It's easy to get people to flock to your vineyard when your slogan is "Drink Naked"! This small Virginia winery says it sells almost more t-shirt with their motto than they do wine. Nonetheless, Naked Mountain Vineyards and Winery is a lovely mom-and-pop kind of shop, with delightful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a small but charming tasting room and an inviting wrap around deck where you can soak up the sun, while overlooking the vines and sipping a glass of chardonnay. The winery only produces a few different kind of wines, so sampling all of them wasn't too hard. I personally preferred the 2008 Cabernet Franc Rosé but my friends walked away with a few bottles of Raptor Red. Naked ...
Pitango 1 – Vida 0
It's official! Whole Foods has a new ally in its fight against me losing any weight ever. Together with newly opened Pitango Gelato they await me as I leave my Yogalate class at Vida, taunting me with free samples of cheese and now gelato. Not cool! Luckily, unlike Whole Foods' selection of bread and pastries, Pitango's offering are of a healthier nature (sort of...) and both focus on organic ingredients. Pitango's owner, Noah Dan, is a real stickler for fresh produces, uses raw (yet pasteurized) milk and refuses to use artificial colors, flavors, or stabilizers. He opened his first shop in Baltimore's Fells Point in 2007 and seems intent on continuing his expansion in the region with a ...
Joyeuses Pacques!
Easter is a very traditional holiday in France. The French get both Good Friday and Easter Monday off and school children usually get their spring break right around that time as well so it is an eagerly anticipated time of the year. In France, as in most Catholic countries, it is the Church Bells that bring the eggs all the way from Rome. In Alsace, which holds more german traditions, rabbits bring around the eggs, but in the rest of France, they are too smart to venture out as they as would likely end up in someone's plate if they did ;-) The French love to celebrate the end of Lent with a gigot pasqual and this year I made mine with a simple rub of herbes de provence accompanied by a ...
Bientot: Buddha Bar
Wow... this is going to bring back lots of high school memories! Initially, Buddha Bar was a Parisian hot-spot known more for its chill oriental vibe, giant Buddha and successful music compilations than for the food it served. The original Buddha Bar opened in the late 90s and is located right around the corner from the US Embassy in Paris and behind l'Hotel le Crillon on rue Boissy-d'Anglas. Following its success, George V Entertainment has expanded the franchise in some of the trendiest cities around the globe: New York, London, Sao Paulo, Beirut or Dubai. Soon, D.C. will be able to add its name to this list as a Buddha Bar is slated to open at 455 Massachusetts Avenue NW at the end of the ...
And the Oscar Goes to… my ButterMILK Panna Cotta!
There are Oscar parties and then there are foodies Oscar parties. This year, I made all of my guests bring a dish inspired by an oscar-nominated flick to my viewing party. On the menu: Hot Slumdog Millionaires, Benjamin Button Mushrooms with Garlic and Parsley, Wall-e-nut brownies, Meryl Streeps of Meats (OK, this one was a bit of a stretch), Rachel Getting Wasteds and my Buttermilk Panna Cotta, inspired by the movie Milk. Panna Cotta are, in my opinion, one of the easiest dessert to make, though they do require some advance prep. This recipe for 6 buttermilk panna cottas is from Epicurious: Ingredients: 2 tablespoons water 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin Nonstick vegetable oil spray 1 ...