A Locavore’s Dream in Chapel Hill

The farm-to-table concept is more than just a passing fad; rather, it’s a movement here for the long haul.  While some restaurants are in their infancy in terms of creating farm-to-table business models, perhaps starting with a few menu items that feature local foods or a installing compost bins, others are far ahead of the curve. Continue reading

Yardbird—Bringing the South to South Beach

When someone brings up “The South,” it’s a safe bet they won’t mention Miami’s South Beach neighborhood.  It’s true that geographically speaking, Florida is the most Southern state in the Continental U.S. and Miami the most Southern metropolitan city. However South Beach is more likely to conjure up cultural associations with places like NYC or LA.  Yet, this is where you will find one of the country’s most successful new restaurants that has taken Southern cuisine to task. Yardbird.  Continue reading

The Many Reason To Eat Local

Have you ever wondered why it might be good to eat foods according to the season?  You probably notice how there are certain fruits and vegetables available in the fall (apples, pears, squash) versus what is seen in the spring/summer (melons, papaya, asparagus). Continue reading

This Resort in Napa Typifies What Younger Travelers Want in a 5-Star Hotel

If a world class spa, beautiful pool overlooking Napa valley, afternoon wine tastings, gourment farm-to-table cuisine (via multiple onsite restaurants) and the peace-of-mind knowing that the resort is a leader in sustainability practices is the kind of resort you would like to stay at—then give the Carneros Resort a try. It checks all of these boxes and more—especially for millenials and younger generations who genuinely care about these things.

Situated in the heart of wine country, sandwiched between Napa and Sonoma, the Carneros Resort (formerly “Carneros Inn”) is a quiet haven (and heaven) amidst the well-trodden wine country tourist trail.

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The Road Less Traveled

The Central Coast prides itself on being off the beaten path, even though this is becoming less and less the case as the area gains notoriety and vineyards continue to sprout up like wildflowers. One can easily find wines of equal caliber to their better-known Napa and Sonoma counterparts, but here you’ll find a much more laid back, less touristy feel. Continue reading

Paley’s in Comparison

Steering clear of the one-size-fits-all chain restaurant box, Paley’s Place has made its mark on the West Coast restaurant scene with a distinctive convergence of French, Eastern European and Pacific Northwest influences, and dynamic emphasis on local, sustainable and seasonal.  The intimate charm is found amidst a historic Victorian house in the Northwest District of Portland, seating a mere 50 patrons. With a cozy front porch, open air patio and two dining rooms, one gets the sensation of stepping into the home of close friends.

 

Kimberly Paley, general manager and co-owner, became a front-of-house maverick after putting in her time at Bouley, Gotham Bar & Grill and Alison, while chef and co-owner Vitaly Paley earned his culinary chops in the hot kitchens of Remi, Chanterelle, and Union Square Café. The two foodies met eyes while working at Moulin de la Gorce, a two-star Michelin restaurant in France and well, as they say, the rest is history.

 

In “The Paley’s Place Cookbook: Recipes and Stories From the Pacific Northwest,” the Paleys illuminate why they couldn’t help but pick Portland as their final destination to start a restaurant due to the region’s access to superior ingredients. “Oregon reminded us of France, where ingredients are stars. In New York’s kitchens, I saw you could get anything any time. I also noticed that not much came from close by. While Kimberly and I didn’t necessarily want ours to be a French restaurant, we knew we wanted to sustain what we learned in France about being closer to the sources of food.”

 

The cookbook won the Best Regional Cookbook award by Epicurious in 2008, in part for sharing genuine, personal narratives that help the reader get to know the restaurant’s farm suppliers, such as greens and garlic grower, George Weppler and third generation potato guru Gene Thiel. Chef Paley was also recognized with the James Beard Award for “Best Chef of the Northwest” in 2005 for his advanced culinary technique and dedication to supporting local farm-to-table food of the Pacific Northwest. With a menu that changes daily, his muse comes from such local gems as Highland Oak Farm grass-finished beef, Quinault River Steelhead from the prized fisheries of the Quinault reservation and fresh veggies from the likes of Creative Growers Organic Farm.

 

If your winter taste buds take a gander at Paley’s most recent menu, you might observe some daring seasonal dishes including Rabbit Ravioli with bacon or Oregon Dungeness Crab Risotto enhanced by wild mushrooms and white truffle butter. Local flavor doesn’t desert the dessert, with Oregon candied kumquats finding their way into the Chèvre Cheesecake of winter citrus, sugared almonds and pistachios. Meanwhile, heirloom squash hides graciously among the delicate morsels of Warm Financier Cake with golden raisin verjus beneath a milk chocolate sherbet.

 

Their Sustainable Seafood Sundays draw a crowd, an event created with the intention of teaching diners about local, sustainable seafood options while tasting it for themselves. These dinners foster a conversation about the environmental issues behind how and where fish is caught, with the hopes that customers will leave with the knowledge to make more conscientious seafood choices.

Paley’s has gone so far as to create their own line of organic bars which they sell at specialty grocers and gourmet cheese shops. One favorite is Handmade at Paley’s Fruit & Nut Bar, a dense cheese condiment Paley came up with when he was unable to find a quality companion for his cheese menu.

 

The recipes of this Northwest star have caught the gaze of the New York Times, Bon Appétit, Wine Enthusiast, NPR and even Oprah Magazine, with whom Paley shares his enthusiasm for seasonal cuisine: “As the [cherry] harvest begins, I literally lie awake thinking about what I’m going to cook tomorrow. The beauty of seasonal cooking is that you get to rediscover an ingredient every time it reappears.”

 

Chef Paley’s culinary prowess secured him a spot on “Iron Chef America” in 2011, where he reigned victorious over Chef Jose Garces in a radish battle, claiming that being from the Soviet republic of Belarus gave him a leg up on how to utilize the entire radish plant in a variety of ways.

 

For those strolling down lovers’ lane to Paley’s Place for that romantic day in February, have a seat in their bar and bistro for a local bottle of Riesling from the Willamette Valley, aptly named Love and Squalor (2010) – while there still is a seat, that is…

1204 Northwest 21st Ave.
Portland, Ore. 97209

(503) 243-2403

 

Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Sunday: 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Wines on Tap

When one hears the word keg, it might conjure up images of college students sloppily chugging back beer from the tap at a late night party. Ironically, kegs are finding themselves in much classier settings these days, and they aren’t necessarily filled with beer. Wine kegs are sweeping restaurant and bar establishments alike who are looking for a new edge that is not only more environmentally sound but can also save them cash and keep wines fresh for longer.

 

Wine on draft appears to be more than just a passing trend, predicts Mat Duggan, general manager of Palmina Winery. His establishment has kegs in over 30 of its California restaurants. Duggan tells LA Weekly, “In 10 years, the majority of wine by the glass programs will be on a tap system.”

 

It’s not a shocker that most businesses currently serving wine on tap are in California at ahead-of-the-curve hotspots like Lukshon in Culver City, Delfina Pizzeria in San Francisco and the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara. But what might come as a surprise is that a restaurant in Atlanta called Two Urban Licks boasts the most extensive wine keg program in the United States with a “wine wall” they claim is one of a kind. This 26 feet high temperature controlled tower contains 42 stainless steel barrels highlighting a gravity flow system which allows for easy wine pouring.

 

Wine Cask

 

But don’t be fooled by such fancy setups – modern vintners and restauranteurs aren’t exactly reinventing the wheel here. They are, in fact, returning to a tradition that dates back to ancient wine-making times, when using a tap to dispense the liquid was the easy, low-technology and most prevalent way to serve it.

 

Going With the Eco-Flow

 

So, sorry cleverly-labeled, sleek-figured bottles, but kegs win the “who’s the greenest” battle, hands down. Wine kegs are typically converted from soda or beer kegs, weighing in at 5.15 gallons or 26 750ml wine bottles. It doesn’t take a math whiz to figure out that every time a keg is returned to a winery, refilled and reused, it’s saving a lot of glass bottles from having to be shipped, kept in storage and then either thrown out or put back into the recycling system (a system that while necessary, in and of itself can be highly energy intensive in operating recycling plants and trucks). Kegs eliminate the packaging waste that comes along with a bottling system – boxes, printed bottle labels, screw caps, corks, etc. Transporting boxes of bottles uses shipping space much more inefficiently than kegs, requiring more trucks, more shipping and therefore more greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Taste From the Tap

 

Wine is kept fresh in a keg with the help of inert gases like argon and nitrogen that get pushed into the container via a low-pressure mechanism, which then simultaneously forces the wine out when tapped. The fact that the gas doesn’t react with the wine makes it an ideal guardian for defending wine against its malevolent adversary, oxygen.

 

Proponents of wine kegs say preservation from oxidization is a major taste benefit, as kegs extend the length of time a wine is able to remain fresh: some wines can keep in kegs for roughly a year under the appropriate temperature.

 

Kegs also keep wines more reliable in their flavor profile, mirroring the nearest thing to that right-out-of-the-barrel taste. Wines which are more inclined to be fit for kegs are wines that are best savored in their youth. Kegs seem like a much better alternative to cracking a bottle open, only to have it sit too long and either oxidize, have its flavor go awry or spoil altogether.

 

Cash in Pocket, Not Down the Drain

 

Wine industry specialists approximate that a wine keg and tap system reduces production costs by 10-25 percent, making it possible to turn around and sell that wine to customers at a better price point, as well. Michael Ouelette, a wine keg businessman, illustrates to NPR that many wineries are looking to kegs as one way to help the wine industry get back on its feet after being adversely impacted by the recession.

 

“There’s a surplus of quality inventory and because of that, wineries are opening their marketing strategy to other formats,” explains Ouelette. “But once they start and see how smart and green it is, they’re embracing the concept.”

 

Establishments switching to keg programs also save money on product because bottle service can tend to waste a good sum of wine, literally forcing them to pour money down the drain.  Think of how many bottles are opened at restaurants or bars for just one or two glasses. The rest of that bottle often can’t be used because it has been recorked, gone off or lost its intended flavor experience for the consumer – who pays for that wasteful system with higher wine-by-the-glass prices. Squandering away wine puts a huge hole in businesses’ pockets – an expense that appears unnecessary in light of wine kegs.

 

Chef and owner of Father’s Office restaurants, Sang Yoon, reflects on these savings to The New York Times: “You have to calculate in your pricing the wine you didn’t sell, the wine you had to throw away…I can’t remember having had a positive wine-by-the-glass experience unless the bottle was freshly opened.  As an owner, you also come to realize how wasteful wine by the glass becomes. As a result, your pricing has to reflect that waste, so most places serve cheap wine with big markups for glass pours, which equals bad value for consumers.”

 

Chef/Owner Sang Yoon of Father’s Office (Photo by Kevin Scanlon for The New York Times)

 

Thinking Outside the Bottle

 

Take-home wine growlers and canteens have become a subsequent no-brainer riding on this wave of wine kegs. Dave Potter’s Municipal Winemakers allows folks to walk away with refillable glass growlers of their ever-changing varietals, the original costing $25 and refills coming in at $20. Innovative wineries like Natural Process Alliance exclusively sell wine by the keg and also give customers the option of buying their wines in ¾ liter reusable steel canteens.

 

Other wineries such as Lioco, Flowers Vineyard & Winery and Silvertap Winery are jumping on the keg bandwagon, as well. They are realizing this new system can draw in long-standing wine aficionados who are getting over traditional notions that wine should only be served in a bottle, as well as novices who might be attracted to the “on tap” concept as a more green and less intimidating entryway into the world of wine.

Tar Heel Treasures

Some say North Carolina is the “Cradle of the ‘Cue,” and while out-of-state barbecue enthusiasts might beg to differ, there are the die-hards who will venture to say that North Carolina is the “Barbecue Capital of the World.” Continue reading

Clean and Green

When conjuring up ideas for greening your home, look no further than your own common sense. We all know that using less resources not only helps the Earth but can save you cash as well. Continue reading