Vanilla & Saffron - The Best Purveyor !

For the ones amongst us that like to do some real cooking every now and than, getting certain ingredients can be either very costly or difficult and sometimes even both. The classic culprits amongst the hard-to-get and/or expensive ingredients are; dried wild mushrooms like porcini's, chantrells and morels, spices like saffron and then off course real Vanilla. Today I share a little purveyor secret of mine with you. I use Vanilla&Saffron Imports which are based in San Francisco, California. They are direct importers of saffron and vanilla beans and carry a nice selection of real extracts and dried, wild mushrooms. For 25 years they have been purveyors to Chefs and home cooks. From the very start of their business the main focus was to deliver the highest quality saffron and vanilla. The quality they offer is impeccable but there is another aspect here - their prices! I'm sure you have looked at that big glass from the spice rack at the Publix Supermarket with that one sorry ass vanilla bean inside and a price tag of $7 ! You quietly put the thing back and picked up a bottle of vanilla extract. Well if you want to use real vanilla and not feel bad about, here is your deal. Vanilla&Saffron offers you one pound of vanilla beans at $19.95. Mind you, there is about 100 to 110 vanilla beans in one pound! At Publix prices that would be a $700 value. If you are willing to spend just $10 more, they will ship you one pound of the best and most expensive Tahitian vanilla beans. The same goes for their saffron and also the dried, wild mushrooms. You can order all of these goodies online with them and the best part is that all their products are backed by a Money-Back Guarantee. These guys are a good Chefs best friends - trust me.

Over-The-Top - Menu Items For Big Spenders !

Most of the time we report to you about the best of the best regardless of what the charges for these things may be. Off course when things are very nice or extremely good, they naturally tend to cost more. But then there are the over-the-top menu items. We do not withhold them from you. Consider, the $1,000 breakfast frittata served by Norma’s, a breakfast joint at Le Parker Meridien in New York, or the $100 cheesesteak served at the Philadelphia steak house Barclay Prime. Harry’s Steak & Café, in New York tempts its guest with $14.50 Kobe beef hot dog. You can find some of the same over in England. Gordon Ramsay introduced a $185 white truffle pizza at his London restaurant Maze. Chef Spencer Burge added to the menu at Fence Gate Inn in Burnley, Lancashire, England, a $15,000 steak-and-mushroom pie served with a sauce made from 1982 Château Mouton-Rothschild. Norma’s $100 version of the frittata features an ounce of Kazakhstan sevruga caviar whilst the $1,000 version features several ounces of the same caviar. And then there is my Gourmet Brother Daniel Boulud. He offers you a $29 burger sandwich which showcases a patty stuffed with black truffles, foie gras, and beef short rib meat that has been marinated in red wine for 18 hours. His best seller is the Royale burger, which includes seven additional grams of sliced black truffles, which increase the price to as much as $70. The Super Royale, contains 15 grams of black truffles and costs as much as $120. Boulud’s burgers are served with French fries that arrive in a paper cone tucked in a silver cup. And despite Boulud’s protestations, the waitstaff will pair the Royale with a Coca-Cola if requested. Should you seek an appropriate nightcap after dining on a Royale, the lobby lounge of the Algonquin Hotel next door serves a $10,000 martini, which is poured into a glass that contains a diamond. Hey, just make you aware of the choices out there!

Barclay Prime
215.732.7560
www.starr-restaurant.com

DB Bistro Moderne
212.391.2400
www.danielnyc.com

Harry’s Steak & Café
212.785.9200
www.harrysnyc.com

Norma’s
212.708.7460
parkermeridien.com

Chocolove - Great Organic Chocolate Bars !

Tucked away in Boulder, Colorado sits an unassuming building where a little magic takes place. Every day, decadent chocolate bars are carefully crafted using the timeless combination of chocolate and love. Chocolove chocolate bars are available in ten distinct flavors that range from a sweet, creamy Milk Chocolate with a 33% cocoa content, up to an Extra Strong Dark with an impressively strong yet smooth 77% cocoa content. Tied to chocolate's natural counterpart, love, each bar resembles a love letter, complete with a romantic poem. For the past ten years, Chocolove has been quietly developing a loyal consumer following in natural and organic food stores around the country, including Whole Foods and Wild Oats. With its visionary chocolatier, and a solid concept, Chocolove became, and continues to be, a pioneer in the chocolate industry. Timothy Moley is the founder, owner and chocolatier at Chocolove. It all began in a cocoa field in Indonesia, where Timothy was chewing on some cocoa beans doing volunteer work for USAID, a government program that promotes agricultural and technical education in developing countries. He had been living abroad on and off for two years, visiting over 28 countries, developing his palate with spices, teas and wines. The Chocolove idea was simple - a selection of distinctly flavored chocolate bars made with all-natural ingredients and the classic techniques of Europe's finest chocolatiers. I'm following them for a while and have tasted their chocolate and I'm impressed. They make some impeccable dark chocolate bars with great flavors like raspberry and orange. Not too sweet, with the right amount of acidity. Great flavor with not too much unnecessary calories from stuff like corn syrup etc. Their newest bar - Chillies and Cherries in Dark Chocolate - is simply dynamite. Try them if you get your hands on them!

Sacher - The Worlds Best Chocolate Cake !

The story of the world-famous Original Sacher-Torte began in 1832, when the 16-year-old apprentice Franz Sacher, who had to substitute for the sick chef at Prince Metternich´s court, created a desert for particularly demanding guests: the Original Sacher-Torte. His efforts were rewarded with enormous success. And the probably most famous cake started its victorious career around the globe. What was at last presented to the masters and mistresses was to their greatest delight: this soft and fluffy chocolate cake with the tasty apricot jam beyond the icing. Franz certainly never forgot the big success of his ingenious idea within this small circle. And when he had finished his apprenticeship, after working as a journeyman with the Count of Esterhazy, first in Bratislava and then in Budapest, he started to work on his own account and offered his once successful composition once again, this time on a large scale. The ¨cake by this guy called Sacher¨ was in great demand, and the victorious career of the probably most famous of all cakes began. This one is my personal favorite chocolate cake. There is no chocolate cake anywhere in the world that come close to this one. If you want to indulge or send any one an incredible gift, check the Sacher out. Click on any of the pictures. You can order online and they ship worldwide. Not cheap but guaranteed incredible!

Bentley Continental GTC - The Car To Own In 2007 !

2007 Bentley Continental GTC convertible - there is simply nothing hotter than the 551-hp GT coupe convertible. If the prodigious rump of the Bentley Continental GT coupe doesn’t suit your style, this handsome convertible might get your attention. And if its looks don’t grab you, the 190-mph top speed should. That is if it doesn’t rip off the fancy multi-layer fabric roof and glass rear window first. Put the roof down (watch that toupee!) and a flush leather-wrapped tonneau cover keeps the side profile clean. As in the Continental GT coupe and the Flying Spur sedan, all-wheel drive and a twin-turbo V-12 mounted forward of the front axle ensure high-speed stability, albeit at the expense of agility. This car weighs about as much as a new Chevy Suburban. And as always here onVONCIGARS; If you need to ask for the price, you cannot afford it!

Kona Kampachi - A New Fish From Hawaii Is Delighting Top Chefs !

You know that a fish must be impeccable if Top chefs can't bring themselves to subject it to a hot pan, but rather serve it in all possible raw forms. Sushi, sashimi, fish carpaccio, ceviches - the whole program. That's the fate of Kona Kampachi, the first true premium farmed sushi fish. Kona Kampachi™ is a Yellow Tail very similar to the popular Japanese hamachi, but has superior texture and freshness. Among the many factors which determine quality in the discriminating sashimi market, fat content is the most important. Exactly like with the beef, the fat content reigns supreme when it comes down to the top sushi fish. Kona Kampachi™ has established itself at the absolute top with an approximate fat content of 30 percent. The best salmons are the ones with the highest fat content. Same goes for tuna. And within the tuna itself, the fattiest part, the belly also known as torro tuna is the priciest piece of the fish. Kona Kampachi™ ranks with some of the best wild salmon and tuna and is extremely high in Omega-3s. The fish has an incredible mild, unfishy flavor and its texture is fresh and crisp. The fish is native to Hawaii, where it is known as almaco jack, but there isn't a commercial fishery for it because, in the wild, the fish is prone to a poisonous reef toxin and sometimes has worms. Kona Blue Water Farms has transformed the quality of the fish simply by growing it in large, space-age cages submerged in 200 feet of ocean and by controlling what the fish eat. The fish are given no antibiotics or medications. Kona Blue has sent its fish for independent testing, which has shown no detectable levels of PCBs or mercury. The Kona also stores a good amount of fat in its liver, so who knows, some of the Top chefs may come up with some "pisces pâté" soon. Whilst Kona Kampachi is considered a raw delicacy, it is absolutely great for cooking too. Steamed and served with a zingy sauce is a simple and fast method. You can use it in almost any preparation that calls for a mild, white fish. Since the fillets aren't more than about an inch or so thick, it doesn't take long to cook a piece. Because of the high-fat content, the flesh stays relatively moist during cooking. Much like salmon, the fat in the Kona Kampachi can cause flareups on a grill, so be aware. The fish is so new that it is not ready available but you can order it directly online from Kona Blue. Just click on one of the pictures and check them out. This is one of the best tasting new healthy foods in a long time!

The Latest For Dinner Parties - Dinner In The Sky !

Belgium is a place where dramatic food is served. Many people think that the world Capitol of the high dinning is Paris but they do under estimate Belgium and its Capitol Brussels. Some of the most exciting meals in my life definitely happened in the country of Belgium. Now they go crazy over there and add a hole lot of extra excitement to their food. Dinner In The Sky takes place at a table suspended at a height of 150 feet by a team of professionals. Benji Fun is the worldwide leader for this type of activities. Dinner in the Sky is available for a session of 8 hours. It can be divided or personalised accorded to the client’s wishes. Dinner in the Sky seats 22 people around the table at every session and three in the middle (chef, waiter, etc.) Dinner In The Sky is organized anywhere the crane can be safely parked.So there you have the next new, over the top party and dinner idea. Let us know how it went.

La Cense - The Best All Natural Grass Feed US Beef !

One of Montana’s oldest cattle ranches is located in the heart of the state’s renowned beef producing region of Dillon, Montana. It is built on a longstanding and proud history of cattle ranching in southwest Montana. Set among the western slopes of the Blacktail mountain range and extending across 122 square miles, this area was originally established as a ranch in 1869 and is one of the earliest and largest cattle operations in Montana. The current owner, William Kriegel named it La Cense Montana. As restorations were made and new buildings were added, Kriegel was adamant about preserving the ranch’s natural environment and breathtaking views of the valley and surrounding mountains. Southwest Montana offers a unique and lush environment for the raising of cattle. With a cool and dry environment, its pastures of alfalfa and alfalfa grass mixtures, which account for 75 percent of Montana’s wild hay, provide a feed very high in nutrients and energy. This combination of wild hay and perennial bunchgrass, combined with the care provided by La Cense master ranchers, create an authentic and genuine flavor profile unique to southwest Montana and La Cense grass-fed beef. Needless to say, La Cense is 100% natural. No hormones, no antibiotics etc. - you know the drill. Most importantly this meet is just sensational. Pay them a visit online and let yourself be carried away!

Jimmy Buff's - 75th Platinum Anniversary !

Jimmy Buff's of 14th Ave. & 9th St. in Newark, NJ is where the original Italian hotdog was first concocted by the founder James "Bluff" Racioppi in 1932. Grandpa got his nickname at the card table. Translation from Italian to English came up with the nickname "BUFF" and hence James Racioppi became known as "Jimmy Buff". The sandwich was first served as a treat by the Racioppi's for close friends and relatives. It went over so big with them it became the center of their menu and ultimately a customer favorite. The fresh onions, peppers, and potatoes combines with a hot dog is what allows the speciality its claim to originality. Today, over 75 years later, the Italian Hot Dog and it's nearest relative, the Italian Sausage, are the staple fare at Jimmy's Buff's and take turns outselling each other.

A Jimmy Buff Italian hot dog goes on a quarter of a large roll of Italian "Pizza" bread. The dog is cooked in Hot Oils - never boiled - and then topped with sauteed onions, peppers and potatoes. The real tough guys order a double, which is two dogs on a half a "Pizza" roll. Jimmy Buff was recently named one of the top 500 eateries in the US. Go figure!

Oliva Series G - What A Smooth Smoke !

Every now and than you come across something really special. It just happened to me. I stumbled onto the Oliva Series G Robusto pleasure stick. What a pleasant smoke. Rarely have I had such a smooth cigar. The Series G is a medium body blend made with an authentic African-Cameroon wrapper. The unique flavor notes of this wrapper are complimented by the natural richness of Nicaraguan Habano fillers. This cigar shows notes of cedar and has a strong coffee finish. Truly beautiful. And I just found out that this cigar was recognized as one of the best cigars of 2006 by Cigar Aficionado magazine. Melanio Oliva first grew tobacco in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba in 1886. His growing operations were suspended while he fought in Cuba’s War of Independence. After returning from the war Malanio resumed his operations. In the early 1920’s Melanio’s son Hipolito Oliva took over the growing operations. Hipolito cultivated the Oliva family fields for several decades. As Cuba became over-run by communist the tobacco landscape changed. Hiplito’s son Gilberto Oliva shifted from growing to brokering tobacco. In the early 60’s the pressure became too great and Gilberto traveled from county to country in search of the distinct Cuban taste. His travels took him to Honduras, Panama, Mexico and even the Philippines. Gilberto finally found fertile ground in Nicaragua. Today Gilberto along with his family are Nicaraguas second largest grower of Cuban-seed tobacco. If you come close to an Oliva cigar, especially a Series G, please do not hesitate and give it a try. You will not be disappointed!

Louis XIII Black Pearl – A Gem is Born !

The house of Rémy Martin introduces the ultimate in luxury – Louis XIII Black Pearl. Presented in a Baccarat decanter with metallic sheen, this rare and special edition of Louis XIII comes from a single barrel, specially selected from the family’s personal reserve at the historical estate Le Grollet. Only 786 bottles of Black Pearl will be made, making this luxurious experience possible for just a few select individuals in the world. As a matter of fact, the sale of this product to buyers is by invitation only! Louis XIII is moving away from the traditional and has looked to the future, resulting in a unique decanter of crystal caressing steel that combines classicism and modernity; chosen to symbolise the original Louis XIII carafe found by a peasant in 1850 on the site of the battle of Jarnac. The technology for its creation has never been commercially available before, and the marriage with such a precious liquid is truly a benchmark in the luxury world. Each hand-blown carafe housing eaux-de-vie from the century-old barrel C100-29 will be individually numbered from 001 – 786 with a small allocation of Black Pearl being available to luxury aficionados from early 2007. Nicknamed the King of cognacs, Louis XIII has since its creation been the cognac of Kings and famously enjoyed by the likes of Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill. Louis XIII is made up of some one thousand two hundred eaux-de-vie, originating solely from the grapes in the Grande Champagne region; the finest and most sought after vineyards in all of Cognac. The special edition Black Pearl is the brand’s first launch in 20 years.

April 2007 - Miami Beach Polo World Cup !

After its previous success in the past two years, Miami Beach will once again be the host to the international polo scene from April 13 – 15, 2007. Players from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, USA, Switzerland, Canada and Germany, as well as 80 Argentine polo ponies, will participate in this three-day event. The games will take place on the famous sands of South Beach just steps from the Atlantic Ocean, which brings some of the world’s finest polo to one of its most breathtaking backdrops. The arena will be directly on the beach, between 20th and 22nd Streets, behind The Setai. There is a VIP tent with some good stuff and also expect to see some attractive ladies!

Wonderpizza - Pizza Vending Machine !

What has the world come too? A pizza vending machine?!? Well there is a comforting aspect to this in the fact that this machine comes from Italy! At least, it is not the Japanese nor the American that are doing this to the good old pizza. Manufactured in a Italian factory, the Wonderpizza Machine is the first super-automatic dispenser for a real, hot crispy pizza in three different choices, served on a practical tray in short time, less then 2 minutes!The first machine’s part is a refrigeration unit, which keeps the pizza’s temperature between 0 and +4°C; the second one houses an electrical oven that it cooks in high intensity heat oven atmosphere - not a microwave. Each vending machine holds up to 102 pizzas in three different flavours. I guess the motto is; Soon at an airport near you! Looking forward to hear from anybody that actually has tasted it!

Snoopstick - Protect Your Kids !

SnoopStick is a USB flash drive type device that allows you to monitor what your kids, employees, or anyone using your computer is doing while on the Internet. And, you can monitor them live, in real time, from anywhere in the world. Simply plug the SnoopStick into the computer you want to monitor. Then run the setup program to install the SnoopStick monitoring components on the computer. The whole process takes less than 60 seconds.The SnoopStick monitoring components are completely hidden, and there are no telltale signs that the computer is being monitored. You can then unplug the SnoopStick and take it with you anywhere you go. No bigger than your thumb and less than 1/4" thick, you can carry it in your pocket, purse, or on your keychain. Any time you want to see what web sites your kids or employees are visiting, who they are chatting with, and what they are chatting about, simply plug in your SnoopStick to any Windows based computer with an Internet connection and a USBSnoop Stick will automatically connect to the target computer. Monitor both sides of IM SnoopStick to display recent activity. Check the sender and recipient of every email sent or received. You can even log the user off, disable internet access, set time restrictions or even turn the computer off. All using your SnoopStick from any computer. There are no commands to remember, no passwords to remember, just plug it in. In this day and age you need all the protection you can get for your kids!

Red Sparklings - Mostly Underrated !

A lot of people are under the impression that red sparkling wine is a lightweight trifle in Italy and Portugal, sources of sweet fizzy red wines that peaked in popularity in the United States in the 1980s before their bubbles burst as American drinkers got all grown-up. They would leave it to Australia to take sparkling red wine seriously. I just tasted the best Australian sparkling red wine and I got to tell you, that it was astonishing to somebody that expected grape soda pop. First of all, they're dry and I mean real dry. They are not frothy lightweights. They have the character of the varietal from which they're made -- most often Shiraz -- and also the terroir where they're grown. They can be earthy, rich and complex, with long finishes, yet the bubbles make them more food-friendly than a still wine made from the same grapes. Still this is a whole category of fun and delicious wines of which most people are completely unaware. If you get the chance, check them out. Here are my personal top picks. One from California and one from Australia.

1998 Geyser Peak Winery Sonoma County Sparkling Shiraz ($30) The best sparkling red made in California. Aromas of red plum, bacon and yeast. Flavors of red and black plum and black currant with a touch of apricot. Finish lengthens and flavor deepens after it's open an hour. Good level of effervescence.

2001 Craneford Barossa Valley Sparkling Shiraz Petit Verdot ($30) A huge wine on nose and palate. Jammy blackberry, earth and forest floor aromas and flavors, with some mint on midpalate. If this were still, it would be too big; effervescence makes it more food-friendly.

Porcelet - Not Kosher But Extermely Succulent !

There are always new products for us Foodies. One of the sure fire purveyors and my personal favorit such company in the US is D'Artagnan. Best poultry, best foie gras, best duck and so much more. And now this one - unlike any pork you’ve ever tasted! This D’Artagnan Porcelet is available through exclusive arrangement with a small Canadian family farm. You’ll get a half of a very young pig separated to provide one shoulder, one leg, and one middle portion. The 100% milk-fed baby pig is rich, tender, moist, and succulent, with a skin so crisp it crackles when you take a bite. This milk-fed porcelet is ten weeks old, organically raised and about eight pounds. This meat is so extraordinary that you really need to try it once.


RECIPE: ROAST PORCELET
Salt and pepper 7- to 8-pound piece of porcelet, put in roasting pan, add 3 cups water, cover tightly, and roast at 325 degrees for 2 hours. Remove cover, increase heat to 350, and roast about 45 minutes more, until skin is crisp. Serve with pan juices. Serves 8 to 10.

About Global Warming - The Real Inconvenience!

Now that Al Gore got his Oscar and most likely pockets another $22 million in personal wealth as direct income generated by his movie "An Inconvenient Truth", some people at least have started to look at Al's personal behavior. Al Gores home runs an electrical bill that is about 28 times that of an average American family and with all the SUV's and the running around globally in private jets, his carbon footprint is estimated about 2,600 times that of an average American his age! I guess to be the chief prosecutor of the global warming theory you also need to be amongst the top contributors to the problem. There was a time when this would have been ousted as hypocrisy and would have earned laughs and not Oscars. I know that being critical of the global warming theory is not a popular thing to do these days. But hey, somebody got to do it and it might as well be me. Consider the following facts:

Many of the same scientists that today sign off on the global warming theory were convinced in the late 70's that the world is more likely to face a global cooling within the next 50 years and warned us with the same vigor of global cooling and the fact that we will all starve to death if nothing will be done!

Global warming is effected by the so called greenhouse gases. One needs to understand that the Co2 is only one of the gases that make up the group of greenhouse gases. The entire movie "An Inconvenient Truth" is based exclusively on the increase of Co2 emissions, that without a doubt are caused in leaps and bounds by humans burning fossil fuels. But here is the kicker; In the entire group of greenhouse gases, the Co2 stemming from burning fossil fuels make only about 4% of the total greenhouse gases. Does that make you think?

Are you asking now what the other, much bigger contributors to the greenhouse gases are? Water vapor, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, sulfurhexafluroide, hydro-fluorocarbons, per-fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons. Most of these occur naturally, but humans are the reason for some of these too. The biggest culprits are agricultural activities, including the use of fertilizers, livestock and specifically paddy rice farming, land use and wetland changes, pipeline losses, and covered vented landfill emissions leading to higher methane atmospheric concentrations. Many of the newer style fully vented septic systems that enhance and target the fermentation process also are major sources of atmospheric methane.

The simple truth is, that if we all would cut our meat consumption in half, we would make up for the entire greenhouse gas increase so far and also for the by Al Gore projected increases over the next 50 years! I do not remember hearing anything about agriculture, livestock and meat consumption in Al Gores movie. Why not? After all would it not be much, much easier if everybody that believes in global warming would voluntarily stop eating meat and therefore eradicate all effects of the man made part of greenhouse gas increase all together?

That may be more inconvenient than just ranting about the bad governments and the old bad oil industry. Telling people to stop eating meat and risking jobs and business in the agriculture industry may not go over so smooth with the people and could certainly lead to less sales in movie tickets and maybe in much lesser popularity that would also not lead to an Oscar. Whilst Al Gore's theory may be an "inconvenient truth", the real truth would actually inconvenience peoples lives directly and therefore would not make for a real popular movie.

There are about 1,600 scientist worldwide that have signed on to the global warming theory. This group and their thesis have been organized and facilitated by none other than the UN. That happens to be the same organization that currently petitions its members to volunteer to a global warming tax, that would be collected by the governments and then handed over to the UN to administer relief and manage all issues with regards to global warming. That is the same UN that has been put in place to facilitate the peace between the Nations of the world and therefore eradicate the need for wars. We all know how that played out so far.

The earth is warming up. As the earth has done many, many times over the last few billion years. It warms up and it cools off and it does that all by itself. This earth is bound for a warming cycle with or without humans. Is there a chance that humans and their activities contribute some to the trend - I'm sure we do. But nothing that we can do will change the fact that this planet was going, is going and will be going through natural, catastrophic events on a regular bases and till the end of all time, and there is nothing humans can do about that. That means that sometimes we can barely ski during the winter and sometimes we can ski all year. Sometimes we can enjoy living close to the beaches and sometimes we will need to back off and live somewhere else. There is nothing genius about Al Gores movie and also nothing genuine. Al Gore will keep on eating too many steaks (as you can see) and enjoy the privileges of private planes, luxury cars and big homes - and so will I - if I manage to afford it!

Saturday - Happy St. Patricks Day To All The Irish !

We shall not ignore that it is St. Patricks day tomorrow Saturday! Most of the culinary contributions of the Irish come in liquide form. There is only one solid contribution that I personally know of. A hearty

Irish Bread Pudding

with a beautiful caramel sauce that is infused with Irish whiskey. You wont need another drink after that one I promis you. Click on the links and you will find the best recipe for good old Irish Bread Pudding that I know! Happy St. Patricks!

Chateau d'Yquem - The King Of All Wines !

When Stephen Williams acquired this Château d’Yquem vertical assemblage two years ago, it was comprehensive, but not yet complete. Frenchman Didier Segon had begun amassing bottles of the King of Sauternes during the 1960s and continued to do so until sometime in the 1980s, when he sold the collection to an unidentified Englishman, who in turn sold it to Williams, the 48-year-old founder and owner of the Antique Wine Co. of Great Britain. The collection now contains one of every vintage that Château d’Yquem released from 1860 through 2003—135 bottles total. The winery did not produce a wine from nine of its harvests during that 143-year span. Williams provides duplicates for 68 of the individual vintages, enabling you to acquire, for example, two bottles of the 1865 and two of the 1921, both of which Williams describes as “magnificent—they still taste like 10-year-old wines.” Château d’Yquem has been producing wine commercially since 1786, but, Williams says, 1860 is the earliest vintage from which he can offer an unbroken line of Château d’Yquem. “If I found an 1859 tomorrow, I would add it, but the chance of going back further is very, very remote,” he says, noting that he does have an 1811, which he is not including as part of this collection. Williams commissioned British furniture designer David Linley to create a pair of cabinets to house the collection. Made from walnut inlaid with burr walnut and ebony, each cabinet measures 58 inches tall by 51 inches long and 21 inches deep and can accommodate 80 bottles. Williams, who sold a smaller d’Yquem collection in 1996 for $1 million but this one vertical is without peer. It i simply impossible for anyone to build something like this in today’s world. You should be prepared to write a $2,5 million check for this one. If you do so, please let us know!
Antique Wine Co.
+44.207.359.1109

John And Kira - Top Chocolatiers !

John and Kira started their chocolate company in 2001. Since then it has been quite a roller coaster for them. In December 2002 they learned that they would be on the cover of Gourmet Magazine, and after that went from a two person company to one that had 15 on staff in order to produce enough chocolates. Their chocolates since have sparked interest from publications, including the New York Times, Business week, Wine Spectator, Money, Oprah, Food & Wine, and, most recently, Consumer Reports. Today their world-class chocolates are available to be shipped anywhere in the world. They continue to work with local and family farms to get the freshest and best ingredients. They make chocolate just the way chocolate should be made. Very basic fresh ingredients, no gimmicks and additives and only the best cacao money can buy, I love every one of their creations. Months in the making, they have now created little ladybug shells, each one unique and filled them with an over-the-top delectable raspberry ganache. The perfect gift for the Spring, they come in a set of 12 packed in a wood gift box tied with a red ribbon. Send them as gift to anyone and they will be wowed! Check these guys out - they are top chocolatiers!

hitchsters.com - Share A Ride Versus Hitch A Ride

Hitchsters.com is catching on fast. Started out in New York (where else?) and is now spreading very fast. It is an easy-to-use web-based system which conveniently connects travelers so they can share taxis (and thus split the fare) to and from an airport. In many places taxis are the most convenient form of transportation between metropolitan centers and airports, but they are expensive, too. The hitchsters.com matching system (patent pending) makes riding in a taxi more affordable, more environmentally friendly and more fun. You first look for a potential co-rider by checking out the list of users who have already signed up. If you don’t see anyone with whom you can conveniently connect, you can enter in you own information and wait to be matched. Once a match is made, you will be notified with both a text message to your cell phone and an e-mail containing the first name and cell phone number of the other co-rider (nothing else is shared with the other co-rider). As an additional safety feature, we preserve the phone numbers of all of the successful matches. You then contact each other to arrange to meet to share a cab. If you are sharing a ride to an airport, then you will only be matched with someone else who is leaving from your area to go to the same airport. If you are sharing a ride from an airport, you will only be matched with someone who is on the same flight (no worries about late flights) and going to the same area you are. Use it if you can and always remember; You heard it here first!

Molecular Gastronomy Has Arrived In The US - The Gilt N. Y. !

Molecular gastronomy has finally arrived on an opulent American stage last December when Gilt opened in the Villard Mansion at the New York Palace hotel—the same space that hosted Sirio Maccioni’s Le Cirque 2000. Executive Chef and Gourmetbrother Paul Liebrandt is just 29 years old, but his résumé includes stints with Pierre Gagnaire at his Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris and with David Bouley at the previous incarnation of Bouley Bakery in Manhattan. Against a sumptuous backdrop built during the Gilded Age, Liebrandt presents dishes that include foams and gelées and employ sous vide cooking and other techniques from the avant-garde canon. Among the menu’s winners is an appetizer of Scottish langoustine prepared three different ways (crispy, tartare, and royale), each of which testifies to the Chef’s skills. If you are in New York and you want to do "something else" - this is it! Give it a try.
The Gilt
212.891.8100

Shabaka - The Pyramid Complication !

Jean Dunand’s latest timepiece combines a perpetual calendar, cathedral-gong minute repeater, moon phase, and power reserve—is particularly distinguished by three turning cylinders that, while displaying the day, date, and month, also evoke papyrus scrolls. Oulevay, who named his company for the Swiss-born artist who thrived during the Art Deco period, expanded on the watch’s Egyptian theme. The 50-year-old executive embellished the dial with two- and three-dimensional pyramid shapes and named the piece Shabaka, after the Egyptian pharaoh who ruled circa 715 B.C. Like Shabaka, who defended Egypt’s sovereignty from the Assyrians and other foreign invaders, Oulevay and his partner in the Jean Dunand venture, complicated movement manufacturer Christophe Claret, remain independent in an industry that has consolidated under conglomerate ownership in recent years. The pieces they create for Jean Dunand—each unique, even within a collection—incorporate groundbreaking complicated movements into designs that reference the Art Deco–era works of the brand’s namesake. Each Jean Dunand timepiece begins with a novel movement conceived by the 44-year-old Claret, whose eponymous watchmaking atelier has developed complicated movements for Harry Winston, Ulysse Nardin, and other premier marques. The Egyptians, too, favored the golden section rule, also known as divine proportion, a mathematical formula for segmenting proportions to create balanced and aesthetically pleasing forms. Despite the watch’s complexity,it is simple to operate because of its locking correctors, similar to chronograph pushers, on the right side of the watch. However, if you own a Shabaka, you may lose some sleep from staying up until midnight each night, or at least on the last day of each month, to watch the day, date, and month displays simultaneously roll over.

A Gentlemens Thing - Rare Books And Manuscripts !

Does not every man dream of having a mansion with a cigar room. Some leather chairs, some good smokes, a few bottles of vintage cognac's, a few board games and some cool rare books and manuscripts! Even if you are not with me on this one you need to check out the Biblioctopus Catalog which can be as entertaining a read as some of the rare and antiquarian books that the Beverly Hills, Calif., shop sells. An entry for a first edition of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea asserts that the book is “as stubbornly immortal as those plastic baby diapers that won’t biodegrade.” A listing for a signed first edition of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover begins by positing that this novel, James Joyce’s Ulysses, and Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer form a 20th-century triumvirate “lecturing that chastity is just an unlit lamp and adult abstinence ranks as a purity alongside of malnutrition.” Shop proprietor and catalog author Mark Hime, who founded Biblioctopus in 1979 contends that his irreverent descriptions reflect a sound strategy. He is trying to seduce librarians and other collectors into reading the catalog so they buy something they didn’t know they wanted until they read about it. His instincts were correct. Nearly a third of the books in his catalog, which he publishes at least once per year and sends to about 1,000 subscribers, are purchased within the first three weeks of the catalog’s release. Those sales are sufficient to absorb the occasional loss of a customer who cancels his or her subscription after being offended by Hime’s commentary. Hime, who is 63, published his first catalog in 1980. You need to check these catalogs out. They are hilarious , entertaining and whom knows - it may just be the start to your own collection!
Biblioctopus