Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Fiddlehead Pinkie’s Party

Written by Allison Levine on February 16, 2019

Lifestyle Food Wine

It is that time of year when the rosé wines from the last vintage will be released. Each year, Fiddlehead Cellars in the Santa Ynez Valley hosts a Pink Party. Guests dress in pink and pink wine is poured all night for a fantastic nite of fun. The Fiddlehead Pink Party takes place the weekend prior to Valentine’s Day, which means that it takes place around my birthday (and in the past has occurred on my birthday), so it is a dual celebration. For five years I have been attending this event! It is an event I look forward to each year and that is why this week’s Please The Palate Pick of the Week is the Fiddlehead Cellars Pink Party.

This year, the party moved from the Fiddlehead Winery and Tasting Room in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto to the restaurant Root 246 in Solvang. Open for ten years, I had not been to the restaurant in years and was impressed by the exciting new change. The modern decor restaurant is now run by Chef Pink, aka Chef Crystal DeLongpré. Chef Pink has been featured in Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue”, Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen,” and “Man vs. Child” on fyi,TM. Chef Pink took over Root 246 in December 2018 and has created a seasonal menu blending local ingredients with fine dining techniques. Read More +

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel

Written by Allison Levine on February 9, 2019

Travel Lifestyle Food Wine

When I travel to New York for work, I typically stay at a hotel near where the event I am working will take place. This past week, I was in New York for a wine event that we decided to do in The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel, in Manhattan’s Financial District, within walking distance to the World Trade Center and the Brooklyn Bridge. I decided to stay there as well for the convenience. I had seen photos on the internet and read about it but nothing could prepare me for The Beekman. It is one of the most magnificent hotels I have ever stepped foot into and hence it is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

From the moment my car pulled up to the doors, I was greeted by a bellman who grabbed my bags. Check-in at registration was friendly and quick and then I was escorted to my room by a friendly young man, JB, who marveled at the beauty of the hotel with me, even though he looks at it every day. Read More +

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: The Funk Jamaican Rum Daiquiri

Written by Allison Levine on February 2, 2019

Cocktails

A great daiquiri is a crisp and clean cocktail made with rum, lime juice and sugar. Finding balance between the rum and the lime, a daiquiri should not be sweet but rather frothy, tart and refreshing. And finding the perfect rum for your daiquiri is part of the challenge! Try The Funk Rum in your daiquiri and you will understand why it is the Please The Palate pick of the week!

The Funk Jamaican Rum is an un-aged heavy pot still rum with no added color or flavoring and bottled at 100 proof. The Funk Jamaican Rum is under the portfolio Proof and Wood Ventures. Two years ago, Founder and President Dave Schmier, formerly of Redemption Rye, purchased an un-aged pot still rum. Pot still rum has more intensive flavors and more esters, however, it can have an off-putting character. In fact, Dave’s warehouse manager called him up and said he had never smelled something so awful. Schmier brought the rum to 100 proof, reducing some of the intense funkiness. The result is a rum that is funky, a little bit like a stinky cheese, with tropical notes as well as ripe vegetable aromas. At the same time, the rum is approachable.

The Funk Jamaican Rum is a great rum to use as a modifier in a drink or in a daiquiri, which is how I enjoyed it. And enjoy it, I did! A daiquiri made with The Funk has a lot of character. There is a slight funkiness in the nose but there is depth and roundness in the mid-palate and a citrus-tart finish.

With The Funk Jamaican Rum, a refreshing, clean, classic daiquiri becomes just a bit more interesting and complex and that is why it is the Please The Palate pick of the week.