I’m headed to wine country in a couple weeks so now I HAVE to post everything I see about northern California wine!  :)

Chef Ari Weiswasser’s Guide To California Wine Country

GLEN ELLEN STAR - SONOMA, CA

The road to California wasn’t a straight line for Pennsylvania native chef Ari Weiswasser, but the wealth of experience he gathered along the way is evident in the food he cooks. Before realizing a decade-long dream to open his own place, he worked in New York at esteemed restaurants like Daniel, Picholine, and Corton. In Philadelphia, he worked at Striped Bass and Le Bec-Fin. He also had a long stint at The French Laundry. 

Weiswasser’s restaurant, Glen Ellen Star, is a casual bistro with an emphasis on the location and the seasons. He loves living in Sonoma and being a part of the wine country, where his in-laws own Benziger Family Winery.

Chef Ari Weiswasser shares his 6 Things…Wine Country with his favorite places to eat, drink and food shop.  READ MORE

This response to last week’s infamous reduction in star for DANIEL is a smidge long but well worth getting to the bottom and reading what Amanda Cohen from Dirt Candy has to say.  I like her.  She’s funny.

Chefs, Restaurateurs and Writers on VIP Treatment

Last week, New York Times critic Pete Wells knocked Daniel down from four stars to three. In the piece, Wells explained that during the review process he had arranged for a colleague to dine at the restaurant at the same time. That plan, according to the critic, ended up revealing a discrepancy between the level of service given to Wells and the unidentified colleague — one that merited a demotion. “I knew my servers were trying to make my night one I’d recall with a smile,” Wells wrote. “And I wished everyone could be so lucky.”  READ MORE

This is a fascinating little piece in Eater about how restaurant critics go about trying to get a REAL interpretation of the food and service at a restaurant.  It’s quite difficult when they know who you are!!

New York Times Critic, Pete Wells, Drops DANIEL to 3 Stars, Uses Decoy

In this week’s review, New York Times critic Pete Wells took a star away from chef Daniel Boulud’s 20 year old flagship restaurant, Daniel. (The last time Daniel was reviewed by the Times it got four stars from Frank Bruni back in 2009.) In his review, Wells finds fault with both the food and the service at the long-time four star restaurant. In a sneaky move, Wells — who’s not exactly anonymous — used a decoy. He dined 15 minutes apart from one of his more anonymous colleagues and compared his experience to that of a standard diner. His findings were informative. READ MORE