Arrow Creek 2009 Pinot Noir California It’s on the browner side of red for a wine, mudlike in color. I smell rhubarb, plum, and tobacco, and the plum sticks with me when sipping. It or some other stonefruit is prominent. There are a lot of tannins, and the wine tastes dark with coffee and tobacco
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24 June, 2011
The Meat House (Chapel Hill) *CLOSED*
Comments : 2 Posted in : Butchers, Food, Grab and Go, Product Reviews on by : The Gourmez Tags: aged steak, asian pork, butcher, butchery, chapel hill, cheese, chicken, chorizo, duck, lamb, marinade, meat house, produce, rabbit, steak tipsThe Meat House 1508 E. Franklin Street Chapel Hill Website Donna Coon, who owns the recently opened Meat House in Chapel Hill with her husband, Paul, took me on a tour of the facility a couple of weeks ago. I was excited to try out this chain butchery because they’ve opened three shops in the
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22 June, 2011
Sweet Peach Mead
Posted in : Mead on by : The Gourmez Tags: mead, peach, pittsboro, starrlight meadery, sweetSweet Peach Mead Starrlight Meadery The color of this mead is gorgeous—no, it’s not peach, but more of a gold with a pink hue to it. I could stare at it for hours. Okay, that’s a lie; I could never refrain from drinking a poured glass for that long. It smells first of honey and
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21 June, 2011
Bolla Soave DOC 2009
Posted in : Soave, White Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: 2009, bolla soave, buttery, doc, lemon, meringue, nyc nom nom, peachBolla Soave DOC 2009 Veneto, Italy This is my first experience with wines from the Soave region of Italy. Plenty of smells rise from the glass: lemon, peach, and vanilla. The peach is prominent when drinking the wine, and it lends a great flavor overall. It’s a buttery white but not nearly as much so
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20 June, 2011
Aviator Smokehouse
Comments : 4 Posted in : Dining in Fuquay Varina - NC, Restaurants, Sake, Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: aviator brewing company, aviator smokehouse, barbecue, beans, Beer, brisket, fuquay varina, pork, ribs, smoked meat, sourdough, triangleAviator Smokehouse 525 East Broad Street Fuquay-Varina Website $6.95–$13.95 The Aviator Smokehouse in downtown Fuquay-Varina is an offshoot of the Aviator Brewing Company, which is a favorite of plenty of Triangle-area beer drinkers. That beer connection carries over to their menu. The first thing I noticed under the list of sides was a proclamation
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17 June, 2011
Mole-Mole (bu·ku, Raleigh)
Posted in : Bars and Tasting Rooms, Bars in Raleigh - NC on by : The Gourmez Tags: 3 olive chocolate vodka, bu ku, buku, chiles, cocktail, creme de cacao, downtown, mole-mole, navan, raleighMole-Mole bu·ku, Downtown Raleigh This thick cocktail should be listed as a dessert. With both chocolate vodka and crème de cacao in the ingredient list, it’s awfully close to drinking a Mexican hot chocolate in cold cocktail form. The Navan, which is a vanilla cognac as I just learned, is very subtle in the mixture.
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15 June, 2011
Tempra Tantrum 2009
Posted in : Red Wine, Tempranillo, Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: 2009, blackberry, brown sugar, good wine guru, oscasio, pepper, raspberry, tasting notes, tempra tantrum, tobacco, wine chick's guide to everyday wine, winecentricTempra Tantrum 2009 Bodegas, Spain This wine with a moderately amusing name is a tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon blend. You’d think they’d go all tempranillo with the name, but trust me—they did well with the blend. They also sell a tempranillo and shiraz blend under the same name, just in case you get confused! The
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14 June, 2011
The Bloody Brunch (Motorco and Ko Kyu BBQ)
Comments : 4 Posted in : Dining in Durham - NC, Events, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: bbq, bloody brunch, central park, duck fat, durham, ko kyu, korean taco, motorco, motorco musical hall, peter lamb wolves, pork belly, short rib, tater totThe Bloody Brunch Motorco Music Hall and Ko Kyu BBQ Central Park District, Durham Sundays The Bloody Brunch is a weekly event hosted by Motorco Music Hall and the Ko Kyu BBQ truck that brings together a winning combination for the night owls among us: a brunch that doesn’t start until 1 pm, cool drinks,
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13 June, 2011
Tisdale Pinot Noir (vintage free, yo!)
Posted in : Pinot Noir, Red Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: alcohlogers' anonymous, california, chocolate, modesto, plum, supermarket libations, thin, tisdale, winers blogTisdale Pinot Noir (vintage free, yo!) Modesto, CA This wine looks thin, watery, dark brown, and plum. It smells of bitter chocolate and currants. As expected, it tastes very thin and watery. Fleeting cocoa powder comes first followed by the currant and overripe figs with some apricot notes. Then the cocoa powder rushes back in
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10 June, 2011
Minneapolis Day 3: Riverfront, Mill City Museum, and Nick and Eddie’s
Comments : 1 Posted in : Dining in Minneapolis - MN, Restaurants, Travel Guide for Minneapolis - MN on by : The Gourmez Tags: big pickle, butterscotch pudding, downtown, guthrie theater, mill city cuseum, Minneapolis, mississippi river, nick and eddie's, pacna's, pillsbury mill, pillsbury park, river walk, riverfront, ruins, st. anthony falls, st. anthony main, stone arch bridge, washburn a millFor our last full day in Minneapolis, I finally managed to steal Ben away from his conference for a riverfront stroll. We aimed for brunch at the Nicollet Island Inn, which is on Nicollet Island in the middle of the Mississippi. Unfortunately, the historic inn with a menu that sounded divine was booked up, so
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