hey everyone! i know i've not been keeping up my end of the bargain with the whole blogging thing. it's been a crazy year thus far! the restaurant has been so busy and we're planning for our annual trek down to nantucket for the nantucket wine festival next week. ian will be hosting a fantastic wine and food pairing on friday, and, as always, i will be riding his coattails the whole way as i dole out the vino to the thirsty masses. there is nothing better than the wine festival on nantucket just before the summer season kicks off. if you've never been, i highly recommend it. ian will be cooking alaskan black bass two ways, and i'll be pouring some awesome wines to pair. go to www.nantucketwinefestival.com for more info. hopefully we'll see you there. my birthday is the 18th so i'll be celebrating "on island", so bring cake!
on wednesday, may 14 we'll be hosting a Nord Vineyards wine dinner at Les Zyg. Chef Connal McCullough has put together a great four course dinner paired with the wines of this highly touted Napa winery. Julie Nord will be here in person to talk about her delicious wines. it kicks off at 7PM and it's 65$ per person (not including tax and tip.) call 617.542.5108 for details and reservations.
this tuesday's weekly wine tasting focuses on the wines of Sonoma. As always, Connal and I will pair four wines with four tasty morsels. we'll eat, drink and be merry as i look forward to our annual unofficial texas hold 'em poker tournament on the ferry to nantucket on thursday. call to reserve. 30$ (tax and tip included!)
i'm all in!
geoffrey
nord wine dinner and nantucket
Last Chance for the Saviez Wine Dinner
this is it...we're about to close off the Saviez wine dinner scheduled for this friday at 7pm. don't miss out! Mike Saviez will be here from Napa to host a five course wine dinner at Les Zyg. it's going to be a great spread (check out the winebar.com events page for the menu.)
also coming up: the westport pre-valentines day bubble bath dinner. bill russell from westport vineyards will be at les zyg to host a four course dinner paired with his amazing sparkling wines. check out winebar.com for the menu. that's on february 12 at 7PM. it's 65$ plus tax and tip...more later
more later!
hoping your super tuesday was just the right amount of "super"
geoffrey
Saviez Wine Dinner Update...
I just wanted to give everyone an update on the Saviez Wine Dinner we have planned for Friday, February 8th at 7PM. William (who has been nice enough to set this whole thing up. thanks William!) and I tasted through the wines on Wednesday, and they were superb! Great styling throughout...Next, it was off to Connal (head chef at Les Zyg and weekly host of the cooking demo at our highly popular Tuesday Night Tasting Series) who put together an awesome FIVE course menu. Between the food and the wine, i think it's going to be a very special dinner. We've been wanting to do more of these dinners , and I think this is a great start. So without further ado, here's the menu:
Spicy Smoked Shrimp with 2006 Saviez,"French Kiss", Napa, U.S.A.
Seared Duck Breast over Mixed Greens w/ Red Wine Vinaigrette with 2003 Saviez,
Zinfandel, Napa, U.S.A.
Grilled Lamb Chop with Rosemary, Cherry, Dijon Sauce with 2004 Saviez, Cabernet
Sauvignon, First Avenue Vineyards, Napa, U.S.A.
Morbier with Black Pepper Honey with 2005 Saviez, Petite Sirah, Napa, U.S.A.
Pear, Apricot and Walnut Tart with 2006 Saviez, Muscat Canelli, Napa, U.S.A.
All this for 65$ (exclusive of tax and tip)
Space is limited, so call 617-542-5108 to reserve your seats.
Don't forget our Pre-Valentine's Day Bubble Bath featuring the Sparkling Wines of Westport Rivers with VERY special guest and winemaker, Bill Russell! More to come...
destroy them, my robot patriots!
geoffrey
buzz buzz buzz
that's what i feel like: a busy little bee! there are so many things happening at les zyg in the next few weeks--i just can't keep up. so here's a quick run-down on events you should not miss...
february 8 the saviez wine dinner. mike saviez will be at les zyg to host a great dinner featuring his napa valley wines.
february 12 westport vineyards hosts our pre-valentines day "bubble bath" with an awesome dinner featuring, what i believe to be, some of the best domestic sparkling wine i've ever tasted.
february 14 hello? valentine's day. don't be a bonehead again this year! take yer better half out to dinner at les zyg. we're doing a triple threat prix fixe menu: kitten, smitten and bitten! you can choose one of the menus, or mix and match. you also get a cool "love potion" as part of the evening. ah! the french know how it's done...
next week's tuesday night tasting features wines from the southern rhone: chateauneuf-du-pape, gigondas, vacqueyras, etc...delicious wines paired, as always, with bites of food carefully paired with each wine. as always--7PM.
more info as i get it. call 617-542-5108 for more information on any of these events.
buzz,
geoffrey
2008 wine tastings
okay, okay, i get it. i haven't done the schedule for the 2008 tuesday night tastings. i know all of you are lying awake at night wondering, "where the heck is that schedule? how can i possibly plan my year without it? doesn't geoffrey care about us anymore?" now just hold on one second! of course i care. i want to see you guys EVERY tuesday in 2008 (except when i cancel tastings due to bad hair days and what not...) to that end, i am proud to say i have just finished the schedule and i've emailed it to melissa (general manager, event coordinator and badminton shark) to publish on winebar.com. it should be up in the next couple of days, but i'll give you a preview of what's coming up in january:
January 8 California Pinot Noir
January 15 Northern Rhone
January 22 Southern Rhone
January 29 South Africa
oh man! what a way to kick things off--California Pinot Noir! there was this little indy flick called Sideways. maybe you heard of it. it kinda did a lot for the California Pinot industry. anyway, we'll drink delicious wines and say, "hey there, big fella!" to 2008. hope to see you there!
i know you all are wondering how i'm doing in our fantasy football playoffs. i'm in a virtual tie with ian's brother (who lives in brazil and seems to make the playoffs every year) with one more week of games to go. oh...you couldn't care less? my bad.
December 22. mark it down. it's the Les Zyg 13th Anniversary Party and you're all invited...except for that guy over there. he's shifty. every one else, though, can come by and say, "hi." it starts at 9PM and there will be gallons of sparkling wine and copious amounts of sushi.
don't make me say it again. plan to spend your new year's eve with us. call 617.542.5108 for details/reservations. no one rocks new years eve like Les Zyg. ask around...
bringing it to the entire nation. black, white, red, brown, feel the vibration,
geoffrey
thanksgiving rehash
thanks to everyone who has asked me in the last week or so how my thanksgiving turned out. leigh and i hosted fourteen people for our first thanksgiving in our condo in Chelsea-by-the-Sea. with a brined, organic, free range turkey as the centerpiece, we laid out a spread fit for Henry VIII. by the end, much food was eaten, and much wine was consumed. i remember, at one point, breaking into the wine rack and opening a 1999 Barbaresco and bringing it into the back porch while leigh's brother john and our dear friend/guitarist for Roll Over Baby and the Kemp Harris Band josh played guitars and we all sang "Jack and Diane" and "Free Fallin'". it was a hoot. the place is still a mess, but isn't that what thanksgiving is all about--turkey, Barbaresco, and john cougar mellencamp?
for those of you who do not already know, the Les Zygomates 13th anniversary party is Saturday, December 22 at 9PM. if you are reading this, you are most cordially invited. help us celebrate with bubbly, sushi, music and some of my impromptu dance routines.
after that, it's new year's eve! holy moly, i can't believe it...2008 is almost here. make your plans NOW and join us for what promises to be a great new year's eve party at Les Zyg. we have two seatings: 7PM and 10PM. call 617-542-5108 for info/reservations. i promise to learn the words for auld lang syne this year!
congratulations to the owner of Les Zyg and the pope of south street, mr. ian just for scratching his way into our fantasy football league's playoffs with what can only be called a legendary performance in week 13. your's truly made it as well, so the game is afoot!
suckin' on chili dogs outside the tasty freeze,
geoffrey
defining "foodie" and the road to thanksgiving...
i was sitting around with leigh (my fiancé and personal stylist) and her brother, john (who i owe a substantial amount of money to, thanks to a series of bad decisions on my part regarding last week's fantasy football match-up) last night, and we were trying to define "foodie". this came after a fantastic impromptu dinner of chicken sausages over shitake mushrooms with a mushroom demi-glace and a baby spinach salad. we drank 2005 Il Posta Malbec from Argentina and discussed what it meant to be a "foodie". we also watched the Patriots absolutely destroy the Buffalo Bills (and with only one T.D. pass to Ben Watson, preserved my fantasy football win this week! yeah, baby!)
what is a foodie? to me, a foodie is someone who appreciates food and eating. not simply someone that likes to eat a lot, but rather, somebody who delights in the art of food and cooking. there are, of course, food snobs--who can't imagine ingesting anything but the finest and most expensive of ingredients, but to me, a true foodie enjoys all levels of cuisine. a Burger King chicken sandwich? yes, please. john even suggested there could be such a thing as a "junk-foodie": someone with a palate for the fast, fried, and fatty. what kind of foodie are you? leigh just finished reading "Gluten Free Girl" and the author often speaks of her passion for food. where do you stand? do you eat because you have to, or is it an event to be celebrated?
i write this while waiting for my chicken stock to reduce. leigh and i are hosting thanksgiving for the first time this year and we're doing it gluten-free. the gravy will be a pan sauce thickened with demi-glace. the stuffing will be corn bread with chorizo and the bird is twenty eight pounds! i personally don't think it's going to fit in the oven. we'll need a chainsaw to cut it in half. leigh says it will be fine. mashed potatoes with horseradish cream, haricot vert with almonds, brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes round out the meal. yes...there will be wine.
so wish me luck getting this whole dog and pony show together. to all of you, i wish the happiest of thanksgivings. be safe, eat well and have love in your heart.
i'm a dark meat man, myself.
geoffrey
