With summer here, we always talk about what wines to pair with this hot season of the year. And while light, fun, crisp whites and easy-drinking fruity reds are normally the go-to during these next few months, at some point you have to sit down and switch it up a little. A long day out in the sun makes for a hungry, thirsty individual that just needs some gastronomic pleasure. Enter Italian comfort food – more specifically pasta!
Now we can go many different directions with this versatile grain. We can mix it with red sauce, meat sauce, and white sauce; with chicken, sausage, or various vegetables and oils. Pasta is filling, and when you want to lay back, relax, and replenish your system with carbs, it presents some awesome wine pairing options.
Below are some familiar Italian dishes along with the perfectly paired wine pick. Let the summer breeze blow and the good wine flow.
Scene One (not pasta but a great way to get ready for some):
The dish: An appetizer of prosciutto and melon
Ingredients: unadulterated! Cured ham and ripe summer melon
The wine: Here is a really fun and light appetizer that brings together sweet and salty, all wrapped into a delicious way to wet your palate. Like any good meal should start, some sort of bubbly will be in order. The Italian Brachetto d’acqui is one of my favorite ways to kick off a meal; awesomely delicious and a touch of sweetness. Good acidity and low alcohol here will go perfectly with the melon and most certainly will hold up to the procuitto. If you have any leftover after your first course (which is doubtful) it makes for a great after dinner drink too… [Read the rest at Cork'd]

Every Sunday morning millions of Americans awake in a pool of their own sick asking the same question. Not, “Why do I do this to myself?” but, “Why is science wasting all that time on cancer when they haven’t cured the hangover yet?”

Well I’ll tell you why, who’s going to volunteer to be a research subject? Would you be lining up to feel like garbage so a guy in a lab coat could poke and prod you? Probably not. So we have to look for alternatives.

The way I see it, we’ve got 3 options:

1. Home remedies which all work to some degree
2. 7-Eleven rip-offs like Chaser which work almost as well as the home remedies but cost 10 times as much
3. The classic “Hair of the dog,” which works great as long as you can drink forever from this morning forward.

Read the rest of the story here . . .

We just wanted to pass along the latest food and wine pairing article from Cork’d. Please feel free to share this with your readers – some really solid advice to follow for planning your next meal!

I was recently out to eat at a restaurant in downtown New York City that inspired this piece. While the name of the establishment will remain nameless, I’ve noticed this particular restaurant’s downfall becoming a trend, sweeping across both Manhattan and the nation as a whole. The issue that I’ve experienced is with the pricing and quality of wine lists that are completely out of line with the pricing and offerings from a kitchen. The following description of incongruity between food and wine is not unique to restaurants. This same principal should be applied when preparing a meal at home…
My friend and I showed up for dinner decked out in our finest jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. A casual spot, we were led to our table by an unkempt, disheveled looking teenager and presented menus and a wine list. For food, we had an assortment of gourmet dishes to choose from, including a “chicken cutlet sandwich” and a “cheeseburger with sweet fries”. Nope, these were not kids menus.
After a quick dinner menu perusal, I flipped open the wine list. With over 150 wines by the bottle and 20 wines by the glass, there was a major French influence to the list. The least expensive by the glass pour was a Loire Valley Saumur – priced at $11 per glass. By the bottle there were verticals of Dom Perignon and Opus One. Suddenly I asked myself, “should I be wearing a collared shirt?”
You wouldn’t serve Beluga Caviar with Lay’s potato chips for scooping, would you?
For that very same reason, you shouldn’t serve a bottle of 1990 Dom Perignon alongside Popcorn. The two may complement each other. In fact, the two might even enhance one another. Like your Uncle Charlie who always seems to have a gas-attack when company is around; it’s funny, it might even work in the right situation, but it’s just plain inappropriate… read the rest on Cork’d

While Freud tried to pare down the discussion with his infamous “sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar,” we all know that life sometimes dictates that a stone might not just be a stone, and that your girlfriend might not just be your girlfriend. And sadly, even one of men’s best buddies of all time can’t simply be just what it is.

read more at FHM Philippines

as found on Mashable today. . .

For all you single malt fanboys and fangirls (we like the peat so partial to Laphroaig), the Wine Library TV guy and blogging godhead share tips on how to enjoy and appreciate this nectar of the gods. Watch and learn.

It’s a given that a well planned Sales & Marketing strategy is key to jump-starting any new business.

If your new business happens to be a restaurant, a bar, coffee house, this rule takes on whole new meaning. And in a competitive, growing metropolis like Davao, where the drinking and dining crowd are apt to jump ship en masse to the next cool thing, a successful campaign becomes absolutely critical.

Here are a few lessons we’ve picked up along the way:

- set yourself apart ~ Create a buzz by offering something unique. Decide on what this is and remain consistent in the plan and execution. Be it the overall theme (the atmosphere, entertainment), the menu, etc. as these relate to your target market. Avoid being too faddish or trendy. . .because we all know what happens when they no longer are.

- creative affiliate programs work ~ Back when we first started, a services exchange deal with the highest rated pop music station in our target demographics segment certainly helped in creating awareness and curiosity.

- public relations / press releases ~ We were fortunate to have met some really cool, local media movers and shakers when we first started who remain really good friends to this day.

- an online presence does not have to cost much ~ The local buy and sell web portal davaosale.com is in fact, free to join. This one happens to be very well organized and maintained and has quite the readership. List your establishment in every possible online directory. . .once again free. If the budget allows, create a website and start a blog – we are new to the latter. Other options are facebook, twitter and the few dozen other social networks.

- suppliers are your best friends ~ Suppliers (especially the large, national or global brands) can help you organize your next big event . Tap into their ideas and expertise to help you launch the next one, be it an annual summer party or anniversary celebration. More often than not, these collaborations are mutually beneficial.

- work with your landlord ~ Support from your landlord in terms of ongoing events in your stripmall or location can sometimes spell the difference between early demise or long-term success.

- nurture your clients ~ Nothing beats good old fashioned service in influencing word of mouth referrals and repeat customers. When the novelty of a new place wears off, this carries your business to the next level.

last but not least . . .

- creative marketing techniques ~ our good friend Martin from LIP got us going on this post and offers some off beat suggestions inspired by Jay Conrad Levinson’s book called Guerrilla Marketing. It’s a fun, very informative read on using unorthodox, disruptive, low cost alternatives when traditional (print, tv, radio) mediums don’t make the most financial sense. Thanks again Martin and LIP for your insights and ideas.

Cheers everyone!

For those of you contemplating on going into the bar and/or restaurant business or are already in it and wondering where the profits are going, this article by Martin of LIP is an invaluable checklist of dos and don’ts, and may save you some cash in the long run. A definite must read.

Here at the ‘ole Avenue S, we like to celebrate the smallest of achievements as we do large scale ones.

This week, join us as we celebrate. . . . . .

tadaaaa!!!

What say you??? Join us as we bid farewell to old, ratty seat-covers and say hi to shiny new ones installed by our very own in-house upholstery team. . .total savings of 85%!!!!

For a limited time, do-it-yourself consultation is “free” with drink and meal purchase. See you soonest

other than to get hammered:

1. To remove a bandage painlessly, saturate the bandage with vodka. The solvent dissolves the adhesive.

2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean.
The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.

3. To clean your eyeglasses, simply wipe the lenses with a soft, clean cloth dampened with vodka. The alcohol in the vodka cleans the glass and kills germs.

4. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.

5. Spray vodka on vomit stains, scrub with a brush, then blot dry.

6. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.

7. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.

8. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle and spray bees or wasps to kill them.

9. Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water in a Ziploc freezer bag, and freeze for a slushy, re-freezable ice pack for aches, pain, or black eyes..

10. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.

11. Make your own mouthwash by mixing nine tablespoons powered cinnamon with one cup vodka. Seal in an airtight container for two weeks. Strain through a coffee filter. Mix with warm water and rinse your mouth. Don’t swallow.

12. Using a q-tip, apply vodka to a cold sore to help it dry out.

13. If a blister opens, pour vodka over the raw skin as a local anesthetic that also disinfects the exposed dermis.

14. To treat dandruff, mix one cup vodka with two teaspoons crushed rosemary, let sit for two days, strain through a coffee filter and massage into your scalp and let dry.

15. To treat an earache put a few drops of vodka in your ear. Let set for a few minutes. Then drain. The vodka will kill the bacteria that is causing pain in your ear.

16. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.

17. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.

18. Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.

19. To remove cigarette smoke in your home or office mix one part vodka and three parts water and spray the clothing, then launder and let dry.

20. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.

21. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.