Be The First to Drink Chismosa + Nola Wines + Viral Foodie Thoughts
Dive into New Orleans Wine Recs + Let's Party & Drink Wine This Friday.
What a whirlwind the last couple weeks have been! First of all, thank you to everyone who has purchased Chismosa & Como La Flor!! We are down to the last few packs, I literally can’t believe it. Orders will begin shipping this week, so if you’re looking for the perfect Thanksgiving wines, be sure to get your order in this week. If you’d like to be one of the first to sip the wines, scroll down and see how to join me at the hottest wine tasting in LA this weekend <3
In the last newsletter, I promised to share a little New Orleans wine recap—and let me tell you, the vibes did not disappoint. I am absolutely obsessed with that city. We landed the day before Halloween and were greeted with the spookiest, most fall weather ever: dark, moody, crisp autumn breeze and some rainy clouds that broke just as the sun was setting. Immediately in my element.
Our hosts took us on an epic tour of the city to explore historical food experiences like Dooky Chase and Parkway Po Boys, a walking tour of the Garden District (dream neighborhood!), jazz every night and a night out in the French Quarter. Everything was dipped in history, culture, and intrigue. Even Cafe du Monde lived up to the hype (actually incredible beignets).
Two places I was curious to check out, were Bacchanal Wine Garden in the Bywater and Saint Germaine (also in the Bywater) which came highly recommended as the hub for all things natural wine in the city right now.
Saint Germaine is considered the top tasting menu experience in the city (with a nod from James Beard). The restaurant was in an old shotgun-style home, very cozy and casual. The cocktails and wine were exquisite, I loved their martini and wine pairings ($75 add on), and service was immpecable. The food was good — but…. (and a big but!) I’m not entirely sure it was worth the hefty $300/person price tag. The 8-course tasting menu was quite literally 8.5 bites of food (and I say .5 because the cheese course was the largest portion and it ended up filling me up). They tried to sell us on the white truffle add on ($95 a person, which we politely declined) and we ended up getting corn dogs and tater tots a couple hours later lol. The wine pairing definitely elevated the overall experience, but I think even in NYC, your money will get you a lot further.
If I were to do it again, I would definitely hit up Compère Lapin or N7 instead (which also came highly recommended, but we didn’t have enough time to check out) and would visit Saint Germaine for the wine garden over the complete dinner experience.
I don’t want to complain too much because I did enjoy my time there and the company was even better but it sparked a conversation with Matt and I that the food scene (in all cities) has begun to feel a bit… lackluster. I’m not really excited by food right now—it’s either not worth the price, not worth the hype, the waitlists too long, the food too redundant, or all of the above. Many places in LA are only saved by the grace of their wine lists, most of the time.
Maybe it’s just a symptom of trying to make everything go viral. And it’s usually not the restaurants trying to create viral dishes, rather the creators hoping to get views. The internet hype really has a burn out effect that becomes exhausting on both ends: restaurants trying to keep up with their viral fame and customers trying to squeeze themselves into a 21 seat restaurant. Couple this with prices skyrocketing — (I went to brunch this weekend at Saffys and 2 dirty chai, 1 yogurt, a pastry, and French toast cost me over $60 !?) — and it’s easy to understand why the dinner party has had such a resurgence. Anyway, let’s move on…
Wine Bar You Should Know About
Bacchanal was a homey, cozy wine shop and bar with an outdoor garden for chilling and listening to live music. You could pick any bottle from the shop or something by the glass and build your own cheese board, which overflowed with extra goodies like bread, preserves, pickles, seed crackers and more.
Wine Tasting & Party You Should Go To
I’m teaming up with my friends, Amistad, for a very special preview of Como La Flor and Chismosa this Friday at Hotel Figueroa in DTLA! We’ll be kicking off the night with a complimentary wine tasting at 9PM and then stay for the party (reggeatone, salsa, y mas!) I’ll be pouring wines until we run out so get their early and be one of the first to try the new wines! Amistad parties are epic, so you don’t want to miss this perreo!!! Get Tickets Here.
What I Ate and What I Drank (Nola Edition)
I know I said the cheese course filled me up— but it was also divine and then elevated to even more divine with the wine pairing. I find myself still thinking about it 2 weeks later…
Cheese souffle + Petit Métris Coteaux du Layon Chaume 1er Cru 2015. A Loire Valley Chenin Blanc that was everything you seek in a cozy, winter white: juicy fall pear, florals dripped in honey. There was a touch of sweetness that made this an incredible bridge between dinner and dessert wines. And coupled with the savory, creamy cheese I really was sent to heaven on a very balanced cloud of salty creamy cheese rind. Cheese course is my favorite course, for sure.
As a business owner, Instagram is exhausting. Also events are exhausting. I feel Covid created such a culture for media/events that that’s what so many of us have leaned into. Always need to be posting or having an event.
It got to a point where we decided enough was enough. Let’s focus on our craft and skill set and hopefully people will be able to trust and depend on their neighborhood wine ba/restaurants.
We shall see with time because the fatigue is REAL!
Loved this post, sorry for the rant ♥️