{"id":337,"date":"2009-01-21T09:12:08","date_gmt":"2009-01-21T13:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.summerofjim.com\/2009\/01\/21\/you-bring-the-wine\/"},"modified":"2009-01-21T09:12:08","modified_gmt":"2009-01-21T13:12:08","slug":"you-bring-the-wine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=337","title":{"rendered":"You Bring the Wine!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I got the call from my buddy Raymond.\u00a0 “Friday I’m taking you to my Eating Club for lunch.\u00a0 You bring the wine, I have already cleared it with the sommelier.\u00a0 <\/em>I’ll pick you up at 12:30PM.” <\/p>\n

“Eating Club?? I guess the slum landlord business must be good.”<\/p>\n

This is from our latest chapter of I pick out the restaurant, and you pick up the check.\u00a0 <\/em>It was my turn to pay… but a “club”?\u00a0 We had given up going to fancy shmancy places years ago when the contest of who could run up the biggest tab got boring. Since when did Ray join a club?\u00a0 And an eating <\/em>club?\u00a0 Very British if you ask me.\u00a0 A membership in a London club for food and drink, in contrast to a membership in a country club\u00a0for golf, tennis, fishing\u00a0and killing animals.\u00a0 I didn’t know that New Haven sported an eating club; <\/em>but then again, I don’t travel in those <\/em>circles.<\/p>\n

“I’m to bring the wine?”\u00a0 Maybe it was a club for gourmands.\u00a0 You know the kind… they\u00a0wear brocade vests to contain their girth and\u00a0they just like\u00a0to eat and talk about food.\u00a0 Twelve courses of food, wines to match…\u00a0four hours later the <\/em>Maitre D’ escorts<\/em> you into a mahogany paneled library filled with leather wing chairs, thick Persian carpets, huge paintings of cavalry officers in battle regalia… and all the members proceed to smoke cigars, belch and fart the rest of the day away. Great.\u00a0 I can’t wait.\u00a0 And I’m<\/em> to bring the wine.<\/p>\n

“Yes, you bring the wine… I knew you would enjoy bringing wine from your extensive cellar.\u00a0 And it will save you a few bob<\/em>… you just have to pick up the corkage.”<\/p>\n

A few bob<\/em>?\u00a0 I knew it!\u00a0 A snotty English styled club with\u00a0tasteless overpriced food.\u00a0 “Is it too late to change the venue?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, I have already pre-ordered our lunch.”<\/p>\n

That’s just ducky.\u00a0 It will save some time… I can get indigestion in advance. “Pre-ordered, have you? How very gourmand<\/em>… give me the menu so I’ll know what to bring.”<\/p>\n

“We’ll start with something from the raw bar, then a shellfish dish followed by a salad intermezzo, <\/em>then a sausage and potato dish and something Italian for dessert.”<\/p>\n

It sounded decent.\u00a0 I still can’t get over Ray joining some stuck-up eating club.\u00a0 <\/em>I wonder if I can find a brocade vest before Friday.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Wine…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alright, if I am going to go thru with this… it has to be right.\u00a0 First, just one wine won’t do.\u00a0 The first course is from the raw bar… fat succulent oysters, I bet.\u00a0 Easy.\u00a0 Grand Cru Chablis.\u00a0 Good, I have Domaine William Fevre les Clos ’04<\/strong>.\u00a0 The wine is a monster.\u00a0 Chablis is one of the most misunderstood wines in America.\u00a0 Thank you very much Alamaden and Paul Masson for stealing <\/em>a name from one of Burgundy’s finest appellations and producing wine that has\u00a0absolutely zero resemblance to the authentic article.\u00a0 There is a depth of flavour to this wine, loaded with stony minerality that is just perfect for the briny-ness of fresh oysters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next, for the shellfish dish.\u00a0 OK… let’s stay with Burgundy; but move to the south and the Cote de Beaune.\u00a0 This should drink well… Colin-Deleger Puligny-Montrachet la Truffiere ’99<\/strong>.\u00a0 The wine is richly flavoured without being top heavy with the oak and buttery feel of California Chardonnay.\u00a0 The wine will stand up very well to a good sauce, a casserole of some type is my guess.<\/p>\n

The salad course can stand by itself.<\/p>\n

A sausage and potato dish?\u00a0\u00a0 Hmmmmmm.\u00a0Germany, or Alsace maybe?\u00a0 We’ll play for Alsace because I have nothing decent from Germany or Austria.\u00a0 Even though it sounds like a pedestrian dish, it’s probably going to be a show piece so we’ll go with a Grand Cru from Zind-Humbrecht.\u00a0 This is my favorite wine producer in the world.\u00a0 Incredible quality across their complete portfolio of wines.\u00a0 Another easy choice.\u00a0 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Brand ’98<\/strong>.\u00a0 Too bad I don’t have the ’97; but we won’t be suffering with the ’98.\u00a0 When we open this bottle, if there is anyone in the room who knows anything about wine, their eyeballs should roll across the floor! <\/p>\n

And now… the coup de grace.\u00a0 <\/em>A dessert from Italy?\u00a0 I am going to count on something simple… as much as a wedge of Italian cheese cake would be great, I’m thinking biscotti and that makes the call Vin Santo.\u00a0 This should make Ray faint… Fontodi Vin Santo ’97<\/strong>.\u00a0 Fontodi’s owner\/winemaker Giovanni Manetti told me that after\u00a0the crush\u00a0he puts some of his Sangiovese\u00a0into French barriques for six years… seals the barrel,\u00a0doesn’t look at it, doesn’t touch it… nothing<\/em>.\u00a0 And then he hopes that after six years he has something<\/em>!\u00a0 He either has something memorable… Vin Santo<\/em> , or he throws it out.\u00a0 Nearly his entire production of Vin Santo gets consumed by his family who steal the wine from his cellar!\u00a0 I shouldn’t spoil Ray; but he will never be able to have a biscotti again without dipping it into a glass of Vin Santo.<\/p>\n

Well… that should do nicely.\u00a0 Three wines from France, each distinctive and then a little treat from Tuscany.\u00a0 Raymond better put me in his will.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Club…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Friday arrived.\u00a0 I put on a blazer and a tie.\u00a0 I took out my Brigade of Guards striped tie for the occasion.\u00a0 I was hoping that I was going to meet a stuffy member who was going to challenge\u00a0me about wearing the regimental colours… “Do I <\/em>know what I am wearing?\u00a0 Indeed, I do, sir!\u00a0 My Father was a Liaison Officer\u00a0<\/em>in the Brigade of Guards and\u00a0saw action with Field Marshal Montgomery\u00a0in defense of El Alamein!”\u00a0 {And oh, by the way, you can go fuck yourself}<\/p>\n

Ray pulled up to the front of my place. “Dressed up I see.”<\/p>\n

I put my wine caddy <\/em>in the back seat of Ray’s car. “Yes.\u00a0 And I can see that one of us knows how to dress when dining at a club.\u00a0 What happened Ray… is your buttondown shirt in the wash?\u00a0 And where is your brocade vest?”<\/p>\n

“It’s not that type of club.”<\/p>\n

That was clue #1 that this was not going to be a place that I had expected.\u00a0 Clue #2 was when we began heading west out of New Haven.\u00a0 “Gee, Ray… I thought your club was going to be in some tiny street in the Yale Campus area.\u00a0 I even brought identification papers and letters of transit<\/em>\u00a0with me just in case…”<\/p>\n

“That won’t be necessary.\u00a0 It looks like you brought enough wine.”<\/p>\n

“Ray, why are we heading to the water?\u00a0 There is nothing down there but storage tanks and private homes in this direction.”\u00a0 My stomach began to crawl.\u00a0 “We’re in West Haven!\u00a0 Ray, we’re in West Haven! The only thing decent in West Haven\u00a0is Jimmies of Savin Rock!”<\/p>\n

“Bingo!”<\/p>\n

“Don’t tell me bingo<\/em>, Ray.\u00a0 I have this car loaded up with Grand Cru and 1er Cru\u00a0wine!!”<\/p>\n

Let me pause and bring those not familiar with New Haven area eateries up to speed.\u00a0 In 1925 Jimmie Gagliardi opened a road side food stand near the amusement park of Savin Rock.\u00a0 Their specialty was a “split hotdog”… split to improve the speed of grilling it.\u00a0 When I was a little kid the amusement park, with its wooden rollercoaster, log flume ride, carrousel, carnival games of chance & etc., was on\u00a0its last legs.\u00a0 But by that time\u00a0Jimmies had grown to include an “inside restaurant” to go along side it’s large take-out counter.\u00a0 The counter was divided into three sections… raw clam bar on the far left, grilled and fried food front and center, and soft drinks to the right.\u00a0 Take out<\/em> meant taking the food from the counter to your parked car,\u00a0and in favorable weather, on a sultry summer night, treating the hood of your car as your dinning table.\u00a0 You would tuck into paper plates filled\u00a0with Roessler’s hotdogs (nestled in thin rolls and loaded with the fixings), plump and moist french fries (more potato than fry), fried whole belly clams, buttery lobster rolls, clams on the half shell… and\u00a0everything washed down with cold white birch beer.\u00a0 The parking lot would be filled with folks standing by their cars talking, laughing, eating… and trying to keep the circling sea gulls at bay (if you left a plate unattended for more than a half minute, a gull would be there to share in your\u00a0generosity).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today… the amusement park is long gone, replaced by a strip mall and several high rise condos.\u00a0 Jimmies is no longer a walk-up, take-out, open-to-the-air <\/em>stand.\u00a0 <\/em>The “incidental” restaurant is all that exists, albeit totally rebuilt, enlarged, refurbished and gussied up.\u00a0 The dinning room is rather big and tasteless… but has huge\u00a0picture windows that offer a great view of Long Island Sound.\u00a0 You can see sail boats and\u00a0small motor craft tooling around… or larger vessels moving in and out of New Haven Harbor.\u00a0 You can even spot the Light House on the point in East Haven.<\/p>\n

In the “old days” you didn’t get to see the water… the view being obstructed by the rock ledge (Savin Rock) that was adjacent to Jimmies.\u00a0 As much as I love looking at the sea, I prefer the seediness of the older<\/em> Jimmies without<\/em> the view of the Sound.\u00a0 It seemed to work — the aroma of fried foods and suntan lotion, scraps of discarded food scattered in the parking lot attracting\u00a0a noisy bird community, teenagers cruising with their tops down, music playing (loud; but not by today’s standard).\u00a0 I’ll take that over tinted picture glass windows any day.<\/p>\n

You can still get the signature hotdog that made the place famous.\u00a0 Now it’s served on cheap china.\u00a0 Maybe if you didn’t experience the “old”, you wouldn’t know what you’re missing.\u00a0 A Jimmies hotdog on china?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

It’s a new world… perhaps I shouldn’t be so critical of my friend’s eating club.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Lunch…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Raymond… this <\/em>is your eating club?”<\/p>\n

“I like to think of it that way.\u00a0 How many times have we been here over the last 50 years?\u00a0 More than we can count!\u00a0 I like to think of it as my<\/em> club.\u00a0 <\/em>There are no dues, the food is reliable — you know you love it<\/em>!\u00a0 Why don’t you relax.”<\/p>\n

“And you ‘cleared’ it with the sommelier <\/em>for me to bring my wine?\u00a0 This is fucking Jimmies, there is no fucking sommelier Raymond, you douche bag!”<\/p>\n

“Take it easy.\u00a0 It was a slight<\/em> exaggeration.\u00a0 Look at it this way… I am sure that the wines you brought are awesome, and besides,\u00a0it\u00a0will add an uplifting tone to our repast.\u00a0 Calm down.\u00a0 And why don’t you take off that ridiculous tie… we’re in Jimmies for God sakes!”<\/p>\n

“Ridiculous? It’s the Brigade of Guards!\u00a0 You know that my Father\u00a0served\u00a0in the Guards and was wounded at Balaclava!\u00a0 I wear it for ceremonial purposes only.”<\/p>\n

I was trying to decide if it would be worth breaking a bottle over Raymond’s head.\u00a0 But why waste Grand Cru.\u00a0 “I am so relieved that you pre-ordered<\/em>!\u00a0 I wouldn’t have known what to have for lunch!”<\/p>\n

My hopes for the first course being fat slurpy oysters were left to my dreams.\u00a0 We each knocked off a dozen icy little necks, though.\u00a0 And yes, the\u00a0Fevre les Clos\u00a0performed admirably.\u00a0 Thank God for the Kimmeridge shelf.\u00a0 We could have ordered some more clams and killed the bottle of Chablis… but why be greedy?<\/p>\n

The “shellfish course” turned out to be a lobster roll.\u00a0 Chunks of tail and claw meat, warm and served in a butter soaked roll.\u00a0 We each had a glass and half of the Puligny.\u00a0 What a wine. A full bodied Chardonnay that packed flavour and yet had considerable elegance.\u00a0 Even with its lighter feel, you could easily taste the wine thru the heavier taste of the lobster roll.\u00a0 Ray nodded his approval.<\/p>\n

Our “intermezzo salad”\u00a0was a side of coleslaw.\u00a0 Very good, not too creamy.\u00a0 This is definitely an underrated dish at Jimmies.<\/p>\n

The “sausage and potato” dish turned out to be a hotdog and french fries.\u00a0 I counseled Ray against loading up his dog with sauerkraut for fear that it would kill the Zind.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0“You’re my best friend; but don’t tell me how to eat a Jimmies hotdog!”<\/p>\n

I reconsidered… OK, why not<\/em>… a little relish, a little mustard, a good portion of ‘kraut.\u00a0 Perfect.\u00a0 I love the way a Jimmies hotdog has a crunch <\/em>when you bite into it.\u00a0 Now a sip of Grand Cru Riesling.\u00a0 Unreal… the wine was pure opulence.\u00a0 A silk palate feel, and lush fruit flavours of pear, honey and lichee.\u00a0 Amazing fruit pungency, and yet dry. I don’t know how they do it!\u00a0 The soft fries, the hotdog with the works… a glass of Zind-Humbrecht.\u00a0 It doesn’t get better!<\/p>\n

“You know, Jim… would you really have enjoyed this as much in the Union League Club?”<\/p>\n

“I think you know the answer…”\u00a0 How could any place have matched the improbability of what we had just enjoyed?<\/p>\n

When our waitress came to clear our plates, there was half a bottle left of each of the three wines.\u00a0 “Do you enjoy wine?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do…”<\/p>\n

“Wonderful.\u00a0 Please take these bottles and share them with the chef<\/em> with our compliments.”<\/p>\n

“Why thank you so much… she loves wine, too.\u00a0 By the way… that’s a great looking tie!”<\/p>\n

“Why thank you.\u00a0 It’s the Brigade of Guards.\u00a0 My Father was in the Guards\u00a0with Chinese Gordon when Khartoum fell.\u00a0 He\u00a0was awarded\u00a0the Order of Locks for Uncommon Bravery in the Face of the Enemy.”<\/p>\n

“Wow!\u00a0 Can I get you some dessert?”<\/p>\n

Ray looked at me and just shook his head.\u00a0 When the waitress left, he said “I have some biscotti in the car.\u00a0 I always keep a few in the glove compartment.\u00a0 In case of emergency, you understand.”<\/p>\n

“Ever the boy scout!\u00a0 Well… let’s pinch these wine glasses and\u00a0take in\u00a0a bit of sea air.\u00a0 I have a little Vin Santo that is begging<\/em> for a biscotti!”<\/p>\n

“That should do nicely.\u00a0 Your Father? With Chinese Gordon at Khartoum? The Order of Lox?”<\/p>\n

“It was\u00a0a slight exaggeration.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got the call from my buddy Raymond.\u00a0 “Friday I’m taking you to my Eating Club for lunch.\u00a0 You bring the wine, I have already cleared it with the sommelier.\u00a0 I’ll pick you up at 12:30PM.” “Eating Club?? I guess … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories-brief-tales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}