Des Moines Wine and Food Connection

Maine Eats Pt. I

Laura and I visited Maine for a week a while back. Spent our time between Portland and Mt. Desert Island/Acadia National Park. Here's a brief rundown on the food and drink. I'll revisit this again later.

Portland - Portland Lobster Company - Don't do it. Overpriced tasteless lobster roll and fried-to-a-crisp clams. NOT!
 
**** Vignola (wine bar and tapas/dinner, Dana St.) - Very good. Good wine selection, knowlegable servers, good food. Cozy and kind of romantic(in the corners). Make a reservation in advance if possible.
 
Cape Elizabeth - The Lobster Shack - *** Good lobster, great location, get there early for seating.
 
Harpswell - Allen's Seafood - ** Pretty good lobster, nice views, mosquitos in the evening.
 
Wicasset - The Sea Basket - ***** Great lobster stew, very good fried seafood basket(haddock, clams, shrimp & scallops).
 
East Belfast(just across the bridge, turn right at Jed's) - Young's Lobster Pound - ***** The best. Ate there twice, going to Acadia and returning to Portland. Friendly, informative, helpful folks, nice location, the sweetest lobster I had and great steamer clams. Highly recommended. I'm salivating just thinking about the place. Lobster any size up to 4+ lbs.. If they had good beer I'd move in.
 
Ellsworth - Union River Lobster Pot - **** Great Downeaster meal. Skip the mussels, o.k. clams, very good lobster. Beautiful location(right on a gently flowing river), friendly folks, good beer.  
 
Trenton - Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound - ** Fair lobster roll, too expensive for what you get.
 
Mt. Desert Island:
 
Bar Harbor - Miguel's - *** Pretty good Mexican. Good salsa and good tequila selection.
 
**** Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium - Dessert/sweet heaven. Candy, cookies, and ice cream galore. A different flavor for every evening.
 
Bernard - Thurston's Lobster Pound - **** Beautiful location(SW corner of Mt. Desert Island), very good, sweet soft-shell lobster, good steamer clams, good slaw, good home-made beer (a great compliment to the meal). Highly recommended.  
 
That's my take on things. Anyone else have any tips?

Howard Bernstein, Food and Wine Guy

Casa di Vino, Des Moines Wine and Food Connection

Ladora Bank Bistro

It's Sunday morning. You're wondering what to do. You feel like taking a drive. Ever been to Ladora? Ever heard of Ladora? Ladora sits 25 miles east of Grinnell on U.S. Highway 6. Why should you take a ride out there? Because what's possibly the coolest wine bar in the state of Iowa is out there. Ladora Bank Bistro is exactly what the name proclaims. It's a bistro inside a bank that was built in 1920. The bistro incorporates all the original bank fixtures which means you can sit at a tellers window and enjoy a glass of wine and have a nibble. Or a beer. Brad Erickson and his fiancee Colleen Klainert spent 4 years cleaning and prepping and planning before opening to a shall we say "sceptical" rural community in May. The bank, which was open for only 11 years before closing during the Depression had been the pride of Ladora back when Highway 6 was the main route across Iowa before I-80 was built. Folks have been coming around and the locals are happy to see the bank in use. You never know who you'll meet there. The Sunday Laura and I drove out there were probably a dozen folks there. Bikers out on a Sunday cruise. A group of ladies out after church. A few farmers having a beer (they have Millstream from Amana and Shock Top from St. Louis!) and a bite. Laura and I had a couple of glasses of wine from their well chosen list of 30 or so wines and a plate of Iowa's own La Quercia Prosciutto with capers, olives and a drizzle of olive oil on top. We tried their Stromboli Rosso also. A roll of Italian sausage, mozzarella, herbs and Bolognese sauce, it complimented the glass of Layer Cake Primitivo I drank and Laura's glass of Salneval Albarino perfectly. Wine, food and a lot of marble. A fun place to hang out on a Sunday afternoon or as a destination for a light evening meal. By the way, if you try something new wine-wise and want to pick up a bottle let us know here at Casa di Vino. There's a good chance we already have it in stock. Ladora Bank Bistro hours: Thurs., Fri., Sat. 4-9 PM, Sunday, Noon-6 PM.

Howard Bernstein, Owner, Casa di Vino

Wine & Food Guy, Des Moines Wine & Food Connection            

Pulled Corks

You've got to love the holiday season as far as food and wine go. Good eats all around and what a great time for pulling corks. Here's some of the fine wine that's crossed my palate lately.     

Au Bon Climat 2000 XX Anniversary "Passant" Chardonnay (out of magnum): I bought 3 of these 1.5L out of L.A. in 2002. Drank one last November and just popped the cork on #2 last Sunday. Great balance of fruit and oak. Still drinking nice 8 years on.

2002 Vincent Girardin "Morgeot" Chassagne-Montrachet: This is a goody Casa di Vino brought in when we opened in 2004. An Iowa Exclusive. It was young in 04, it's in it's prime in 2008. Still vibrant with firm apple, pear and stone fruit notes. This bottle has years in it. Drink now- 2013. CDV still has a few bottles left. 

Ca' Marcanda 2001 Promis:

Angelo Gaja's Tuscan project, Ca' Marcanda is turning out some wonderful drinkers. The 2001 (Merlot/Syrah/Sangiovese) is a medium-bodied lovely that's showing it's best right now. If you've got any bottles stashed drink them over the next 2-3 years. 

2005 Suhr Luchtel Gary's Vineyard Pinot Noir: Drank this with my wild rice stuffed bird on Thanksgiving. It's still a baby (drink 2010-2015) but after being open 45 minutes or so it settled down. A big mouthful of red and black fruit with some foresty notes thrown in. If you're going to drink it now beat it up a bit in a decanter first.  

These are just a few of the bottles we've drunk over the past few weeks. Anybody drinking anything fun out there in the blogosphere? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you.

Howard Bernstein, Owner, Casa di Vino

Food and Wine Guy, Des Moines Wine and Food Connection