Page 21 - Boca Club News - September '23

Boca Club News, Page 21

The Good Life: Dining, Drinks, Destinations

Dining Out: Hungry Al’s Little-Known

Fun Facts About Food and Restaurants!

It’s the time of year when • The grill marks on fast food burgers aren’t necessarily • The World’s Largest Restaurant is in Syria, called
Hungry Al is doing some traveling. real. They are sometimes put on artificially by the factory. Bawabet Dimashq Restaurant. It has 6,014 seats and a
Hopefully, you will excuse me for • Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas’s daughter’s name was 580,000-square-foot dining area.
not having a restaurant review not Wendy, but Melinda Lou. • What’s the most expensive burger? You’ll find it at De
this month, but I have a few new • New York City is the most Michelin-starred city in the U.S. Daltons in the Netherlands for $6,000. It will contain
ones in the upcoming season. In • White Chocolate is not chocolate. It’s really just a mixture Wagyu beef and Beluga Caviar.
lieu of a standard review, I put of sugar, milk, vanilla, lecithin and cocoa butter. • French fries originated in Belgium, not France! They
together a few fun facts about • Millennials spend 44% of their food budget at restaurants. are only called French fries because they are French cut.
food, restaurants and dining out. Enjoy your summer! • The oldest tavern in America is White Horse Tavern in • “German’s Chocolate” (a baking chocolate) was named
• The busiest day of the year for restaurants is Mother’s Day. Newport, Rhode Island, opened in 1673. after the creator, Sam German, a Texan.
• The oldest American restaurant still in service today is • The largest toy distributor is McDonalds, thanks to their • 49% of Americans over 20 eat a sandwich every day.
Boston’s very own Union Oyster House, founded in 1826. Happy Meal sales. • A typical ear of corn has an even number of rows, which
• Hawaiian pizza was first served by a Greek man living • Subway was sued by customers for making their foot-long subs is usually 16.
in Canada. only 11 inches in length. It was evidently settled out of court.
Second Helpings: A Favorite Recipe from the Past Pages

Of Boca Club News…Linguini with Fava Beans, Garlic,

Tomato and Breadcrumbs

Want to take a break from eggplant lasagna and still serve Instructions:
a savory vegetarian dish with an Italian spin? Here is just what 1. Put a large pot of water on to boil
you’re looking for, in a fairly simple boil-and-serve recipe. and salt it well.
Serves 4 2. Heat olive oil over high heat. Add
Ingredients: garlic, cook for a minute until fragrant.
• Salt Add the Favas and toss to coat them
• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the oil. After 30 seconds, add the
• 4 cloves of chopped Garlic vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, add
• 1lb. Linguini Pasta the tomato sauce, teaspoon of salt and
• 2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter the red pepper flakes. Drop pasta into
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper the boiling water to cook and add the
• 1 cup shucked Favas Beans, blanched and peeled butter to the sauce.
• 1 cup vegetable or low sodium Chicken Broth 3. Drain pasta and add it to the warm
• 1 cup Tomato Sauce sauce. Portion the pasta among serving
• Pinch of crushed Red Pepper flakes bowls, and garnish with a drizzle of
• 4 tsp. grated Pecorino Romano Cheese Extra Virgin Olive Oil, grated cheese
• 4 tsp. dried Breadcrumbs and breadcrumbs.
Grape Expectations: French Wine for Dummies!

By Ed Wolfarth, who moved to South purposes, however, we really should focus on the two most exceptional. The only problem is, there are so many expensive,
Florida after retiring with his wife, famous: Bordeaux and Burgundy. but not very good Burgundies on the market. This is due to
Vicki, as Professor of Sports Sciences Historically, Bordeaux, because of its proximity to the sea the low production and the “finnickiness” of the Pinot Noir
& Physical Education at both Queens and waterways, was the wine of choice for the British Isles grape. All red Burgundies are made from Pinot Noir. All white
College and Hofstra University. He and northern Europe. Burgundy, on the other hand, became Burgundies (i.e., Montrachet, Pouilly Fuisse) are made from
is a nationally ranked senior tennis the wine of kings and the aristocracy of France. Interesting the Chardonnay grape. Chablis, not California Chablis, is also
player and longtime USPTA Elite side note here: At State dinners, since WW II, more Bordeaux a white Burgundy (northern part) and is also made of 100%
Teaching Professional. Ed has written is served and hardly any red Burgundy. Yes, an occasional Chardonnay grape. Knowing the grape varietal is important,
many educational and tennis articles Montrachet (white Burgundy) and, of course, an Y’Quem since this will give you some idea of the taste profile of each
in the past. Over the past few years, Ed has turned his hobby (Another Bordeaux wine—France’s most famous and most wine. Of course, other factors come into play here—i.e., terroir,
of wine collecting into a way of continuing his passion for expensive dessert wine), but always predominately Bordeaux wine-making techniques, etc. But that’s for another time.
writing and has written on the subject for publications. As a wines. Seems the President of France doesn’t want to take a So what do we have so far? When talking French wines,
self-proclaimed “wine snob,” he has collaborated on many wine chance on a bad bottle of red! we should simply know the difference between Bordeaux
lists for private clubs and a few restaurants. Ed can be reached Bordeaux wines are blends of up to five grapes: Cabernet and Burgundy. We should know the grapes they come from.
at wolfarthe@msn.com. and Merlot being the main varietals, along with Cabernet Franc, Burgundies are lighter in color, taste and style. Many can be
Wine can be intimidating. What you don’t know can hurt you. Petit Verdot and Malbec. For our purposes, we only need to enjoyed earlier than their Bordeaux counterparts. It’s hard to find
This brief explanation is meant to give you, or self-proclaimed know that left bank wines are Cabernet based, and right bank a bad bottle of Bordeaux, at any price point. It’s easy to drink
“wine dummies,” a brief glance at French wines, so you can feel wines are Merlot based. Geographically, the Gironde river runs bad Pinots and still pay a pretty penny for it! Bordeaux wines
a bit less uncomfortable in social situations. thru Bordeaux, and on a map the left side, the Medoc, makes are blends, Burgundies are either 100% Chard or Pinot. (You can
For one thing, there is more to French wine than Bordeaux Cabernet based wines. You may have heard of some of the shorten the name of the varietal and sound like us wine snobs!)
and Burgundy. And I’m not talking about California Burgundy, more famous, i.e.: Mouton, Lafite Rothchild, and Haut Brion. While the other areas of France produce some great wines—
a classic oxymoron, or that other “juice” often called Chablis The right bank, St. Emilion and Pomerol, make Merlot based for example, the dry Reislings of Alsace (my personal favorites),
(often a blend of non-descript grapes produced anywhere, wines. The most famous, and probably the most expensive of or the Roses of Provence—knowing Burgundy and Bordeaux
but given a “French” name in an effort to add some sense of all Bordeaux wines, is Petrus, which is almost 100% Merlot. puts you ahead of the average “dummy.” So there you have it.
authenticity). France has many wine producing regions besides Remember, these are places, regions...not grapes. A bit of knowledge can go a long way, and if you drink often
the aforementioned. There’s the Rhone valley (north & south), Burgundy wines are the wines of real wine snobs. They enough of these you’ll develop a sense of what you like. After
Provence, Languedoc and Alsace, to name but a few. For our are ethereal and often expensive. When they’re good they are all, isn’t that all that really matters?