Winesday

NOWFE is almost in full swing so what better time to start drinking wine than right now.

Rene: Wow. Just a nicely balanced red wine. Dark fruit, tannins that won't give me a headache tomorrow, and a long finish. Give me something substantial. Something medium rare. Preferably the hanger steak with red wine and marrow reduction at Restaurant Patois. With a side of fries. I'd be happy with that.

Peter: A little spicy. A wine with spice always puts me in the mood for Spanish fare. Thinking of a bowl of lamb meatballs with mint from Restaurant Madrid, which works out perfectly because I can bring my own wine. Or how about a trip to Barcelona Tapas for a double order of patatas bravas with the fiery sauces.

Joe the Wine Guy: That is a 2007 Uppercut Cabernet Sauvignon straight to the jaw. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder being Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. This cabernet has aromas of dark fruit, espresso, violet, and spice while smooth blackberry, black cherry, and cocoa coat the palate. Small nuances of caramel and toffee are there as well, the result of new oak barrels. This wine goes best with meat-grilled ribeye or braised short ribs. A bottle of Uppercut will set you back about $19 in the store and you can find it on wine lists at Bouche, Ste. Marie, Mike's on the Avenue, and Byblos.

2010 Challenge: Damn Fine Sangria

Football season is back. Les Miles is making a stupid decision, the Saints are still undefeated in 2010, and the lights from Tad Gormley burn bright into Friday night. Which can only mean one thing: it is time to get serious about group drinking.

With punches, pitchers of Bloody Mary's, and buckets of gin at the ready, fall is the time for people to gather around a tailgate or television, sip something potent, and curse at Les Miles. Repeated visits to Barcelona Tapas have made it clear Xavier Laurentino makes a mean Sangria. With this in the back of my mind, I set out to make some Sangria. The Sangria turned out great, it even quelled my anger at the Mad Hatter for a brief nanosecond. Who am I kidding, that is a lie.

That's a DAMN Fine, Sangria

You are going to need some fruits, some 7Up, something in or related to the brandy family, and a wine.

Here is what I did. Now "traditionally", Sangria is made with Spanish red wine. But "traditionally" LSU is a well-coached NCAA football powerhouse. Since we aren't really respecting that anymore in Baton Moulin Rouge, what is the harm in monkeying around with Sangria? I used a high acid, crisp French white wine made of Ugni Blanc, the grape for Cognac. As you remember learning in third grade, all Cognacs are brandies but not all brandies are Cognacs.

For the next act of this booze opera, I went with Grand Marnier. Why? It is what was in the cabinet and the bracing, orange hued elixir went well with the 7up and fruits. About those fruits, apple (peeled, cored, and diced), peach (diced), orange (cut into small wedges), and mango (peeled and diced). All the different textures and flavors of the fruit give you at the end of your sangria an alcoholic fruit salad. Which is important should there be screaming children around.

Pitch your fruit into your vessel of choice. A pitcher or football helmet will work. To this add the entire bottle of wine and 1/2 cup of the Grand Marnier (or brandy) and a tablespoon of sugar. Stir to combine, place in fridge, and let this marinate for an hour or so. The longer it sits the more the fruit soaks up the booze and leeches out its fruit flavor.

To serve, pour into a glass, and top with a generous pour of 7up. Or you can just dump about half of the 2 liter (so .5 of a 2 liter) into the pitcher and let it all cool together. But I like adding the 7Up on top. It gives the drink a jolt of fizziness which helps to enhance the refreshing qualities of Sangria.

Feel free to mess around with this recipe, or offer corrections. The point is at some point between now and Thanksgiving, you will find yourself staring down a nearly depleted bar at a tailgate or house party. Behind you throngs of football fans are dying for a cold refreshing drink. There is only a few seconds left to make a decision. You will look around see a magnum of Yellow Tail, some hard alcohol, a few wayward limes and orange peels, and margarita mix. What do you do? Making a drink just for yourself would be like motioning to your QB to snapping the ball with one second left and spike it.

Instead, I suggest you do more with Les.

Barcelona Tapas

While New Orleans had one hell of a February this year, the natives of Spain have much to brag about this July. Yesterday, upon the header of Carles Puyol, La Furia Roja advanced to its first ever World Cup Final match, setting up a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Dutch/Holland/Netherlands/People with Wooden Shoes. Meanwhile, the Basque region is currently throwing a little party called San Fermines, which you might know as the "Running of the Bulls." This weekend our fair city will be hosting our own version of San Fermin, complete with an Encierro on Saturday morning. All this talk making you hungry for tapas? We got you covered.

Tapas restaurants can leave you shaking your head. You go in expecting a meal, nibble at five or six plates of food, walk out $100 poorer, and starving. Granted, a tapas restaurant is not traditionally a place one eats a full meal at. Were you living in Spain, you would know tapas as a snack to eat while drinking your jerez or txakolina.

At Barcelona Tapas, owner Xavier Laurentino, has bridged the gap between the American expectation for a full meal and the traditional Spanish notion of tapas. The menu is enormous, and Laurentino is "constantly tinkering with it."
The most difficult aspect to grasp is knowing how much to order; tapas are not like sushi where you know how many rolls will fill you up. A good rule of thumb is 3-4 tapas per person, which may not seem like enough food but the progression of dishes allows you to slowly fill your tank and realize when you're full.

Start with the tomato breads or canoes, which are both a similar concept to anyone familiar with bruschetta. Both the tomato bread and the canoes, top grilled bread with tasty ingredients from the Iberian peninsula. The difference? The canoes let the toppings speak for themselves, whereas the tomato breads meld the ingredients into something different. An especially flavorful canoe showcases the brilliance of manchego and quince paste. Skip the garlic shrimp and brie in favor of meatier options like beef and pork tenderloin with gouda.

On one visit the tomato breads arrived with toasted bread, cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves and a dish of serrano ham. You are instructed to rub the garlic, then tomato, over the coarse bread and create your own tomato bread. On another visit, the work had been done by the kitchen, which is a necessary justification for the $7-$9 price tag.

The best surprise of the small bread-based tapas may have been the simplest. Laurentino serves his version of Caprese salad with tomato, mozzarella, mint (rather than basil), and a reduction of balsamic vinegar. It tastes of summer, yes, but also better highlights the interplay between sweet tomato and salty mozzarella.

Fried potatoes are excellent in two forms. Thin, crispy patatas fritas arrive alongside a single, charred lamb chop lollipop. The only sauce either need is provided in the form of a garlic laden, creamy allioli. Patatas bravas have a fiery sauce and are delicious on their own. The calamari we differed on. Rene loved the way it's firm flesh tasted of the beach and the sprinkling of smoky paprika, on the other hand Peter thought the chewiness was a bit offputting.

The simple slices of manchego on toast should be skipped, and the ceviche, Caesar salad, and avocado shrimp tropical were forgettable. Listen closely to the day's specials, especially if you hear the words "marinated artichoke heart." This special is prepared exclusively by Laurentino and features an upright heart atop a base of grilled manchego which is then drizzles with aged balsamic vinegar. The much touted roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with salmon mousse were ordered on one visit, but the dish never made it to the table. Oh well, there will definitely be a next time.

Laurentino does an admirable job with his paella. While we are assured of its authenticity from numerous sources, it seems bland compared to jambalaya. This is not a criticism of paella in general or Laurentino's paella in specificity; just an observation that for anyone who has spent a fall afternoon eating jambalaya while waiting for that 7:00pm kickoff in Death Valley, you will find yourself reaching for the hot sauce.

We always get in trouble when we talk about interior decorating, but here it goes. The inside of Barcelona tapas is cool. Laurentino, a former contractor, spent years building and shaping the building himself. As you enter, an ocean blue, mosaic topped bar anchors one half of the anteroom. The door to the kitchen looks as if it was ripped off a Spanish monastery. Exposed beams line the ceiling creating an illusion of dining in an ancient corridor of a castle.

The bar mixes a, excellent not-so-sweet sangria poured into glasses filled with diced apple. The wine list is a medley of Spanish varietals augmented by Italian and California selections; sadly txakolina is nowhere to be found. In this heat, stick with an ice cold Estrella. For dessert you have a choice of flan or creme brulee, the latter served either in the classic French style or spiced up with cinnamon in the Catalan style. Barcelona does not accept credit cards, but there is an ATM machine up front (no fee).

As far as Spanish food is concerned in New Orleans, Barcelona Tapas gets a birdie from us.

¡Viva España!

Barcelona Tapas

720 Dublin
New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 861-9696

Tuesday - Sunday from 5:30pm - Till