If you’re seriously into sake, or intend to be so, we suggest going to this article before jumping to the rest of ELV’s post.
Sur La Table
Sur La Table (translation: “on the table”) was founded in 1972 in Seattle by Shirley Collins. It’s first location was in Seattle’s Pike’s Place Market and now has over 70 stores in the United States. Sur la Taableh is the second largest cookware chain in America (after Williams-Sonoma), and ELV and the staff at ELV think it’s the best. The reason we think it’s the best is because everytime we walk into a store, it makes us want to cook. Williams-Sonoma, on the other hand, just makes us want to look and gag at the prices. The only thing we don’t like about SLT is it’s location. No matter how you slice it, the Planet Hollywood (formerly Alladin) Shops are a pain to get to, but at least our SLT is near the parking garage, and it’s a lot closer than flying to Seattle (where ELV first experienced the charms of this franchise sixteen years ago).
Sur La Table
3363 Las Vegas Blvd. South #215
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702.732.2706
Veritas Wine List
For those of you who would like a basis for comparison when contemplating whether wine is overpriced in a restaurant in our humble burg: here is the complete wine list of Veritas in New York– one of the great lists in the world — to use when contemplating whether that bottle of Romanee-Conti, or that Dauvissat Les Clos 1989 Grand Cru, or something as pedestrian as a half-bottle of Ridge Sonoma Zinfandel ($45), is being priced fairly.
According to Friend In Food Alan Richman (in this post on his blog), many restaurants and sommeliers use the Veritas list as a pricing benchmark when establishing their own lists. He also states there are over 200 bottles available at Veritas for under $75, but good luck finding them among the 3,500 labels.
After perusing it, ELV decided two things: One, we can’t afford to drink in New York City anymore; and two, the wine programs at Marche Bacchus and STEAK look better than ever to us.