Friday, July 03, 2009
A Month (or so) of Bests
We recently returned to San Miguel after a marathon mid-year vacation, which took us to the Southeast, many locales in Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia & Croatia) and finally, New York City. As glad as we were to get back home and reconnect with friends here, the trip completely energized us and filled our brains with sights, sounds, smells and feelings we'll undoubtedly be processing for months to come. Best of all, it seems like every several days, we'd encounter something that would prompt one or the other of us to remark, "Man, that was the best _______ I've ever seen/eaten/drunk/etc." With your indulgence, I'd like to share some of those high points with y'all.
Starting in South Carolina, we've always enjoyed the mussels at 39 Rue de Jean in Charleston, and go there most every time we visit the SC coast. This time, however, the mussels in cauliflower cream was exceptionally rich and creamy, far and away the best mussels either of us have ever enjoyed anywhere.
Sticking with food, we were also lucky enough to be in Europe during their relatively short spargel (white asparagus) season, during which many restaurants in Austria and Germany feature special spargel menus. Our one night in Salzburg we stumbled into a randomly chosen pub-restaurant just before closing, and I had an extraordinary pasta dish with spargel cream sauce, which we paired with a perfectly dry, fruity Grüner Veltliner.
Croatia Istria (the Croatian penisula where we stayed), but you wine lovers ought to keep an eye for the sparkling wine: Misal Prestige Extra Brut made of 70% Chardonnay, 15% Istrian Malvasia and 15% Pinot Noir.
Our other wine highlight was inGermany Greenville
While our entire European trip was fueled with lots of doble espressos, cappucinos and lattes, at all hours of the day and night, the best coffee I had was in another place we chose for a late lunch, almost by accident, a faux-French bistro in Hamburg, Germany. It was like a Turkish coffee and had me so wired I could barely sit in the car during our ride back to Fallingbostel.
We got lucky, too, the one night we spent inPrague
New York Spain Greenwich Village gem, completely redefined sushi for me. We ordered the chef's tasting menu, called an omakase, and course after course, were blown away. I've always had a huge weakness for foie gras, but the fresh uni (sea urchin) they made that love affair seem cheap and shabby.
While we were lucky enough to stay with friends most everywhere we visited -- (starting withLarry & Pam DeMeyers ' "any sane B&B owner would kill for it" guest room in Augusta , GA Munich Europe .
Slovenia Lubjiana Vienna and Graz , in Austria Lüneborg , Germany
Lastly, we had the great good fortune to attend the best barroom concert ever -- a memorial concert for Duane Jarvis, a talented and obviously much-loved guitarist who recently succumbed to cancer at age 51. We just happened to spending Memorial Day weekend with friends outside of Nashville, who just happened to get a call from John Prine, (who was playing), inviting them to attend. Mizzy and I just tagged along. We hadn't heard of many of musicians who played that night, but every one of them was great. And the cool thing was, the entire audience (except for me and Miz) were musicians and music-industry insiders. What a treat to watch musicians make music just for and with each other. I uploaded one of my favorite numbers, sung by the amazing Rosie Flores and an all-star back-up band, to give y'all sense of what it was like.
Starting in South Carolina, we've always enjoyed the mussels at 39 Rue de Jean in Charleston, and go there most every time we visit the SC coast. This time, however, the mussels in cauliflower cream was exceptionally rich and creamy, far and away the best mussels either of us have ever enjoyed anywhere.
Sticking with food, we were also lucky enough to be in Europe during their relatively short spargel (white asparagus) season, during which many restaurants in Austria and Germany feature special spargel menus. Our one night in Salzburg we stumbled into a randomly chosen pub-restaurant just before closing, and I had an extraordinary pasta dish with spargel cream sauce, which we paired with a perfectly dry, fruity Grüner Veltliner.
Our other wine highlight was in
While our entire European trip was fueled with lots of doble espressos, cappucinos and lattes, at all hours of the day and night, the best coffee I had was in another place we chose for a late lunch, almost by accident, a faux-French bistro in Hamburg, Germany. It was like a Turkish coffee and had me so wired I could barely sit in the car during our ride back to Fallingbostel.
We got lucky, too, the one night we spent in
While we were lucky enough to stay with friends most everywhere we visited -- (starting with
Lastly, we had the great good fortune to attend the best barroom concert ever -- a memorial concert for Duane Jarvis, a talented and obviously much-loved guitarist who recently succumbed to cancer at age 51. We just happened to spending Memorial Day weekend with friends outside of Nashville, who just happened to get a call from John Prine, (who was playing), inviting them to attend. Mizzy and I just tagged along. We hadn't heard of many of musicians who played that night, but every one of them was great. And the cool thing was, the entire audience (except for me and Miz) were musicians and music-industry insiders. What a treat to watch musicians make music just for and with each other. I uploaded one of my favorite numbers, sung by the amazing Rosie Flores and an all-star back-up band, to give y'all sense of what it was like.
# posted by goots @ 1:02 PM 
