Tag: night

I Heart First Fridays

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PeakFoodWine2

Highlandtown is what I now consider the most homey part of Baltimore.  It’s the one neighborhood that is experiencing a renaissance, but still feels like a neighborhood with a community, local businesses, local flavor, and now an inspired art scene.

FirstFridays

The Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk, which began in June, and is going through the rest of the year has eagerly become an event myself and many others look forward too.

My first time experiencing this was back in July, and it just felt like old times.  And what I exactly mean by old times?  While so much around us has begun to look cookie cutter and all too pedestrian, this neighborhood is keeping it beautiful.  With art galleries, shoppes, local businesses, local foodie spots, and so much more popping up in the most charming of fashions, Highlandtown is doing it right.  And keep on doing it please.  It’s the most welcoming of feelings.

I don’t even know how to exactly describe it, other than it’s of the most authentic and really Baltimore feeling places you want to visit.   With friendly faces, familiar faces and new ones, beautiful art, beautiful people, plenty of food and drink, and live musicians inside and out, you’ve got a winning combination all around.

I’ve missed the past couple of month due to life happening, but I’ve made it a goal to make it through to the rest of the year, and with the holidays looming.

My good friends from Peak Peformance have taken advantage of this fantastic monthly event, with a happy hour with great food, vino, live music, and now a resident artist.

MowgliArtPeak

I missed it last month but Mowgli Art has made an impression that’s going to be hard to forget.  I’m a member of Peak, so I’m fortunate to admire this art on a regular basis.  ANd this month was no exception.  It’s just getting bigger.  The crowd was consistent and it was busy.

And my friend Melissa, who also works at Peak, got a chance to sell some of her great jewelry.

PeakJewelry

After all this, is there a wine involved?  But of course.  Plenty of food and drink was provided but I discovered a charming little bottle that fits in with the fall season, if not art itself.

The 2016 Camina Tempranillo is a simple wine with little if any thrills.  And for now that’s just the way I wanted it.  I was immediately drawn to the label with its beautiful depiction of leaves, animals, and charming as all heck symbols.  The color and images just yell fall don’t they?

CaminaWineInfo

It’s a wine heavy on berry aromas of cherry, blackberry, and other fruits.  The notes mention hints of almond and hazelnut.  It’s an easy to drink wine that you don’t have to think much about it.  It’s a good wine but it’s not going to blow anyone away.  And with a price averaging under $10, there’s no need for too many complaints.  But I wouldn’t spend that much more on it.

A big thanks to Peak Performance for this amazing spread of meats, cheeses, and vegetables, provided by Ceriello Fine Foods (locations can be found here), which I’ve written about in the past, and is deserving of all the praise and lauding in the world.

FirstFridayMap

The vibe at art events just tends to feel different and more welcoming.   I don’t know much about art but I know it makes people feel good.  It evokes different emotions and brings about a different type of conversation that you may not ordinarily get a typical bar.  This is better than the bar, and sets the bar on a different way to enjoy a Friday night or night out in general.

This blog is going to be as picture heavy as it gets.  It may be the most photos I’ve ever inserted in a blog, so I hope you enjoy that.

I want to thank Beth-Ann Wilson from Night Owl Gallery (pictures above) and Felicia from Highlandtown Gallery-Magnolia Designs (pictures below) for being so inviting, and making this a fun night out, that really makes Baltimore, Charm City.

There were some folks playing live music on the walk to and from various stops, which made us stop and appreciate what we were witnessing.

MagnoliaCat

Back in July, there was a live jazz band performing and the Highlandtown Art Gallery.  You’ll never know what to expect at this thing.  The unpredictability while still becoming familiar with the galleries makes this a truly harmonious and heartwarming event.

Buddha

November 3rd, will be here before you know it, and will be the next installment of the Art Walk.   If the stars alight, this might be revisited again for the blog.

Here are my past Highlandtown related posts.

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In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photos, and hope you’re either experiencing or will be experiencing some awesome art yourself.

MowgliArt7

Peace Be With You.

Ideen

 

Wine & Pizza Party!

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CerielloChiantiPizza3

When it comes to figuring out what wines go with what kind of pizzas, or any wine and food pairing for that matter, when doing research it can start to drive you crazy.  You hear a bunch of differing opinions and whatever you thought of initially, is not in agreement with what any ‘experts’ and sommeliers suggest.

It’s important to go with your intuition but it’s also comforting when other opinions match your own.  But your opinion is the one that counts the most.

Wine and pizza is one of those combinations that’s supposed to be enjoyable.

I think I got half of it right this time.

CerielloWines2

Everything I just mentioned earlier was a bit of projection.   I ordered two pizzas from the awesome folks at Ceriello, and you can read about those pies here,  but the wines I purchased at their shoppe met with mix results.

CerielloWines1

There was some angst and agonizing over which two wines to get with each respective pizza.  I was set on one red and one white.

I’ll start with the red.   This is where my instinct and experience came through.  I was leaning towards an Italian red that was affordable, approachable, and hopefully palate pleasing.   I was thinking a Chianti.  I don’t recall the last time I wrote about one, oh wait there it is.

Ceriello’s wine list is a good of mix of everything, but also small enough, that you won’t get too lost in searching for the perfect wine.

The irony is that this was all for just for me, and I guess the audience reading this.  So maybe there was a little pressure that shouldn’t have been there.

After scouring the rows I noticed the last bottle of the 2015 Piccini Chianti sitting all by its lonesome and I literally mean all by its lonesome.  It was the last bottle on the shelf.  I figured it was waiting for me and only me.  I like to believe things like that.  And at $10, that’s my kind of wine and that kind of price.

CerielloChiantiPizza

A pizza with meatballs (or meats in general) and tomato sauce pairs so well with an Italian red.   It’s one of those things where the acidity of the wine works well with that sauce.  This is not meant to be an expert analysis.  It’s a light red that works and is adequate but it wasn’t anything to write home about.

CerielloChiantiPizza2

Something just felt off.  No, not about the pizza, but the wine.   I’ve had this wine in previous years with previous vintages and found it to be just fine.  I suppose some things never change.  There were some hints of fruits and spices but it didn’t click.

I had one glass and kind of just forgot about it.  It’s a good everyday wine and a good value that I would gladly try again under different circumstances, but it didn’t work, especially with this amazing pizza.

The Piccini Chianti is one of those standard label wines you can most likely find at your neighborhood wine store.  I’ve seen it multiple times in multiple places.

CerielloWhite2

The white I went with was an ambitious choice.  This is where I struggled and maybe tried too hard to find the perfect white to go with my second pie with fresh vegetables and prosciutto.

CerielloWhite

The 2015 L’Isola de Profumi  from Alcesti with two grapes I had never heard of until last week, Catarrato and Grecanico.  I hope I spelled those correctly.   This wine didn’t work here or by itself.

CerielloWineNotes

It’s a Sicilian White that is an acquired taste.  I’m just not sure when and if I would ever acquire it.   I read that there’s hints of Mediterranean fruits. What those fruits are I honestly couldn’t tell you.

CerielloWineAndPizza2

I will concede that this wine doesn’t seem to be meant to be paired with pizza.

This is where I will sound like a novice and in another attempt to sound inspiring, I don’t think there’s a right or wrong pairing.

CerielloWine2

However, there are exceptions.  Some foods and some wines will clash and all those amazing flavors that may or many not exist may disappear.  At other times the cheapness of some foods and wines will be exposed.

CerielloWhite3

This wine at $8 was worth a shot and even though it didn’t work out, I look forward to trying some more of Ceriello’s wines from Italy and other parts of the world, in the future.

CerielloWineBoth

The pizza was phenomenal, I just wish I found the perfect wines to pair it with.  Actually this is maybe what I did wrong. I was overthinking a bit and looking for signs outside of myself that didn’t exist this time around.

Ceriello does a Friday pizza and wine night, and has a set of wines on display that they suggest work well with the certain pizzas.   This wasn’t about me going rogue or being different, well maybe the different part.   But one of these Friday feasts will be something I will take part in and learn from this most recent experience.

And maybe I will learn a little more about myself and meet some great people in the process.

Sometimes wine is meant to be enjoyed alone, sometimes in groups, and just sometimes there’s going to be rough patches that are educational experiences.

They’re all educational, they’re all experiences, and I look forward to many more enjoyable experiences soon.

To read more about these fantastic pizzas go here.

Here’s more on Piccini and here’re more on Alcesti.

Thanks so much.

Ideen