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Bishop by Ben Glaetzer – Barossa Valley Shiraz 2007, Australia
Cost: $24.99/bottle
This wine was genuinely rich and thick in texture, with a complex nose of crushed blackcherries, blueberry pie, and vanilla milkshake, with hints of smoked meat, cedar, and toasty oak. In the mouth, it is full-bodied, with a creamy viscosity similar to ‘half and half,’ gobs of fruit, good supple tannins, and a gorgeous finish. Quite impressive. It’s a well-restrained shiraz offering just the right fruit ripeness while maintaining its consistent complex flavor (with a nose to match). I like this a lot and it’s surely worth picking up a few more bottles at a price of a penny under $25. Well bought.
Rating: 91
• Monday, February 1, 2010. 9:30PM – Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, and Domenico Dolce dining (separately) at Hotel Griffou.
• Tuesday, February 2, 2010. 8:57PM – "Right now, Mike D hangin’ with the big boys at The Ace Hotel lobby bar."
• Sunday, January 31, 2010. 3:30PM – Taye Diggs, with wife, pushing baby stroller down Broadway near 22nd St.
Art vs Commerce is undoubtedly a prevalent and consistent underlying theme in PX This, the upcoming PX This Too and pxthis.com. But you already knew that, right? That’s one of the reasons you appreciate them so!
With that in mind, my next Netflix recommendation is My Kid Could Paint That. It will delight, amaze, and horrify you. What more could you want in a film?
From the e-mail inbox:
"O MAH GAH I WAS JUST CLEANING MY APT AND I CAME ACROSS UR BOOK AND STARTED LEAFING THRU IT…. GAAH HOW DID I FORGET U KNOW MAXWELL??? I AM A HUGE HUGE HUGE FAN BUT I GUESS IT WAS AFTER I READ UR BOOK…. DID YOU SEE HIM ON THE GRAMMY’S?!?!?! AMAZING… I LOVE HIM SO MUCH OMFG….!!!!"
Yeah, we saw him on the Grammy Awards. But, thanks for the reminder!
:)
(We love him, too.)
PX This presents THE F&F REVIEW
Hey, sorry we couldn’t make it to "Friends&Family," we were out of town/ had to work/ not invited. We’re really glad we finally managed to come by, though— it’s so nice to see you!
What’s that? You would still like us to take the time to fill out the F&F survey, because you’d love to take advantage of all our vast experience, knowledge, insight, and expertise as long as we’re already here? Because you invited 75 people to F&F, and afterward all you got was 41 "Congrats[es]!" 22 "Awesome[s]!" 3 "Ciao[s]!" and 9 "Best of lucks[s]!" ?
Of course, we’d be honored. Oh ha, yesss, we’ll be honest— brutally honest even, ha ha! After all, that’s what friends & family are for!
No no please, don’t send anything more, we’re stuffed, we can’t breathe, you’ll have to roll us out of here, ha ha ha… !
What was your first impression?
Hmm, would I like a table? Umm, no, the bar is fine for now, thanks.
Please rate the Bar:
Is it smaller than before (as Craftsteak)? Did they move it? I can’t seem to remember…
Anyway, it’s nice. Clean, very spacious. And professional.
Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
The beer and wine list is very impressive in its abundance (daunting, almost). The cocktail list, by contrast, is brief and simple— mostly just classics here. Wow, I must have died and gone to… Vegas?
Please rate the Dining Room:
It’s big! Slightly cozier than before. The trees are new, right?
Please rate the BOH:
Get serious, it’s Craft. Even if I were to "rate" it, would anyone care what my opinion is?
How was the staff?
They’re very… well-trained? Yeah, let’s say that.
What did you eat?/ How was the food?
Octopus salad (bar menu) : Pretty good. Generally, I prefer baby octopus, but this one was decently tender for such an old creature. Nice twist on the classic italian octopus/potato dish. Tasty.
Squid salad (bar menu): Very cold. Comes off a little too "pre-made and refrigerated." Light and refreshing— but that’s probably also why I’m thinking, "Isn’t this more of a summer dish?" Plus, it’s way more garbanzo than squid. Maybe it should be called "Garbanzo bean salad… with some squid…" instead.
Pork belly pizzette (bar menu) : Waaay more mushroom than pork belly; maybe it should be called "Mushroom pizzette… with a little pork belly." That’s probably why it’s also a bit too dry— not enough delicious pork belly fat. Also, $16.00? Wow, for this little thing, that’s a bit expensive.
Would have loved more food but there’s not much else on the bar menu : And I didn’t want another pizzette.
What did you like?
The wood-burning open counter thing is kind of nice to look at.
What did you dislike?
Well, everything I disliked is probably due more to personal preferences and predilections, so perhaps I’ll just refrain.
What was your last impression?
Would I come to try a full dinner? Sorry, I don’t think so.
Would you come back?
For a drink if I’m in the area? Sure.
Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
Thank you and good night.
• Friday, January 29, 2010, 8:00PM – Mick Jagger, Bono, Takashi Murakami, James Franco, Peter Brant and (of course) Damien Hirst, Larry Gagosian, and Shala Monroque at the opening of the "End of an Era" exhibit by Damient Hirst at the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Ave.
*Courtesy of former F&B industry superstar Shala Monroque [shala.thepop.com]
• Monday, January 25, 2010 3:30PM – Danny "Danny-A" Abeckaser and Jen Gatien at the Sundance screening of Kevin Asch’s Holy Rollers in Park City, Utah.
= "personne extraordinaire"