Ask Sid: What is Harslevelu?

by Joseph Temple
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Question: What is Harslevelu?

Answer: An important grape (along with Furmint) with a long history used in the Tokaj region of Hungary mostly for prized sweet wines but they are slower selling. More recently we are seeing a pivot for use also in quality terroir driven (on volcanic soils) drier style wines some blended with Furmint. Check out the old vines of Attila Homonna and other top producers for their emerging special balanced dry wines.

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ESTIATORIO MILOS RESTAURANTS DO EXTRAORDINARY QUALITY VALUE

by Joseph Temple
In last week’s Blog on the frustrating Resy Reservation system in New York your scribe referenced seven places that really showed excellent dining at competitive pricing. Among those mentioned was Milos at Hudson Yards.

However, reflecting back on my remarkable recent experiences at Milos in several locations it seemed appropriate to me to provide more details and feature them solely here.

Interesting that the first estiatorio Milos was Montreal founded in 1979 and are now around the world including Athens, Dubai, London, Las Vegas, Los Cabos, Miami, New York City (Hudson Yards, Midtown, & Milos Wine Bar), Palm Beach (opening soon), Singapore, and Toronto. Wish they would expand to your scribe’s hometown of Vancouver!

On their website they state that “we believe in philoxenia, the art of Greek hospitality, gathering at a table to share a meal.” Boy do they ever deliver this wonderful tradition of sharing in spades.

Always blown away by the quality of the ingredients they use. Fresh delicious seafood is simply prepared (difficult to achieve) but outstandingly cooked to perfection and so delicious showing their natural flavours. Even their olive oil comes from very old Koroneiki trees hand picked and using the first cold press. The bottle served to us was My Sister’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Greece with a best before date of July 29, 2025. So fresh.

Milos is my enthusiastic nomination for The Best Weekday Value Lunch of 3 fine courses at only $45. The three courses allow you to make choices in each section. We took first the impressive grilled Octopus followed by the spectacular Whole Grilled Fish Of The Day (this time Dorade), and finished with the spiced walnut cake with honey lavender ice cream. Admire their reasonably priced mostly Greek wines by the glass with balanced Assyrtiko blend whites matching well with the food. The friendly accommodating serving staff add to making your lunch so memorable.

Highly recommend seeking out Milos for an amazing weekday lunch at one of his many locations. So well done and also a very good deal!

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Ask Sid: Which wine region has a surprising weather shift?

by Joseph Temple
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Question: There are so many extreme weather shifts occurring in the wine regions around the world. Which place for you is experiencing the most surprising climate change?

Answer: Yes the weather seems to have shifted in many grape growing regions that produce wine. So many are being affected by more extremes from cold frost hail and flooding heavy rains to drought conditions including extreme heat, fire smoke, mildew, and other fungal diseases. Hard to pick just one region but perhaps South Africa qualifies as a big surprise. Cape Town a region with a history of water restrictions has recently been experiencing severe winter storms and heavy rains with record flooding. There was even snow falling last month in Franschhoek. They are coping well so far but believe the climate extremes there is something to closely monitor – as are most wine growing regions around the world.

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NEW YORK RESTAURANT RESERVATIONS: EITHER EASY OR DIFFICULT?

by Joseph Temple

Planning to go to a restaurant somewhere in the world often requires making a reservation ahead of time. Usually the procedure is straight forward by either making a phone call or now more frequently booking on line. You may have difficulty in getting a confirmation for the time requested but at least you maintain the control and know how things stand. However, in New York City the hospitality platform of RESY (An American Express Company) has taken over management of most top restaurants spots for this system – maybe uniquely so around the globe. The intention was for helping restaurants control reservations with improved efficiency. In most cases it seems to be working well with excellent customer service for booking times on line for inside, outside, and even bar/counters dining at select 15 minute intervals. It also helps the restaurants with their management calculations on table turnover and maximum capacity in an organized orderly manner rather than just manually as before.

However, for the most popular in demand places Resy is not working. Your scribe tried unsuccessfully many times recently to book restaurants such as Via Carota, Don Angie, Penny and Shukette. It always comes up to request “Notify Me” but they never do. Instead to get in it is necessary to just show up and grab one of the reserved for walk-in openings immediately or wait. Better odds if you show up for dinner at 4-5 pm early or after 9 pm late to increase your chances. This strategy worked for me. Resy needs to have another look IMHO at this glitch in their reservation situation. Impossible to book so many.

That being said the dining in NY is still stellar with these 7 tried this month and all recommended by me:

VIA CAROTA: Italian so popular fun casual in Greenwich Village but impossible to book. Still outstanding $28 Polipo – grilled octopus & green olive pesto.

DON ANGIE: Another Italian spot in same West Village area but never available on Resy. Fantastic signature dish of pinwheel lasagna for two at $68. Broccoli Di Ciccio $14 with black garlic & hazelnuts a good side item. Best value $85 on Wine List is elegant cherries of lovely aged 2014 Barbera d’Asti Nuj Suj by Icardi.

SARABETH’S: Upper West Side (other locations too) VALUE of Prix Fixe $45 Three Course Menu of quality appetizer large Caesar Salad with 5 lettuces including kale and shaved crisp parmesan. Mains of Salmon & Chicken are well done, and delicious dark chocolate dessert. Amazing deal on Wednesdays with a few wines available on lost leader price. Enjoyed a bottle of 2021 pure fresh Chablis AC Dom. de Vauroux at the steal price of $30.

LA PECORA BIANCA: All day Italian VALUE dining several NY locations easily reserved. Outstanding recipe for whole Branzino with spinach, olives, and Meyer lemon for $34 and all pastas are excellent – Calamarata $24 with arugula pesto is so tasty. Lots of wines by the glass including fruit loaded 2022 Barbera d’ Alba from Vajra.

ESTIATORIO MILOS: Returned to this fav again at Hudson Yards. Also enjoy their Las Vegas location. They always do a superb $45 great value lunch including fresh fish of the day together with other Greek goodies. A deal.

SHUKETTE: Middle East cuisine place busy at Ninth Avenue at 25th Street. Wonderful breads like Frena for flavourful dips of Hummus, Labneh, and similar. Spanish 2022 Albarino Pazo das Bruxas $16 by the glass. Hot spot.

PENNY: Fortunate to find one of their only 31 all counter seating as a walk-in at this outstanding small newer restaurant. Impressive innovative seafood! Really enjoyed Octopus + Potato Salad $18, Grilled Mackerel + Long Hots $24, Swordfish + Jimmy Nardellos $35, and freshly baked warm sesame Brioche $8. Unique Wine List well assembled with hard to find labels including some great Alsace whites. Explore. A treat.

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Ask Sid: Vendange 2024 is starting so how is Burgundy looking?

by Joseph Temple
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Question: How have the weather conditions affected Burgundy grapes for the 2024 harvest that is already underway?

Answer: Very difficult year. At least it comes after two years in 2023 & 2022 of higher production volumes. The hail and rain has been extreme which has worsened the continuing problem (around the world including Bordeaux and the Loire) of mildew in the vineyards. Definitely a shorter crop and obviously not a consistent vintage. Chablis volumes are way down. Selection of grapes will be an all important consideration in the quality of the resulting wine. Stay attentively tuned for specific vineyard updates on Vendange 2024. Stock up on previous best vintages like 2020 and 2019 reds.

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