Rey Campero, Jabali

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The seven or eight people who read my mezcal reviews last week will be thrilled to know that I’m doing another full week of mezcal. Last week I reviewed two releases from Mal Bien (the Alto and the Verde) and one from Rey Campero (the Tobala). This week will be all Rey Campero. First up, the Jabali. Yes, Jabali is the name of the maguey varietal used to make this mezcal. As per Mezcal Reviews, this variety is apparently seldom used in mezcal making as it is apt to foam during fermentation and distillation. As someone who has been known to foam at the mouth himself from time to time, I’m going to take that as a good sign. Let’s see what it’s like.

Oh yes, this is from lot DS029-J. It was distilled in August 2021 and rested for five months in glass vats. I could even tell you what type of yeast was used for fermentation, what the source of the water used was, the type of mill used etc. etc. This is not because I know so much but because artisanal mezcal producers seem to put all this information on their bottles. Viva transparency! Continue reading →

Osteria Ai Scarponi (Padua, July 2023)

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Back to Italy, back to Padua. We ate dinner at Enotavola Pino on our first night in Padua. We enjoyed that meal so much that we were tempted to go back right away. However, we had reservations on the second night at Osteria Ai Scarponi, which had been recommended on Twitter by a resident of Padua. And so after getting back from a day in Venice and resting for a few hours we set out for Ai Scarponi. We arrived right after they opened at 7.30 to find a small restaurant with a narrow dining room. At first we thought our reservation might not have been necessary after all but it filled up in very short order. As far as we could make out the clientele was mostly locals and it had the feel of a neighbourhood restaurant. We had a table right by the kitchen, at the end of the dining room, and quickly got down to business. Continue reading →

Rey Campero, Tobala

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The first two reviews of this week of mezcal were both of releases from Mal Bien (the Alto and the Verde). Mal Bien is an American company that works with small producers in Mexico. Today’s review is also of a mezcal from a company that works with small producers in Mexico but this time it’s a Mexican company: Rey Campero. They are based in a small village in Oaxaca and are a family-owned company led by a mezcalero, Romulo Sanchez Parada. So if you like the idea of the bulk of the profit from the sale of mezcal going to producers based in Mexico—and I have to admit I do— Rey Campero is the brand for you. They make mezcal from a range of maguey varieties and in a number of styles. I’ll review a few more of their releases next month but first up, I have for you a review of a Tobala (the name of the variety of maguey it is distilled from). This variety is apparently grown at high altitudes, which gives it a distinct character. As I’ve said before, I’m not knowledgeable enough about mezcal to confidently tease apart the characteristics of different varietals of maguey but I am willing to slowly learn. I do know I really liked the Del Maguey Tobala I’ve previously reviewed. Let’s see what I make of this one. Continue reading →

Dim Sum at Good World (Dublin, Summer 2023)

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As previously reported, our second meal out in Dublin involved dim sum. We ate on that occasion at Ka Shing (on Wicklow St.) but only after being turned away at Good World (on George’s St.) because we didn’t have a reservation. Good World is Dublin’s premier dim sum restaurant and the one that shows up on all the lists of Dublin’s best Chinese restaurants. On weekends you will need a reservation. Accordingly, we made one for the following weekend and showed up again. We’d been pleasantly surprised by the dim sum at Ka Shing the previous week—our expectations had not been high—and I am pleased to say that we enjoyed Good World even more, on the whole; though there were a few things we preferred at Ka Shing. Herewith the details. Continue reading →

Mal Bien Verde

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This week of reviews of mezcal began with a Mal Bien release made from  maguey alto, a type of agave. That was a mezcal from a small producer in Michoacán. Today’s review is also of a Mal Bien. This time the mezcal is from Oaxaca and made from maguey verde by Victor Ramos. Unlike in the current world of Scottish whisky, where not very many different varieties of barley are used, there is a lot of variation in the types of agave used in making mezcal. As I said on Monday, I know next to nothing about any of this—I couldn’t tell you what the expected characteristics of different kinds of agave are or whether this one made from maguey verde is a good example of the type or an outlier due to other variables of the production process. If you are an aficionado, feel free to enlighten me. I can tell you that I very much liked the Mal Bien Alto and am hoping this Verde will be at least as good. Let’s see if that’s true. I am not sure, by the way, if there have been multiple releases of this but my sample is from Batch 032DER. Continue reading →

Cicchetti at Bacaro Risorto (Venice, July 2023)

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Back to northern Italy, for the first of two reports from Venice. We did not actually stay in Venice. There were not very many apartments available in our price range, and I didn’t have the best feeling about the listings I saw. Accordingly, we stayed in Padua and took two day trips to Venice. It’s just 30 minutes by train and very easy to do—it was a short walk from our flat to catch a bus for a short ride to the station. Padua itself is very much worth a visit—the Giotto frescoes at Scrovegni Chapel are jaw-dropping and well worth the hassle for the limited time you’re allowed to spend there, but there’s more to do in the city. And, of course, we ate a couple of very good dinners in Padua (I’ve reported on the first so far). Our first full day in the region, however, was spent in Venice. We did some of the tourist greatest hits and after a visit to St. Mark’s Basilica we stopped randomly at a bacaro in the vicinity for a light ciccheti-based lunch. Why so uncharacteristically restrained? Well, we’d eaten a big breakfast at a cafe after arrival in Venice in the morning, and we had a booking in Padua for early’ish dinner—and also, it must be said, there was a lot of gelato to eat as well during the course of the day. Our lunch at Bacaro Risorto may thus have been light, but it was very good. Continue reading →

Mal Bien Alto

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After a week of reviews of brandies and then a week of reviews of single grain whiskies, let’s shift all the way over to the Americas, to Mexico, and do a week of mezcals. I’ve reviewed a few mezcals in recent years and every time I do I become more enamoured of the general profile. My exposure to the category is not very wide or deep, however, and I am the furthest thing from an expert on it. I can’t tell you very much about the producers or the companies that release mezcals in the US, or about the characteristics of particular types of agave grown in particular regions, or about the effects of particular distillation regimes. For that kind of information you should look elsewhere—perhaps on the Mezcal Reviews website. What I can tell you is what I make of the mezcals I drink; it should go without saying that my responses are those of someone who usually drinks single malt whisky in the Scottish style. Alright, disavowals out of the way, I can tell you that the first two mezcals I am reviewing this week are from Mal Bien who bottle mezcals from small producers around Mexico. This alto was made by Isidro Rodriguez Montoya from the town of Río de Parras in Michoacán. Okay, let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Caledonian 40, 1974, “The Cally”

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Old single grain whisky week began on Monday with a 43 yo North of Scotland, distilled in 1973 and bottled by Gordon & Company. I quite liked that one. The series continued on Wednesday with another 43 yo distilled in 1973, this time an Invergordon bottled by the Whisky Agency. I didn’t like that one quite as much. Let’s end the week with a whisky distilled a year later in 1974 but three years younger than the others at 40 years of age. It’s also unlike the others in that it is an official release: not from the distillery per se but from Diageo who own the distillery and made this 40 yo part of their special release slate in 2015, calling it “The Cally”. It’s not, therefore, a single cask but a vatting of several bourbon hogsheads. I could be wrong but I think it might have been the first time a single grain whisky was part of the special release slate. If I am wrong about that, I trust someone will write in and let me know. If I remember to check later, I’ll look it up myself and amend if necessary. Anyway, let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Mister S (Dublin, July 2022, August 2023)

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Back to Dublin, back to another restaurant that I ate at both in the summer of 2022 and in the summer of 2023 (Fish Shop was the other). I first ate at Mister S (located on Camden St. Lower in a hotbed of hip places) in July 2022 when visiting Ireland for program planning. I ate dinner there with a colleague. In August 2023 I was in Dublin for a longer period, this time for the program we had been planning in July 2023 and I ate at Mister S again; this time, with an old food forum buddy: we have known each other, we calculated, for almost 20 years online but only met for the first time this August. She now lives in Germany but visits Ireland often on work and happened to be in Dublin for a few days towards the end of our stay. Both meals were very good indeed. I took notes from the earlier meal last year but never got around to posting that review—and so here is a combined report. Continue reading →

Invergordon 43, 1973 (The Whisky Agency)

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This week of reviews of old single grain whiskies got off to a good start on Monday with a North of Scotland 43, 1971 bottled by Gordon & Company. Let’s see if the streak continues with this Invergordon, also 43 years old but distilled a couple of years later. The bottler is the Whisky Agency, once one of the biggest names in independent bottling in Europe. Now that I’ve stopped buying whisky from Europe, I’m no longer sure which bottlers are still active or as active as they used to be. Is the Whisky Agency still a big name? This is not my first review of an old Invergordon, by the way. I’ve also reviewed another 1973, a 39 yo bottled by Malts of Scotland, another German bottler that was a big name back in the day. No idea if they’re still as active either. I do know I didn’t care very much for that 39 yo. Let’s see if this 43 yo is any better.

Continue reading →

112 Eatery III (Minneapolis)

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We ate at 112 Eatery last spring after a gap of several years and, unsurprisingly, enjoyed our meal very much. So much so that we resolved to not go years again between visits. We’d taken our boys with us to that dinner and it was perhaps their favourite adult restaurant meal out with us in the Twin Cities last year. And so when I asked the missus where she wanted to go for her birthday this year, she plumped for a return to 112 Eatery, with the boys joining us once again. I am happy to say that this was yet another very good meal at the restaurant. Herewith the details. Continue reading →

North of Scotland 43, 1971 (Gordon & Company)

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Alright after a week of brandy reviews (Armagnac, Calvados and English cider brandy), let’s go back to Scotland for some whisky. But instead of my usual regimen of single malt, this will be a week of reviews of single grain whiskies; and pretty old ones at that. First up is a 43 yo, a North of Scotland distilled in 1973 and bottled by Gordon & Company. I reviewed a grain whisky from Teeling this summer and a few years ago I reviewed another from Nikka; but it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a Scottish grain whisky. More than eight years, in fact. Coincidentally, that one was a North of Scotland bottled by Gordon & Company as well—though a 42 yo distilled in 1971. I was not overly impressed by it, and, frankly, I don’t believe I’ve ever been very impressed by a grain whisky. But there’s always a first time for everything and I’m hoping this one will exceed my expectations. I do feel nostalgic as I get into it; not on account of the whisky but because of the sample bottles. These are a pair of 20 ml sample bottles from Whiskybase. I’d purchased them back when I used to purchase whisky from Europe—a lot of it from Whiskybase. I haven’t done so in many years now. Shipping became too expensive and whisky became not just expensive but stupid. And, indeed, I don’t think Whiskybase even ships to the US anymore. So it goes. Continue reading →

Enotavola (Padua, July 2023)

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And so to the last leg of our Italian vacation, which took us from San Gimignano back to Florence to drop off our rental car and then by train to Padua. We had originally hoped that we’d return to Mercato Centrale again for lunch after dropping our bags off at the train station. But the bag drop was a bit of a disaster and so we ate (more than acceptable) sandwiches at the station and waited patiently for our train. We also hadn’t made dinner plans in Padua—the idea having been that we’d be gorged from lunch and would just pick up some salumi and bread from a market. But a lighter lunch meant we were now in the mood for proper dinner. I did a spot of googling and lighted on Enotavola (or Enotavola Pino, as they’re referred to in most places other than their own website and restaurant signage). A very fortuitous find as this was one of our favourite meals on the whole Italy trip. Continue reading →

Somerset 20, Cider Brandy

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My week of brandy reviews began with a very old Armagnac (this 50 yo from Darroze). It continued with a 15 yo Calvados bottled for Astor Wines in New York City (this Domaine Montreuil). It concludes today with a review of another apple brandy. But this one is not a Calvados but a so-called cider brandy from the Somerset Cider Brandy Company, located in, yes, Somerset, England. They’ve apparently been in the brandy production business since 1989. I don’t believe their product is available in the US. At any rate, I’d not heard of them till Sku sent me a sample several years ago (alongside the Montreuil 15). Let’s see what I’ve been missing.

Somerset 20, Cider Brandy (42%; from a sample from a friend)

Nose: Rich notes of apple and caramel mixed in with lemon and orange peel; quite reminiscent in some ways of a heavily sherried Speyside whisky (apart from the apple, of course). As it sits the apples get baked and get a sprinkle of brown sugar over the top; the oak becomes more apparent as well. Continue reading →

Fish Shop (Dublin, July 2022, 2023)

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Back to Dublin for the first of my reports on non-Asian food eaten there (my previous reports have been of Persian/Kurdish food, dim sum and South Indian food). This report on the very popular Fish Shop on Benburb Street actually covers meals eaten across two summers. The family and I were in Ireland for six weeks this summer on an off-campus program I was co-leading; and the previous summer, my co-leader and I had visited for a week to survey the scene, as it were. Somehow I never got around to posting any reports on the eating done on that trip—perhaps because I got Covid when I got home and lost track of a lot of things. Anyway, my colleague and I enjoyed our dinner at Fish Shop in July 2022 very much indeed, and there was not much doubt that I’d go back to it again on the longer trip with the family in tow. And so it came to pass that we ate lunch there in July 2023. Here’s a quick look at both meals. Continue reading →

Pho Tempo II (Burnsville, MN)

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Earlier this year I posted a review of a couple of lunches at Pho Tempo, the revamped restaurant attached to Saigon Asian Market in Burnsville. I then pronounced it the best Vietnamese restaurant south of the river and one of the better ones in the Twin Cities metro on the whole. After several meals eaten there since then I see no reason to change that assessment: this is clearly the best Vietnamese restaurant in the South Metro and I don’t think there can be too many better ones in the larger area. And if there are, I would really like to know which they are. Here follows a quick look at three meals eaten there since the spring. Continue reading →

Domaine Montreuil 15 (for Astor Wines)

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I said in Sunday’s look ahead to the month on the blog that Twin Cities restaurant reports would be posted on Tuesdays as per usual, with booze reviews on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as per usual—and here I am, just two days later, already a liar. I’m afraid I didn’t have the time on Sunday or Monday to resize the photographs from this weekend’s eating out, and so here is the second brandy review of the week. The series began yesterday with a very old Armagnac. It continues today with a considerably less old, though far from very young Calvados. I noted yesterday that it had been a long time since my last Armagnac review. The same is even more true of my last Calvados review: the last one was posted more than 7 years ago. That was a review of an excellent Michel Huard and in the comments on that review you can read a spirited argument with my old nemesis, Sku. As it happens, Sku was the source of the sample of the Calvados I am reviewing today, which was an exclusive for Astor Wines in New York. I can’t remember when he gave it to me, but I can tell you I am disappointed by how conventional the sample label he made for it is. I guess he sold out. Continue reading →