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A few gratuities for Brand USA

I see President Obama’s plan to increase selective tourism to the USA is about to commence next month with the launch of a marketing campaign called Brand USA, according to this recent New York Times article. The objective of the Brand USA campaign is to stimulate inbound tourism to the states from a select bunch of countries. According to the NY…

The Pisco King

Meet Johnny Schuler, Peruvian restaurateur, celebrity chef, tv personality, master distiller and Medal of Honour winner for his work in promoting the uniquely Latin American spirit, Pisco. We bumped into Johnny one freezing Friday over lunch in The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English when we stepped in from the cold to enter the Plaza Hotel in our dining ‘brag book’. We’d…

Beaujolais Cru Wines

A few weeks ago I posted a Beaujolais day trip, exploring the 12 appellations (wine producing regions) making up the overall Beaujolais “brand”. Following is a brief summary and tasting notes, in alphabetical order, of the ten Beaujolais Cru (grand) appellations that I suggest that all lovers of wine should investigate. Despite their basis on the “humble” Gamay grape, these…

Bouef a la ficelle

Bouef a la ficelle (beef on a string) Serves 4 Bouef a la ficelle is a deliciously simple and rustic dish of prime beef fillet and seasonal vegetables. It matches beautifully with a “baby” Burgundy (bourgogne rouge) or Cru Beaujolais. Use the best beef you can find; Charollaise in France or Cape Grim from Tasmania. 1 x 800g centre-cut beef…

Beaujolais & penne Alfredo

My experience of Beaujolais wine was, for a long time, restricted to the cheap, fruity low-alcohol plonk in the floral-labelled bottle marketed by Georges Dubœuf. The stuff we naïvely labelled “Beaujo” and would lug to barbies and student pissups as a ‘sophisticated’ alternative to a sixpack of stubbies. Geez, those were the days. Over the years I focused my attention on the…