Uh Oh... Trump Boycott Just Hit Home for Some Folks

Let's face it. Asking people to boycott Nordstrom's until they drop Trump-related merchandise probably isn't that big of a request. How many of us are shopping at Nordstrom's on a regular basis?

But shit got real for some people now that the National Organization for Women has asked consumers to boycott cult-like grocery retailer Wegmans until they pull Trump wines from their shelves.

According to an article in the Washington Post, Wegmans' VP of Media Relations said "individual shoppers who feel strongly about an issue can demonstrate their convictions by refusing to buy a product. When enough people do the same, and sales of a product drop precipitously, we stop selling that product in favor of one that’s in greater demand."

FYI, the picture used for illustration is of a chocolate and wine bundle from the Trump Winery website called "Taste of Trump". Ew.

Survey Says! Americans Prefer Wine Over Beer

Though it doesn't give many specifics about the poll collection, an article at something called The Ardmoreite (based in Ardmore, OK) suggests that Americans prefer wine over beer... though just slightly.

Some of the poll highlights include:

• Americans prefer wine (40%) over beer and red wine (51%) over white wine
• Domestic beer (53%) barely gets the nod over imports 
• And, vodka is America's hard liquor of choice (24%), besting bourbon, rum and tequila

I'm definitely a domestic beer kinda guy and will typically take red wine over white. I've found over the years that I can drink the cheapest red wine on the planet without many adverse effects but I can't buy a bottle of the white stuff under $10 unless I'm in the market for a screaming headache the next day.

Hard liquor and I don't usually agree, so I tend to stay away from that option, but I'll go the whiskey/bourbon/scotch route if need be.

How do you compare with the "1000 American adults" surveyed? Answer in the comments section below or visit our Facebook page.

No Foolies... Hungover Gourmet Returns to Print with Fall 2013 Issue!

I wanted to post this earlier this week but hesitated for fear that it would be laughed off as an April Fool's joke.

Despite what it said atop issue #11 – published back in 2009 – that will no longer be "The Final Issue" of The Hungover Gourmet: The Journal of Food, Drink, Travel and Fun!

We're currently accepting submissions for issue #12: The Return of The Hungover Gourmet and are looking for...

• capsule restaurant reviews for our 'For Those Who Are Fussy About Their Food' section (250-300 words max with 0-5 star rating);
• snack, beverage, fast food, frozen food reviews (250-300 words max);
• articles in the 1200-2500 word range (anything from cooking techniques and explorations of new gadgets to travel roundups, winery visits, food taste tests, etc.);
• recipes;
• photo essays;
• food/drink/travel-related zine, book, tv, movie reviews.

Deadline for submissions is September 1, 2013 with an anticipated street date of mid-November. That gives you the whole spring and summer to get your thinking caps on, get out and eat fun and interesting food, fire up the grills, grow veggies and share it all with the world. Or, at least, our small but enthusiastic readership.

All contributors receive a complimentary copy of the issue. In addition, we'll be holding a Hungover Gourmet Photo Contest with the winning photo gracing the cover! More details to come...

Have ideas? Want to contribute? Email me or touch base with me via our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Wine Pairings for Halloween Treats

If there's one thing I've really enjoyed about recent food and wine writing on the web has been the de-snobbing of wine.

Oh sure, there are still plenty of wine snobs out there who wouldn't use the table plonk I quaff to rinse their glasses, but some wine sites have even shown a sense of humor (gasp!) by breaking down and pairing wines with, say, fast food.

So I had to smile when I was reading Bottlenotes and stumbled upon this article about the right wines to pair with your Halloween treats.

THG's Six Pack – Premiere Edition

Entertainment Weekly has their Must List. Golf Magazine wants to hip you to items on The Front 9. Even sister publication Exploitation Retrospect has their own junk culture and fringe media cheat sheet known as The Dirty Dozen.

So what's a poor food, drink, travel and fun blog/zine/website to do?

Why, start our own checklist of the things we love, of course!

Welcome to the first installment of THG's Six Pack, a weekly roundup of a half-dozen things we love from the worlds of food, drink, travel and fun. Reality cooking shows, snacks, recipes, new items, restaurants and more are all fair game. Who knows? We might even throw in – as we did below – a Dishonorable Mention or two. Got something you want us to check out? E-mail me or see the sidebar for our PO Box address.

Let's get started...

1. The Dapper Don of Reality Cooking Shows – I may have started watching FOX's Master Chef (a home cook version of Top Chef) because of Gordon Ramsey... but after a season and a half I'll gladly admit that it's restaurateur/judge Joe Bastianich (aka Joey Polka Dots) who brings me back week after week. Whether he's arriving at a challenge on a European scooter, questioning a contestant's ingredient choices or fixing a cook with his steely, withering glare, Bastianich has emerged as a household fave who – like Ramsey – should have three or four shows on the network. All Joe! All the time!
2. Boxed Wine is OK! – I was drinking boxed wine back in the 80s, though more out of convenience than any desire to blaze trails. Frankly, it cut down on trips to the liquor store and meant that a White Trash Cooler (half Mountain Dew, half boxed white wine) was just a refrigerator away. But now it appears that oenophiles are learning what I already knew – it's okay to drink boxed wine! Sure, you might have to put a paper bag over your head or pay some college kid to grab a box of some table plonk you don't want your wine snob friends seeing you hoist into the car, but isn't fresh wine without the hassle of a corkscrew totally worth it? And if you don't have a corkscrew you don't have to worry about this happening.
   
3. Halloween Candy Makes an Early Appearance – It won't be long before Facebook and Twitter will be filled with people complaining about cold weather and the fact that Christmas decorations are in stores. Sensing this ever-shorter window of opportunity, Halloween candy makers have already started stocking convenience stores and supermarkets I frequent. Though I doubt anything will beat last year's "Candy Blood Bag" I did get a kick out of the Gummy Werewolves being sold at Wawa. As old pal and fellow Joey Polka Dots fan Joe McNulty quipped, "Full supply of daily vitamins and gypsy curse".
4. Fast Food Wine Pairings – I'm not sure what I enjoy most about Snooth's series of articles in which they pair wine with takeout from the likes of McDonald's and Burger King. Maybe it's the tongue-in-cheek, yet serious, approach they take to the subject. Maybe it's the useful information I can use during my next Filet-O-Fish craving. Or maybe I just like the horrified comments from humorless wine snobs. Eh, it's probably a little bit of each. Keep it up Snooth, but please tell me what I should serve with the hammy, cheesy, burger-tastic Double R Bar Burger!
5. Tostitos Hint of Pepper Jack Tortilla Chips – I'm usually pretty change averse, so when I find something I like I tend to beat it into the ground. Like tortilla chips. Lately (and when I say "lately" I mean since they were introduced) I've been buying the Tostitos Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips, which have a slightly over-the-top blend of lime and salt that goes great with sitting on the patio drinking beer and shooting the breeze with friends. But when I discovered that our latest bag had gone stale I found myself digging in to a bag of Hint of Pepper Jack flavored chips that my wife bought while I was out of town. Oh, Pepper Jack Tortilla Chips... where have you been all my life?! These are a crunchy, creamy, cheesy, spicy taste sensation.
6. Five Ingredient Fish Tacos – Fish tacos have been a somewhat recent addition to my culinary maturation. I was introduced to them when my wife and I were first dating and I accompanied her on a trip to Cabo for a friend's wedding. That trip was one great food find after another, but I really fell in love with fish tacos. And why not? I love fish, I love tacos. Marrying the two – whether the fish is grilled, seared or battered, the toppings spicy or cool and creamy – has been an ongoing adventure. Our newest fave is – like many of our go-to recipes – torn screaming from the pages of Cooking Light. Though I felt they could have used something cool and creamy like a little sour cream or guacamole on top, this was an easy weeknight dinner that gave us a chance to use some fresh jalapenos from our summer garden.

Dishonorable Mentions: I love the bright, cheery and tasty (usually) sodas from Jarritos, but their "Jamaica" variety was a complete bust. The hibiscus flavoring made it taste like red prune juice and gave the drink an aroma that can only be described as "musty" or maybe "old person's garage" ... Our local SuperFresh recently closed its doors and re-opened as a ShopRite. Let's just say that my first trip was not overly positive. The layout is familiar but the store seems claustrophobic and exceedingly bright, checkout clerks were overly aggressive in trying to rush me out the door, and the produce section was both poorly stocked (no strawberries on a Friday afternoon in August?!) and off-putting (I picked up at least three containers of "fresh" fruit that were significantly moldy). I'll have more about the area Supermarket Wars in the weeks to come.

Snooth Pairs Wine with Fast Food

Never sure what wine goes best with a McDonald's Filet-O-Fish? Only have a bottle of 2008 Red Rock Merlot Reserve and can't decide between the iconic Big Mac or the Angus Beef Deluxe?

Well , the folks at Snooth have finally written an article I can really relate to. They threw off the shackles of snobbery and pretension that seem to drown most of the wine press and decided to figure out just what wines go best with popular McDonald's menu items.

Let's face it... somebody is eating this stuff so why not embrace its popularity? And while I generally pair my Filet-O-Fish, McRib or burger choice with a crisp, light bottle of water it's good to know how to make that fish sing with the right wine choice.

Be sure to read some of the comments that accompany the article. It will come as no surprise that some members of Snoothnation are appalled that people would actually have fun writing about something.

Personally, I'd love to see Snooth take this a step further and pair wines and other alcoholic beverages with the less-popular fast food joints of our great nation... boxed wine and Burger King? MD 20/20 and Jack in the Box? Cisco and Taco Bell? The mind reels – and the liver rebels.

More Drink Ideas for Your Thanksgiving Table

Yesterday I posted a link to some high-powered thinking liquor drinks to get you through the passive-aggressive dysfunction better known as Thanksgiving. If liquor and you don't mix or the idea of some relative doing the technicolor yawn in your bedroom after a few too many Old Fashioned's isn't your idea of a good time, maybe it'd be best to stick with beer and wine for the feast.

Personally, THG's childhood Turkey Day meals evoke memories of my Dad saying the prayer and toasting the family with tiny glasses of tomato juice. Our crammed dining room table – used once or twice a year – apparently never had the room for actual drink glasses and it became an annual tradition to see who would eventually crack under the pressure of all that turkey, stuffing and other starchy foods and pry themselves from their chair in order to get a glass of water.

Good times, good times.

Anyway, here are suggestions about some pinot noirs and other wines to pair with your bird as well as a beers that will go with every course of the holiday meal.

Boxed Wine Inventor Dies, THG Emerges from Seclusion

Late last night, as I was watching Duke narrowly escape with an NCAA title, I realized that it had been almost two months since I posted anything to the blog. It's certainly not due to indifference or a lack of things to say. I've just been in my annual work pressure-cooker brought on by client catalogs and various other first-quarter projects.

As I watched the seconds tick off the clock, a last minute half-court heave by Butler clang off the rim (doh!), and Duke players don the ugliest championship t-shirts in NCAA history I vowed that I would rectify the situation with this here blog.

Who knew a handmade topic would arrive via a Facebook post from a friend?

Alas, it's with a heavy heart and pounding head that I report the death of Thomas Angove at the age of 92. For me, Angove ranks up there with the guy who invented the Filet-O-Fish – he took a great product (in his case, wine) and improved the delivery system (he put it in a box, or more accurately, a cask inside a box).

For years "boxed wine" or "wine in a box" was scoffed at by the press and purists. It probably wasn't helped by the cheap price and cheap product it was usually associated with, but our shore house wasn't complete without a big ass box of cheap white wine crammed in the fridge. From its magical spout I would dispense just the right amount to combine with a beer mug of Mountain Dew to create the delightful White Trash Spritzer, a refreshing (and sticky) summertime concoction that usually led to a jackhammer pulse rate, a warm, happy buzz... and a pounding headache the next day.

These days the wine box has – like screw caps on wine bottles – achieved a certain level of respectability. I'm glad Angove lived to see his invention achieve greatness and that he didn't listen to his teenage son who scoffed at the idea of cask wine back in the 1960s.

Cheers, Mr. Wine in a Box.

Tip courtesy of The Consumerist and Delaine Derry Green of Not My Small Diary.

What to Do in Batimore... Wine and Cake!

Looking for stuff to do in Baltimore during the coming weeks? Two events just popped up on our radar that I'm sure will be of interest to THG readers...

On October 22 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM the Maryland Science Center will be hosting the latest installment in its popular Science Uncorked series. Held in conjunction with their current Da Vinci exhibit, the event will examine the wines from the legendary painter and inventor's Italian homeland.

Experts from The Wine Market will offer an in-depth look at the wines of Italy. Guests will learn the Italian wine regions, sample a variety of Italian vintages, and explore the role that color, scent, and taste play in the enjoyment of fine wine while sampling numerous wine and food pairings.

Tickets to Science Uncorked are $40 for Maryland Science Center members and $45 for non-members. Admission includes wine, food, presentation, and a tour of Da Vinci - The Genius. Attendees must be 21 or older. RSVP by calling 410.545.5960.

If cake is more up your alley, join Duff Goldman and members of the Charm City Cakes team at Baltimore's Atomic Books for a book release party and signing on Tuesday, October 27 from 7:00-10:00 PM. The staff from Charm City Cakes, who also happen to be the stars of Food Network's hit show ACE OF CAKES, will be stopping by Atomic Books to celebrate the release of their new book ACE OF CAKES: INSIDE THE WORLD OF CHARM CITY CAKES (William Morrow Cookbooks) and sign copies of the book.

Pop the Cork on the Science Behind Wine

Despite an abundance of first-hand experience my wine knowledge can be summed up like so:

• I have to spend at least $7 on a bottle of white wine or I get a tremendous headache
• My tolerance for red wine seems to have no price limit and I currently prefer pinot noir
• I once drank a bottle of "organic" wine and was rewarded with one of my Top 10 Illnesses
  
• Low-end fortified wines such as Thunderbird, Night Train, MD 20/20 and Cisco cause eyebrow singe, temporary paralysis, sudden narcolepsy and elbow stink
  

In other words, I could probably benefit from attending Science Uncorked: Wineology 101 hosted by the Maryland Science Center on Thursday, April 30 from 6:30 - 8:00 pm.

Experts from The Wine Market will lead an informal discussion on the science of wine and the roles color, scent and taste play in selecting our fermented favorites. Guests will learn about taste zones, clarity and bouquet while sampling a variety of wine and food pairings.

Tickets to Science Uncorked are $35 for Maryland Science Center members and $40 for non-members. Attendees must be 21 or older. RSVP by calling 410.545.5960.

White House Wine Choices Keep it Real

As one anonymous commenter (coughwusscough) pointed out my "pallet" may not be developed enough for life as a food reviewer. Good thing I do this for fun, get paid nothing and, oh yeah, call myself The Hungover Gourmet. So you should probably take anything and everything I write with a grain of salt. But use kosher salt because it adheres better.

But getting back to my, ahem, palate. When it comes to wine I'm not exactly what you'd call an oenophile (or as our anonymous friend might say "ownafile"). I'm more than happy with a cheap bottle of red wine and while I usually stay in the $10+ range when it comes to white, I have been known to enjoy the paint-peeling-bouquet of Thunderbird during a pot luck spaghetti dinner or two. (Usually with tragic results to eyebrows, limbs and relationships.) Good times, good times.

So I must admit that I was filled with a mix of hope, optimism and maybe a hint of peach and vanilla when I read what wines were served at yesterday's inaugural luncheon. Turns out that the wines were picked by a bipartisan Senate-House tasting committee (and they wonder why they can't get anything done) but I'm glad to see the article mentions the Obamas are wine drinkers. I hope they made Bush take all his O'Doul's and Kaliber with him.

He Could Go All the Way... Or Maybe Not

If you're as tired of fathead ESPN announcer Chris Berman as me you'll find the embarrassing batch of behind-the-scenes footage of Mr. Wacky Nickname equally delicious. Normally I'd save sports-related pop culture ramblings for the ER blog, but since one clip features Berman pontificating about wine while he pathetically hits on some staffer I couldn't help but post a link here.

Updated 2/22/08: No surprise here. ESPN had YouTube pull the videos and released a statement assuring us that the videos "do not reflect [Berman's] typical workplace demeanor, his relationships with co-workers, nor the contributions he has made to ESPN over many years. Chris has a tremendous connection with sports fans and his body of work should not be judged by a few minutes of unguarded language uttered years ago..." I guess that means you can't see the videos? No, wait, here they are.

Food Trends for 2008

Happened to be watching The Early Show on CBS this morning and caught the segment with Bon Appetit magazine's restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton. He was on to chat about Food Trends for the coming year, always one of my favorite topics. Here's what Knowlton said to expect more of in 2008:

Burgundy – especially the 2005 vintage which he called a can't miss year "across the board" whether you're paying $12 a bottle or $1200.

Rye-Based Cocktails – Smile Hon editor WP Tandy and I have been talking about a new rye movement for about a year now so we're already ahead of the cocktail curve, so to speak. Knowlton says this cousin of bourbon is the backbone of amazing cocktails including the classic Manhattan. Watch for our report on Pikesville Rye, invented in Maryland but now brewed in Kentucky.

New Spices – goodbye cumin, sage, marjoram and coriander. Say hello to the Balinese Long Pepper, Saigon Cinnamon, Fennel Pollen (apparently very popular in today's Tuscan cooking), French Basque Pepper (which Knowlton called "the new paprika"), Grains of Paradise, and Ras el hanout an aromatic Moroccan spice blend with varying recipes.

Oysters – I only enjoy these guys in a Po' Boy (my fave is at Mama's in Canton) but Knowlton says this sustainable protein is now available no matter where you live thanks to companies that will overnight them to your door.

Heirloom Beans – you've heard of heirloom tomatoes and heirloom meats. Now folks like Rancho Gordo are bringing heirloom beans to market in small quantities. Just say no to 10 year old supermarket beans!

Boutique Bakeries – the pastry chef is coming out of the back of the kitchen and becoming a star in their own right. Even in Kansas.

Reusable Grocery Bags – when the checkout clerk asks "paper or plastic?" tell 'em you've got your own reusable bag.

Low and Slow Cooking – this isn't your grandma's crock pot. New crock pot cooking is all about "slow and low" and making tender, tasty cuts of meat. I already have a crock pot pulled pork recipe I can't wait to try out during the NFL playoffs. While you're at it be sure to check out the Indoor Barbecue feature from THG #2.

Meat Cookbooks – artisan meats are big and cookbooks like Pork and Sons are preaching the practice of using all parts of animals like pigs, with "head to tail" becoming a popular catchphrase for the movement.

Phila. Foodie Pairs Wine with Turkey

I often miss Pennsylvania, the state where I went to college, saw many bands and movies, and lived off-and-on for about ten years. Great cities, great food, cool clubs... there are many things to recommend about places like Philly, Doylestown and Pittsburgh.

But one thing I don't miss about PA is its draconian liquor control laws. When I was living there, you had to purchase beer by the case and that was at an authorized beer distributor which usually wasn't open on Sundays. (I hear through the grapevine that some distribs are allowed to be open on Sundays now.) In places like Philly, corner markets were allowed to sell singles and six-packs but your choices there were usually limited to the Buds, Millers, Old Germans, and Knickerbockers of the world. You get the picture.

Want wine or liquor? That required yet another stop, this time at one of the lovely state-run liquor stores (colorlessly known as State Stores). Brightly lit and usually staffed by less-than-helpful employees, it's no wonder many PA residents openly flaunt the laws and drive to New Jersey to shop at specialty liquor stores where the sky's the limit. (I should know. While living in Doylestown it wasn't uncommon for me to drive over to Stockton to visit Phillips' Fine Wines.)

There was one thing I did enjoy about PA's Liquor Control Board, though. They would crank out wine and liquor marketing materials like they were going out of style. Just about every trip (and we're talking about a time in my life when said trips occurred two or three times a week) resulted in some new magazine, handout or chart that would heighten and/or simplify my booze purchases.

In fact, I still have a folder somewhere stuffed with the PLCB's monthly magazine (which always featured drink and appetizer recipes) and charts telling me what wine I should pair with my White Castle hamburgers.

I'm glad to see the PLCB is still at it. Phila. Foodie recently posted this year's version of the chart – luckily, it appears they're not simply recycling past charts – and just in the nick of time. I'm just about ready for Thanksgiving but I haven't had time to make a wine run. In addition to the handy dandy chart (which confirmed my plan to get some Zinfandel), Phila. Foodie added their own picks for specific bottles, most priced under $20.

Eggheads, NASA Working to Prevent "Red Wine Headache"?

I have certainly had a red wine hangover but this article on the Wired web site talks about the "red wine headache" like it's something everybody has...

The effects are all too familiar: a fancy dinner, some fine wine and then, a few hours later, a racing heart and a pounding headache. But a device developed by University of California, Berkeley, researchers could help avoid the dreaded "red wine headache."

Chemists working with NASA-funded technology designed to find life on Mars have created a device they say can easily detect chemicals that many scientists believe can turn wine and other beloved indulgences into ingredients for agony.

Personally, I'm far more familiar with the "cheap white wine" headache, which I seem to get every time I drink a bottle of white wine that costs less than $10 a bottle. And I know that The Hungover Gourmet circa 1988 would have killed for something that would dull the headache caused by mixing boxed white wine and Mountain Dew. Over ice.

Beer or Wine: Which is First with American Taste Buds?

In my 20+ years of drinking, I've found that while my wine taste has grown and changed to a remarkable extent, my beer taste remains pretty much the same. Heck, some would even argue that my newfound appreciation of Natty Boh is a step backwards to my college radio days of drinking whatever hideous, anemic swill could be purchased with our pool of leftover lunch money.

But wine, now that's a different story. Where once I drank Thunderbird or a paint-thinning concoction made from boxed wine and Mountain Dew I now seek out low-priced but tasty whites from Lindemann's and chewy, dry reds from Chile, Australia and California.

Even more than that, the recent realization that my Fat Polack Face wasn't going away made me step back and put the nightly beer or two back in the fridge.

Much to the dismay of beer executives around the country, my growing indifference to hops & barley is not an isolated case. Check out this article from Slate which talks about our country's growing appreciation for wine while beer sales flatten out like a warm can of Schmidt's.

Thanks to WP Tandy for the link.