Green Mountain Coffee & Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro

This evening I had the pleasure of being invited to a Boston Food Bloggers' event at Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro in Foxboro, MA.

The dinner - a four-course extravaganza with dishes all made with coffee or coffee derivatives - was arranged by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and I was a last-minute addition.



With Blog World Expo going on in Las Vegas, I surmise that writers who had previously committed to the dinner found themselves weighing the choice between slummin' it in Vegas with hundreds of other bloggers or staying home for a free meal and some potent coffee. As I sit in my living room with a cat by my elbow, I would say they made the wrong choice by missing this meal.

Let's go through the venue, the concept and then the meal. If you've got comments, please share them.

Venue - Tastings Wine Bar is essentially a bistro-style restaurant that until June featured only a tastings menu....hence the name. Its design was created, according to one of my fellow diners, by some of the same people who design the restaurants at Walt Disney World. It shows.

The wine cellar, the bar, the side room (with live music) and the dining room all are comfortable and efficient. Chairs were comfortable, tables were distressed, dark wood, and the staff were all well-dressed and well mannered.



Tastings is a little difficult to locate when you first show up at Patriot Place (the mall that surrounds Gillette Stadium in Foxboro), but there are plenty of signs.

Parking is plentiful and free. Prices at the Bistro are moderate to high. Before we went to the dinner table, I purchased a glass of wine and a beer. That set me back $21 including tax and tip. *Bear in mind that my beer was only $6.

The Concept - The idea behind the evening's event was to bring influential and interested bloggers together and show them how coffee can be used in cooking some enticing and tasty food. The other goal was to inform these same writers about Fair Trade Coffee and how Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is focused on supporting the Fair Trade movement.

In my mind, it worked.

We finished our meal (menu and descriptions in a second) about two hours ago and I've decided to post this before going to bed. That's because I liked the food, was interested in Green Mountain's efforts, and had a lot of coffee tonight.

If you're not sure what Fair Trade really means, check out this site. It essentially says that Fair Trade coffees are held to six principles. These principles allow growers, and the communities within which these growers farm, to lift themselves up - essentially maintaining access to markets where they might not have had an in if demand was the sole determination of pricing.

I liken it to subsidizing farmers to grow corn - or paying farmers not to grow anything - but can see that participating in Fair Trade practices is more than this for Green Mountain. During the meal they discussed how there is an element of corporate social responsibility that helps direct their actions.

Not gonna get all political here, but this whole CSR focus has helped them connect with customers, employees and partners in a way they hadn't before.



Let's eat...menu was created by executive chef Richard Garcia

Course 1 - Live Sea Urchin Cappucino

Served in its shell, the sea urchin was pureed and infused with parsnip and vanilla. I gobbled it up. There was coffee used in the puree.

What I tasted most was a spicy, velvety and fresh dish that had just a hint of coffee and a hint of the vanilla. I remember trying urchin as nigiri at various Asian restaurants and this dish had none of the bitterness that sometimes accompanies urchin.

Loved it.

The wine was a Hamilton Russell Chardonnay that brought out the vanilla more after I had a sip.



Course 2 - Coffee Cured Hamachi

Served on a plate with a vanilla citrette, this dish was by far my favorite. I could have eaten this all night. The subtle citrette and the texture of the fish was perfect.

I've had sashimi right off a fishing boat in Hawaii and this was as good. Delicate, tasty and outstanding.

There was just a breath of coffee essence on the hamachi and it was decorated/garnished with a few nuts and leaves. The photos I took don't do it justice.



The wine for the hamachi was a Georg Albrecht Schneider Spatlese Riesling. I found it just sweet enough to offset the citrette.

Course 3 - Duck Two Ways - Coffee Smoked Lola Duck Breast; and Lola Duck Confit

The duck was excellent. I'm not sure I would be able to survive if I had to dine regularly on the portions we enjoyed...but it was a tasting menu. But I digress.

The duck breast was perfectly seasoned with French roast duck jus and was set in a Rhode Island turnip puree.

The puree tasted light and airy and the duck was perfectly cooked. *I was one of the only people at the table who preferred the breast to the confit.

The confit was two pieces of duck that could have passed for mini filets. They were also set in the French roast duck jus.

Course 4 - Coffee & Cardamom Infused Dates

Ergh. The chef admitted that the dessert was thrown together and it played that way. The dates were done perfectly, but the yogurt & coffee fluid gel remained on everyone's plate - including mine. It was like a bad Knox blox that tasted like coffee. A mousse of some sort could have been created as easily and would have been a better feel in the mouth.

This was paired with Barros "La Grima" White Port. I don't know enough about port to know if this was good. It was definitely sweet and had a gentle burn at the end. I'm not positive that it paired correctly with the gel, but as I admitted, I didn't thoroughly enjoy this course.

Finally, we had a post-meal coffee cupping and got to compare Kenyan and Sumatran coffee from Green Mountain. I can say I've never tasted coffee in this manner. Usually I just sweeten it up and load it with cream. This time I took the time to let it roll over my tongue like wine and I noticed flavors that have been absent in my coffee-drinking life.

This wasn't something I'd attribute solely to the Green Mountain brand, but was pleased to now have a new technique in my arsenal when trying different blends.

What's the verdict? Well, wow. I was surprised that you could put coffee into so many dishes. I was also surprised by what I learned about Fair Trade items. *Tastings tries to use as many FT products as possible, including vanilla and coffee.

Will the Fair Trade information make me be more socially responsible - if that's what buying only Fair Trade does? I'm not sure. I'm still going to choose my food by taste and cost primarily. But if I can get the same quality and also do something nice for a coffee grower in Guatemala, then why not.

review: harlan county horrors

review – harlan county horrors

[[via Shock Totem]]

Harlan County Horrors
by Mari Adkins (editor)
Apex Publications, 2009; 159ps.

* This review is based on an advance reading copy.

Darkness dwells in Harlan County, since the dawn of time and through the end of days. The people are wonderfully strong of will, insular, and prone to insanity or possession. The mountains and mines are shadowy monoliths, their presence always felt even when not actually seen. Harlan County Horrors is a collection of 12 stories, delving into the rich horrific literary tradition of the isolated mining community.

The anthology starts with “Harlan Moon,” by TL Trevaskis, which features some beautiful poetic descriptions of the town, and an entertaining ride through adventure and madness. Two superb examples of dark faerie tales and modern folklore follow in Alethea Kontis’ “The Witch of Black Mountain,” where a girl in an unfortunate circumstance meets a dark power on the mountain, and Debbie Kuhn’s “The Power of Moonlight,” a tale of magic and love and the price of their misuse.

We then go to the distant future with the seriously sci-fi “Hiding Mountain: Our Future in Apples,” by Earl P. Dean, where despite the changes in tech and society, the hard life of the Harlan miner stays the same. The book begins to hit its stride with Geoffrey Girard’s “Psychomachia,” an apocalyptic story of Harlan’s past, and evil beneath the earth. The prose gets a little heavy at times, but it’s appropriate for the scale of human devastation depicted. I read this story a few times, and enjoyed it more with each read.

“Yellow Warbler” by Jason Sizemore is my favorite of this collection. It’s an excellent sci-fi tale about age and wisdom versus xenophobic ignorance. Preacher Jeremiah and his world captured my interest and left me hungry for more.

Another story of future Harlan comes in the form of Jeremy C. Shipp’s “Kingdom Come,” which tells of an authoritarian dystopia that would give nightmares to Orwell. “Trouble Among the Yearlings,” by Maurice Broaddus, returns us to the unforgotten mines with his story of kin, vengeance, and coming of age in blood and darkness.

Story number nine is “Spirit Fire.” Robby Sparks spins a classically entertaining adventure about a small town cop standing against ancient evil. Strong characters, exciting climax, solid story. Ronald Kelly presents an awesomely hilarious splatterfest in the name of “The Thing at the Side of the Road.” Good monster, cool phrasings, it put a psychotic smirk on my face the whole way through. Excellent.

The Chiang-shih comes to Harlan in “Inheritance,” by Stephanie Lenz. It has intrigue and gore, a multi-cultural concept while keeping the small town vibe, and some disturbingly incestuous threads, all woven together to create quite the memorable tale. The last story is Steven L Shrewsbury’s “Greater of Two Evils,” a fun and strong ending to the book; it is a Call of Cthulu-esque adventure, an outsider’s look at the county’s pre-history.

I always expect excellence from Apex Publications, and was not disappointed with Harlan County Horrors. I had some minor issues with some of the stories—some monologuing here, too weird or confusing there, an occasional lame character name or a strain on disbelief—but all of the stories had wonderful concepts and some great lines, good impact and humor. Over half the stories are very strong and positively memorable, classic ideas with unique twists. Harlan County Horrors is another quality product from Apex, exactly what I’m looking for from a small press anthology.

Genuine Scooter Company - Buddy 125

Most of the reviews here are gadgets. You know, the kind that fit in your pocket, help you navigate the planet or allow you to play games or listen to music.

Today, I'm doing a quick review of a scooter. With the current economic situation (actually better in the United States when referring to gas prices than it has been in years), people are still flocking to scooter stores to purchase these two-wheeled conveyances.

First, some scooter basics...

Scooters aren't toys
- Flip flops and sun dresses have no place on a scooter
- The rules of the road apply
- The Buddy 125 is considered a motorcycle, so you need a real motorcycle license
- The rules of physics apply more harshly
- Other drivers don't take you seriously
- Other drivers often can't see you
- While they're good on gas, scooters might pollute more than cars percentage wise

OK, enough naysaying. Here's what I've learned in my test of the Genuine Scooter Company Buddy 125.

The Buddy is a model of scooter from Genuine Scooter Company. The firm is based in Chicago and imports all of their scooters from Taiwan. The Buddy is actually a rebadged vehicle from Taiwan company PGO. PGO has been making the BuBu for decades and it's among the best selling scooters in the world.

What, you thought that the only good scooters were Vespas? Think again.

For half the cost of a Vespa, you can get a Buddy with similar horses, better mileage and a longer warranty.

How's it ride?

It's easy to ride because of a low center of gravity. The scoot goes where you point it and has the acceleration you might only expect from Ninja motorcycles. Seriously. The Buddy can out sprint nearly any car for the first 100-200 feet.

What's this good for? It helps you with visibility because you're ahead of most traffic and you have clear sightlines ahead. It also helps you get out of trouble. If a car doesn't see you and drifts into your lane, the acceleration allows you to speed ahead so you don't get mushed.

Overall, the ride is pretty stable. Caveats include a note about riding on rough roads and at high speed.

While the scoot can go about 60MPH, it isn't designed to stay at that speed for extended periods. The tiny wheels - 10-inches - are ill-equipped for speeds much above 50 and the low center of gravity make the bike act a little like a Weeble in high winds. It tips easily to the side so riders must be able to control the scoot in all situations.

Rough roads and tiny tires don't mix. While a motorcycle might have a difficult time on pockmarked asphalt, the Buddy has a nearly impossible task ahead if the road is a minefield. With the small tires, you can feel every pebble and crack in road surfaces. Bridge creases feel like small ledges and some potholes can jar you from toes to spine. That's another reason to take it slow.

But the news isn't all gloom. Around town, the Buddy is a dream. You can park it nearly anywhere and it darts from light to light with easy. The engine isn't too loud and there's lots of storage space for your stuff.

In fact, I was at a scooter rally the other day and a guy with a Vespa was astonished at the amount of room under the seat of the Buddy 125. You can almost fit a full-face helmet there, and there's plenty of room for locks and GPS and snacks and other gear.

What's the scooting takeaway?

The Buddy 125 gets about 100 miles per gallon. It has a 1.2 gallon tank and will speed around at up to 60+MPH.

I've had mine since June of 2008 when I purchased it new for $3000 and it now has 5400 miles on it.

I would recommend the model and brand to anyone who plans to scoot alone 80% of the time. It can get cramped with two people on it, but the engine is powerful enough to speed you both around if you can fit.

It's an affordable choice for anyone looking to get into a top-end scooter.

The only two things I don't like about it are how difficult it is to get to the innards and the poor quality of the cheesy charger.

There's a socket for a lighter charger, but the first time I used it I blew the fuse.

Then, because the scoot is snapped and screwed together from about a billion plastic panels, there's no way to get to the fuse (or many interior engine parts) without taking the scoot panels off. It would be great to have a little door with access to some parts.

To jump sides, if it were easy to get to the innards I guess it would make the scooter easier to steal. So I'll live with that shortcoming.

If I gave stars, the Genuine Buddy 125 would get 4 out of 5.

I love my Genuine Buddy and plan to ride it for 20,000 miles before I start shopping for my next scooter.

Mangling

Just an update for readers. I'm trying to change the template to the Test-Lab blog to make it more readable and enjoyable.

In doing so, I've mangled some of the info I had here before.

Stay tuned, I hope to have the site back in perfect form...with a new look...by Tuesday, May 12, 2009.

Thanks!

Jeff

South Shore Country Club - Low Hanging Fruit

I'm a golfer. Sometimes. Recreationally.

And one of the things I've learned over the years of playing different golf courses is that some facilities are very adept at capitalizing on the simple revenue builders that present themselves.

Others, like South Shore Country Club in Hingham, fall dismally short of creating a win-win for their bottom line and their patrons.

What am I talking about? Let's go with real-world examples, shall we?

My brother and I were on the eighth hole at South Shore and we felt some hunger pangs. We looked at each other and agreed that we should call the clubhouse and order some lunch.

1 - The reason we had to call ahead was because the snack shack at the turn was closed. On a Saturday. In the middle of the day.

2 - When we called the pro shop, they said they didn't have the phone number for the restaurant. Good work.

3 - Thankfully I had an iPhone with me. I went online and found the restaurant/catering number. We called it. The phone rang and then went to voicemail.

What's the story? No snacks sold because the shack was closed. A quick $2 hot dog and a Gatorade sold to us instead of two $7 sandwiches.

Put a phone in at the eighth tee box that rings directly in the kitchen. Guessing that 50%+ of people playing would call ahead for a meal.

ALSO, if people could call ahead for their meal, the course would see more play and generate more revenue.

How? Because the people who still need to eat after nine holes are going to slow up play while they wait for the ONE person working on a Saturday to get their hot dogs.

Other failures during Saturday's round? No water in many of the coolers on the course. No ranger on the course ANYWHERE at any time...ON A SATURDAY. And finally, the starter was hanging out in the pro shop while cart after cart of players lined up at the tee box, bogging down play for the rest of the day.

By the way, golf courses aren't alone in this. My friend Rachel Happe just had an interminable 11-hour ride on the Amtrak Acela train. She told the world via Twitter that the train had no food in the cafe car and that the train - supposedly a modern transportation marvel - was not wired for Wifi.

Are companies not thinking about how to make a buck? Are they that complacent?

No wonder we're in a depression/recession.

What failures to capitalize have you seen lately? Please share in the notes here.

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