The Connected Table

02/16/2025

It's Italy after all. So, of course, we were treated to a grand ceremony in a church with an opera performance to introduce the 2025 Anteprime for Pieve Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

02/16/2025

We have been generously welcomed to Montepulciano by the and its member producers for this year's 2025 Anteprime Toscana. Here are a few of the people who produce wines in this "Noble" wine region, established as a DOCG Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in 1980.

This year also marks the "Anteprima" of Pieve Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, 12 sub-regions (parrishes) which will produce cru wines based on certain specifications.

02/14/2025

Talk about fast wine

At Osteria Belle Donne you can stand on the sidewalk, knock and order a glass if wine which will be psssed to you.

We were told this concept was used during times of plague.

02/14/2025

Spending time in Florence, Italy, to attend AnteprimeToscana. We had a free night for dinner and chose Osteria Bella Donna, a small restaurant on Via Bella Donna that us filled with plants and flowers.

Dishes shown: tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and shaved truffles, pasta Bolognese, asparagus flan with gorgonzola and tiramisu.

Our meal was beautifully prepared amd presented. A gem! A short walk from the

02/14/2025

A holdover from the plague hundreds of years ago, this wine door is still in use. Customers knock, place an order and the attendant passes them a glass. Our waiter said they sell about 150 glasses per day from 10a.m. to closing.
to

02/12/2025

a was born from a vision shared by husband and wife team, Arvinder Vilkhu and Pardeep Vilkhu, to marry their Indian heritage with New Orleans flavors and traditions. Arvinder Vilkhu grew up in India to a family of engineers. Deciding to pursue his own path to work in food and beverage management for hotels and restaurants, leading him to New Orleans in 1984.The Vilkhus started cooking for friends who longed for the flavors of India and eventually established Saffron Nola, a catering business. 26 years later in 2017 they opened Saffron Nola restaurant on on Magazine Street. Arvinder’s son, Ashwin Vilkhu, serves as, Co-Executive Chef. Saffron Nola has achieved critical success. A second restaurant, Kingsway, opens in 2025. www.saffronnola.coNola was born from a vision shared by husband and wife team, Arvinder Vilkhu and Pardeep Vilkhu, to marry their Indian heritage with New Orleans flavors and traditions. Arvinder Vilkhu grew up in India to a family of engineers. Deciding to pursue his own path to work in food and beverage management for hotels and restaurants, leading him to New Orleans in 1984.The Vilkhus started cooking for friends who longed for the flavors of India and eventually established Saffron Nola, a catering business. 26 years later in 2017 they opened Saffron Nola restaurant on on Magazine Street. Arvinder’s son, Ashwin Vilkhu, serves as, Co-Executive Chef. Saffron Nola has achieved critical success. A second restaurant, Kingsway, opens in 2025. www.saffronnola.co@saffronnolam" rel="ugc" target="_blank">www.saffronnola.co@saffronnolam

02/10/2025

02/05/2025

New Orleans is Oyster Town! We have many favorite spots for enjoying oysters on the half shell, chargrilled, stew and some other traditional preparations like oysters Rockefeller. We enjoyed this article in today's The New York Times by Brett Anderson:

Where to find the best raw bars and cooked versions of Gulf Coast bivalves.

02/03/2025

Super Bowl Week is here in NOLA and fans are arriving. We're lacing up our culinary cleats and planning to flex our mouths to enjoy delicious dishes at of the NFL, presented by -Lay, , and the Foundation!

Taste of the NFL is truly the Super Culinary Event of Super Bowl LIX. It's a delectable meet up with over 30 Football League (NFL) legends and over 30 all-star chefs. This year's line up features dishes by Hall, , Love, Bucher, Perry plus 25+ talented chefs from local restaurants including: RestaurantR’evolution Brennan’s, Rosedale, Restaurant August, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, Crawbabies, Zasu, Acme Oyster House, Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Medium Rare, Palace Café, Sticks N’ Things, and Deelightful Roux School of Cooking;

All net proceeds from this event will go to nonprofit ’s efforts to . Meet 30+ Football League (NFL) great by getting your tickets today at TasteoftheNFL.com.

When: Saturday, February 8, 4-7 p.m.
Where: National WWII Museum in NOLA
Tickets are still available!

02/02/2025

Our favorite chic Parisian stays for under $250 a night. https://cntraveler.visitlink.me/sjmBXV

02/01/2025

01/28/2025

Loved tasting these beautiful white wines from in during the this week. to with &

01/27/2025

Clicking Glasses with Bartholomew Broadbent, CEO, Broadbent Selections- New Episode of The Connected Table Live

Bartholomew Broadbent, is CEO of Broadbent Selections, a fine wine importer, and owner/founder of Broadbent, whose proprietary label includes fine Port, Madeira, wines from Portugal and California. He is an authority on Port and Madeira and frequent speaker on wine. Broadbent Selections imports many fine wines including Lebanon’s Chateau Musar, South Africa’s Sadie Family Wines and Australia’s Tyrell. He discusses his life in wine and his late father, wine critic/writer, Michael Broadbent.

The Connected Table Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6vtcqJbS1B3spupEd0AKUG

01/27/2025

This past week, The James Beard Foundation announced its 2025 Semifinalists for the Restaurant and Chef Awards. The announcement said: “2025 marks an incredible milestone: the 35th anniversary of the James Beard Awards.®” Thirty-five years! I remember that very first day when the Awards were conceived because I was in the room where it happened. I have only written about the story of the Awards from my behind-the -scenes perspective one time. It was for Eater on May 4, 2015.

But there is more to share. Many people have encouraged me to write about my experience to help preserve the memories and stories of what has to have been one of the most exciting times in American gastronomy covering the late 1980s - 2000s. I was deeply involved in New York’s culinary landscape, not only with The James Beard Foundation Awards but also programs like New York Restaurant Week and many chef-driven events, fundraisers and citywide initiatives that left a deep impact on the industry and the people working in it. I am going into more details in the paid section of my Substack as part of a memoir about my life in New York which I am calling for now, “Are You on The List?”

Here is a good overview to begin.

It started with a program called the Who’s Who of Cooking in America which The James Beard Foundation retired in 2018. It was a decision I do not agree with. I had brought this program to the Foundation in 1990. I approached the Foundation about continuing the Who’s Who but there was resistance about providing access to the existing list of members which I felt was imperative to preserve the program’s history while moving it forward.

Read more on my Substack@melaniefabulous
https://substack.com/home/post/p-155774606

And please consider subscribing either free or paid.