Giveaway: Win Tickets to Montclair Food & Wine Festival Bourbon and Biergarten!

1. It was my sister’s 40th birthday celebration – at Le Bernardin.
   The pairing that still stands out, 5 years later, was from the “Barely Touched” section of the menu. I had chosen the charred octopus a la plancha,served with an olive and black garlic emulsion. The brininess of the olive worked beautifully with the octopus, and the bit of the black garlic brought out the smokiness of the charred mollusk. The sundried tomato sauce vierge added the perfect amount of silk to the dish.
   What took it over the top, however, was the wine that was paired with it – a 2011 Albarino. The lightness and and acidity, as well as the crisp fruitiness, married brilliantly with the savory smokiness of the octopus.
   I had never before that day, or ever since, had a more perfectly paired meal.

2. My husband and I were celebrating a recent promotion at work. We were on vacation, traveling up the Atlantic coast of Ireland when we decided to stop and mark the special occasion at the lovely Castle Murray Hotel and Restaurant on Saint John’s Point, County Donegal. We started with the best scones we have ever eaten (sorry Pie Store Montclair!). They were brown bread scones served warm from the oven with some lovely Irish butter. The main event was the restaurant’s famous Langoustines & Monkfish in garlic butter dish, which was served au gratin in a lovely earthenware dish that one would normally use to serve escargots – an earthenware dish with several hollows full of the tasty morsels. It was beautiful to look at and yummy to eat. After we finished eating all of the seafood, we used the fabulous homemade scones to make sure that none of the delicious garlic butter went to waste. To complement the meal we sipped some lovely chilled sparkling wine all while enjoying a stunning view of the Atlantic ocean and wild Irish coast.

3. It was many years ago and my husband was attending a conference at the University of California – Santa Cruz. I went with him and thought that I could lie on the beach all morning while he had meetings, and then we would explore the area. As I was to discover, however, the fog cam in every night and blanketed the area until the stroke of noon, when the glorious sun came out. I was very disappointed until the third day when we, and another couple, grabbed some beach towels, a cold bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a couple of cracked fresh-cooked Dungeness crabs. We sat on the beach, sucking the sweet meat out of the claws, drinking the cold dry wine, talking and laughing in the sun. It was perfect.

4. Shortly after my baby was born, I had a giant Italian sub, with all the fixings – salami, fresh nj mozzarella, prosciutto, roasted red peppers, oil and vinegar and an ice cold beer. Nothing fancy but so extra delicious, after 9 months of missing that combo.

5. This fall I got to chaperone a field trip to Montreal with some students from my high school. As my friend and I were looking for a spot to eat lunch one day, she said how when she travels she eats for sustenance, not necessarily quality or local flavor… I was shocked! When I travel, I am always on the lookout for the best restaurants and bars for an authentic experience. (Currently doing research for Maine!)

   So it was lucky for me that the friend I went to visit in New Orleans last year is a total foodie. I had some ideas, but I put myself in her hands with complete faith. We got beignets from Morning Call and sat in the park on a picnic blanket, drinking rose out of mason jars. I had my first po boy. Shrimp. It was so good I wanted to get one to go to bring on the plane. (My friend said no.) I also had my first martini… paired with my first gumbo… and it was an unbeatable combo. I’m not quite sure why, but I never really had a desire to have a martini — maybe the glass always seemed to fancy for me. But we went to an upscale restaurant with 25 cent martinis and well, when in N’awlins. My gin martini was presented with a perfectly curled lemon peel, and it paired beautifully with the shrimp gumbo, which was warm with just enough heat. While I wanted to inhale it, it begged to be savored, one spoonful at a time. I loved this meal for the rich, fresh flavors and for the wonderful people I was with.

6. My absolute favorite food pairing was at a Dominican restaurant, which sadly closed its doors a few years ago. Their homemade red sangria was and will always be unrivaled. The sangria had the perfect balance of being medium bodied yet feeling light and refreshing. Upon the first sip, you immediately tasted the fruit flavors yet it was never overly sweet. The citrus flavors lingered on your palate the most. It had just the perfect amount of fizz giving it a crisp finish. Although it was abundant with brandy, it wasn’t over-powered by it. My favorite food paired with the sangria were the Chicarron de Pollo lollipops. These were chicken drumsticks trimmed down leaving the meatiest parts, lightly breaded with a well-seasoned flour mixture of garlic, oregano, pepper and lime. They were flash fried and perfectly crispy without being soggy or oily. The garlic and lime flavors hit your tongue immediately with just the precise amount of spice. The chicken was well-balanced, crunchy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. The citrus of the sangria complimented the seasoning of the chicken. The orange from the sangria syncing with the lime of the chicken. The spice of the chicken harmoniously counter balanced with the sweetness of the beverage. The warm juicy chicken was carried blissfully down with every refreshing sip of the sangria. A perfect marriage of flavors and sensations in my mouth.

7. An old fashioned and a bone in ribeye. There seriously is nothing better.

8. A little over two weeks ago, at a restaurant 19 floors above the South shore of Lake Tahoe, I had the most unique salad and wine pairing. The salad consisted of watermelon chunks, avocado slices, sliced and halved heirloom tomatoes, some red onion, a nice helping of feta cheese crumbles, some wafer-thin radish slices and a ring of fine balsamic vinegar and another ring of a not-overpowering pesto circled the plate. It was paired with an Adelsheim Vineyard Pinot Noir Rose. The amuse bouche was cotton candy! What a deliciously unique way to welcome in the Summer.

9. Seriously smh

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