She's much more than a bartender

Terrin can mix a mojito with the best of ‘em, but bring up the subject of a spicy Sangiovese Rosso or a racy Barbera d’Alba and her eyes light up like a saucy spumante.

She works at one of our great wine bars, but it seems a shame to call her a bartender….just as it would be a shame to drink anything but one of Piero Selvaggio’s outstanding reds there.

Or whites.

Or Proseccos.

Just ask Terrin to give you a tour.

And tell her ELV sent you.

VALENTINO

In the Venetian Hotel and Casino

3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.414.3031

www.pieroselvaggio.com

ELV note: We recorded this at KNPR in December, 2004, and you can listen to us perform the script in the mellifluous, whimsical and melancholy tones for which we were known by clicking on the link below. Happy New Year 2012!

You’re Toast!

Archived audio Real Audio |

Happy New Year, Great Saturnalia, Season’s Greetings or Yumpin’ Yule– however you celebrate the shortest days of the year, I’m sure food (and especially drink), has a lot to do with it. And since all holiday celebrations begin or end with a toast, I thought some information about how all that clinking of glasses came about, might be fun, and provide some good conversation fodder should you find yourself trapped behind a punchbowl with nothing witty to say.

Toasting came about because once upon a time the rich and famous were in the nasty habit of poisoning each other rather than filing lawsuits. A nobleman in 14th century Europe in the midst of a pesky property dispute with his neighbor might suggest mead cocktails at Lancelot Lagasses or the Earl of Puck’s Steakhouse so they could “settle” things. Rather than appear with a high priced mouthpiece to plead his case, or perhaps lacking any real evidence that he was entitled to starve his serfs into submission and steal their land, His Royal Fullness would have his in-house chemist poison the wine or beer (usually the only disease-free potable liquid), of his political or business opponents. One dinner, a few drinks and poof, no more plaintiff! When you consider the time and money saved in court costs, legal fees, and copying charges, it was a beautiful system. Unfortunately it made dining with strangers, and especially your relatives, a dicey proposition.

So the expense-account crowd in medieval London, came up with a custom to take the stress out of imbibing anywhere but your own back yard. The host would take some toast (dry bread soaking up more liquid than fresh), and dip it into his guests flagons and take a bite. Assuming he didn’t keel over, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, got drunk, and went back to the business of debauchery and exploiting peasants.

The glass clinking thing dispensed with the bread, and had the host pour some of his guest’s wine into his glass or cup, and then drank up. Upon seeing him do this, everyone clinked (or clunked) their wooden or metal cups together, signifying trust and honesty at the table. So along with this indispensable trivia, here’s a six-pack of pretentiously obscure toasts to use instead of the same old boring “cheers!” or “salud!” over this year’s vintage bottle of October 2004 Manischewitz. All of these are some version of “to your health” or “here’s to good food and drink”:

In Basque it’s Topa. Greeks say Kali Orixi. While Russians yell Na’zdroveya. Asturians (whoever they are) proclaim Gayola, and in Italian you say Chin Chin. (which is not to be made amongst Japanese, since you would be toasting their penises)

And my personal favorite: In Zulu – Oogy Wawa. This is John Curtas wishing you a Happy New Year Topa! Chin Chin! Oogy Wawa! and Gayola!!

Language - Spelling - Phonetic Pronunciation

Afrikaans Gesondheid Ge-sund-hate

Albanian Gëzuar Geh-zoo-ah

Arabic (Egypt) فى صحتك: (literally good luck) Fe sahetek

Armenian (Western) Կէնաձդ Genatzt Azerbaijani Nuş olsun Nush ohlsun

Bosnian Živjeli Zhee-vi-lee

Bulgarian Наздраве Naz-dra-vey

Burmese Aung myin par say Au-ng my-in par say

Catalan Salut Sah-lut

Chamorro (Guam) Biba Bih-bah

Chinese (Mandarin) 干杯
gān bēi Gan bay

Croatian Živjeli /
Nazdravlje Zhee-ve-lee /
Naz-dra-vlee

Czech Na zdravi Naz-drah vi

Danish Skål Skoal

Dutch Proost Prohst

Estonian Terviseks Ter-vih-sex

Filipino/Tagalog Mabuhay Mah-boo-hay

Finnish Kippis Kip-piss

French Santé /
A la votre Sahn-tay /
Ah la vo-tre

Galician Salud Saw-lood

German Prost /
Zum wohl Prohst /
Tsum vohl

Greek ΥΓΕΙΑ Yamas

Hawaiian Å’kålè ma’luna Okole maluna

Hebrew לחיים L’chaim

Hungarian Egészségedre (to your health) /
Fenékig (until the bottom of the glass) Egg-esh ay-ged-reh /
Fehn-eh-keg Icelandic Skál Sk-owl Irish

Gaelic Sláinte Slawn-cha

Italian Salute /
Cin cin Saw-lutay /
Chin chin

Japanese 乾杯
Kanpai (Dry the glass) Kan-pie

Korean 건배 Gun bae

Latvian Priekā /
Prosit Pree-eh-ka /
Proh-sit

Lithuanian į sveikatą Ee sweh-kata

Macedonian На здравје Na zdravye

Mongolian Эрүүл мэндийн төлөө /
Tulgatsgaaya ErUHl mehdii

Norwegian Skål Skawl

Polish Na zdrowie Naz-droh-vee-ay

Portuguese Saúde Saw-OO-de

Romanian Noroc /
Sanatate No-rock /
Sahn-atate

Russian Будем здоровы/
На здоровье Budem zdorovi/
Na zdorovie

Serbian živeli Zhee-ve-lee Slovak Na zdravie Naz-drah-vee-ay

Slovenian Na zdravje (literally on health) Naz-drah-vee

Spanish Salud Sah-lud

Swedish Skål Skawl

Thai Chok dee Chok dee

Turkish Şerefe Sher-i-feh Ukranian будьмо Boodmo

Vietnamese Dô /
Vô /
Một hai ba, yo (one, two, three, yo) Jou /
/ Dzo
Moat hi bah, yo

Welsh Iechyd da Yeh-chid dah

Yiddish Sei gesund Say geh-sund

So dark you can't see it at night

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Lucky for ELV, Jeff Wyatt was in a wonderfully giving mood on Christmas Eve.

For you oenophiles out there, this Grand Cru was a revelation in inkiness, structure, hearty tannins, fruit and earth — all after 15 years in the bottle — with a deceptively ripe,  grape-y attack that gave way to complex hints of spice, and a finish that lasted until next Tuesday.

It was the perfect wine for a cold winter’s night, made even more special by it being the only one in Marche Bacchus‘ collection.

ELV disdains the wine-scoring game, but would give the winemaker a solid “A” for this effort…especially when considering how well it has aged, and how well it will continue to do so….if there are any bottles left…which apparently there are not.

To learn more about the wines of  Domaine Jacques Prieur, check this out (and try to find someone to buy you some):

MARCHE BACCHUS

2620 Regatta Drive.

Las Vegas, NV89128

702.804.8008

http://www.marchebacchus.com/flash/

Don’t let the picture fool you….you’ll have to scroll to the 33:55 minute mark on the video to see ELV’s rotund, hirsute self opining on our three best, locally-owned, gourmet food markets in the excitable, exaggerated, examinational, exhaustive, exhibitionary, exclusivist, exhorted, expansive and exalted tones for which he is known!

Happy Holiday shopping from ELV and his staff!

If you missed us on Channel 3 early this morning, here were (and are) our top 3 shops for last minute gourmet gifts, along with some tasty snaps (above) of Jim, Chemaine and Erica (with a “c”) Jensen hard at work at Village Meat & Wine — our oldest gourmet butcher shop.

ELV has been shopping at Village M &W ever since the early 80s — when it was run by Glenn and Emily Hare — and has never been less than impressed with the all-organic, natural, hormone-free meat (and game) that has been available here since 1977. (The house-made sausages are something else as well, as are the shelves stocked with all sorts of gourmet goods.)

Jim provided the roast crown of pork shown on the program (and yours truly cooked it at 3:00 am this morning!), and we can’t think of a more dramatic presentation for your Christmas table. He trims it and gives easy cooking directions (along with a choice of three stuffings). We opted for the sage and cranberry, and it was as lip-smacking as those chops.

Also on the program were a “mogambo extravaganza” basket from Bob Howald and Kristin Sande at Valley Cheese and Wine, and some of Jeff and Rhonda Wyatt’s best Burgundies on display from Marche Bacchus.

The display showed but a hint of the goodies available at each of these stores, and the great thing about all three of them is each of the couples are always right there on premises, ready to help you find the right gourmet gift for the holiday season or table.

Village Meat & Wine

Village East Plaza at Tropicana and Eastern

5025 South Eastern Ave. Suite 23

702.736.7575

villagemeatandwine.com

Valley Cheese and Wine

1770 West Horizon Ridge Parkway

Henderson, NV 89012

702.341.8191

www.valleycheeseandwine.com

Marche Bacchus

2620 Regatta Drive.

Las Vegas, NV89128

702.804.8008

www.marchebacchus.com

ELV loves public relations people.

He loves it when they beg him for free publicity about their chefs and restaurants, and loves it even more when they “forget” to tell him when key chefs and personnel quit or are fired from their posts.

Such as former Sommelier of the Year Willi Sherer and the mega-talented Megan Romano – who were both shown the door at Mandalay Bay over a month ago. This in the same month she was named Pastry Chef of the Year by a local ‘zine (and after twelve years with the restaurant).

We’re big fans of both Willi and Megan, and wonder what this augurs for the future of Aureole?

A loyal scout and Official Friend of ELV puts it best in a missive/inquiry today:

Dear ELV,

Not sure if you have heard this, but Willi Sherer, Megan Romano are out at Aureole. They also are re-assigning Kevin Dimond elsewhere in Charlie Palmer Empire. Supposedly MGM wanted a move in a different direction,

Charlie fought with them, but in the end he had to cave to the Casino property. Two very very talented individuals who will be impossible to replace. Kevin took care of his customers and ran a good ship.  Hopefully Vincent doesn’t get spooked and move on. IMHO a really bad move for Aureole. I am one of their top customer’s and am pissed off by the news.   It would be interesting to hear if you have any other commentary/information on what happened.

Sound’s similar to what you noted at Wynn awhile back. Don’t you agree?

Sincerely,

A Frustrated Fan

Dear Frustrated,

ELV knows not what direction the MGM behemoth is taking Mandalay Bay, but can assure you that the p.r. department will tell us when they’re good and ready to get some free publicity for whoever replaces them.

To your larger point about a wholesale change of direction for the F & B Department at MB, ELV doubts there’s going to be an abandonment of chef-driven restaurants a la Wynn/Encore in ‘09-’11. Think about it: over the course of three years, the Wynncore let Daniel Boulud slip away, lost (or fired – it’s hard to tell sometimes whether someone was canned, not renewed or forced out) Fredric Robert (a master patissier), Boris Villat (a baker with serious chops), Grant MacPherson, Marc Poidevin, Alex Stratta, Richard Chen, and Jet Tila.

Sure, there’s a story behind each one of these decisions, but someone in charge obviously thought their salaries were no longer worth it. So, about three years after all that hoopla about Wynn’s passion for great chefs, the powers that be decided to cut costs by cutting talent….the same way NFL teams occasionally do. The restaurants you’re left with aren’t bad, but neither do they soar the way they did when they had name chefs manning the stoves and ovens.

We don’t expect the same from Mandalay, mainly because they have some solid performers firmly in place via management agreements with Charlie Palmer, the Two Hot Tamales, Rick Moonen, Alain Ducasse and the Mina Group. If the Wynn retrenchment proves anything, it is that leased eateries (a la Venetian/Palazzo) and management agreements (a la MGM resorts) are the current business model for upscale dining, and Steve Wynn’s hype about paying top toques to stay in-house was a failure. He’ll never admit it (and neither will his p. r. folks), because it’s in their DNA to put a positive spin on everything! Even their mistakes.

That’s why we love them so.

Publicity-wisely yours,

ELV

The Greek Food Festival began last night with a bang and crowds larger than we’ve ever seen there on a Friday night. For three days every September for almost forty years, this festival brings forth the best in homemade (literally) Greek cooking, accompanied by value-priced Greek wines, beers and ouzo (not to mention Metaxa!).

Best of all, there’s the Greek music and dancing (with free lessons!) and learning to eat and drink the Greek way — which means, fun, casual, tasty and outdoors.

Second best of all, ELV and The Food Gal® will be tending bar there again today….so come on by and have a shot of ouzo with us.

Kali orixi (kah-LEE or-IX-ee: “bon appetit” or “eat well” in Greek), Yasou!, Opa! and all that jazz.