats.
Our second stop was the upscale Limo, one the most highly-regarded restaurants in Cusco, which boasts a three-page menu of creative pisco cocktails. Just watching the scene behind the bar proved to be entertaining, with men squeezing, pureeing, muddling, and juicing fresh ingredients.

We sampled three concoctions, one forged from eucalyptus, another from lemongrass and one made with tumba fruit. The tumba is a relative of the maracuya fruit, which is commonly eaten in Peru. The eucalyptus had a cool soothing effect, while the lemongrass mixture was refreshing and uplifting. The tumba had an exotic tropical flavor similar to passion fruit but with a little more punch.

The evening continued with more flavorful cocktails, including a fresh strawberry concoction, one blended with Peru’s potent coco leaves and a South American version of the classic Negroni with pisco substituted for the gin. The evening was capped off with a night of salsa dancing to burn off all the excess alcohol.

If you cannot make it to Peru and would like to try pisco in Washington, I recommend whipping up a few Pisco sours at home. Most liquor store will carry at least one brand of Peruvian Pisco, such as Porton, or Macchu Pisco. This classic tipple is a great way to try this interesting and versatile liquor. If you would like to try something more exotic, Las Canteras in Adams Morgan has a full menu of delicious pisco cocktails.

The Pisco Sour

Place 4 cups ice cubes
1 cup pisco
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg white
A dash of angostura bitters

Blend on high speed until finely pureed. Pour into two glasses and garnish with an additional dash of bitters.

Yo! Sushi Opens First U.S. Location
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Might there be a Yo! Sushi in Georgetown’s future?

London-based YO! Sushi opened its first U.S. location in Union Station July 25. The conveyor-belt, sushi-themed restaurant has plans to expand into the U.S. market. At least ten Yo! Sushi restaurants are slated to open in the D.C. area alone. Chinatown has been marked as the second D.C. spot for this U.K. chain restaurant.
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REDS, WHITE AND LUNCH
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When I was invited in mid-June to have lunch with the CEO of the renowned California winery, Silver Oak, I was all for it. He was in town for the Silver Oak Tower Tour and would be celebrating the winery’s 40th Anniversary with some customer events. The opportunity to taste David Duncan’s cult-status Cabernets along with some steaks from Morton’s is the stuff that red wine fans—and meat eaters—dream of. But, when the temperatures in D.C. began to rise and the appointed day’s temperature hit the high 90s, my resolve to tuck into steak and wine over lunch started to waiver.

When I arrived at the restaurant and was shown to the table, I was immediately confused by the series of glasses at each of our place settings. I quickly assumed that David and I were going to be doing a vertical tasting of his cabs. Vertical tastings are when several vintages of the same wine are tasted in succession. But I soon learned, and happily so, that we would not be just tasting cabs. David explained that we would be tasting wines from Silver Oaks’ California sister winery, Twomey Cellars. Twomey is named after his father’s family and produces wines other than California cabs at separate vineyards and wineries.

We order a Caesar salad to split, tuna tartar and shrimp cocktail. Having both succumbed to the heat outside, we opted out of having heavy steaks.

The first wine we started with was the Sauvignon Blanc. I loved hearing the story behind the only white wine in Twomey’s portfolio. Apparently, all the women in the family told the men who made the wine that they were tired of always drinking red wine and the next new wine introduced better be a white. Well, apparently the men behind Twomey are smart and quickly came up with this offering.

I was so surprised by this wine. I expected it to be mundane coming from a Cabernet maker, but it was full of citrus fruit flavors that burst in the mouth. It was vibrant yet comforting. The comfort comes from “typicality” like Karen McNeil talks about in The Wine Bible. This wine has the typicality of a California Sauvignon Blanc and that is comforting. It also has the complexity that I know is there when I taste a wine because it makes me say “Hmm…” It compelled me to take another sip, and another and another. It went beautifully with my shrimp cocktail.

We then moved on to the 2007 Twomey Merlot. First off, I noticed the dark berry color of this wine. It looked like a jewel in the glass. It was very food friendly and it went perfectly with tuna tartar. Expressing classic dark berry and cooked dark berry flavors, it did not disappoint as a Napa merlot. It showed complexity but not too much tannin.

Next on the tasting list was the 2010 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. This wine was austere with definite floral notes. If you enjoy classic French style pinot noir, this is your wine. The wine is aged in French barrels, which helps this pinot achieve most of its character. Of all the wines, it seemed out of place in Twomey’s line up though. All the other wines were fruit forward and this was not.

After the pinot noir we moved on to the Big Boys— Silver Oak cabernets!

The 2007 Silver Oak Anderson Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was poured. Upon tasting this wine one understands the reason for its cult following. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in barrel and then bottle for a total of 15 to 16 months. It is amazingly food-friendly and luscious. It reminded me of berry cobbler.

Last on our tasting tour was the 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This vintage is 90% Cabernet
Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot round out the cabernet sauvignon and give the wine suppleness and finesse. Luscious black fruits and chocolates flavors characterize this wine. The 2007 Napa Valley Silver Oak Cabernet is a California Cab lover’s Cab.

If you are one of the many fans of Silver Oak that have enjoyed the wines over its forty year legacy, you will be pleased to know that the beautiful quality and lush flavors continue as the winery’s hallmarks with the 2007s. And you will be happy to know that the 2008 will be released early next month. If it is too hot to drink cabs, try some of their sister winery Twomey’s offerings. There is something for everyone and who knows, you might get in on the ground floor of another cult following.

Celebrating Julia Child’s 100th Birthday
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Born Aug. 15, 1912, Julia Child was one of
America’s most influential chefs. As her
100th birthday approaches, let us take a
look back at how she got started. Child’s television
programs, “The French Chef,” “Julia Child
and Company,” “Julia Child and More Company,”
“Cooking with the Master Chefs” and “Julia
and Jacques Cooking at Home” helped expose
Americans to the art of French cooking.

At six-foot-and-two-inches, the towering
chef already stood out. In fact, on the sets of her
shows the counter tops were designed so that
she wouldn’t have to crouch down while cooking.
Child was anything but average. Her quirky
methods of cooking, great sense of humor and
fearlessness of failing helped her share her passion
for cooking with the world.

However, Child did not pursue her joy of
cooking until age 36. She and her husband Paul
were living in France when Child enrolled in
Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Instantly, she
immersed herself in French culture. Her most
notable cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French
Cooking,” which she collaborated on with fellow
female chefs Simone Beck and Louisette
Bertholle remains a holy grail among chefs to
this day.

To celebrate what would have been Child’s
100th birthday, below are some upcoming
events in and around D.C., on television and online
commemorating her.

AUGUST

On pinterest.com, a board in honor of Julia
Child has been set up by the New York Chapter
of Les Dames d’Escoffier, the premier organization
for professional women in the food, wine,
and hospitality industries. Pinterest allows users
to share content including images, video, and
other creative material by “pinning” these images
onto their pinboard. The Julia Child Pinterest
board aims to pin 100 photos and tributes of
her in order to share with fans around the world.

AUGUST 5

PBS will broadcast original episodes of “The
French Chef,” which has not aired since the
1960s. Viewers are encouraged to follow these
episodes by making their own creation of a classic
Julia Child dish and sharing their creations
by posting photos to PBS Food on Twitter, using
the hashtag #CookforJulia. In addition, an
encore presentation of the special “Julia Child
Memories: Bon Appétit!” will air, as well as
comments and testimonials regarding Julia from
well-respected food industry people around the
nation.

AUGUST 7-15, 13-19

RIS restaurant will pay homage to Julia Child
all month as part of its “All Thing Julia” tribute.
Coinciding with D.C. Restaurant Week (August
13-19), “All Things Julia” at RIS will offer a
traditional $20.12 lunch menu and $35.12 dinner
menu with Child’s incomparable dishes. Additionally,
RIS will also participate in National
Julia Child Restaurant Week, which is hosted by
the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy &
the Culinary Arts. Be sure to ask the bartender
for Child’s classic “reverse martinis.” For updates
on “All Things Julia,” visit risdc.com and
call 202.730.2500 to make a reservation. 2275 L
St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20037.

AUGUST 8

At the S. Dillon Ripley Center at the Smithsonian,
join biographer Bob Spitz, 7 to 8:30 p.m.,
as he discusses the impact of Julia Child at “Julia
Child’s Bon Appétit for Life.” Following the
lecture, Spitz will be available to sign copies of
his latest book “Dearie: The Remarkable Life of
Julia Child” after the program. Tickets cost $25.
For more information, call 202-633-3030, or visit
smithsonianassociates.org. 1100 Jefferson Dr.,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20560.

AUGUST 15

If you are looking for a more hands-on approach
to this centennial, Sur La Table is hosting
a cooking class at its restaurant, 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. Using recipes from Child’s classic “Mastering
the Art of French Cooking,” an instructor
will assist you in recreating some of Julia’s most
popular dishes. At $69 per person, what better
way to celebrate than to be like one of America’s
most beloved chefs herself? Visit surlatable.com
for more information or call 202.237.0375. 1101
S. Joyce St., Arlington, Va. 22202.

AUGUST 15- SEPTEMBER 3

Celebrate Julia Child’s centenary by planning
a trip to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of
American History to visit her actual kitchen.
Donated to the Smithsonian in 2001, the 14-by-
20-foot kitchen from her Massachusetts home
features every cooking amenity imaginable, including
the kitchen sink. Find out more at americanhistory.
si.edu/juliachild. 1400 Constitution
Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.?

Celebrating Julia Child’s 100th
•

Chef Ris Lacoste hosted a 100th birthday celebration dinner in honor of Julia Child at her restaurant, RIS, on what would have been the chef’s 100th birthday on Aug. 15. The abundant raw bar was graciously provided by Clyde’s Restaurant Group, with Clyde’s president Tom Meyer shucking oysters for Ris, who was once executive chef at 1789, the site of Julia Child’s 90th birthday dinner.

Mayfair & Pine Opens Friday in Glover Park
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“Top Chef” contestant of season 2, Emily Sprissler and husband Jason Cote are opening their gastropub July 20. Mayfair & Pine Restaurant is located in the original Town Hall space at 2218 Wisconsin Ave., NW, in Glover Park. It will seat about 110 and entrée prices will range from $12 to $35.

Inspired by their honeymoon trip in London and Pine Street where they lived in San Francisco, the couple will present their unique menu creations, including rustic seafood stew, a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich, an apple salad spiked with dressing made with candy red hots, mushroom toast with scrambled eggs and fish and meat pies.

Rejected by eight banks and picking up the project from the ground, the wife and husband team will share cooking duties by being executive chef and Jason Cote ad Chef de Cuisine. “This is my baby,” Sprissler said. With the economy not being their best friend and Sprissler being a freelance caterer, the couple moved to Washington three years ago. Both eventually landed cooking jobs at different Wegmans in Virginia. Now, they and new customers can celebrate the new Mayfair & Pine restaurant.

COCKTAIL OF THE WEEK: POP UP
•

Washington is going pop! In what many consider a transient city, it only makes sense that pop-up retail stores and restaurants have been making a splash in the nation’s capital. Georgetown was treated to the Bloom pop-up shop and the Water Street Project art exhibition earlier this spring. M Street’s newest dining spot Bandolero hosted two pop-up previews before opening their permanent doors.

So as the summer heat climbs to scorching levels, what could be better than a pop-up tiki bar? In my opinion, not much until scientists figure out a way to create a pop-up Caribbean beach complete with swaying palm trees and cabana boys on the Georgetown waterfront.

Well the wait is over — for the tiki bar, at least. Washington bar chef extraordinaire JP Cacheres has transformed the roof top at Connecticut Avenue’s Dirty Martini, into a groovy, open-air topical- themed bar smack in the middle of downtown’s Golden Triangle. Caceres, the chief mixologist for Dirty Martini and founder of Let’s Imbibe, Inc., has spent months experimenting and conjuring up creative cocktails for his new space.

Everything is made from scratch — from fresh-squeezed juices, homemade syrups, hand-carved ice and more than 30 varieties of rum. The cocktail menu will continue to evolve with changing specials. This spot is perfect for the summer drinker who wants something more original and cultivated than a typical piña colada.

During my recent visit, Caceres was playing with an updated version the classic El Presidente cocktail, a refreshing blend of rum, grenadine, orange Curaçao and white vermouth. The El Presidente is a Cuban-born tipple that dates back to the heydays of cocktails. During Prohibition, imbibers from the states flocked to Havana to get their party on.

While many theories about the exact origin of the El Presidente swirl, Esquire cocktail editor David Wondrich believes it was created by Eddie Woelke, an American bartender at Havana’s Jockey Club. Woelke purportedly named the drink in honor of President Gerardo Machado, who ruled Cuba throughout most of the Prohibition years.

Caceres, who is known for his creative liquor infusions, pumps up this vintage potable with a pork-fat infused rum. Caceres starts with Appleton rum, already a full-flavored Jamaican spirit, and uses a fat-washing technique to infuse the liquor with a meaty goodness.

He begins by browning the pork in a frying pan until the fat is melted and liquefied. Next, he takes a sterilized canning jar and measures three cups of rum to which he adds one cup of liquified fat. The mixture is sealed and left to rest. The infusion process takes about five day to complete. The fat and liquid will eventually separate, with the fat forming a hard cover on top of the alcohol. To complete the process, Caceres skims the solidified fat from the top of the jar and strains the liquor through a double cheesecloth.

The second secret to this cocktail is the use of homemade grenadine. Caceres does not use premade syrup; instead he forges this mixer freshly from pomegranate. The finished cocktail is served in a retro tiki mug over crushed ice and garnished with a cinnamon stick for a touch of fragrance. Caceres’ creation results in many layers of flavor. The pork- fatted rum adds a richness that is balanced by the sweetness of the Curaçao. The grenadine, vermouth and aromatic bitters all contribute a bit of earthiness, a sight tartness and subtle spice. While there is no ocean to dip your toes into, sipping this cocktail will transport your taste buds to the sophisticated luxury of a Caribbean resort.

Readers can try the El President Gordo (Fat President) and other delicious Polynesian- and Caribbean-inspired cocktails Monday through Friday, from 5 to 10 p.m. on the rooftop at Dirty Martini, 1223 Connecticut Avenue, NW. ?

EL PRESIDENTE GORDO

1.5oz Appleton VX Pork Fat Infused ()

.75oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth

.50oz Orange Curaçao

1 bar spoons Homemade Grenadine

2 dashes Reagan Orange Bitters

Build drink in a tiki mug, swizzle over crushed ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick. [gallery ids="100902,128316" nav="thumbs"]

Cash In On Cupcakes at Sprinkles ATM
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Can’t shake the cupcake craving? Sprinkles Cupcakes has you covered. There are murmurs around the cobbled streets of Georgetown that the cupcake connoisseurs are planning to open a cupcake ATM. Yes… you heard correctly. A cupcake ATM. And they’re planning to do it as soon as next month!

With the battle of FroYo versus Cupcakes as the trendier anytime snack, Sprinkles ATM might just be the deciding factor. First premiering at their Beverly Hills location, the Sprinkles Cupcakes ATM is impossible to miss due to its multicolored paint job.

And with the success of the west coast venture come plans to expand. Sprinkles ATM might just give the famed residential cupcake shop, Georgetown Cupcake, a run for their money. Dieters beware of the blue, green, pink, and magenta hues of the Sprinkles ATM—they’re sure to summon you for a delicious dessert.

The 24-hour ATM is continuously restocked with fresh cupcakes ranging in flavors from red velvet to peanut butter chocolate. They even stock cupcake dog treats for your dog!

At $4 each, Sprinkles Cupcakes won’t break the bank and are sure to satisfy. Be on the lookout for the multicolored cupcake sensation this August in Georgetown at 3015 M St. NW.