You’ll recognize Bryant’s name from some of our more recent Wine Shop Wednesday posts, as both he and Chef Dave have been out at the Wise Owl Wine Bar in West Chester.

I got a call from Bryant this afternoon and here’s what I know so far. LaPoste is looking to be a little of everything good, it sounds like. That includes having a “massive and all-encompassing wine list” that includes plenty of by the glass selections as well as by the bottle.

It sounds like primarily American cuisine. Bryant got excited as he described how they want to have a bit of the ambience of the a champagne lunch at the Waldorf in the ’60s, but don’t worry – they’re going to have primarily bistro fare and maybe a tasting menu so that Chef Dave can show off his stuff.

Tink’s is in a lovely location in Clifton on Telford and Ludlow. It’s a neighborhood restaurant and the owners want to cultivate that neighborhood feeling, hoping they have regulars. Happily, Bryant also told me he’d save a regular seat at the bar for me.

LaPoste is set to open in Fall 2010.

The real wine dinner occurs next Wednesday night, April 21, and benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Cost is $150 per person (reservations). Peter Mondavi, Jr, will be live and in person for the event, which culminates in a live auction for a beautiful, specially commissioned 27 liter bottle of Charles Krug Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002. This bottle – weighing approximately 100 pounds, measuring three feet in circumference and filled with the equivalent of 36 standard bottles of wine or 180 glasses of wine – will be on display at Morton’s through the evening of the wine dinner.

I’m not a food blogger, nor will I pretend to be. While I loved some of what we had, much of it ended up on Kevin’s plate due to my absolute pickiness. But I did enjoy the wine and can tell you (with a little bit of help from Kevin), that everything paired perfectly. Again, the wines we had are not necessarily the wines that will be served on Wednesday night, but they are comparable.

Charles Krug Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2007: Filled with pears, apricots, and grapefruit; high in acid (very citrusy), and cut nicely through the seafood.

Charles Krug Carneros Chardonnay 2007: On its own, without food, I found this to be buttery and heavy. However, it paired wonderfully with the salad, which lightened it up considerably.

2004 Charles Krug Vintage Select Cabernet Sauvignon: This wine was paired with a filet, mashed potatoes, and a spinach-stuffed roasted tomato. I found a lot of roses and dark cherries on the nose. It was tannic, but it helped to clear the palate and paired perfectly with the roasted tomatoes, balancing out their acid.

It’s worth noting that we had a 2004, but the night of the wine dinner, participants will enjoy wines from the 1994, 1995, and 1996 vintage.

Charles Krug Zinfandel Port: We took this port and paired it with various fruits and cheeses. The port was a lot more tart when paired with raspberries, for instance, but strawberries added an additional sweetness. Kevin and I both favored the port with the cheeses, in particular the Gouda, which brought out the raspberry in the port itself.

Interested in our Twitter conversation with Peter Mondavi, Jr? I captured it all and you can view the entire tweet chat after the jump.

Reserve your dinner spot online or call Morton’s at (513) 621-3111.

Twitter Feed from the Morton’s Blogger Preview

I pulled this feed from the wonderful WTHashtag. So here you go … the tweets to Peter Mondavi, Jr (winemaker at Krug) from Morton’s. Many of us submitted questions ahead of time. I submitted the questions in bold (answers are also in bold).

Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q1. What is the role of the cork vs. the screw cap? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A1 Twist-offs reliable! Protects fresh, young aspects of wine. Doing test w my favorite sauv blanc! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q2. Do different corks affect the taste/smell of the wine? How? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A2 Cork natural-there?s variability-quality contrl 2 ensure beaut flavors in our wines are protected. #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q3. What are the key differences between California and Washington wines? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A3 All about terroir-recognize which grapes grow best. WA being proven great place 2 make merlot, 4 exmpl. #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q4. How do harvesting times/seasons differ between varietals? Do planting times differ, too? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons @mortons_cinci A4 Whites come in 1st. Our sauv blanc harvest begins mid-August. Cab Sauv harvest can go thru end Oct. #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q5. What are some differences one can expect when comparing Californian, French, Australian wines? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons @mortons_cinci A5 New World tend 2 B more obviously fruity-Old World (French) R earthier and often more subtle. #mortons
charleskrugwine: @Mortons All in Napa Valley; Yountville, Carneros, St. Helena, Howell Mountain. Come visit sometime! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q6. In your opinion, what wine/varietal is most underappreciated or overlooked? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A6 Personally? Sauv blanc can B distinctive like R newly released 2009?tropical fruit, lemon-lime, pear! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q7. What wines do you recommend most for novice drinkers? How can ?newbies? expand their palates? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons @mortons_cinci A7 Start with lghtr less oaky whites. In reds, less tannic like pinot noir & zinfandel. Compare! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q8. What white wines do you recommend for pairing with steak? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A8 Prefer CAB with steak, but I?d probably go for an oakier, more robust chardonnay if I chose a white. #mortons
charleskrugwine: @Mortons Yes, 8 mos. Newly released ’08 on oak for 10 mos. It’s superb! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q9. Which glass tastes best ? first glass, middle or last glass of the bottle? Or does it matter? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A9 1st glass tastes best, last probably becomes slightly desensitized to the wine?s great nuances. #mortons
charleskrugwine: @Mortons @mortons_cinci of course, always depends on the wine! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q10. What subtleties will we taste in the Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 95, 98 & 06 we?re trying in Cincy? #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q11. In what direction you intend to take the winery now that there is a new dynamic due to the recession? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A11 Staying on course 2 Bcome great Napa producer Bordeaux reds tho’ may take longer than orgnl plans! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q12. Do you intend to launch any new labels? #mortons
@charleskrugwine:@mortons @mortons_cinci A12 Always a topic under discussion. We are considering a sister label. #mortons
Mortons @charleskrugwine Q13. What can fans of the Charles Krug label expect to see from you in the future?
charleskrugwine: @mortons_cinci A13 100% estate-grown grapes-all wines. Almost there-Goal to staying winery healthy & 100% family-owned #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q14. What?s your favorite Charles Krug wine? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons @mortons_cinci A14 Depends on many things-weather, mood, season and of course, what I?m eating! … #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons @mortons_cinci Re:Q 14 All our wines are food friendly and pair with any menu! #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Q15. What redevelopment is taking place at the Charles Krug winery right now? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @mortons A15 Big-Krug?s original Redwood Cellar-Creating premier barrel room & winemaking space for all Resv wines. #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Traditional wine mking is @ the heart of Krug Winery. Are there “non-trad’l” elements that you are exploring? #mortons
charleskrugwine: @Mortons_Cinci Our Sauv Blanc is stainless steel fermented, no oak for one. Our Generations blend is ever evolving #mortons
Mortons: @charleskrugwine Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us tonight. We enjoyed the conversation. #mortons
charleskrugwine: @Mortons Enjoyed tweeting with you all this evening. Hope you enjoy some Charles Krug wines soon.

Now, I’d be perfectly happy to only drink sparkling wine (including champagne, prosecco, cava, and others) for the rest of my life. It is my favorite type of wine, closely followed by pinot noir. But to get you in the mood for a sparkling wine dinner, I thought I’d talk a little about a seminar we took in Disney, with Moët & Chandon, Domaine Chandon’s parent company. Moët & Chandon, based in France, makes champagne. Domaine Chandon, in Napa, makes sparkling wine using the traditional champagne method. Only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France can actually be called “champagne.” For our purposes, I’m just going to go with “bubbly.”

Our instructor was Seth Box, Director of Education for Moët & Chandon USA. One of the first things he did was to preemptively correct the class’s pronunciation. Despite the fact that folks everywhere pronounce it Mo-AY and Chandon, it’s actually Mo-ETT. That, folks, is what those two little dots mean over the e.

Champagne, and sparkling wine in the champagne method, can be made from three grapes: Pinot Noir gives the wine backbone and structure, Chardonnay lends elegance, and the Pinot Meunier picks up the slack as a workhorse grape. I find this interesting, as I really enjoy Pinot Meunier on its own. In fact, I think Domain Chandon might make one of the few Pinot Meunier-only wines available on our retail shelves.

Seth pretty much told us to just enjoy our samples while he talked
about Moët & Chandon and bubbly in general. I thought I’d touch on
some of the more interesting points he shared before I dive into our
review of the wines.

• Why are bubbly hangovers so bad? It’s for one of two reasons: either you drank too much, in which case you probably earned your hangover, or your drank bad bubby. No kidding folks. Drink too many bottles of $5 Andre and you’re going to feel it for a reason. According to Seth, the cheaper bubblies are suffering from poor workmanship. The grapes are squeezed too hard, releasing histamines into the wine. The histamines are then fermented. It’s a sign. Drink. Better. Wine.
• Store your bubbly upright. Kevin and I keep ours upright in our pantry, where it’s dark and there’s no vibration. But don’t store it too long. Seth commented that “It’s a British thing to sit on wine until you’re almost dead.” Most non vintage bubblies have aged at the winery and are ready to drink now.
• There are ~250 million bubbles in a bottle of champagne. That’s a lot of bubbles folks. The cork can come out of the bottle at up to 65 miles per hour, due to the pressure built up behind the cork.

On to the wines. We tried three, all Moët & Chandon Non-Vintage. I enjoyed all three, but definitely preferred the second glass.

Rosé (Brut): According to Seth, this pink wine was the best of our three for food pairing, because the contact with the red grape skins (thus the pink) lends a little bit of tannins to the wine. This wine had some strawberries, light cherries, and a good texture.

Michelle: Kevin

Imperial (Extra Dry): You might know this wine as White Star. Until recently, it was known world-over as Imperial, except in the US. They changed the name domestically so that you could order your favorite sparkler by the same name, no matter where you land. I’ve always been a fan of White Star, er, Imperial. It has more of the dry, bread-y flavors I prefer in a good bubbly, and it’s not very sweet.

Michelle & Kevin:

Nectar Imperial (Demi-Sec): This was by far the sweetest. I’m not a huge fan of sweet bubbly, so this one was my least favorite. I made a very unscientific observations at the Dessert & Champagne booth, however. I noticed this wine was being poured more frequently than the other bubblies and that it was almost always chosen by women. Seth noted that this wine pairs well with strong cheeses, such as cheddar, gouda, and chevre.

Michelle & Kevin:

The Dilly Cafe dinner (full menu) on Tuesday begins with a reception at 6:30 pm and dinner at 7 pm. Again, it’s a Domain Chandon wine dinner, which is located in Napa and owned by Moët & Chandon. In fact, Domaine Chandon has a special place in my heart as the first winery I ever visited in Napa, back in 2004. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to begin that trip with some sparkling wine. I recommend you give Domaine Chandon a try as well. You can RSVP by calling 513.561.5233.

Yes, you read that right. In the bar area only, McCormick &
Schmick's offers a $1.95 Happy Hour menu, available with the purchase
of two drinks per person. Don't roll your eyes – those drinks do not
have to be alcoholic. Yes, for the purchase of a coke and an iced tea,
you can have a giant $1.95 hamburger.

I absconded with a menu. The $1.95 munchies include a half pound
cheeseburger with cajun fries (also available as a cajun burger),
steamed mussels, beer battered fried mushrooms, fish tacos, and spinach
& artichoke dip. There is also a $3.95 menu that includes crab
& shrimp dip and fried calamari. I went with the gigantic 1/2-pound
burger, cooked to order, and Kevin chose the fish tacos. We also chose
the spinach & artichoke dip. The food is excellent, especially
considering the price.

They have several drinks on the Happy Hour menu. I tried a peach
apple sangria for $5.50, around the average price of their Happy Hour
martinis. Draft beer includes Blue Moon, Stella, and Guinness for
$5.75/glass. For those not as picky about their beer, Michelob Light is
$2.75.

In addition to the Happy Hour drinks, M&S specializes in their
Cocktail History. There's a comprehensive menu detailing the history of
the cocktail, drink by drink, at every table at the bar. Some of these
aren't actually available, like the Pisco sour, which requires a
special type of brandy. Many of the drinks that are available are
listed on the back of the Happy Hour menu.

We're always intrigued by cocktails – real mixed drinks as opposed to
just a bourbon and coke. I also feel better about them price-wise.
Sure, M&S has a great wine list. But I have trouble paying $14 for
a glass of Cloudline Oregon Pinot Noir when I've previously paid $19.99
for a bottle of it at the local store. Sometimes the markup is a little
too much for me to bear. I handle it better when I've never purchased a
bottle outside of the restaurant. But a true cocktail? I feel like I'm
really getting something for my $8-9.

Kevin started out with the Kentucky Speedbump. It looked like a girly
drink, but was quite tasty. Served in a martini glass with sugar around
the edges, the Speedbump is a shaken mixture of Makers Mark, navan
vanilla liquer, and fresh citrus. Yum.

I tried the Harry's Bar Bellini. I'm a huge fan of the Bellini. I had
my first at the Wynn Las Vegas back in February, stuck with that
particular bar & drink the entire trip, and now compare every
Bellini to the Wynn. I do not know if the Bellini at the Wynn was
correct, but I know it used moderately priced champagne. The M&S
Bellini did not live up to my own Bellini standards. It's a blend of
Absolut Peach, fresh white peach puree, and a touch of sparkling wine.
I thought the white peach made the drink too bitter. Kevin rather liked
it and finished it off for me.

I'd highly recommend the M&S Happy Hour. It happens twice a day,
same prices, from 4-6:30 pm and 9:30 – 11 pm. For the early session in
particular, I recommend getting there at 5 pm or earlier. We've often
tried this Happy Hour, but this is the first time we've been able to
get a seat.

Enjoy!

Note: Occasionally I'll repost an older post, just because the information is still valid and I don't want it to get lost in the shuffle. This post was from August, 2007, but M&S still has an unbelievable Happy Hour. You won't want to miss it.

Photo by Ryan Kurtz for The Party Source / Goddesses of the Harvest Ads

The dinner will take place at the newly renovated Krohn Conservatory on Friday, August 28. Cost is $75 and you can register online via The Party Source.

This is a great opportunity to enjoy samplings from some of our area's fantastic chefs, all in one gorgeous location.

Here's the menu:

Once you've gotten off work, head straight to The Cincinnatian. Once there, you've got two options:

• You can enjoy their new Happy Hour at the classy Cricket Lounge. Every night from 4-7 pm you can choose from 1/2 price items on the rather impressive bar menu. Drink specials include $2.50 Draft Beers (including Bass and Christian Moerlein), 1/2 Price House Wines, $5 Specialty Cocktails, and daily food and drink specials.
• Not up for Happy Hour? It's the third Thursday, so that means you can enjoy the Two for $60 option in the restaurant. (Make reservations first though.) You've heard me talk about these enough – you can get a multi-course meal for two plus a bottle of wine for $60 at the Palace. If you haven't gone yet, you should. It's a real bargain and the food is elegant and approachable.

So now that you've eaten, you're ready to drink a little. That's good, because the Bacchanalian Society is hosting their Summer Gathering at the lovely Union Terminal. Haven't been to a Bacchanalian Society event? Well, don't expect high-end wine, but do expect a lot of fun and the chance to meet a lot of new people. This time around, your team (up to 3 people) needs to bring 3 bottles of a French Red. Think Bordeaux, Burgundy, or just walk into Party Source's French aisle and grab the closest Red. 

Now, don't get your hopes up that there will be a lot of expensive wine there, even though it's French. A lot of folks will buy the cheapest wine possible and then drink to get drunk. The kind hosts and hostesses (of which I'm usually one) bill this as a wine tasting, though, so please take that into consideration. (Kevin and I are not hosting this time around, as we've been out of town so often that we've missed all the emails and such. Next time!)

There are, of course, rules to the game, which you can read after the jump.

Rules (from the Bacchanalian Society web site):

The
Bacchanalian Society helps charities to conduct competitive wine
tastings where even the loser gets to take something home.  The
competition is based on what we call the "Rule of Three."  Huh?  Keep reading …

3 BOTTLES FOR EACH TEAM OF UP TO 3

• A
  different wine varietal (such as chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir, etc.)
  is featured at each event. Teams, consisting of 1 to 3 participants,
  are admitted by bringing 3 bottles of the same featured varietal to the
  event. For example, if the featured varietal is merlot, your team could
  bring 3 bottles of the 2005 Hess Select Merlot. The wine varietal for
  the upcoming event is a French Red.

• At
  the event, 2 of each team's 3 bottles are bagged, tagged and ranked by
  each participant. The 3rd bottle is set aside and left unopened. The
  teams that brought the 5 highest ranked wines divvy up each team's 3rd
  unopened bottle, except for the lowest ranked wine which will be
  returned to the team that brought it. If 2 or more teams bring the same
  wine, rankings can still differ depending upon the temperature of the
  wine, how long it has been open, etc.
• Please
  remember, teams can consist of 1 to 3 participants. Thus, a group of 4
  participants, for example, will be considered 2 teams and must bring 6
  bottles of the featured varietal to enter the event. Still don't get
  it?  Just remember, the "Rule of Three," which is visually depicted above. 

While Shel is away in the wilds of Alaska, allow me to take you on a brief culinary tour of St. Louis. These are some of my favorite places, not necessarily the ones you'd be told to visit if you were in town for a weekend. Until now, at least.

I should probably tell you who I am, though. I'm Kara & I've been blogging about life, knitting, and everything else for a little over 5 years at StarMonkeybrass.com. The name is a play on the Beastie Boys Brass Monkey & came about because I like monkeys. I am a knitter, music geek, graduate student in biostatistics, and I like to eat. When I travel, I don't want to eat at chains, at least not ones that I can also eat at in St. Louis.

So let's say you find yourself in St. Louis for a weekend and you'd like a little guidance on where to eat. If you happen to be driving up from the south, I'd recommend a stop at Dexter BBQ for lunch. There are several locations, but the one in Cape Girardeau is about a mile off the highway and probably the easiest to find. I heartily recommend the sammich with slaw on it. *Drool*

Once you get into town and settle in on Friday night, you're gonna be hungry. I'm sending you to the Highway 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen in Webster Groves. Let's be completely honest: you're here for the fries. The Roadhouse Fries. They are a masterpiece in the world of potato products: waffle fries covered in pulled pork, a creamy cheese sauce, applewood smoked bacon, and scallions. And this is just the appetizer. I can recommend the burgers & pulled pork as entrees if you're feeling traditional. I love a good burger & the folks in the kitchen definitely know how to make one. I'd also recommend going with a side other than the fries since you just gorged on the ones in the appetizer. For a side, I'm a fan of the sweet potato pie. As tempting as it is to order the banana pudding for dessert, don't do it. You'll get dessert in about 20 minutes.

Once you've recovered from the pork-tastic goodness at Roadhouse, head back to Southwest City and stop off at Ted Drewes. There are two locations, but the original is on Chippewa. It's legendary around here and a Friday night is going to be busy. But it's so worth it – I swear they have the best banana split in St. Louis, although the concretes are what most people go for. My favorites are the Hawaiian & the All Shook Up (peanut butter cups & bananas).

Saturday morning will come eventually, and you'll probably want to grab a little something before you head out to do whatever you have planned for the day. Breakfast in St. Louis is not my strong suit, but I know a couple decent places for pancakes (like Chris' Pancake & Dining), but usually I'm not moving early enough to do more than grab a Odwalla bar or bowl of cereal.

If I am moving around early enough to grab breakfast, though, I love a good old school doughnut. I'm not talking about Krispy Kremes or the ones out of a case at the grocery store. I'm talking the ones where they start making them when it is still yesterday & you can find just about any doughnut you're heart desires. These places do still exist, and one of them exists in Southwest City not far from Ted Drewes – it's the Donut Drive-In & they have a mean sugar doughnut as well as a great cake doughnut (my favorite is the one topped with caramel icing & nuts. YUM.) It's a small place – there's sometimes barely enough room for people to stand and wait their turn – but it's great to grab a few (dozen) and head off to see the sights.

One of those sights you may be interested in seeing is the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. They offer tours with free beer at the end. If you find yourself a little peckish after that, you can drive over a bridge to Gus' Pretzel's – it's just on the other side of the highway. Like Ted Drewes, Gus' is an institution. But be sure you have cash – they don't take credit or checks. Not that you'd need them, a twist will run you 50¢ unless you want something a little fancier – cinnamon sugar or garlic butter will run you $1/pretzel.

Still hungry? How about visiting Schlafly's Tap Room for lunch. Schlafly is a local brewery with a lot of different flavors of beer to choose from. You can even get a sampler and try several out. I'm personally fond of the burger, fries, sticky toffee pudding, and pretty much ANYTHING else on the menu. I don't think I've had anything there I didn't like. If you get there at the right time, you might even get to see some beer being brewed. Their sister location – Bottleworks – has a completely different menu that is also quite good. I know they also offer tours of their brewery at Bottleworks as well.

You may want something a little lighter for dinner since I've stuffed you with doughnuts, pretzels, and fries all day. Talk about your carb-tastic overload! Pho Grand is just the thing. It's Vietnamese cuisine and yet another place where I've loved everything I've tried on the menu. Do not be frightened by the menu items that use the words "assortment of meat" in their description. They are delicious. The soups are fantastic and usually chock full of veggies, which your body may be craving by dinner.

If you're ready for a little after-dinner drink, walk across the street to Absolutli Goosed, which is my favorite drinking establishment in the city (ed. note: Kara has taken me here. I love the place!). If you have a high tolerance or a few extra days, you can try to work your way through a section of the menu. I'm still trying to work my way through all the coffee-related martinis, which isn't helped by not being able to remember which ones I've had. I also always start with the Coffee & Donuts martini – it's delicious and my favorite drink on the menu. If coffee isn't you're thing, they have a great Bloody Mary menu as well as several tasty Cosmopolitans (I like the Razzmopolitan myself).

With your weekend almost over, it's time to head home. But before you do, how about brunch? There are many places in St. Louis to get a decent brunch on a Sunday morning/early afternoon, but my pick is Bristol's. It's a little out of the city in Creve Couer, but last time I was there they had a chocolate fountain. Those who know me know that I love the chocolate fountain. In fact, I always threaten to stick my head directly into the fountain and eliminate the middleman – who needs fruit stuck on a toothpick? Besides the chocolatey goodness, they have a huge buffet-style brunch with just about everything you can think of – it's so big that the omelette station is in a different room. You will come out of there so full that you won't need to eat again until Monday, or at least not until you get home.

If you do happen to find yourself in St. Louis for a weekend, you'll be able to find good food. I didn't even get into the number of Mexican restaurants or the Bosnian eateries. The places I mentioned are some of my personal favorites, so your mileage may vary.

We ate at Simon at Palms Place. Palms Place is the adjacent Palms tower (every casino seems to have a special second tower now) that you access via the SkyTube. I thought the SkyTube would be quite exciting, but it's more of an airport people mover. Rather boring for such a trendy hotel.

Simon is on the 6th floor of Palms Place. It's adjacent to a gorgeous pool area – closed in the winter – and surrounded by palm trees and fireplaces on the outside. Inside it boasts stark, clean, and modern lines. An interesting features was a sort of greenhouse in a far room, which was obviously growing herbs and assorted greens.

The by-the-glass wine list was okay, but not overly impressive. I ended up with a 2007 Ferrari-Carrano Sauvignon Blanc because I knew I could trust it. It ran me about $11/glass. The wine list was small but focused. I particularly liked their selection of organic and biodynamic wines. The one that stood out was the "Clor Sacres" Savennieres from Nicolas Joly, which costs $75. To give you an idea of the markups, the bottles in the Spanish section cost about $20 over the retail price. I suspect that was the sweet spot on the list, and I'm rather encouraged by that.

The menu was eclectic. I'm not a food blogger, but I'd say it was nouveau American cuisine + sushi. Chef Kerry Simon brings in fresh, locally grown products and in many cases, organically grown. I've read that since, but it was also pretty obvious to me just from the menu. As many of you know, I'm a complicated eater. I'm picky and I have food allergies. There was plenty on the menu that I would eat, which I found refreshing.

I ordered an endive salad (sans walnuts) followed by citrus-braised short ribs with corn tempura and a bed of grits. It's the first time I've ever had grits and I doubt I'll ever find them quite so soft, fluffy, and un-grit-like again. It was excellent. Several folks at the table had ahi tuna and sushi, both of which received rave reviews.

As far as service, I found the front waiter (er, waitress) to be rather condescending and rather lacking in customer service. That said, the back waiter was excellent. We chose not to have dessert but noticed a table next to us enjoying a huge serving of Cotton Candy. No kidding. We grabbed it and joked around, so the back waiter brought us a small serving of our own Cotton Candy, no charge.

Overall, I rate Simon with a , despite the fact I was so turned off by our server. After all, the rest of our service, from the bus boys to the hostess, was excellent.

Following Simon, we trekked back to the original Palms tower and visited the Playboy Club, which was surprisingly old-school and classy. Yes, both the waitresses and the dealers were wearing bunny outfits. It was a throwback to the '60s and didn't bother me in the least. We followed that up with a trip upstairs to the Moon nightclub. It wasn't my thing at all (a little too techno when I'm all about Sinatra) but I did enjoy the retractable roof and the gorgeous views of the mountains and Las Vegas.

View a complete slideshow of the Palms, including Simon and the Playboy Club here or on Flickr.

Usually when we host a party, we shell out at least $500 in food and alcohol. Then we kill ourselves trying to make everything from appetizers through to dessert. Kevin often spends about half of the party in the kitchen and sometimes the food goes awry. This time we tossed that entire model out the window.

I did two things differently. First, I asked everyone to bring an appetizer or a bottle of Spanish wine. This worked beautifully, as we ended up with a gorgeous cheese plate and several dips. Kevin also prepared some mini quiches, baked cheese sticks, and mini herbed goat cheese balls. Good Spanish wine can be found for under $15 – in many cases under $10 – so we weren't asking our guests for too great of an expense.

Everyone brought a bottle or two of wine, which was fantastic. In fact, we emptied 10 bottles plus a magnum. I kept the wine out on our bar and just let everyone serve themselves.

Wine and appetizers. So far, an easy party with very little expense to us. But what about dinner? Well, for dinner we brought in Hector Esteve of Paella at Your Place. Hector arrives with his burner, a giant paella pan, all the ingredients and a great personality, and then he whips up some paella. I was worried about the small size of our kitchen, but Hector requires only a stovetop and a small countertop. Alternatively he can use a garage, or in the warmer months, your deck or patio.

We had a sausage and chicken paella, but he made a portion of it meat
free for our two vegetarian diners. He offers other paella combinations
of various meats and seafoods as well. Hector also arrives with a great salad and bread that starts off your meal. Once the paella is ready, he brings it to the table and sprinkles it with sherry. Alcohol makes everything better, yes?  Then he serves the paella to your guests.

Hector left our kitchen even cleaner than it was when we arrived. Outside of the appetizers, Kevin and I had no need to even be in the kitchen. It was the easiest party I've ever put together and because of that, one of the most fun. I could actually enjoy my guests instead of worrying about feeding them. In fact, we wouldn't have been in the kitchen at all except that everyone was fascinated with the paella process. Hector will tell you about it, step by step, if you wish, with all the patience in the world.

Hector requires a minimum of 10 people (those pans are big you see) and starts at $10 per person. We fed 15 people, although he can feed a party of up to 150. At those prices, feeding 15 people paella is a cheaper option for us than what we would normally shell out to host a dinner party. Kevin just mentioned that by using Hector, we saved about $200 in party
hosting and more than that in time and stress, therefore this is a
Recession Tip! Host a party with your own chef and save money – who
knew?

I know I'll be bringing Hector back for future parties at this house and once we move in about a year. I recommend Hector and his paella (and apparently his tailgating options as well). In fact, I'm trying to figure out how to get him to the pre-Jimmy Buffett parties out at Riverbend. How perfect would that be?

Not sure how you feel about paella? That's okay. Hector will be dishing up his excellent paella at several local stores in the next few months. You can find him at The Party Source on Jan 31 and March 26. I think, although I'm not positive on this one, that he'll also be grilling up some paella at each Liquor Direct for a Jorge Ordonez tasting on February 27 and 28.

I'm embedding a slideshow or you can view our photos on Flickr.

Contact Hector at PaellaAtYourPlace.com or via email (hfesteve [at] fuse [dot] net) or phone: 513.528.5241.