Enobytes Wine Blog

In my wine column today on OregonLive.com, I talk about the pleasures of vacationing at the California Mendocino Coast where we ventured through Anderson Valley, visiting a few old favorites and some new wineries including Duckhorn’s Pinot outpost, Goldeneye, which offers great wines and a very nice tasting room located at Obester’s old location. As we drove north to head back to Oregon, we found a great restaurant (thanks urbanspoon iphone app!) which proved to be a damn good Italian treat. I knew I was at the right place when I started to focus on the smells filling the restaurant over the decor; fabulous homemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas and a reasonable wine list. Check out my latest post on Wine Bytes to read more.

Photo credit : flicker, ahockley A Widmer Hefeweizen along with a Burgerville Pepper Bacon Cheeseburger

A few weeks back we had the pleasure of sitting down with the CEO of Burgerville Jeff Harvey along with the PR firm McGrath/Power from San Jose and their sommelier Christine Tran who has consulted with a number of bay area restaurant groups. The Northwest chain, Burgerville, has decided to pilot a wine and beer program to represent some of the local brewers and wineries at their Salmon Creek location where they provide locally sustainable ingredients. If all goes well with the pilot, they’ll consider expanding to other locations throughout the Washington and Oregon region. Check out my latest post on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive,  to read how I fair their pilot program, and if you haven’t had the opportunity to visit a Burgerville location, what are you waiting for?  Check out my latest post here.

Innovative restaurants are making bold moves to compensate for the lack of regulars -- change is the only path to success when you are not successful with your current business model.

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I talk about  how encouraging it is to see that some innovative restaurants have made bold moves quickly to compensate for the lack of regulars, for whom they depended on for years. I applaud any entrepreneur that realizes change is the only path to success when you are not successful with your current business model. Check out my latest post here.

Photo credit: fabandfru.com

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I talk about a great sauvignon blanc find from Dry Creek Vineyards, the “Taylor’s Vineyard Musque”. I also talk about the restaurant scene here in Portland. I know times are tight but please try to consider dining out more often and keep our restaurant scene in and around Portland buzzing maintaining the edgy inspiration that draws hungry patrons. Too many good eateries are just a few weekends away from having to close. It would be sad if eventually all we have left as dining choices were fast food or corporate casual dining. Our city deserves better than that and it’s up to us to make that happen. Check out my latest post here.

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I take a detour from wine commentary and review a local restaurant worth mentioning: Kenny & Zuke’s in Portland, a place that serves up awesome corned beef and pastrami sandwiches and a whole lot more.

Ken Gordon at Kenny & Zuke's. Photo credit: The Oregonian

After reading a lot of food posts on various websites written by “extramsg” a.k.a. Nick Zukin, I was intrigued when he opened his own place with Ken Gordon, at Kenny & Zuke’s Delicatessen. The moment you open the door and walk into the restaurant the smoky smell of meat introduces itself to your olfactory senses in a very pleasant manner. Immediately you know you have made the right choice by coming here. See how this restaurant fairs on my latest post here…and for those of you who enjoy a good restaurant review, I’d invite you to check out my other small, but growing restaurant reviews here.

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I take a detour from wine commentary and review a local restaurant worth mentioning: Decarli’s in Beaverton, Oregon.

When you enter Decarli, it feels alive with a buzz as you immediately gravitate your attention to the open kitchen where the speed, attention to detail and passion for the food they create is boisterously evident. See how this restaurant fairs on my latest post here. …and for those of you who enjoy a good restaurant review, I’d

Photo: Olivia Bucks/2004, OregonLive

invite you to check out my other small, but growing restaurant reviews here.

We have a new concept in dining available here in the Portland area – the Portland Dining Club. It’s a concept about saving but it encompasses a theory that is a lot broader than that.

Attracting dining dollars is a tough business to be in these days. Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I talk about the players involved in this venture and how they have succeeded where others have failed. Check out the post here.

While we were down in California a few weeks back for a wedding, we took advantage of all that Sonoma wine country has to offer – great wines, great beer, great restaurants, beautiful wineries and graceful hospitality. In the process, we saw old friends, visited new favorites, made some new friends and came home to some old favorites. In the next four posts, we will write about our experiences and hope they might either directly or indirectly effect your wine experiences.

Photo credit: Gayot.com

Bistro Ralph’s in Healdsburg, located on the square, has been there for more than a decade now and continues a blistering pace, never looking back and always maintaining their game like the consummate professionals Ralph Tingles team is. Team Ralph has the pleasure of serving some of the most discerning gourmands and enophiles from around the world. They descend into Bistro Ralph’s dining room daily leaving

satisfied and impressed. Not only does Team Ralph accomplish this among the well traveled he also has to accomplish this standard with his locals who just happen to be the most revered and respected vintners of Sonoma and Napa. Read the rest of this entry »

On-premise wine retailers should take notice of the changing tides headed their way. In the near future, the economy on all levels will start to reflect the high fuel prices everywhere including what shows up on your plate at local restaurants. As this happens, it will become necessary for some consumers to decide if they are fortunate enough to enjoy wine with their dinner or will they have water and wait until they get home to have some wine.

Recently I have been surprised with how often a new question regarding a wine choice is being repeated. It goes something like this “Marc, I need your help. Myself and a group of friends are going to dinner and we are meeting at my house first. I need a wine for us to consume before we go.” There is apparently a trend of no longer even purchasing wine by the glass at a restaurant much less bottles at the ridiculously high mark-ups most restaurants are charging these

days not to mention the $20-$35 corkage fees. You might think I am referring to recent college grads who are still paying back college loans but that would not be the case. Most often the group mentioned involves professionals from one of the big two employers in Hillsboro and Beaverton and these folks are closer … Read the rest of this entry »

 
Pagliuca’s Restaurant
14 Parmenter St
Boston, MA 02113

This restaurant has its best days behind it. Although you may still appreciate the value and the nostalgia, there are better places in the North End to experience good Italian food. We started going here back in the 80’s and the place was authentic, quality focused and fun. After we moved away from Boston, the next time I ate here was in 2000 and it was still pretty good but standards had dropped a bit. Read the rest of this entry »