Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.
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1) Flora Restaurant, in Arlington, continues its Book Reading Series for the next few months.  Flora sets up their private dining room, and the invited guest author will usually reads from their latest book, discuss their latest project, and maybe more.  After the formal presentation, the author will stay and sign/sell books. There is no charge for attending these events. The upcoming authors include: 

April 12, 6pm: Cynthia Gold, Tea Sommelier for the Park Plaza Hotel, former owner of Tea Tray in the Sky and Elements restaurants and co-author of “Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World” will be giving a Tea Cocktail Seminar as well as speaking/reading from her book. Signed copies of her book will be available for purchase. She will be giving a demo of how to use tea infusions to create cocktails, and samples will be available. Reservations are highly recommended.

For reservations, call (781) 641-1664.

2) The second annual Boston Wine Week kicks off a week-long celebration of wine, from March 28-April 3, served by the glass or bottle at a number of Boston restaurants. Proving that great wine doesn’t have to be a great expense, all wines (some of which retail up to $90/bottle) will be offered at $9/glass and $32/bottle. Participating restaurants will offer a minimum of six wines, available at a substantial discount.

Participating restaurants include: Bin 26 enoteca, Lala Rokh, BiNA osteria, Jer-Ne, Kingston Station, Woodward at the Ames Hotel, Petit Robert Bistro, Petit Robert Bistro South End, Petit Robert Central, Beacon Hill Bistro, Parker’s Restaurant at The Omni Parker House, Brasserie JO, 94 Mass Ave, Back Bay Social Club, Union Bar & Grill, and Sam’s at Louis. Check the Boston Wine Week website for additional updates.

Also back for the second year running is The Second Glass Classy Bar Crawl, a neighborhood stroll running in collaboration with Boston Wine Week. Two wine crawls are in the works for this year, the first on Thursday, March 31 with pit stops around Back Bay, including 94 Mass Ave, Brasserie JO and Back Bay Social Club. A second Industry Night Bar Crawl will take place Sunday, April 3 at participating Downtown restaurants, such as BiNA osteria, Jer-Ne and Woodward at the Ames Hotel.

3) Ting Yen, owner of Oishii Boston, will host the “Let’s Help, Answering the Call!” disaster relief fundraiser at his restaurant on April 3rd with all proceeds benefitting the Japan Red Cross Society. Ting Yen has enlisted the help of fellow local chefs that are all rallying for the cause. At the event, Anthony Caturano (Prezza), Dante de Magistris (Restaurant dante & Il Casale), Evan Deluty (Stella), Luis Morales (Radius), Kang San (Oishii Too Sushi Bar) and Jeff Nace (Neptune Oyster) will join Ting Yen to help an incredible cause.

WHEN: Sunday, April 3rd at 5:30pm
COST: $100 per person (100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Japan Red Cross Society)
TICKETS: Tickets are available by calling Oishii Boston at: 617-482-8868

4) Join 62 Restaurant & Wine Bar in Salem, on Friday, April 1st, as they toast the return of their full liquor license with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.

On February 10th, 62 Restaurant & Wine Bar became one of seven restaurants alleviated from Salem's age-old seasonal liquor license that prohibits hard alcohol from being served 10 weeks out of the year-- during the “off season.” Limited to serving only beer and wine during those 10 winter weeks, April 1 will mark the end of their seasonal liquor license, and the first day they can serve liquor again. To celebrate the end of their prohibition, 62 Restaurant & Wine Bar will unveil their new spring cocktail list and serve complimentary hors d’oeuvres to guests from 5pm-7pm in the lounge area. After 7pm, to honor the drinker and diner, “62” will serve a complimentary signature spuntino with each drink purchased off of the new cocktail menu in the bar and lounge area.

Guests can cheers to freedom with over 20 creative cocktails from “62’s spring cocktail list, each one made from fresh ingredients, including the “Kiwi” a refreshing blend of Stoli Blueberry, muddled kiwi and house-made ginger lemonade ($10), and the “Sgroppino,” named after classic Venetian sorbet, because of its delicate blend of Ketel One, Prosecco, Limoncello and mint ($10).  And no prohibition party would be complete without classic favorites such as the “Back Porch Lemonade” (Smirnoff Citrus, lemonade, cranberry and house-made ginger ale, $10), or the “The Side Car” (Brandy, Cointreau, lemon and orange bitters, $10), just two of “62’s extensive “Signature Cocktails” made with a twist!

5) Spring is in full bloom at Da Vinci Ristorante and Chef Peppino welcomes diners to enjoy flavorful creations and cocktails of the season. Launching Tuesday, March 29th diners may choose from the latest menu, featuring seasonally blends of both Italian and Indian-fused cuisine. For $39 per person, guests will have their choice of nine primi courses, fourteen secondi and seven dolci options. And as a true sign that spring is in the air, guests will have the opportunity dine outside on Da Vinci’s scenic patio overlooking Park Square.

The Prix Fixe Menu is offered all day Monday – Thursday and before 6 p.m. Friday – Saturday. New featured entrées include:

· Masala Agnolotti– Indian accents, spicy ricotta and English peas. Stuffed with ginger, cherry tomato sauce and curried pesto
· Roasted Pork Chop – Roasted and wrapped in pancetta; served with Caribbean sweet potatoes and sautéed broccoli rabe; finished with a white wine sage rosemary sauce
· New England Cod Fish – Pan seared Alaskan salmon with artichoke and sweet potato cake, sautéed baby spinach; finished with Prosecco sauce
· Sirloin Steak – Chargrilled and served with truffled Parmesan mash, sautéed asparagus, ginger cumin jus

To wash it all down, diners are invited to indulge in the following spring specialty cocktails ($12 each).
· Coconut Margarita– Patron Silver, Patron Citronge, Malibu Rum and pineapple juice
· Blueberry Gimlet– Cold River Blueberry Vodka and fresh lime juice
· London Fog– Bombay Sapphire, Cointreau and grapefruit juice

International Boston Seafood Show: Food of Interest

The International Boston Seafood Show ends today, but the results from this show will reverberate throughout the rest of the year.  Local retailers and restaurants will have new suppliers, bringing in new seafood products for their customers. Consumers will be able to purchase many of the seafood products showcased at the show. The knowledge gained at the show will support future seafood-related endeavors, and help more people towards sustainability. And the effect will be more than just local but will be international in scale. The future looks more positive, and I am glad for that.

I have already told you Ten Things You Should Know about the Seafood Show, and then added Five More Things You Should Know and topped it off with The Key to Sustainability. I'll now end by showcasing some of the most compelling food I sampled at the show, and I certainly ate plenty.With all of the samples I tasted, I could not write about them all so I am only providing a sampling of some of the best. And then I will end with a couple miscellanous matters, and maybe that will even be a bit humorous.

One of my most favorite foods of the show were Maristella's Fine Foods Seafood Arancini and Pot Pies. It was good to see that it is a family owned and local, Boston based, business and their name derives from that of a family fishing boat in Sicily. They will be selling four seafood pot pies, including: Wild Caught Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Gumbo, Wild Atlantic Haddock, Lobster with Saffron Scented Creamed Corn and Wild Alaskan Salmon with Horseradish & Chipotle. Above are just samples, and the actual pies will be 13 inches. I tasted both the Lobster and Salmon pies, finding the crust to be nice and flaky, and the interiors to be full of tasty fillings. The flavors were spiced well and fairly complex, not the simple blandness you might find in cheap pot pies. They would certainly make an easy and delicious dinner one night.

They will also be offering five types of seafood arborio rice arancini, including: Wild Caught Blue Crab with Gorgonzola Cheese & Applewood Smoked Bacon, Wild Alaskan Salmon with White Wine & Capers, Wild Caught Scallops with Applewood Smoked Bacon, Wild Caught North Atlantic Lobster with Sherry Cream Sauce and Wild Caught Shrimp with All Natural Pesto. I tasted the Crab with Gorgonzola, and found it to be filled with creamy and cheesy goodness, accented by a smoky bacon flavor. Another easy dish to prepare, maybe as an appetizer or side dish.

I have long been a fan of catfish, and it often is fried because the pieces are thinner than many other fish. It is also good to know that U.S. farmed catfish is a "Best Choice" by sustainable seafood organizations because it considered to be farmed in an ecologically responsible manner. The piece of fish above though does not look like the usual catfish you find on your plate, as it is much thicker and larger. Yet it is, a new type called the "Delicata," which is an older and larger catfish.  Because it is larger, and lacks that membrane found on other catfish, it is better suited to grilling or baking. It has a denser texture but the meat is still white, flaky and slightly sweet. This summer, you should look out for the Delicata and grill up some.

That is Capt'n Catfish, the official mascot of the U.S. catfish industry.

I tasted a number of crab cakes at the show, but one really stood out to me, the Crabby Pete's Maryland Style Crab Cake. Based in Long Island, New York, the family started out in 1994 supplying crab cakes to local food establishments.  What I enjoyed about these cakes were that they will filled with plenty of crab meat, and tasted lighter than many others, showing the lack of heavy fillers. The spices were nice, working with the crab rather than overpowering it. They would certainly impress your guests at a dinner party where you did not have the time to prepare your own crab cakes.

No, this is not a photo of a plate of beef jerky.  Instead, it is Tuna Jerky, made from individually caught yelllow fin tuna and imported by Maguro International.  It is supposed to be high in protein, low in fat, and rich in Omega-3s. I enjoyed the taste and texture, like a well made beef jerky but with more of a seafood flavor. Would be an interesting snack while watching a sports game or hanging out in your backyard. I bet a rich Junmai Sake would be an interesting pairing with this.

Rather than take the time to prepare your own sauce, sometimes a store bought sauce will do the trick, provided it tastes good.  Fortun's Finishing Touch Sauces seems like a good option to me.  They sell 12 different sauces, which are freshly made and all natural. They also are gluten-free and have no MSG.  All you have to do is heat the sauce and then pour it over your food, whether meat, pasta, rice or something else. I tasted four of their sauces, and the two which most stood out to me were the Asian Style Pepper and the Four Pepper.   

The Asian Style Pepper is made with sake, oyster sauce, hoisin and garlic and does remind me of Asian cuisine. Probably would be good atop a stir fry dish.  The Four Pepper is made with colorful peppercorns, spices, Madeira and Burgundy wines. It was spicy, and seemed best for meat, especially steak. Both sauces had bits of vegetables or other ingredients in them.

Scoma's Restaurant, a famous seafood spot in San Francisco, has entered the retail market with a new line of sustainable, all natural seafood cakes. The seafood cakes can be pan fried or oven heated in minutes. The cakes include: Salmon & Shrimp, Dungeness Crab, San Francisco Style Crab Cakes, Wild Pacific Sockeye Salmon Cakes, and Wild Pacific Northwest Shrimp & Crab. I liked the fact that the seafood was all sustainably caught.  Plus, they tasted very good, with lots of seafood in each cake and minimal filler. Again, another product that would impress at a dinner party if you did not have enought time to make them on your own.

I didn't get to try their Lobster Pizza but the I did get to taste the Calendar Islands Maine Lobster Company's Lobster Corn Chowder. I have always enjoyed a good corn chowder and adding lobster to it only adds to the enjoyment. This was a tasty chowder, not too thick but with enough creamy consistency. There were tiny pieces of potato as well as some bacon (and what isn't better with bacon?).

I had to stop when I saw these oysters being grilled in their shells.  The oyster was slathered with garlic butter and then sprinkled with a parmesan cheese blend.  Oyster purists may shudder but I found them quite delicious, with a strong garlicky taste.  The oysters themselves, Handy Gold Band Oysters, are a bit as they undergo a special high pressure processing which both preshucks and purifies the oyster.  So, you can buy just oyster meat, or frozen oysters on the half shell, or the "gold band" oysters. The gold bands come in a complete shell, to seal in the juices, but can be easily opened rather than the usual shucking.

Sorry to say I did not get the name of this exhibitor, but they made a fantastic grilled South African Lobster Tail with a white truffle butter. It may not be a Maine lobster, but it still can be quite appealing.

Famed Chef Paul Prudhomme made an appearance at the show, displaying his Magic Seasoning Blends, his books and more. At one time or another, most people have probably used some of his seasonings at home, and may still do so. They come in a variety of flavors, versatile enough to be a welcome addition in many different cuisines. It seems Chef Prudhomme is not someone who chooses to rest easy at home on his past glories, but rather someone who still gets out to meet the people.  That was an inspiring sight to me.

This was bit of an oddity, smoked fish from the African coast off Nigeria. Schafer Fisheries, a family owned business in Illinois, is one of the few companies bringing this seafood into the U.S. I did not get to taste it, but it sure perked my interest.

These Mississippi Fried Oysters were addictive, and I had to pull myself away or I would have stood there and chowed down a couple down of them. 

Ashman Manufacturing has a line of over thirteen seafood sauces and eight dry blends, and I tasted several of the sauces, including the Sweet & Spicy, House Salmon Citrus Wasabi, Jamaican Jerk, House Salmon Honey Ginger, and House Seafood Japanese Style. All of the sauces had a nice melange of flavors, rather than be one-dimensional.  The Citrus Wasabi was very good, though I would have liked a bit more spicy heat to it. The sweet sauces were good because the sweet flavors were not cloying, and there were some balancing tastes as well. The Jerk sauce was very appealing, and certainly brought to mind the Caribbean.  Their product line has plenty of diversity, offering a wide range of choices for the consumer. And the full flavors of the sauces will make them popular.

I was a bit disappointed that I never got to taste any alligator at the Seafood Show. The Louisiana Seafood were serving some gator, but only at certain times, and I seemed to miss those ones.  But, I did get to taste their Oyster Milk Soup (as well as get the recipe), and I enjoyed it. It was a lighter soup, with plenty of balanced flavor and spiced just right.

And on the lighter side....

This poor Panda is clinging desperately to the bamboo column, fearful of two potentially lethal perils. First, he is worried that the attendees, crazed by all the free seafood samples, might think he is just another sample and try to grill him, coating him first with some panko.

Second, the Panda is worried about the over twenty polar bears which are stalking him, waiting for him to slip off the column. You can see the poor Panda to the left of the photo, and a few polar bears are staying very close to him.

The Panda should be worried because those pole bears are huge, and have very long claws. I do hope that now that the Seafood Show is over, someone will rescue the Panda, as no one else but me seemed concerned about it during the show.   

International Boston Seafood Show: Five More Things You Should Know

I think I am going through seafood withdrawal today as I am not at the International Boston Seafood Show.  But I can savor my memories from the past two days, and relive it through my photos, even if it is only a photo of a fish head. Plus, I have a ton of literature to sort through and peruse.

On Sunday, I posted an article, Ten Things You Should Know about the Seafood Show, to give my readers a greater picture of its scope and diversity, and maybe motivate you to check it out.  But, after my second day there, and more pondering about the show, I realized there is even more that I felt I should share. So, here is a supplement to my original post, adding five more intriguing elements about the Seafood Show. It may be too late to go to this year's event, but you can always plan ahead for next year.

1. The Gulf oil spill is not a significant concern.
I spoke to a number of Gulf based exhibitors, asking them about whether the tragic Gulf oil spill was still affecting their industry and products.  Every one of them stated that the problems were essentially over, that all of the fisheries were open, and that consumers had no reasons to fear seafood from this region. Now, it might be easy to have a bit of skepticism about their claims, as obviously they want to sell their products and scaring consumers won't help in that regard. But those individuals I spoke to seemed very sincere, answered my questions directly, and I did not detect any evasion or attempts at deception. I felt more secure about Gulf seafood, so that was a good lesson to learn.

2) Salmon is king.
The most ubiquitous fish of the entire show was definitely salmon, both Atlantic and Pacific. More exhibitors were showcasing salmon than any other seafood, though cod was a close second.  From Copper River Salmon to the Kwik'pak Fisheries, you could find salmon in a diverse mix of preparations, from sashimi to jerky. I love the taste of salmon and it seems many others do as well.  Plus, salmon is one of the healthiest fishes you can eat, rich in Omega-3s, so that is added reason why it should be so popular. Long live salmon!

3) Frozen fish products were ubiquitous.
Though you might think a seafood show is all about fresh fish, I found many exhibitors showcasing frozen seafood products, ranging from frozen fish fillets to prepared dishes. Many of the samples I enjoyed were frozen, prepared dishes which they heated up and served.  Crab cakes, lobster macaroni & cheese, seafood arancini, seafood ravioli, battered fried shrimp, and much more. I can understand the reasoning behind this, as many people want to eat healthy seafood, but in their busy lives they don't always have the time to prepare a meal from scratch. Thus, it is much easier for them to pop a frozen, prepared seafood entree into the oven. And with an increase in frozen seafood products made from more natural and sustainable ingredients, you can feel even better about them.

4) Recipes were ubiquitous.
For cooks and chefs, you could find an abundance of seafood recipes at the various booths. Some provided index card-sized, single recipes while others provided sheets with multiple recipes. For example, the Louisiana Seafood passed out cards with recipes for Oyster Milk Soup and Alligator Sauce Picante. Others passed out small books, chockful of recipes, such as Fresh Ideas for U.S. Catfish and Mississippi Shrimp Recipes. You could easily come out of the seafood show with hundreds of new seafood recipes, to keep you busy all year round. Plus, you got to sample a number of those recipes making it easier to determine which recipes you wanted to try at home.

5) Schwag was ubiquitous.
Besides recipes, lots of exhibitors were offering free schwag, from pens to cups, from pins to carrying bags. It is certainly customary now at these trade shows for companies to offer such items, in efforts to promote brand awareness. And I saw plenty of attendees delighted to pick up the schwag, grabbing the pens and other items. Though the actual utility for the companies of some of the items escapes me. How many people will actually wear the pins again? I doubt many will do so. As for the pens, they seem more for the individual and I don't see brand awareness spreading too much from them.  Now the carrying bags I can understand, especially as so many people use them now. They carry a company logo and will be seen by many other consumers, so they seem one of the best bangs for the buck.

If you attended the Seafood Show, is there anything else people should know about it?

International Boston Seafood Show: The Key To Sustainability

Trying to determine which seafood is sustainable can be a difficult question, yet it is a determination that numerous consumers and purchasers of seafood are trying to resolve. Sustainability is a crucial issue, and it is taking center stage more and more. No one wants to be responsible for driving a species to extinction. We want our descendants to have access to the full bounty of the sea.  But what is the key to assessing whether a specific seafood species is sustainable or not? 

The answer is simple: Information. We need the answers to plenty of questions, from the current population status of any particular species to the specific methods by which a species is caught.  We need to know the source of our seafood as well as the methods of aquaculture, if relevant. Consumers, restaurants, retailers and other purchasers of seafood though have limited time to seek the answers to those questions. So, they need others to do the research for them, although those others must be trustworthy sources.

In a previous post, I mentioned that Sustainability is Prevalent at the 2011 International Boston Seafood Show. Each aisle I walked down seemed to have multiple booths with vendors offering sustainable seafood for purchase. Were those items truly sustainable though?  Fortunately, also found that attendees could locate that key to sustainability: information.  There were several exhibitors offering information and services to help understand the complicated world of seafood sustainability.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the leading sustainable seafood organizations, was at the show offering attendees plenty of information, including the 2009 Turning the Tide: The State of Seafood guide, which provides comprehensive data and details on seafood sustainability.  They also had an updated Buyer's Guide, from February 2011, which was a one-sheet listing the seafood that is a Best Choice, Good Alternative or Avoid. Plus, they provided an 80+ page, recipe book, each recipe using sustainable seafood. In addition, they were promoting their 2011 Cooking For Solutions, a culinary event where celebrity chefs celebrate sustainable cuisine.

I have had issue with the Monterey Bay Aquarium before, essentially the use of their sustainable seafood "wallet cards." I see them as rather simplistic, when the issue of sustainability is very complex. Their website certainly offers all of the detail you might want, but because of the simplicity of those wallet cards, much of that detail can get lost to the average consumer. And those details can be quite crucial.  But overall, Monterey does an excellent job of trying to educate consumers and others as to which seafood is sustainable.  So, it was good to see them presenting at the seafood show, helping attendees, answering their questions, and more.

Traceability is an important element of sustainability, being able to track the chain of custody of seafood, to ascertain exactly where it came from, how it was caught, how it was processed, etc. Sometimes you go to a food market or restaurant, ask the source of their fish and get a blank stare.  Others may be able to provide you some very basic information, like its country of origin but nothing more. But the best places can provide you as much information as you might want.

Trace Register is a company that can provide consumers and purchasers of seafood the traceability they desire, operating an online database that tracks every user in the supply chain. I was fascinated and impressed by a demonstration of this system. Essentially, every product which is part of the Trace Register system has a lot number which can be input into their website, thus garnering detailed information about the entire supply chain. You can track the name of the boat which caught the fish, where the fish was caught, how it was caught, etc. You can see which processing plants the seafood passed through, how the seafood was stored, who imported it, who distributed it and much, much more.

The system is used by over 500 companies, including some major retail chains like Walmart and Wegmans. It is not yet used by many restaurants, though they are acquiring new clients all the time. I think the Trace Register is an excellent system, which strikes at the heart of traceability, offering exactly the intelligence we desire about the sources of our seafood.

There are a number of seafood organizations which provide lists of what they consider to be sustainable seafood, but sometimes those lists may disagree with each other. It can take lots of time to go to each seafood organization's website to compare and contrast what they say about a particular species. But there is a better solution, an impressive answer offered by Fish Choice.

Fish Choice is an online resource, targeting primarily commercial seafood buyers, which aggregates the sustainability information from a number of the major seafood organizations, including: Blue Ocean Institute, FishWise, Marine Stewardship Council, Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Watch, New England Aquarium, and SeaChoice. So, a buyer only has to consult a single website, and can then easily compare and contrast the ratings of all of these groups. You have the ability to search the website in various ways, such as by name, region, supplier and more. When you bring up the data, it is compiled together in a very user friendly manner, and provides comprehensive information on the sustainability of the seafood.

I think it is exactly what a concerned seafood buyer would want, and it is even better because all of the information is free!  As it is free, a seafood buyer has no excuse not to use this website to help make better and more sustainable purchasing decisions.

Other sustainability organizations were also present at the seafood show, including: FishWise, the Marine Stewardship Council and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.  So, attendees had plenty of options as to gathering sustainability information.  Thus, the complexities of sustainability can be more easily resolved with proper information, and a number of companies are leading that path.  If you purchase seafood, are you availing yourself of this assistance?  If not, why not? Because it seems rather clear that you should be doing so.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #72: Helping Japan

On Friday, March 11, a massive earthquake, one of the largest in recorded history, struck northern Japan, triggering a devastating tsunami that has affected millions of people. Over 3,000 people have lost their lives and thousands more have remained unaccounted. The destruction has been so extensive that millions of families have been displaced in search of water, food and shelter far from damaged nuclear reactors. Obviously, this has been a terrible tragedy, pulling at every one of our heartstrings with the innate desire to help, to give something that might make their lives easier.

The people of Japan need humanitarian assistance - they need our assistance - to help overcome the devastation. This is why Gabriella and Ryan Opaz of  Catavino and I came up of the idea of hosting an event to support Japan, using Wine Blogging Wednesday as ur perfect vehicle.  Lenn, the originator of WBW, was quick to support the idea, allowing us to pitch Wine Blog Wednesday #72: Helping Japan.

As we want to Help Japan, then the theme for WBW #72 should be Japan-related and that is what will be done.  The theme gives you two options, hopefully making it flexible enough that we will garner plenty of participation.  First, you can drink and review a Sake, Japan's iconic beverage. You will earn bonus points if you review multiple Sakés of different styles or types. You will also earn bonus points for pairing Saké with food. I would love to see lots of bloggers try some sake, to expand their palates, but I know that it can be difficult for some to obtain sake. 

Thus, the second option is that you can drink a wine that pairs well with Japanese cuisine.  Japanese cuisine is very diverse, from sushi to sukiyaki, so there are many wines which will pair well with different dishes. Sparkling, white, red, rose and dessert wines will all pair with some Japanese dish.  You'll earn bonus points if you actuallly drink the wine with Japanese food.

Saké, also known as nihonshu, is a beverage that I believe in taste, style and food compatibility most resembles wine. It is an incredibly diverse beverage with a wide range of styles and flavor profiles. You can find everything from Sparkling Saké to Koshu, aged Saké. Almost everyone should be able to find some type of Saké that will appeal to them.  The traditional Saké toast is "Kanpai", a rough equivalent to "cheers" though with a deeper meaning. This Japanese term literally translates as "empty or dry cup" though it really means "Let us drain our cups in friendship." Saké is very much a social drink.

Where can you find Saké? First, there are four all-Saké stores in the U.S. where you can shop or order online. These include True Saké in San Francisco, Sakaya in New York City, Saké Nomi in Seattle, and The Sake Shop in Hawaii. Plus, your own local wine store may carry some Saké.  If you want more information about Saké, then check out my Passionate Sake site.

For those of you in Europe, the Opaz' suggest contacting the Sake Education Council who is willing to help you source sake's internationally. They also have a Facebook and Twitter page. I'll note too that there is a new sake brewery in Norway, called Nøgne Ø, the first and only sake brewery in Europe.  Plus, there is a British Sake Association where you may be able to get some assistance.

You have until Wednesday, April 6, 2011 to post your review. Please email me a link to your post at ubarluther@aol.com. If you don’t have your own blog, put up your review as a comment on this blog, or email it to me and I will post it for you.

Now, to help raise money for the people of Japan, you also need to place this link to the American Red Cross at the bottom of your WBW #72 post. That will allow your readers to donate directly to the Red Cross for this worthy cause.  As you can see from the link, there is a specific way to donate to support the disaster relief in Japan. Please feel free to make your WBW post earlier than April 6 if it is ready, giving your readers more time to contribute. You could also post about this theme on your blog, alerting your readers to the upcoming charitable donation so that they can save their money until it is posted.

Please help the people of Japan overcome the effects of this terrible tragedy.