Stella Barra, North Bethesda

Posted on July 13, 2015 by melsmosaic

North Bethesda/Rockville (whatever the Postal Service decides to truly name it) is growing. In Pike & Rose there are several new restaurants and I checked out Stella Barra last week. It’s a pizzeria with several other options on the menu.

My friend and I decided to split a pizza, but after being told it takes at least 20 minutes for pizza to be ready, we opted for an appetizer, as well.

For the first course, we decided on the Cauliflower Hummus.

It was delicious, and loved that it came with both pita and veggies. But, I will say, $14…for hummus…really? I would rather make it at home or go to the store and buy something similar. They know people will try a place and order whatever in this area and just want to be out (and I am guilty of it this time). Will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

For the pizza, we opted for their special of the night, with beets and goat cheese as the prime toppings, with the Grana nixed. Interesting how they can make a whole pizza for $3 more than hummus. I sweet talked the waiter to into giving us arugula since I can’t do the ‘regular’ cheese. We got it.

It was delicious! Perfectly cooked and amazing flavors all around. All the food was paired with beer and red wine, too.

Totally worth checking this place out, despite the price, because all the restaurants in the area are about the same.

Bordeaux Walking Tour

Posted on July 8, 2015 by melsmosaic

While exploring France had to determine the best way to explore what was at my fingertips. Was referred by a friend to a great way to explore the city of Bordeaux and of course enjoy their great drink — Bordeaux Walking Tours. I enjoyed an afternoon exploration of the city.

Got to see the city on foot and learn about historic sites along the water and throughout the town.

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Then we visited the Wine & Trade Museum.

At the end of this visit, we got to taste several French wines. We received the full rundown on history, varietal, region, etc.

(Chateau LaJarre was definitely my favorite)

After this great tasting we headed off to our next stop after learning much about wine at the museum. During our tour we learned about the Bordeaux region and how the Gironde River determines a lot of the ‘taste’ of the grapes — earthy vs fruity. Those on the Right Bank of the river tend to be fruitier, those on the Left Bank tend to be earthier.

(photo credit: totalwine.com)

Turns out our next stop was a blind tasting to apply what we learned about the banks.

I got 2 out of 3 right, and mostly only loved one of them, the Chateau Bardin, from the Right Side. This was such a fun way to learn more about wine and I did learn that old world wine really isn’t that bad. I can expand my horizons beyond new world.

The Franciscan Well, Cork, Ireland

Posted on July 8, 2015 by melsmosaic

Among various places visited while in Ireland, a great place stumbled upon (no pun intended) was Franciscan Well Brewery.

It’s a newer brewery (founded in late ’90s), but has great history to it.

‘The Franciscan Well Brewery was founded in 1998 on the North Mall in Cork City and is built on the site of an old Franciscan Monastery and Well, dating back to the year 1219. Legend has it that the water from the well has miraculous and curative properties and people would come from afar to drink from it.’

We opted to take the entire brewery tour to find out about what all they do based on the additional info they provided on their site.

‘The Brewery has combined modern technology with old age tradition in forming classic beer styles including lager, ale, stout and wheat beer. All the beers brewed at the Franciscan Well are natural, and do not contain any chemical additives or preservatives and are made with the best ingredients.’

It was great. To put the size of the brewery in perspective, the only thing I can think of is that it’s maybe a quarter size of the end zone of a football field? Maybe 1/3? It’s tiny. They have so little space, have to stay on top of things to a tee and provided more much more insane amounts of info, from law restrictions, what got them started, real estate, bottling, competition, brewing specs to tastings from beginning to…ahhh…end.

The tour provided 4 or so tastings where you also went through the components of yeast, barley, etc. All their brews were great. But, one I do remember was a hefe with way too much banana. I definitely did not need to have more of that.

When you visit the brewery, they have an outdoor brick pizza oven where you can order a great meal, as well, to help soak up all the fun. Worth checking out to get in even more Irish culture.

3 Stars Brewing Company

Posted on June 28, 2015 by melsmosaic

Washington, DC is becoming a growing microbrew market, between the city proper and local areas. Many of the new ones are in the city, and are helping some of the run-down areas get a face lift, since they cost less to operate (lower rent) and then bring traffic to the area. I was recently housesitting and found out about 3 Stars Brewing Company that was less than a mile from where I was staying — perfect! It’s right near Takoma Park in DC/MD. It’s in the far east side of the NW quadrant of DC. Go a couple blocks and you’re in NE.

It’s very hidden in a row of industrial buildings — they could use a bigger sign. They’re open Thursday-Sunday for tastings and tours. They also have an area for homebrewers to come get the ingredients they want to brew their own stuff, aka their Homebrew Shop.

The menu is pretty vast and you can taste 4oz. pours for $1.50. You can’t go wrong with that. The ABV range is also pretty wide so you also have to be pretty cautious on some levels.

I’m torn between the Peppercorn and Ghost as to which one was my favorite.

In addition to the nice tastes, you can of course get pints as well as growler fills. This would be there perfect place to go on the weekend with their picnic tables, They mentioned food trucks also swing by so you can fill the stomach with food in addition to beer.

I’m a Vintner!

Posted on June 22, 2015 by melsmosaic

I got to check out this great Blend Your Own Bordeaux competition last week. Wasn’t sure what all this would entail other than wine and some form of mixing. This took place at American Eats Tavern, just outside of DC, and was in the company of Master Sommelier Andy Myers and Barboursville Vineyards Chief Sommelier Jason Tesauro.

The evening started off with some bubbly and intros and then the rundown on what had to be done.

(that’s the Master Somm)

We had four varietals to play with (Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv and Nebbiolo) and we would taste them and play with each to determine how much of each we wanted to combine to make our own perfect blend. It was a chemistry class with all the toys we had, too.

In our instructions, we received definitions of each piece, percentages for mixing and what all we could do.

Playtime!!!!

You could not just plug the pipette with your thumb to fill it. You had to actually suck on it to get a good amount in there.

After determining your best (personal) blend based on taste and trial & error, it was bottling time. You also had to label it to the best of your ability.

The after-shock was quite a mess.

We were told when we started blending that there would be awards for the best wines. Jason from Barboursville was the main taster/judge of the wines, while Andy and the Somm from American Eats also took part. They had 15 or so wines to judge…the rough life of wine folks.

After their long-lasting time of judging they had some announcements to make. Much to my surprise, I had a podium finish!!! I brought home the bronze medal. That meant great bragging rights, my wine and a bottle of Barboursville vino. I am now a vintner. What more could I ask for?

Wheat, grapefruit…and beer

Posted on June 21, 2015 by melsmosaic

I love wheat beer, I love grapefruit. But putting them together, I wasn’t sure about. I am also never sure about low ABV stuff. So while roaming around Rodman’s last week I came across a tasting that changed my mind about all of these. There was a sampling of Schofferhofer Grapefruit. On these hot summer days that have hit us, this could not be a more perfect brew. It has that hefe background with that refreshing grapefruit taste. And, it’s only 3.2% ABV. The guy doing the demo says he uses it to refuel after a workout. Hey, each one to their own right? Would be perfect after yard work, for picnics, basically for anything on a hot summer day!

Plane Food

Posted on June 21, 2015 by melsmosaic

When traveling (internationally) and therefore actually getting fed on the plane I always kind of wonder what the food will be. Being lactose intolerant I always run the risk of not being able to eat what is served. Some airlines don’t offer the lactose-intolerant option. They have gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan. The first two have the cheese thrown in there. So, I opted for vegan recently to see what might come out because I know there would be no cheese coming into play. I will say, not too bad.

One meal had some Indian flair to it. I love that it came with fresh veggies and fruit!

For another meal I got a veggie sandwich (it was artichokes, avocado and tomato) on focaccia bread and I also got hummus. It was in heaven.

So if you’re looking for something new, request a different type of meal when booking your (international) flight.

Extra Irish Brews

Posted on June 21, 2015 by melsmosaic

There are the well-know Irish brews that most people turn to. So it was great to find (and enjoy) the various domestic brews we don’t hear much about here in the States while there recently. And since you can get half pints, you don’t have to drink a ton of the stuff when it’s on tap. I can’t say that I have a favorite. They were all pretty darn good.

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Canned Wine

Posted on June 20, 2015 by melsmosaic

I have seen and heard about wine changes, packaging-wise. Was in a rut the other day and saw one in a can. Had read good reviews about it — Underwood’s Pinot Gris, so decided to give it a try. Wow, pretty impressive. Very crisp, fruity, light, some little bubbles to best describe, since it’s in a can. You can get 2+ healthy glasses out of this. Was glad I grabbed it because it’s definitely on my list to keep around. I also love their tagline ‘Pinkies Down.’

Za’atar

Posted on June 20, 2015 by melsmosaic

Have you ever gone to a Lebanese restaurant for dinner and they bring you the great pita bread and olive oil to munch on? But that olive oil also has something extra in it? When at Lebanese Taverna a couple weeks ago I finally asked what that stuff is. That magical ingredient is Za’atar. The waiter told me it’s easy to find at specialty grocery stores. So I stopped by Rodman’s in DC and found a huge (of course) bag of it. I am in heaven. I have put it in olive oil like in restaurants, sprinkled it in and on top of hummus and also used it as ‘just’ a spice on meats and salads. Can we say addiction?