WAVERLY DINER GREENWICH VILLAGE

WAVERLY DINER With EMPIRE STATE BUILDING"

Greenwich Village, New York

photo: Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Daniel Bellino Zwicke Does Wine Spectator Grand Tasting NY

. .

ANGELO GAJA With 2009 GAJA BARBARESCO

Wine Spectator Grande Tasting New York 2013

Photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

GAIA GAJA

TERLATO TASTING

OCTOBER 2013

NEW YORK

 

Photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

The BARONESS ROTHSCHILD

At Wine SPectator Grande Tastin New York

2013

 

Photo Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Imbroglio Folnari

Castello Nozzole

Greve in Chianti

With Famed Super Tuscan "IL Pareto"

 

Photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

SEBASTIANO ROSA WINMAKER OF SASSICAIA

AND GARI PUNIC "BARUA"

WITH DEGREZIA WINEDIRECTOR DANIEL BELLINO-ZWICKE

 

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

With Giancarlo Grasso

and

His Great Barolo Runcot

 

 

 

Elena Penna Curado

With One of Her Family's 

Famed VIETTI BAROLO'S 

at Wine Spectator Grand Tasting

 

Photo by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

 

DeGrezia Wine Director and Author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Flanked bt Two of Italy's Greatest Wine Guys

Marches Lambero Frescobaldi (Left)

And His Uncle Marchese Leonardo Frescobaldi

At Wine SPectator Grande Tasting in NEW YORK

 

FAMED WINEMAKER SEBASTIANO ROSA

And HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE

At THE WINE SPECTATOR GRANDE TASTING

NEW YORK

SASSICAIA  2009

From TENTA SAN GUIDO

AND FAMED WINMEAKER SEBASTIANO ROSA

 

"THIS WINE IS da BOMB" ONE of THE GREATEST SASSICAIA VINTAGES EVER

OPUS ONE

FROM

THE BARON ROTHCHILD & ROBERT MONDAVI

NEW YORK, NY

2013

BORDEAUX

Cos D' Esternol

A GLASS 

of CHATEAU CHEVAL BLANC 

and a PASTRAMI SANDWICH

 

"ONLY In NEW YORK" !!!

 

At Marriott Marquis

NEW YORK

 

 

 

WINEMAKER ALESSANDRO CELLAI (Castellare)

And Wine Director DANIEL BELLINO-ZWICKE

At DeGrezia Restorante NEW YORK

MASI AMARONE

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE !

 

 

 

BOOKS by DANIEL BELLINO-ZWICKE ... ITALIAN NEW YORK FOOD & WINE

 

WINE DINNER With CINZIA TRAVAGLINI New York

GREAT GATTIINARA And NEBBIOLO FROM TRAVAGLINI

at TRAVAGLINI WINE DINNER With CINZIA TRAVAGLINI

Trattoria GUGINO

Tribeca NEW YORK

AWESOME GATTINARA From TRAVGLINI

With DAM TASTY PIZZA MARGHERITA

TRAVAGLINI TASTING DINNER at GUGINO

With Antonio (Palm Bay Imports)

CINZIA TRAVGLINI

and Author

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Been invited to a Wine Dinner tonight by Cinzia Travaglini to be held at Gigino Trattoria in Tribeca (New York, NY) ... Can't wait! Will be dining with Cinzia Travaglini, Chef Luigi, Antonio from Palm Bay and other restaurant wine people who have been lucky enough to get this rare and coveted invitation .. I don't know who the other guest are ..  Will report back tomorrow on the evening, the food, wine, and guests, etc..

THE REPORT

DINNER PRIVATE WINE TATSING With CINZIA TRAVAGLINI at GUGINO

We drank, we ate, whe talked we enjoyed .. A private tasting dinner with Cinzia Travaglini. Actually I thought there were going to be more people. Basically it was just me and Cinzia Travaglini tasting me on Travaglini's current vintages of fine wines. We were joined by ANtonio from Palm Bay, Travaglini's Importer, and then when we were finished eating, Chef Luigi joined our table as well. Cinzia started us out with her Nebbiolo Coste Della Sesia .. Travaglini is the unquestionable King of Gattinara, a small zone in northern Peidmonte .. The zone is only about 200 acres of which Travaglini comprises have of the entire zone. Gattinara is made mostly of Nebbiolo at 90 to 100% .. Gattinara may have up to 10% of Bonarda and Vespolina grapes, but all of the Travaglini Gattinara wines are made of 100% Nebbiolo ... Travaglini are Kings of Nebbiolo of which about 97% of their entire vineyards are planted to the grape, along with a very small amount of Uva Rara, Bonarda, and Vespolina .. Yes they are masters of Nebbiolo of which they have been growing since the 1920's ...

So Nenniolo and Gattinara are the thing of Travaglini .. They are the biggest as well as the most famous Gattinara with their signature Trademarked Gattinara Bottle .. OK, so we started out with the Nebbiolo Coste della Sesia which blew my mind. I absolutely loved the wine. It was in perfect balance, full of flavor, yet light in weight, the perfect combination in an Italian Wine which are among the most food friendly wines in the world. And that's what we were doing, food and wine, and yes friendliness too. This wine Coste della Sesia was an absolute marvel of a wine, that is very reasonably price and half to a third the price of the Travaglini Gattinara's which are at their price points quite reasonable for wines of the highest of quality. This is thought of as an entry level wine, but it is anything but. Yes I loved this wine that was perfectly in balance in flavor, tannic and acidic elements along with the correct weight and wonderful flavor of ripe berry fruits with a nice twinge of licorice, just lovely. Cinzia poured me just a little, but it was so good I had to ask for a little more, and then more a thrid and forth time. That's when you know a wine is good.

After the lovely Nebbiolo we moved on to the Gattinara's, thee wine of Travaglini .. We ordered some grilled Clamari and a Pizza Margherita and Chef Luigi sent us some special bread and a platter of Salumi. We all flipped for the Pizza which we all thought was the equal of the finest Pizza from Napoli "The Pizza Capital of The World." Well after all Chef Luigi is from Positano in the area near Naples on the gorgeous Amalfi Coast. We drank the Gattinara 2007 which as well as the Nebbiolo before was absolutely wonderful and a wine in perfect balance. Just delisous. It was then on to the Gattinara Riserva 2006, another winner, and then a very special and rare wine.

The special rare wine in question was il Sogno, which was a special project created by Cinzia's father Giancarlo Travaglini in 2004 ... Giancarlo wanted to make a dry table wine using the appassimento method of drying grapes before the fermentation process as with the famed wines of Amarone and the lesser known Sforvato of Lombardia. Giancarlo picked some of his best Nebbiolo Grapes and set them out to dry on matts. Unfortunately Giancarlo passed away in November of 20024 when the grapes had only been drying for 1 month. Cinzia and her winemaker husband continued the project.  They finished drying thr Nebbiolo grapes, fermented them and made the wine that tey called il Sogno "The Dream." 

So Cinzia poured me a glass of il Sogno, and again my mind was blown. The wine an absolute gem had all sorts of wonderful flavors running through my mouth. It was delisious, it had power, but not too much as some big AMarone sometimes do. The wine was a delight and I'm looking forward to putting it on my own list.

We also drank the Gattinara "Tre Vigna," The Three Vineyards .. The fruit for Tre Vigna comes from 3 very special small vineyards on the Travaglini Estate. These 3 different vineyards have different geographical vineyards on the estate and bring different characteristics to the wine to make up one complete and wonderful structure of a wine, 

Travaglini Gattinara "Tre Vigne"

 So we drank the fine wines from Cinzia Travaglini, we had perfect Pizza, Antipasti, followed by some wonderful Tagiatelle con Tartufo and Brasato di Manzo (Braised Beef), and finished up with some tasty desserts. It was a fine night and a dinner that along with the many wonderful private luncheons and dinners I have had over the years with some of Italy's most prestigious winemakers, like Cinzia, I remeber them all, and I will always remember this one, absolutely Wonderful!

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

CINZIA TRAVAGLINI

WTC1 at NIGHT

WORLD TRADE CENTER 1

aka  FREEDOM TOWER

Looking Down From GUGINO'S

October  21, 2013

Tribeca, NEW YORK, NY

Chianti Comes To New York Town

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

With

Cavalier Luigi Cappellini

at

DeGrezia 

NEW YORK

Yes Chianti came to town the other day. The town? New York City. The Chianti, Castello Verrazzanno ... Luigi Cappellini of Castello Verrazzano (Owner) visited with me and tasted me on his latest offerings from his equisite wine estate in Greve in Chianti Classico .. Chianti Classico is the great wine region in Tuscany that produces Italy's most storied wine "Chianti" along with Vin Santo and porprietory Super Tuscan Wines .. Mr. Cappellini is the proud owner of one of Chianti Classico's and Italy's finest most beautiful wine estates. They produce three different Chianti wines; a Chianti normale, Chianti Riserva, and a special limited edition Cru Chianti in Sassello which was formally bottled as a Super Tuscan but has by a good choice of Mr. Cappellini been made and classified into Chianti Classico Riserva status. Luigi brought the Sassello to me to taste along with other fine wines. Let me tell you, when I tasted the Sassello, it blew my wine. The "Sassello" Chianti Classico Riserva 2007 is one of the finest wines that I have tasted of a few thousand wines this year. The wine has everything going on for it, and I'm not going to go into some drawn out boring discription other than to say it was delicious, tasty, "In Perfect Balance," and just one of those extra special wines. I love it, and ordered 2 6 packs on the spot. We have many great wines in our extensive cellars of Big Names of great prestige and storied vintages, and I can easily say, that when we take delivery of this wine next week it will be among our greatest wines in our cellars of a couple thousand, the wine is great as great can be, "Basta!"

Luigi also brought his 2009 Chianti  normale and Chianti Reserva 2007, both quite tasty. Unfortunately, I wasn't tasted on their (Verrazzano's) great Vin Santo, which I've drank on numerous occasions in Greve at the Verrazzano Estate .. I wasn't tasted on it, as the importer Palm Bay does not import that particular wine from Verrazzano, but I can tell you from experience, the wine is nutty, lush, and just perfect ...

One wine that Luigi tasted me on and of which I just bought 2 cases as I love it, is a wine called Verrazzano Rosso, with a subtitle of MiniTuscan ... The wine is super tasty and very affordable ... It is made of Sangiovese, Cannaiolo, Mavasia, and a tiny bit of Trebbiano. This wine is made in the classic true old style of Chianti of which white grapes were allowed in the blend of mostly Sangiovese Grapes along with the native Cannaiolo, and white native grapes Trebbiano and Malvasia. The wine is quite tasty of medium body and ripe as well as a tad of bitter fruit flavors. As I said, this wine as made in the way that Chianti used to be made with native grapes of the Chianti Classico wine region. The laws and rules of what is a Chianti Classico by the law of the Italian Government and Chianti Consorzio were changed in 1996 to include the sacraligious inclusion of international grapes like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon ... For those who know me, they know I distane this practice along with a few other people who are Chianti lovers and purest. We wish for the laws to change back and exclude all "non-native Grapes" like Merlot, Cabernet Suavignon and any others, and for Chianti to incude only native grapes and a blend of mostly Sangiovese and including small amounts of native grapes like; Cannaiolo, Colorino, Malvasia Nero, and very tiny amounts if a property so chooses of the white grapes of Trebbiano and Malvasia Bianco. This is true Chianti and the kind of Chianti Luigi Cappellini makes at the Verrazzano Estate.

BELLINO & MINETTA BURGER vs OZERSKY & BLACK LABEL

MINETTA TAVERN

  photo Copyright Daniel Bellino-Zwicke    

The BLACK LABEL BURGER

MINETTA TAVERN

GREENWICH VIALLGE, NEW YORK

READ About BELLINO'S BETTER BURGER

    MINETTA BURGER "IT'S BETTER THAN THE BLACK LABEL BURGER" Minetta Tavern, Greenwich Village, New York, NY   "Yes," Minetta Tavern's Second-Tier Burger, The "Minetta Burger" is without question thee "Better Burger" served at Minetta Tavern. Noted Foodie, Writer (The Hamburger) Burger Authority Josh Ozersky would disagree. Well, Mr. Ozersky is entitled to his opinion, as well as I and Thousands of others and the majority who like the Minetta Burger better than the now Highly Touted Minetta Tavern Black Label Burger, who some feel is the top burger in New York, even the World some say.

So, I'm wondering if some say the Minetta Black Label Burger is New York's Best and even the World's, does that make The Minetta Burger, according to myself and the majority of those polled, "New York's" even the World's Best Burger. "Not quite."

    This is a very subjective matter and one of personal taste. I can see why Mr. Ozersky loves the Minetta Tavern Black Label Burger so much, proclaiming it New York's Top Burger and I believe he "May" said it is The Best in The World, but I'm not absolutely sure, so don't quote me on that. Yes it is a Good Burger, and if you feel it is Great, than Yes it is Great to You and Everyone else who says it is Great. As for me, without question the "Minetta Burger" is Better, "Hell, It's Tastier" and that's all that counts isn't it. And I'll tell you why it's tastier.

   First off, the Blend and Quality of meat in the Minetta Burger is "Better for a Burger." Note that I don't say that the meat is just better, but better for making a Burger. Why? Well, Dry-Age Meat with it's powerful gamey taste is not the best taste for Ground-Meat and a Hamburger. Fresher Meat that has not been aged, is much Better for a Burger, an it Taste a Hell of a Lot Better than ground dry-aged beef which did you Know that in it's aging process is actually deteriorating? Some people like that taste. Fine. I do not, especially in ground meat and in my Burger. I'd much rather have my ground meat for a Burger Fresh.

    And did you know that the Ground Meat Blend from Pat La Frieda for the Minetta Burger is a Blend of Prime Beef Short Rib, Beef Brisket, and Beef Clod, and this blend was La Frieda's "Premium Blend" before he came up with the Black Label Blend which is Dry-Aged Rib Steak, and cost a lot more, thus the more Expensive Price of Minetta Tavern's Black Label Burger at $26.00 for the Cheaper and Superior $17.00 "Minetta Burger."

   Just because something is more Expensive, does not make it better, and the Minetta Burger vs The Black Label Burger is a Classic example of more Expensive not being better than cheaper.

Why? Well, because of our current state of a bad economy, New York Steak Houses, Restaurants, and Meat Purveyors such as Pat La Frieda and others found that expensive cuts of Beef like Prime Sirloin Steaks and Prime Dry Aged Rib Steaks were not selling as well as they used to. Expensive, people have less money. Put 2-And-2-Together. So, these meat purveyors found themselves not selling as much as the High-Ticket Cuts. What to do? Well, as a result of a Bad Economy and Boggers Loving Burgers for there Affordability and Blogability, Burgers have become Insanely Popular in the past four years or so. Pat La Frieda has a great idea, make and Market Ground High-End Cuts of Dry-Aged Beef, give it a Fancy name, "Black Label," and the rest is part of Hamburger History.

  As for me, I'll take the Better Tasting Burger that just so happens to be substantially cheaper to boot, the Minetta Burger.

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

R.I.P. JOSH

Sadly since this posting Josh Ozersky passed away ... Josh was greatly loved by Foodies and Gourmands everywhere, but nowhere more than from his home-town fellow New Yorker's who called Josh our own .. Josh had a wonderful down-to-earth every mans look at the World of Food and dining out, and as a food-writer Josh had no equal with his special brand of food-writing and reporting that was uniquely Josh Ozersky. You've sadly passed Josh, but you'd be happy to know your great food journalism is till remembered and much loved, as are you.

BELLINO'S BETTER BURGER

CLICK to READ

The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

RECIPES

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SUNDAY SAUCE

RECIPES

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WELCOME CARBONE With NO REGRETS of ROCCO'S

Welcome "Carbone" with No Regrets to Rocco's ...  Yes, this is what I for one am hoping to say after the most anticipated new New York Restaurant "Carbone" has opened and is in operation, which is supposed to be this coming Friday, March 9, 2013  ...  We have already said goodbye to an old friend, Rocco's .. Well, me for one, as I am certain that of all the throngs of followers who are sure to pack into Rocco's from day 1 (Friday 3/913) it is also almost certain that I will amongst the very few, 1% of the total who will pack Carbone and have eaten at its predecessor Rocco's. Yes, I enjoyed eating at Rocco's a number of times over the years. Rocco's was one of just a few Old School Red-Sauce Italian Restaurant left in New York. I dying breed, much loved but going the way of the DoDo Bird. Rocco's was solid, old school Italian New York, decor, food, and service.
    Well the guys who have taken over the old Rocco's space, Chef/Owners Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi it so happens are the new keepers and reviver's  of the so-called Red-Sauce joints. Restaurants that have become a dying breed and much maligned, it now seems is the hot new thing in Italian eating in New York. First spawned by The Two Frankies, Frank Castronovo and Frank Facanelli .. The two Frankeis were the first to do it back in 2006 by opening a Old School Italian Red Sauce Restaurant in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn. A casual Italian Restaurant that featured Red-Sauce Italian American favorites like; Meatballs, Braciole, and homemade Cavatelli. The restaurant with a nice casual decor, good service, tasty old New York Italian Food favorites at fare prices and the passion of the two Frnakies proved to be a winnining combination and instant hit at Frankies Spuntino which with a few short years gave birth to two more Frankies restaurants in Manhattan's lower East Side and in Greenwich Village.
  Shoot ahead about four years and we have Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi opening a great little Italian Trattoria that operates as a very-casual sort Italian Deli serving Meatball Parm Sandwiches, fresh Roast Turkey Sandwiches, and Meatball Parm Sandwiches, Soup, and a few pastas by day and a 5 Course Set Menu as a restaurant my night. This little Italian Deli/Trattoria that featured Italian and Italian American Food with a bit of a modern twist and the Carbone-Torrisi touch. And quite a good touch at that. Torrisi was wonderful executed by Torrisi and Carbone and their place Troorisi Italian Specialties was pretty much a well deserved instant success. With this quick and wonderful success of Torrisi Italian Specialty it wasn't long before the boys opened their second restaurant to be called PARM which featured Updated Red-Sauce Italian-American Food. The restaurant Parm was opened right next door to Torrisi. Parm was even more of an instant success than Torrisi Italian Specialty and from day # 1 has been packed day and night every single day, and i do man packed and I do mean every single day. A huge Success!
  Now we come to the unfortunate demise of Rocco's, of which the owner was unable to support a huge jump in his Rent once his old lease was expired. he decided to throw in the towel, and close Rocco's ... A sad day in Greenwich Village, and a sad day for me. But when I heard that Torrisi and Mario Carbone who I had worked with at Del Posto would be opening a new place in the old Rocco's space, my sadness quickly waned. These guys do things right. I really like Torrisi Specialties and Parm and was excited at the prospect of Mario opening a new place around the block from my apartment.
    Funny thing, when you go into this new restaurant that used to be Rocco's, you are most likely to see many dishes that you would have seen at Rocco's. Dishes like Baked Clams, Lobster Fra d'Avlo, Spaghetti or Linguine Vongole, Veal Picatta, Braciole, and such.


 "You’re seeing more protein at the table now, because they can afford it. They’re becoming more American. They’re embracing what it means to be American. They’re like: ‘I’m going to have protein for days. I’m going to show off. We’re going to have meatballs tonight, and they’re huge!’ ” 
         .......    Mario Carbone ...... 


“It’s midcentury, Italian-American fine dining,”  “When you look at the menu at this restaurant,” he said, “it’s going to look very familiar, which is the goal.” 
“The table should be covered with food,” Mr. Carbone said. “If we do this right, you should not be able to see the cloth.”  says Mr. Carbone  



   So yes, we Welcome Carbone. I do for one, and one who has actually eaten at Rocco's numerous times over the years. I loved Rocco's and was sorry to see them go. But they are gone and nothing I can do about that. I can turn my back against Carbone, but knowing Mario and what a fine Chef and restauranteur he is, I'm certainly not going to do that. I will welcome Carbone, both the restaurant and Mario into my neighborhood and I spotted I enjoyed over the years, Rocco's. And I'm looking forward to having many fine meals and wonderful times at Carbone over the years to come. "I'm sure I will."



Daniel Bellino-Zwicke


Note: I will be going to eat at Carbone soon, hoefully this Friday, but certainly very soon. And when I do, I shall report back, and I'm betting that I will love it, and again Welcome Carbone and No Regrets for Rocco's ..... 
      
            Daniel 

 

DINING ROOM at CARBONE

To EVOKE 1950's DOWNTOWN ITALIAN NEW YORK 

CARBONE  ...  181 Thonpson Street, Greenwich Village, New York, NY

READ ABOUT "ROCCO'S" SUNDAY SAUCE, SINATRA and ITALIAN-AMERICAN
GREENWICH VILLAGE  NEW YORK in "LA TAVOLA"

                   

CICHETTI And The WINE BARS of VENICE

In the whimsical Adriatic city of Venice, the citizens practice a wonderful little custom called the "giro di ombre" (the wheel of shade). It is not a custom of all Venetians, but mostly men and usually older men. However, this being said, you do not have to be a man to participate. You not have to be old. Anyone can do it, and in fact many younger Venetians (including women) are now caught up in this thing called the giro. Mostly though, you will see groups of men, three, five, or six, maybe more, one can even do it solo. I often go solo myself. Don't worry about being alone. You will make many friends along the way, for that's part of the "giro," making new friends, eating, imbibing, in general, having a great time.
     What is this giro di ombre you ask? The giro di ombre is a splendid little ritual that began around venice's rialto market some 600 years ago. The merchants of the rialto market, wanting to take a little break from hawking their wares, would run to the nearest wine bar to get out of the sun and have a little nip of wine accompanied by little tidbits of food(cichetti) to go with the wine. When these merchants went to the wine bars, known as bacari, translating to "House of Bachus," they'd say they wanted a "Ombra," the Latin word for shade. They wanted to get out of the sun and into the shade. In time, a glass of wine in Venice became know as an "ombra." So if one day you have the good fortune to make it to one of Venice's many enchanting little wine-bars (bacaro), you belly up to the bar, order "un Ombra Rosso" if you want a glass of the house red, or "un ombra bianco" if you'd like a glass of white wine. It's as simple as that, and you are speaking in the wonderful venetian dialect. Like a true Venetian!
    When you go into the wine-bars of Venice, you will undoubtedly see a tantalizing display of food attractively displayed in platters on the bar. These items of food are "Cichetti," tidbits of prepared food that come in very small portions so you can try three, four, five, maybe even six or more. The cichetti generally cost about $1.00-$2.50. They are made to be very affordable and are in small portions so people can order a few different items for variety.
   What are the cichetti, you ask? Just what the Venetian dialect means, cichetti are small tidbits of food. There exist quite a good variety of items as far as cichetti are concerned. The most traditional and popular cichetti are; grilled shrimp or squid, braised or fried meatballs, Cotechino, Musetto (pigs snout sausage, "yum!"), nerveti, octopus salad, Bacala Mantecato (whipped salt-cod), and sarde en saour(sardines marinated with vinegar and onions). You might also find a nice array of small sandwiches (Panini & Tramezzini) that are filled with all sorts of tasty fillings such as crab salad, speck (smoked prosciutto), shrimp, ham with mushrooms and tomato, and much, much more. These sandwiches are also part of the Cichetti and are priced around $1.00 or two as well.
You might be thinking that cihetti are like Spanish tapas. "Yes," exactly. I might add that the venetians started this ritual a couple hundred years before the Spanish did, only the "Cichetti" of Venice never caught on all over the Italian peninsular the way that tapas did throughout Spain where tapas and tapas bars are a way of life.
So you go into the bacaro and order your ombra rosso or bianco. Survey the fabulous array of cichetti and order a few items of your choice. A typical sample plate of these marvelous little tidbits might go like this; a couple pieces of grilled squid, one sarde en saor, a crostino of baccala montecato (whipped salt cod), and maybe a couple fried meatballs. "Bon apetito!" All this should not cost you more than seven or eight dollars. In the happy days prior to the euro an ombra and a say four pieces of cichetti would cost you about $4.50, nowadays it will be almost double that. Unfortunately, that's life. Things change, never-the-less, it's still a pretty good deal.
So you've just had your first wonderful experience in a venetian wine-bar. What to do next? Go check out another one of course! Ask one of the locals for a suggestions or cross one off your own personal list. If you have one.
Ahh, you're at you second bacaro. Why not try one of Venice's most popular aperitifs? A "Spritz." A spritz is simply white wine with a splash of compari or aperol with soda and a twist of lemon. Quite refreshing. Very venetian. For those of you who love prosecco, you'll be happy to know that Venice is the "prosecco capital of the world" and you can order one in any bacaro. Save the Bellini's for harry's bar, and if you do, save your money as well, for at this point in time, a Bellini at the ultra chic harry's bar will cost you about $15 u.S. Dollars. They are absolutely delicious, but they go down like water.
Order a prosecco. Some nice treats to go with your venetian bubbly, would be a couple little crab tramezzini or one shrimp and one crab, both go perfectly with a crisp, fresh glass of local prosecco.
     Besides the tasty food and splendid Italian wine, you will find wonderful atmosphere in venetian wine-bars. You'll meet and chat with locals as well as people who come to Venice from all around the world. The venetian bacaro, which incidentally translates to house of bacchus, bacchus, the roman god of wine.
Go to venice, engross yourself in its many bacari (bacaro is singular, bacari plural) and you are sure to be entranced in a true bacchanalia sort of way.


Suggested bacari (wine bars of Venice):

Al Volto: located on the calli cavalli, San Marco

A great old style bacaro, serving good inexpensive local wine, traditional cihetti, wonderful pasta, risotto, and fresh seafood from the Rialto Market.

Alla Vedova: cannaregio 3912, ramo ca'd'oro

Tucked in a small alleyway off the strada nuova, alla vedova is the authors pick for as one of Venice's best bacaro. Alla vedova has the quintessential bacaro décor and ambiance, they serve superb cichetti at the bar, which is always filled with fun loving regulars of the giro de ombre. This bar gets very crowded at times and you will have to vie for a spot at the bar for tasty baccala and the best fried meatballs in town. As you enjoy yourself at the bar while watching diners sitting at table in the lovely little dining-room, you may get the urge to sit down for a wonderful meal with some pasta, risotto, or calves liver venenziana. Do it!

All'Arco, san palo 436, calle dell'occhialer

this tiny little (14'x 8') wine-bar is one of Venice's most traditional. You will usually only find locals here, but they love to see the occasional foreigner drop in. They will welcome you with open arms, as they did to me when I stumbled upon this little establishment on my first ever "Giro de Ombar." You will find very traditional old style cichetti that not many place make any more, such as nerveti (nerve), tetina (cows udder), rumegal, and other funky items like Musetto (pigs snout sausage). These guys delight in turning novices on to the real deal. The close quarters are great, as they precipitate interaction between you and the locals who are very nice in this wonderful little "gem."

Do Mori, san palo 429, calle dei do mori

You might want to check out do mori as it is one of Venice's most historical wine-bars. However, you might be a little disappointed. I was, as the owners are cold and not very cordial. Their coldness pervades through the place, which is a shame as this place could be wonderful if only the proprietors did not posses the personalities of some "dead fish" lying around the Rialto Market. "Sorry fish, didn't mean to insult you." "Get my drift?"


Al Paradiso Perduto, on the Fondamenta Miscordia in Cannaregio

You know when you stubble across a place you have never been to before and go in to have one of the best times imaginable? That's what happened to me when I was on one of my typical exploratory walks around venice one fine sunday afternoon in april of 2001. I was walking by and saw that al paradiso was my kind of place; cool, old, with lots of character. The place was jumping with a very hip looking crowd. I sat down for a nice little lunch of antipasto misto and some Adriatic Sole. Halfway through my meal, I was more than pleasantly surprised when a jazz quartet set up on the fondumenta right outside the restaurant. There was a bass player, guitar, trumpet, and even a piano player who rolled his "baby grande" right up to the place. The band was exceptional.  What a combination, Venice on a beautiful spring Sunday afternoon sitting at the Paradiso Perduto, drinking local wine, eating perfectly prepared Adriatic Soglio and listening to the lovely sounds of a great little jazz band playing beside the canal. "Who could possibly for more?" "Not me."




by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke 
Creator of "BAR CICHETTI" America's First Venetian Wine Bar and author of La Tavola

BAR CICHETTI

Was AMERICA'S First VENETIAN WINE BAR

Dining Room alla Vedova

Bar alla Vedova

A Typical Array of CICHETTI

Chopping on CICHETTI

DRINKING WINE (Ombra)

At Cantina da Schiava

One of Venice's Best Wine Bars (Bacaro)

Demi Johns of Wine

at Do Mori, VENICE

STEAK AND STEAK-HOUSE CAPITAL of THE WORLD ? NEW YORK !

NEW YORK Is The STEAK and STEAK-HOUSE CAPITAL of THE WORLD ! 
Where The Famed PORTERHOUSE And NEWPORT STEAKS WERE FIRST CREATED !!!



New York is a Steak Kingdom. One of the greatest places on Earth and a World Capital of  Steaks. Some would say Argentina. Yes Argentina is a land of Steaks, and the Argentinians eat more steak then any other peoples on earth. However when it comes to Steak Houses and Steaks and the experience of going to a great Steak House and having Great Steak Houses, there is no place on Gods good Earth that comes near New York "The Steak House Capital of The World" with the # 1 most Famous Cherished Steak House in all the World "Peter Luger's" in Brooklyn, New York ... Luger's is legendary and in terms of Steak House's "God Like," no other can touch it. New York has other great and famous Steak Houses such as; Smith & Wollensky, Frankie & Johnnies, The Old Homestead, Keens, and others including the famed Sparks where Mafia Boss Paul Castellano was gunned-down "Whacked" in on e of the most famous "Mob Hits" of all-time.
    Yes, New York is the World Capital of Steak Houses, as it is a World Capital and Thee American Capital of Pizza, World Capital of Jewish Delis, Pastrami and Corned Beef, a Burger Capital and in competition with Paris for the # 1 Dining Restaurant Capital of The World. A Lot of Capitals ! And that's just food, not to mention, Capital of The Publishing World, Finance, Art, Music, Theater, Fashion, writing and what-not.
   Back to the Steak Capital. Do you know where the Newport and Porterhouse Steak was invented? Yes, New York of course. The Newport Steak, a great steak that's relatively unknown even in its native Greenwich Village where it was created by Italian immagrant butcher Jack Ubaldi at his little Butcher Shop in the heavily Italian populated neighborhood back in the 1940. The Newport Steak is quite wonderful, a tasty little steak cut from the Tri-Tip Bottom Sirloin. If you've never had one, do yourself a favor and run over to the Village a snag a Newport or two from the famed famed butcher shop still open, where the Newport was created, Florence Prime Meat Market in Greenwich Village. Pino's Prime Meats, a 100 plus Year Old Italian Butcher Shop on Sullivan Street cuts a mean Newport as well.
    Well, now on to the Porterhouse King of Steaks. Back in the early days of our lustrous city, in the 1700 and 1800 there were places (Inns / Restaurants) called Porterhouses where weary travelers; sailors or whom ever would go to and rest, eat, have a ale or two or what-not. Porterhouses were usually located at Stagecoach stops, Railroad Stations, and sailing ports. They got their name Porterhouse in that they served Porter Ale, along with certain eats such as soup, stew, steaks, and various other foods.
  The invention, creation of the Porterhouse Steak? It was at a Morrison's Porterhouse on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan in or around 1814 .. A sailor who was quite hungry walked into Morrison's Porterhouse on Pearl Street and ordered a steak. Not too many minutes Martin Morrison had served up the last steak he had on hand. None left he told the hungry sailor. The sailor was not having it. He was dam hungry and said he must have a piece of Beef, and only Beef would do. Morrsion had a large Roast Cooking up in his kitchen that was a long way off from being done. Martin Morrsison had an idea. An idea that would satisfy and make the hungry sailor quite happy. He was gonna get the steak, piece of beef he said he just had to have. Not only would the sailor get his steak, but now, here we have this very day, Martin Morrison being written and talked about and acknowledged as the man who created the famed Porterhouse Steak. A bit of Culinary Fame, but no compensation for creating such a glorious thing. Well Morrsion never knew, and hopefully he was a happy man. Anyway, what did Morrsion do you say? That large Roast Beef he had that was far from being finished, well Morrsion cut a piece off the end. That piece included a piece of sirloin and a piece of the filet of the beef with a bone in-between the two cuts of meat, a 
T-Bone. Morrison cut this piece off the big roast, cooked it up and served it to the Hungry Sailor. The sailor devoured that Steak (The First Ever Porterhouse Steak), of course with a stein of Porter Ale to wash everything down. The Sailor was satisfied. Very much so, and ordered up another, and told Morrsion, "For now on, I'd like my Steak always served this way," exactly  the same cut and everything. And so it was. Morrsion had hios butcher cut him steaks this way, what we now now as a Porterhouse Steak, created in Lowere Manhattan, New York, NY, World Capital of Steaks and Steak Houses, "There is No Disputing This," New Yoprk and Steaks, they go together.

JAMES BOND TO DITCH MARTINI For HEINEKEN

Yes Bond Fans, it's True. Agent 007 James Bond will be trading in his beloved Trademark Shaken Martini for a Greeny, a bottle of Heineken  ...  Why? Well it  seems as though The Mega Dutch Brewery is throwing a lot of Green Bonds way. Green as in Green Heineken Bottle, Broccoli Money Green, producer Barbara Broccoli is not about to turn her nose up at 45 Million in green. That's 45 Million Dollars that Heineken International is dishing out for Brand placement in The 23rd Edition of James Bond 007 of Skyfall do out November 2012 ... Forty-Five Million Dollars is nothing to sneeze at and will probably cover 1/3 or more of the productions cost of Skyfall. Never the less, this move is sure to piss off many a Bond fan, but in the end Money Talks and Heineken is putting their money where their mouth is.

in other Bond News, the New Bond Girl has just been cast in the form of the beautiful Greek born actress Tonia Sotiropoulou . Tonia is quite happy to be have chosen the New Bond Girl and stated, "This is the happiest Day of My Life," while Bond fans may not feel the same at the loss of The Beloved Martini.

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

ITALIAN AMERICAN ... WHAT IS IT?

There has long been a debate, fights, and Mud-Slinging in regards to Italian and Italian-American
food served in restaurants in New York and the rest of the U.S.. Culinary Snobs, people who "Think" they know what they are talking about and what not. I can set the record straight, being an
 Italian-American who has been eating Italian and Italian-American food for more than forty years, who has been professional Chef and someone who has eaten all over Italy on some 15 trips to the great peninsular. In addition to studying Italian Food in Italy for some 25 years, I am constantly reading all sorts of articles , cookbooks, and historical facts on this subject, in addition to being one of the countries foremost authorities on Italian Wine.
   Anyway, let me tell you. I myself was once a uninformed Food Snob who badmouthed and was slightly disdainful of unauthentic Italian food being served in restaurants all over the city. That's just in restaurants. Of course I Loved eating Sunday Sauce, Eggplant Parmigiano, and Meatballs that my aunts made at our frequent family get together s. And on the occasions that we weren't at one of the family's homes but in an Italian restaurant in Lodi or Garfield, I usually ordered Chicken  or Veal Parmigiano. Yes I loved it, but these dishes, for me at the time (1985-1993) had their place, and it was not in the kitchen or on the plates of any serious Italian Restaurant in Manhattan.
   Eventually as I learned more of the history of food in New York, Italy, and the World, I realized that there was actually a real true Italian-American Cuisine and that it was completely valid.
  Do you realize that if you think there is not a true valid Italian-American Cuisine, then you also must concede that there is No True French Cuisine, because the origins of what we now know as French food and Cuisine is really Italian. Yes, I said Italian. For the food and cuisine of French was quite primitive and did not begin to form into what we now know as French Food and French Cuisine until Caterina Medici of the Noble Florentine Family of the Medici married the King of France and brought her Florentine Chefs with her to the French Court way back in the 15th Century. So there. Many dishes which most people think of as French in origin, like Duck ala Orange, Bechamel, and others, are really Italian. "So there!"
   Anyway, back to Italian-American food. Food and cuisines are constantly changing and evolving. This is how Florentine Chefs of Italy, went to France with the newly crowned French Queen who was of the Italian Peninsular in one Katherine Medici  and taught the French how to cook. Thus Italians immigrating to the United States in the early 20th Century brought their ingredients and techniques from mother Italy to cook the dishes from their homeland, with some modifications do to financial issues (being poor) and the unavailability of certain ingredients, and started forming what would one day be known as Italian-American  food (Cuisine).




"to be Continued"


Daniel Bellino Zwicke

FRANK SINATRA

ONE of THE GREATEST

ITALIAN AMERICAN'S of ALL