Primal Roots 2010 Red Blend Acampo, California I love blends. They make me happier than wines primarily made of one grape. Together, the blend is smoother, more drinkable, although I assume an argument can be made that they lose character along the way. That may be the case with the Primal Roots 2010 Red Blend.
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28 December, 2012
The Carolina Table: East Meets West Dinner
Comments : 2 Posted in : Dining in Chapel Hill - NC, Dining in Kinston - NC, Events, Restaurants, Travel Sponsored Stays and Tours on by : The Gourmez Tags: adam rose, arancini, bourbon ganache, cannelloni, carolina rice, carolina table, cassie parsons, chapel hill creamery, chatham mills, chef, chef and the farmer, colleen minton, country ram, dinner, dolmade, east meets west, family style, festival, food, french broad chocolate, fullsteam, harvest moon grill, il palio, parfait, pecan tuile, pickled collards, pittsboro, porchetta, rabbit, rabbit confit, rabbit leg, rabbit ravioli, rabbit sausage, rattigan, review, rice middles, sean lilly wilson, sour grapes, squash pot du creme, terra vita, terravita, trout, turnip, vivian howardThe Carolina Table: East Meets West Dinner We have finally made it, dear eaters. It’s the last of my posts on TerraVITA 2012, which you may find funny because I passed up the Grand Tasting on the Square, which is TerraVITA’s main event. It did not take place until the day after this meal, and
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26 December, 2012
Cilantro Jalapeno Margarita
Posted in : Bars and Tasting Rooms, Bars in Raleigh - NC, Tequila on by : The Gourmez Tags: calavera, cilantro, cilantro jalapeno margarita, cocktail, downtown raleigh, jalapeno, jimador, nightlife, raleigh, review, simple syrup, sour mix, spice rimCilantro Jalapeno Margarita Calavera (my restaurant review) Downtown Raleigh $8 I have been dying to try the tequila cocktails at Calavera. They plain sound amazing, and it’s hard to go wrong with me, tequila, and something spicy. So ordering the cilantro jalapeno margarita was basically a foregone conclusion. I’ve tried a million varieties on it
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24 December, 2012
Nonfiction Bragging: Guest Post for the LoMo Market
Posted in : Announcements, Beverage, Cocktail Recipes, Product Reviews, Writing on by : The Gourmez Tags: blog, cocktail syrup, ginger, guest post, lomo market, mixology, muscadine grape, simple syrup, this and that jam, WritingNonfiction Bragging: Guest Post for the LoMo Market A few weeks back, I did some cocktail experimentation for the LoMo Market, and I didn’t have the chance until now to link you all to the post on it. It was a lot of fun, and I love when I get the chance to prove I’ve
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21 December, 2012
The Sustainable Classroom #4: Wine and Cheese
Posted in : Events, Travel Guide for Chapel Hill - NC, Travel Sponsored Stays and Tours, Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: alexander kast, breana lai, butternut squash soup, chapel hill, cheese, cooked cheese, ginger, goat lady smoky mountain, grilled cheese, inez ribustello, le telQuel, meadow creek grayson, montgomoery cheddar, north carolina, on the square, pairings, rag apple lassie viognier, ravines riesling, ravioli, rogue river blue, saddle rock tawny, southern season, sustainable classroom, tarboro, terravitaThe Sustainable Classroom: Wine and Cheese The trio of organizers for my final session at the Sustainable Classroom, a day of intensive discussion and tasting of sustainable foods at TerraVITA 2012, knew their crowd. They knew we were seasoned foodies; the concept of pairing cheese and wine was not revolutionary to us, though it will
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19 December, 2012
Baguetteaboutit
Comments : 2 Posted in : Food Trucks, Stands, and Carts, Grab and Go on by : The Gourmez Tags: baguettaboutit, baguette, chapel hill, chicken chipotle, chimichurri, chorizo, food truck, french roll, habanero sauce, hollowed bread, lime soda, raleigh, review, sausage, too hot, triangleBaguetteaboutit Various Triangle Parking Lots Website Despite the fact that I really want to spell it bahgeddaboudit, I can’t resist a food truck with a good pun for a name. A good bun, in this case, too. Baguetteaboutit is one soldier in the Triangle’s army of food trucks, and I’ve had their sandwich rolls twice
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17 December, 2012
Nonfiction Bragging: My Winning Cocktail, the Frosty’s Chocolate Orange Martini at the Washington Duke Inn
Posted in : Announcements, Cocktail Recipes, Dining in Durham - NC, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: bull durham bar, cardamom, cardamom simple syrup, chocolate rim, chris thomas, competition, don ball, durham, fairview dining room, frosty's chocolate orange martini, grand marnier, orange juice, stoli vanil, sugar rim, tara skelly, terry's chocolate orange, washington duke inn, white chocolate, wrong answers are sexyFrosty’s Chocolate Orange Martini at the Washington Duke Inn For the month of December, you can order a cocktail of my very own creation at the Washington Duke Inn’s Fairview Dining Room and Bull Durham Bar. I won first place in their Blog Nog cocktail competition for my riff on a Terry’s chocolate orange. It’s
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14 December, 2012
The Sustainable Classroom #3: The Cultivation and Culinary Possibilities of Figs
Comments : 3 Posted in : Events, Primitivo / Zinfandel, Travel Guide for Chapel Hill - NC, Travel Sponsored Stays and Tours, Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: 2012, american studies, bernie hermin, cesar florido moscatel pasas, chef's academy, cuisine, fig bacon, fig basil, fig chutney, fig lemon tart, fig liver pate, fig spice cake, figs, food economy, mary margaret mccamic, nv graham beck bliss demi sec, pairing arrow, pickled figs, seghesio zinfandel, sherry stolfo, southern plants, sustainable classroom, terravita, the clever vine, unc chapel hill, unique southern dishes, wine pairingsThe Sustainable Classroom #3: The Cultivation and Culinary Possibilities of Figs For my third session at the Sustainable Classroom as part of my bloggers’ free pass to TerraVITA 2012, I chose to take a class on figs and wine pairings. My reasoning was simple. I adore figs. I adore wine. I often think of figs
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12 December, 2012
Coffee Cupping at Larry’s Beans
Posted in : Coffee Shops, Coffee Shops in Raleigh - NC, Events on by : The Gourmez Tags: abela geluke, big spoon, bona, brad, chief roaster, co-op, coffee, coffee qualities, coop, cupping, downtown, ethiopia, green earth catering, grounds, larry, larry's beans, processing, raleigh, raleigh what's up, roastery, roasting, schilcho, single source, skim, tasting, triangle explorer, triangle localistaCoffee Cupping at Larry’s Beans 1507 Gavin Street, Raleigh When I accepted an invitation to check out the first coffee cupping at the Larry’s Beans roastery, I had no idea that the roastery is literally a Willy Wonka house in the middle of an industrial block of downtown Raleigh. No really, that’s Larry of Larry’s
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7 December, 2012
The Sustainable Classroom: Practical Vs. Purist
Comments : 1 Posted in : Events, Travel Sponsored Stays and Tours on by : The Gourmez Tags: 2012, angelo mojica, bon appetit, bruce shoenfeld, cassie parsons, chapel hill, charlotte, cozi farms, duke, food, grateful growers, harvest moon grille, large scale eating organic, large scale sustainability, local, nate peterson, panel discussion, rafi, scott marlow, sustainable, sustainable classroom, suzanne meslon, terravita, travel and lesiure, unc, unc hospitals, wholesaleThe Sustainable Classroom: Practical Vs. Purist It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to blog. That’s what a vacation in New Orleans will do for you. But I’m back, and I have a few more posts coming your way from the TerraVITA 2012 food and wine festival. This one is a summary of
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