Last night we stopped and had dinner in Hermann, Missouri to celebrate my completion of the Duolingo German course a couple of weeks ago. Theoretically, Octoberfest is going on, but unless you want to drink beer (which we didn't), there wasn’t much to do. A “Dark Stories” tour was sold out for the next few weekends.
We ate at the restaurant at the Stone Hill Winery, which was much better than the place locals recommended (which proposed to serve prime rib on a styrofoam tray (!!!)).
We should be home tomorrow.
What’s up out there?
Prime rib on a styrofoam plate….
I like to cook. In fact, I ~love~ to cook, especially for friends and family. And I’m fairly good at it. But for years, I sensed that something was missing. Eventually I realized it was the presentation: “the first bite is with the eyes”—it’s not enough to taste great; it has to look great, too.
So I started paying close attention to how the pros do it. For years, I had been using textured glass plates, which I had in abundance. They’re serviceable, and inexpensive. But if you’re showcasing something, they don’t “pop out” the visuals. So I bought some white plates at World Market. And voila! With that simple—and seriously inexpensive—move, the presentation jumped a few quantum steps. The direct parallel would be between painting on a canvas and painting on distorting glass. The food, prepared identically, seemed to taste better. I’d say that is, of course, impossible, but….
About 15-20 years ago, I was at a wine tasting and the guy doing the talking and selling had us sit down at some prepared place settings. Before us was a pair of wine glasses and a small glass of water. One was a sort of mass production glass with a rolled rim, the other a Riedel glass with a thin, delicate cut upper edge. As he describes the wine, he opens the bottle and pours a little into each glass.
Without making any suggestion of what to expect, he tells us to taste a little wine from the first glass, which we do. Nothing special. We drink a little water. Then he tells us to taste the wine in the second glass. It’s magic: it tastes totally different—and much better—from the wine in first glass. But it’s the same wine!! We watched him open the bottle and nonchalantly pour it right in front of us. Had I not experienced it, I would never in a million years have believed it.
To this day, I still have no clue why this happens, but it does with almost all wines I like, and even with some I don’t particularly care for. When friends of mine doubt the story, I show them with a couple of el cheapo wine glasses I keep for just that purpose. The difference isn’t at all subtle. In fact, the difference is so stark they often laugh when they experience it, like you might when a magician pulls off a great trick.
Probably the same with prime rib on a styrofoam plate. While food speaks for itself, one aspect of the delicacy is how it looks on the plate.
I don’t expect people to accept this at face value. I do, however, encourage those who enjoy wine to try the experiment. There are lots of excellent crystal wine glass manufacturers, so it probably matters little which one you go with. But thin glass well made is the key.
We got to keep the wine glasses after the tasting. No fools they.
That looks like a lovely spot to stop!
Here the weather is good, but still too warm and no rain again. Watering will be necessary, though I mind it less knowing it means no rain on our neighbors to the east who are cleaning up from Helene.
I tried to stay out of the news yesterday as I was off from work and wanted a day of true rest, but Kamala Harris' minions were all over the TV telling me about how Trump was giving the billionaires tax breaks, and she would be sure they would pay their "fair share". I nearly needed a new TV. Sad, but so many will lap that up without any knowledge or frankly any care how it actually works - they just know somebody else has more than them, and shouldn't that person be taken down a notch?