Sake News

Kanpai! Here is another short list of some of the interesting Sake articles that have been published lately. It is great to see more and more coverage for Sake, though I recommend that anyone seeking to publish a Sake article check it at least a few times for accuracy. A few basic errors continue showing up in introductory Sake articles, and those errors would be easy to eliminate if you had a knowledgeable Sake person check your facts. Let us also hope that we see more than just introductory Sake articles in the future. Sake has many depths and all those varied facets make great material for articles.

1) Did you know Sparkling Sake exists? A recent Japan Times news article discusses the growing popularity of Sparkling Sake, from its origins in 1998, noting "Presented in small, stylish bottles, many kinds of sparkling sake are only about 5 percent alcohol - lower than the 15 percent of typical sake. It is a popular choice among women." At most of the Sake tastings I have held, Sparkling Sake has usually been the most popular choice of the women attending the tasting. A few brewers have also started producing Sparkling Sake that is more similar to Champagne. Sparkling Sake can be a introduction to Sake, showcasing its diversity and breaking misconceptions about the nature of Sake. The next time you want to celebrate with some bubbly, consider Sparkling Sake.

2) Should you age Sake in oak barrels? Very little Sake is aged in wood, and most that is aged in such a manner is aged in Japanese cedar and known as Taruzake. This has historical precedent but what about oak aging, like with wine? The Japan Times wrote about Wakaze, Inc. is now exporting its Orbia Sake brand, which has been aged in used oak barrels. One variety, the Sol, is aged in former red wine barrels while the Luna is aged in former white wine barrels. The Sol is "known for its rich sourness and fruity aroma" while the Luna is known "for its delicate sweetness." A major reason for the creation of these Sakes is to make them better pairings for Western cuisine, such as meat dishes or other fatty foods. This is an intriguing idea though I could see the oak barrels overwhelming more subtle Sakes.

3) Huge Sake news from New York! The Nikkei Asian Review is reporting that the Asahi Sake Brewery, which produces the famous Dassai brand, is planning to open a large Sake brewery in New York state. They have purchased a 62,000-sq.-meter site in New York's Hyde Park area, located in the Hudson Valley, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America, and the total investment is estimated to be about $31 Million. Plans indicate the brewery will be about to produce about 1.8 million liters, and primarily Junmai Daiginjo, using locally grown rice. They hope to price this Sake at an extremely inexpensive $15, when most other Daiginjo Sake costs $40+. This is certainly indicative of the huge Sake market in the U.S. and could help promote Sake in a large way, especially considering its low price. It will likely be a couple years before we start seeing Sake from this planned brewery but it's very exciting news. And maybe other Japanese Sake breweries will now consider opening a brewery in the U.S.

Rant: Dine Out More This Winter

Last week, there was a significant snowstorm in the Boston area, leaving over a foot of snow in some places and causing some coastal flooding. Driving was treacherous, some roads needed to be shut down, and you needed a boat to navigate some roads. Many people chose to remain inside rather than attempt to travel, canceling their scheduled plans. And this situation leads me to provide some advice I've given before, to remind people who might have forgotten.  

A number of restaurants, which remained open despite the snow, ran special offers, trying to entice diners. Snowstorms can wreck havoc with a restaurant's bottomline, especially when you consider that January and February can usually be slow times. After the holidays, people often tighten their economic belts and don't dine out as much, trying to pay off any bills incurred during the holidays. Others make resolutions, starting diets and try to eat more at home. Thus, at this time, restaurants need as much business as they can get, and a snowstorm can throw a wrench into those plans.

When a restaurant loses business due to a snowstorm, they lose money and it is not always easy to make up for that loss. Some restaurants run "blizzard" or "snowstorm" specials, attempting to lure in some customers. Even after a major snow event, some potential customers will prefer to remain home rather that attempt to battling snow covered roads and limited parking. Restaurants may continue to lose business for a few days after a major snowstorm. This will put stress on even the best of restaurants, so something needs to be done to help them.

My advice is simple: Dine out more this winter.

Despite the snow, despite the obstacles, people need to patronize more restaurants at this time, giving them your support and money. Don't go out if it is dangerous to do so, but don't stay in just because it is only inconvenient. If you can, walk to nearby restaurants. If possible, drive a short distance to other restaurants. Take public transportation if possible. Order takeout or get delivery. In New England, we are used to snow so it shouldn't be as much of a barrier as it might be elsewhere. And during this winter, when there isn't any snow, dine out more, giving your business to these restaurants to help them survive this season.

If you don't give some added support to restaurants at this time, then don't be surprised if your favorite places have to shut down. For many restaurants, especially the smaller ones, their profit margins can be small so that the lack of business during these snowy months can be devastating. And there is little they can do if people stay away because of the snow. You need to patronize these restaurants now, to assist them in weathering these problems.

Consider all the restaurant workers as well, including the servers who rely on tips. Without sufficient business, they won't be able to earn as much money, causing them to endure financial hardship. You can help them by dining out, and tipping properly. And if you order delivery during these snow events, I'd suggest you tip them extra, to compensate them for the difficult of driving in this weather.

Dine out more this winter. Give restaurants your support during these difficult times. Don't let snow lock you into your house for days on end.

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food & drink events.
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1) For the first time, Legal Harborside’s scenic second level dining room will offer a regular weekday lunch service from 12:00pm-3:00pm while overlooking Boston Harbor. Last month, Legal Harborside opened their second level for midday dining to accommodate the bustling holiday season and given the popularity of the service, it will become a permanent fixture in the New Year.

Legal Sea Foods’ flagship location in the Seaport will offer an upscale lunch experience on their second level with a menu comprised of chilled shellfish, crudos, soups, salads, appetizers, sandwiches and entrees. Highlights from the menu include Jonah Crab Toast with fennel fronds, jalapeño and lemon aioli ($15); Legal’s Signature Crab Cake with jumbo lump crab, remoulade sauce and seasonal salad ($17); a Lobster Roll, prepared traditionally with mayo (MP); a Salmon Burger with freshly ground salmon and roasted red pepper sauce ($14); and, Grilled Tuna with cous cous and butternut squash ($MP).

For reservations, please call 617-477-2900

2) Sumiao Hunan Kitchen is welcoming the New Year with the start of new traditions in Cambridge’s Kendall Square. Designed to heat up the frigid winter, Sumiao Hunan Kitchen is serving up a collection of spice-packed specials and after-dinner drinks to warm the soul.

Available throughout the month, Sumiao Hunan Kitchen’s chef specials include the 2017 Fish Platter – a popular menu feature from their New Year’s Eve special – with red braised whole tilapia flavored with a black bean chili sauce and garnished with ginger, scallions and green & red peppers ($38) and the Furious Frog, a daring twist on their signature “Angry Frog” creation that brings even more Hunanese heat to a mix of bullfrog, duojiao, pickled red pepper, garlic and scallions ($32). Debuting at the end of the month and available through the spring, the 2018 Delight is a bowl packed with all of SHK’s favorite things: egg-wrapped fish paste, meatballs, bamboo shoots, calamari, pork, sea cucumber and more ($48).

If you are resolving to cut dessert from your diet in 2018, Sumiao Hunan Kitchen now will offer a dedicated “Digestif Spirits” menu. Comprised of single malt scotches, cognacs, cordials and after-dinner cocktails, the new menu is the ultimate perfect ending to any meal without all of the guilt. Highlights include a Macallan 18 Year ($26), Balvenie 14 Year ($20) and Glenlivet 12 Year ($15); D’ussé VSOP ($17) and Courvoisier XO ($25); Fernet Branca ($10) and Godiva ($10); and, a Chocolate-Hazelnut Martini ($10).

3) Thursday, January 11th is National Hot Toddy Day and the Seaport Hotel’s TAMO Bistro + Bar is a fine place to celebrate. Escape the frost and cozy up by the fire to enjoy a piping hot toddy, made with whiskey and customized to your liking. Choose from Traditional (Seaport honey, lemon cloves), Spicy (Sriracha-infused Seaport honey, dried pepper) or Sweet (cinnamon-infused Seaport honey, cinnamon stick) variations to satisfy your taste and warm up from the inside out this winter season. Each Toddy is $12.

No Predictions, Only Desires

As 2018 has now arrived, you'll here plenty of predictions for this New Year, but not from me.

Predictions for the New Year are basically useless. At the end of the year, the vast majority of predictions will have failed to come to fruition and even those that do are probably due more to luck than any actual ability to predict the future. You would have just as much success by reading tea leaves or the entrails of goats. I know that if I devised my own predictions, they too would probably fail.

We can all hope that 2018 will usher in positive changes to the local food & drink industry. Instead of offering any predictions, I'm going to provide a list of my desires, those trends, issues and items which I would love to see step forward and take precedence in 2018, though I'm not predicting they will actually come to fruition. However, I think we would all benefit if these desires were fulfilled.

And we have the ability to make these desires come true. They pose valuable opportunities for entrepreneurs and others to step up and make their mark. They are matters we can demand and promote, matters we can hound restaurant owners, legislators and others to pursue. We can make our future become a reality.

Many of these desires are the similar to those I wrote in previous years as those desires did not come to fruition but I still believe they should become more prominent. Maybe 2018 will finally be the year to see at least a couple of my desires come true.

1) More Bread Pudding  
Bread pudding is relatively easy to make and can be inexpensive as it can be made with day old bread. Plus, it is a diverse dish that can be made in a wide variety of flavors, with different sauces, and accompaniments. I've had some superb bread puddings at local restaurants, and would like to see more restaurants offering it on their dessert menus. However, I also think there is a great opportunity for an enterprising baker to open a Bread Pudding Bakery. They exist in other parts of the country so why not in the Boston area? Skip opening another damn cupcake bakery, think outside the box, and opt for a bread pudding bakery instead. I've been pushing for this for a few years and it still hasn't caught on. Why not?

2) More Local Seafood
Something is seriously wrong as the U.S. imports over 90% of their seafood. Where is the love for domestic seafood? There is plenty of sustainable and delicious domestic seafood available and more of it needs to be served at restaurants and eaten at homes. For example, why serve Asian shrimp, especially considering problems such as the Thai slavery scandal, when Gulf shrimp can be just as good? We should support local fishermen and our local economy by buying more local seafood. Local seafood is also more traceable, so you know where it has been counter to imported seafood which can have a much murkier origin. Price alone shouldn't be the reason to opt for imported seafood.

3) More Breakfast Pizza
A breakfast pizza, such as with potatoes, bacon, cheese and a fried egg, can be absolutely delicious. It isn't a difficult dish to create yet you won't find it available on many menus. Think of all the pizza joints you know and then consider which ones make a breakfast pizza. You might know one or two, at best. So why isn't it more popular and available? It is puzzling to me and it seems such a no-brainer. People love pizza so why wouldn't they also love a breakfast pizza? This too seems to be a missed opportunity for many so I hope more restaurants decide to add these to their menu.

4) More Sake At Non-Asian Restaurants
In the Boston area, Sake is largely confined to Asian restaurants and there is no reason why that should be the case. Sake pairs well with all sorts of cuisines, from Italian to French, Barbecue to Burgers. I've previously written about The Science of Sake & Food Pairings, explaining reasons why it pairs so well with varied cuisines. For Sake to become more popular and mainstream, we need more restaurants to carry and promote Sake. Tasting Counter is one of the courageous outliers, a non-Asian restaurant with ten Sakes on their menu. In southern Maine, plenty of non-Asian restaurants now carry the locally made Blue Current Sake. There is now Dovetail Sake, made in Waltham, so Boston restaurants have another local option to add to their drink lists. Sake is not just for Sushi!

5) More Specialized Restaurants
Why do so many Asian restaurants have to offer multiple cuisines, providing Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Korean options on their menus? Why does a Japanese restaurant have to offer every type of Japanese food that exists? I want to see more specialized restaurants, those which concentrate on a very limited menu, and which can excel with those dishes. In Japan, you'll find thousands of specialized restaurants yet it is far more difficult to find such places in the Boston area. Yume Wo Katare and Yume Ga Arukara are excellent local examples of specialized spots and should be a model for other restaurant owners. This all applies to other cuisines too. For example, Italian restaurants don't need to have a burger on their menu, and also don't need to cover every regional Italian cuisine. Throw out those huge menus and simplify.

6) More Love For Niche Wines
So many excellent wines get largely ignored by the general public, and even by a significant number of wine lovers. I want to see more people willing to expand their palates and explore these niche wines, from Sherry to Georgian wines, from Crémant d'Alsace to Israeli wines, from Port to Greek wines. Why do you restrict your drinking when you could be sampling all of the world's wine bounty? We need more restaurants adding these niche wines to their lists, and then promoting them to their customers. We need more wine bloggers to write about these wines, persuading their readers to check out these niche wines. You'll find so many interesting and delicious wines if you break out of your usual drinking patterns and try something new.

What food & drink trends would you like to see in 2018?

10 New Year's Resolutions For My Readers

Happy New Year's and I hoped you enjoyed your celebrations last night, whether you were partying in Times Square or enjoyed a relatively quiet night at home. I hope you spent the evening with family and/or friends and drank some type of delicious Sparkling Wine. It is my fervent wish that this New Year is better for you than 2017.

This is also the time when people will ponder their lives and choose to make Resolutions, the things they want to do, or not do, to make their lives better in the New Year. Maybe you want to give up smoking or lose weight, maybe you want to start going to a gym regularly or save more money. Unfortunately, many people will break their resolutions after only a short time, so numerous people will choose not to make a resolution, figuring they won't follow it anyways.

As I previously done for the last several years, I want to offer some alternative suggestions for resolutions, all connected to food and drink. Rather than deal in absolutes, or exact measurements, I merely hope that you choose to do your best to follow these suggested resolutions with the simple goal of doing better than you did last year. I don't expect anyone to follow these resolutions all the time. Please just do your best. I think you might find this easier to do than a more specific resolution which is an either/or proposition. Seek continued forward progress in these ten resolutions.

1) Resolve to eat & drink healthier
That encompasses so much, from eating less calories to choosing items that have less preservatives and chemicals. Take small steps in your approach rather than diving into a major change. The smaller steps won't seem as burdensome and it will make it easier to take another small step later on. And even small changes can bring about positive changes. We all would benefit from eating and drinking healthier and it will also help our environment and economy.

2) Resolve to consume more local food & drink
Local products can help the environment, the local economy and benefit the local community. Plus, many of those local products can be healthier than mass produced, overly processed foods that might come from thousands of miles away. This includes drinking local wines, as every state now produces wine, and you might be surprised by the quality of some of that local wine. Not all local food and drink is delicious or good for the environment, so do some research to find out the best.

3) Resolve to eat more seafood, especially domestic
Seafood can be extremely healthy for you, especially those fish rich in Omega-3s, so it is an excellent choice for dinner. And seafood is delicious, versatile and often easy to prepare. Yes, it can be more expensive, but it is well worth the added cost. And buying more domestic seafood will help our economy, rather than buying so much imported seafood. Eating more seafood can be one of the healthiest life changes you ever make. It has scientifically been proven that consuming 26 pounds of seafood annually will reduce your chances of heart disease by 36%. An easy and delicious resolution.

4) Resolve to expand your drink horizons
Don't keep drinking the same old stuff all the time. There are so many wonderful beverages out there to taste, to see if you can find some new favorites. Break out of your rut and endeavor to try something new on a regular basis. If you mainly drink Chardonnay, venture out and try some other white wines, such as Gruner Veltliner, Trebbiano or Albarino. Try Sherry, Sake, Japanese Whisky, Mezcal, Franciacorta, Baijiu, and other under-appreciated beverages. Taste it all, constantly trying new beverages, and continue drinking those you enjoy.

5) Resolve to expand your food horizons
In a similar vein, don't keep eating the same old stuff all the time. There are so many wonderful foods out there to taste, to see if you can find some new favorites. Break out of your rut and endeavor to try something new on a regular basis. Try some less common meats, from rabbit to wild boar, or maybe something even more unusual like insects or guinea pig. Seek out ethnic dishes that are new to you, and look for new ingredients you can try out in your own kitchen. Taste it all, constantly trying new foods, and continue eating what you enjoy

6) Resolve to cook more at home
Cooking at home is another way to benefit the environment, and it can be more economical than eating out all the time. It also gives you a better handle on exactly what you eat, so you can make the food as healthy as you desire. It can be fun too, if you cook with someone else, breaking the potential boredom of cooking alone. Be creative in what you cook, seek out new recipes, and share recipes with others.

7) Resolve not to be a douchebag when you dine out
When you dine out at a restaurant, be polite and show respect to everyone working at the restaurant. Don't demand special treatment or threaten the restaurant just because you write reviews on some community website. Tip properly, showing your server gratitude for all their hard work. If you enjoy the restaurant, spread the word about your positive experience. Good restaurants can use, and deserve, all the help they can get.

8) Resolve to give more to fight hunger
Despite the wealth of the U.S., there are still far too many people who can't afford to eat properly. Hunger is a major problem and one that we can do something about. Give food or money to local food banks, national organizations, or any other charity that is trying to combat this problem. Those of us without food security issues can all help out.

9) Resolve not to waste as much food
It is said that up to 40% of our food ends up as waste, and that is a nearly unbelievable statistic. Do your part to help reduce food waste. Food waste can lead to higher food prices and cause more environmental damage. Don't make as much food as normal when making a meal so you don't have leftovers in the first place. As your mother probably once said to you, finish everything on your plate. Use any leftovers to make additional meals.

10) Resolve not to drink & drive
As I have said time and time again, do not drive if you are impaired by alcohol. It is much too dangerous and you could injure or kill yourself or someone else. Even if you don't get in an accident, you could be arrested and that comes with its own high costs. It isn't worth doing it, so please just don't drink and drive.

Is there anything I missed?