Dave Page

As a fund raiser, St Ann’s Episcopal Church invited parishioners to the Randall and Vine wine shop in Algonquin to sample 16 wines and enjoy some food. Say what you want about Episcopalian politics etc.; these people know how to have a good time. For $35 we got to taste each wine (several times as it turns out) and join in some raffles for door prizes. Plus 10% of the wine we purchased was contributed to St Ann’s — “it’s for charity!”. Plus the chairpeople had to go and try all the wines - can’t let all their hard tasting go to waste!

We bought two Saurus (persistent bubbles with fruity aromas of toasted bread and toffey, good acidity and good finish) sparkling wines for Bette, one bottle of the Silver Palm Cabernet (Black currant, dried cherry, sage & smoke aromas with dark fruit flavors and notes of chocolate and espresso — they ran out before I could buy two), two Ransom Pinot Gris (peach blossom and stone fruit aromas, flavors of baked stone fruits , lemon cream, and pear cobbler) and two of the Hacienda Cabernet (Blackberry and sweet vanillian oak with integrated tannins.) The Hacienda is reputed to be the house Cab at Charlie Trotter’s — so why is it $10 a glass at Charlie’s and $8.99 a bottle here? In a taste test with 3 buck Chuck tonite, the Hacienda was much smoother with better aroma. For a measly 5 more bucks.

I liked the IV Sons Stag’s Leap Cab (aromas of black fruit, cherries and figs, supple and full bodied with velvety and lingering tannins) the best — but at $35 a bottle I took a pass. Was nice to taste, though, repeatedly. The Incognito Viognier (Flambeed pear and honey aromas open into flavors of passion fruit, peach and apricot, with a vibrant finish) was great (wish I bought some). The De Bortoli Shiraz was ok. Actually, after the first few, it’s really hard to focus - they all taste the same. The Cabs were the only ones I could discriminate. Maybe it’s the cold.

Nancy’s brother John the wine geek was there with intelligent comments about the wines. He discussed the Vietti Castigliano Barolo (Aromas of raspberry, black cherry and dried rose, rich and dense with bold fruit and a rather serious finish), a special wine of which this was an American-oriented variant that did not require 15 years of aging. John didn’t care for it — he preferred the aged European-market Barolos.

Food was Italian sausage and meatballs catered by …..can’t remember. A sandwich shop nearby. Good stuff. The hot peppers were good too - don’t know how they affected my wine tasting, but my nose is so stuffed it doesn’t matter anyway.

The shop is very nice. Almost more interesting than the wines was the selection of funky liqueurs in the back (by the food) — Glogg, cachaça (basis of the Brazilian Caipirinha, which I read about in Carioca Fletch as have yet to have), Ouzo (ick), Licor 43 (which in a previous life accompanied after-dinner coffee), Icewine, and several single malt Scotches. Sake in the fridge.

Good food and lots of interesting wines. A good night. Stop by and check out the tasting bar. Tell em St Ann sent you.

Randall and Vine Wine Shoppe, 1497 South Randall Road, Algonquin, Illinois
St Ann’s Episcopal Church, 503 W. Jackson St. Woodstock, Illinois

At the Green Zebra we got a little of everything. Yes, it is loud and expensive, and yes, you may hit White Castle on the way home, but it was all good…

We had some beignets. We had two orders of potstickers (Curried Potato Potstickers, cilantro tamarind sauce, fresh coconut) for appetizers. We had roasted beets (Roasted Beets, wasabi gelee, cocoa nib foam, chippys) yum!

Good but small pricey plates. I had the chef’s selection which are all the items on hand in small quantities, each individually explained to me.

I had a rare Vos Amber Belgian-style ale — should have done wine, bottle was huge but good… Lots of wine all around. We had a Sha Na Nas, a Sundance and a Drunken Peach — sounds like Sara’s drinks! Should have gotten the wine flight, but I was smashed as it was.

Bette had a good halibut. (Vegetarian???) They have a great Tater Tot facsimile (Potato Tots, sunny-side up egg, nicoise olives, heirloom tomatoes).

I had the Thai spiced soup (Thai Spiced Carrot Soup, crispy rice noodles) and loved it. It had a cilantro foamy sauce on the surface. Actually, Brad had it too - was good to see him outside of his zone. Someone had Heart of Palm (Hawaiian Heart of Palm, blueberries, passion fruit cream, szechuan peppercorn). We had the tofu (Crispy Tofu, Thai basil, baby bok, Jasmine rice). Someone had the popover (Foraged Mushroom Popover, smoked cippolinis, Michigan cherries, manchego), a kind of pastry thing. We had artichokes (Marinated Artichokes and Feta cheese, arugula, preserved lemon). We had cucumbers (Cucumber and Radish Salad, sea beans, kohlrabi, greek yogurt panna cotta).

Desserts: French press coffee, I had ti kuan yin tea (no big deal), Alberto had a good looking cheescake, Bette and I split a chocolate cake. Someone had the Napoleon. One had poppy cake. None was poisonous.

We caught Gemma taking pictures of the food for Pro Bono Baker. She looked a little embarrassed, but I wondered how she got all those great food pictures for her blog. Now we know.

After dinner, Sara left to visit sister Liz and Alberto and Chellie invited us to their new condo on Franklin in the River North area. We cabbed back to the condo and went up the elevator to 11. What a nice place. They had nice art, a view of the buildings on the river. The club across the street was loud they said, but that what happens in the city.

Alberto talked me into some Lambrusco, a slightly fizzy wine. Good, but on top of the other wine I was flying. Good thing we were cabbing back to the Hyatt. Bad thing was I had to get up the next day for a train back to work.

They had art from Alberto’s trip to Guatemala, and also a 4-image panel from a local artist, who makes cartoony images in the style of Roy Lichtenstein. Their panels were of Chellie’s various pet sayings, but a lot of thought went into the characters and the placement. Amazing.

Chellie gave Bette her birthday presents, a small red book of Italian cooking, and a succulent e.g. cactus in a lovely pot. Very nice. We wobbled back to the hotel.

Green Zebra Chicago 1460 west chicago ave. • chicago illinois 60622

Friday 21 March

Barely beat the snow closings out of MKE airport. Arrived on time in Ft Myers. Karin and Sam were at the Twins game. We stopped at the “used food store” (Dixie’s Discounted Wine) on Bonita Beach Rd just east of US 41 for some wine and discount food. Then we had to stop at Publix. The detour is not worth it. Checked in at West Wind. Got a drink at the pool bar and waited for Karin and Sam.

Dixie’s Discounted Wine • 9080 Bonita Beach Rd, Bonita Springs,FL 34135

Saturday 22 March

I rented a 24 speed recumbent bike on the Internet the previous week from Billy’s Rentals. They delivered it to the West Wind to keep it from disappearing like the rest of their bikes — thanks guys! It has chopper style handlebars, which is a whole new trick. I finally got it to go straight, but turns were a problem. Fast hard turns would put me on the ground. With my hip acting up, it was torture.

Rode around the island to the lighthouse. Overcast but warmish; good riding. 15 mins into the ride, it started to rain. We kept going to the lighthouse, looked around, and headed back up Periwinkle for lunch at the Lighthouse Cafe, the “hippie” cafe next to Sporty Seahorse. Great food, great atmosphere. And busy — prepare to wait. We ate lunch, but split a banana pancake just to try it — it was warm and gooey in the middle. Sam wanted to come back the next day for breakfast. So we did.

Karin bolted back on her bike. Sam followed her, and Bette and I stopped at a few shops on the way back. It started to clear up a bit and we got back in time

Dinner with Sam and Karin at Sanibel Steakhouse. We had the Crab Cake appetizer, yum. I had the 16oz NY Strip, I think my favorite cut, with baked potato. Mmmm. Karin and Bette had the 12oz NY Strips. Sam and I started a bottle of Dynamite Zinfandel. Bette and Karin had a glass of Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc. Sam had the blackened Ahi tuna. Yum, but when in a good steakhouse, I get a good steak. Dessert was Chocolate Lava and a Keylime Pie slice to go around. Recommended. $80/ea for 4 people w/o gratuity w/wine. Pricey but good.

Billy’s Bike Rentals - 1470 Periwinkle Way
Lighthouse Cafe - 362 Periwinkle Way
Chip’s Sanibel Steakhouse - 1473 Periwinkle Way

Sunday 23 March

Decided not to do church. The sun was out. Time to build a sand sculpture. Sam had borrowed the book on Sand Castle building from Sons of the Beach and was raring to go.

Started with some simple columns and structures. I played with the dump method of sand. Working out of the bucket was a good way to do it. Then figured out the Padre Island snow balls. Cool. Taught Sam.

Then started the octopus. Started out as a pile, but soon saw that a sea creature terrorizing the village would be very nice. Karin built up some tentacles and buildings and upholstered everything. Sam and I moved the sand into position and Sam and Bette lugged water.