Bites: October 2, 2008
By Richard Foss
Bad News from the Front … Sorry to tell all you guys this, but science has struck another blow in the war between the sexes. A study at Yale Medical School shows that women are twice as likely as men to taste very acutely. The study posits that throughout history, women tasted food before presenting it to their offspring, and those with the most acute senses could spot poisons and pass their genes along. Of course, it might be that many generations of men eating their own bachelor pad cooking has dulled male senses. Either way, if your lady friend sniffs something in your refrigerator and thinks it’s a bit off, assume she’s right – that salami you bought in February isn’t worth arguing over anyway … .
We Do! “Who needs sake?” is the question that begins the announcement of a sushi and wine dinner. Well, I don’t actually need sake, but I rather like it, especially with sushi. 55 Degree Wine in Glendale is the company that asked this question, and on Oct. 6 they’re holding another dinner that pairs sushi rolls with Italian wines. I’m keeping an open mind – the variety of flavors in both wine and sake is considerable and the Italians make many wines that go well with seafood, so judicious pairings could be pretty impressive. If you want to find out for yourself, call 55 Degree Wine at (323) 662-5556 to reserve … .
The Wine That Put the Port In Portugal … Though the country is most famous for those dessert wines that take up to a century to mature, Portugal also makes delightful fruity whites and full-bodied reds, not to mention Vinho Verde, the tasty green wine that ought to be popular around St. Patrick’s Day. You can try 150 different bottlings at an event Oct. 16 at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. It’s a benefit for the SPCA, so dogs and cats everywhere will applaud your generosity, though the fur muffles the sound quite a bit. Check spcala.com for more details, and raise a glass of Albariño for Fido while you’re there … .
And for an Encore, Italian Food With … Beer! The only Italian beer I can remembering offhand is Peroni, which isn’t bad enough that I refuse it or good enough that I seek it out. Italy has never been big beer country – when some German priests sent a barrel of it to Rome in the 1300s, the wine-loving pope thought it was something they drank as a penance. He congratulated them on their willingness to drink something that tasted so awful and assured them their souls would be better for it. The current occupant of the Chair of St. Peter is from Bavaria and probably has the chefs at Vatican City working out all sorts of nifty combinations of Italian food and beer, but he has apparently been too busy to publish anything on the subject. The folks at Wine Expo and Il Forno Restaurant in Santa Monica will try their hand at it and prove that the juice of the barley can pair well with Italian food. (We had already figured out that pizza goes well with beer, actually.) On Oct. 20, they’ll roll out a menu of beer-friendly Italian cuisine with lambics and lagers, bitters and bocks, pilseners and porters and all manner of other potables. As of press time there are still a few places left – call (310) 828-4428 to reserve.
Published: 10/01/2008
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