Des Moines Wine and Food Connection

Eating & Drinking

Casa di Vino may be closed but your Wine & Food Guy is always in the field doing research. Here's some brief updates.

My wife and I visited Baru 66 for the first time last week for our anniversary. We had a very nice meal. She had the french onion soup, provencal lamb & creme brulee. I had escargot & sweetbreads, a truffled chicken sausage on risotto, and apricot 3-ways for dessert. We will definately return to try some of the chefs other creations. By the way, Baru's wine list just got a Best of award from Wine Spectator.

Enjoying Lagavulin 16 yr. and cigars recently courtesy of Kerry & Joe. Thanks much and good on ya' folks.

Some fine corks have been pulled over the past few weeks and the juice has flowed. 04' Mollydooker's The Boxer & The Maitre' d. Both at their peaks. Orin Swift Machete, 1996 Lynch Bages (outstanding), 2001 Harlan Estates Cabernet (superb), & 1995 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet. Also and ethereal 2004 Badia a Coltibuono Vin Santo. Great pours.

While in Detroit, pastrami from The Bread Basket deli. Sorry Des Moines, nothing like it here. Detroit also has it's own style coney dogs that must be a local thing. Native Detroiters go nuts over them, New Yorkers & Chicagoans go "huh?".

If you haven't tried the sandwiches being made by Pronto down around Nollen Plaza you're missing the boat. I had their Banh Mi sandwich the other week and it was spectacular. Marcus, you rock!

Anyway, that's the scoop. Eat well, drink well, live well.

Howard Bernstein
Owner (now defunct), Casa di Vino
Wine & Food Guy,
Des Moines Wine & Food Connection 

    

Kansas City Bar-b-que

Spent the past few days down in Kansas City, the home of bar-b-que (Memphis, Carolina & Texas not withstanding). Had dinner at Fiorella's Sunday evening. Had the mixed rib sampler platter with pork, lamb & beef ribs. The lamb ribs stole the show. The house sauce was a bit sweet for me but their spicy sauce kicked things up a notch. Just right. Their famous stacks of onion rings are also a nice accompaniment instead of fries. The beans were o.k. but overly smoky and the slaw needed a bit more of a vinegar bite for my tastes. Had a Boulevard Wheat beer to wash everything down. Good eats.

Yesterday I had lunch at Arthur Bryant's, probably the most famous bar-b-que joint on the planet. Brisket & cole slaw with a rib sampler side & lemonade. Their brisket is moist without being juicy and has a nice smokiness. Their slaw was creamy but not overly so. The ribs had a nice coating of rub. A bit spicy and great flavor. Their house sauce has a slightly acidic vinegar bite that compliments the smokiness of the meat and cuts through the richness. This is bar-b-que done right.

I've eaten at Gates Bar-b-que before and really enjoyed their mutton ribs. Not for everyone, they're a bit gamey and greasy but a nice change from the usual stuff.

The current foodie favorite, which I haven't tried yet is Oklahoma Joe's. Proclaimed "indespensible" by Anthony Bourdain, this place is jam packed from open till close. Located in an old gas station, the bar-b-que is suppose to be out-of-this-world.

I'm sure there are plenty of other good places around K.C. that this wine and food guy has missed and if you know of any please pipe in and let us all know. I'm always looking. This is a pretty good sampler though and for a first time visitor to Kansas City this will surely satisfy. I know I haven't been down to Texas to taste the brisket and I've hardly touched on the pulled pork that the Carolinas are so famous for but for my food dollars K.C. is both the heart and the start of bar-b-que in the U.S. of A.  

Howard Bernstein
Owner, Casa di Vino
Wine and Food Guy
Des Moines Wine & Food Connection  

Berns Steakhouse - The last word

Revisiting our Berns Steakhouse feast: As Laura mentioned we split a 14 oz. Chateaubriand. It was a magnificent piece of meat. All dinners come with the house salad, French onion soup & two sides. While Laura had the house soup and salad I had a lobster bisque and a roast beet salad w/goat cheese, herbs & black truffle. For wine we had glasses of 1996 Faivley Mercury Blanc "Clos Rochette" and a Laetitia 2005 Arroyo Grande Pinot Noir. We tasted back and forth (a faux pas I know but what the heck) and the Faivley worked best with my bisque and her salad and the pinot worked best with her French onion soup and my beet salad. With the Chateaubriand we could have gone a million (o.k. about 5,500) different ways. The wine "book" is amazing. Every appelation in the world you could think of. Multiple producers AND multiple vintages. 40 vintages of Lafite. 25 vintages of Romanee-Conti, 20 vintages of Tignanello & Sassacaia. The list just goes on and on. I would love to have tried a northern Rhone, a Cote Rotie or an Auguste Clape Cornas but Laura would have just hated it. Too earthy and funky. Instead we split a bottle of 2002 D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz from McLaren Vale, Australia. Laura and I visited the winery in 2002 and I've been a fan of the wine since the 1994 vintage. We actually tasted the 2002 in barrel there in Oct. 2002. Out of bottle 7 years later the wine still had the deep purple color but the fruit has mellowed some and the bouquet soars. Once our waiter decanted the bottle the air around us filled with black and blue fruit and the dustiness that's so typical of those Aussie reds. Next to our juicy, aged piece of beef it was wonderful. FYI, if anyone has bottles of the 02' in their cellar, you can drink it now and any time before 2020 or so. For this wine and food guy this was food and wine nirvana.

As Laura mentioned, after the meal proper we were given a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar before being shown up the stairs to the dessert room. This tour was a much needed break and a chance to stretch our legs after 3+ hours of food and drink. The wine cellar is actually divided up between two locations. The older wines and a few bottles of everything else on the list are kept in house while a large number of bottles are kept in a warehouse size temperature controlled cellar across the road. The breadth and selection of wines on site are larger than 95% of the wine lists in the world. The fact that there are 250,000 bottles across the road puts this list and collection in the top 5 wine lists on the planet easily. Perhaps THE largest. 

Once upstairs the process begins again. The dessert list is 40 items long. The dessert wine list including liqueurs, Scotches, cognacs, grappas etc. is 42 PAGES long. What's a guy to do? After having a wee bit of dessert and coffee I settled on a Scotch. A long-time fan of Islay malts, I decided to splash out (as if we hadn't already) on a dram of 30 year old Laphroaig. I've had the 10 year, 15 year, cask strength and single barrel versions but never the 30 year. What a treat. Smooth and rich, peaty, smoky and mellow with a suprising banana note. If I could have had a cigar (I won't even go into THAT rant) I could have died happily at that moment. 

Folks. Wine and food lovers. Anyone who enjoys the best things in life. You owe it to yourself to visit Berns if you're anywhere within a 150 mile radius. It truely is an experience you will never forget.  

Howard Bernstein (drooling) Owner, Casa di Vino

Des Moines Wine and Food Connection  

A Steak Pilgrimage

As a proud carnivore I enjoy my meat but when the true primal urge comes over me what I crave is steak. Des Moines has some good and even very good steakhouses including 801, Flemings, Iowa Beef, Rube's and, for top tenderloin Steak Deburgo, Sam & Gabe's. Truely great Steakhouses though are few and far between. Peter Lugar in New York & Gene and Georgetti in Chicago are considered a couple of the best. My wife Laura and I, visiting Tampa/St. Pete last week had the opportunity to visit the king of steakhouses though, Bern's Steakhouse. Bern's deals in only Prime, dry-aged, hand-cut-to-order steaks. They have a two page CAVIAR menu. A Wine Spectator Grand Award holder (there are only 72) since the first awards were given out in I believe 1993, Bern's has a 6,800 selection wine list and over 500,000 bottles in their collection. Their bound wine book weighs 15 pounds, reaches back to 1790, and runs up to $10,000 per bottle (for an 1871 Graud Larose). I have been reading about Bern's since I first got into the wine business in 1992 and as a wine and food guy as well as a food and wine guy I felt it was my obligation (and opportunity) to make pilgrimage to this Mecca of meat. Laura and I are going to blog our take on this amazing dining experience in alternating parts over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to join in the conversation, ask questions and throw in any observations as we go along. A shared experience is the best kind of experience. 

Howard Bernstein, Wine & Food Guy

Casa di Vino, 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            

Detroit Eats

I had the opportunity to spend last weekend back in Detroit where my roots are. If you ever visit, there are certain foods that have a Detroit spin and are a must.

To drink, Vernors Ginger Ale is the beverage. Crisp and sharp with a bite of ginger, this stuff is a personal favorite and a fine pairing for Asian food and spicy dishes. Also a great thirst quencher.

 

Coney dogs are another for which Detroit has it's own style. Just as New York has its hot dog and Chicago its own, Detroit has Lafayette Coney Island which is considered the finest of its form. A meaty chili tops a natural casing dog with a squirt of yellow mustard and a toss of chopped onion. A side order of chili fries and a soda (pop in Detroit) and you're in colesterol heaven.

 

Sorry Des Moines but you really don't know what a deli sandwich is. Carnagie Deli in New York is the most famous but for a stacked Corned Beef or Pastrami sandwich Bread Basket is Detroit's institution. Some folks like Stage Deli's sandwiches better... but Bread Basket stacks em' higher and slices them thinner and has the spicier pastrami. The true test of deli supremacy. Don't forget an order of their onion rings on the side. Slaw and Russian Dressing are optional.

 

The one other thing Laura and I miss is Middle Eastern food.

Detroit has a large population of middle-easterners living in its environs and the middle-eastern and Persian food is superb. Fattoush salad, chicken or lamb shwarma, kebabs, falafel, hummus, rice, fries, baba ghanouj(grilled eggplant) are all parts of a wonderful meal and a glass of Shiraz on the side is one of the best wine and food pairings I know. Laura and I put out a pretty good middle-eastern spread but the Fattoush salad is one we haven't mastered yet.

 

These are a few of the must haves any foodie needs to try upon visiting the Motor City. If any of you happen to be going and need some additional pointers just send me an e-mail at this site or at my Casa di Vino website. I always love discussing eating and drinkiing. Good on ya'.

 

Howard Bernstein, Wine and Food Guy

Casa di Vino Wine Shop

Des Moines Wine and Food Connection