A Food and Wine Affair to Remember

http://www.mainlinetoday.com/Main-Line-Today/Food-and-Wine/2013-Visitor-Info/

As I always say "wine" not whine!"  Sharing this event with all my fellow wine lovers who love a good sampling.

Whether you like a rich bold Malbec (Trivento) and a lighter Pinot Noir, the Main Line Today Food and Wine Affair has got you covered.  I'm thrilled to be a part of the Grand Tasting on Friday and am excited to broaden my horizons and palette.  A few years back I discovered the amazing Pinot Noir's from Williamette Valley and frankly they're so good, I've been kind of stuck there ever since.  This Friday, Williamette choices will be "in the house," but I'm excited to branch out into other areas.  Thankfully, my (and YOUR) choices are plentiful!  At Friday's Grand Tasting, you'll be able to sample wines from Banfi Vintners, E&J Gallo (MacMurray, Don Miguel, LaMarca), Majectic Fine Wines, Rutini Wines (including sparkling), Opici Wines, Picolo Tesoro, Remy Cointreau, Robert Kacher Selections, Rutherford, Subarashii Kudamono, Trinchero Family Estate and more.

While I will only be attending Friday night's Grand Tasting, I do wholeheartedly recommend the Winemaker's Dinner the evening before...see why by clicking the link (above) or at www.ilikebenfm.com...the dinner features a brilliant 7-courses and it's always a perk to learn from the experts which wine to serve with any fantastic meal!  I hope you'll come lift a glass with me Friday, September 20th at the Desmond...I'd love to taste right along-side YOU! Cheers!

CHEESESTEAKS

When you grow up in Philly, you know a little something about this sandwich.  While my Dad made a fairly good one in our little Mayfair kitchen, once I discovered how many great CheeseSteak places existed in Center City and South Philly, well, sorry Pop...I found my love of the meat/cheese/bun elsewhere.

For my money, no one does it better than Tony Luke...the man is gifted and without exception remains my Cheesesteak King.  A close second for me is D'Allesandro's in Roxborough though, and maybe it's because sitting at that counter is pure Philly and having grown up here, it just brings back great memories of counter-dining, a special after-school event on any given weekday in Northeast Philly.

Now, I say this with much love and respect for my suburban friends, but the absolute BEST cheesesteaks can only be found within our City limits...sorry Guiseppe's in Ambler, you know I love you too, but just not as much as my City joints...and boy are those joints jumping.  Just drive by Pat's and Geno's any weekend - yes packed...and like you, I've waited 20-minutes or longer to get my Jim's fix and I've already established how I feel about Tony Luke's, makes South Philly the cheesesteak capital of the world :-).

All that notwithstanding, I agreed to judge (for my old mates Preston & Steve) a few suburban-made cheesesteaks this morning and gotta say, they were all really really good. It was Bucks (Mike's in Warminster) taking on Montgo (Guiseppe's) vs. Delco (Cocco's in Aston. WINNER for all three judges was Delaware County - COCCO's in Aston whose cheesesteak, staight up plain-wid, on a delicious Amaroso roll was really fantastic! This must be true because it was on their menu - Cocco's has been voted best pizza in Delaware County 4 consecutive years, so head in and check em out. 2430 Dutton Mill Road in Aston - www.coccosaston.com - Of course, I haven't tried the pizza yet...so jury is still out, in fact, that's a whole other blog post :-)