Hudson-Chatham Winery & Respect For Hybrids: A New Estate Blend

There are prejudiced individuals who would dislike the 2016 Hudson-Chatham Block Two Red Table Wine without even tasting it. These snobs would dismiss this wine without sampling the liquid within the bottle. Such a shame!

They would miss out on a delicious wine, all because of their shallow views concerning hybrid grapes. This Red Table Wine is a blend of four hybrid grapes but you should't allow that fact to color your opinion about this wine. Hybrids often get little respect because they are not "pure" vitis vinifera like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Hybrid wines are far too often judged by the nature of the grapes rather than the taste of the wine.

Vitis vinifera is the "common grape vine" and the one most used for making wine. All of the major grapes of which you are familiar are likely these types of grapes, from Tempranillo to Syrah, from Sauvignon Blanc to Pinot Blanc. Hybrids are a cross of two or more Vitis species, such as vitis vinifera and vitis labrusca. They are often created by people seeking to create a hardier grape, especially for harsher northern climates. Because they are not pure vitis vinifera, some people turn up their noses at these hybrids, refusing to believe they can produce quality wine. Drop that pretentiousness and judge these wines by their taste.

It has gotten to the point that some fans of hybrid grapes don't even want to use the term "hybrid," to avoid the prejudices that the term can spawn. I believe we should embrace the term, and don't try to hide what is being used. Instead, we need to fight the prejudice by getting these people to taste these wines, to understand the quality that can be found within them.

Sure there are poor quality wines made from hybrids, but there are plenty of poor quality wines made from vitis vinifera too. There are also some excellent wines made from these hybrids, and a wine lover would be hard pressed to guess they were hybrids simply from tasting the wine. You should approach a wine without prejudices or biases, willing to taste the wine and let it stand on its own. If you do so, you will probably find plenty of delicious wines that you might never have experienced otherwise.

In the Hudson Valley of New York, one of the most ardent advocates of hybrid grapes is Carlo DeVito. Carlo, with his wife Dominique, own the Hudson-Chatham Winery and you can read my prior article for background on the winery. The winery produces a number of different hybrid wines from grapes like Baco Noir and Chelois. I've enjoyed a number of them in the past, and I recently opened a media sample of the 2016 Hudson-Chatham Block Two Red Table Wine, sharing it with friends during a meal of grilled ribeye and sausages.

This wine is a field blend of four grapes, Baco Noir, Chambourcin, DeChaunac and Chelois, and this is their first release of this wine, made from all estate fruit. The wine was inoculated, but underwent open top fermentation for approximately 21 days. It was subsequently aged in older French barrels, for about two years, and has only a 12% ABV. When I tasted the wine, I immediately thought of Beaujolais, a light, fruity wine with subtle spice notes. Easy drinking and delicious, it was the type of wine that makes you crave a second, and third, glass. It was perfect on a fine summer day with some grilled meats. It isn't a wine to over-analyze, but one simply to drink and enjoy.

In addition, if you were blind-tasted on this wine, you'd never know hybrid grapes were used. It would certainly be an example of a wine that could change your views about hybrids. So get over yourself and stop prejudging hybrids. Drink the wine before making any judgments. Carlo certainly understands the quality that can be produced from hybrids and wine lovers should broaden their palates and enjoy his wines, including this new red blend.

Rant: At The Register, Put The Cellphone Down

Cellphone use is ubiquitous, and far too many people have great difficulty lifting their heads from the screens of their phones no matter what they're doing. They walk down the street, looking at their phones rather than looking out for others who are walking in their path. When these individuals visit a store, from a wine shop to a book shop, they sometimes continue using their phone even when they go to the register to make their purchase.

That needs to stop!

First, it's rude as the cashier generally needs to engage you in conversation when you make your purchase. It's hard to do so if you are talking to someone on the phone, or texting, or surfing the Internet. Second, it's dehumanizing to the cashier, as your attention is on your phone and you aren't treating the cashier as a human being, but rather as if they were an automaton. Third, mistakes can easily be made as you aren't paying sufficient attention and may not properly understand whatever questions the cashier asks you.

If you have to make a call, then handle the call before you go to the cashier. Once you get in front of the cashier, put your phone away or down. Give your full attention to the cashier. Treat them as a human being. Engage in some actual face-to-face social interaction. Your life is far greater than the tiny screen of your cell phone.

At the wine shop where I work, this happens on occasion. It is clear from their telephone conversations that it isn't an emergency. And it is more difficult to handle their transaction as asking them relevant questions isn't easy. I've heard from plenty of other people who feel the same way too, and stores are not the only victims. At restaurants, servers can encounter the same problem.

Have some consideration and put your cellphone down.

(This is a slightly revised, reprint of a Rant from four years ago but the issue remains as relevant now as it did then.)

Rant: "Ugly" Food Deserves Love Too

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."
 --Confucius

In the food world, where Instagram is immensely popular, you're been fed a lie. You've been led to believe that only "beautiful" food is worthy of attention. If a stylish and compelling photo can't be taken of a dish, then it's ignored. It's a shallow and insidious belief, and easily spreads beyond the food world, so that people begin to believe that outer beauty is most important in many other areas too. It teaches the wrong lesson. We need to battle this lie, and embrace the fact that even "ugly" food deserves love too.

The photo above probably isn't "worthy" of Instagram because sausage gravy generally isn't seen as appealing on a picture. It's often considered an "ugly" food, and thus not worthy of attention. However, this dish, a Hash Stack, is one of the most popular items at the restaurant where it's served. It's pure comfort food, a delicious blend of flavors and textures, and definitely worthy of your attention. This "ugly" dish shouldn't be ignored as it possesses its own "inner beauty," a food for the soul.

Chain restaurants understand the appeal of "beautiful" food and their commercials, often using a food stylist, work hard to depict their foods in the best light. However, when you actually patronize those restaurants, what you get served probably doesn't resemble the beauty of their commercials. It is another type of lie, one pertinent to Instagram as well. Restaurants may help Instagrammers take the best photo of their food, although when you dine there, your dish might not actually look like those photos.

In addition, a photo doesn't tell you how a dish tastes. All you see is the outer shell, and not what is within. Beautiful food can lack sufficient flavor and taste. It might be too dry, too overcooked, too unbalanced, too salty, etc. And ugly food can be the opposite, some of the best food you've ever tasted. We need to look beyond appearances, to get to the heart of what is truly important. Would you rather eat something that is pretty and tasteless, or something ugly and flavorful?

We need to stop promoting the idea that only beautiful food is worthy. We need to embrace the myriad "beauty" that is found in all dishes, even if on the outside, they don't follow traditional images of beauty. "Ugly" food deserves just as much attention and we shouldn't settle for less.

Spicy World: Sichuan Skewer Pot in Malden

The area around Pleasant Street, Exchange Street and Florence Street/Commercial Street in Malden is undergoing significant construction. Right now, with all of the large construction vehicles and equipment on the roads, it isn't the easiest place to navigate or find street parking. As such, some people may avoid the area, but they would be passing up the opportunity to dine at an intriguing new Sichuan restaurant, Spicy World, at 157 Pleasant Street.

This is the second location of Spicy World, the first being in Boston's Chinatown, at 7 Beach Street. I've never been to the Chinatown location but have dined twice at the new Malden location, which just opened in June. It's a medium-sized restaurant, with a long bar area, and is open for both lunch and dinner. They have a full liquor license and offer a variety of cocktails, priced at $7.50, from a Mai Tai to a Grateful Dead. They also offer a variety of shots, at $4.00, from the Alien Nipple to a Black Unicorn.

They have an extensive menu of Chinese dishes, including plenty for the more adventurous, such as Chili Frog, Spicy Jellyfish, Spicy Pork Knuckle, Duck Head, Pig Ear, and Spicy Tofu Pudding. You also find more familiar cuisine, such as Homemade Dumplings, Fried Rice, and Crispy Chicken Wing. Prices are very reasonable, with almost everything costing $15.95 or less, especially considering portion size appears to generally be ample.

The Stem Dumplings ($7.95), with a spicy house sauce, were delicious, with a great texture to the dumpling skins, a flavorful pork & veggie filling, with a mildly spicy sauce. They were obviously fresh and home-made and not something pre-frozen. (I think the menu had a typo and they meant "steam" not "stem.")

The Soy/Flavored Duck Wings ($9.95) formed a large mound on this plate, and were topped with crushed peanuts and onions. The wings themselves weren't intact, as I had expected, but were cut into much smaller pieces. They were meaty and tasty, with that richness you find in duck that you generally don't find in chicken. The texture and flavor of the peanut added an intriguing element to the duck.

The specialty of Spicy World is Sichuan Skewer Pot, better known in China as Málàtàng, which roughly translates as "spicy numbing." Its name derives from its use of mala sauce, an oily and hot sauce which is created with Sichuan peppercorn, chili pepper and other spices. It is a common street food in China and its origins are murky.

At Spicy World, you begin with the "soup/broth" ($2.50) and then choose your level of spiciness, from 0 to 5. I first opted for the level 2 and it was just at my limits for spiciness, and it definitely is very much a numbing heat in your mouth. On my second visit, I went with level 1, and it was much better for my own preferences, though still with a pleasant numbing heat. Your own heat preferences will vary.

Next, you can choose, if you want, rice or noodles, from $1.50 to $3.00, which include items like White Rice, Udon Noodles, Ramen Noodles, and Green Bean Noodles. The rice comes in a bowl as a side, while the ramen noodles (which reminded me of the instant ramen noodles you find in supermarket packages) were in the soup.

Then, you choose an assortment of skewers to top your soup, including vegetables, meat, and seafood. There are over 45 choices, and they are all priced at only $1.00! Your options include items such as potato, lotus root, winter melon, tofu skin, yam cake, chicken, lamb, quail egg, beef tripes, pig blood, squid, shrimp, fish ball, and more. Near the front of the restaurant, there are refrigerated cases containing all of the various skewers so once you order, your server can easily collect the skewers for your meal.

When they bring you a menu, they give you a pen so you can check off the items you want. That works for the skewer pot as well as all of their other dishes.

This is a skewer pot with ramen noodles. I'll note too that the bowl is quite large and makes for a filling meal.

This is a skewer pot without any noodles in the soup.

The soup broth is flavorful, with a numbing heat, and a bit of scallions and greens in it. As the skewers sit in the broth, they pick up some of the spicy heat too. I enjoyed the skewers I ordered and the portion size varies dependent on the specific item. For instance, with the Quail Egg, you receive a skewer of three small eggs. The Mini Sausage has two links while the Potato has three, thinly sliced and fairly large pieces. The meats, from the Chicken to the Lamb, were generally tender. The Shrimp comes whole, with head and tail, and is a fairly decent size.

I'm certainly going to return here to try more of their menu but my initial visits have been very positive. Service was excellent, the food was tasty, prices were reasonable, and there is plenty of variety. I feel bad that Spicy World is brand new and all of the nearby construction work is likely adversely affecting their business. It is definitely worth checking out, taking the effort to find a parking spot so you can dine there.

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) Kingston Cuts, Lounge & Grill, specializing in classic Steak Frites, has opened at 25 Kingston Street in Boston. Kingston Cuts is "founded on the principle that topnotch food and service shouldn’t have to bankrupt the customer." Kingston Cuts General Manager Everett Strauss says, “I wanted to open a place that people could visit frequently—without going into hock. Less expensive doesn’t have to mean lesser ingredients and a less attentive waitstaff.”

The centerpiece of the Kingston Cuts menu is a trio of butchered-in-house, Angus Steak-Frites weighing in at 10, 14, and 22-ounces and ranging in price from $16 to $34 dollars. Each steak is accompanied by dressed greens and a mound of Original Fries, cooked crisp in beef lard. A ground-daily burger ($15) is a half-pound patty of New York sirloin, flank, and ribeye and will be available only as long as the day’s supply lasts.

Kingston Cuts has a large selection of Dinner Salads, including Grilled Romaine ($12), with bacon, cherry tomatoes, onion and house made Bleu Cheese dressing and a Baby Kale Mediterranean ($12), with black olives, chick peas, and feta. Sandwich lovers are sure to swoon over the triple cheese Grilled Cheese ($14) served on sourdough bread with creamy tomato soup and truffle fries. You can customize a bowl of Ritz Cracker and Panko crusted Macaroni and Cheese ($15) made with a blend of mozzarella, cheddar & gruyere cheese, available with chicken, falafel, or steak. They also offer Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Sliders.

North Shore born and bred Chef Gary Yanko began his career in the hospitality industry as a bar back and bartender at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut. He has run the kitchens of various pubs & restaurants; honing his skills and developing a flair for hearty, down to Earth fare.

Kingston Cuts has many cocktail offerings, including a Pink Aloe cocktail with house infused gin, raspberries and cucumber, or a citrusy Limoncello Collins. For a nightcap to end your meal, consider their Espresso Martini with Grey Goose Vanilla Vodka, espresso and chocolate bitters, or perhaps the House Barrel Aged Manhattan.

2) I've found another reason why I really want to dine at the new Simcha, their Taco Tuesday. Chef Avi Shemtov has created an array of Tacos Arabes (Arab tacos). “Tacos Arabes capture the essence of Simcha,” said Shemtov. “Our goal is to tell the global journey of the Israeli people through our food and few dishes tell that story better than tacos Arabes.”

Tacos Arabes were a 20th-century creation in Puebla, Mexico introduced to the region, according to local legend, by Lebanese immigrants. The immigrants took the flavors and ingredients beloved in their own culture and turned them into tacos befitting local Mexican tradition. Arab tacos were born!

The Tacos Arabes will be served on half-shells of the restaurant’s house-baked pita, and will sell for $2 each on Taco Tuesday (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.). During the rest of the week, they will be available at regular prices ($4 to $8 each).

Some of the Tacos Arabes include:
Braised beef tacos – short rib, blue cheese aioli, harissa, sumac onions, zesty labneh
Smoked white fish tacos – branzino, pickled vegetables, farmer’s cheese, cilantro
Vegetarian tacos – roasted vegetables, fried chickpeas, tahini, carrot-top zhoug
Coriander sausage tacos – crumbled house-made sausage, blistered tomato, mango habanero slaw, feta