Jeannie finally paid a visit to the overly talked about Italian food store, Eataly. It has taken her this long to check it out because of the crowds that constantly fill the Italian food shop at the northwest corner of 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue.

Even as she entered Eataly via the cafe entrance, she found herself being swept in along with a group of people were also intent on entering the Italian mega food store. Once inside, she moved slowly passed the barista counter serving customers hot and steamy beverages until she found herself in the confections area of chocolates, nougats, jams, honeys, and pastries. She looked over the pastry counter and was delighted by the sweet descriptions of the panna cotta, torts, and cakes. She wanted to try them all but at the price they were selling it for, she had to be selective.

Cannoli are her favorite Italian pastry. She loves the crunchy tube shell that is filled with a creamy sweetened mixture of ricotta cheese and dotted with either chocolate chips or candied fruit. There were two being offered, one with candied orange peel and the other with bits of chocolate. She also took home a layered lemon and fruit tort and a baba limoncello.

She then moved into an area that she realized was the dining area. People were standing and enjoying boards of cured meats and wine. She felt a bit awkward being caught in the middle of the space where people were casually eating while she was passing through. She eventually crossed into another area where there was pasta and other food products on display and for sale.

One of the many foods Jeannie enjoys from Italy are the various shaped pastas. And not the kind of pastas that are found in the local supermarkets but the ones that are thicker and have a pale yellow-cream like color and with a light dusting of flour. She liked eating this quality of pasta. There's more chew than the common pasta.

She slowly went up and down the short aisles admiring the pastas but eventually realized she was seeing the same shapes by different brands. She was disappointed there was not more variety of shapes and even color!

Jeannie then saw a beer area and made a beeline to the section. Again, she noticed there wasn't a great variety of Italian beers. In fact, she was put off they were selling American craft beers in an Italian food market. She looked over the Italian beer selections and was baffled at the prices per bottle especially after reading luke-warm reviews for beers that seemed interesting.

She then went next door to Eataly wine shop. Though the shop was small, she was overwhelmed by the selection. Then again, she knows almost next to nothing about wine other than what she likes to drink. There were wines that interested her like the Barbaresco, which she was not familiar with. One thing she was surprised that was not sold in the wine store was amaretto. The shop sold other types of Italian liqueurs like sambuca, grappa, and dessert wines but not amaretto?

In general, Jeannie enjoyed walking through Eataly, and looking at the various Italian products. While she walked throughout the space and especially through the dining area, she couldn't help but feel as though she was in an Italian piazza but enclosed. She found the amount of people and general chatter overwhelming though manageable. She had no desire to dine at any of the eateries at Eataly. After today's visit, Jeannie would not rush to return.

You wouldn't know it was winter in NYC today, Saturday January 7, 2012, with it's balmy high 50s temperature! The sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze that helped to keep Jeannie cool while wearing layers that included a light jacket, sweater, and shirt.

She and TH ventured into the neighborhood of the East Village in search of beer; Good Beer. It's a shop that offers a large selection of craft beers in the united states and abroad. Jeannie has been getting into beers since she was introduced to a light and refreshing Belgian wheat beer 2 summers ago.

Before they went hunting for Good Beer, they stopped off to have tea and a bite to eat at Saint Alp's Teahouse. The black sesame milk tea with black tapioca lived up to Jeannie's expectations while she was impressed with the pungent gingerness of the hot milk tea with ginger. The food was pretty good although the crispy dumpling was something they would not order again. She enjoyed the chicken sliders, which was fried pieces of dark meat topped with creamy cole slaw with a faint hint of Chinese five spice and served between soft potato buns.

Good Beer was not a far walk from the Teahouse. When they arrived, Jeannie was slightly disappointed that it was not bigger. She was expecting rows upon rows of new and familiar craft beers.

The beers are displayed in sliding glass cases along one side of the shop which did not go too deeply. There is also a shelf and an island of beer at the front where customers have used as a surface to rest their beers as they chatted. What Jeannie found unique about Good Beer is they also serve beer from the tap and some foods like cheese platter, pretzels, and organic hotdogs - to name a few. Customers could hang out at the back or lounge by the entrance and enjoy hipsters passing by. They also offered a flight of four beers for $8, which they went for while they explored the beer selections.

The flight they selected included 3 stouts and 1 cider.

Hill Farmstead Twilight of the idol
Two Brothers North Wind
Mean Old Tom Maine Bee Company
Crispin Original

 

Crispin Original was the most enjoyable while Hill Farmstead was okay and the rest were not to their taste.

They eventually ended up at Whole Foods TriBeCa to pick up dinner. WFT had a great selection of craft beers, and Jeannie and TH are always excited to see what beers they offer and end up lugging home. Jeannie also noticed the prices at WFT competed with Good Beer.

Jeannie planned for a simple dinner with beer, cheese, and cured meats. A bottle of Innis & Gunn Winter Ale 2011, which was enjoyed with a simple omelette, cured pepperoni, and selection of cheeses.

Not every 52 new things that Jeannie will attempt to accomplish will be terribly exciting, nor would it always be a challenge.

For instance, during week 4, she bought and read a small collection of drinking stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. She didn't find the stories all that entertaining or related to drinking. She was not engrossed with the stories as she expected. She wanted to fall into a literary intoxication. She imagined sneaking into hidden speakeasies or being entertained with a cocktail at supper clubs, or a drunken mishap. She did not get any of that. The only story that was of any interest to her was the one where Fitzgerald briefly described the various accommodations he had stayed on his travels. She thought the book was disappointing but acknowledges that her disappointment stemmed from her high expectations of a collection of short stories called, "On Booze".

Jeannie was recently at a Greek restaurant where she tried two Greek specialty spirits. TH suggested that she try a unique wine that is only produced by the Greeks. TH asked for a glass of <retsina><\a>; which is white wine aged in barrels sealed with pine resin.

She found the taste of the retsina interesting. She definitely tasted the piney-ness, which was what gave the retsina it's unique taste.

She also had a shot of <ouzo>; a clear liquor that tasted like anisette and licorice. Jeannie enjoyed sipping ouzo. She liked the taste especially when she licked her lips after each sip.

Though she doesn't really enjoy Greek food, she enjoyed the Greek spirits. Now, she wants a bottle of ouzo.

Jeannie finally made it to one of the whisky tastings at Ward 3 in TriBeCa, which is held almost every Monday. That Monday, they were tasting products from Gordon and MacPhail, which included the following:

Tormore 14
Strathisla 12
Old Pulteney 21
Mortlach 15
Benromach 10

She enjoyed the setting of the tasting at Ward 3. The host and participants sat around one of the low lounge tables and tasted the whiskies. It was a small group, which included Ellie from NYC Whisky and Keith from Teleport City.

After the Gordon and MacPhail tasting, Jeannie also participated in the Maker's Mark tasting, bourbon. There were 3 tastings of their products, which included the following:

Maker's Mark
Maker's 46
One bourbon made with corn

Though Jeannie tried to keep an open mind about bourbon, she did not enjoy what she tasted. She did find the clear corn based bourbon was interesting but not something she would rush out to buy. She was glad that she tried Maker's Mark bourbon because the experience grounded her opinion that she did not like bourbon.

Jeannie started her 52 New Things Challenge ironically on Repeal Day, the day that alcohol was no longer illegal. She went to a new bar in a neighborhood you would not normally find her in on a weekday after 5pm. She was attending a whisky tasting for The Balvenie, a whisky she was already familiar with but this tasting offered an opportunity to taste some of their other products.

The Balvenie tasting was at a Scottish pub called Caledonia. She walked passed it a couple of times before she finally found its door and entered a narrow bar. She took a seat at the bar and noticed the various whiskies offered as well as Scottish ales and beers. There was even a Scottish cider that she did not recognize, so she ordered it. The bartender even advised her the cider was even new to him and he explained that he hailed not too far from the brewery.

She enjoyed the crisp and sweet Thistly Cross Scottish Cider. She found it refreshing especially as the bar began to get crowded.

The tasting eventually commenced, and included 5 of their products.

The Balvenie Doublewood
The Balvenie 14 Caribbean cask <she wants a bottle of this!>
The Balvenie 15 year
The Balvenie 17 year Peated Cask
The Balvenie 21 year

Jeannie enjoyed her experience at Caledonia. She could see herself returning although not any time soon. The location is out of the way. Perhaps the next time she goes to the Metropolitan Museum, she can stop in afterwards for a refreshing Scottish cider.

Jeannie recently read an inspiring blog post about 52 New Things. It's a challenge to do 1 new thing a week. It got Jeannie wondering how many new things she has done thus far. Then she wondered how often she frequented places.

Inspired by Keith's desire to live a more "dandy rakehell" life, and write more interesting stories, Jeannie decided to join in on the challenge. She especially liked the idea of finding material to keep her writing.

Jeannie lives in New York City. There's always something to do and new restaurants to try, new shows to see, and new drinks to consume! She has no excuse to at least do one new thing per week, and write about it.

The next whisky tasting that Jeannie went to was an induction into the world of Glenlivet. It was another velvet roped affair however, it was unlike the experience when she went to the Macallan tasting.

Glenlivet had two representatives make a presentation about whisky and the brand. Both gentlemen were entertaining and friendly. The presentation was also backed up with impressive graphics.

She enjoyed the Glenlivet presentation. They explained the characteristic nose and taste of whisky with representative organic material in containers. She learned that there are 4 categories of scents.

Sweet (fruitcake)
Spicy (various spices that included but not limited to cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves)
Floral (petal from a lily)
Smoky (smoked barley)

She thought it was very helpful the way the characteristic scents were
isolated so people like Jeannie, or other newbies, could understand what they were drinking. Having this knowledge, helped Jeannie to better understand why she liked one kind of whisky more than others.

She tried 3 different whiskies from Glenlivet.

Of the three whiskies, she enjoyed the 15 year old most.

At the end of the evening, she parted with a nice gift, a pair of Glenlivet branded glasses to enjoy her next whisky with.

Jeannie recently took advantage of a free shipping offer at Tom's Shoes and purchased a pair of the socially conscientious footwear as gifts. She also bought a pair for herself, and just adores them! She finds them comfortable and casually stylish. She hopes everyone else will like them as much as her.

As you may already know, Jeannie has a keen interest in whisky. She developed a taste before she visited Scotland and returned determined to understand and appreciate whisky as a fine drink to savor.

Since her return from Scotland, Jeannie has been to a couple of whisky tastings. Some were more interesting and informative than others. The latest one was organized by Skyy Spirits. It is dedicated to women who either enjoy or want to learn more about whisk(e)y, hence the name of the event, Women and Whiskies.

Skyy Spirits are suppliers of various brown spirits. Their portfolio includes a range of whisk(e)ys that included those produced in Scotland, America, and Japan.

Wild Turkey 81 (America)
Russell's Reserve 10 year (America)
Glengrant 10 year (Scotland)
Glenrothes 1998 (Scotland)
Auchentoshan 3 wood (Scotland)
Hibiki 12 year (Japan)
Yamazaki 12 year (Japan)
Bowmore 12 year (Scotland)

The tasting took place in a private room of the W Hotel in Union Square. Delicious hors d'oeuvre were served along with special cocktails. As the room began to fill with ladies with interest in whisky, Jeannie started to talk to a whisky enthusiast, Tanya. They hit it off and shared a table feasting on hors d'oeuvres and sipping cocktails. When the tasting began, another woman, Lisa, joined their table. The three ladies shared jotted down notes as explained by one of the Skyy Spirits hostess, and shared their tasting notes with each pour.

Jeannie thoroughly enjoyed Women & Whiskies: learning and tasting new whiskies, the food, and meeting other women who also enjoyed the brown spirit. So far, she has not found an American whiskey that suited her taste. She enjoyed a Japanese blend, the Hibiki. And she was surprised by how much she liked the Bowmore, which was peaty and salty - whisky characters she has not appreciated in the past.

Jeannie departed the event a little more educated about whisk(e)y, understanding her taste, and having met some interesting people.