Consuming Ambitions

Things Get Ugly in the World of Wine E-Commerce. Very.

In the recent past, we've heard grumblings of frustration from management of leading wine e-commerce player Wine.com, over the fact that many wine shops and other merchants were skirting the byzantine laws which govern the distribution and shipment of alcoholic beverages in this country. As the Free the Grapes web site explains, "Despite widespread support for expanding consumer choice in wine, many consumers are still prohibited by state law from purchasing the wines they want directly from wineries and retailers." (A detailed description of the issue, including facts and figures, is available on that site.)

Wine.com management has been frustrated by the fact that while it complies fully with all laws related to wine distribution, flatly refusing orders which would violate regulations, many others are all too willing to fill those orders. To be clear, Wine.com does not support the archaic legal rules (which, if abolished, would open the national market fully), but it does feel the need to abide by them. Given the scrutiny that comes with being the web's largest seller of wine, it would be hard for Wine.com to flout those laws. Meanwhile, other parties are taking the orders that Wine.com steers clear of, shipping wines across state lines with abandon.

Wine.com articulates a reasonable position: why should we have to play by the rules and suffer while others don't? Level playing field and all that. Nonetheless, many of us were surprised and dismayed to see that Wine.com has taken to policing its competition: according to the Vinography wine blog, Wine.com has arranged for illegal wine orders to be placed (for example, having wine sold and shipped to Washington state from another state which is banned from doing so), then turned in its competitors to the government -- by forwarding emailed order confirmations along with a "please bust these guys" letter from its lawyers. This bold move has unleashed the fury of wine-lover nation, which does not want to see it get any harder to have tasty fermented grape juice shipped around the country. The fur is flying in the comments section of the Vinography post, and even Wine.com CEO Rich Bergsund has weighed in to defend his actions. BTW, the Tom Cole you see in those comments is not me! I received a laudatory email from the co-owner of a local wine shop (coincidentally, one where I happen to be a happy customer), because the other Tom Cole excoriates Wine.com in the comments. What can I say, it's a common name.

For Those About to Carve

Just in the nick of time, my wife came through with a pointer to a very helpful article in the New York Times (registration required) describing an excellent turkey carving technique. She is hoping to save me from the ignominy of dinner-table turkey launching carving accidents (as described in the article) or worse ("Honey, remember to only cut through joints -- if you try to cut through bone, the bone you cut may be your own!"). The best part of the article is that it includes an excellent 6-minute demonstration video worthy of the Food Network. But to use this technique, you do have to be willing to forgo the Norman Rockwell moment of carving the bird-cum-centerpiece at the table with your adoring loved ones looking on -- with this method, you do the deed in the kitchen, on a cutting board.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Big O: Organic Wines Versus Organic Grapes

Recently you may have read (or re-read) of the benefits of resveratrol, which we're pretty sure inspired you to administer some red wine immediately. Did you know, though, that levels of resveratrol are higher in organic wines than in non-organic ones? True. When being tested against DOC and table wines for resveratrol and antioxidant activity, the organic wines had the highest amount, and even had 50% more antioxidant activity than table wines.

If this news concerns or excites you, and you are ready to make the switch entirely to organic wines, make sure you get what you came for, for most wines are not organic -- even when their labels say they are made with organic grapes.

When a wine label claims the wine is made with organic grapes, these grapes have been grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, and the wines have been produced and bottled in a facility that has been certified organic. In addition, low levels of sulfites have been added.

Certified Organic wines, on the other hand, are grown, produced and bottled in the way delineated above, but they contain no added sulfites. Because sulfites occur naturally in wine, certified organic wines obviously contain them, but in their naturally occurring amounts. What's the big deal about sulfites? They help preserve a wine and prevent if from spoiling and oxidizing, thereby making an organic wine more prone to turning once opened; but really, isn't that all the more reason to share the bottle with good friends? Besides, both (red wine AND friends) are proven to be good for your heart.

This article is reprinted with the permission, sanction, blessing, exhortation, and enthusiastic endorsement of my friend and Bottlenotes' fearless leader, Alyssa Rapp. Let Bottlenotes help you begin (or continue) your journey inside the world of organic wines. Any palate is sure to be overjoyed by the array of varieties found at www.bottlenotes.com/organicwines.

5 Nutritious Habits

I was pleased (and perhaps a bit relieved) to see that in the recent Cooking Light article entitled "5 Nutritious Habits of the Planet's Healthiest Countries" I actually scored a solid 3-4 out of 5. My solid three habits: #2 - Savor Leisurely Dining, #4 - Eat a Variety of Unprocessed, Fresh Foods, and #5 - Spice Up Your Plate. Really I should get 2 points for #2, because several people have commented that I'm the slowest eater they've ever encountered (what I call "leisurely dining," my friends and loved ones call "damn slow").

The partial credit habit for me is #1 - Eat Plenty of Produce and Whole Grains. While I generally do a good job of loading up on produce (particularly in the summer, given the bounty of favorites such as heirloom tomatoes, stone fruits, berries, and corn), I don't really get enough whole grains. Also, I can't get behind the "meat as a garnish" concept described in the article. Hello! Parsley is a garnish, but meat is where the rubber hits the road at meal time.

As far as habit #3 - Practice Portion Control...yeah, not so much. Definitely a zero for me. In fact, one could argue that my piggish tendencies undermines the value of my Leisurely Dining, which is supposed to carry the benefit of "discouraging overeating." In my case, leisurely means more time to really pack it in -- there's a gastronomic Tetris going on inside my tummy and it takes time to arrange all the pieces!

Bistro Elan

At the TechCrunch 9 shindig back in July I ran into newly minted uStream CEO Chris Yeh, which reminded me that I had not yet availed myself of the opportunity to publish the restaurant review he had kindly forwarded me. Chris is a fan of Bistro Elan, the venerable but often overlooked Palo Alto eatery that is located away from the main University Avenue downtown district, calling California Avenue home. Ted Wang, an attorney I've known for years who served as company counsel to us at Photobucket, also considers Bistro Elan a fave and has been lobbying for a post on it ever since our last lunch there (hey Ted, better late than never!).

The restaurant does a good job of incorporating seasonal fare into the menu, which tends to have relatively few choices but changes frequently. Chris describes the restaurant:

One of my regular haunts is Bistro Elan in Palo Alto. This cool little fusion bistro has been serving fresh ingredients with beautiful presentation for about a decade. I go there all the time to meet my venture capitalist buddies for lunch, since it is one of the few "VC Class" restaurants near my office (the other is Straits Café).

All of their food is good, but I have to make a pitch for their latest special dish, pan-seared tuna with a spicy spring vegetable salad ($16.95). The dish was a delight, combining just-right spiciness with the mouth-pleasing textures of nearly raw sashimi-grade tuna and still crunchy green beans and asparagus. It gets my strong recommendation!

Bistro Elan's menu is constantly changing, so make your way down before the pan-seared tuna goes off the menu.

Due to my slowness in getting Chris' comments posted, I don't think the pan-seared tuna is on the menu any longer (but perhaps there's now a variation with "late summer" vegetables rather than "spring" -- yes, that's how tardy I am). However, the dish does serve as a good example of the restaurant's orientation to build dishes around what's in season.

Along with a handsomely simple high-ceiling, dark-wood interior dining room, Bistro Elan also sports a pleasant patio seating area -- a small, sheltered garden which provides the perfect setting for an alfresco meal in these waning days of summer. I count myself in the Chris and Ted camp of Bistro Elan fandom, but would note that detractors complain that the food is overpriced and unremarkable. Also, due to the smallish menu, the vegetarian options are limited. Nonetheless, I say give Bistro Elan a try, especially if you can score a patio table on a warm afternoon!

Bistro Elan
448 S. California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 327-0284

Crunchfood

A number of people, including members of the press, have been asking today whether the author of the hilarious TechCrunch parody Crunchfood is in fact yours truly. It all seems to make sense: foodie culture meets Silicon Valley scene (in the same spirit as this blog), the recent paucity of postings here on Consuming Ambitions -- and let's not forget the, ahem, sparkling dry wit. I am not taking credit for the clever satire, but then, if it actually were me, do you think I would tell? In any case, check it out. The parody of Michael Arrington's well-read blog is the best I've seen since the fake Steve Jobs diary.

XOX Truffles

Recently Ron Pereira of Top Right kindly started our meeting by presenting me with a box of XOX Truffles. The canny eCommerce entrepreneur had seen my food blog and knew that I would appreciate fine chocolates. What a great way to start a meeting! I had to resist the temptation to fund his startup on the spot.

XOX Truffles is the brainchild of Chef Jean-Marc Gorce and Casimira N. Tobilla (nice story: they met at a food show and became partners in both business and marriage). The truffles are made in the traditional rustic French style: bite-sized, irregularly shaped, and totally wax free. I appreciate the smaller size because sometimes you really just want a little bit of chocolate. Ha ha, who are we kidding? Really I like the bite-size because I can eat three or four different flavors at one sitting. The box from Ron included cocoa dusted as well as a variety of other coatings such as coconut, hazelnut, and coffee crunch.

The company does a brisk wholesale business (including corporate gifts) but also has retail storefronts in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood as well as in the Oakland's Montclair Village. You can also have the product shipped by purchasing on the web site, but check out the company's warnings about temperature: apparently the lack of wax means a very delicate truffle that doesn't take well to warmer climes (if you live in Hawaii, the company won't even bother).

Thanks again Ron for the tasty treat!

XOX Truffles
754 Columbus Avenue
(between Filbert & Greenwich)
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 421-4814

6126 La Salle Avenue
The Montclair Village
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 339-XXOX (9969)

Edible Arrangements: The Healthy and Tasty Alternative to Flowers

Driving on El Camino Real near Page Mill Road in Palo Alto, I had been spying the little Edible Arrangements store for a few months, wondering exactly what it was. Thanks to my friend Ron Gutman, I now know that Edible Arrangements is the fruity equivalent of sending a bouquet of flowers. Ron, knowing my foodie proclivity, opted for fruit over flowers to celebrate the recent birth of our first kid -- an arrangement called Berry Special Baby (very punny!). Though we appreciated all the flowers sent by friends and family, I have to say that none of them brought out the whole family to stand around the kitchen island as we did with our lovely fruit-o-rama, feeding like a pack of wolverines.

The fruit (festively cut pineapple, plus strawberries with and without chocolate dip coating) was good and fresh, and kept okay for a couple of days in the fridge. I appreciated the fact that Edible Arrangements used a decent quality of dark chocolate for the dip (there is at least one person in our household, who shall remain nameless lest she pull the comforter off me in my sleep tonight, who boycotts all manner of milk chocolate).

The Edible Arrangements web site claims 712 stores and counting (for the enterprising among you, franchising opportunity awaits). The store locator shows branches all over the Bay Area, including multiple stores in San Francisco. Keep it in mind the next time you're thinking of sending flowers -- in sending fruit you will stand out, and also help your recipient get 1000% U.S. recommended daily allowance of vitamin C!

Why Your VC May Be Packing Some Extra Pounds

My friend over at MDV, Dave Feinleib, has some entertaining posts about his eating habits: three lunches in a single day! He also dispenses some healthy eating advice, and even inspired an entertaining cartoon. To Dave I say: I admire your consuming ambitions. The only time I have ever replicated this feat, my dumpling taste-off on a weekend trip to L.A., I was not attempting to conduct business at the same time as Dave did -- a good thing, given that I entered food coma sometime between the second and third lunches! Entrepreneur Doug Klein caught Dave's triple-lunch post and wryly noted to me, "You guys break my heart, really ... :)".

Costco: Foodie Finds in the Warehouse

Admittedly, Costco is not a name you'd expect to hear much on a foodie blog. But Chris Yeh reminds us that our friendly neighborhood warehouse-palooza can be an economical place to buy basic foods and ingredients, which you can always take home and transform into something memorable (or just eat directly!):

There are many reasons to love Costco, but the main reason I love it is for the food. Costco does a great job of making great food available. Often, there are gourmet items that you'd never be able to get in a typical supermarket, available at half the cost they'd be at even Trader Joe's, let alone Draegers or a specialty market.

One of my favorites right now are Costco's cheeses. Two great varieties that can liven up any occasion (and are great for any time snacks) are the Spanish Manchego ($7.99/pound) and the Pecorino Romano ($3.99/pound). Both are firm, strongly flavored cheeses where a little goes a long way. I especially enjoy eating them with some of Costco's colossal garlic-stuffed green olives as a simple sort of antipasti.

And given their price and flavor intensity, they're practically cheaper than supermarket cheddar!

To Chris' point, on a recent Costco run, I found flats of good quality strawberries and blackberries for a small fraction of the price at our local grocery store; I don't remember the specific prices, but remember thinking that the flat costed about the same as a small box or two at the grocery (but had 2-3x the volume). As for all the processed foods and the Costco snack bar: just say no! In terms of prepared foods, I will say that the baked goods made on premises are not bad for the money. Costco makes a pretty mean fruit pie. A surprising foodie find on my most recent trip to Costco was Dragonfly Cakes petit fours -- exquisite cakes almost too lovely to eat unless you're a glutton like me, in which case you snap a quick photo before downing the whole box. The Sweet Life waxes poetic about these addictive treats. Not sure whether every Costco location stocks these little gems from Sausalito-based Dragonfly Cakes, but I found them at the Rengstorff location (across from In-N-Out) in Mountain View. They were back in a corner at the far end of the low, open-top refrigerated cases that store cheese and smoked salmon.