Local News: Discounts, Tastings, and Paella

• 10% discount on solid cases of wine (previously 5%)
• 5% discount on mixed cases of wine (new)
• 10% discount on solid cases of spirits (previously 5%)
• 5% discount on mixed cases of spirits (new)
• 5% discount on mixed cases including both wine and spirits (new)

It starts to get a little more complicated when you start adding in sizes. For instance, a 3-5L bottle or a box counts as 3 bottles towards your case.  But if you hate math (like me), don't worry. The Party Source has provided a cheat sheet you can download
that details the whole program. One last fun item on this – any wine or beer spirits orphans in your cart, outside of the case, gets a 5% discount.

Next, our friend Hector Esteve of Paella at Your Place
will be at Chateau Pomije in O'Bryonville this Friday, April 3, for
Casual Friday. The accompanying wine tasting will showcase the medal
winners from the recent Cincinnati International Wine Festival. The
tasting runs 5:30-8:30 pm and costs $15 per person.

Finally, Liquor Direct
is having a nifty event on April 7 (next Tuesday). From 5:30 – 8 pm at
the Fort Thomas location, you can enjoy a special event led by Bruce
Neyers, owner of Neyers Vineyards
near Rutherford (Napa). Bruce is also the National Sales manager for
the excellent Kermit Lynch Wine Selections.  Bruce will lead the
tasting and discussion centering around some of his own wines as well
as some selections from the Kermit Lynch French portfolio. You can show
up early for appetizers and a meet and greet. Spaces are filling up
fast, so call 859.291.2550 or email Kevin to make your reservation. Oh, and like so many events at Liquor Direct, this event is free.

A Jereboam Full of Wine (Wine Bottle Sizes)

Kevin Keith of Liquor Direct emailed me this weekend to let me know he's donating a 5L bottle of Steele Syrah to our Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship silent auction. (Remember, that's on April 18. You can buy tickets now.)

Aside from marveling at Kevin's generosity (what a great donation!), it started me wondering on Wine Bottle sizes. They've all got Biblical names, such as Jereboam and Reheboam. I discovered that in the US, wine may be bottled in sizes larger than 3L if the capacity if in even litre sizes (4L, 5L, etc). Those additional sizes don't have fun names that I can find.

Table Credit

Image Credit

Back on Monday

I've been fighting off spring allergies, swamped with "real world" work, aggressively promoting the upcoming KLP Scholarship benefit, and suffering from a bit of writer's block. But we're spending this weekend at my Grandma's in rural Indiana. No internet access. I anticipate it will be a bit relaxing.

Monday I'll be back with what I hope is my own little restaurant week, as we've recently been to Oceanaire, The Palace, and Red.

So my apologies for the dearth of posts, but I'll hopefully be ready to jump back in on Monday!  Have a great weekend!

Oh What a Deal! The Palace Restaurant at the Cincinnatian

The Palace Restaurant (you know, that ultra-fancy place in The Cincinnatian Hotel) is having one hell of a deal tomorrow night. Seriously. I'm blown away by this deal. And this deal sort of blows away the Restaurant Week deals from last week.

Not $60 each mind you, but $60 total, including the bottle of wine (but not tax and gratuity).

The Palace's new chef is a recent import from New York City. Chef Jose Salazar trained under Thomas Keller at Bouchon and Per Se. The Palace also recently brought in my all-time favorite pastry chef, Summer Genetti.

I don't know if this is an every Thursday sort of thing or just an experiment with this Thursday, but Kevin and I already have reservations for 5:45. Maybe we'll see you there?

The prix fixe menu and wine options are after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Step Right Up! Get Your Tickets Now!

It's that time of year. Tickets are now on sale for the 2nd Annual Dinner and Silent Auction to benefit the Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship. We'll be having the event on April 18, 6-10 pm.

The Scholarship, for first time readers, is in memory of my little sister, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 21 almost a year and a half ago. We established the scholarship to help elementary education majors at Thomas More, just like her. Krystal loved kids.

Our goal is to raise $25,000 over the course of
the next two years. Last year we raised
almost $10,000 through the first benefit and a wine tasting.

Just like last year, we've got some great wine gift baskets in the Silent Auction, including a basket from David & Jan Lazarus's personal cellar, a beautiful French wine basket from The Party Source, wines from Kinkead Ridge, Hyde Park Wine & Spirits, and Harmony Hill. I hope to gather more wine donations as well before the benefit. There are also other goodies, including a free class at the Midwest Culinary Institute and a $25 gift card to the Summit, tickets to the Cincinnati Opera, tickets to the zoo and the museum centers, and more.

Last year I acquired a gorgeous necklace in the silent auction (Swarovski crystals shaped like a bunch of grapes) that everyone loves. Maybe you'll find something equally wonderful this year. In addition to the pretty awesome silent auction, there is also a raffle that proved immensely popular last year.

Dinner is included in the cost, as is the cost of beer and wine. The benefit is being held again at The Briarwood Reception Hall in Hebron, KY. (That's just out by the airport.)

I would love for my readers to show my family that you actually read my blog. Please come!  You can purchase tickets online for $30 or at the door for $35. Your little ones, age 10 and under, are free.

Please tell everyone you know.