Rating the 99 Cents Only Wine

You may remember, a few months ago we discovered a whole wall of 99 cent wine at the 99 Cents Only store in Bellflower.

The 99 Cents Only Chef, Billy Vasquez, went a step further. He recently found a even bigger stash of 99 Cents (er, make that 99.99 Cents) wine, all white (which seems to work better at the 99 Cent level). He recently held a wine tasting at a Pasadena blogger get together:

The Chef struck white liquid gold at his local 99.99c only Store yesterday; an abundance of wine “Deals of the Day”. There are 5 different white wines to choose from right now — Reviewed white wines are: Yelcho, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc – Queen of Hearts, Los Alamos Chardonnay – Linden Estates, North Coast Chardonnay – Thirsty Fish, Central Coast Chardonnay.

Click the link to watch the video and see how the tasting went.

Colorado Wine Company’s Great Chalkboard War of 2008

The folks at Eagle Rock’s Colorado Wine Co. are still reeling from the loss of their sidewalk chalkboard sign — which helped drive traffic into the store. The sign also was a small reminder to the neighborhood that, hey, interesting, lively things are happening here.

But turns out those sidewalk signs are illegal. The city is willing to look the other way until people complain — and indeed, someone eventually did. Mr. Grumpy Pedestrian began his campaign against the sign rather passive aggressively — kicking it to one side for starters. But then things escalated:

We would keep our dinky little chalkboard sign on our half of the sidewalk which is approximately 13 feet wide. Well, what began as a surgically precise shift of our sidwalk advertising became a grumble and a swift kick which ultimately left our advertising flat on the ground or facing the store instead of the street every day. Polite confrontations posing questions like “excuse me, sir, why do you do that” and “are you angry at wine?” became pretty heated with quotes like “all you people are only in it for the money!” and “why should I have to walk on the side of the sidewalk! I want to walk down the middle and it’s a free country!” In it for the money? Clearly he’s never been in retail.

To be fair, though you see these types of signs up and down every retail corridor in our city, they are illegal. And soon enough, after a few more run-ins with our friendly neighborhood sign abuser, we received a notice from the city forcing us to remove it from the public sidewalk. And when an employee accidentally put the sign out the following week, our landlords were summoned to appear before the city downtown! Ultimately, we settled with the city over the phone and all was forgiven provided we never EVER spit in the face of justice again by putting out our little chalkboard trying to make our business a little more noticeable.

The Colorado Wine folks have dubbed the guy “Mr. Very Angry Irish Man.” MVAIM may soon find a new target of his ire: According to commenters on the Colorado Wine Co. site, the Coffee Table restaurant and bar up the street has started using a sidewalk sign as well.

Retro Friday: Orson Welles Says It’s Time For Wine

(Thanks to Jon Weisman for the tip.)

Staycationing At The San Antonio Winery

Downtown’s 90-year-old San Antonio Winery has been celebrating the food and wine of several global regions this summer, holding monthly themed festivals. In July, the San Antonio offered up a “Taste of Italy,” and this past weekend we attended the winery’s “Taste of the Americas.”

The event included tastings of several Mexican, Chilean and Argentine wines, along with Mexican, Cuban, Peruvian, Brazilian, Chilean, Bolivian, Argentine and San Salvadoran bites. Dancers, meanwhile, presented some live entertainment. A few pics:

The tastings included San Antonio Winery’s own Maddalena Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. From Mexico, Guadalupe Valley’s L.A. Cetto wines included Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Nebbiolo. From Chile, Tres Pinos Viognier — which San Antonio Winery has started bottling exclusively for Trader Joe’s — was offered, along with Miguel Torres “Santa Digna” Cabernet Sauvignon. And from Argentina, the event included a Malbec and Tempranillo from Mendoza’s Correntina.

San Antonio Winery is serving up one more food and wine festival event in September: The “Taste of the Mediterranean,” on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. (I won’t be able to make it — that’s the night of the Emmys. But you go suck down some wine for me.)

Rate-A-Restaurant, #168 in a series

Restaurant: Tasca Wine Bar

Location: 8108 W. Third (3rd/Fairfax/La Brea)

Type of restaurant: Tapas/Wine Bar

They stipulated: It’s tapas, of course, so share several small plates, or fewer large plates. The server also strongly suggested that we order a bottle of wine… but Maria and I wanted to try several different things, so we stuck with glasses.

We stipulated: Sadly, date night doesn’t come often enough for us… so when we were presented with a rare opportunity to escape the Kid Formerly Known As the Blogger Toddler for a night, we wanted to hit something nice — but something that wouldn’t terribly break the bank. We did quite a bit of research, kept going back and forth on different spots… but finally settled on Tasca. Recently named one of L.A.’s 75 best restaurants by Los Angeles magazine, I liked what I read about it. And Maria was thrilled to get far away from home, where as a freelancer she spends much of her days.

What we ordered: Cod Brandade (salted cod and potato puree, house made crostinis), $10; Arancini (wild mushroom risotto fritters, truffled sauce), $10; Gambas al Ajillo (sauteed shrimp in garlic sauce), $12; Braised short rib (spinach and goat cheese agnolotti, brown butter and sage sauce), $12; Boudin noir (black sausage, sauteed apple and onion, garlic mashed potatoes), $13.

Whites: Pouilly-Fume, Claude Michot, “Les Berthiers,” Loire, France, 06 ($15); one other, Demessey, “Macon Cruzille,” France, 07 ($14). Reds: Tempranillo/Prieto Picudo, Dehesa de Rubiales, “Alala,” Castilla Y Leon, Spain, 04 ($9); Malbec, “Maestre de Campo,” Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, 03 ($11).

High point: Maria and I both agreed, the Arancini — the wild mushroom risotto fritters — were the hit. I also kind of liked the Boudin noir — yes, for the novelty factor, but it also went well with the sauteed apple.

Low point: When we hit tapas spots like here and Cobras and Matadors, the salted cod is always a go-to dish — and one way for us to compare and contrast tapas. Sadly, the cod was decent — but not great — here.

Overall impression: The service was attentive and fantastic, even if our server didn’t look old enough to drink the wines he was serving us. The suggestions were good as well. We also liked the spot — not too big, yet not cramped. (Perhaps it helps that we were given a prime corner seat.) It was the perfect place for us to finally go out on a date — and you’ll be proud of us, the environment was conducive to lots of conversation (and not just talk about Evan! We managed to keep the Evan talk down to about 50% — not bad!).

Chance we will go back: Well… Tasca was definitely less expensive than some of our other, even fancier options… but it still broke the bank. Since we can only spend upwards of $100 every so often (read: not that often), it probably makes sense that we try another high-end joint the next time we’re in the mood to exercise our plastic. But who knows… I definitely wouldn’t mind another trip one day.

For a complete list of our nearly 170 restaurant reviews, check out our companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.

The Wine Bar Explosion Finally Hits Glendale

The recent opening of Atwater Village’s new 55 Degrees wine shop (here’s the Atwater Village Newbie’s rave review) and tasting room reminded me that we’re suddenly surrounded by vino-oriented joints.

We’re fans of Eagle Rock’s Colorado Wine Co. and Los Feliz’s Vinoteca… and back in December, we met up with AVN and the missus at Glendale’s new Left Coast Wine Bar.

Here it is, two months later, and neither of us ever wrote a post about it — perhaps it made that little of an impression on us (to be fair, it was also the start of the holidays, and we all got pretty busy). Left Coast Wine was pleasant — we were the only patrons there, the service was nice and the selection decent enough. But the waitress knew nothing about the wine she was selling… and again, there was nothing all that memorable about the spot.

Nonetheless, the idea of Glendale having a wine bar is reason enough to root for Left Coast. And I’m sure we’ll be back, given how close by it is. (I also imagine it will be helped by the coming opening of the Americana at Brand.)

Left Coast Wine Bar
117 East Harvard Street
Glendale

Atwater Village Wine Bar Closer to Reality?

As first noted by Miles Think last month, Atwater Village’s long-awaited wine bar appears one step closer to opening.

A “Coming Soon” banner is now heralding the arrival of 55 Degrees Wine. So far, the windows are covered up, so it’s unclear just how “coming soon” the store really is. But after some uncertainty over the business (which was put for sale before ever even opening), it looks like either the original owner is going ahead and opening, or he actually found a taker.

Now Under Construction: The Atwater Village Wine Shop

(Pic by LA Taco.)

That long-rumored Atwater Village wine bar is one step closer to opening.

As expected, the store will take over the last vacant spot in the renovated building that also includes a Starbucks, Crispy Crust and H&R Block. A wine bar been frequently discussed ever since word leaked out a few years ago, but so far, nothing. Pat first mentioned the possibility in June 2006; but as Starbucks, Crispy Crust and H&R Block all moved in, I had my doubts. And other bloggers had also started to wonder whether one was truly opening.

But now, construction has begun.

We were in Atwater Village (close to Franklin Avenue HQ) last Friday, as Blogger Toddler (in costume) trick-or-treated at participating businesses up and down Glendale Blvd. Standing at the Crispy Crust (free samples!), we wound up talking to the man standing in front of the future wine store.

The man — I believe it was owner Andy Hasroun — basically confirmed everything that Atwater Village Newbie mentioned last December. The wine shop will include regular wine tastings (functioning much like Colorado Wine Co. and its small wine bar) in addition to sales; a large wine cellar will be located in the basement.

Hasroun told us he’s still trying to come up with a name — “The Cellar” or “L.A. Cellar” are two possibilities.

I’d suggest going the pun route: Atwater Into Wine. (“Water into wine” — get it? OK, I didn’t say it was great.)

Above, Atwater Village’s fourth-annual “Trick or Treat on Glendale Boo-levard” was a huge hit — the street was even more packed than last year with tykes in costume. I’m proud to say the BT turned quite a few heads in his cowboy-on-a-pony outfit (yay, Target!)

Below, someone passes out candy at Atwater Village’s Woof dog boutique.

Now Under Construction: The Atwater Village Wine Shop

(Pic by LA Taco.)

That long-rumored Atwater Village wine bar is one step closer to opening.

As expected, the store will take over the last vacant spot in the renovated building that also includes a Starbucks, Crispy Crust and H&R Block. A wine bar been frequently discussed ever since word leaked out a few years ago, but so far, nothing. Pat first mentioned the possibility in June 2006; but as Starbucks, Crispy Crust and H&R Block all moved in, I had my doubts. And other bloggers had also started to wonder whether one was truly opening.

But now, construction has begun.

We were in Atwater Village (close to Franklin Avenue HQ) last Friday, as Blogger Toddler (in costume) trick-or-treated at participating businesses up and down Glendale Blvd. Standing at the Crispy Crust (free samples!), we wound up talking to the man standing in front of the future wine store.

The man — I believe it was owner Andy Hasroun — basically confirmed everything that Atwater Village Newbie mentioned last December. The wine shop will include regular wine tastings (functioning much like Colorado Wine Co. and its small wine bar) in addition to sales; a large wine cellar will be located in the basement.

Hasroun told us he’s still trying to come up with a name — “The Cellar” or “L.A. Cellar” are two possibilities.

I’d suggest going the pun route: Atwater Into Wine. (“Water into wine” — get it? OK, I didn’t say it was great.)

Above, Atwater Village’s fourth-annual “Trick or Treat on Glendale Boo-levard” was a huge hit — the street was even more packed than last year with tykes in costume. I’m proud to say the BT turned quite a few heads in his cowboy-on-a-pony outfit (yay, Target!)

Below, someone passes out candy at Atwater Village’s Woof dog boutique.

90 Years of Downtown’s San Antonio Winery

One of our favorite L.A. landmarks, the San Antonio Winery, celebrated its 90th birthday on Sunday with a harvest festival benefitting Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

We headed over there toward the tailend but were still made to feel at home, checking out the cuisine and tasting several wines. Apparently we missed the dancing and other entertainment.

The Riboli family first opened the winery in 1917 and continue to produce a wide variety under the Maddalena, San Simeon, Aliento del Sol and Riboli Family Vineyard labels (using grapes from estate vineyards in Napa Valley, Paso Robles and Monterey). I particularly liked the 2004 San Simeon Syrah (with grapes from their Monterey vineyard).

Maddalena Restaurant provided the food, including Italian Meatballs and Grilled Sausages, German Potatoes with Smoked Bacon, Vegetarian Lasagna, Polenta Casserole
and a delicious Black Angus Meatloaf. Good stuff. Happy 90th to one of Los Angeles’ oldest continuously operating family businesses.

Check out our past posts on the San Antonio here.