LIWINEDAD

  We returned, and New wave is upholding their 5-star local seafood place.  This time we brought a friend and explored all new items.  The openers were Caesar Salad, Lobster Bisque, and Italian Seafood Platter.  The Caesar salad was a classic with crisp, very flavorful croutons, lots of shaved cheese, creamy, flavorful dressing, and crisp romaine lettuce. The Lobster bisque was rich, creamy, and chuck full of lobster meat.  The Italian seafood platter is outstanding, arriving tableside with a generous portion of Shrimp, Calamari, and Scungilli with olives, peppers and finished with a red wine vinaigrette.  Plated with the seafood was a bean salad including chickpeas, kidney beans, and corn, a meal in its self.  For the mains, we had Lobster stuffed ravioli, Blackened Swordfish, and crab legs.  The crab legs were cooked to perfection, the swordfish tender, moist, and bursting with Cajun flavor.  The Lobster Raviolis were large squid ink striped ravioli covered in vodka sauce. Yet again

An excellent hardy meal at a local place Thom Thom Steak & Seafood , in Wantagh, Long Island, NY.  The service is friendly, and the food consistently good with some excellent unique dishes. Overall, this visit came in at a solid four stars.   Jo and I started with our traditional cocktails of a Cosmopolitan and Woodford reserve on the rocks.   The breadbasket is a bit different, composed of Pita bread wedges, hummus, and tzatziki.   Jo, for her starter, had the Bang Bang Shrimp, which consisted of a generous portion of crispy fried shrimp in a mild chili sauce complimented with a Gorgonzola dip on the side. It was a fine opener.   I opened with a more traditional starter, the Loaded Wedge Salad.   The salad consisted of ½ head (quartered)of very fresh Iceberg lettuce.   The wedge arrived table side covered in Gorgonzola cheese crumbles, lots of crispy maple bacon, red onion, sweet yellow peppers with a good helping of blue cheese dressing.   The ingredients balance each other per

  Great day Wednesday as our long-awaited shipment of wine came in from De La Montanya .  We modified the standard selection to reflect our changing tastes, which the club had no issues accommodating. We received 3-2018 Pinot Noir Sonoma coast Reserve, 3-2020, 3-2020 Sauvignon Blanc Big Valley, Lake Country, and last but far from least 6-2020 1776 Zinfandel(members only).  For us, this is a red the Jo and I enjoy together.  We have enjoyed this since we first tried it at the winery almost ten years ago. We will be giving it some cellar time as we still have some stock of 2018 and 2019 to work our way through.  We will be posting some tasting notes on each wine shortly.      

  Our Wölffer Estate March selection has arrived, a beautiful selection of 7 wines from one of the few south fork wineries.  Each will be tested and commented on soon, but for now, here is a list of what has arrived.  The Estate Ro ś e 2020 is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Gewu ü rztraminer. Indeed a complex blend that I am looking forward to pairing with a roast chicken dinner.  The Estate Chardonnay 2019 is a classic that I have enjoyed before. The Estate Cabernet Franc 2019, which is primarily a Cabernet Franc with a touch of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to balance the Cabernet Franc a bit.  The Umbra 2010 is a hardy Merlot again with a very light touch of Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is more in the New Zealand style rather than the French Sancerre. The grapes of Roth Dry Riesling 2019 showcases the Riesling grape in a dry style.  The Semillon 2019 is not a pure bread but rather blended with a g

Terra Vite (250 Manor Lane in Jamesport )is a new winery in a friendly old place as the new team takes over this spring.  Formally Diliberto's was a quaint Italian place complete with a great pizza oven, and Sal, the owner wandering through the tasting room and patio singing excerpts from various operas. The tasting room was themed as a small Italian bistro, including a few risqué frescos on the walls.  Maybe that is why Diliberto's was an adult-only place.  The wine for this pickup was still labeled Diliberto's and included their 2016 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, a 2015 Merlot, and a 2015 Tre Red Blend.  The Chardonnay is a bit crisper than the traditional new French oak-aged wine that I was expecting but is much more aligned to my tastes in Chardonnay.  The Merlot is a classic Long Island version not over-oaked with lots of dark fruit upfront and a lingering finish.  The Tre Blend is a blend of Merlot (65%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) and Cabernet Franc (15%). The new Fren

  Puglia’s Italian Steakhouse is yet one more fine restaurant in Seaford.  They are located on Merrick Road, right next to my other local favorite, Cara Mia’s.  It is a tough choice between them, but when in the mood for a good steak with a side of Italian Puglia’s is the place to go.  The Italian side of the house has all the classics.  The Scungilli in a Fra Diavolo sauce and Chivalini Sausage Wheel are two of my favorite starters, followed by the Chicken Valdastano as a main.  On our last visit, we were both looking for steak, and in addition to the large rib eye, NY strip, and porterhouse, they have several daily specials.  I opened with the Seafood salad, which consists of a large portion of shrimp, scallops, calamari (very tender) served over Iceberg lettuce, olives, and celery.  The dressing was an EVOO and citrus vinaigrette well-seasoned but not overpowering to mask the delicate seafood flavors. Jo had the Caesar salad, which arrives with fresh Romain lettuce and crispy wel

  A wonderful day as my allocation of Scarecrow 2018 arrived.   Scarecrow has achieved cult wine status and is well deserved, given its fine heritage.   The fruit of the renowned J. J. Cohn estate, first planted in 1945, produce this fine wine.   Joseph Judson Cohn (1895 – 1996) had a long career at MGM, and his credits included executive producer of The Wizard of Oz hence the name of the wine. Grapes from the Cohn estate have gone into such legendary labels as Opus One, Niebaum-Coppola, Duckhorn, and Insignia.     The winemaker is the famed Celia Welch , whose other works include Lindstrom and Corra .   Over the past five years, the wine has concisely scored well over 96 points from many reviewers, including several 100-point scores.   The Scarecrow across vintages is a rich, dense purple hue.   The nose can quickly fill a room as it breaths with notes of spice, currents, and a bit of graphite. The mouthfeel is full, and the tannins are well balanced.   2018 has already received a 1