Nile Hilton, Cairo

During my stay in Cairo, I stayed at the Nile Hilton on the the Executive floor, and I recommend this hotel very highly. Here are a few features that may be of interest to the traveler.

1. It is probably worth paying extra to stay on the Executive level. You get a superb breakfast that combines the best of personal service with the best of a buffet with a wonderful view of the Nile. (On the rare clear day, you can even see the Pyramids.) You also have access to the Executive lounge, where snacks are served all day, and drinks are served in the evening. (Drinks are very expensive in Egypt so this benefit is valuable to anyone who enjoys a glass of wine or a cocktail in the evening.)

2. All the staff seem to want to go out of their way to please you. You just get the impression of a well-run, efficient, and friendly hotel.

3. I was advised to stay on the city side as opposed to the river side of the hotel because it does get rather noisy at night. On this trip, I decided to ignore that advice, and it was much nicer staying with a view of the river. It was so pleasant to sit on the balcony with a bottle of wine and to watch the world go by.

4. You can get wireless access to the Internet, and it is adequate. The cost was 600 EGP for the week. However, if you want to use your Ethernet cable, you have to pay again even if you want to do so simply because the wireless access is not working.

5. Food in the hotel is good, and the cost is reasonable. I did not eat on the top floor (except for the free breakfast), where there is an ambitious and very expensive menu.

6. The are in-room safes that are free of charge. They work well and you can use your own combination.

7. The beds are a little narrow, but very comfortable.

8. The area is nice. You can take boat trips on the Nile right in front of the hotel, and there are plenty of nice retaurants in the area. The restaurants in the hotels are considerably more expensive than the independent restaurants, where you can eat very well for $10.00 or less.

9. The cost of my room on the Executive floor was about $140 (USD) per night plus taxes -- in February, 2006.

Business Class Lounge -- Cairo Airport

Like an "inter-faith" center, the lounge for business class passengers waiting for their flight at Cairo airport is shared by almost every airline.

There are interesting shops at Cairo airport, and it seems a pity to waste time in this rather dismal waiting room.

There is very limited food (stale sesame sticks or sausage rolls). You can drink tea, coffee, juice, or Coca-Cola, which were served with styrofoam cups. There are separate lounges (smoking and non-smoking).

View of the Giza Pyramids from the Nile Hilton

Today was an exceptionally clear day in Cairo, where the the haze and the dust limit visiblity. But today you could clearly see the Pyramids at Giza from my 11th floor hotel room.

It is amazing to think that the Pyramids were the tallest structures built by humans until the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris in 1898! 

Moghul Room, Mena House, Giza, Egypt – Dinner

The Mulligatawny soup, the Tomato Saar soup, and the dishes of chutney and raita at Mena House.

Sometimes I almost studiously avoid restaurants in wonderful settings. It seems that restaurants are able to provide nice settings or good food, but very rarely can they do both.

A notable exception to this rule is the Mena House in Giza. Located right next door to the Great Pyramids of Giza, Mena House offers a more exciting setting than almost anywhere else in the world. The restaurants and bars have views of the Pyramids, which are lit up by night. (Note, though, that there is no view from the Moghul Room.)

Buried deep inside the hotel, this restaurant does not offer a view of the Pyramids, but its exotic decor is as exciting as it is luxurious. Three of us had dinner here tonight, Dr. A, Mr. M, and me! We started off with pappadums ($2.00) and the complimentary samosas. Then we had soup. Dr. A and I had an excellent Mulligatawny soup ($4.00) and Mr. M had a the Tomato Saar soup.($4.00), which he pronounced delicious.

We each had a different dish for the main course. Dr. A chose the Murgh Jal Farizi ($12.73), which tasted as if it was very freshly cooked unlike in some India restaurants where it seems that they achieve long menus by creating any permutation of about five pre-cooked bases (chicken, lamb, beef, shrimp, or fish) with one of a dozen sauces. The sauces and the base don't exactly hit it off because they have never even met before! When I tried Murgh Jal Farizi, the vegetables were fresh, tasty, and crunchy showing that they had been freshly cooked. I found the spices in his dish just a little timid, but tasty. The Chicken Vindaloo ($13.78) was, in my mind, only passable. For my taste, there was too much vinegar in the sauce, and the chicken consisted only of drumsticks and wings. For this class of place, I would have expected a better class of meat. I really enjoyed the Shahi Korma, though. This dish of lamb in a creamy sauce with almonds has always been one of my favorites. I asked them to spice it up a little as I expected it might be a little bland to cater for the international crowd that frequents this restaurant. They added just the right amount of spice, and the dish had a pronounced tasted of black cumin. The spices in the dish were well integrated – you could taste the individual spices but they were somehow unified so that they seemed to be in harmony with each other.

We agonized a little about the wine. Initially, we were presented with a list of international wines, which was really a list of what you might see in the discount section of a British or American supermarket. The collection of French, Italian, Australian and American wines were mostly mediocre mass preoduced wines being sold at outreageous prices. For example, Blossom Hill White Zinfandel was offered for about $85! Eventually, we asked if they had Château des Rêves ($43.60), an Egyptian wine that we had recently tried at the Four Seasons Hotel. (This phenomenon of selling cheap imported wines at high prices is not unique to Mena House. It seems to be standard practice at all the top hotels in Egypt. My best advice is to stick to Egyptian wines.)

A wonderful feature of this restaurant is the little trio that provides music while you eat. A young man plays the sitar; there is a percussionist; and a woman plays another instrument and is the vocalist. Her haunting voice has lived with me since 2004 when I first visited the Moghul Room, and she was there again tonight. (I believe she is a daily feature.) Some of the songs are Indian, but they also adapt popular songs to a very distinctly Indian style, including a version of “Happy Birthday!” I asked them if they had made a CD, but they didn’t. So I will have to come back if I want to hear her again.

My only little complaint with Mena House is the way the bill is prepared. My concern is not with the bottom line. You expect to pay a lot for a meal in a top hotel. But I don’t like the way every little detail becomes an additional item whether you order it or not (chutney, water, raita, and so on.). The total worked out to be about $50.00 a head.

Before dinner, it is wonderful to sit at the bar where you do get a view of one of the Pyramids, which is flood lit. But drinks are expensive, and the measures are very short.

The meal at Mena house is the perfect ending to a day visiting the Pyramids. Highly Recommended.

Le Bistro, Cairo

I had a good meal at this little French restaurant in Cairo. My main course was the Tournedos ($6.00), which I ordered very rare. It was smothered with a good peppery sauce. The garlic potatoes were very tasty too.

For dessert, we had good profiteroles.

The wine was the rather mediocre Egyptian Omar Khayam, which was about $11 for the bottle.

This is a good and economical restaurant just off the Corniche in central Cairo. Funnily enough, the Egyptian staff did not speak any English as they do in most Cairo restaurants, and all business had to be conducted in French.

Everything about this restaurant is blue including the lighting, which makes everyone look a little strange. The Tournedos was the most expensive dish on the menu, which starts at about $4.00 for chicken. Recommended.

Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar -- Al Azhar Mosque

The Al Azhar mosque is in front of the Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar where I went to buy some presents for my family.

All the shops were open until about ten o'clock. You can buy almost anything in the bazaar -- food, clothes, jewelry, souvenirs, spices, sheets, towels!

Traffic in Cairo

Traffic in Cairo is busy, confusing, and often dangerous. I grabbed this picture from a taxi. The accident brought the participants to blows briefly!

View from a Room at Nile Hilton

Beano's Cafe, Zamalek, Cairo

Beano's is a chain of cafés in Egypt, and it serves the best coffee I have ever had in a chain (Sorry, Starbucks!). You can also get a range of sandwiches ($3.13) or other items like satay ($2.80). (My perfect coffee was a double espresso with hot milk on the side.)

The other nice thing is that you can linger as long as you like over your coffee and use their wireless Internet connection.

I went to the one in Zamalek (8 El Marsaly Square), but there are other branches in the downtown area, Heliopolis, and in Alexandria. They deliver food as well.

They also have very nice looking cakes, but when I asked if I could photograph one, the manager had to be called. He probably would have said yes, but I was too impatient to wait for a decision!

A quick visit to Cairo's Citadel -- a few pictures

I managed to snatch away a couple of hours to visit the Citadel in Cairo. Here are a few pictures.

This picture shows the contrast between the tall spires of the minarets that are built in the Turkish tradition and the shorter fatter ones that are more common in the Arab world.
Cairo's skyline from the citadel
Visitors are allowed into the mosque whatever their faith. You just have to take off your shoes.

The Coolest View from an Office

This really was not a terribly good picture, which was why I colored it sepia. But what could be more amazing than being able to see the Pyramids of Giza from an office window!

You can just see them on the other side of the Nile.

The Cairo Cellar, Zamalek, Cairo

The President Hotel can be found in Cairo's upscale neighborhood, Zamalek. Zamalek is on an island in the middle of the Nile. In the basement of the relatively modest President Hotel, there is a nice little cellar restaurant, which Dr. A says has not changed in the slightest for 30 years. (I have never stayed at the President, but I have heard that it is inexpensive, friendly, welcoming, and comfortable.)

The Cairo Cellar has a short menu, including steaks, breaded veal, chicken, hamburgers, and some pasta. Dr. A ordered the veal, and he enjoyed it very much. I had the steak au poivre ($7.85), which I ordered "Very Rare." In Egypt, I have ordered several steaks, and after a little misunderstanding where we discuss whether I mean "Very well done," they always seem to get my steaks exactly the way I like them. The "au poivre" part was really good -- a well peppered brown sauce that smothered the juicy steak. It came with steamed vegetables that were cooked to the point that they were still crunchy. Mr. M ordered the house steak with mashed potatoes.

I particularly liked the starters. We ordered a plate of fried calamari, which were tender, hot, and not at all like the rubber calamari sometimes served in restaurants. We also had another kind of foul, which were steamed fava (broad) beans served with lemon and olive oil. We ate them with our hands disposing of the thick outer skins in a little side plate. I love simple vegetable dishes.

Cairo cafe is a bit like a pub, and we had a bottle of white Sherezade ($14.83). This was a good meal and the price for three of us including starters, a main course, tax, and a generous tip was about $65. If you are in Cairo, this restaurant is friendly and excellent value for the money. It is also nice to be able to have a glass of wine at a reasonable price.

I will be writing more about Egyptian wine in another posting, but Sherezade seems to offer fairly good wine at a reasonable price. (In the shops it costs about $6.00.)

Food on LH 419 from IAD to FRA on Jan 26, 2006: Pictures

This entry refers back to my previous account of LH419 from Washington to Frankfurt. The Sea Bass was an excellent dish --worthy of First Class. The dish, of course, was made of good porcelain. No plastic here!

The cheese and desserts were beautifully presented.

Foul Breakfast at the Nile Hilton

Actually, my foul breakfast was simply delicious. Foul (pronounced fool) is an Egyptian dish made of fava beans. First the beans go in the bowl, then it is time for the toppings: a little cumin, chopped onions, fresh parsley, pepper, salt, and olive oil. I am sure that this is very healthy breakfast. Simple and very tasty.

Breakfast is included if you are staying on the Executive floor of the Nile Hilton in Cairo. You can get practically every imaginable breakfast dish, but I decided to be very healthy -- a plate of foul, steamed vegetables, and a bowl of freshly cut fruit.

As expected, no pork products are served. The bacon and sausages are all made of beef.

Bump Story #1 -- The funny bump

This is the first in a series of stories of getting bumped by various airlines. (It follows a posting with a few tips on getting bumped.)

I had been working in Chicago with Dr. A. We had an evening flight on the way back to Baltimore from Chicago's Midway airport on Southwest Airlines. The funny thing about this story is that Dr. A finds my bump habit just a little irritating. Sometimes, he will growl, "If you applied all that brain power to making money the old fashioned way, you wouldn't need to get bumped all the time." Actually, I rather enjoy the admonishment as I am flattered by the compliment coming from a man with considerable intellectual horsepower! I usually explain to him that even if I were rich, I would still go for the bumps. I just like the sport!

Anyway, Southwest called people to the desk, and offered $200 (in vouchers) plus the cost of your ticket. Of course, Dr. A was not interested, but I bounced to the counter almost as if it were a reflex reaction! So they took me off a flight that going to depart at 6:00 pm, and gave me a seat on a flight at about 6:30 that stopped in Cleveland (might have been Cincinnati). The funny thing about this bump was that Dr. A's non-stop flight from Midway got delayed. So I arrived back in Baltimore first with my precious vouchers before he did! I later used them to fly two of the Moyeys out to Oakland, California, when we took a spring break visit to see the Napa Valley.

Excellent bump with a funny twist! I would love to hear readers' bump stories -- please comment!

Lufthansa -- Business Class Amenity Kits

The entire contents of Lufthansa's Business Class amenity kit is shown here.

Eyemask, toothbrush, refreshment towel, toothpaste, socks, and the bag itself on the right.

One of the benefits of traveling business class is the amenity kit that you receive when you fly. These kits vary considerably in quality, and frequently the most valuable item is the bag used to contain all the goodies. I usually travel with a lot of small pieces of electronic equipment, and I find these bags can be useful travel accessories to hold things such as your mobile phone and its charger.

A good amenity kit for business class passengers is very obvously not a priority for Lufthansa. The bag is a light nylon/muslin bag containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, an eyemask, and a refreshment towel. This is a shame especially because my favorite business class amenity kit is from a Lufthansa trip that I took in 1998!

Not surprisingly, the best amenity kits come from the usual suspects -- Singapore Airlines (SQ), Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific, and British Airways. Sometimes, airlines have a brand theme surrounding their kits. For example, I recently received a very nice Bulgari kit during a First Class flight on Singapore Airlines, and a Clarins kit when I flew First Class on Lufthansa.

Virgin gives you a better goodie bag in economy!

Four Seasons, Cairo, Egypt -- Dinner at Steaks

This amazing display of flowers, willow and bamboo decorates the lobby of the ultra-luxurious Four Seasons hotel in Cairo.

Steaks is one of the restaurants in the very lavishly appointed new Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo. Situated by the Nile near the Hyatt, Intercontinental, and the Nile Hilton, the Four Seasons stands out as the poshest hotel in this area of very posh hotels.

There are a variety of hotels, but Dr. A knew that this would be a good choice, and he had been there before. He was especially interested in my trying the tenderloin of Australian Wagyu Beef, but, unfortunately it was no longer on the menu. We had the tenderloin of Australian Angus Beef instead. It came in two sizes: 180 grams ($31) or 240 grams ($42). We both had the the smaller size -- a wise choice because you really do get a lot to eat at this restaurant because they bring you a dish of pâté to start with. It comes with a delicious loaf of crusty home made bread, little pearl onions and cornichons. Then came a bowl of cream of carrot soup -- tasting of real carrots with a dollop of cream on top. (These starters are included in the price of the main course.) The main course, the steak, really was memorable. I ordered mine very rare, and it was so tender that you could slice it with the back of the knife. But unlike many very tender steaks it was full of flavor. We had a side order of very good gratin potatoes ($1.75) and some sautéed garlic mushrooms ($1.75).

For dessert, I had an amazing chocolate assortment ($5.25), which consisted of a little chocolate cake, a chocolate mousse, and some chocolate ice cream. Dr. A went for subtlety and had a Lemon Meringue Pie ($5.25), which was good, rich, and had crispy pastry as its base.

Our wine experience was interesting at the Four Seasons. A couple of years ago on my last trip here I was warned that Egyptian wine was uniformly awful, but Dr. A encouraged me to order Château des Rêves 2005 ($31), which is described as a Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was pleasant enough though I found it not at all like a Cabernet at all. It was more like a Beaujolais! When the waiter asked me if I liked it, I told him that I didn't like it all that much, and he suggested bringing us a Cape Bay from South Africa ($31), but bottled in Egypt. This wine was passable though it had a strange taste of fresh cork.

The wine list was fairly comprehensive, but, imported wine in Egypt are very expensive indeed. For example, if you were in the mood for Champagne (and you really liked your guest), you could get Cristal Roederer for ($1046) or Brunello di Montalcino from Castello Banfi, 1999, for $523. Even wines that are relatively inexpensive in other countries were very highly priced. For example, Jacob's Creek Merlot, 2003, would set you back $104!

Other items on the menu included Dover Sole ($24), Grilled salmon steak ($15.70), Australian veal cutlet ($33), or grilled lamb chops ($18.30).

All in all, this was a very good meal in a delightful setting. The traveler is well advised to watch wine prices since they can set you back a small fortune even if you are drinking fairly modest wines.

The Best Dollar I Ever Spent

I just love the buzz of Cairo. Everyone seems to roam the steets -- men, women, and children. After a fairly long day, I was pretty tired, but could not resist joining the crowds. The Nile is lined with all sorts of boats. The lowest caste of boat is decorated with artless colored lights and blaring Egyptian music. They always seem to be filled to the brim with happy Egyptian families enjoying the beauty of the river. The price of a ride was just five Egyptian pounds, which actually less than a dollar -- about 87 cents.

As usual, my boat was full of Egyptian families, and everyone was obviously looking forward to the ride. The women varied in their dress reflecting how strictly they interpreted the Islamic faith. At one extreme, there was a woman with only a scarf to distinguish her from a woman typically dressed in the western world. Another wore a light scarf and was flirting with an admirer. Another had hidden every part of her body except for her eyes, and she was trying to keep two naughty little boys under control. The gentleman seated next to me was taking pictures of his children with the camera on his digital phone.

Then he took a picture of me. I smiled and thanked him. Then I took one of him. Encouraged by our bond of digital photography, he said, "My name is Omar. Welcome to Egypt!" I told him my name. Then he said "Omar" again. "Hello, Omar," I said. "You know -- like Omar Sharif," said Omar, "You know Omar Sharif!" "Yes," I cried, "Dr. Zhivago!" "Dr. Zhivago," roared Omar. And for a few moments, we sat nodding at each other, smiling and ocasionally muttering "Dr. Zhivago," the second bond that had connected me to my new Egyptian friend.

Early in our relationship Omar felt compelled to educate me regarding the permissible limits of photgraphy. Omar took my camera and pointed at the children. The gesture obviously meant, "Feel free to photograph the children." And I did. Then Omar took my camera again and pointed it some of the women and waved his finger across his throat. The meaning was quite unambiguous in its message, "Photograph the kids all you like, but, if you decide to photograph the women as well, then someone will have to slit your throat. The women giggled. Perhaps they thought Omar was a goofball, but I liked that in Omar -- tough but fair.

Plus I thought the deal was fine, and I opted not to photograph the women in exchange for the opportunity to sleep in my hotel room that night with my throat in its original pristine condition.

As the boat was nearing the end of the trip, I wondered idly whether this boat was like an airplane with everyone paying different fare, and I, the foreigner, had paid more than everyone else. But by that time I was too happy to care. Besides, what would I have done with the change?

R & H Lamotte, Brut Rose NV Champagne

This evening was my first evening in Cairo, and Dr. A invited me over to his apartment for a light supper and wine -- the "light" supper consisted of smoked salmon, olives, a bloc of foie gras and other goodies. We had the Lamotte champagne with the smoked salmon and finished the evening with the foie gras that we washed down with an astounding Trockenbeerenauslese, which I will write about in another posting. I had never heard of Lamotte, which Dr. A had bought at the duty free shop in Athens, but apparently Francois Lamotte was a magistrate from Reims who founded Lanson in 1760. And poking around with Google seems to suggest that Greece is the only place you can buy Lamotte champagne.

Dr. A said that he had tried their regular champagne and he liked it more than the Brut Rose, but we both ageed that it was excellent anyway. In some ways, it reminded us of a Burgundy -- it must be pretty much 100% Pinot Noir. Its taste was reminiscent of stawberries and the tiny bead-like bubbles suggested cream! By the end of the bottle, we agreed that this was stawberries and cream in liquid form!

Getting Bumped -- Giving up your seat on an airline

Some of my friends have suggested that I write about something that I have been very successful with -- getting voluntarily bumped by airlines. In this first posting, I hope to explain some of the principles I follow. In subsequent posts, I will talk about some of my exploits, successes, and failures.

Getting bumped for the purposes of this article refers to voluntarily giving up your seat for a flight because the flight is overbooked. The usual reward for doing this is a voucher for a free flight and a guaranteed seat on a later flight. Other benefits include meals and accommodation if you are going to be delayed for more than a couple of hours. Getting upgraded to business or first class is not uncommon. (I have been upgraded a number of times as a "thank you" for volunteering even when the airline has not needed my seat.)

1. Become customer focused. When there is a possibility of being bumped, you have a commodity (an airline ticket) that has risen in value. It is now worth more to the airline than you paid for it, and the airline is expressing interest in buying back your ticket. Some people initiate the process by talking about their “rights.” Many of these rights apply to involuntary bumps. During the negotiation stage, you have no special rights. You are simply a potential vendor and the airline is your customer. There is a lot of competition because other people want to be bumped too. So, in order to make the sale, you need to apply that basic business principle – be easy to do business with.

2. Schedule your trip so that getting bumped is easy. The opportunities are rare so you raise the possibility of being bumped if you organize your life so that you always have a little extra time. If you are going to a wedding, for example, fly out the day before so that you can still be there even if there is a delay. (This is sensible practice even if you have no intention of getting bumped.)

3. Carry airline timetables with you. If you know what the options are, you can often help the airline staff by suggesting flights and routes that may not have occurred to the person you are working with. (I have the schedules of the major airlines in my Palm.)

4. Check in early. Frequently, the first person to volunteer gets to the top of a list.

5. Use an airline that routinely overbooks its planes. I have had bumps from British Airways, Delta, United, Lufthansa, Southwest, US Airways, and Virgin. But some airlines, like JetBlue never overbook their flights.

6. Book flights that might be full. Holiday times are especially good. All my family took trips at Thanksgiving for about five years. The first trip was funded by vouchers from a bump, and that kept us going for five consecutive years. We stopped only because one of us decided she wanted to be home for Thanksgiving one year. (Also, problems mount during the day so you stand a better chance of being bumped on an afternoon or an early evening flight than a morning one. You will almost never be bumped on a "red-eye" from the West coast to the East coast.)

7. Be flexible. If you say you are willing to accept any route, any airline, and any schedule to get to your destination, it makes life easier for your customer (the airline) and you increase the possibility of making a sale.

8. Where possible, use carry-on bags only. You can get a bump if you have checked luggage, but it makes life easier for the airline if they don’t have to retrieve your luggage. Airlines will almost never bump you during a layover if you have checked in baggage.

9. Be available. At the final moment, the airline needs you to confirm your desire to take a bump. If you are sipping champagne in the Singapore Airlines lounge, they will ask the next person in line. (Yes, I did make that mistake once!) So you need to stay close to the desk and respond promptly if your name is called.

10. Be nice. The airline staff are working under a lot of pressure and they need all the help and support they can get. It is your job to satisfy your customer. So, if you want extras (like an upgrade), ask nicely.

11. Ask for a dollar value voucher rather than a free ticket. You will often get one. The advantages are that you can use the voucher towards buying an international flight whereas most American carriers give vouchers for domestic travel only. You frequently increase your buying power with a dollar value voucher. For example, I have bought two tickets for a $400 voucher. Finally, you earn mileage and credits toward elite status if you use vouchers as opposed to free passes. (That is how I have maintained my Premier Executive (gold) status with United for so many years.)

12. If you do get bumped, it is sometimes more fun to get away from the airport while you wait for your rescheduled flight. Sometimes, I have taken the hotel shuttle to an airport hotel. I spent the voucher that I was given for food at the hotel and made use of the pool after my meal.

Traveling from Columbia, MD to Dulles Airport (IAD)

Columbia is only about fifteen miles from Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, but I frequently need to fly from Washington Dulles or Washington National Airport. Getting there often presents a problem. I dislike using cabs because of previous bad experiences with cab companies. They arrive late and they often tell you beforehand that they accept credit cards but then "discover" a problem with that while you are on the way to the airport. When I travel, I try to use cash as little as possible.

The solution I have often found is to rent a car. I get someone to drop me off at BWI the day before and then I drop the car off at Dulles the next day. I have used both Budget and Hertz to do this and there was no drop-off charge. The price varies greatly, but I have paid as little as $18 (on a weekend) and as much as $60 during the week. Either way, it is cheaper than taking a cab and you can travel on your own schedule, eliminating the anxiety of wondering whether the cab is going to show up and the tension associated with calling the company to ask why the cab hasn't appeared. I have always booked the cheapest possible car, but I have always been given a seemingly randomly-picked much larger car. I suspect that they give you any car that the rental company wants to move from BWI to IAD.

On my most recent trip I decided to try a local company, Columbia Airport Shuttle. (Telephone: 410 309 0006). The driver showed up at the precise time in a new and clean Lincoln Town Car. He helped me with my luggage, drove efficiently and safely, and he dropped me off right in front of the part of the airport where Lufthsansa has its desk. The cost was $85. This was a good experience.

On short trips, I use the long-term parking at Dulles although this cramps my style when returning from a trip where good wine is served!

I would love to hear from readers to see what your experience has been. To summarize, my favorite (and cheapest) way is the car rental method. Columbia Airport Shuttle was good. Parking is OK if you keep yourself wine-free on your flight!

Lufthansa LH419 from IAD to FRA on January 26, 2006

I remember years ago feeling faintly disappointed if I was flying long distance in anything except a Boeing 747. It still amazes me that these planes leave the ground at all. But times change! This flight was on a 747-400. I was in Business Class in the front of the plane. (Unlike most airlines, Lufthansa puts its First Class passengers upstairs.) I was very disappointed with the seats. They really seems to be way below what the competition offers in Business Class. The seat was comfortable enough, but nothing like what British or Virgin offer in the same class of service. There is nothing you can do with this seat to even approximate a lying down position. The plane just had this worn look with the toilets smelling of urine even at the beginning of the flight.

The thing that really thrilled me on this flight was having an Internet connection. I was even able to phone Iran using a (Vonage) soft phone from my seat! That is so cool! I also posted the blog entry to say that I was posting from the air. Sorry!

The bit that is really fantastic about flying Lufthansa in Business Class is the food and the wine. Lufthansa has a program called Star Chefs, which uses the recipes of the chef of a well known restaurant. On this flight, chef was Joachim B. Splichal from Patina in Los Angeles, California. The style was a sort of California mix of styles. Spichal's blurb in the menu says that his emphasis is on the freshest ingredients.

I started my dinner with "Grilled Divers Scallops on Jicama Salad." The ingredients did taste fresh and the salad was nice and crunchy. (A nice touch is that recipes are enclosed with the menu so I think I will make this dish when I get back home.) Then I had a salad with soggy croutons and a dressing called Naturally Fresh, which appeared to be neither natural nor fresh! My main course was marvellous. It was "Seared Striped Sea Bass served with Marcona Almonds, Cauliflowers Florets, and Madras Curry Lobster Emulsion." My only complaint about that dish was that I really did not tasted any lobster, but it was very good. The fish was nice and moist, but not overdone, and the sauce was subtle -- spicy but without being overpowering. Alternatives offered included "Olive Oil Poached Breast of Chicken offered with Morel Marsala Cream Sauce" and "Portobello Mushroom and Pappardelle Pasta accompanied by aged parmesan and cherry tomatoes with basil." The menu really went overboard with these detailed descriptions!

After my main course I had Gruyere, Brie and Goat Cheese followed by a mediocre Pear Tart Tartin with a soggy bottom. (Perhaps the fault was less in the cooking than in the storage.) Chocolates were served with liqueurs and very good coffee to round off the meal. Good coffee on flights seems to be more common these days.

Before landing, I had a good breakfast consisting of a plate of fresh fruit, a piping hot omelette with bacon and potatoes, and an assortment of bread, croissants, and muffins were offered. The other choice for breakfast was a "Cold Gourmet Plate" with breast of turkey, salami, camembert, and cream cheese.

Service was friendly and efficient. The plane started and left punctually without incident or significant turbulence during the flight. Overall, an enjoyable flight in what has become a rather dated plane.

Lufthansa also does well by providing passengers with a good range of reading material. We were offered the Washington Post, the Financial Times, and a range of magazines. (Readers of German naturally had a much broader selection.)

(To avoid this article going on and on for ever, I will discuss the wine in a separate posting. It was very, very good! I will also add some pictures that I took of the food. I am in a hotel without a way of moving pictures from my camera to the computer.)

I couldn't resist it!

I apologize and I know this is very tacky, but I couldn't resist making an entry from Seat 10F of a Lufthansa Boeing 747 en route from Washington to Frankfurt. I will provide a full account of the flight in a later post, but writing a blog entry from the air is a first for me. And I could not resist it.

By the way, the Champagne is Duval Leroy Brut, and it is delicious. And no plastic in Lufthansa's Business class!

On a more serious note, I find that the ability to be connected in flight is wonderful. The price was about $30 for the whole flight and $10 for a portion (I can't remember how long) with Connexion by Boeing as the ISP. I got it for free because I was given a bundle of 30-minute access cards when I was flying in Lufthansa's first class from Munich to Washington in December.

The other thing that makes working in the air possible is that there was power provided to every seat. (I don't know whether they get this economy.) This is especially valuable to me as I think the battery on my laptop is next to useless.

The nice thing is that you don't need special adapters as the plug is universal although it seemed to work more reliably when I put my American flat pronged plug into an adapter with round prongs. I was also carrying my headphones and speaker so that I could make IP calls from the seat.

What a nerd!

Ten Reasons Why I Fly United Airlines

Almost all American carriers have problems, and United Airlines is no exception. I have, however, flown with this airline or one of its partners almost exclusively for about 10 years. Here is why:

Sticking to one airline makes it easier to maintain elite status, whch brings all sorts of benefits, including shorter lines at airports, access to airport lounges when traveling internationally, and double miles if you get to the Premier Executive (gold) level. This means that if you fly only about three times to Europe, you get a free trip.

United has a pretty wide national network. My home airport is Baltimore (BWI), and sometimes flying is a little inconvenient. Sometimes I take the time to route myself through Chicago (ORD), and sometimes I just go to Washington, Dulles (IAD).

United is an international airline and a member of the Star Alliance, and you can use your frequent flier miles on wonderful airlines, including Lufthansa, Austrian, Thai, BMI, and Varig (amongst others).

United flight attendants are usually friendly, accommodating, and kind to passengers (in most cases).

Frequent fliers get access to an economy plus section with more leg room.

You can get more frequent flier miles by shopping at Safeway.

They are pretty generous if you get a bump -- I have often been given $400 (in vouchers) domestically, and $800 internationally. (JetBlue, for example, never gives you the opportunity to take a bump.)

They have a late afternoon flight (UA 925) from London (LHR) to Washington (IAD)

They have a late night flight (UA 924) from Washington to London so that it is possible to do an honest day's work and leave the country that evening.

They give you full credit for your frequent flier miles even if you are flying on a highly discounted ticket (unlike Singapore Airlines and British Airways).

There are some barbaric things that you have to put up with. For example, they expect you to drink wine out of plastic glasses, but I bring my own glass! The United Red Carpet clubs are crowded and have limited facilities. But if you live in the United States, you pretty much have to stick with one American carrier, and United serves a purpose for me.

Most of all, I have had many many free trips, inlcuding a trip to Hawaii (for two), several trips to Europe, a trip to Iran and back, and several trips from the East coast to the West coast, a trip (for four) to Costa Rica, and a trip to Florida (for four).

Guy Saget, Vouvray 2004

I have long been a fan of Chenin Blanc in general, and Vouvray (Loire) in particular. Chenin Blanc-based wines are often under valued -- a good thing for the wine lover in pursuit of good value! There seem to be two reasons why Chenin Blanc is not more popular. First, a lot of sweet bulk wine used to be made with the grape. Second, a lot of people simply avoid sweet wine. In my opinion, people who dislike sweet wine, should give it a second (or perhaps a third) chance!

The truth about Chenin Blanc though, is that it is not always sweet. Chenin Blanc-based wines range from fairly dry to intensely sweet botrytis affected wine that can be wonderful with foie gras!

The Guy Saget Vouvray, 2004 is a fresh, fruity well made wine with crisp apple overtones. It is a delight to drink this cheerful and lively wine. There seemed to be almost a hint of a sparkle at the front of my tongue. I bought it for about $10. However, for anyone looking only for very dry white wine, avoid it. This wine is well made and to my mind delicious, but it is definitely not dry though certainly not so sweet that it would ever be classified as a dessert wine. Guy Saget makes a lot of different Loire grapes, and if the quality of the other offerings are as good as this, it will certainly be a producer that I will continue to seek out. Recommended!

If you find the Guy Saget Vouvray hard to find, but would like to try a Chenin Blanc, you can often find one from Dry Creek Vineyards. Also, I have enjoyed a lot of Chenin Blanc from South Africa where it is called Steen.

Chateau La Cardonne, 2000

If you read Robert Parker on this estate, he really does not seem to like it very much. In 1991, his comments included, "Overpriced, Heavy reliance on filtration rob this wine of much concentration" He adds that it is "relatively light, indifferent, yet commercially correct style."

I usually find Robert Parker's comments very helpful. Usually, when he likes a wine, I like it as well, and I often dislike the ones he dislikes! Perhaps there are a lot of people who feel the same way and that is why he is so influential. In fact, I enjoy his comments more than almost anyone else except for Jancis Robinson, but I digress. The point is that I like this estate, and I have had a number of good wines from here. It is a big producer so its wines are easy to find.

La Cardonne is a cru bourgeois wine in the Medoc. It was bought by the Rothschild family in 1973. This 240-acre vineyard is planted with 58% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Cabernet Franc. (Most Medoc wines are dominantly Cabernet Sauvignon.)

Of course, many people think that 2000 in Bordeaux was the best year since 1961 so I always get a little excited when I open a bottle from this vintage even after reading Parker's "put down" remarks. The Wine Spectator gave this wine 89, a score I would agree with -- if this wine were an essay, it would get a strong B, and nothing would persuade me to nudge my score up into the A range.

The color is deep and slightly purple. It tasted like very classical Bordeaux. I would like to find out the proportion of grapes used in this particular vintage -- I sort of doubt whether it has as much as 58% Merlot although you could definitely detect the Merlot with the hints of chocolate and that sense of smooth velvet that you often find with good Merlot. Good dark fruit flavors with firm well integrated tannins. I liked this wine very much! Recommended. It was $18 at the Iron Bridge wine company.

Peter's Inn, Baltimore, Maryland

Peter's Inn
504 South Ann Street
Baltimore, Maryland
21231
410 675-7313

For a Google map, click here.

Please note that Peter's Inn is closed on Mondays.


For the second time in as many days, I had a terrific meal in Baltimore. This evening I met my friend, Mr. T and we went to Peter's Inn in the Fells Point district of Baltimore. Peter's Inn looks like just a little neighborhood bar, but it has always intrigued me because, according to the Zagat guide, it has one of the highest ratings for food in Baltimore.

In the past, I have been to Peter's Inn on the weekend, and it has been rather crowded, but tonight we walked in at about 7:30 and we were actually able to pick a table. Mr. T had a starter of "bar-b-que shrimp and cheese grits with mango-chipotle bar-b-que," which looked wonderful. I decided not to have a starter and began my meal with the fresh and nicely dressed house salad -- good crisp lettuce!

For my main course, I had "beet crusted day boat scallops with bacon beurre blanc, black lentils and diced roasted beets." This dish (about $21) is really tasty. Bacon complements scallops wonderfully. This dish is rather clever because there are so many different contrasting flavors that go really well together. Mr. T picked the Filet Mignon ($25), which he ordered very rare -- I have had that before, and it really is one of the better steaks I have had in Baltimore. I was also tempted by the tuna tartare, but I am sticking to a resolution to eat less and exercise more! All of the main courses include salad and a thick slice of garlic/parsley bread.

The wine list was mostly good and relatively interesting. I wondered whether we should drink a steen (Chenin Blanc) from South Africa, but, in the end we had a very good Oregon Pinot Noir ($35), whose name, I am afraid to say, I left in the restaurant!

When we asked about dessert, we were told rather abruptly that there was "Nothing!" I found that rather funny so we settled for a somewhat second-rate coffee.

This is a very good and friendly neighborhood restaurant. I have on occasion popped in for a drink at the bar and an appetizer, but it really is worth staying for the full dinner. Another great restaurant in Baltimore! (Peter's Inn does not take reservations.)

Petit Louis, Baltimore, Maryland

Whenever I travel, I seek out restaurants with these characteristics: It preferably serves French food; the food is simple with good ingredients; the prices are right; and the wine list is interesting.

Fortunately, Baltimore has a good restaurant that has all of these criteria, and I had lunch there today. They offer a fixed price lunch for $20, and that includes three courses, iced tea, or coffee. Usually they offer soup or salad to start with. The salad is a mesclun green salad with reggiano cheese and a red wine vinaigrette. The soup is always delicious -- I remember once having a marvellous artichoke and reggiano cheese soup to start. The main courses include a croque monsieur with frites (the best in town), a grilled chicken salad, pan seared salmon over a baby spinach salad, a shrimp and zucchini, smoked salmon, or a cheese plate. Desserts change, but I have had excellent chocolate mousse at this restaurant.

Today, I had the smoked salmon. I love the way they grill it -- it's never over done, but always juicy with the meat still translucent. The baby spinach was fresh and crunchy with a great vinaigrette dressing to complement it.

As you might expect, dinner prices are a bit higher and include everything you would expect at a typical French bistro, including Moules a la Provencale ($9.00), Onion Soup ($7.00), Escargots ($10.00), and Baked Oysters (11.00). I have had all of these starters at one time or another and liked them all.

Main courses include Steak au Poivre ($19.00), Grilled Salmon ($19.00), and Confit de Canard ($17.00). But my absolute favorite dish at Petit Louis is their Cassoulet, which unfortunately is not always on the menu.

The wine list is interesting. It includes mostly French wines from all over the country -- Loire, Alsace, Cahors, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, etc. Prices are reasonable. For example, you can get a Domaine Pichot Vouvray for $26.00. They also have more expensive wines, such as Krug champagne ($215.00) and big names like Chateau Pavie, 2000, which goes for $470.00!

Petit Louis is a very nice restaurant. I just wish people wouldn't pronounce that final "t," which make Petit Louis sound like a girl! I think perhaps this is my favorite place to eat in Baltimore.

Samsonite Cases

I have always rather liked Samsonite, cases and I have a faithful bright blue wheelie that is expandable and I can carry on to planes with me. It is also easy to spot on the carousel!

On a recent trip to London, the plastic around the handle broke. I took it to the Samsonite factory shop where I bought it, and they were pleased to honor the warranty. I just had to pay $10 for shipping, and they did not even ask for a receipt. They even lent me another suitcase in case they can't get it back to me! I love that kind of service and will buy Samsonite again.

Monticello Estate Grown Merlot, Corley Family Vineyard, 2003

Monticello Estate Grown Merlot, Corley Family Vineyard, 2003 is wonderful. It tasted deeply luxurious. It has that smooth velvet texture that you so often find in Merlot. There is a taste of dark black cherries with just a hint of a liquorice or aniseed taste. This wine is extremely well balanced with firm tannins. It could use a few years before drinking if you keep it well. It costs $30. Highly Recommended.

The Ultimate Flying Machine

A Singapore Airlines 747-400 at Heathrow. On Singapore Airlines, the First Class passengers are in the front of the plane downstairs, and the top is used for Business Class.

Lufthansa puts its First Class cabins on the upper deck, and the front seats downstairs are for Business Class.









This is Lufthansa's First Class cabin on the Airbus 340, which I took from Munich to Washington. The strange looking metal boxes open up to accommodate the seat backs when they are converted into beds.






I recently had occasion to fly long haul in first class on two airlines that are considered among the world's best: Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.

Both experiences were magnificent, and there was very little to complain about with either airline, but, to my surprise, the marginally better experience was Lufthansa. I will put details on the food and wine in a later posting, but, here is how I rate the experience in the following categories:

Food -- Lufthansa

The clear winner is Lufthansa. On Singapore Airlines, my main course was Lobster Thermidor; on Lufthansa I had goose. The goose was succulent, tasty, and something different. On the other hand, the sauce around the Lobster Thermidor on Singapore was a little bland, and there really was not much meat in the tail at all. A very disappointing offering!

Both airlines offered a great salad. But on Singapore, we were given a bottle of excellent virgin olive oil that I found much nicer than the prepared potato dressing on Lufthansa.

Both airlines offered caviar as one of the appetizers before the main course.

The dessert on Lufthansa was a Passion Fruit Consomme with Buttermilk Mousse. Wonderful!

Champagne -- Singapore

Nobody does better than Singapore Airlines. There is no better music than "Would you like the Krug or the Dom Perignon?" Lufthansa served a Cuvee Rare from Charles Heidsieck. Good, but I much preferred the Krug.

Wine -- Tie

This is difficult, and I think I would rate them equally. Singapore Airlines provided me with a 1998 Cos d’Estournel, which I enjoyed immensely. On the other hand, The William Wine (2000) from Graham Beck in South Africa was something different, and it was delicious although it is a much cheaper wine.

Lufthansa also offered an interesting dessert wine, Silvaner Eiswein, Weingut Guntrum, Nierstein 2004, which is described here. It is really nice to have a dessert wine that is an alternative to Port, the only dessert wine offering on Singapore Airlines. I award my "prize" to Lufthansa largely because I loved this wine so much.

Lounges -- Singapore

Singapore Airlines’ First Class passengers get to use Virgin’s Clubhouse at JFK, which is one of the best lounges I have ever been to. I have described the lounge and put up pictures here. I used Lufthansa’s lounges at Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Munich, and I really don’t like them very much. I understand that Lufthansa has upgraded the on-ground experience for its first class passengers at Frankfurt, and Munich will follow. This is a badly needed upgrade!

Singapore Airlines disappoints in one respect. After a transatlantic flight, it is nice to be able to have a shower and use a good lounge. British Airways has an arrival lounge at Heathrow that I think is a gold standard. Singapore seemed to offer nothing to arriving First Class passengers in Frankfurt. Finally, I was able to get into Lufthansa's Business Class lounge, but only because of my Premier Executive status with Star Alliance, but I had to wait almost an hour to get a shower.

Sleeper Suits -- Singapore

It is pretty much standard practice to give first class passengers sleeper suits on long haul flights. Singapore's came from Givenchy in a very useful bag. It was 100% cotton and very comfortable. For some reason, on Lufthansa gives you only a shirt. It was nice, but somehow incomplete.

Seats -- Lufthansa

The seats look wonderful on Singapore airlines, but I actually found the Lufthansa seat to be a bit more comfortable.

In-Flight Entertainment Systems -- Unknown!

There was so much to do on the plane! Eating, drinking, and sleeping took up most of the time. I also used the excellent Connexion system to check my e-mail. So I did not switch on the entertainment system on either flight. (Both airlines had in-seat power for my laptop.)

Both airlines have extremely attentive flight attendants, who seem to anticipate every need! I would love to fly Cathay Pacific in First Class! it is said to be wonderful, and I wonder whether that is the best First Class product that money can buy.

Iron Bridge Wine Company

The Iron Bridge Wine Company
10435 State Route 108
Columbia, Maryland 21044

410-997-3456 Phone
410-997-3807 Fax

For a Google map, click here.

I have also written a more recent review here.

Columbia, Maryland, is not the best place for restaurants. There are too many chains. I was so excited when the Iron Bridge Wine Company opened a couple of years ago. The only problem with it is that it is so popular that it often really difficult to get a table. (If this account sounds a little too enthusiastic, please know that I am not connected with this place in any way.) They don't take reservations.

One of the best things about this place is that they sell wonderful wine. Many places sell good wine, but how many seek out interesting undiscovered wines? South African Chenin Blanc, for example. Modern Greek wines. Well priced wines from Spain. They sell many of the high priced, popular wines too, but whenever I go to the Iron Bridge, I feel I am going to learn something new and discover a new wine. Best of all, they put a bottle on your table for just $5.00 above retail -- I love that! They also have a variety of "wines of the month" at around $10.

The next best thing is that they have a short menu. They do a few things well. Tonight I had a Venison and Foie Gras Pate, which came with a nice little salad with walnuts and balsamic vinegar. The main course was rack of lamb ($16), which I ordered rare. I could not stop chewing away at those bones! It came in a delicious Hollandaise/Beaujolais sauce.

Dessert was a pumpkin panacotta. Very rich and delicately spiced with cinnamon and vanilla and a silky texture.

My only caveat about this place is that you need to get there early because it fills up. It just shows what happens when someone decides to offer excellent food and wine at a reasonable price -- none of the main courses cost more than $16! I also find their lunch a little disappointing -- the menu is mostly sandwiches, which is OK when you are working, but sometimes you feel like a "real meal."

For readers, looking for other reviews, notice that Iron Bridge is written as two words. Many people searching for this restaurant seem to write "Ironbridge." I have also noticed that a lot of people are searching for the "Ironbridge Winery." The Iron Bridge Wine Company does not make wine -- it is just a wine bar, restaurant, and an outstanding retailer of wine.

Embassy Suites -- New York City

On a recent visit to New York, we stayed in the Embassy Suites hotel in the financial district of New York.

All four of us were traveling together and it was nice to have the extra space that Embassy Suites gives you. The standard suite at this chain of hotels, which is part of the Hilton group, is a bedroom and an adjoining living room. The bedroom is like a standard full service hotel room with a televion, and the living room has a sofa, a table, a microwave, and another television. The sofa can be turned into a bed for the night, and they provide plenty of pillows, sheets, and blankets to make it comfortable. Unfortunately, this hotel has no swimming pool.

Our rate was $209 per night, and that includes a full breakfast and a cocktail hour. Parking was $50 per night.

The beds were great, and it was nice to have a good duvet instead of blankets. I loved the soap, conditioner, and shampoo from Bath and Bodyworks in the bathroom.

There are some rough spots at Embassy Suites (plastic glasses for the cocktails, for example), but I think that it was a very good deal at a busy time of year. The hotel was absolutely full of tourists. The breakfast and the cocktail hour were very crowded, and it took some time to get our breakfast and drinks.

Recommended especially for families of four!

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Getting to New York from Baltimore

Sometimes we like to spend a couple of days in New York, but when all four of us in the family go, it can be expensive. We have tried various ways of containing the cost, including staying in hotels in New Jersey, but it is so nice to have a night or two in Manhattan.

In 2004, we went to New York on the day after Thanksgiving. This time we took a bus from a company called Dragon. Everything worked out really well. The cost was only $35.00 per person. We decided to repeat this and spend two nights during the holidays this year. We had a lot of fun, but the bus experience was a disaster!

We found that the Dragon bus was full, but there were seats on a bus run by a company called Eastern. I bought the tickets on line, and I printed them out. We arrived in good time, and the bus was there, but it was absolutely full. After a lot of arguing, the driver gave me $80 back. Then we went and bought tickets from Greyhound. The bus showed up about half an hour late, and it was also full.

At this stage we gave up, and went to New York in the car. I am not going to try the bus again!

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Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse -- JFK

Imagine you had to spend a whole day at an airport. Where would you least like to be? If you had asked me a week ago, I think I might have said New York's John F Kennedy (JFK). My recent experience was completely different.

I went to London via a rather interesting route. On the first day I took a flight from Dulles Airport (IAD) to JFK, where I arrived at about noon. My next flight was on Singapore Airlines to Frankfurt at 9:30 (FRA). My third flight left JFK at about nine in the evening and arrived in Frankfurt the next morning at about 10:30. The last flight was on Lufthansa from FRA to London (LHR). My return journey was from LHR to Munich (MUC) on Lufthansa, and then I flew back from MUC to IAD. The whole experience allowed me to try five airline lounges, three airlines, and five different planes.

My experience at the Virgin Lounge in New York was so incredibly pleasant that I thought it was worth a posting. When I go to the lounges in the United States, I find I am underwhelmed. I go to United's Red Carpet Clubs quite often because they allow people with Gold Status (Premier Executives) to go if you are traveling internationally, but quite honestly they don't offer a lot.

Here are a few pictures of the Virgin Clubhouse at JFK:






At the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse the staff are wonderful -- they are so friendly and go out of their way to make sure that you have a good time.
















Getting work done is easy at the Clubhouse. They have wireless connections to the Internet for customers with their own laptops, and they also have a a Macs, printers, and a fax machine for people who want to work.









The nicest thing is the way they organize food. Some of the best lounges that I have ever been to put out extensive buffets, but in my opinion, it is so much nicer to sit down and have a restaurant style meal. I really like the way there was a menu on the table, and everything was presented beautifully. I ordered the crab quesadillas. The champagne was Mosaique from Jacquart.















For dessert, I had an assortment of cheese and crackers with a glass of port.












I will put more pictures of the lounge up in another posting. Comments are invited -- what is the best airport lounge you have ever been in?

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Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Pictures -- JFK

This is a follow up to a previous posting on the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at JFK. This is really one of the best club lounges in the world! Other contenders include the Emirates First Class lounge in Dubai, Singapore Airlines in Singapore. I also love the arrival lounges offered to BA passengers at Heathrow. This is certainly the best Business Class lounge that I know of.



There are excellent shower facilities!






There are quite a few choices about how you can spend your time while waiting for your flight.

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Les Halles, Downtown, New York

One of the best gifts I received for Christmas was one of Anthony Bourdain's books. I have already read Kitchen Confidential, and I am really enjoying Bourdain's other book.

So, I was very pleased that our dear friend, Dr. C, invited all four of us to Les Halles (downtown) when we went up to New York. As some readers may know, Bourdain was chef at the now famous chain of Les Halles restaurants.

First impressions are good. The decor really does look like a real French brasserie -- lots of wood, marble-topped surfaces, and a bar wih beer taps. Like waiters in France, the people who serve at the tables look as though they know how to cook and sport immaculate white aprons that prove that they don't.

The menu is pretty short -- the food is on the front, and the wine is on the back. (I approve of short menus!) The food is pretty much standard brasserie fare -- steak frites, confit de canard, vol au vent, coq au vin, and so on.

I started with pan-seared foie gras ($12.50) with caramelised apples. It was excellent except that the toast on which it sat had lost all of its crispiness and was soggy. Then, I had the onglet (hanger steak) with the frites ($17.50). The steak was great, and the fries really are memorable. Les Halles is famous for its frites. Fried in peanut oil, they really are something special -- crispy on the outside, but you can taste that it is a real potato as you bite into the middle. Dessert was profiteroles ($6.00) -- I found the sauce floury and the choux pastry almost rubbery. They were not all that good. The better choice was probably Dr. C's choice, the creme brulee, which was pronounced outstanding.

Other dishes include hamburgers ($12.50), Confit de Canard with truffle sauteed potatoes ($14.50), steak tartare with frites ($14.00), and a good selection of moules frites ($14.50) with a variety of sauces.

Dr. C had the Coq au vin, and pronounced it excellent. Iran had the french onion soup ($5.50), which looked passable.

There is a good and short wine list with a nice showing of Bordeaux reds (my first love). We had a Chateau Meyney (1997) -- an off year but an excellent wine. I was just a little bit disappointed with it. It was very good, but did not compare with the infinitely better 1995 that we drank two days earlier.

In summary, it was a good meal -- I would recommend it if you are staying in the area, but I would not go out of my way for this restaurant.

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Washing glasses between wines

There is one thing I have stopped doing. If I am drinking one red wine followed by another red wine, I will not rinse the glass with water before pouring out the next wine. It simply does not make sense to me.

If there is a residual taste of something else, I prefer it to be another red wine rather than tasting traces of chlorinated water.

The best option, of course, is to use another glass!

(A nice glass is important. I love Riedel glasses, and I will review some of them in a future posting.)

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See, smell, sip, swirl, swallow (or spit), summarize

A recent article in the Wine Spectator provided useful tips about how to taste wine. It pointed to four or five "S" words that you need to go through to appreciate a wine. I think I have actually lost that edition, but the point is a very good one. I liked the principle, and I have reconstructed the thought here.

• SEE Take a good look at the wine. How does the color compare to other wines? Darker or lighter? Is it clear or cloudy? Look at it in the glass. Does it seem visous and drip down the glass like oil? Or does it have a watery movement against the glass. Hold the wine up to a light to get a better look.
• SMELL Take the time to sniff. Is it a nice smell? Nothing rotten? What does the smell remind you of? (Talk about it to your wine drinking companion.)
• SIP Tast the wine slowly. What is your first impression? What flavors does it remind you of? Have you tasted something like this before?
• SWIRL Make the wine touch every part of your tongue? Different parts of the tongue register different flavors.
• SWALLOW (or SPIT) Then what happens? Does the flavor linger? What is the after-taste like? Pleasant? Or do you detect something nasty?
• SUMMARIZE Put your impressions into words. Don't worry about sounding silly. This is very tough to do -- I suspect language was around before wine was, and language simply is not a very efficient tool to talk about wine, but it is all we have!

Those are actually six "S" words. Since I have taken the time to go through each of these steps pretty systematically, I think my enjoyment of wine has increased. I suspect that people don't enjoy wine as much as they might simply because they don't take the time to focus on what they are drinking.
Try this and see if it makes a difference. It works for me!

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James Estate Shiraz, 2000

This wine is recommended. I paid about $8.00 for it at the Iron Bridge Wine Company in Maryland.

Deep red to look at, it is very plummy, dark berry-like in flavor. It borders on the Christmas pudding type of wine, but it is a wonderfully rich wine to have in winter weather. There are some oak/vanilla overtones. Delicious but certainly not subtle or elegant. Very good value for the money.

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Two Tone Farm Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002

You expect to pay a lot for Napa Cabernet, but this wine is a real bargain. It is from Napa, it is Cabernet, it is delicious and it is cheap.

Two Tone Farm Cabernet Sauvignon comes in a nicely designed bottle complete with a screw top (which I like). The wine is dark red and looks brilliant when you hold it up to the light. It has classic Cabernet blackcurrant tastes with some minty overtones. You can distinctly taste the tannins, and there is some smokiness to the flavor too. A wonderful balance of fresh forward fruit with amazing complexity for such a low priced wine. Very nice long finish. A wonderful bargain for only $9.00 a bottle.

This is so good that I bought a case immediately after tasting it. Very highly recommended. (I have heard that it comes from Beringer, but have not chased down its origins.

For people in Maryland, I bought this wine at my beloved Iron Bridge Wine Company, where I got a 20% discount for buying it by the case so I wound up paying only $7.20 a bottle.

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American Wine in England

I have recently come back from a short trip to England, and I am not surprised that even knowledgeable English wine lovers do not really have a very favorable impression of American wine. Most of the American wine that finds its way on to English supermarket shelves seems to be cheap mass produced stuff. For example, the national supermarket chain, Tesco, which is a splendid place to buy wine, sells Blossom Hill, Corbett Canyon, Mondavi Woodbridge, but nothing I would cross the street for except possibly the Ravenswood Zinfandel!

There are specialty wine shops like Berry Brothers and Rudd that sell the good stuff, but it seems such a shame that the English seem to enjoy few opportunities to get their hands on the best American wine.

For example, Berry's sells Ridge Lytton Springs (2003) for 19.15 pounds, and the Monte Bello (2000) for 85.11.


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Wine Temperature

I confess to spending too much of my life drinking red wine too warm and white wine too cold. (I remember my parents putting red wine close to the radiator to make sure it was at room temperature!)

Some wine lovers get very precise about this, and, obviously rules about red wine and white wine are gross overgeneralizations. A white Burgundy, for example, is best enjoyed at higher temperature than a Portuguese Vinho Verde. Or a fine Bordeaux should be warmer than a Beaujolais.

But generally speaking the wine writer -- I think it was Jancis Robinson -- who suggested putting reds in the refrigerator a few minutes before opening and removing whites from the refrigerator a few minutes before drinking did me a big favor.

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Château La Roque Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St.-Loup Cupa Numismae 2001

I bought a case of this wine for less than $20 a bottle when it was first released. I had a bottle tonight with Iran. When I first had this wine, I liked it, but I wondered a little bit what the fuss was all about.

But tonight it was absolutely marvelous. When I pulled it from the cellar, I found it was just a little colder than usual. The weather! The wine is a blend of Syrah and Mourvedre. It still has a delicious wild berry taste -- it is very, very fruity. (That does not mean sweet!) There is also some dense and interesting complexity -- leather, vanilla. The tannins have softened, and it slips down the thoat so easily. The vanilla and the raspberry flavors almost make you think of raspberries and cream. (Alcohol is 13.5%)

It might be tough to find the 2001 now, but I will certainly seek out other years of this wine. It is a very refined wine at a low price.

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Silvaner Eiswein, Weingut Guntrum, Nierstein 2004

I love dessert wines, and I really enjoy good ice wine.

Most of the ice wines I have had have been from Canada, but, on a recent flight from Munich to Washington, I had the opportunity to try this truly remarkable Eiswein from Germany from Louis Guntrum, a winery on the banks of the Rhine that has been in the same family since 1648.

In Germany, the law requires ice wine to be made from grapes that are picked when the temperature is below -7 degrees centigrade, and they have to be pressed while the grapes are still frozen. This contrasts with other "ice wines" that can be artificially frozen after picking. The point of making wine from frozen grapes is to achieve concentration and sweetness. Basically, the water in the grapes freezes, but the sugars and other solids don't so they can be easily separated.

This wine is remarkably complex. There is wonderful balance between sweetness and acidity, and a very nice nutty flavor (hazlenuts?).

I have not discovered where I can find this wine in the United States, and I have no clue what it costs, and I would appreciate comments from anyone who knows. When I looked at their website, they seem to make all sorts of wines from grapes not often associated with Germany -- I would love to try more!

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Montana Sauvignon Blanc, 2004

I really am becoming very fond of these New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. On a recent trip to London, I tried the Sauvignon Blanc from Montana. It cost about ₤7.00, and it was just another delicious wine. It had a nice fresh taste, lots of tropical fruit, and the familiar gooseberry taste. I have not seen it in the United States, but I know you can get at Oddbins in the UK. Very highly recommended.

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British Airways Disaster?

This picture taken by Mr. B looks like a near miss. Actually, it was a British Airways Boeing 747-400 at about 2:00 pm on a perfectly normal approach into London Heathrow (LHR) viewed from Richmond Green.

Who says cameras never lie?

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Affordable Wine

Many of my posts are about affordable wine, and affordable means something a little different to everyone. This is what I mean by affordable.

I try to make sure I have some wine on hand for drinking every day, and I try to keep those bottles under $10. On the weekends, I tend to drink something a little bit more special, and my price limit creeps up to about $20. Then there are wines for very special occasions, and I will go up to $30.

If anyone is trying to build up a cellar, the most important tip that I can give anyone is to keep a plentiful supply of cheap wine on hand. This stops you from being tempted to use the good stuff when you simply feel like a glass of wine, but you are not in a frame of mind to appreciate a serious bottle.

Funnily enough, and I know this is a little irrational, I simply don't take white wine as seriously as red (except for sweet wines.) I just won't spend as much on a white wine as on a red wine. The most expensive white wine I regularly buy is Conundrum. It's an interesting California wine that is a fascinating blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Muscat Canelli, Sémillon and Viognier. It costs around $24.

I sometimes buy Champagne, but I try to keep the cost down. One of my favorites is Montaudon, and that usually goes for under $30.

I have a fondness for sweet wines, including Sauternes, Vouvray, and Canadian ice wine. I tend to break my price limits with these wine, and buy at the $30 to $40 level, conveniently forgetting that this frequently buys you only a half bottle.

This is from the perspective of someone living on the east cost of the United States. Californians seem to get a lot of wine more cheaply, particularly when it is from California.

I have a few valuable wines. Some of these are presents from generous friends. Others are wines I have seen at amazing prices, and pounced. For example, I managed to get a lot of the 1989 and 1990 Cos d'Estournel for only about $25 a bottle in about 1993.

The most expensive wine that I have ever bought for myself was probably the wonderful ice wine from Henry of Pelham in Niagara. I bought it at the winery, and it cost about $55 (Canadian) -- this works out to about US $80 or so per bottle (considering the rate of exchange at the time and the fact that this is a half bottle.)

What does affordable mean to you? What is the most you have ever spent on a bottle of wine?

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Nobilo, 2005, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

The most expensive wine evening I have ever had went something like this. All the guests were challenged to bring the best possible wine to a dinner party, and we would vote on the best wine. There would be a prize for the winner. The rule was that no wine should cost more than $15.

I was determined to win. I think I must have tried at least twenty wines for this party to be sure I was backing a winner. Finally, I decided to bring Nobilo's Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. So that was how I spent about $300 to win a corkscrew! Many of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs come with a screw cap making that hard-earned corkscrew unnecessary anyway!

Anyway, some years later I bought the same wine (Nobilo, 2005, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand), and we drank it last night. How perfect this wine was! The color is pale light straw. Swirling it around the glass brings out the classic Sauvignon Blanc aroma -- freshly mown grass and gooseberries. With the Nobilo, there is also a lot more -- tropical fruits, mango, passion fruit, and pineapple. The other thing is the burnt aroma. It smells of butterscoth and caramel too. This is a wonderfully pleasant wine to drink I highly recommend it!

There are other excellent Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand. Although I feel the best known cult wine, Cloudy Bay, is a bit too expensive, there are other excellent wines at very keen prices. My favorites include Villa Maria and Kim Crawford.

What is your experience with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? I find that it is wonderful party wine. It is not too expensive, and everybody seems to like it.

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