dining – In Good Taste

Phoenix: Postino Wine Cafe

Maris Callahan — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 05:45:54 +0000

Whenever I travel, I prefer to dine in restaurants favored by the locals than the white hot, brand name restaurants that are buzzing in the media. In the Valley of Sunshine, the first restaurant I dined was Postino Wine Cafe, a comfortable, rustic and bustling eatery that boasts unique and approachable wines with simple, delicious and locally grown fare. Whether you live in the Phoenix area or you’re traveling there for a respite from the harsh winter weather in other areas of the country (cough…Chicago….cough) then Postino is about to be your new go-to for dinners out. Postino East, housed inside the Grainbelt building in the heart of downtown Gilbert’s historic Heritage District, opened in 2012 just steps from the famed Gilbert water tower. The restaurant is comprised of a mix of indoor/outdoor dining, iconic yellow garage doors and an outdoor green-space for the kids. On a Tuesday night, every seat was full and the decor is warm and welcoming. Being from Chicago where the outdoor dining season is, well, limited, the outdoor area was by far my favorite part of the ambiance. More importantly, however, is the food. The best way to start your meal is by ordering family style from a playful array […]

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East Coast vs. West Coast Oysters

Maris Callahan — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 05:50:56 +0000

If you’re out at a restaurant and want to impress your date, know how to order oysters. Like mastering a wine list, knowing how to order oysters is a skill acquired over time. At the most basic level is to know the difference between East Coast vs. West Coast oysters. Even though we live in Chicago without an ocean for miles, we are lucky enough to be neighbors with some of the most amazing restaurants in the country. Bonhomme Hospitality Group, has several restaurants throughout Chicago including the former Pearl Brasserie, now home to Beatnik on the River. We spoke to Matt Balikov, once dubbed Pearl Brasserie’s ‘master shucker,’ to get the lowdown on the difference between the oysters from the left and right coasts. “Oysters can be found in salt-water bodies around the globe from as north as Alaska or down to New Zealand,” said Balikov. “Most oysters in the United States come from either coast. The major producers of West coast oysters are found in cooler waters in Washington, Northern California, and British Columbia, Canada. The East coast has oysters from every state along it, as well as, up into Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, Canada.” East […]

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