TDF 2010 Stage 15: Pamiers to Bagnères-de-Luchon

This year's second stage in the Pyrenées will no doubt bring back melancholy memories for old fans of the Tour, as it was on the descent of today's second climb, the Col de Portet d'Aspet, that Fabio Casartelli met his untimely death in the 1995 Tour de France. Casartelli's then Motorola teammate, Lance Armstrong, racing in his pre-cancer diagnosis days, went on to a storming solo victory a couple of stages later, dedicating his win to Casartelli's memory. I'd hazard a guess that it still – even after seven overall victories in the Tour de France – ranks as one of Lance's most personally meaningful victories.

The Fabio Casartelli Monument, erected by the Motorola Cycling Team and the Société du Tour de France on the Col de Portet d'Aspet.
Photo courtesy of Star Bikes.

It's been long enough now that the riders and race caravan no longer stop at the memorial to pay their respects. On this day, two more mountain passes, including the hors categorie Col des Ares, and a perilous finishing descent into Bagnères-de-Luchon still loomed ahead. But I'm sure that more than a few members of the peloton honored the memory of Casartelli in their own ways this afternoon.


Today's route, scenic as it was, passed through what is essentially a no-vine zone, starting just west of the environs of Toulouse and just east of the deep southwest, where things will be headed tomorrow. While there may be little wine rooted along the route, there's no lack of Pyrenéean sheep and, by extension, some fantastic areas for the production of mountain sheep's milk cheeses.

One such production zone can be found in the town of Belloc, roughly 20k north of St. Girons and very near the mid-point of today's stage, source of the namesake fromage, Abbaye de Belloc. According to the fine cheese mongers at Artisanal in New York:

"Abbaye de Bel'loc is still made in the traditional manner by Benedictine Monks at the abbey of Notre-Dame de Belloc. A French Pyrenees sheep's milk cheese, Abbaye has a fine, dense texture and is high in fat. The milk comes from the red-nosed Manech ewes (an old local breed) whose milk is brought into the monastery from neighboring farms. Abbaye de Belloc has a true Basque character, and it is believed that many centuries ago the monks from the Belloc Monastery first taught the Basque shepherds how to make cheese. Proper care in the right maturing conditions will accentuate the rich, caramelized flavors that make this cheese so addictive. Pair Abbaye de Bel'loc with Château Margaux or Pacherenc du Vic Bilh."

Abbaye de Belloc is one of my favorite examples of the sheep's milk cheeses from Southwest France – mild enough to be a crowd pleaser yet displaying enough depth of flavor to satisfy big time cheese heads. While recommending it with a bottle of Château Margaux may be a bit over the top, the disparity of Artisanal's two recommendations do make a good point. This is wine friendly cheese, just as at home with a white from Jurançon, Irouléguy or, yes, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, as with a red from Cahors, Corbières or, leaping across the border and mixing culinary cultures, even Rioja.

After today's stage finish, the next two days in the mountains promise to be very interesting indeed.

Up next: On to Pau.

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Saxelby Cheesemongers

Many a wave of cultural and economic change has swept through New York City’s Lower East Side in the last century. Changing with it, in step for the last 68 years, has been the Essex Street Market, situated along the stretch of Essex between Rivington and Delancey. The neighborhood’s latest wave of hipster gentrification has brought along with it a growing natural food consciousness, and given birth to yet another renaissance within the market.

Leading the whey for the last two years has been Anne Saxelby, the proprietress and cheese maven behind the counter at her eponymous shop, Saxelby Cheesemongers. Anne spent her formative years in the cheese biz working at New York’s temple to all things cheesy, Murray’s in the West Village.

Saxelby’s business is far from being just another gourmet product and cheese shop (a role already played in the Essex Market by the Boston-based mini-chain, Formaggio Kitchen). Instead, she focuses solely on American farmstead cheeses and dairy products, predominately from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast States. Just about everything she sells comes from a farm where Anne has gotten her hands dirty, whether pitching in with milking duties or taking care of affinage.

A typical look at Anne's small but focused selection of American farmstead cheeses. The disc of Lazy Lady's "La Roche" I took home was a perfect accompaniment to a salad of spicy greens and heirloom tomatoes.
The level of personal experience that Ms. Saxelby brings to work, combined with her natural enthusiasm and generous hand with providing tastes of her goods, makes for an infectiously enjoyable shopping experience. Customers from the neighborhood as well as from out of town stop by just to say hi and chat. Invariably, they taste. And invariably they leave with something tasty. I’ve been doing the same ever since I first met Anne through mutual friends not long after she opened Saxelby Cheesemongers in May 2006. It’s now a regular stop during my New York junkets.

Always happy at work.
Parmigiano-Reggiano is Anne's only concession to old world superiority .

In addition to her duties at the market, Anne writes a shop blog. Updated weekly, it provides an easy way to stay abreast of new arrivals, seasonal specialties and her “A Day A-Whey” trips, guided tours to local dairies.

Saxelby Cheesemongers Stall #17 in the Essex Street Market 120 Essex Street (at Delancey) New York, NY 10002 212-228-8204

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Beer and Cheese Pairing with Garrett Oliver

One of the marquee events included at the 4th Annual Brewer’s Plate, held last Sunday as one of the kick-off events of Philly Beer Week, was a beer and cheese tasting with Garrett Oliver. Author of The Brewmaster’s Table and, as the book’s title suggests, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, Garrett made the trip down to Philly to extol the merits and flexibility of beer’s place in the gourmand’s arsenal.

As seems almost inevitable, at least based on the context of the last few beer tasting events I’ve attended, Mr. Oliver promoted beer’s strengths in the food-pairing arena in contrast to –and to the detriment of – wine. To paraphrase his words in a nutshell, he prefers beer to wine as he feels it works in harmony with rather than in contrast to food. Feel about that as you (and I) may, he does present rather uncanny statistics. In twenty beer-versus-wine challenges in which he’s participated across five countries, he claims a 20-0 record in beer’s favor.

There would be no competition on this night, as the venue’s very nature dictated a beer-only showing. Here’s what Garrett presented:

1. Southampton Double White Ale (7%) w/ Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog (goat)
   
2. Brooklyn Local 1 (9%) w/ Brillat-Savarin (cow)
   
3. Victory St. Victorious (7.6%) w/ Ossau Iraty (sheep)
   
4. Southampton Bière de Garde (6.6%) w/ St. Marcellin (cow) and Époisses (cow)
   
5. Victory Twelve (12%) w/ Pleasant Ridge Reserve (cow)
   
6. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (10.1%) w/ Colston-Bassett Stilton (cow)

The first four matches worked well, all following Garrett’s approach of matching flavor to flavor. The citrus and wheat driven ale from Southampton worked in much the same role, minus acidity, as would Sauvignon blanc, perhaps the most ubiquitous wine pairing for goat’s milk cheeses.

I quite liked the creamy on creamy layering provided by the match between Brillat-Savarin and Garrett’s own brew, Brooklyn Local 1. There’s a minor parallel here, too, with classic wine pairings – Brillat-Savarin and Champagne – as Brooklyn Local 1 is a bottle re-fermented, Belgian inspired ale that is made in a way that approximates the méthode traditionelle. Brooklyn Brewery installed a new bottling line and warm room solely to facilitate its production.

The Bière de Garde from Southampton was an inspired choice, as it worked equally well with both the sour tang of St. Marcellin and the pungency of Époisses.

It was really only in match five that Mr. Oliver’s previous successes with the same-on-same approach came tumbling down. Beer’s relative lack of acidity and total lack of tannin rob it of two of wine’s most important attributes in playing well with food. The over-the-top nature of Victory Twelve, tasty enough on its own, was too closely matched to the big, caramelized flavors of Pleasant Ridge Reserve. The match ended up being overblown, with the beer dominating the cheese on the front palate and the cheese overpowering the beer on the finish.

I liked the idea of Chocolate Stout with Stilton. As this was a particularly fudgey example from Colston-Bassett, the potential for chocolate and cheese goodness was certainly evident. Garrett shared an anecdote of how he came up with the pairing at a previous event. He’d planned on serving Stilton with Brooklyn’s barleywine, Monster Ale, but the beer never arrived. Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate Stout was handy though. He went with it, liked it and now continues to show the duo. It may be facile to say I’d have preferred the barleywine… but I would have preferred the barleywine, or a sweeter chocolate stout such as Young’s. The dry, bitter style of Brooklyn’s version, which is compelling on its own, created an acrid reaction on the palate – not to this man’s taste – when matched with the Stilton.

Garrett’s incredibly in-depth knowledge of beer and its place in the culinary spectrum, along with a charismatic presentation style, made his event an absolute highlight of the evening. Four for six is not a shabby batting average in the cheese pairing game. However, I’d like to think I might have scored better with wines of my choosing paired to the same cheeses. Care to go for a twenty-first round, Garrett?

Related post:
Highlights from the 4th Annual Brewer's Plate

Related reading:

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Clandestin and Riesling

As part and parcel of teaching a private class on the fundamentals of wine and cheese at Tria Fermentation School a few nights back, I had the opportunity to taste a few goodies. One cheese in particular struck me for its individuality and funk: Clandestin, a dual milk cheese, blended from equal parts of cow’s and sheep’s milk, made by Fromagerie Le Detour in Québec. It’s a washed rind, pasteurized cheese, which comes in small discs about the size of a hockey puck. Every wheel that night was a little different, some firm and pliable of pate, others oozing and odoriferous, showing a darker orange tinge to their rind. I enjoyed a slice from one of the latter sort. My first impression was of a bacon-like smokiness, along with a slightly sour lactic tang that reminded me of Saint-Marcellin. There was some grassiness, but in a damp, slightly briny fashion that evoked comparisons from various class members to the aromas and flavors of caviar, mushrooms and shrimp. Curious stuff, I wouldn’t choose it as a staple in my cheese arsenal but it’s definitely worthy of consideration as something striking for your next cheese plate.

Two stages of Clandestin
We paired the Clandestin with a 2003 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese from Willi Haag. A member of the VDP, the Haag estate comprises about five hectares of vineyards in the Mosel. On its own, the Riesling was disappointingly one-dimensional. It showed round, peachy fruit but was lacking in both acidity and minerality, no doubt an unwanted side-effect of the hot, dry growing conditions, at least relative to the norm, in the Mosel in 2003. Lurking behind the wine’s generous sweetness and fruitiness was a touch of sweaty cellar funk.

At first taste – on the front palate, if you prefer – the pairing worked reasonably well together. The fruit forward nature of the wine played well with the smokiness and grassiness of the cheese; the sweetness level of the wine was just a bit higher than ideal. On the finish, however, the sourness of the cheese combined with the sweaty hint in the Spätlese to form an amplified funkiness. I rather liked it for its peculiar savor but I could see more than a handful of twisted expressions around the room. Next time around, I’d choose a drier Riesling, Grüner Veltliner or Sancerre, one with nervier acid, greater minerality and a more citrus character. And the terroirist in me would like the opportunity to test it for local affinities with a québécois Riesling or apple cider.

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Two Cities, Two Cheese and Beer Events

‘Tis the season, apparently, for beer and cheese festivities. In one day, I’ve received notice of two events in two of my favorite cities, both featuring a panoply of curds and suds.

For the New Yorkers among you, and for those who are good last minute planners, my favorite NYC indie cheese shop, Saxelby Cheesemongers, will be co-hosting a night of Chocolate, Cheese and Beer this Wednesday, August 29, from 7-9 PM at Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village. The tasting will feature seasonal, American farmstead cheeses paired with Jimmy’s selection of craft beers and a slew of chocolate goodies. Reservations are required and can be made by via e-mail to nycdat@gmail.com or by calling Saxelby Cheesemongers at (212) 228-8204.

Jimmy’s No. 43 | 43 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003 | 212-982-3006

From New York straight to Philly, Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewing Company, will be teaming up with the crew at DiBruno Brothers’ new Chestnut Street location on Thursday, September 13, from 6-8 PM. Garrett is one of the brewing community’s great champions of beer and cheese pairing. He also happens to make some pretty outstanding brews, six of which will be matched with some of DiBruno’s carefully selected, international fromages. Call DiBruno’s at (215) 665-9220 x237 to make a reservation.

DiBruno Brothers | 1730 Chestnut Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA | 215-665-9220

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A Cheesy Shout-Out

In the wake of The American Cheese Society’s annual conference, held in Burlington, Vermont this past weekend, I thought I’d take a moment to give a shout-out to some of my cheesiest pals.

Carleton Yoder:
After flirtations with wine making and a stint producing Vermont cider for Cider Jack, Carleton moved on to cheese making, founding Champlain Valley Creamery several years ago. His organic cream cheese is wonderful stuff. He’s been recognized lately in an article which appeared in the Burlington Free Press, "Visiting the Vermont Cheese Trail,” and is also included in the new publication by Ellen Ecker Ogden, The Vermont Cheese Book.

Anne Saxelby:
Anne happens to run one of the finest – and tiniest – cheese shops in Manhattan, Saxelby Cheesemongers, specializing in American farmstead cheese and helping to put the Lower East Side’s Essex Street Market on the map. After spending the weekend at the ACS Conference, I’m sure she’ll have some new treasures in the pipeline. She’s also been coordinating and hosting a series of group visits – she calls the trips “A Day A Whey” – to various farmstead cheese makers throughout the Northeast Corridor. Check out the Saxelby Cheesemongers Blog for details.

Aimee Olexy:
Aimee continues to ply her passion for cheese on a daily basis behind the counter at Talula’s Table in the village of Kennett Square, PA. Her Monday Cheese “Happy Hours,” featured recently in The News Journal, at WC Dish and right here on McDuff’s Food & Wine Trail, continue to sell-out fast and are a great way to be exposed to an array of quality selections. The theme changes each session, with classes usually scheduled for the first Monday of each month.

Keep up the good work my friends!

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Wine and Cheese Tasting at Domaine Hudson

Next Thursday, July 19, I’ll be tag-teaming with the crew from New York’s Artisinal Premium Cheese to present a wine and cheese pairing happy hour at Domaine Hudson in Wilmington, Delaware. The event is already sold out – sorry for the late notice – but if you’d like to do some shopping, gather some friends and follow along from home, here’s what we’ll be serving.

• Haut-Poitou VDQS Sauvignon “Marigny-Neuf,” Ampelidae 2006 with Chabichou du Poitou
  
• Coteaux d’Aix en Provence Rosé, Château Calissanne 2006 with Ibores
  
• Chénas, Domaine Georges Trichard 2005 with Isle of Mull Cheddar
  
• Barbera d’Asti “Nobbio,” Roberto Ferraris 2005 with Robiola Bosina
  
• Toro, Quinta de la Quietud 2002 with Roncal
  
• Muscat de Rivesaltes, Mas Amiel 2005 with Bartlett Blue

Which came first, the cheese or the wine? In the case of this course, it was the cheese. I selected the wines to match each cheese with an eye to regional affinities as well as textural and flavor complements. I’m looking forward to the dialog with the mavens from Artisinal and with the crowd at Domaine Hudson. I hope to see you there!

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Relevant reading:

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Wine and Cheese Classes at Talula’s Table

It’s Monday, it’s happy hour and today’s special is… cheese. Talula’s Table is now offering a series of cheese “happy hours” on Monday evenings. Held in the shop from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, the classes typically place a regional or thematic focus on all things cheese. I’ve been working for the last couple of weeks with Aimee Olexy, resident cheesemonger at Talula’s, to pair wines with her panoply of farmstead fromages. Sessions thus far have covered introductions to the cheeses of Spain and France. Next week’s course, on June 4, will shift to a sociological topic: cheese and wine made by women. The wines I’ve selected for the evening are:

• Pfalz Scheurebe trocken, Weingut Weegmüller 2005:
  Stefi Weegmüller is one of the premier growers in the Pfalz. She turns out some of the cleanest and most characterful wines of the southern Rhine.
  
  
• Dolcetto di Dogliani “Sorí dij But,” Anna Maria Abbona 2005:
  Anna Maria Abbona has been farming 8 hectares of vineyard, planted mostly to the Dogliani specialty Dolcetto, since 1989. Her wines are focused, aromatic and beautifully food friendly – everything that the best Dolcetti should be.
  
  
• Côtes du Rhône “Bout d’Zan,” Mas de Libian 2005:
  In 1995, Hélène Thibon took over the farm that had been in her family since the late 17th century. She farms organically on the western banks of the Rhône, producing bold, fruit-focused wines based primarily on the local specialty, Grenache.

Sessions begin with a brief mingling period, followed by an hour or so of interactive discussion which will cover the basics of cheese making, general information relative to the theme of the evening, the finer points of cheese and wine pairing, and detailed information about each selection. As hard as Aimee and I work on making the pairings harmonize, she also delights in taking advantage of the available options to create an intentional mismatch. It can be just as eye opening – and perhaps even more educational – than the perfect match.

Classes are priced at $25 per person and are open to twelve attendees. For more information or to make a reservation for a class, contact Talula’s Table directly at (610) 444-8255. And stay tuned here for more information about the upcoming schedule of events.

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Real Philadelphia Cheese

Though hanging out, eating well and exploring the countryside is always fun, the real reason Anne had come to town, as mentioned a couple of posts ago, was to showcase some of the products from Saxelby Cheesemongers via a course at the Tria Fermentation School. Class wasn’t in session until early evening though, so that gave us the better part of the day to explore Philadelphia. Heading into town in the late morning, we made a quick stop at Tria’s offices to deliver the cheese and other materials for the evening and then got down to the business of mapping the day. As “tour guide du jour,” I wanted Anne to get a feel for Philly but also to visit some of the town’s major cheese destinations.

With Center City as our starting point, I couldn’t think of a more apt first destination than the new outlet of DiBruno Brothers at 1730 Chestnut Street. This was my first time at this still relatively new location and, even though I had expected something a bit upscale given the address, I was taken aback at the size and scope of their new showpiece. More reminiscent of a Dean & Deluca outpost than of the original DiBruno’s, I was sad to see yet another successful small business feel the need to jump up to “the next level,” as the effort so often, as here, leads to a loss of the character that made the original business so special. That’s not to say that there aren’t wonderful products available or that I wouldn’t stop by occasionally for convenience’s sake if I lived in the immediate neighborhood. There’s still a great cheese selection and the cuts of meat and sausages in the butcher shop looked promising. It’s just that the whole enterprise comes off feeling disconnected, like just another glossy, one-stop, upscale super market. Now that I think of it, perhaps that suits the Rittenhouse neighborhood just right.

After a few more stops and conducting a bit of business, it was about time for some lunch. We headed to Reading Terminal Market, where we met my buddy Bill who was playing half-day hooky from work, and settled right into some roast pork sandwiches from DiNic’s. Appetites sated, and before taking a walk around the rest of the market, we headed for Downtown Cheese. Try as other establishments may have, I feel that Downtown Cheese is the only Philadelphia-area monger that’s ever been able to give DiBruno’s a real run for its money. In many ways, it’s actually my preferred shop. I’ve always had a good rapport with owner Jack Morgan. His stalls are clean, inviting, well organized and easy to browse. He trains his staff well, maintains good relationships with his vendors and is just as happy to let you know when something should be given the pass as he is to recommend something new, interesting or simply in its prime. Regrettably, Jack wasn’t in that day so, as Anne had landed on my doorstep bearing a healthy gift of cheeses from her own stand, we just took the opportunity to survey the current offerings and watch Bill as he amassed an impressive array of goods. As a sidebar, I’ve also long appreciated Downtown’s not-so-downtown location in the Ardmore Farmer’s Market out on Philadelphia’s eastern Main Line. Only a hint larger than its Reading Terminal sibling and with a very similar look and feel, the selection and quality at Ardmore are every bit as good as at the Terminal.

DiBruno's March Madness

Casting usual preferences aside, I must say the most earthily satisfying stop of the day was the original DiBruno’s (930 S. 9th Street). Just walking in the door and taking in the aura of accumulated years of cheese, salami and olive funk that permeates the shop’s core has a certain grounding affect on one’s soul. It didn’t hurt that this was mid-afternoon on a Monday. The store was serene, quite the opposite of the elbow-to-elbow bustle of the weekend scenario, and we had plenty of time to browse and chat with Hunter, who was manning the head of the counter that day. It also didn’t hurt that Anne and Hunter had met before, at last year’s Fancy Food Show in New York. This was the first stop where Anne really let loose and got into talking shop, so we hung out for a while and took in the feel of the place. It was a stroke of luck that DiBruno’s was highlighting the produce of Andante Dairy that day. I’d first encountered Andante’s cheeses during a January trip to Sonoma, where they were featured selections at The Farmhouse Inn in Forestville. Andante’s “Acapella” is one of the finest American goats’ milk cheeses I’ve tasted and DiBruno’s is one of the few sources for Andante on the East Coast. After a few other samplings and musings, and after casting our votes in that day’s round of DiBruno’s March Madness, we settled up our purchases and made our way out to explore a bit more of the 9th Street Market.

After a lovely walk through town and a few more food and libation related stops, the final cheese venture of the day, and the raison d’être for the trip, was Anne’s class on “The Great Northeast” at Tria Fermentation School. She discussed the history of cheese making in the early northern colonies, from its early farmstead roots, to a growth in export trade, into industrialization and its inevitable decline in quality, and then came full-circle to the current explosion of farmstead, artisan dairies in New England. Interspersed with the history lesson was a tasting of six different farmstead cheeses:

• Jasper Hill Farm Constant Bliss (Greensboro, VT – cow, raw)
  
• Brovetto Dairy Harpersfield with Ommegang (Harpersfield, NY – cow, pasteurized)
  
• Hillman Farm Harvest (Colrain, MA – goat, raw)
  
• Bonnieview Farm Coomersdale (Craftsbury Common, VT – sheep, raw)
  
• Cato Corner Farm Hooligan (Colchester, CT – cow, raw)
  
• Jasper Hill Farm Bayley Hazen Blue (Greensboro, VT – cow, raw)

I've been a long time fan of Jasper Hill’s work, so the revelations for me were Hillman Harvest and Coomersdale. Both are based on milks from 100% grass-based feeding; their flavors showed it. In spite of different milk types and origins, a fresh, grassy and slightly nutty flavor profile permeated both. The Coomersdale in particular reminded me of some of my favorite Basque sheep’s milk cheeses, and that’s meant to be high praise. Both stood out immediately for balance and depth of flavor but neither was heavy or wearying on the palate. They’re cheeses I could snack on all day and return to regularly.

At day’s end, a look back at our itinerary went something like this:

• Visiting the new DiBruno Brothers, 1730 Chestnut Street
  
• Coffee at La Colombe, 19th & Walnut
  
• Business (and gelato tasting…) at Capogiro, 13th & Sansom
  
• Lunch and shopping at Reading Terminal Market
  
• A quick ride through town with Bill
  
• More shopping at the 9th Street (Italian) Market
  
• A walk around South Philly, Old City and back across town
  
• Mid-afternoon raw bar and beer at Sansom Street Oyster House
  
• More caffeine back at La Colombe
  
• Class at the Fermentation School
  
• Beer, mussels and frites at Monk’s

We all need to explore our own cities like that more often. Sometimes it just takes a visit from a friend, new or old, to make it happen.

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Sunday in Chester County, PA

It's not often I head out to Chester County for fun -- unless it's on two wheels -- but this past Sunday, two forces drew me there with pleasure. One was a visit from a new friend, Anne Saxelby, who I'd met on a recent trip to New York. The other force, drawing us to ChesCo specifically, was the new business of old friends, Aimee and Bryan at Talula's Table in Kennett Square.

Anne had been invited to teach a Monday evening course at Tria's Fermentation School in Philadelphia. When she expressed an interest in coming down early to see the area, which she'd never visited, I offered to play host and show her around. Tying things together, Aimee had stopped in to see Anne at Saxelby Cheesemongers during a reconnaissance mission of New York markets a few weeks earlier and Anne was excited for the opportunity to see Aimee in her new digs at Talula's. So off to Kennett we went. I was jazzed as it would give me the chance to get back and check out the progress of the business.

A quiet moment at Talula's communal table

We arrived at Talula's just after noon to find the store well populated by a mix of locals, friends and Sunday shoppers. It was nice to see people availing themselves of the communal seating areas in the front and central areas of the shop and to see families with children in tow sitting down to impromptu lunches. We did just that ourselves, as Aimee prepared for us a lunch sampler of her husband Bryan's house smoked salmon with candied lemon, local mushroom quiche, smoked scallops, and a selection of olives and cheese. As we munched, we noticed pastry chef Claire Shears periodically passing through the shop with fresh loaves, rolls, baguettes and pastry. A particularly decadent looking tray of sticky buns caught our attention and became the clear target for a quick dessert, washed down with beverages from the coffee/espresso bar at the front of the shop.

In only its second week, there is already some added depth in the shop's selections. I noticed a fuller stock of pastas and dried goods, as well as a few more prepared dishes. Bryan and Aimee's passion for food, energy and attention to detail have brought things up to speed very quickly. They've also had good fortune in putting together a tight-knit team of young barristas and cashiers. A little more confidence with customer communications and a bit more experience with the nuances of the espresso machine and the front of the house should be humming right along with the kitchen and proprietors.

Part two of our mushroom country venture, largely at Aimee's suggestion, was a quick dogleg into Avondale, PA, to visit Va La Vineyards. In over a dozen years living in the Philadelphia area, I must admit this was only the second time I'd visited a Pennsylvania winery and the first visit to any of those producers located in the southeastern corner of the state. Sometimes it takes an out of town visitor to inspire a local to really get out to see his own neighborhood, albeit an extended one.

Va La is a small family based producer, with only seven acres under vine. Though they tout a long history for their farm, including the presence of grape growing and wine making, the current "Home Vineyard" is actually a very recent phenomenon, planted only in the late 1990's. In a spirit aimed at the family's Italian heritage, Va La has chosen to focus its efforts, particularly in the red wine department, on Italianate varieties such as Barbera, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. Though the producers' hearts are in the right place, the climate and soil characteristics of the mid-Atlantic US are notoriously difficult for site demanding varieties such as these and the end results show the challenge. Sunday's tasting table was focused almost entirely on the winery's red bottlings and, while the wines are in the A-league for the area, the Nebbiolo and Barbera both show dilute structure and atypical flavor and aromatic tendencies. Of the three Italian varietal reds we were offered, the Sangiovese showed most strongly, with at least a hint of its typically dusty red cherry fruit and enough spine to lend it some structure. The most complete red being showed on Sunday was a wine called "Il Rustico," based on a rare vine called Carmine, an American crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carignane. Va La is one of the few wineries in the world producing a Carmine dominated red and, while "Il Rustico" earns its name with simple, rustic flavors, it was the only wine on offer which fully matched color, flavor, alcohol and structure with no real damning flaws.

Va La will be interesting to watch in the future, as both the vines and the wine making choices mature and deepen. I'd love to see them make the leap to a real commitment to estate based wine making, to a complete reliance on their own vines and property. Though that's already the intent of their mission, it's not yet reflected in the "Vinted and Bottled by..." language on all of their bottles nor in their decision to buy in fruit from other local and regional growers.

Our tasting and look around complete, it was about time to head back to Philly, walk the dogs and move on to our final destination of the evening -- dinner at Marigold Kitchen. But that's a topic for another post....

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A Quick Trip to New York: Day Two

Over the course of a relaxing breakfast, and after seeing Sarah off to work, Peter and I decided on a mellower itinerary for Thursday. Between the forecast for foul weather and a desire to get back down to Philly early enough to have a productive evening, we would be hitting the road mid-afternoon. Accordingly, we pointed ourselves downtown with just a couple of destinations in mind.

Our fourth for dinner the previous evening was a good friend of Sarah's, Anne Saxelby, the young entrepreneur responsible for the eponymous Saxelby Cheesemongers. Our first stop of the day would be her minute but wonderful shop, located in the Essex Street Market (120 Essex Street, between Rivington and Delancey). The focus at Saxelby is clear and simple: American farmstead cheeses. Most of the produce Anne sells comes from dairies where she's spent time working and learning about each purveyor's particular craft. We had the luck and pleasure that day of finding one of those very cheesemakers -- Debby from Meadow Creek Dairy in Galax, Virginia -- hanging out at Anne's stall. After tasting Meadow Creek's produce and a few other of Anne's current favorites, we grabbed some bread with lunch in mind and headed back to the streets.

Winding our way South and West through the fringes of both Little Italy and Chinatown, our next and final destination would be Tribeca's Chambers Street Wines (160 Chambers Street, between Greenwich and W. Broadway). One of Peter's favorite shops, Chambers Street had been on my must visit list for quite some time but I'd somehow never managed to make it. He was keen to get my opinion of the shop and I was keen to visit based on their reputation for service, knowledge and an eclectic selection of small producer wines. Unlike Rosenthal, which we'd visited the day before, Chambers Street is a somewhat more typical specialty shop. Wines are laid out in a reasonably browsing-friendly fashion (though I found it could still be difficult to locate the stock of a selected item without just grabbing the display bottle). And their selection covers a fairly full spectrum of the international market. Like at Rosenthal, however, Chambers' strength was in Europe, most clearly in the Loire, Burgundy, Rhône and Piedmont. While far from being a single distributor shop, there is a particular focus on the French wines of importer Louis-Dressner. Happily, there is also one of the finer selections of Austrian wines I've found in the states, from quality producers such as Alzinger, Nikolaihof, Hirsch and Emrich Knoll.

After spending a nice chunk of time chatting with one of the shop owners and several of the staff, I buckled down to the business of picking out some interesting stuff. After finally culling the options down to a combination of some old favorites and a few new discoveries such as the wonderful Beaujolais of Terres Dorées, we settled up and headed for home. With mixed case in hand -- half for me and half for a good friend back in Wilmington -- we stepped out onto Chambers Street and practically right into a passing, available taxi. Luck seemed to be on our side that day, as the predicted rain had just started to fall....

Back at Pete's, we polished off some mighty tasty sandwiches from the previous night's leftover pork roast, packed up the car and hit the road for points South, bringing to an end a worthy and much enjoyed quick trip to New York.

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Openings: Talula's Table in Kennett Square, PA

It's true. Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora, original proprietors of Philadelphia's beloved Django, have finally opened their new gourmet food shop in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. To clarify, it's not a restaurant. Rather, it is a gourmet food destination -- something all too lacking in the nether lands of Chester County -- specializing in seasonal, fresh, local prepared foods and a high quality selection of produce and packaged goods.

Before I go too much further, let's take a moment to clarify some spelling questions....
The shop: Talula's Table (not Tallulah, Tellulah, etc.)
The chef: Bryan (yes, with a y) Sikora
The shopkeeper: Aimee (one i, two e's, no y) Olexy

I took the drive out to Kennett this past Friday, March 2, to check out their first night of opening to the public as part of the town's First Friday Art Stroll. Talula's was definitely the main draw of the evening, with a solid crowd of local supporters and curious passersby stopping in to sample the wares and get a feel for the shop.

The doorway opens into a communal café seating area, visible from the store front, followed by a coffee/espresso bar and cashier area. Flanking the left and right walls of the long space are various display areas showcasing the current stock of provisions: on the left, shelves of artisinal dried pastas, coffee, teas, oils and canned goods; on the right, refrigerators and display cases of sweets, house-made fresh pastas, condiments and prepared meals, pastries, and local dairy and produce items. The real excitement, given Bryan's skills as a chef and Aimee's reputation as one of the areas foremost cheese mongers, lies dead ahead across the rear wall of the shop. There you'll find Aimee's currently modest but very well selected array of cheeses and olives as well as Bryan's entrées of the day and in-house cured and smoked meats.

To round out their efforts, the owners have brought in Claire Shears as full-time pâtissier and sweat-equity partner. Claire, who Bryan met while working at nearby Sovana Bistro, will be offering a full line of pastry, ranging from croissants and muffins tailored to the coffee bar crowd to a more elaborate array of desserts. All bread will also be baked in-house.

Already off to a promising start, as the shop's customer base grows and as its group of local purveyors matures and deepens, Talula's promises to be both a daily boon to the locals of Kennett as well as a destination for foodies from the entire southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware region.

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Related posts:
Dining at a Virgin Table (April 2007)
Harvest Tasting Menu at Talula's Table (October 2007)
Late Fall Tasting Menu at Talula's Table (December 2007)
Spring 2008 at Talula's Table (April 2008)

Talula's Table
102 West State Street
Kennett Square, PA 19348
610-444-8255
Open every day.

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