It has been a literal whirlwind of travel and drinking lately! Shhhhh...don't tell my doctor, but I have NOT cut back like he told me to. I really do think one glass a day is a ridiculous number for anyone much less if your entire job is to be drinking. I also wonder if more people would be drinking more on a daily basis if they could afford to. In my business it is constantly at my fingertips and often given to me for free without my asking. This is starting to sound like the ravings of an alcoholic, and I don't want you to worry, there are plenty of times I go days without drinking at all and for health reasons while on a a mediation, I didn't drink even a drop for 4 months. Anyway, what I'm trying to say here, is there was a considerable amount of drinking that accompanied me on these work trips.
It started with flying to New York City alongside my adorable husband. I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty exciting to get to have him all to myself, even if the reason was centered around work. I love NYC, always have. I have even attempted to live there a couple of times, but each time was thwarted and I ended up on another journey... one of those journeys being to help open Vivac Winery, clearly a wise decision. Each time I visit, the city shows change, this time the city has gotten more and more charming and discovering the Lower East Side was fantastic! We stayed at Hotel Indigo which I did book on Priceline (the winery may be getting a lot of press, but we are still tight on cash), I'm a total Priceline junky, I use it for all my travel needs and if you use the app, you actually get even better deals; you are welcome. This hotel was epic! The entry is not the lobby, but is still impressive with a cool, industrial, hip vibe ...and a doorman. I don't know why, but I love the idea of having a doorman. The lobby is on the 15th floor and has the most incredible view of the city, various inviting seating areas (also love clusters of seating areas. Am I weird?) and a bar. Did someone say bar? Our room wasn't quite ready so they apologized with free drink vouchers, nice move Hotel Indigo, nice move. We happily turned them in for a perfectly pink French Rose and nestled into a bistro table for two...with a view, not of the NYC skyline, but of the adorable clusters of seating areas that stretched the length of the lobby. Now I'm thinking I am weird.
Our focus was on a very important wine media presentation, but being that we love great food, every spare moment was spent eating. My clever husband, Jesse, had researched restaurants we should try to hit so we had a few targeted, and then we let happy finds fall in our laps. Being from New Mexico, we don't get a lot of Asian cuisine so that was a focus, but first thing is first, we needed a deli for a NYC sandwich! I have no idea why but my family is all about sandwiches, so much so that when Jesse and I were first dating, he asked "what is the deal with your family and sandwiches?" I was dumbstruck, I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I started to notice, every meal could be turned into a sandwich and any quick stop by the parents' house was greeted with 'can I make you a sandwich?'. Needless to say, it became a on going joke. As luck would have it, our hotel was next door to Katz Deli, you'll know it as the place in When Harry Met Sally "I'll have what she's having" scene. It was outstanding! And I'm not just saying that because I am a sandwich fiend. As a side note, anyone that knows me, knows I detest Mayo. I believe mayonnaise has a purpose in some recipes, but is not supposed to be a condiment, it is a vile and disgusting addition to smear on bread and if you are one of those sickos that dips french fries in it, we can not be friends. This rant comes into play here in a sec. I also love pickles, some of you might be disowning me with that statement, I know, they aren't everyone's cup of ...vinegar? So imagine my delight when sitting down at this crowded deli, they immediately brought us a plate of house-made pickles! I knew I had found something amazing. Next was to order, of course we got Pastrami sandwiches, we aren't stupid. Also the waiter did yell at us to order Pastrami. Then Jesse tried to order mayo on his and was just about flung out of the restaurant onto the street for it. This made my day. The sandwich was insanely delicious and I almost recreated the When Harry Met Sally scene over it. Oh, and we had a local beer, you gotta know your drinkin places and that deli is a beer place, not a wine place. I'm sorry to say I was so obsessed with the sandwich that I can't tell you the name of the beer. Oops.
Next, directly after dinner, was to hit China Town to get steamed...weird dough balls. Tasty and strange, but interesting enough to have us share four different flavors, my personal fave was the egg custard. I figured we got to eat at multiple places in a row because we walked there and lets face it, that's more exercise than my fat butt is used to these days. We got back to the hotel room walking in the dark, passing so many people out, shops open and fitness centers packed, it was strange that so late at night, the city was so lively. We climbed into bed with our nightcap poured (a lovely Italian Nebbiolo) and realized it was only 6:30pm, OMG! We are getting old and lame, but we agreed we couldn't go to bed at 6:30, that would be just ridiculous even though we had been up since 3:00am to catch our flight that morning. Instead we rallied and started to watch a movie... and then passed out...at 8:00pm, clearly we didn't have our city stamina in check.
Peking duck, $1 pizza and fabulous NYC style Italian food were all devoured with glee over the next few days. I was starting to have flashbacks to our time in Central Europe this past spring where we ate our way through 4 countries. Now you know why my butt is so big. Also, they should have a slogan over there "cake, it's what's for dinner!" and NYC's could be 'Pizza its what you eat in between meals!'. Maybe I missed my calling as a slogan writer? Los Angeles could be "Kale, we think it is a food" and Napa could be 'Wine, it is the only food group'. Sorry, I got way off topic.
Now you are all wondering how the big event went (unless you also read the Fueled by Vivac blog I write, then you already know. LOL!), it was fantastic! Our ballsy move to show 4 vintages of Cabernet not only wowed with how beautiful they held up, but made us stand apart from the other 6 wineries showcased. We enjoyed getting to taste the wines from AZ, TX and our friends from NM, it was a beautiful intimate event with some of the most influential people in the wine world. I do have to admit that the 4 courses for the wine lunch were not what I was expecting. Course 1: beets, course 2: beans, course 3: pork fat, course 4: one slice of cheese. I'm pretty sure there have been tongue-in-cheek movies made about meals like this set in NYC and Paris, they've gotten so chic, they don't feed you. I mean did you miss the 'I'm fat and like to eat' sections here? Anyway, after a day of drinking, we all needed more drinking. The group of winemakers and a couple writers hit a bar around the corner for fresh oysters (see, it wasn't just me! Everyone was like where is the food?) and some oddly chosen French wines. Evidenally, NYC is embracing "natural wines" that often are riddled with VA (volatile acid). I had the displeasure of ordering 2 back to back. Then back to the hotel for a nap, and to wash out my mouth from the molesting it had just had. Later that night, somehow our old people bodies mustered enough energy to hit The Blue Note, an iconic jazz club that is one of my favorite places in the world. And of course there, we would have more drinks. Turns out a lemoncello, cardamom, prosecco and vodka drink pairs perfectly with jazz rap.
Our last day in the city we had to ourselves. It was so delicious to have this time with Jesse. We've been married for 15yrs, together for 18 and known each other for 26. I still just can't get enough of him and the city, packed with people, restaurants crammed tight with other foodies, somehow makes for the most romantic setting. Every street corner brings a photo op, and nestled in corners of top spots gave us the ability to be in our own little two person bubble.
We returned home invigorated and deeply exhausted. We rung out our livers and prepared for round two... a food and wine travel writers convention in the nearby city of Santa Fe. Stay tuned for how we drank our way through that event!
Cheers! And remember, no matter what you do, Wine First!
