Friday Lunch Special

Okay. We are running a lunch special this Friday May 16, 2008. This is limited. I am not making a huge quantity, so if you want it come in early.

"Braised Short Ribs over risotto"

This will only be served IN STORE and this is the last "hot meal" we will have until fall. From here on out it will be salads and other cold items for the rest of spring and summer. We hope to unveil our Bulk Olive Oil Bar next week, stay tuned for more info.
Also we are still accepting sign ups for the Boomtown tasting on the 22 of May. Space is limited so get your reservations soon. I am going to be creating some really fun food items to go with the wines, so you do not want to miss this one. We as always will be offering special discounts on the wines the night of the tasting. On a sadder note the STOMP! Cabernet is now completely sold out. If a case turns up in a warehouse somewhere we will let everyone know, but I think that ship has sailed. Have a great weekend. Cheers.

Holy Cannoli!

Sorry for the corny tag line, but its Friday and its just too late in the day not to have a bit of fun. The important thing here is to notice the Italian reference. Which segways us into our real purpose today discussing Italian wines.
We have just stocked our wine racks (not shelves as you see elsewhere, 'cause the corks dry out when the wine is standing up. But you knew that already), with a whole lotta love. While there are too many to actually name, I will offer you the following names, in no particular order:
Paolo Scavino
Mauro Molino
Domenico Clerico
Moccagata
La Spinetta
Corino
If any of these names send off bells in your head then you need to get here fast as our stock is limited. Barolo's, Barbera's and Brunello di Montalcino and even Dolcetto. Rare and exceptional wines from some of Italy's greatest producers.

In this Dusted Valely. . .

Everyone is crying "recession" and "inflation" these days, but I am not yet convinced the sky has fallen. In fact, we have just received in FIVE great new wines, all under TWENTY DOLLARS! And they all taste great. We have just received in Dusted Valley's Boomtown wines and their STOMP! Cabernet Sauvignon. Why? Well because they taste really good and, well, they taste really good! Chad and Corey of Dusted Valley are good friends of Salumiere Cesario and they came to us with an idea. Their tasting room is too small to handle the volume of cases they go through with Boomtown, people are buying it by the case! They needed an outlet to sell the wine and we keep asking them to get us something unique! Two birds, one stone, problem solved. As for the STOMP! Cabernet, well when they poured it for me, I just couldn't say no to a wine that tastes that great and can retail for $10. Yes $10, again TEN DOLLARS. Seriously. Last time I had a $10 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that tasted this good it was in 1991!
We have limited supply of the STOMP! and once it is gone, that's it. NO mas. Fin. Done.
We currently have the following wines:
Boomtown Chardonnay 2006
Boomtown Pinot Gris 2006
Boomtown Merlot 2004
Boomtown Syrah 2006
The whites are $12 ea
the reds $15 ea
All are great value and like I said, taste really good!

Water, Water everywhere and not a drop to drink. . .

It has been said that March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. I am not so sure about this as it applies to Walla Walla. It seems that March is trying to change its image with some wild weather being thrown at us. Well, the rain can rain as much or as little as it wants, 'cause we have plenty of beer here in the store. For those of you who were unable to attend our Beer Tasting on the 20th, we still have a few bottles left of the following:
Ommegang Abbey Ale
Ommegang Rare Vos
Boon Kriek
Cantillon Kriek
Saison DuPont
Allagash Reserve Double
Saison Imperiale
Duvel Golden Ale
Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale
Foret Organic Saison
Fantome Saison
Fantome Noel
Cantillon Iris (Vintage Lambic 2005)
Brouwerij Dupont Les Bons Veux
Brouwerij Deporef Signature Series Tomme Arthur Signature Ale
Gouden Carolus Grand Cru of the Emperor
Just to name a few. . .

We have also received in some new wines, one of which just received 90pts from WS! I won't tell you which one, you just have to come in and find out.
We also will be receiving some new wines in the next few weeks, stay tuned here for announcements.

Q Tonic is back in stock in singles, the 4pks should be in store this week. We are working on bringing in some other new tonics and mixers. As we get them in we'll post news here and email an announcement.

In other non related news, we just celebrated the store's second birthday! We plan on doing a bigger celebration later, again we'll keep you posted as plans progress.
We are very grateful that Walla Walla has received us with such open arms. We never tire of hearing " I am so glad that you guys are here, we needed something like this..." Really, it makes my day when we get praise like that. So thank you to all of you who have helped make this dream a reality and keep it alive everyday. We honestly could not do it without you.

Again with the blogging. . .

So now that this is up and viewable for the entire world to read, I am going to put it out there. . .we are now making FRESH PASTA. Yes that is correct, I really am. I never promise something I can't deliver and now I am delivering on a promise I made when we opened.
We are making fresh tagliatelle right now and with some good fortune I hope to be making filled pastas soon. I have always said that we are going to grow this thing slowly and do it right. If it is not something I am proud of then I will not sell it, no matter what. I believe that you, our customers, have come to trust that we will always bring to you a high level of quality and service. I will never do anything to jeopardize that trust.
We are also making "sunday gravy". Now this is what people mean when they talk about that all day tomato sauce, that grandma used to make. This is the old east coast tomato sauce that you see Clemenza teaching Michael Corleone how to make. Rich, slightly sweet, with a big tomato flavor. This is not "marinara suace", and please don't call it that, it's offensive.
We are also offering hot food in store during these "colder" months. Menu changes daily, but always something tasty, fresh and hand made. We also have a few take away items that are made fresh and can easily be quickly reheated at home when you don't have the time but want something tasty and honest.

The Grocer's Bag take 1

So this is a bit new for me, but I am going to forge ahead anyway. The Grocer's Bag is our way of communicating with you our loyal customers and supporters, without the constant email "updates". I don't know about you but I can barely get through my emails in a day, I really don't need any more and am guessing you don't either.
The Grocer's Bag will allow us to send out information about in store specials, fresh items that we are making and other little things that you might want to know about. The Grocer's Bag, as you might guess, will also give me a chance to iliterate about things that I think are relevant to our business and the world of food in general. I promise I won't get too preachy and the soap box will be only brought out when absolutely necesssary, no more than once a month. The Grocer's Bag will be updated weekly (don't hold me to this you know how I am), and will always have something useful. What could be useful? How about coupons for instore use. Or what about recipes? Well there will be something for everyone and if nothing else it gives me a place where I can REALLY talk your ear off, or your eyes out? I guess?.