WIne maker from Willamette Valley Vineyards Don Crank
Written by Chef Jim Shirley
Last week, while visiting my oldest daughter in Oregon, I also had a great visit with Don Crank III, a Willamette Valley Vineyards winemaker. We tasted through a bit of his portfolio, and he invited me to the winery to taste the rest. Fortunately, the winery is located in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon, which is between the airport in Portland and Madison’s choice for college — Oregon State University in Corvallis (not the Ducks).
Rolling hills, cool Pacific fogs and a drizzling rain that never quite requires an umbrella make for a great place to grow the very finicky Pinot Noir grape. (On the white grape side, Pinot Gris and Riesling do very well in this area.)
Crank was pleased to be able to help grow the grapes and make the wine from some of the oldest vines in Oregon (”old vine” generally means more intensely concentrated flavors in the fruit). The Pinot Gris and Riesling were excellent, but the older vines on the South Block produce a Pinot Noir that was my favorite.
The Fish House Restaurant in Pensacola, Florida, has been selected to be a participating stage for The 3rd Annual Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival.
From September 29 through October 1, the Fish House will host some of the country’s finest songwriters as part of the 3rd Annual Pensacola Beach Songwriters festival.
This festival offers the opportunity to hear the songs as they were written and performed by the songwriters themselves in their purest form. Get the stories behind the songs as you enjoy beautiful Pensacola Bay. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal to the music you know and love.
“With the overwhelming response from songwriters wanting to participate in SongFest 2011, we had to find additional stages for them to perform. The Fish House was a natural choice, because they are on the water and are coming off a successful Thursday night country music showcase,” said festival co-founder Reneda Cross. (more…)
The American Pickers Frank and Mike with the Merrill brothers. Click this photo to view the entire episode!
One of Pensacola’s most popular restaurants got picked.
Don’t worry. It’s not a crime.
On Monday, July 25th, 2011, the History Channel’s hit cable show “American Pickers” will feature a segment from Pensacola, focusing on The Fish House restaurant in downtown Pensacola.
In January, the show’s two stars, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, stopped at the Fish House for lunch on the way back from a South Florida “picking session” — featuring fearsome negotiating for antiques and collectibles.
The pair, who attract more than 5 million viewers per episode, didn’t go unnoticed for long.
Fish House employees recognized the two and told them that the three restaurant owners — brothers Collier, Burney and Will Merrill — had a large collection of items they might be interested in selling or trading.
Collier Merrill was in the restaurant, so he went to meet Wolfe and Fritz. He told them that he and his brothers had collected massive amounts throughout the years, from old movie props to stuffed animals to nautical items to props from old “Star Wars” movies. (more…)
This Photo was submitted by Dennis Funchess, Sr. one of our Deck Bar regulars. He and his “happy hour” group have been coming to the Deck Bar since it opened. Recently Dennis was experimenting with an iPhone 4 app “NE Goggles” (free app).
NEW YORK — Five Pensacola chefs brought tastes of Grits a Ya Ya, crab cakes and other Southern delights to the Big Apple Tuesday as they entertained a group of gourmets at the James Beard House.
The Pensacola chefs — Dan Dunn of H2O of the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, Irv Miller of Jackson’s Steakhouse, Jim Shirley of The Fish House, Gus Silivos of Nancy’s Haute Affairs and Frank Taylor of Global Grill — are part of a mission to let the New York food community know that Gulf seafood is back from the effects of last year’s BP oil spill, is safe to eat — and delicious.
“I’m a surfer, and I’ve not seen a tar ball since last October,” Miller said. “We need people to get back on the bandwagon of supporting the Gulf Coast.”
“Morning Joe” host and Pensacola resident Joe Scarborough aired a segment about the visit on his show this morning. Watch it in the player embedded at left.
The chefs prepared a tasting for journalists Tuesday afternoon, followed by a five-course dinner. The dinner sold out at $170 a pop. The chefs donated their time to get the word out about Pensacola and help promote tourism.
“It’s all about promoting our culinary heritage,” said Silivos, who prepared Scamp Cervantes, which gained notoriety when President George H.W. Bush ordered the dish at Silivos’ former restaurant, Skopelos. “We want to showcase to tourists that Pensacola has some of the best seafood in the world.”
The event was sponsored by Visit Pensacola, which received funds from BP following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill last year for marketing efforts. The money has allowed the tourism group to air national television commercials, shown on the Weather Channel and the Travel Channel, as well as participate in events like this dinner to lure in potential visitors.
Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Hizer used the event to host a group of economic development site selectors, while Visit Pensacola officials feted travel writers from publications like Travel and Leisure and the New York Daily News.
Pensacola Chamber Chairman Collier Merrill and his wife, Cate, attended the event, along with Innisfree Hotels CEO Julian MacQueen and his wife, Kim.
MacQueen flew up 770 pounds of wine and ingredients for the dinner on his plane from Pensacola.
“We’ve read about the James Beard House for decades and always wanted to be a part of it,” MacQueen said. “We wanted them to have the best of the best and the freshest of the fresh.”
In addition to Silivos’ dish and The Fish House’s signature Grits a Ya Ya, diners got a taste of asparagus-crusted soft shell crab from H20 and andouille-crusted Apalachicola oysters from Global Grill among other dishes.
“When I saw the menu with all the seafood in all these creative ways, I was drooling,” said Jane Kendall, who divides her time between Greenwich Village in Manhattan and Harding Township in New Jersey.
Kendall was part of a party invited by James Beard Chairman’s Circle member Micky Mayfield. A favorite of the table was an appetizer by Shirley with pickled okra and Alligator Point clams.
“All those flavors together were very interesting,” Kendall said.
Watch Collier and Jim’s appearance on Morning Joe here:
Written by Chef Jim Shirley – Special to the News Journal
West Indies Crab “Martini” by Chef Jim Shirley
In this meltdown weather, it’s always a good thing to serve cold appetizers. This one — a take on our favorite West Indies salad — never gets turned down. I make the marinade separately, and give it enough time to take the edge off the onions, which keeps the crab flavors in the front. A well–iced bottle of Marquis de Gelida (a great version of cava, Spain’s answer to champagne) will pair up well with this little jewel.
As a red wine drinker, it takes a good white to make me take notice and the 2010 Layers has done just that. With the hot weather we’ve had, the Peter Lehmann Layers is a great way to wash away the day. With it’s beautiful blend of Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewürtztraminer and Muscat, it hits many notes.
The cool, refreshing wine starts off very subtle with a slightly acidic beginning, but then rolls around and awakens nearby taste buds. You start to pick up the crisp apple and peach, then finish off with a hint of mellow fruit blossoms and spice. The wines roundness really lets it flow over your tongue and pick up all its subtle flavors. Your mouth will beg for you to take another refreshing sip.
I like this wine and would drink it with just about anything. For this time of year, pairing it with a nice crisp salad, garden-fresh tomatoes & cucumbers or sushi would do it justice. If you’re in the mofor something a little more substantial, go for a nice piece of grilled fish with lemon or maybe chicken satay.
2008 Shiraz
Peter Lehmann wines are considered to be some of the better wines coming out of Australia and his 2008 Shiraz doesn’t stray from that. The slightly tart start can be a little deceiving; but when given a moment to open up, the dark cherry and blackberry fruit notes come through. As the wine swishes and swirls, it really starts to mellow out. The finish is light, with a subtle barrel flavor that rounds it out nicely.
I find this wine to be such a gem because it is nice and light, not sweet and not to dark. This is a great wine to eat with. It’s mellow enough for a juicy burger but stand up enough to pair with a nice tuna steak. This shiraz would be a great on a Sunday evening with a nice meatloaf supper or a rich, braised chicken dish. It’s decent legs really carry this medium bodied wine through dinner.
