After his introduction the tasting began.  Given 30 minutes for 6 wines, we plowed through each, picking up on all the nuances they had to offer, jotting down tasting notes, and assigning a numerical score from 1 to 6 with 1 being our favorite and 6 being our least.  The hardest part about this was not to figure out which were good and which weren’t, but to pick out only 1 as our favorite.  They were all fantastic!  We finished, he tallied the scores, and out came the results. 

In order from least favorite to the wine of the night from all 25 panelists:

Wine#6: ‘05 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages-Retails around $50; critic review:88pts 

Wine #5: ‘05 Dominus Estate-Retails around$130;  critic reviews   89pts and 95pts

Wine #4:’05 Valley of the Moon Cuvee de la Luna-Retails around $28; no critic reviews

Wine #3: ‘05 Cain Winery Cain 5-Retails around $100; no critic reviews

Wine #2: ‘05 Opus One-Retails around $175; critic reviews 90pts and 95pts

Wine #1: ‘05 Flora Springs Trilogy-Retails around $65; critic reviews 82pts and 93pts                            

As you can see, a great lineup without a bad one in the bunch.  Results were unanimous from to to bottom.  You may also note the gap between some of the critic’s scores.  Any relevance to the last article written?  I think this clearly shows when you gather a group of people with a group of wines that are unknown, the honest opinion shines through.  Points aside, names aside, and most importantly, price aside, these all were fantastic wines.  This is the significance of blind tasting. 

For my complete tasting notes on these 6 wines, please visit http://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=6859.

 *All wines were provided by Mr. Crane for this comparative venue.  The wines were opened and poured by 3 neutral tasters not participating in the event.  Dollar value given to the wines were taken from local market value as well as a national average.

• Win at the Alaska Whaler Bar & Grill with prize giveaways every half-hour including football jerseys and a flat-screen TV. Nosh on game food at the all-you-can-eat buffet for $8. (171 Muldoon Road, 338-9466)
• The Anchor Pub and Club will serve a Brat and Bud combo for $10 with giveaways. (712 W. Fourth Ave., 677-7979)
• Join DJ Lefty, the Alaska Wild and the Miller girls at Chilkoot Charlie’s for a $5 stadium-style buffet with all-you-can-eat dogs, tacos, nachos and all the toppings you can handle. 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles, Alaska Wild merchandise and prizes from Excalibur Sports and Miller Lite are up for grabs. (2435 Spenard Road, 272-1010, koots.com)
• Set your sights on winning a 50-inch TV at Crossroads Lounge. Chicken enchiladas and Philly sandwiches will be sold to pair with your favorite libation. (1402 Gambell St., 279-7218)
• Stake out a seat at Eddie’s Sports Bar for $2.50 Coors Lights, $4.50 Alaskan Ambers, $10.99 steak bites and your chance to win new threads. (6300 Old Seward Highway, 563-3970)
• Gobble grub at the complimentary turkey buffet as the Flight Deck Bar & Lounge gives away a 50-inch plasma TV and other door prizes. (834 W. International Airport Road, 563-6156)
• Homestead Sports Lounge in Eagle River beckons with swag such as a flat-screen TV and football jerseys. Get your fill of finger foods at the all-you-can-eat buffet for $8. (12130 Regency Drive, Eagle River, 694-8686)
• Head to Humpy’s for specials on wings and pizza and a shot at winning gift cards and apparel (and a four-wheeler if you entered during Monday night football.) Try the Quarterback Challenge after the game to win prizes. (610 W. Sixth Ave., 276-BEER, humpys.com)
• Lay claim to prizes such as a Super Bowl mirror and a Labatts neon light during every commercial at Klondike Mike’s Dance Hall & Saloon in Palmer. Compete or observe as a finger football champion is crowned. Bring a dish to share at the potluck. (820 S. Colony Way, Palmer, 1-907-745-2676)
• McGinley’s Pub will offer 50 cent wings and Irish car bombs at every touchdown. (645 G. St., 279-1782)
• Peanut Farm’s football festivities include a pre-game bikini fashion show, the Alaska Wild cheerleaders, the Miller Girls and 94.7 the End with $3 pints of Miller and Miller Lite. A Honda four-wheeler, NFL memorabilia from Excalibur Sports, Miller logo apparel and lots of gift certificates are going home with someone at this party; why not you? (5227 Old Seward Highway, 563-3283, wemustbenuts.com)
• Pioneer Bar and Jameson will unload a snowboard and other prizes bearing the whiskey’s logo during the game. (739 W. Fourth Ave., 276-7996)
• Proceed to Platinum Jaxx’s for the all-you-can-eat linebacker buffet, $10 pitchers of Bud Light, a bloody Mary bar for $6 and eye candy. The Arctic Angels will perform a live halftime show. Don’t miss your chance to win the platinum entertainment package: a 50-inch flat-panel TV, a Jagermeister machine and a Red Bull refrigerator. (901 W. Sixth Ave., 278-5299, platinumjaxx.com)
• Belly up to the bar at Rumrunner’s Old Towne Bar & Grill for a burger and brew ($10.99) and half-price appetizers. KGOT will host the party with a big-screen TV, a Wii, apparel and more given away. (415 E. St., 278-4493, rumrunnersak.net)
• Sail into Sea Galley for $5 appetizers, the chance to win a cruise to Mexico and other prizes. (4101 Credit Union Drive, 563-3520, seagalleyalaska.com)
• Pizza and chili dogs fill the complimentary buffet at Steve’s Sports Bar, and T-shirts and hats will be given away. (602 E. Fireweed Lane, 279-2565)
• Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill in Wasilla will sell $2 raffle tickets for the chance to win $1,000. Must be present at halftime to win. (161 W. Parks Highway, Wasilla, 1-907-376-1314)
  
  Family Friendly Events
• Watch the hard-hitting action on the big screen at the Bear Tooth Theatre Pub. Doors open at noon. (1230 W. 27th Ave., 276-4200, beartooththeatre.net)
• The Bud girls beautify Boston’s Gourmet Pizza and will be armed with prizes such as a big-screen TV and Budweiser door prizes. (2830 C. St., 770-1270, bostonsgourmet.com)
• Get to Gallo’s Mexican restaurants for a complimentary buffet and prize giveaways that include a 50-inch plasma TV, jackets, coolers and more. (8311 Arctic Blvd., 344-6735 and 8615 Old Seward Highway, 344-2556)
• Pepper Mill is serving $5 pizzas and showing the game on 10 new flat-screen TVs. (561-0800, seagalleyalaska.com/peppermill)

“Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.”
-Ernest Hemingway

What are local restaurants doing for Valentine’s Day?

Enough of that. Pour the wine!

Just had the pork butt! Yum.  Fork tender and well seasoned. 
A heaping portion of mashed potatoes and local parsnips and carrots go great with the apple braised pork butt, it’s so filling you don’t need dessert, but I still tried!

Recently I was re-routed because of road construction and drove by the Yummy Bakery. While the Yummy Bakery isn’t brand new, it’s in a new location. Located at 1300 W. 36th Avenue, the Yummy Bakery is now beside a used car lot. While the outside is well painted, the stairs to the entrance are not very inviting. Once you get inside, however, all’s well. There are a few places to sit and eat. In the display case there is a sharp array of desserts that just scream “buy me.”

I loaded up with goodies. Coconut bread, lady finger cookies, half round of sweet cake, half round of mocha sweet cake, some other breads and cookies…the names of things do not matter. The breads are exactly like I thought they should/would be in texture, smell and taste. Everything, well, almost everything, was absolutely delicious. There must be a huge push to make cupcake frosting taste like shortening. The cup cake itself, though, was perfect.

I received all of this for $27. I bought 7 items and most of them cost $3 or less with one item making up the difference. The lady at the register, Yang, is the entrepreneur who brought this heavenly shop to us. She bakes the goods herself and is a gracious host. I am so impressed by the Yummy Bakery that I will be visiting and buying on a weekly basis. I’m pretty sure this bakery uses real sugar…even if it isn’t in the name.

Overall Grade: A
They would have received an A+ if they were open Sundays as well…

1st Visit

Service is fantastic. Even though it is really busy, we received our items on time and Rob, the manager, made sure that each table was being taken care of. Jon, our waiter, was definitely being pulled in many directions yet we wanted for nothing. While I didn’t catch the barista’s name, I can assure you she is one of the best in town.

I was finally able to enjoy some food at Crush. I will have to rely on my friend’s descriptions of the wine selection and pairing but as for the food:

I ordered some meat balls, jerk chicken and sausages. Each plate was around $7.

The meat balls were fantastic. Moist and incredibly delicate, so much so that it seemed impossible that they’d hold together. The sauce was light but filling.  The sausages (and I love sausage) were equally well prepared in both temperature and presentation. The mustard that accompanied the sausage was spicy.  The jerk chicken was on skew and was equally as spicy. I found my eyes watering a couple times.  I like spicy food.  As my bio says, I like everything I’ve ever tried except for soggy bread. I just prefer not to eat some things.

Overall Grade: B+

1st Visit
Four or five days ago Anchorage received a new restaurant in the downtown area. Across from Nordstrom’s you’ll find a cozy little restaurant that can hold a surprising number of people. We visited Crush on June 28th. Here’s my review.

Crush has the promise of all new restaurants. The place was packed and we eagerly waited for a seat at one of the tables, passing on a couple spots at the bar which were quickly filled. The atmosphere was a little rambunctious because of the grand opening and the place was definitely electric. Tables were over flowing with people enjoying good food and well chosen wine.

The tables and the bar are hand made out of wine barrels and the corks in the sides of the tables are all from the owners’ private collection. The tables definitely enhance the look of the well designed room.

There were a surprising number of younger people (under 30) and that definitely added to the fun.

2nd Visit