Say Goat Cheese, if You Can Stand the Stink

I have found three wonderful goat cheeses that I must share. These are so good, that you should immediately stop whatever you are doing and go to your local cheese shop to find, buy, order and eat these. Drop the laptop, drop the stethoscope, drop the kids, and go get some.

Midnight Moon

Do you want a description? How about "Yum!"? This is a goat cheese that tastes like an aged Amsterdam gouda with hints of earthy and almost indescribable luscious flavors. Needless to say, I was stunned.

Besace Affine

How can cheese get any better? This little ash covered gum drop of a cheese might be the answer. Literally translating as "the old bag" this cheese has many hidden flavors that pack a punch from inside its pouch like exterior. You can eat the rind, inside and all without a squirm. It's nice and goaty, creamy, buttery, flakey and above all, sumptuous.  It's one of your two layered French cheeses with a flakey porcelain white inside and a gooey outer layer. But this one is covered in an ash. Wow. This is good. My new favorite cheese.

Fiorito in Foglie di Ciliegio

This little gooey Italian devil is wonderful in it's sin factor. It is a little disc of a goat cheese that is wrapped in cherry leaves. The flavors are rich and creamy with a slight sweetness and vegetal pungency coming from the leaves. What a wonderful find. 

For every cheese I write about, I have tried myriad amounts of mediocre or bad cheeses. Take this cheese list to your local shop and have a well selected feast!

Que Syrah Syrah

Ah yes. The passing of a great wine has come. 

I have tried to order more of the same vintage. But, alas, it is no more. It was the first time I had it, but not the last. I managed to find one more bottle. Well, this is the game right? Try as many as possible and increase your knowledge and savor the good ones in memory. 

I have one bottle of Cline 2001 Sonoma County Syrah left. I should not lament the idea of the last bottle, but celebrate it. 

This wine has a wonderful characteristic so ingrained in the flavor of great Sonoma County syrahs. The palate opens up with dried fruit and leather, followed by tobacco, earth and green hay, and ending in an incredibly tongue defying length of an orchestral finish. How supreme. How can this be so good? This wine deserves sipping, not drunken guzzling. This is my type if syrah. This is why I consider syrahs the best wines in the world. 

If you can find one, buy them all and send me an email. I'll be over for dinner.

Oh So Good Ossobuco

Ossobuco alla milanese. Do you feel the guilt when you eat this baby cow delicacy? Feel the hot glares and the mumbled words behind your eyes' glance? Or is it just the cold stares of jealous mafia members thinking they should have ordered that dish? Why is this dish featured at so many high-end Italian restaurants? Because it's sooo good. Relinquish the guilt and eat this dish just once. 

Enjoy the culinary delight of every aspect of this mouth-watering dish. The perfect brown sauce of dripping, butter and herbs. The tender meat, as it falls off the bone. Yes, and what is that little fork for? Did you get one? All great Italian restaurants should give you a small two pronged fork with the dish. If not, demand it. It is for something so taboo and maybe out of the ordinary, but you must do it. Fork out the marrow. Vegetarians shriek…Vegans wither up and die. It is quite appalling and inhumane when you think about it. But if you are a carnivore, don't think about it and do it once on this dish. This dish was made for it. 

Valentino's in Santa Monica has the best ossobucco I have ever had. This gets top ranks for its flavor, presentation and pure ossobuco knowledge.

What a stupendous dish. I have not been this excited about a restaurant dish in quite some time. 

The Ultimate Sandwich Experience

So, do you like sandwiches? I mean real sandwiches? Real Italian deli sandwiches with almost limitless taste options? With the works? Spicy? Sweet? You name it, you got it.

There is one place that gets the crown on this food endeavor. Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica, CA.

Among every type of sandwich here, there is one in particular that is spectacular. It's well known in these parts and is well-deserved of its reputation. The Godmother sandwich. It is loaded with the tastiest Italian meats, packed into a baguette that they themselves bake fresh everyday. The crust is so crunchy. The inside is nice and fluffy and chewy. To top it off, you can get it with the works. You should do this. Spices, oil, shredded marinated lettuce, pepper, and your choice of a sweet or a spicy mixture of veggies and peppers are included in this "Works" mixture. This makes the sandwich. 

Once you eat this sandwich, there are no others. This is the one. Marry it now or forever hold your peace. 

Remember, order it by saying "Godmother, spicy, large, with the works".