The Gourmez

There is a strong nose of sweet tobacco.  On the palate, this light- to medium-bodied wine is like drinking red licorice but without the copious sweetness.  Red chili powder is also a dominant flavor but it is restrained and the tobacco is present but more subtly than in the aroma.  This wine is acidic but [...]

I hate snow.  Sure, it’s fun to lift your head to the first flakes of the winter but that excitement lasts me for, oh, say a day or two.  Which makes living in North Carolina perfect; in the three years we’ve lived here, this past year was the first one that brought any snow accumulation [...]

My review of Pop’s Restaurant in Durham.  The verdict is truffle:

My review of the unusually bitter espresso martini at Pop’s in Durham.  It’s an:

One thing you should know about me, if you don’t yet, is that I take my television seriously.  Not so seriously that I’ve actually rewatched DVD sets over and over, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s musical episode excepted, but enough that I spend lots of time reading other people’s opinions on what it all means.  Too [...]

Okay, so it’s been maybe a week since Facebook debuted its new layout.  I, for one, love it but I seem to be in the minority.  Either that, or the haters are just very vocal about it!  So here’s why I love the layout:

Other words on the label: Producto de Espana The label displays an abstract, lined portrait on a mustard yellow background. The nose brings me back to my first taste of freeze-dried strawberries at the San Francisco exploratorium when I was young. Astronaut food totally rocks. Paprika also has a presence here. As for the actual [...]

Other words on the label: Rhone Valley Vineyards Cotes Du Ventaux Appellation Cotes Du Ventaux controlee This wine is a blend of grenache, syrah, carignan, and cinsault. I’ve only heard of the first two before. There are an awful lot of grape varietals in the world, aren’t there? It smells sweet, smooth, and tingly with [...]

1116 Broad Street Watts Hillandale area, Durham www.wattsgrocery.com Entrees:  $13-20 Watts Grocery is a lovely restaurant (no, not a grocery) that offers, brunch, lunch, dinner, and late night until at least midnight.  With so few places offering food at the witching hour, I’ve come to quite appreciate this place.  It has upscale American food with [...]

Through the airplane window, many small islands floating in a blue-tinged crystalline sea slowly gave way to a larger one-Jamaica.  Immigration was the first stop after arriving.  The lines weren’t bad; it took about 20 minutes to make it to the officer.  A quick “vacation” was all we needed to say in answer to her [...]