Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - Mistadobalina (Video Version)

Mr. Dobalina Mr. Bob Dobalina....

Bay Area hip-hop here!

BUY MY MUSIC, DAMMIT!

In my first four and a half months of blogging, I have abstained from this sort of self-promo. But now it's high time for some shameless self promotion.

For the better part of the aughties I have played with a group called JohnStone. We play reggae. Not dancehall, not reggae influenced rock, but good old reggae, slightly updated and tweaked for modern times. We're a great crew of likable, hard working folks slaving away at the 9 to 5 and doing music in most of our free time. That's worth supporting, right? This past September we released our 3rd album - you can listen to several tracks (full length, none of that :30 bullshit) on our website. If you're so inclined, you can buy stuff on itunes or CD Baby. As did Bartles, James and many others before me, I thank you for your support.

And now back to our usual blog program.

good TAURASI is a great value at $40

Though I love Campanian wines, I have had minimal experience with the intensely flavored, long lived Aglianico based wines of Taurasi. These wines are not
inexpensive, but if the quality of the wine I tried today is any indicator, they are still very reasonably priced. In the wide world of wine, we who sell the stuff are often as guilty as our customers (if not more so) of assigning arbitrary levels of value to certain regions or categories of wines. For example: "That's a great entry level Barolo, and a real value at $30." Or, "I would never pay $50 for a wine from Sicily." Fact is, a $30 Barolo at best will show a bit of typicity and that's about it - I'd rather buy a good bottle of langhe nebbiolo and arneis for my $30. And if a $50 bottle of wine from Sicily or southern Italy is every bit worth the price, then why hate? Appreciate.

And did I ever appreciate the bottle of 2000 Contrade di Taurasi I tasted today. Amongst a solid Italian line-up, including such gems as 2004 Bruno Rocca Barbaresco, it stood tall and was my favorite of the 25 strong row of Italians lined up on the tasting bar. The combination of truly intense black fruits, combined with decent acidity and a strong mineral backbone, made me taste a few times, and re-visit the wine for a palate refresher - with the same satisfaction and shaking of my head as the first taste.

Bottle Shock - Hollywood's next wine movie.

I can't help but post this trailer to the much anticipated (by some in the wine industry, anyway) Bottle Shock, which is loosely based on the 1976 Paris tasting. I still have Alan Rickman's performance with Johnny Dep in Sweeney Todd fresh in my mind. He's a good actor, and along with Bill Pullman might be the only quality performance of this movie. Bottle Shock, in theaters March 2008.

Cab Franc for the cave

The original plan was to cellar some German Riesling this month, which I still may do. But today I realized that there is just way too much incredible, inexpensive, Cab Franc in the store to ignore. So 3 bottles of each of the following:

2002 Olga Raffault Chinon 'Les Picasses' (beginning to get silky and taste similar to good old school claret, great intensity to the fruit, shows really nicely a day after opening).
2004 Joel Taluau St Nicolas de Bourgueil Vielles Vignes (Youthful but so powerful, with all the structure for 10+ years in the cellar.)
2004 Chateau Tour Grise '253' Saumur Rouge (Very crisp, bright, punchy cab franc, with raspberry fruit and a really fresh profile. Not quite convinced that it's mid-long term material, but 3 years improvement no problem)

It will be at least 3 years before I re-visit each of these, though I may wait longer on the Taluau and Tour Grise, possibly 5 years. Any thoughts on this, Loire cab franc drinkers?

Indian Thriller

To celebrate Friday, bring in the weekend, and get everyone ready for my review of Shalimar, here's the infamous 'Indian Thriller' video for you viewing and listening pleasure.

Shalimar!

A couple nights ago my friend Matt and his wife Karla took me out for some delicious Indian and Pakistani cuisine on Indian row in the 'loin. I had heard high praise for Shalimar, as well as some cautionary tales (greasy, do not use the bathrooms, etc). It is definitely a no frills greasy spoon without any pretensions; I found the place to be clean, if sparsely and simply decorated. But it's not about the ambience, or for that matter the service here (we were given dishes we did not order twice, you need to pay attention and be vigilant as the plates start arriving!) It's about greedily eating some of the most authentic, perfectly seasoned Indian and Pakistani food around. Each place setting is provided with a 'Shalimar Times,' basically a four page tabloid printout explaining what Shalimar is about, with a menu on the inside. An excerpt states, "SHALIMAR'S CULINARY PHILOSOPHY: 'No substituions to fit the local tastes, no frills or nuevo cuisine, but sensible, genuine, tasty hearty and wholesome food.' In each guest we look forward to 'many happy returns.' " The interesting word usage and liberal smattering of quote marks makes for entertaining pre-meal reading.

On to the food. We ordered 3 types of flavored naan (onion, garlic, and spicy potato). All were flavorful and properly moist and chewy. Okra and tomatoes was delicious - rich and velvety fresh okra, piquant from the simmered tomatoes, and very savory and authentic from a liberal use of hing. Pureed eggplant (bengen bhujia) was tasty, with a good amount of onion and a strong cardamom seasoning which was the dominant flavor of this dish. Even better was the tandoori chicken (murgh boti tandoori), crisp and well seasoned with spices and vinegar. The standout dish, however, was saag gosht - a combination of tender braised lamb and spinach, with ginger, coriander, and a more mild blend of spices.

No wine to wash this food down. It's a BYOB and I was caught unprepared, no riesling on me and neighborhood shops are fine for tall boys of beer but that's about it. So it was all washed down with a Bass ale. Which was fine, even Riesling would have a tough time handling much of this food. I wholeheartedly reccommend Shalimar for folks who can deal with a slightly sketchy neighborhood, poor service and a slightly louder than usual blend of hip-hop and Bhangra. At Shalimar, it's all about the food.