Quick Post on Vermont

Was in Vermont a few weeks ago and couldn't help but enjoy the incredible amount of fresh produce, farmers markets and a general rustic approach to food. Here are a few pictures that caught my attention, mostly from one of the farmers markets I visited (Vermont has the most in the US):

At the farmers market in Woodstock, VT

Wood-fired oven at Firestone's Restaurant in Quechee, VT

More press for the Malbec

Compounding on my post about Argentinian Malbecs a few weeks back: 

This month's Food & Wine magazine has a profile of the best Argentinian reds between $10-$20. There are a number of malbecs on the list in addition to a group of cabernets and syrahs. It's no surprise anymore that Argentinian wines are a great value for the price, but the article gives more tested options if you are interested in trying one on your next trip to the wine store. 

My favorites from the list include the Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec ($19) and the Finca El Portillo ($11). One wine left off that I think deserves it's due praise is the Zuccardi Serie A Malbec. I sampled it in Argentina and loved it: it was a deep dark red that was bursting with flavor yet wasn't too strong to be overwhelming. For roughly $16 it's a great buy and is sold at select stores in DC, including de Vinos wine store in Adams Morgan. 

A shot of some of the wines sampled at the Familia Zuccardi winery, including the Serie A Malbec front and center. 

The rise of the Malbecs

Today’s Wall Street Journal profiled and reviewed Argentinian Malbecs, noting their dramatic rise in the last decade. I was particularly intrigued since I recently visited Argentina and have been devoted to Malbec since.

The article is worth reading, detailing Malbec’s sudden rise and the potential pitfalls that accompany such a marked increase in demand. The review said that they are already starting to see those effects - a rising number of Malbecs are now being grown in unsuitable areas, making for bad wines.

I personally haven’t found that so far, but I haven’t strayed away from Argentina for Malbecs yet. Of the wines they reviewed, I’ve tried the Altos Las Hormigas, Trapiche, and the Rutini. Both the Las Hormigas and Trapiche were delicious and very good deals. While in Mendoza, I visited the bodega where Rutini is made, La Rural, and left with a so-so impression. While it’s one of the oldest wineries in the country, their wines seemed to be given less care and felt more mass produced than many of the other bodegas. That’s probably since most bodegas produce only a few varieties, but La Rural had almost ten different brands and various grape varieties within each line.

Gourmet magazine rates cheesesteak shops

This month’s issue of Gourmet magazine rated the best cheesesteaks in Philly, and as someone who grew up in the area I was particularly interested. They profiled five shops, none downtown, leaving the most famous shops off, but including my single favorite steak shop, Dalessandro’s.

To be fair, your favorite shops are often influenced by your preferred type of steak. My preference is thinly chopped steak, provolone for the cheese, translucent onions and mushrooms. Hand’s down, Dalessandro’s does that the best, and they serve heaping portions onto crisp Amoroso rolls. Plus, the shop’s feel is frankly awesome with a mix of kids in sports uniforms and construction workers crammed into a 25by5 space, all waiting for one of 8 counter stools or for their name to be called for takeout. Dalessandro’s has won the Best of Philly award for cheesesteaks a few times previously and they deserve to continue that tradition.

On the flip side are the most famous steak shops, Pat’s and Geno’s. Although everyone imagines cheesesteaks to be enormous creations, not all places serve them so large, like Pat’s and Geno’s. Their beef is served as long strips (which simply isn’t as flavorful), their main cheese is whiz, and you order and eat them outside. They may have distinctive neon signs, but they serve tourist quality steaks – why any Philadelphian goes there I have no idea.

But anyway, Gourmet certainly got it right with Dalessandro’s as well as Mama’s Pizzeria, a place that proves good steaks can also be made in the burbs. The only shop I’d add to their list is Jim’s Steaks, a great example of where a “celebrity cheesesteak” can actually live up to its hype. Spend 30 minutes waiting in the long snaking line at 3 am at Jim’s on South Street absorbing the fame, character, and delicious meat and cheese smells and you’ll understand why it’s so revered.

Read the whole Gourmet article here.