From the Foothills of the Tatra Mountains Springs an Exceptional Vodka

Weekend frolics included a circus act trying to nail down a Friday nite venue. Contenders included Belmont Tavern, Truvatos, Il Villagio but Gianna's won out. Boy am I glad it did. Not for the Basa, my favorite white fish. Not for the shrimp in an ooh-so-lite garlic bath. Sounds like I'm prepping for the Feast of the 7 Fishes doesn't it?

No, I'm grateful to have dined at Gianna's Friday night for as I requested a Ketel One Martini with olives, Val the woman seated next to me suggested I try Double Cross instead. Never heard of it but I'm always game for a new adventure, especially if it's imbibed. So glad I did. It was smoother and oddly creamier. Not sweet like Grey Goose but softer on the tongue and silkier on the throat. Must be the 7 step distillation process, or perhaps it's the spring water from the foothills of the Tatra mountains.

The bottle is oddly rectangular and solid as you could wish any blunt object to be. Definitely a masculine bottle in a world of shapely round frosted barrels. The purveyor is barely discernible. Republic is the best we can make out, assuming it's Czech. Later we discover this product is made by the Slovak Republic with "winter grown estate wheat." First Croatia blows us away with it's indigenous Zinfindel. Now more Eastern European libation surprises. Who knew winter wheat could be so delightful?

Having been a Ketel fan for the better part of 13 years I'm ready to hand the Dutch spirit over to the sexy boys club and embrace the more feminine Double Cross as my own.

By the way, that's Dean the bartender kindly holding the bottle for the photo op.

Giannas Restaurant
843 Washington Avenue
Carlstadt, NJ 07072
201-460-7997

Dinner party season kicks off

Big lavish soirees where guests dress to the hilt. Casual Sunday afternoons to cook with chef buddies. Intimate dinners with candles burning and the scent of pine and cinnamon wafting through the air. All which mean bubbly time has arrived.

In the past Nicolas Feuillatte Rose won my starry-eyed devotion. Still love my Nic but my adoration for pink has now shifted to pale straw. That's the color of the La Marca Prosecco my buddies at Shoppers Vineyard turned me on to. I purchased it this summer and loved the lemony accents it gave to hearty BBQs. Winter-time however is whole new ballgame. The sparkling is far colder (what a treat to leave Champagne out on the deck to chill ice cold! No fridge ever did as good a job.) Matter of fact I stored an entire case outdoors for a recent dinner party. Yes, my liver is pleading for agua, please agua.

Speaking of cases, the wine is so affordable it makes sense to purchase by the case. Wine Spectator rated it 90 and it recently received a DOC rating.