Pliny the Elder IPA August, 2010, Bar/Cheese Shop Napa
For me, this is the beer of beers. You can't ask anything more from a beer than what Pliny gives you. This beer is clean yet fully satisfying. It delivers strong, bitter, yet crisp hop flavors of grapefruit and pine. The bitter, astringent hops are balanced by a round, smooth mouthfeel that finishes clean. Satifsying, refreshing, mouthwatering, perfect with grilled meats or hard cheese, and even better all by itself. Russian River Brewing Company, thank you for giving the world Pliny the Elder.
Carne CrudaJune, 2010, Osteria in Neive, Piemonte
In Piemonte, they like their carne cruda, raw meat, and they do it right. On this day, we hiked from Alba into the hills and before lunch we had climbed two big hills, tasted seven Barbaresco's at a winery along the way, and covered about eight kilometers. Hot, sweaty, hungry, the cool, perfectly season, bright red, raw veal was the perfect thing to eat. The primal yet refined protein fix powered us through the four course lunch, two more bottles of wine, and the eight kilometer walk back into town.
Beet, Apple, Orange, Ginger Juice August, 2010, Burrough's Market, London
I couldn't pass this up at the farmer's market. Bright majenta in color, the juice tastes sweet, tangy, and slightly earthy from the beets (at least two whole beets go into one juice). The spicy ginger comes on at the end, giving the beverage a fresh, invigorating kick. I wasn't hungover this morning, but this juice would probably be very good for a hangover.
Luca's Mom's Pickled Treviso July, 2010, Bra, Italy
Treviso is the bitter, elongated, purple colored cousin to Radicchio. A special variety of Treviso is especially sought after for pickling. Luca's Mom transforms the bitter, stalky vegetable into something wonderfully sweet, tangy, pleasantly bitter, tender, and slightly chewy. We pulled the stuff out of its jar with a fork and ate it with bread that we had toasted and spread with soft cheese. After eating almost all of it, we ceremoniously divided the last piece of the Treviso like stranded mountaineers splitting up their last chocolate bar. This stuff really is that good.
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