the big holy apple

What a great destination to start the year in full swing. I never seriously thought I could enjoy the US of America this much.

But let's face it, from the sad Offtarian perspective of things, we can easily say we are only 82 minutes away from urban paradise, depending on the tail winds of the day.

Even the two hot dogs we had from Dickson's Meats in the Chelsea market were surprisingly tasty.

For a moment I had the impression we were back in Woollahra, at Victor Churchill's, but without all the fancy decor. We tried both their duck and their goose rillette; the two birds were rather palatable.

Next time we may have to go for their beef pastrami; one of the really tempting products on display.

The opportunity to find interesting wines, outside of the LCBO tyranny which decides the wines Ontarians can drink or cannot, felt like a total liberation. 

Not only I was able to find interesting American wines, but also deliciously unique Albariños like a 2011 Pedralonga or a 2006 Zárate "El Palomar". The Aussie and Kiwi selections were not too exciting.

These were the recent American discoveries: 2008 Eyrie "Original Vines" Pinot Noir from Dundee Hills in Oregon, 2008 Cristom Jessie Vineyard Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, 2010 Sea Smoke "Southing" Pinot Noir from Sta. Rita Hills, 2008 Mount Eden Cebernet Sauvignon from the Santa Cruz mountains and 2009 Gemstone from St. Helena in California.

The Mast Brothers shop was a must, and it made sense to bring back home a few chocolate bars. Their black truffle is definitely worth a trip to Brooklyn.