Tuesday, November 27, 2007

... and now it's time for WINE CORNER


Wine corner visits Juicy Wine Company & the Violet Hour!
by Double D

My good friend Gretchen was out of town for Thanksgiving, and her boyfriend George was lonely so I thought I'd cheer him up with a trip to Juicy Wine Company. Wine + cheese + meat = good times!

Upon arrival we immediately handed off all decision-making to our waiter, who seemed to have it all under control. We just said "spicy red" and he took it from there, bringing us each a glass of the Two Hands "Gnarly Dudes" Shiraz (excellent - smooth & spicy at the same time) followed by a giant platter of meats (lamb prosciutto, mole-spiced salumi and spicy sopressata, all from Armandino Batali, aka Mario Batali's dad) and a tempting array of cheeses (an american Humboldt Fog and 2 other semi-soft cheeses whose names escape me because I was getting a little buzzed at that point. One of them had a rosemary-infused rind.) That was a long sentence! Moving on - We finished both plates along with a second glass of wine, and then a decision had to be made: do we stay and make it an all-cheese all-meat evening, or is it time to go somewhere new? We opted for the latter and headed over to Violet Hour, which wasn't surprising since we seem to wind up there at the end of every evening.

Oh Violet Hour, how I adore you. Your delicious brown butter-basted deviled eggs with candied pork belly. Your scrumptious 6-million-calorie peanut butter, honey & bacon sandwich. Your "it can't work but it does" curry-flavored rice krispie treats. And of course,
your amazing cocktails. My current favorite is the Dark & Stormy, a tantalizing blend of Cruzan Black Strap, Brujal Anego, ginger syrup and awesomeness wrapped around an ice cube as tall as the glass. Do you understand what I'm saying? Even the ice cubes are interesting at Violet Hour! If you haven't been there, go immediately. But not on Saturday nights around 11 because that's when I generally go and the line is too long as it is.

And that brings this week's Wine Corner to a close. I realize there wasn't much in the way of wine this week & I will try to work on that next time. But Violet Hour is a wicked temptress.

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