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Wine Competition Pits France Versus USA

30 years ago, a blind tasting was held comparing French and California wines. At that time, France was defeated after French judges decided the wines from California were superior. From the BBC News, “The result was seen as a blow to French national pride and shocked the country’s wine industry.” Now the contest has been recreated, and once again, California
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Monday Interview: David Machado, Part II

[This is part two of an interview with David Machado of Vindalho and Lauro restaurants. You can find part one by clicking here.] So, a guy walks into a bar, and _________. While you can fill in the blank with any number of amnesiacs asking, “Do I come here often?” and baby seals ordering “anything but a Canadian Club,” perhaps
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Monday Interview: Dave Machado

So, a guy walks into a bar, and _________. While you can fill in the blank with any number of amnesiacs asking, “Do I come here often?” and baby seals ordering “anything but a Canadian Club,” perhaps only once has the punch-line been, “walks out with the bartender’s job.” Dave Machado gets to tell the joke. Beginning at the bottom
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I’m Rated Out! Do Wine Ratings Mean Anything?

By Ken Collura As a professional wine buyer and an active consumer, I’m inundated with ratings. Each major wine publication has seemingly hundreds of them each month. If that wasn’t enough, they’re encountered in big, bold numerals everywhere wines are sold. You’ll see them in newspaper ads, on shelf-talkers, and neck-hangers on the bottles themselves. I admit I’m rated-out. The
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“Do Waiters Always Have To Swear So Much?”

Edgar LeBlanc over at the Onion asks, “Do Waiters Always Have To Swear So Much?” ‘Is it me, or has the restaurant industry really started to slide in professionalism? I go out to a classy place, order a nice little steak, give the waitress a couple of slaps on the ass to get her moving, and all of a sudden
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Restaurant Customer Etiquette

By Ken Collura Introduction: I work the floor as a sommelier/manager in a busy restaurant five nights a week and try to dine out on at least one of my days off, so I’ve written this piece from the perspective of someone who has been an active participant on both sides of the table for many years. There are ways
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Monday Interview: Molly O’Neill

Last Friday morning, I received a call from an acquaintance, saying, “Molly O’Neill is in town; do you think you have time to interview her?” I said, I’ll make time, and in fact, will crawl with O’Neill’s New York Cookbook in my teeth for a chance to meet her. “Oh, we need to go to Powell’s and get you a
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