AMERICA'S First VENETIAN WINE BAR... Bar Cichetti

There was a guy named Daniel who took a trip in 1995 to Explore, seek-out, and Study the BACARI (Venetian Wine Bars) of the Magical City of VENICE, Italy. He had read a article in the New York Times about these treasures of the Enchanted City of the Adriatic, "La Serinisima" Venice, "or as the Italians say VENENZIA."
   Daniel was quite intrigued by this little article. It was only 1 page long, but it was magical, and it sparked Daniel's interest enough that he decided he would go to Venice, an Exploritory Trip by which he in a weeks time would go to as many Bacari as he possibly could, eating Lunch, inbetween Lunch, Dinner and all through each and every night of the week. he tried as much CICHETTI (Venetian Tapas-Like little plates of all sorts of Venetian Specialty Foods.
Daniel ate Bacala Mantecato, Sarde en Soar, Bigoli, Fegato alla Venenzian, Riso Bisi, Mortadella, Speck, and all sorts of other Cichetti, Antipasti, Pasta, Fish, Shell Fish, Meat, Poultry, this that and every other thing he could get his hands (Mouth) on. Before he went, he did as much Pre-Trip Research as was possible in the "Times Previous to the internet"
When Daniel was in Venice, he asked as many questions as he could, striking up conversations with anyone who would listen, "many did." !!!!
 Daniel took lots of pictures, ate, drank Wine, and gather recipes. He was smitten with Venice, its Wine Bars (Bacari, BACARO the singular).Daniel "Fell in Love," with the Wine Bars (Bacari) of Venice and felt he just had to open one in NEW YORK. He vowed. Knowone had ever done it. He would be the "FIRST" Daniel gathered all his info, his RECIPES, pictures, book, everything. He worked on all his recipes, cooking constantly for Friends and Family, he made a Business Plan. He found a partner who "Loved the Idea" as well. They shook hands and vowed to open "BAR CICHETTI" the BACARO (FIRST VENETIAN WINE BAR) "EVER in the United STATES.
  Daniel and Tom created a BEAUTIFUL BACARO/ TRATTORIA, with special Imported Venetian Fabric for the banquettes, wainscotting,  a beautiful Wood Bar, and fabulous Venetian Glass Chandeliers and scones.
   Besides coming up the Idea and Concept of Bar Cichetti, Daniel was the Wine Director andExcecutive Chef. Daniel's food was incrediable.His CAPONATA was the best in town, his Paparadelle with Duck Ragu was justifiably Famous, and as theJournal of Italian Food and Wine stated, hisBolognese Sauce was considered to be one of the "Best in the Country" Daniel garnered many accolades for the Wine List he created, but especially for his true and tasty Regional Italian Cusine, gaining positive reveiws from "The New York Times"New York Magazine, Crains, TimeOut New York, Wine and Spirits Magazine, and even a 5 Page Color Spread in a Newspaper in Sao Paolo, BRAZIL.



by Robert Roma 2009

"CORNER BISTRO" BEST Cheeseburger # 1 in NEW YORK

Happy to see Corner Bistro's Burger can still make it to # 1 Best of New York list these days. I've been eating Cheeseburgers there since 1984. Yes 26 Years of Bistro Burgers. Back then, the Burger at the Corner Bistro was for Year-After-Year thee perennial favorite, # 1, Top, Best Burger in New York, rated by the Top and most Powerful food Authorities of the day, New York Magazine, The NY Times, Cue Magazine, The Post, The Village Voice, GQ, Bob Lape on 7's Eyewitness News, The Daily News, so on and so forth. Nine out of ten people, newspapers, and news agency's, The Bistro Burger was always "Tops," # 1. It no longer is. And it was tops for some 30 years. Quite a run. Sadly the quality of the Burger has gone down a bit, and there are numerous chemistry better, tastier Burgers in town. Shake Shack get my Vote for the Top, New York's best Burger, with Bills Bar and Burger and Peter Luger not far behind. But the Shake Shack Burger has all the proper elements that come together and make for perfect chemistry of, dear I say, "The Perfect Burger." Well if not the perfect Burger, New York's Best, or at least amongst the Best, everyone has their opinion. Some not as qualified as others. As I've been eating the East Coast's Best Burgers since childhood, and being a former Chef Culinary Professional, I have greater qualifications than most.

The Shake Shack Burgers elements that make it so good, are: Top Quality Beef, Just the right size and thickness, not too thin nor too thick, which unfortunately many think makes a burger is better, the thicker it is. Not so. A 6 oz., 3/4" Burger is Best and it has to be cooked on a Flat-Top Grill cooking in its own fat to qualify amongst the best. Cooking on a grated grill, just won't do. You'll often get terribly overcooked hard spots, losing all important beef fat for the burger to cook in. You'll need a good hamburger bun, toasted preferred, not too fancy, and a major No-No is the use of an English Muffin. Though i Love them for breakfast, English Muffins are a terrible choice, pairing to a Burger. the Burger has to be properly cooked

And one of thee most important rules to a great Burger, it can't cost more than $6.50, and about $4.50 is even better. The Shake Shake burger meets all these requirements, even exceeding them.

Back to the Bistro Burger. For nostalgias sake and Price to value ratio, combined with the great old New York Bar ambiance, The Bistro Burger always makes it on my Top 10 List. As the Post states, to be able to get a great burger for just $6.50 with Beers at $2.75 in one of New York's few remaining Bohemian Bars, and in Greenwich Village? A combination that just can't be beat.

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

SAY a Little PRAYER for ARETHA

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Sebastiano Rosa, Daniel Bellino Zwicke, and Givani Folnari at New York Tasting

BIG BOYS of ITALIAN WINE Piero Incisa Rochetta, Giovani Folnari, Daniel Bellino Zwicke, Sebastiano Rosa and ,A. Chiarlo at Recent new York Italian Wine Tastings

             














Piero Incisa Rochetta of SASSICAIA with Giovanni Folnari (Nozzole in Greve) and Alberto 
Chiarlo of MICHELE CHIARLO BAROLO






  






Sebastiano Rosa with Daniel Bellino-Zwicke and Giovanni Folnari

New And Old Ideas Of Absinthe

Absinthe or as it is called, The Green Fairy, has quite the reputation to live up to if one were to believe all of the accusations made against it of bygone days. The drink, a bright green alcoholic beverage is made up of herbs and ethanol. Those who made it famous during the early 19th and 20th century include many artists and writers such as Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec, Charles Baudelaire, and others. While there is an essence of creativity tied to the drink, there is also a history of lunacy or outrageous behavior. In this, the drink became outlawed with the belief that it had high doses of the ingredient thujone, which was making people act bizarre or insane. It hasn't been until the last few decades that advocates of absinthe and scientists alike have taken another look at the drink to see why it received such a bad rap. With modern technology, it was determined that the drink itself was not dangerous at all and the amounts of thujone were actually rather innocuous. Scientist Ted Breaus published a treatise in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, stating that most absinthe-based liquor being produced now contains the chemical in a 5:1,000,000 ratio. That's 5 parts thujone to a million parts of absinthe. So why did it make people behave so bizarre? And why have countries spent years treating absinthe as contraband only to be purchased on the black market? Historical evidence has shown that during the early days of producing absinthe, many of the home brewed or bootlegged brews did not undergo any type of distillation or sanitary processing. This may have caused impurities to show up in the drink and contaminate it. Such impurities could have caused dangerous forms of hallucinations. This, followed by early researches done on the drink proving it bad, can also now be proved to be faulty. In truth, people just drank too much of it and the bad behavior of people was simply about being very drunk. Today, like all alcohol, absinthe is highly regulated by both international and national laws. Only absinthe liquors with thujone-free labels (or less than 10:1,000,000/10ppm thujone.) are allowed to be put up for public sale. There are also medical warnings included regarding over-consumption of liquor. Many countries that had outlawed absinthe in the past are now changing their laws around. In the 1990s, the European Union began to reauthorize absinthe's manufacture and sale. As of February 2008, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Commercial distillation of absinthe in the United States resumed in 2007 Other countries never banned absinthe, notably Britain, where absinthe had not been as popular as in continental Europe. Absinthe was also never banned in Spain, and its production and consumption has never ceased. Australia was another country that never prohibited the manufacturing or use of absinthe, although they do have strict rules on importing any product containing oil of wormwood. In 1906, Belgium and Brazil banned the sale and distribution of absinthe, although they were not the first. Absinthe had been banned as early as 1898 in the colony of the Congo Free State. The prohibition of absinthe in France in 1915 led to increased popularity of pastis (and of ouzo, to a lesser extent), which are anise-flavored spirits that do not contain wormwood.

In Switzerland, the ban drove the purchase of absinthe underground. Clandestine (illegal) home distillers produced absinthe after the ban, focusing on la Bleue, which was easier to conceal from the authorities. In the Netherlands, restrictions on the manufacture and sale of Absinthe were successfully challenged by the Amsterdam wine seller Menno Boorsma in July 2004, making absinthe legal once again. Belgium, as part of an effort to simplify its laws, removed its absinthe law on 1 January 2005, citing (as did the Dutch judge) European food regulations as sufficient to render the law unnecessary (and indeed, in conflict with the spirit of the Single European Market). In Switzerland, the constitutional ban on absinthe was repealed in 2000 during an overhaul of the national constitution, although the prohibition was written into ordinary law instead. Later that law was repealed, so from 1 March 2005, absinthe was again legal in its country of origin. Today, matter-of-fact, most members of the European Union are now allowed to sale absinthe, as long as it is limited to 10 milligrams of thujone per kilogram (some of the absinthes of yesteryear boasted up to six times that amount). You can buy absinthe in grocery chains in the Czech Republic and in liquor stores in Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand and Japan. Bars and restaurants in Britain began serving it when they discovered it was never formally banned in the country. Yes, the legacy of absinthe as a mysterious, addictive, and mind-altering drink continues to this day - this is why it is said there is an absinthe of old and new. But even with this legacy, more and more people are starting to enjoy absinthe again, knowing it is a safe yet unique drink, finally back on the shelves for consumption.Green Devil provides information, tips and kits on the making and history of absinthe throughout the ages. Learn more about the allure this beverage has held over the centuries or make your own absinthe alcohol and find out for yourself. Visit online for more information.

by ROBERT BELL

Big Guns of Italian Wine in Town

Giuseppe Tasca D'Almerita and Daniel Bellino Zwicke, Vittorio Fiore with Marilisa Allegrini, and Angela Macullan at Winebow Tasting 2008



Some ot the "Big Guns" of ITALIAN WINE where in Town and at the Winebow Portfolio Tasting on September 16th & 17th. First-Off was Vittorio Fiore, one of the Greatest Italian Winemakers of this time or anytime. Vittorio was Show his renowned Super Tuscan Wine "Il Carbbonione"
Vittorio produces Il Carbbonione on his beautiful wine estate Podere Poggio Scalette high up in one of Greve's highest vineyards where you can see the whole Chianti Classico wine zone from this vantage point. It is a beautiful sight where I have been forunate on two occasions to spend time tasting wine with Vittorio and his sons while nibbling on the wonderful homemade Salami and Prosciutto that son and Vineyard Manager Jyuri Fiore makes with the help from great old friend "Dante." Dante is a wonderful old village farmer who knows how to make fantastic Salumi, among other things. He's a absolute gem!

Il Carbbonione is made of 100% Sangiovese. The 2004 vintage that Vittorio was pouring at the tasting was absolute perfection, strong but not too concentrated, exhibiting nice Black Cherry and earthiness in ,the mouth. Vittorio says it is one of his best vintage ever, "I agree completely."

Merilisa Allegrini (another Heavy Hitter) was on hand as well. Showing all the great Allegrini wines, including; La Grolla, La Poja, and thier 2003 Amarone, which as usual is one of the regions top producers of famed Amarone.

Giuseppe Tasca d' Almerita was present. Giuseppe and his family make one of Sicily's most famous and renowned wines "Rosso del Conte" Rosso del Conte is mad of 100% Nero d'Avola. This wine along with "Duca Enrico" is the greatest and most prestigious in all of Sicily. When tasted, I had a incrediable explosion of Ripe Red Fruit flavors in my mouth. The wine was phenominal, smooth, silky, and perfectly balance as Rosso del Conte usually is. This is one of Italy most consistenly wonderful primium wines. "Always Great!"


reported by Daniel Bellino Zwicke