So while AdSense gets approved, Google is running PSAs on the blog. I just happened to notice that the first PSA is for Grameen Foundation, the original microfinance charity. So I'm going to digress from the indulgence of food and wine briefly to talk about social enterprise, geopolitics, and how ill-informed we are in this country. And I'll take all the flames anyone wants to send.
-RANT ON-
U.S. foreign aid spending is 0.1% of the budget. The deficit is a trillion dollars. A lot of foreign aid is wasted, but that's because it gets tied up in political knots to support U.S. agriculture, promote U.S. exports and subsidize governments. The defense budget is bigger in inflation-adjusted terms than at any time in the last century except 1943-1945, the last three years of World War 2. I say this in the context of having just finished Half the Sky with the observation that a tiny fraction of our military budget, if diverted to the right causes in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa, could reap far better security returns than all those boots on the ground and improve our national image abroad in the bargain. If we didn't spend $10 million a year to sponsor Nascar, we could fund a lot of literacy and education efforts for a small amount of money. The linked article from FoxNews quotes 37% of fans feeling more positive about the Army due to its participation in Nascar. Does that mean almost two-thirds fell LESS positive? Or they just don't care? The Nascar fan base is already mostly pro-military. Aren't they preaching to the converted?
-RANT OFF-
Monday, February 21, 2011
An Introduction
So the first post I wrote was a stream of consciousness first thing in the morning on a snowy day off. But I should take a step back and explain what I hope to accomplish here. I'm a foodie and a booze snob and at the risk of immodesty a pretty talented amateur chef. I'll write about what I like more than what I don't like, although I'm hardly shy about sharing my opinions either way.
Most of all I hope to create a conversation about things many of us enjoy in life-- food, wine, beer, liquor. I cook because I love food and love sharing it, and I find that generally other people enjoy it as well. I eat for the quality of the food and of the company. Cooking to me is a creative outlet, as well as relaxing and cathartic. (Nothing like taking out frustration by pounding meat or whipping sauce or grilling chops on an open flame!) I will post recipes and discuss meals, both successful and not, and hopefully make cooking approachable. Anyone can cook, but many people are afraid to try. It doesn't have to be mad scientist chemistry like Keller or Adrià or Dufresne (although I LOVE both the food and the utterly boundless spirit), and most of us don't have the time or the equipment anyway. But we can turn out astonishing food in our homes if we're not afraid to experiment (and sometimes fail).
I drink because the complexities of beer and wine can help us appreciate and adapt to the complexities of life. Drinking should be a communal activity but need not be an academic one. I've studied wine and beer and understand the language of tasting notes, but tasting need not be a doctoral thesis. The language of tasting (tannins, acidity, balance, red fruits, black fruits, citrus, tobacco, ROAD TAR? REALLY?) should simply allow you to describe what you like or dislike and to compare one taste with another on the path to discovery. I hope the blog and the discussion help some of you to discover your own tastes in food and drink and if I don't learn and discover something new I didn't know I liked, I've failed.
Many people drink beer and wine with the aim of getting drunk, although they are in the immortal words of the sadly mortal Michael Jackson (the Beer Hunter, not the Boy Hanger), "an inefficient means of doing so." If that's your plan, save your money, buy grain alcohol or cheap vodka, and mix it with juice if you don't like the taste. I'm sure there are blogs for that, but this is not one of them.
Most of all, please provide feedback, the more honest the better about what works and doesn't for you. I can't please everyone and won't pretend to try, but feedback at least promotes discussion.
Bon appetit! And Cheers! Prost! Salud! 干杯! 乾杯!
Most of all I hope to create a conversation about things many of us enjoy in life-- food, wine, beer, liquor. I cook because I love food and love sharing it, and I find that generally other people enjoy it as well. I eat for the quality of the food and of the company. Cooking to me is a creative outlet, as well as relaxing and cathartic. (Nothing like taking out frustration by pounding meat or whipping sauce or grilling chops on an open flame!) I will post recipes and discuss meals, both successful and not, and hopefully make cooking approachable. Anyone can cook, but many people are afraid to try. It doesn't have to be mad scientist chemistry like Keller or Adrià or Dufresne (although I LOVE both the food and the utterly boundless spirit), and most of us don't have the time or the equipment anyway. But we can turn out astonishing food in our homes if we're not afraid to experiment (and sometimes fail).
I drink because the complexities of beer and wine can help us appreciate and adapt to the complexities of life. Drinking should be a communal activity but need not be an academic one. I've studied wine and beer and understand the language of tasting notes, but tasting need not be a doctoral thesis. The language of tasting (tannins, acidity, balance, red fruits, black fruits, citrus, tobacco, ROAD TAR? REALLY?) should simply allow you to describe what you like or dislike and to compare one taste with another on the path to discovery. I hope the blog and the discussion help some of you to discover your own tastes in food and drink and if I don't learn and discover something new I didn't know I liked, I've failed.
Many people drink beer and wine with the aim of getting drunk, although they are in the immortal words of the sadly mortal Michael Jackson (the Beer Hunter, not the Boy Hanger), "an inefficient means of doing so." If that's your plan, save your money, buy grain alcohol or cheap vodka, and mix it with juice if you don't like the taste. I'm sure there are blogs for that, but this is not one of them.
Most of all, please provide feedback, the more honest the better about what works and doesn't for you. I can't please everyone and won't pretend to try, but feedback at least promotes discussion.
Bon appetit! And Cheers! Prost! Salud! 干杯! 乾杯!
Great dinner at brook*vin last night. The braised, roasted octopus salad is probably the finest preparation of it I've ever eaten- crunchy outside and tender inside. The mac and cheese with thick, homemade bacon chunks (basically smoked pancetta) is creamy and flavorful. And we learn once again that everything goes better with bacon.
Two wines, Weninger Zweigelt from Austria (I'll be writing a whole post about the great reintroduction of Austrian wine, especially and surprisingly to most red, to this country) and Tres Palacios Carmenere from Argentina. The latter was recommended by PJ behind the bar to go with the mac and cheese. Not only was it a perfect pairing, but it was also the cheapest price on the list.
The guys and ladies working there LOVE to talk about wine, and I had a very pleasant hour and a half there.
Today is a day off for most people in NY who don't work retail, and brook*vin is doing an all-day Happy Hour. I'm nt remotely capable of drinking all day anymore, but I may stop by again for a bit.
I also learned the owners own Big Nose Full Body, one of the Slope's many great places to buy beverages for home consumption. I'm sure this is not news to many people in the area, but I'd never been to the restaurant before. I will definitely not wait so long before going back.
FYI, I get no compensation from anyone I write about on here, the opinions are solely my own (who else would want them?), and any ads are entirely controlled by Google adSense. I'm too stubborn and opinionated (ask my wife) not to be objective.
Two wines, Weninger Zweigelt from Austria (I'll be writing a whole post about the great reintroduction of Austrian wine, especially and surprisingly to most red, to this country) and Tres Palacios Carmenere from Argentina. The latter was recommended by PJ behind the bar to go with the mac and cheese. Not only was it a perfect pairing, but it was also the cheapest price on the list.
The guys and ladies working there LOVE to talk about wine, and I had a very pleasant hour and a half there.
Today is a day off for most people in NY who don't work retail, and brook*vin is doing an all-day Happy Hour. I'm nt remotely capable of drinking all day anymore, but I may stop by again for a bit.
I also learned the owners own Big Nose Full Body, one of the Slope's many great places to buy beverages for home consumption. I'm sure this is not news to many people in the area, but I'd never been to the restaurant before. I will definitely not wait so long before going back.
FYI, I get no compensation from anyone I write about on here, the opinions are solely my own (who else would want them?), and any ads are entirely controlled by Google adSense. I'm too stubborn and opinionated (ask my wife) not to be objective.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)