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Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Bluebeard

Beaujolais a great house wine

16 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by Howard in France, Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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Beaujolais, Bluebeard, Georges Duboeuf, house wine

There are lots of different ways to experience wine. A wino can pick up a bottle at the nearest grocery, liquor store or wine shop. An oenophile can taste wines at a retail wine tasting and take home their favorites. A real wine geek can travel to the great wine regions of the world and buy from the producer.

grape-sense-logoBut growing in popularity is another method and that’s wine dinners. Wine dinners usually feature several courses paired by the restaurant’s chef and sommelier. I recently enjoyed a Beaujolais wine dinner in Indianapolis at Fletcher Place’s Bluebeard restaurant.

The hosts mentioned a couple of times that Beaujolais would make a great house wine. I certainly agreed by end of the night. Now, a bit of education before moving on. Most people know Beaujolais from the Nouveau which is harvested, fermented, bottled and shipped around the world every November. While that’s a fruity, and sometimes funky, wine it is not what you want to look for in a fine wine or house wine.

The Beaujolais grand cru wines are those from selected regions in Beaujolais. They are wines that are aged and worthy of your consideration. Beaujolais is a great house wine because most of the 10 grand cru wines can be found for $20 or less.

And if you have never tried Beaujolais the current vintage of Cru wines on shelves comes from the standout year of 2015. Legendary Beaujolais winemaker Georges Duboeuf recently called the 2015 vintage the best since 1947.

TMoulinhe wines I tasted at the Bluebeard dinner were good to outstanding. These wines are also not difficult to find. Many wine shops carry at least some Beaujolais.  We tasted Duboeuf wines with our dinner.

The Macon-Villages and Saint Veran chardonnay wines were a nice contrast and lovely whites. The Villages wine had hints of butter and oak for those who like their Chard in a traditional style. The Saint Veran was crisper, dryer, with lovely minerality and definitely a food wine.

The restaurant served the Villages as our ‘welcome wine.’ We were served a delightful salmon cake with the Saint Veran.

We sipped three Beaujolais red wines made from the Gamay grape. The Cote de Brouilly would have been a standout in most vintage years. The dark red wine was solid with with veal sweetbreads in a mushroom cream sauce.

 

Georges

 84-year-old Duboeuf still active at winery

The night’s standout wines were from Fleurie and Moulin-A-Vents, both considered top regions in the Beaujolais region and both from DuBoeuf. The Fleurie, served with pork loin, was silky smooth with a deep dark fruit flavor on the finish and smooth tannins.

 

The  Moulin-A-Vent was served with ostrich steak with a blueberry demi glace. The last wine was simply the best Beaujolais I have ever tasted. The rich, dark wine reminded me of a good Mourvedre from Southern France. If tasted blind, I’m not sure I would have guessed it was Gamay.

Each of these wines sold from $19-$23. All three reds were $20 or under.

Of course you can buy a few wines of your own, pair them up with dinner plans, and invite over a few friends for your own wine-tasting dinner experience.

If you are looking to keep something around the house to please all palates and guests, then try Beaujolais Grand Cru wines.

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Marrow Continues Adam’s Indy Success

07 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel, Indiana, Uncategorized

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Tags

Bluebeard, John Adams, Marrow, Plow and Anchor

 

duck

Smoked duck leg with seared duck breast – delicious!

 

Restaurants come and go but occasionally someone comes along with just the right touch. Perhaps a clichéd analogy of getting all the ingredients just right is the best description for a fine dining, long-term success in any city.

John Adams has had such a run in Indianapolis. Now outside big-time foodies the name John Adams probably doesn’t mean much – other than that Revolutionary War guy. Right?

adams

Chef Adams

John Adams is unquestionably one of Indy’s best chefs and has helped draw lots of national attention to Indy’s food scene. Adams helped open and establish Bluebeard, in Fletcher Place near Fountain Square. Bluebeard is a chef-driven, local and fresh food spot that some might argue started the Indy food boom. Bluebeard, while under Adams’ chef knife, garnered a 2012 James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant.

Adams next project was a seafood-focused restaurant on 9th and Pennsylvania called Plow and Anchor. But his latest efforts seem to be what he’s been looking for all along. Marrow, in Fountain Square, allows the chef to focus on his “globally inspired cuisine made from the freshest locally sourced ingredients.”

I had a reason to celebrate Jan. 6 so it was time to explore Marrow since its now been open over a year. How many times in life can you say, “That was the best meal of my life.” I’ve dined in many fine dining restaurants and the Marrow experience is at the top in Indy and one of best I’ve had.

We decided to explore the menu. Since I was celebrating we started with Camille Braun Cremant D’Alsace Brut Rose. It was about $50 and awesome. It was beautiful Loire Valley bubbly Rose’ of Pinot.

We chose pickles and corn muffins as our table snacks. The muffins were small with a nice crunchy exterior. But the sorghum-miso butter took them to extraordinary. The pickle plate feature squash, daikon, mushrooms, and pineapple. The snacks were $10 combined.

 

crab

Crab and Avocado

We ordered a hot and cold appetizer. The cold was Jonah Crab and Avocado Salad ($17). The avocado salad was bright and refreshing while the small crab claws provided fresh tasting crab meat that took a little work but well worth it.

I ordered the Seared Foie Gras ($17). My dinner mate was certain she did not want to try it but I insisted – then she came back for more. The foie gras was seared beautifully to add texture and flavor. It was served with cheddar polenta, bourbon braised fennel and pear, crispy shallots and a slow poached egg! It was packed with flavor and a mixture of textures.

Our two main dishes arrived with a nice entry-level Elk Cove Pinot Noir ($54). The Pinot was really rich, smooth and minimal acidity for an Oregon Pinot Noir. This wine is widely available in Indiana in the mid-$20 range.

scallops

Scallops atop lobster risoto

My friend  order Duck Duo ($32) – a smoked duck leg and seared breast served with scallion pancakes, leeks, apricot hoisin, peanuts and steamed rice. That leg was smoked wonderfully with deep smoky flavor. The breast was cooked just right leaving a juicy bite that really countered the smoky leg.

I ordered Seared Scallops ($34) that was one of my all-time favorite dishes. The scallops were perfectly seared but it was the lobster risotto base that we both gushed over. I’d like a bucket to go, John! The dish included cucumber, pickled carrot and daikon, toasted peanuts, papaya rum sauce, sambal, and boiled egg.

dessert

We wrapped up with a couple of desserts. My friend enjoyed a really light Meyer Lemon Budino ($8) that was a nice palate cleanser. I’m always a sucker for Panna Cotta. I had the Buttermilk Pana Cotta ($8) with pomegranate and orange relish.

You follow along, you can see it’s not an inexpensive meal but it is one that will deliver on every dollar. We went all out because it was a special occasion. I have criticized a number of Indy restaurants – nary a negative word about Marrow. It’s worth your hard-earned, high-end, dining dollars!

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Four Great Indy Restaurant Choices

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel, Newspaper Column 2015

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Black Market, Bluebeard, Cropichon et Bidibule, Fountain Square, Indianapolis Restaurants, Massachusetts AVenue, Mimi Blue, wine lists

No matter where you read Grape Sense, odds are you occasionally travel to Indianapolis. Next to wine recommendations, I probably get asked as frequently for fun and interesting dining options in our state’s capital.

Grape Sense LogoThere has been a real revolution and emergence in fine dining in recent years. Chef-driven restaurants are the craze across the nation and certainly in downtown Indianapolis.

I’m offering just four options with descriptions here. These are spots I’ve dined once or several times.

Bluebeard's casual and hip dining room.

Bluebeard’s casual and hip dining room.

Bluebeard, 653 Virginia Ave., in the Fountain Square district is probably my top choice. Chef John Adams started this hot spot but has now moved on. The restaurant tantalizes in a setting inspired by Kurt Vonnegut. Lots of snacks, charcuterie, sides, soups and small plates get the diner started. The choices then come down to small, medium or large plates. It’s a perfect place to mix, match and share with your fellow diner. Small plates run $10-$18 featuring sashimi, frog legs, and usually a salad among the choices. The $14-$40 medium plates offer up Halibut, Ceviche, Octopus and foi gras. The large plates, $26-$42 are exciting. Current large plates are a killer Pici with Bolognese. Lamb loin, skirt steak, and a ribeye Portobello are on the current menu.

BLACK-MARKET-REVIEWBlack Market, 922 Massachusetts Ave., is a smaller spot on the opposite end of downtown. There are some similarities between Black Market and Bluebeard. The menu is smaller than many spots. Starters of pate’, salads, beef heart or lamb tongue range around $10. Dinner runs in the $20-ish range with trout, brined pork chop, chicken, and crispy duck leg confit currently the star attractions.

One of the things I appreciate most about these spots is a growing wine list. Both offer a wide variety of wine styles, regions, and price points. The wine-by-the glass offerings are much more diverse than I find in most restaurants and even other cities. Remember full bottles of wine will usually be marked up 100 percent and that’s why wine-by-the glass represents a real bargain.

With a bottle of wine, dinner for two at either of these places can easily reach $125-$200 plus tip.

So how about something a bit different? Indianapolis has lost two long-time French restaurants on the city’s southside in recent years. But there is a new bistro on Mass Ave. sure worth a visit. The other spot is good for dinner but I think even better for a lunch – and a great buy.

The dining area, including this bar, can seat up to 80.

The dining area, including this bar, can seat up to 80.

Cropichon et Bidibule, 735 Mass. Ave., One of the newest entries in Indianapolis is this French couple’s bistro on the popular Mass Ave strip. Never mind the restaurant’s name, no one else can pronounce it.

It’s actually French gibberish nicknames for the owners’ children. The specialty is crepes – sweet and savory and wow they deliver! The pricing for the crepes is very reasonable around $10 or less. The dinner menu features contemporary French classics like duck and boeuf bourguignon. The wine list is mostly French, no surprise, but a large selection of French wines by the glass. UPDATE to newspaper column: I dined here just a few days ago and dinner surpassed the lunch.!

Yum!

Yum!

Mimi Blue, 874 Mass. Ave does lunch and dinner. The city’s new meat ball restaurant has really taken off. Classic, Turkey, Veggie, and Beef meatballs are always on the menu. But you’re also likely to find another meatball or two of many possible international origins. The price is right too. You can choose a four-ball plate with a choice of sauces for $11. The side dishes of linguine, polenta, white beans, and potatoes are equally great. Mimi Blue had a more limited wine selection that didn’t excite me, but plenty of choices.

There are so many great choices beyond the four offered here. It’s also exciting to see real diversity come to Indy’s wine lists. Perhaps we’ll revisit restaurant recommendations in a future column.

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Plow and Anchor Indy’s Newest

18 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Black Market, Bluebeard, Cerulean, John Adams, Plow and Anchor

IMG_0248
photo (12)
IMG_6913
A big spoon of whipped cream atop a lavendar biscuit.
A big spoon of whipped cream atop a lavendar biscuit.
photo (8)

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. – The Indianapolis food scene just seems to get better and better with each new restaurant opening. It was no surprise when John Adams opened Plow and Anchor on Pennsylvania that it would quickly take its spot alongside the other city standout eateries.

Adams has worked at some of the city’s finest restaurants and drew accolades for his startup Bluebeard in Fountain Square. That restaurant was a James Beard Foundation nominee for Best New Restaurant. Adams left Bluebeard, spent some time in Louisville but has returned to focus on his unique combinations and seafood at the old Ambassador Hotel. The restaurant fills a space briefly occupied by The Bar at the Ambassador.

photo (10)An early Saturday evening visit, because the more reasonable dinner hours were booked solid, was a roller coaster for the taste buds. Perhaps the photos above better illustrate the adventure than any words but it’s best to offer a few details of my dinner companion and our appetizers, entree’, and shared dessert.

I started with serano and melon – wonderful salty Spanish ham with fresh Indiana watermelon and cantelope. Foodies might call the presentation ‘deconstructed’ versus the normal presentation, I just called it delicous.

My friend had the really unique and tasty Bean Salad featureing potatoes, green beans, grape tomatoes, celery, bacon, egg and dill ranch. It was a real treat and very reasonably priced appetizer at just $7.

I usually like scallops as an appetizer, but made it my dinner choice. The seared scallops – nearing ‘well-done’ but not over cooked – were served with braised dandelion greens, roasted tomato, and a cauliflower puree’ for $32. It was magical. The only flaw in the dish were bits of the braised dandelion missed seasoning or something and was quite bitter.

My friend had the pork snitzel which tasted fresh, tender and crispy. The traditional German favorite took a modern twist with Adams’ roasted cauliflower, eggplant, pickled onion, raisins, fennel almond sauce, and harissa.

Dessert didn’t disappoint with more flair for the unusual pairings which has made Adams a trendsetter in Indy. We shared the lavendar biscuit dessert with strawberries, rhubarb, pea anglaise, pea shoots. Yes, pea anglaise and pea shoots on a dessert. All I can say is it made sense in the mouth.

We enjoyed a bottle of Gerard Bertand Picpoul white with dinner, with a typcial markup from about $15 to $35. Restaurant service was polite, professional and well-timed.

The unusual mixing of ingredients presents a delightful challenge to the palate. Plow and Anchor now takes its rightful spot along several Indy dinner spots like Black Market, the aforementioned Bluebeard, and Cerulean.

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