First-time visitors guide to Montalcino
August 25, 2008 by michael · Leave a Comment
This past November Kim and I spent nine days dining and wine tasting in one of the most highly acclaimed wine regions in the world. On our trip to Montalcino, we abandoned the guide books that helped us in Florence, Siena and Bologna and decided that we would just find places that looked good and take our chances. The result was quite surprising: two of the more highly recommended establishments were let downs while many of the smaller, lesser known restaurants gave us great food, outstanding service and overall incredible dining experiences. This short guide will hopefully give you an idea on where to eat, drink and stay if you don’t have time to try every place out for yourself. For those of you who aren’t traveling to this beautiful hilltop town, you’re missing out on some of the best food and wine the world has to offer.
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Kazakhstan Restaurant Review: Boudoir Restaurant- A must-try when dining in Kazakhstan!
June 11, 2008 by michael · 2 Comments
The following review was contributed by a good friend and fellow wine enthusiast Chris Hawley. He travels quite a bit and has generously offered to share this unique dining experience with us. The review is very well written, exciting, and makes me wish I could go to Kazakhstan this weekend for some great food. Thanks Chris!
Boudoir Restaurant
Ambiance: Classy, fusion bar style, surrounded by Fashion TV
Food: Continental global cuisine, fusion, Australian and Thai mix
Service: Spectacular for English speakers
Wine List: Good, nice selection of French, Spanish and Italian wines.
Pricing: $$$ Good value for the meal
Attire: none specified but casual and business attire was noted, club wear more appropriate later in the evening.
Overall Rating: Very good – highly recommended: Food was very well done, and there were a number of outstanding choices. Wait staff was very attentive and the chef made several table-side visits. The table-side desert using liquid nitrogen is well worth the visit.
Location/Contact Info: www.boudoir.kz (only in Russian)
134 Bogenbai Batyr, Almaty, Kazakhstan 050000 (below KazPost)
Phone +7727 272 5555
The Wine Spectator - Reasons to join their forums
April 30, 2008 by michael · Leave a Comment
The Wine Spectator is one of the top wine magazines in the world and an excellent resource for wine news, vintage quality, new producers, wine travel and overall anything to do with wine. The articles by Matt Kramer are outstanding and I’m a big fan of James Suckling (although I don’t always agree with his tasting notes) as he reviews Bordeaux and all of Italy - two wine areas I love.
The printed magazine aside, their website is an excellent resource for wine ratings, expert blogs (Suckling is very active and always has great topics, Maynard from Tool has a blog about his wine pursuits) as well as restaurant reviews and travel resources. But these features are all “premium” requiring an online subscription. There is another part of the Wine Spectators website that is free which serves as an outstanidng food, wine and travel resource, and can lead to good online and offline friendships. It’s filled with a wide range of people from the articulate to the…well, not so articulate, the expert to the beginner. The area I’m talking about is the Wine Spectator Discussion Forums.
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