MoCo Bordeaux

OK French wine fans, here's your chance. Our risk-happy MoCo Dept of Liquor Control (gotta love the name) actually purchases wine "futures" for the purpose of securing "allocations of these great wines to better serve customers." And their 2005 purchase has paid off! The experts are calling the 2005 Bordeaux vintage exceptional and our County is now offering its humble citizens the opportunity to purchase these wines at County stores.

According to the very friendly Diane Wurderman at the DLC, the County still has many of the 2005 Bordeaux available. They received very limited quantities of some of the big ones (like 5 cases of the Margaux Margaux), but even on that they still have almost 2 cases available. All stores have some 2005 Bordeaux, but of course each store is different.

And fortunately for those interested, Diane at the DLC can help you navigate for any specific wines, and she can guide folks to stores with a decent supply of the 2005 Bordeaux. Additionally, the County can transfer wines to a convenient location if what you want is not carried in your favorite store. Now what more can the County do to enable our alcoholism, hmm?

As you'll see below, there is a great variety of Bordeaux the County has for sale. There's something for almost every budget. And to answer my own question, the County will provide an 8% discount if you purchase a case (and you can mix and match bottles to hit the magic mark of 12). So, even though Jennifer Deseo at the SS Penguin is under the impression the County's offer is being made "at prices too high for your broke Silver Spring ass," I beg to differ. Now I will not be making a purchase of anything higher than a C note, there are a few varieties that have received high marks and are going for good prices (I have highlighted the ones I like in bold).

All right, go get your drink on.

Chateau La Mouliniere,	$10.69
Chateau Suau (white)	$12.55
Chateau du Moulin Rouge	$13.05
Chateau Suau (red)	$13.45
Ch Pontoise Cabarrus Cru Bord	$15.85
Chateau Saint Colombe	$18.65
Ch Lilian Ladouys Grand Cru	$19.79
Domaine Zede Margaux	$20.95
Ch Chantegrive Bord Rge	$21.39
Ch Chantegrive "C" Caroline Graves Blanc	$22.05
Ch D’arsac Margaux	$26.59
Ch Carmensac Haut Medoc	$27.95
Ch Clos Rene Pomerol	$38.09
Ch La Croix du Casse Pomerol	$39.49
Ch Larrivet Haut Brion	$42.65
Ch Lynch Moussas Pauillac	$43.99
Ch Cantenac Brown Margaux	$52.55
Ch Rayne Vigneau Sauternes	$53.25
Ch Coutet Barsac Sauternes	$69.99
Ch Gruard Larose -St Julien	$79.05
Ch Talbot St Julien	$81.29
Ch Pavillon Rouge Du Ch Margaux Margaux	$86.99
Ch La Fleur De gay Pomerol	$135.55
Ch Calon Segur St Esteph	$137.85
Ch Figeac 1er St Emilion Gr Cru	$161.65
Ch Pichon Lalande Paulliac	$189.89
Ch La Mission Haut-Brion	$499.75
Ch Mouton Rothchild 1er Pauillac	$1,133.05
Ch Cheval Blanc 1er St Emilion Gr Cru	$1,133.05
Ch Lafite Rothchild 1er Pauillac	$1,200.89
Ch Margaux 1er Cru Margaux	$1,359.25

Obama night at Jackies on Monday

I didn't say which Obama though. And doesn't this guy look like he'd fit right in at one of our local watering holes? Although he'd have to smoke that cancer stick outside.

But the news is that downtown SS Barack Obama supporters will be gathering at Jackies (8081 Georgia Ave) on Monday night for a Convention Watch Party.

I'm not sure the exact line-up, but Michelle Obama will be delivering a speech on Monday evening. The gathering will take place from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm. And word on the street has it that the folks organizing the event will have an exciting guest speaker.

The suggested donation to attend the event is $25, but there will be complimentary BEER and discounted cocktails.

I imagine if word gets around Jackie's will be SRO on Monday night; we do live in quite a Blue neighborhood. All right, let's turn out and get drunk for Obama ; it's the least we can do. And we can't afford to have "that wrinkly white-haired guy" take the reigns, can we? I've heard that evangelicals are pushing him to re-institute prohibition. Now I can't point to a source for this - but I will continue to spread this rumor.

Lobster in SoCo?

Well, do pictures count? 'Cause I can tell you right now you're not gonna get lobster this good in our hood. Now granted, the tails on these guys aren't the biggest, but man, they were good.

I'm a bit hesitant to give the details about where they were purchased, but since I probably can count the numbers of readers of this blog on 2 hands, I think I'm OK. If you haven't visited Georgetown, Maine, I highly recommend it. These guys were purchased from the 5 Islands Lobster Company in what arguably is the most picturesque harbor in the state - or the east coast for that matter.

Part of the reason for their small size is that in August most of the lobsters brought in by the local lobstermen are shedders (soft-shell). These typically come in smaller than the hard shells. But unlike the soft-shells we're used to, you don't eat the entire crustacean. But the shell is easier to crack than the hard-shells. I took these luscious creatures and first steamed them and followed that up with some grill time and a nice garlic-butter sauce. Heaven on a plate!

Earlier in the week, my partner and I went the more traditional route and had lobster rolls and some rings. These luscious sandwiches were purchased at Mama D's which now makes it home right out of the Georgetown Country store. Mama D took over the counter at the store earlier in the year and expanded the menu. And I am glad they did! The rolls were fab - not too much mayo or other filler and just a small piece of lettuce to add a crunch. And as you can see from just looking at those rings - wow. They were simply thinly sliced onions before we put in the order, but then they were floured and dropped in the fryer. And that order is a small!!

My one complaint, you can't get a beer when eating at the counter. The store has plenty of brews, but they don't have the license to sell them for consumption inside. It was a hardship - but I did overcome it.

I'll end this non-SoCo post with one more pic; this one is from the Portland Farmer's Market. This market, in Deering Oaks Park, is held every Saturday from April to October. (Editor's comment - if this farmer's market can start in April, I think the much warmer Silver Spring market can start earlier than May, right?) Anyway, given the cooler temperatures in Portland, their produce was about a month or so behind ours. As you can see they had some wonderful carrots, onion and beets for sale. In addition, there was plenty of potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes along with some good looking beef and pork products. You couldn't ask for much else. We stocked up well for our week long stay in 5 Islands. One item that was missing was Maine cheese.

But luckily, we remedied that problem by driving to a great little farm about 45 minutes from Portland - Nezinscott Farm (they don't have their own website but you can check out this link with a short video of the farm). And OK I lied, one more pic.

These happy cows provided us with some wonderful cheese for the week (helped out by some sheep). We also appreciated the offering brought forth by their pork colleagues which produced some award-winning bacon. Needless to say, with the amount of pork, butter, lobster and other foods consumed last week, my arteries are now on vacation.

But it was all worth it. The Portland/Georgetown area is not too far from SoCo (under 600 miles). We were able to pull into Portland on a Friday afternoon (4:00) with a 6:30AM start. Not too bad. And unlike my childhood days, we even stopped for bathroom breaks and a quick lunch.

All right, I have gone on more than long enough with my non-SoCo post. I'll be back soon with some fresh news about some hot and hip local dining destination. On second thought, maybe I'll just write about someplace in our neighborhood.

On Holiday

Hey friends,

Won't be doing a real post till next week. In Maine chowing down on lobsters! Quite tasty, I must say. I'll post some great pics of wonderful Maine dishes next week. And they won't be all seafood either. Had a great Mexican style dinner tonight with fresh Maine ingredients.

OK, hope you have some good meals while I'm gone.

Salted Cured Meats - Update!

If you're like me, I know you've been waiting with bated breath for the arrival of our own SoCo establishment specializing in salted cured meats. And yes, the San Daniele proscuitto sold at Whole Foods is wonderful, but I would love more variety and the option to buy other cured meats from my homeland.

If you're not sure what the hell I'm talking about, well I'm talking about the new place being planned by local restaurateurs Jackie Greenbaum and Patrick Higgins. They plan to open Jackie's A Go-Go right next door to their current Sligo Ave hot spot - Jackie's. At first the plan was simply to take over the space previously occupied by Decade Hair Design. But now, the salon on the western edge of the building - Salon Kisash - has also gone under (side note - what's going on with SoCo? Two salons going under in only a few short months. Did neither do Dominican braiding?). According to the grand dame herself, with the extra square footage, they are now contemplating a pizza counter too.

But we can certainly expect a lot more out of the shop than cured meats and possibly pizza. In a February article in the City Paper, Jackie describes a shop that will be part take-out, package store, bakery, chocolate shop, housewares, and tchotchkes. But - not all at once. She plans to start small and build up to the full panoply of goods and services.

As of early August, there is still no specific ETA for the Go-Go. The City Paper article stated a March '08 opening, but we are 4 full months past March and walking by the shop the other day, it did not look ready for prime-time yet. I would wager we're looking at closer to the end of the year. But, I for one am happy to wait. Having a spot like this in the 'hood will be fabulous!

While I am not a huge fan of the crowd which now frequents Jackie's - to me it's turning too much into a scene-place rather than a spot for serious diners - I am more than ready to turn over a percentage of my earnings to purchase fresh bread, some good vino and quality cured meats. Once I hear more I'll pass it along.