Tag Archives: wine

Chocolate + salt = the perfect flavour profile?

I was speaking with someone this morning about my earlier post about ChocolaTas’ salted chocolate. She told me that while she has no willpower when it comes to plain old chocolate, no matter how high-end or bitter it is. She can’t have just one piece. But, for some reason, when it comes to salted chocolate, she can have just one.

I think it might be because salt provides the one flavour that chocolate doesn’t have. In having a salted chocolate, all your tastebuds are satisfied. Without the salt, you’re tempted to keep eating in an attempt to reach the goal of ultimate satisfaction.

She likened it to being happy with one really great glass of wine, but having an urge to have a second glass of plonk.

Worth thinking about, anyway.

Osteria Marco makes a mean pizza

From the street, Osteria Marco looks more like a tea shop or gourmet food store than a restaurant. Once inside, the hostess leads you down the winding staircase to the cavernous, but not oppressive, dark-panelled basement dining room. Looking at the room, you wouldn’t even know that we’re in the midst of a recession. It was buzzing on a Tuesday night.

Since we were a large group, we were given a prix fixe menu to choose from. I started with a baby arugula salad, smartly dressed with a simple vinaigrette and finished with toasted baby pine nuts and currants. The arugula was delicate and didn’t have its typical bite, and the pine nuts provided a lovely nuttiness and richness to the salad. There were a few too many currants for my liking, but they did provide a sweet contrast to the dish.

The main course was touted as a margherita pizza from their wood-fired oven, but the menu didn’t say that it was going to be 14″ in diameter. I would have liked the crust to be a wee bit crisper, but aside from that it was delicious. The tomatoes were rich and meaty (San Marzano tomatoes, I’m sure), the basil nice and bright, and the mozzarella fresh and gooey. After trying to hock a few pieces of pizza to my dining companions, I ended up taking half of the pizza home with me.

The dessert menu was a little uninspired, but I was also so full of pizza that dessert wasn’t an option.

The kicker: all this food (including next day’s breakfast in leftovers), plus a glass of wine, came in at $20 including tax and a generous tip.

Osteria Marco
1453 Larimer Street
Denver, CO
(303) 534-5855
Osteria Marco on Urbanspoon

Hitting the road

I’m hitting the road, folks. I’ll be in Denver from March 31 – April 5 for the 31st  annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). This year’s theme is “Pioneering a Sustainable World” and I’m looking forward to, among other things, a talk on biodynamic wine, a panel discussion about farm-to-table systems (featuring Dan Barber!), and sessions about native grains and beans. I’m also taking part in a master class that will visit a small-scale chocolate factory and artisan chocolatier.

After Denver, I’ll be lazing around Boulder and Toronto for a well-deserved vacation.

But don’t you fret! I’ve queued some lovely posts so you don’t get lonely, and I’ll have lots to talk about when I get back. You won’t even notice that I’m gone.

Volunteer opportunity: Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival

The Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival is accepting volunteer applications for their festival this year, March 23-29 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This year’s global theme is Pinot(s), with a regional focus on British Columbia.

This is the Playhouse Theatre Company’s primary fundraiser, and it’s a great one. It’s arguably one of the best wine festivals in the country.

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Review: Sharffen Berger Tome Acu

I’m usually pretty skeptical of marketing copy, so I when my contact at Sharffen Berger told me about the utter amazingness of their Tome Acu bar, I took it with a grain of salt.

Well, I’m a believer. And you know what, I will eat my words – as long as those words are made of Tome Acu chocolate.

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