Chef Pepper - can we have a civil discourse?

[CaptnGlenn]

Yan... I wasn't commenting on the quality of your wonderful vintage... I was quoting another post. MY comment was to repeat the old rule of any good chef... not to cook with wine one wouldn't drink.

THAT being said... one of my favorite wines was brought to my attention by an ex co-worker of my wife. He found this little wine that sold for $2.50 US a bottle (equiv. about $95 RD... cheaper than a bottle of Presidente). It was actually a nice wine... totally drinkable... and he bought it 5 cases at a time in West Virginia from his local Rite-Aid store, (a big chain of large pharmacy / convenience stores), and used to give it to friends as gifts. The big joke was that nobody ever knew how cheap it was, and they all enjoyed it, always asking for more of that "really good wine you gave us." I like wine... a LOT... but am by NO means a wine snob. (Except, I am a wine CORK snob... I don't like "twist offs".)

There are reasonable table wines, not for special occasions, at that price level or slighly above. If you like one buy a case. People do buy wines for 100 dollars a bottle - the market is there.

Freshly made fruit juice is good and so are homemade fruit beers and wines. Costs can be 50 - 60 pesos a gallon.

There is also a market for fine rums and whiskey. However many people settle for the normal Brugals and blended Whiskeys. Not of course deserving a place in Capt s antique Whiskey cabinet.

And of course his 'cave ? vin' with his sommelier certifcate in a frame alongside......

pi2

 

[belgiank]

I like wine... a LOT... but am by NO means a wine snob. (Except, I am a wine CORK snob... I don't like "twist offs".)

Hiha... so do I. A nice bottle of wine needs a good cork, preferably the real stuff and not the plastic crap they use a lot nowadays....

A real cork adds to the taste, and aside from that... part of the wine tasting culture is to hear the satisfying "plop" when the bottle is opened. And please do not use any of the fancy cork popping thingies, but use the old-fashioned one used by every bartender in France. Drill in the corkscrew, put the lever on the side of the bottle, place the bottle between your legs, and pop the cork...

And for heaven's sake, let the wine breath and drink the wine out of the right glass.

btw... the same is true for a lot of the finer beers from Belgium and Germany.... I shudder when seeing them served in a plastic cup

 

[Frank the Tank]

There is a great Eupopean wine lake and not all is poor quality.

I suggest you get three bottles, various, at a about 125 -150 and one bottle at 400 and try a blind tasting. Of course with stronger tasting food a robust wine is often preferable.

But of course home made ginger and lemon ale or wine is also good.

Ginger and limes are both grown locally and this helps save the planet by not shipping bottles of wine from distant places. You know the ingredients are pure!

I use wine yeast but the principle is the same.

Lemon and Ginger Wine ? The Living Edge


pi2

Hello Yanandududududu, couldn't stay away could you?

 

[bri777]

I wonder what gave it away?

the home made ginger wine maybe? lol

Manu

 

[Peterj]

Do they deliver in downtown )) Bavaro too?

(Like White Sands)

 

[keepcoming]

Food is pretty good and the prices are good also. As far as the wine goes ( I love my wine) it wasn't bad, not great but honestly similar to what I would get at Tony Roma's or Outback. It is worth trying.

 

[ExtremeR]

Will definitely go next time I'm in Santo Domingo...oh BTW don't feed the troll....

 

[JimmyGibbon]

I saw a show on television documenting prison life and inmates were making wine in their cell's stainless steel toilets, lol

Jimmy

 

[SKY]

I saw a show on television documenting prison life and inmates were making wine in their cell's stainless steel toilets, lol

Jimmy

Mix a large amount of Tang with yeast and let it ferment a week or so and it will knock your socks off. Very popular in jail.

 

[pi2]

Some confusion here - I used Yanadu's good idea for the ginger and lemmon cordial/wine.

Others may prefer the recepies for wine invented by jailbirds.

Stones Ginger wine is of course famous - here are cocktail recipies:

Stone's Ginger Wine

Of course some may prefer their ginger in a beef or goat stew - portion are
easy to freeze and delicous and it saves even troubling the restaurant.

Many recipies .......

Cooks.com - Recipes - Ginger Beef

Ginger, of course, has great health benefits

WHFoods: Ginger

pi2

 

[Normal]

Okay kids.... let's stay on track here!

I went on Saturday evening and was sadly disappointed. I decided on the Chicken Philly Cheesesteak with Onion Rings and my spouse the Philly Cheesesteak with Steak Fries and then split it between us. We also ordered the fried cheese just to give it a go.

Chicken Philly Cheesesteak: I enjoyed this.
Philly Cheesesteak: The "beef" had a funky taste.
Onion Rings: My entire order of rings consisted of 2 tiny and 2 medium size rings. There were tasty however.
Steak Fries: Freezer burnt and under cooked. Rather awful actually... and a small portion.
Fried Mozzarella: Again, freezer burnt and bland... the marinara sauce for dipping was bland as well.

Not an auspicious start but we will go again... not ready to write them off yet.

 

[Normal]

Which restaurant did you go to (not that it really matters)?

Did you say something to the manager?

San Juan Plaza - Bavaro

I didn't speak to the manager... I got the food to go.

 

[jrjrth]

~Ok so I looked at the extensive menu, however its missing very important information~

Phone number for Take out-delivery
Address of location....

Does anyone have or know the phone number????

 

[KateP]

~Ok so I looked at the extensive menu, however its missing very important information~

Phone number for Take out-delivery
Address of location....

Does anyone have or know the phone number????

It's all at the beginning of the thread 809-466-2433, Plaza San Juan

 

[jeb321]

BUT remember... You Get What You Pay For! Most people are or should be aware of the huge markup in wine prices but if you buy a wine that is not yet drinkable because it needs to be held onto a while then it should not really be judged to be drunk yet. - it seems odd to me the way you are explaining the petit chablis as being equal or better than grand crus? Anyway I think the name and reputation of the chateau and certainly vintage year and $$$ are a good way to start buying your vino.

you cannot put value on a wine by price...

I have bought excellent petit chablis at 150rds a bottle (in Belgium of course) which was equal or better than several chablis grand cru which were 3,000rds a bottle.

I have bought pedernales wine from spain, directly from the producer at 300rds a gallon, whilst he showed me the bottles he sold in wine-stores, containing exactly the same wine, for 1,500rds a bottle.

Same goes for brandy.

A lot of people mistakenly look at the name or chateau when tasting wine, or even worse, look at the price. What really matters is the taste.

I have drank table wines from France which were equal to some of the great chateaus. The difference is that with a table wine you take a chance, and with the chateau you have "some" guarantee of quality.

Oh god, how I do miss a good chablis, or a good pouilly fumee here.

 

[NALs]

And does anyone know if it is Dominican or foreign owned ?

Three Dominican guys are responsible for this. International expansion is in the works...

 

[pi2]

Like you James Brown, the originator of Funk must have liked his steak.

'The "beef" had a funky taste.'

He was once accused of attacking a repairman with a steak knife.

Of course the US had a Funky president who also enjoyed his steak.........

Gerald Ford......

[video=youtube;8_ODghRTeyQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ODghRTeyQ&feature=youtube_gdata[/video]

pi2

 

[belgiank]

BUT remember... You Get What You Pay For! Most people are or should be aware of the huge markup in wine prices but if you buy a wine that is not yet drinkable because it needs to be held onto a while then it should not really be judged to be drunk yet. - it seems odd to me the way you are explaining the petit chablis as being equal or better than grand crus? Anyway I think the name and reputation of the chateau and certainly vintage year and $$$ are a good way to start buying your vino.

I kind of disagree with you, and I also think you kind of misunderstood me. Let me try to put it another way.

If you go with the big names, the good vintage, and you pay the bucks, then you are almost guaranteed the quality and taste. Although I have had some huge disappointments there as well.

But there are gems amongst cheaper wines which can easily equal the big chateaus or wineries. There are only 2 problems with this. You have to buy the bottle to taste it, and absolutely nothing guarantees the quality of the next years wine.

Prime example is again the petit chablis I mentioned before. I bought 12 bottles on the advice of a sommelier I knew. I loved it, so decided to buy more, but this was the petit chablis made from the next crop. It was rubbish.

So, can you advice me a good white wine, which you can buy here easily? Up till now I have found none which are to my liking.

 

[La Mariposa]

I kind of disagree with you, and I also think you kind of misunderstood me. Let me try to put it another way.

If you go with the big names, the good vintage, and you pay the bucks, then you are almost guaranteed the quality and taste. Although I have had some huge disappointments there as well.

But there are gems amongst cheaper wines which can easily equal the big chateaus or wineries. There are only 2 problems with this. You have to buy the bottle to taste it, and absolutely nothing guarantees the quality of the next years wine.

Prime example is again the petit chablis I mentioned before. I bought 12 bottles on the advice of a sommelier I knew. I loved it, so decided to buy more, but this was the petit chablis made from the next crop. It was rubbish.

So, can you advice me a good white wine, which you can buy here easily? Up till now I have found none which are to my liking.

Any Chardonnay from The Californian Russiian River Valley.
Easily??? It depends where you are located. Try the Nacional at Casa de Campo

 

[Normal]

Thought I'd follow up on my thread. The spouse and I tried again. This time delivery to Cortecito. We both got burgers, one with fries the other with onion rings. The delivery guy was at the condo in under 30 minutes and was really hustling. I was impressed. He was concerned it took too long! I said not at all and gave him a nice tip. The burgers were delicious! Fries were very good as well. I only got 4 onion rings again so I guess that's what is considered a normal order of rings. Not 30 minutes after getting the food I got a call from Chef Pepper asking me if we were satisfied with the delivery time and quality of the food. I couldn't believe it... in the DR??? Unheard of!!!

For now they are still on the list.