Continuing in the celebration of 2 years of marriage, Jeff opens up a bottle he’s been hanging on to for a while…
Wine Tasted:
Rodney Strong 2005 Symmetry
And here’s the cork.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
In the absence of Kara, and in preparation for their two-year wedding anniversary, Jeff pairs a Paso Robles GSM and Jumbo New York Strip Romaine Split…
Wine Tasted:
Trader Joe’s Reserve 2009 Paso Robles GSM
Paired With:
Jumbo New York Strip Romaine Split
Stay Rad,
Jeff
On of my favorite memories from Japan was our quick trip to the shopping district of Osu Kannon…
Osu Kannon
Osu Kannon is a huge outdoor shopping area.
Now…
I’m not a huge fan of shopping, but the vibe of this place was really cool.
The highlight for me was when we peeked our heads into an eatery, and got us some Okonomiyaki.
Last night, I tried my hand at a traditional, flat, Okonomiyai pancake…
My Attempt at the Traditional Okonomiyaki
And, aside from not cutting the cabbage thin enough, it turned out pretty well.
But…
The Okonomiyaki in Osu Kannon is far from traditional…
The Sandwich Style Okonomiyaki of Osu Kannon
Aside from its shape, the major difference in this type of Okonomiyaki is that the cabbage and onions are not part of the pancake. They are instead prepared separately, and folded up in the thin pancake like a omlette, so you can eat it sandwich style.
Since I had a bunch of leftover ingredients from last night, today I decided to try my own hand at the Okanomiyaki Sandwich.
But first…
A drink.
One of my favorite beverages from Japan was the Chu Hi. It’s a citrus flavored cocktail made from Shochu (a spirit made from distilled wheat, rice, and sesame).
The other day, I picked up a bottle of Shochu from a Japanese market in the Japan Town section of San Jose…
Benitome Shochu. It’s got the roundness of Sake, but with an alcoholic kick.
The only thing you really need to mix with the Shochu is some citrus juice and a splash of carbonated water. Here’s what I used…
Sparkling Mineral Water and Rio Red Grapefruit Juice
I went about 50-50 on Juice to Shochu, and topped it off with the Mineral Water to get this…
The Rad Grapefruit Chu Hi
Pretty good. Make sure you enjoy this one responsibly.
Oh…
I almost forgot…
Here’s my Okonomiyaki…
Osu Kannon Style Okonomiyaki with Miso Soup and a Rad Grapefruit Chu Hi
Boom!
Stay Rad,
Jeff
In this episode, Jeff tries the perfect rose for a hot day…
Wine Tasted:
Stepping Stone 2011 Corallina Rose of Syrah by Cornerstone Cellars
Paired With:
Okonomiyaki of Pork topped with Kewpie Mayonnaise and Okonomi Sauce
Stay Rad,
Jeff
This past weekend, Kara and I headed up to Reno, Nevada to visit my folks for a couple of days.
When we arrived, my dad told me that he would be making us dinner, so Kara and I drove over to Craft Wine and Beer to pick up a couple bottles of geeky goodness…
Craft Wine and Beer
While shopping around the store, we each had a glass of rose…
KO 2011 Rose
The KO 2011 Rose from France is made of Gamay, Cabernet Franc, and a little known grape from the Loire called Grolleau. The wine is 12.5% alcohol, and was served lightly chilled.
Color: It’s a darker salmon pink color.
Nose: The fruit is of strawberry shock tarts and tangerine. There is a nice honey and wheat note on the tail end.
Taste: Good fruit of strawberry and nectarine. Subtle notes of grass. Good acidity.
Score: The perfect wine when you are browsing for wine on a hot day. 88+
I ended up getting two bottles to bring home for dinner. If you want to see a fun video about the wines that I bought, click here.
The next morning, Kara and I went down to the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino to check out The Great International Chicken Wing Society Cook-Off…
The Cook-Off
Wings
While we were walking around the festival, we overheard that they were looking for some judges to sample and vote on all the wings…
I couldn’t say no… So I said yes.
My official score card… Along with a few chicken bones.
Later that day, we walked around downtown Reno where we spotted a whole bunch of tribute bands at the All American BBQ Fest…
Roses and Guns as Guns n’ Roses
Blaze of Glory as Bon Jovi
Crossfire as Stevie Ray Vaughn
The Jacks as AC/DC
Gwen in Doubt as No Doubt
On the last day, we went on a search for some good eats.
We started at Hash House a go go in Harrah’s Casino for lunch…
This is the only place that could make beer in a bag look classy.
The Famous One Pound Stuffed Burger with Fries and a Harpoon of Rosemary
Lovin’ this Burger
After lunch, we walked over to Jungle Vino along the shore of the Truckee River for a drink…
It’s tough to turn down a beer called Moose Drool…
Next stop was the West Street Wine Bar…
Domaine de L’Oubliee 2010 Bourguiel
Bourguiel is a region in the Loire Valley of France. These red wines are 100% Cabernet Franc.
Color: The Darkness! This is a dark ruby to purple colored wine.
Nose: Big bike tires on the nose. There is a nice hint of green bell pepper and blackberry as well.
Taste: This wine is DRY! Green bell pepper. Cabbage. Black pepper. Mint.
Score: This is a big, fun, nerdy wine. I love it. 89
Before dinner, we played a quick round of Beer Pong at Harrah’s.
Our last stop was the Thai Corner Cafe for some all-you-can-eat sushi…
Sushi Goodness
And that’s the 411 on Reno.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
In this episode, Jeff tries to expand his dad’s palate beyond that of the buttery Chardonnay…
Wines Tasted:
La Pepie 2011 Cot
Giuseppe Lonardi 2009 Valpolicella Classico
Stay Rad,
Jeff and Marcello
In this episode, Jeff tries a bunch of wine with the help of Dave TheVegetarian…
Stay Rad,
Jeff
On our last full day in Japan, we decided to give Nagoya a big Sayonara.
To do this, we needed to head on over to the subway…
But first, we had to walk through a little rain.
What we decided to do was get a day pass for the subway, get off at random stops, and have a drink.
Nagoya Subway
Starting from Higashiyama Koen, our first stop was Hoshigaoka…
We stopped at the Aloha Table Hawaiian Restaurant for lunch and a drink.
I had the Fire Rock Pale Ale…
And Chicken Curry.
We got back on the Subway and headed over to Ikeshita…
We wandered into the basement of a business building and found the Mono Wine Bar…
How cool is this? Their house wine was a Monte Bello (Okay… Not THAT Monte Bello) Sangiovese for only 400 yen a glass…
I opted for the Okha 2010 Pinotage. It’s got a nose of dusty blackberries, and a palate of cherries and bandaids. Very nice!
The next stop was Chikusa…
We found a cool little ramen shop called Fuji Ichiban.
I had a tall glass of Kirin and a cold bottle of Kikukawa Sake. The Kikukawa has a great, mouth-filling, caramel flavor that I just love in sake…
We all shared a plate of Pork Gyoza (Pot Stickers).
Back on the subway, we made our next stop at Sakae…
We made our way up a creepy elevator, and ended up at the ultra hip bar, Black Stone…
I had me a small glass of Suntory Malts.
The last stop on our Sayonara tour was Shinsakae Machi…
We hit up Jerry’s Uno…
Where I got a very tiny margarita…
Some amazing buffalo wings…
And a “Meat Taco”. By “Meat Taco”, I mean “Baby Burrito filled with Pork and Cabbage”.
The next morning, it was time to head back to the good ol’ U.S. of A…
First Trip: Nagoya to Tokyo
Kara spotted Mt. Fuji out of her window.
Next Trip: Tokyo to LA
On the plane, I ate some Beef and Soba…
And had me a mini bottle of Art’s Non-Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon from France. Not bad. Next time you are offered a free glass on an airplane, you should try it.
Yup… Back in America.
Having a Sam Adams during our SIX HOUR LAYOVER in LA.
By the time we arrived at the baggage claim in San Jose, it had been about 30 hours since we first woke up the morning of July 2nd in Japan… It was still only 7:10pm the same day…
So…
That’s it!
We’re back from Japan.
I still have a few little Japanese things to show to you over the next couple of weeks, but the blog is going to ease its way back into its normal format…
More videos…
More reviews…
More wine…
More Awesome!
Stay Rad,
Jeff
PS – The Next Episode of Stay Rad Wine Blog TV will be number 50. Stay tuned for the goods.
Sometimes, plans change…
Yesterday morning, we were planning to head out to Takayama for the weekend, but we had a really late start. The old town city is quite a drive, we didn’t have any hotel reservations, and businesses usually shut down there around 5 pm.
So, we decided instead to spend the day on Himakajima Island.
Just off of the Chita Peninsula, this island is home to a small fishing village that specializes in Tako (Octopus) and Fugu (Blowfish).
It sounded like a good time, so we all hopped in the car and headed South…
Driving
We bought our ferry tickets, and headed down to the docks…
The Docks
Waiting with a Football and a Mocha
After a quick boat ride, we reached the shore…
The Shore
And then, it happened…
We took a look at a posted map of the island, and realized that we were not on Himakajima Island, but its neighbor Shinjojima Island… We had jumped off the boat one stop too early.
We figured since we were already there, that we would rent some bikes, and explore Shinjojima before hopping over to Himakajima…
Biking It
We saw some pretty cool stuff…
Locals Fishing
And we spent quite a bit of time hanging out on the beach…
The Beach
But we were ready for the excitement of Himakajima, so we returned our bikes and hopped on another boat to the bigger island…
On the Boat
The town looked much more developed on Himakajima Island…
Octopus Statue
But we soon realized that most of the shops were starting to shut down.
The reason for this is that most of the people who work on Himakajima actually live on the mainland of Japan. The last ferry leaves at 7:30 pm, so in order to make sure that everyone gets home, most restaurants close at 5:00 pm.
But we were hungry…
PB started talking with one of the locals, named Suzuki…
PB and Suzuki
Suzuki knew of a restaurant about a mile from the docks on Himakajima that stayed open later for the locals, so he made a call and had the place send out a van to pick us up and take us to the place…
The Van
The Ride
When we arrived at our destination, we were treated to a traditional Japanese dining experience…
Dining on the Floor
All Japanese Menu
Tea
Since Himakajima is a small fishing village, they pretty much only serve what was caught that day…
We all decided to share a plate of Sashimi…
Sashimi
Now look…
I’ve had Sashimi before.
I love eating fresh, raw, pieces of fish.
But…
I’ve never had anything this fresh before.
Check out the video…
And just in case you thought I was a poser, here’s footage of me eating it…
Ater that, I dove into my Unagi (Eel) and Miso Soup…
Unagi and Miso Soup
And, of course, I had some of their house Hot Sake…
Yum!
After we returned to Nagoya, we headed out to the Sakae district to check out the nightlife…
Sakae at Night
We met up with some friends at Darts Bar Leo…
Darts Bar Leo
The Bar…
Complete with Darts…
And Karaoke! How about some NOFX?
Sometimes, plans change…
And they become greater than you ever thought they could be.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Stay Rad 