G. Michael's Bistro & Bar

Chef David Tetzloff operates the must-try G. Michael's in German Village. They produce low country cuisine rooted in the bounty of fresh local ingredients.

The Wine Bistro

The Wine Bistro is, of course, a bistro with wine. There are locations in Upper Arlington and Worthington.

The menu at the Wine Bistro consists of sandwiches, soups, salads, flatbread pizzas and a variety of other items that pair well with wine. There are a substantial number of meatless entrees and appetizers at the Wine Bistro.

The dining room at the Upper Arlington location is tastefully appointed with wood. There is a decent amount of patio seating in addition to a small bar.

Vegetarian first courses include hummus and pita, seasoned olives, toasted mixed nuts, fondue, cheese plates, tomato basil soup and a few salads. It would be fairly simple to create a meal out of vegetarian tapas at the Wine Bistro.

The seasonal soup was a watermelon gazpacho. The bright fruit flavor added a sweet punch to an explosively flavorful summer classic.

Vegetarian main courses include a veggie wrap, pomodoro spaghetti and a couple of flatbread pizzas. The Juliette flatbread is topped with brie, pears, onions, garlic cream sauce and parmesan cheese. The thin, crispy crust adds a delightful crunch to the perfect pairing of double-cream cheese and tree fruit.

The veggie wrap is stuffed with green olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and greens with a garlic hummus. The flavor is bright and fresh.

The wine list has some nice by-the-glass selections. There are options from the new and old world, and prices are marked up fairly.

Service at the Wine Bistro is friendly and capable. The staff was easily able to address vegetarian dining concerns.

Wine Bistro

Luce Enoteca

Despite my abhorrence of driving to Powell, I had to check out the latest and greatest updates to Luce Enoteca from Chef and owner Alex Rodriguez (not the one who dated Madonna and tested positive for steroids in 2003; rather the one who opened the Rossi and the BoMA restaurant in Columbus).

Luce has been open for many years. Rodriguez kept the small plates concept, the fun wines by the glass and the cool ambiance while improving upon a few of the Italian classics on the menu.

There are many vegetarian small plates and salads available. The tomato bisque, the Luce salad, the Mediterranean salad, the beet and pear salad, the cheese plate, the olive plate and the roasted tomato and mozzarella napoleon are all meatless starters. There are also vegetarian sandwiches and pizzas on the menus, as well as a vegetarian special on the dinner menu. The thick, crusty bread is served with olive oil and mashed red peppers.

The daily special was cream of wild mushroom soup, which was also vegetarian-approved. The rich cream had layers of mushroom flavor that were absolutely divine.

The beet and pear salad was also a treat. The pears were poached in riesling with a hint of saffron. The beets and the crumbled goat cheese provide a tart foil to the fruit's sweetness. The greens and the dressing bind the flavors together. The dish looked as good as it tasted.

The eggplant parmesan is as good as I have ever tasted. The eggplant is cooked until it is melt-in-your-mouth tender. It is breaded and stuffed with melted mozzarella cheese, covered in a bright pomodoro sauce flaked with basil.

Wines are served by the bottle, by the glass and in flights. Some cool by the glass options include Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Ferrari Carano Chardonnay, Rocche Roccado Nebbiolo (bottled for Luce only), Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti, Benton Lane Pinot Noir, Altos Malbec, and the Norman Monster Zin. Bottle choices include a broad swath of Italian wines in addition to other choices from both the Old and New World. The beer selection is amazing, and the cocktail list also looks interesting.

The staff offers prompt, knowledgeable service. They did an excellent job of addressing my vegetarian concerns. The bar area is complete with a fireplace and stands in contrast to the more formal main dining area. The bar would be more fun if you didn't have to make the horrible drive out of Powell afterward. The locals must eat it up.

Luce

Details Minibar and Lounge

Details is the new (or new-ish) café by acclaimed chef Richard Rosendale. It's located right next door to the eponymous gastronomic experience that is Rosendale's, and the self-described "minibar and lounge" feature small plates and comfort food.

The offerings are not as flashy as the food at Rosendale's, but the low prices allow diners who can't afford the pricing of the formal restaurant to sample inexpensive fare prepared to the same exacting quality specifications.

Chef Rosendale is arguable Columbus' most noted food personalities. Check out some of his various accomplishments (World Culinary Olympic Champion, the Bocuse D'Or, Top 10 restaurants in the Dispatch, etc.). I previously dined at Rosendale's, and the meal was absolutely amazing.

There are actually a number of vegetarian items on the menu. The Tuscan bread salad, the antipasto plate, the eggplant caponatta and the cheese plate are all vegetarian items that can be ordered as starters or as tapas. There are a number of other bar snacks available as well. The caponatta is a chunky spread made from Italian eggplant, tomato, onion and capers served with toasted bruschetta chips and spinach.

The vegetarian sandwich is called the Garden. It's a portabella and mozzarella sandwich on amazing ciabatta. The flavor is fleshed out with sprouts and sweet red peppers in balsamic vinegar and a savory avocado basil pesto. The sandwich is absolutely delicious.

Diners can order from the menu. There is also a Details degustation (called "the Detailed experience") that can be prepared to vegetarian specifications. The Detailed experience takes place in the upper level of the restaurant, and reservations are recommended. The extra bonus is the fact that diners get to interact with the chef, who explains the nuances of each course (the chef de cuisine at Details is Drew Garms, a young protege of Richard Rosendale with an impressive culinary pedigree).

The beverage menu is a scaled down version of the offerings at Rosendale's. There is a great selection of sparkling and still wines by the glass (I'm in love with the La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape as a by-the-glass option!) and bottle. There is a great roster of craft beers as well as an entire menu of mixed drinks that go from cookie cutter (gin martinis and margaritas) to off-the-wall (the Monkey gland, a blend of Tanqueray 10 gin, apricot brandy, orange juice and Pernod).

A couple of haute establishments in Columbus (e.g. Rosendale's and Dragonfly) are trying new enterprises that feature items with a more blue-collar price point. Details, like Rosendales, is a home run that fits in the price range of the everyday restaurant customer.

Details

Tutto Vino

Tutto Vino is an intimate wine bar tucked in a small shopping center in golftastic Dublin. They feature a great assortment of tapas and entrees that are made to be served alongside a varied selection of wines by the glass and by the bottle.

This wine bistro is going by a different name now. It used to be known as the Wine Shoppe Bistro, but after Bob Monica sold his ownership stake to Raj Hora, Hora renamed it Tutto Vino. The menu is similar to the Wine Shoppe Bistro.

The menu is a French/Italian/Mediterranean hybrid that centers around tapas. The small plates can be eaten as a meal by one, or (better yet) passed around and shared, allowing everybody to try a little bit of everything.

The wine and cheese plate is customizable. Diners select from a range of olives and cheeses which are then accompanied by fruit, nuts and flatbread. The olives and cheese can also be ordered individually. I tried a five-county cheddar that represents the five major cheese producing areas of Britain stacked one on top of another. I also tried a Canadian white cheddar alongside kalamata olives, a classic Greek black olive with a great flavor and a perfect salt cure.

The mushroom tart was also great. It consisted of a cornmeal crust stuffed with portobello and porcini mushrooms, Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheese, caramelized onions, red peppers and bread crumbs. The presentation was a little plain, but the taste was special.

The hummus (pictured above) was also a surprise. It was served with flatbread, cucumbers and grapes. The hummus was mild and well made.

The Florentine strudel was the winner of the night. The strudel consisted of mushrooms, spinach, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts and four cheeses baked in a flaky pastry shell. It was akin to Spanakopita with a few more bells and whistles, and it was great.

The desserts also looked good. The Gravel Road Jeni's ice cream was delicious as ever, featuring smoked almonds inside a caramel ice cream with caramelized sugar, butter and sea salt.

The wine flights are another great value. You can sample five wines of your choice for about $17. I sampled a Lobster Key Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, a white and red Bordeaux (names unknown), the Quarterback (a blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon) and the grand champion Orin Swift's The Prisoner, a lush, jammy red made from grape varietals including Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Charbono. The grapes create a spicy blueberry wine with deep color that is more than the sum of the parts from which it's made. Tutto Vino also features a retail wine shop, and bottles can be bought retail and served in the restaurant for a small mark-up.

The service was a little spotty while I was at Tutto Vino. The server was friendly and capable. She was just stretched a little thin. It seemed like she definitely needed help. I'll chalk it up to a staffing oversight.

Tutto Vino is as good as it was in its previous incarnation. It's a great place to share food and wine with friends. Stop in, and check out the pictures below.

Tutto Vino

Bacchanalia--Rhone style

Don't ever let anybody tell you that the best wine from France comes from Bordeaux or Burgundy. Based upon grapes from those regions (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc) being the most popular grape varietals not only from France but also worldwide, you'd believe that these were the only types of wine that mattered.

If you dig a little deeper, or really, a little further south in the French countryside, you would stumble upon the Rhone River valley. Nestled along the Mediterranean coast, the wines from this region include some of the most idiosyncratic wines in the world.

I love love love Northern Rhone wines, particularly those from the Hermitage and Cote Rotie regions. Red wines from Hermitage are 100 percent Syrah, and wines from Cote Rotie (which translates into English as the Roasted Slope) are allowed to contain small amounts of the heavily-perfumed white grape varietal Viognier. Single vineyard wines from either Cote Rotie or Hermitage can be absolutely divine. Ask me nicely and maybe I'll share a bottle with you.

I sampled the 2001 Cote Rotie by Michel and Stephane Ogier. It is a blend of grapes from the Cote Blonde (Blonde Hill) and Cote Brune (Brunette Hill). There are many explanations for how these names came about. The most romantic involves the two different areas were bequeathed to two daughters of a lord, and that the two daughters had two different hair colors and personalities. The blonde wines are prettier, more upfront and elegant, while the brown wines are bigger and more tannic.

The Ogier Cote Rotie showcased a deep garnet color, with aromas of berries, pepper, green olives and daisies. The 2001 vintage is considered good if unspectacular; however, this wine was showing magnificently, and should drink well for another 10 years.

You can also enjoy the throw in my glass that I failed to decant properly. The sparkles in my glass, pictured above, demonstrate my inability to serve wine like a gifted sommelier. Oh well...you can't win them all.

Southern Rhone wines can be every bit as interesting as their Northern cousins. The flagship wine of the Southern Rhone is Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The name refers to the time when the Papacy was located in the Rhone rather than in Italy.

The wines from Chateauneuf can legally consist of as many as 13 grape varietals. I once memorized these grape names in hopes of impressing a drunken Robert Parker at a wine event, but I never got a chance to rattle them off to the wine snob to the stars. Maybe next time. The most important grapes are Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault.

Chateaunef-du-Pape, after years of being lauded by the esteemed Mr. Parker, has increased in price as the ratings continued to skyrocket. A series of great vintages (1995, 1998 and 1999 in particular) put the prices in the stratosphere. Those of us with more pedestrian earning power, however, can still find a few nicely priced bottles of Cotes du Rhone, a wine made of similar grape varietals as the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines, for a fraction of the price with many of the same flavors from the 2005 vintage.

I tried the 2005 Caves des Papes Heritage Cotes du Rhone. This wine was aged for 12 months in oak barrels, and consists of a blend of 70 percent Grenache, 25 percent Syrah and 5 percent Mourvedre. These wines are far lighter than Chateauneuf wines, but they still have tons of jammy fruit and a powerful character of pepper and spice that is often found in Southern Rhone wines. This is the type of wine that pairs well with spicy foods (I enjoyed mine with a great white bean chili pasta, and both were delicious). Also, as a side note, these wines are also owned by a member of the Ogier family like the first Cote Rotie.

Two of the Southern Rhone grape varietals have travelled quite well. Syrah, used in both the South and the North, is the most widely planted grape in Australia, where the natives call the grape Shiraz. Syrah is a muscular wine with berry fruit and spicy notes. Grenache is also widely planted in other areas worldwide. It is a more restrained varietal, lighter in both color and flavor.

Although less famous than other grape varietals, Grenache is one of the world's most planted grapes. It can be found in France, Spain, Italy, the United States and Australia. It has a garnet color, and it can possess aromas of strawberries, cherries and earth.

Turkey Flat in Australia produces one of the country's most heralded Grenache wines. The wine displays a bright violet color with bright strawberry fruit, notes of leather and graphite and a firmly tannic backbone that comes across in the finish. The wine would pair beautifully with a mushroom risotto.

Finally, you can rest easy if you believe that interesting wines made from Rhone grapes are only red. White wine drinkers can find interesting choices in white wine from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Hermitage, Condrieu and Cotes du Rhone, amongst others. Some of the more well-travelled white grapes from the Rhone include Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier.

D'Arenberg, another winemaker from Australia, specializes in Rhone grape varietals. I samled the 2006 Hermit Crab, a blend of Viognier (a peachy, floral wine with a vibrant acidity) and Marsanne (a classic Rhone blending grape with flavors of nuts and minerals). Together, the wine displays pretty tropical fruit notes with a waxy undercurrent. The wine is named after the Hermit crabs that inhabit the vineyard, with an approving nod to Hermitage, the homeland of Marsanne. It was also rated 90 points by the Wine Spectator and recognized as one of the top 100 wines of the year in 2007 for those who keep track of those petty details.

But these are just a few of the Rhone (and Rhone style) wines that are far more interesting than the cookie cutter Cabs and Chards churned out around the globe by wineries with little to no panache. Pop a cork on one of these wines, and taste something beautiful that is unlike anything else you've ever sampled before.

Celebration of fermentation

Celebration of fermentation

I have an absolute backlog of tasting notes that I'm going to attempt to get up as part of my quasi-regular beverage column. Now that the holidays are over, I have plenty of seasonal brews to wax philosophic about. There is also my regular army of Belgian (and Belgian-style) brews. There are many other beers that don't fit easily into these preexisting categories, and a number of wines that will round out the prose. Enjoy!

Winter just might be the most wonderful time of the beer. The majority of the world's breweries, from the masters in Germany to those who produce industrial quantities of rice swill in St. Louis and Milwaukee, produce a special beer in the winter season. Summer beers are also extremely popular offerings. In my humble opinion, there is a great deal more character in the winter brews than there is in the summer counterparts. Winter beers are a great way to warm the soul if you're trapped in a snowed-in basement.

One of the greatest brews produced every holiday season comes from De Dolle, a Belgian craft brewer that hits the mark every time (see the Mad Bitch and Oerbier for evidence). Their seasonal goes by the name Stille Nacht, which translates into English as Silent Night. The white candy sugar gives this brew its seasonal kick. I definitely always look for the Frosty the Snowman artwork every year, as should you. But this is a brew that is used to the alt tab scrutiny that often accompanies the season. Buy anything and everything you can purchase from this Belgian gem.

Rogue's seasonal brew embodies everything I love and everything I hate about winter beer. Santa's Private Reserve is an uber-hopped version of the Saint Rogue Red Ale. The hops are augmented by a mystery strain identified by head brewer John Maier as "Rudolph," and these hops are not used in the red ale. I really like winter ales like Rogue that base their flavor profile more on malt and hops than they do on adjunct spices. However, from a marketing standpoint, I believe that framing beer with the Christmas theme limits those who will drink the beer and when they will drink it. This beer would taste good all winter long; however, it looks out of date December 26th.

Great Divide's winter brew, Hibernation Ale, is the original craft strong ale from the Rocky Mountain state. The ale is cellar aged for six months before release, and the age tempers the rich malt and aggressive alcohol character of the brew. This beer should also greatly improve with a few additional years of bottle age--highly recommended!

Finishing off the seasonal beers (and beating out all the other 2008 equinox offerings) is the E.S.B. from craft brew pioneer Sierra Nevada. The term E.S.B. traditionally refers to a strong British style pale ale, and the acronym would stand for "Extra Special Bitter." In the case of Sierra Nevada, E.S.B. stands for Early Spring Beer. It is a fresh, unfiltered beer with an outstanding balance of malt and hop character, and it should provide an early relief for beer drinkers who are already fed up with winter ales.

Check out the pictures below, and I'll return later with my remaining tasting notes.

Celebration of fermentation

Vino 100

I've driven past Vino 100 about 100 times. I finally decided to check it out today. It's a slightly different store that is geared toward the novice wine drinker rather than the well-trained sommelier, and I'll definitely be back after my first trip into the store.

The concept of the store is 100 wines priced at $25 or less. There are also a few carefully selected wines from a higher price bracket. The wines are arranged by body rather than by appellation or varietal. This mirrors a number of restaurant wine lists, which help sell fermented grape juice to people who could care less about whether a wine is a right or left bank Bordeaux and more so whether it is dry or sweet, or light or full bodied. I applaud the idea, and I hope it catches on elsewhere.

The staff was very helpful and friendly. They offer wine to taste (which is always a must do in my book). There are a wide variety of wines from all over the map, including the U.S., Italy, France, Australia, Austria and Germany.

There is also a limited selection of olive oli, pasta sauce and cheeses, including four cheeses from Sacramento area Pedrozo dairy, an artisinal cheesemaker that uses raw milk to produce cheeses that taste like Gouda, some of which are treated with rose sparkling wine, Cabernet Sauvignon and stout beer to give it a little extra flavor.

This is a chain, which probably gives the organization more buying power, allowing them to offer 100 wines for less than $25. There are two Columbus area locations, one in Westerville and one in the Short North. This isn't the kind of place you go to get trophy Bonnes Mares and Sauternes. It's more of a place you go to get a cool bottle of wine to share with your friends alongside pizza on a Tuesday night.

Check out the pictures below.

Vino 100

Rosendale's

It was Dad's birthday the last weekend. I got him some cigars and booze as a present. He took me to Rosendale's as part of the celebration. I'm pretty sure I won that deal.

Rosendale's is pretty well recognized, both in Columbus and elsewhere. The place is the namesake establishment of star chef Richard Rosendale, he of the Team USA culinary squad.

His restaurant offers cutting edge cuisine in a similar vein as heralded chefs like Grant Achatz, Ferran Adria and Wylie Dufresne. More conveniently for me, it's also located in Columbus rather than Chicago, New York or Spain like the other darlings of the foodie circuit.

Rosendale's does a degustation, but I stuck to the standard a la carte menu, which offered multiple vegetarian options. I was also told that I could have ordered a vegetarian chef's menu (which I will have to keep in mind for later days).

The bread was served with plain and rosemary butter. Rosendale's prides itself on preparing specialty butters and ice cream on site (more on that later).

I started my meal with the spinach salad (pictured above), prepared with julienned green apples, goat cheese ravioli and Granny Smith sorbet in a thyme vinaigrette. The acidity of the apples and goat cheese was nicely contrasted by the vegetal character of the greens.

The second course was a Yukon Gold potato and chevre goat cheese terrine with marinated cherry tomato on top of a basil gelee drizzled with organic olive oil. The herbal basil compliments the rich terrine. The presentation was also excellent.

My main course was an artichoke heart stuffed tomato on a potato griddle cake with carrots, green beans and various foamed vegetables. The presentation of the tomato was an experience, as the tomato appears whole until cut into pieces, when it reveals its artichoke-laden interior.

My only minor complaint is that some of the bells and whistles science food tricks like foamed vegetables take me back to 2002, and this practice is actually a much older (and more tired) trick than that. It isn't a cutting edge deal when they feature it as part of a carefully narrated news segment. Despite my minor antipathy toward nitrogenated veggies, however, few items came close to falling flat.

My dessert was coconut ice cream with pineapple chips served in a pineapple and pomegranate relish. The ice cream was rich and delicately sweet, flavored with real coconut milk that gave it a luscious character that is unmatched by faux coconut.

The restaurant decor is sleek and modern, consisting of black and metallic tones throughout most of the restaurant offset by controlled lighting. The bar does a fairly brisk business. Judging from their great selection of cocktails like the Sugarplum martini and the Eggnog martini, as well as a carefully selected list of craft beers, a voluminous list of top shelf liquors and a wine list that spans much of the globe in many different price ranges. The bar also serves interesting food items like the white truffle popcorn which I am most definitely going to have to go back and try.

The service was outstanding. The server was very attentive and did a great job explaining what to order to suit my delicate vegetarian sensibilities. Thank you Molly--you're on my list of things to order off the menu next time I'm in Rosendale's.

I also got some great pictures of the chef's ice sculptures. The other positive aspect of photographic representations of Rosendale's is that since the place is so highly regarded, many others have also taken some stunning pictures of the food that will do a better job showing off the presentation of this great food than I did. Try this one and this one on for size.

This place is a must try. Enjoy my pictures below, and then get yourself to Rosendale's and enjoy something there even more.

Rosendales

Microsoft Drives Me Crazy

In what must be one of the saddest stories of all time, the cyber-pirate Microsoft Corporation lost its appeal and may be forced to pay a record €497 million court fine for anti-competitive practices in Europe. Bill Gates will get to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with a giant, "Arrr, matey! Shiver me timbers!" after the European Union pillaged and plundered the booty in Gates' bank accounts.

The Federal Reserve cut key interest rates in a move designed to improve America's economy. Hopefully the new energy in the economy will generate enough scratch for Bill Gates to pay off the right people in Europe.

One of the day's most interesting stories was the L.A. Times piece on the multimillion dollar cache of fine art in Iran that is kept in a basement. The works of Picasso, Van Gogh, Pollock, Warhol, Monet, Pissarro and Bacon are kept in an underground room with the public unable to view the art because of political and religious concerns. Perhaps we could sell Iran some of our more modern artistic treasures like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan so they can also keep them hidden from public view.

Immigration and issues of illegal aliens come up in interesting places, including the fine wine industry, where wineries that require manual labor in order to harvest the best product are under strain because of tighter border security limiting their potential pool of workers. I don't know how many illegal immigrants it takes to make my favorite single vineyard California Pinot Noir, but if the quality of California wine goes down, I'll be more than happy to buy my single vineyard Pinot Noir from Burgundy.

Today's favorite conduit for controversy is Andrew Meyer, the University of Florida student who was subdued by police Taser in a video that was featured in a post here yesterday. Critics are starting to question his credentials as a journalist after reading some of his editorials that were basically senseless rants with little to no fact checking. Hey, famouswriterman, I guess Andy Warhol's prognostication of everybody having 15 minutes of fame was pretty accurate.

Also in regards to the difference between fame and infamy, the Dallas Cowboys signed embroiled defensive lineman Tank Johnson to a two-year contract. Luckily for Tank, he's more difficult to tackle and take down with a Taser than Andrew Meyer was, so the police will usually ask Johnson nicely to turn himself in when he's a wanted man. Unluckily for the NFL, Johnson is also a magnet for trouble. Hopefully he can stay out of jail long enough to face the Bears in the post-season.

Speaking of football players and felonies, Texas is leading the nation in players suspended and crimes (allegedly) committed this season after Coach Mack Brown suspended running back James Henry for being charged with two felonies in retaliation for a separate incident involving two other Texas football players and an (alleged) armed robbery. Mack Brown is allegedly the coach, and allegedly he recruited these felons, so if the University of Texas is indeed allegedly an institution of higher learning, they should fix some of these real problems before the governor calls the National Guard to take down your roving (and 6th- or 7th-ranked) gang of thugs.

Finally, in vegetarian news, Alicia Silverstone is getting naked to promote vegetarianism. It's good to see that her cruelty-free diet has helped her to shed some of that Batman weight. I have had a hankering for Silverstone since her appearance in the Aerosmith videos, so she does qualify as an animal product I would eat.

Randy Savage and Oysters--The Ultimate Afrodisiac

The truth is that if I had a pet monkey, I would probably either teach it to smoke or attack Green Bay Packers fans. What better way is there to show your love of the Animal Kingdom than by teaching wildlife how to puff away on tobacco while attacking cheeseheads? (Go ahead, PETA...I dare you to challenge this irrefutable fact!)

Many news outlets led with news that Emperor Bush is proposing goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. My first suggestion would be reducing the hot air coming out of your mouth about the war on terror, a move that undoubtedly would put the U.S. in compliance with the Kyoto accord. At a minimum, one can hope that it would be a more productive move than California's effort to eliminate fireplaces in new houses.

Chances are if you have checked your e-mail in the past that you received some form of spam from the King of Junk Mail Robert Soloway. Spam Master Jay was charged by federal prosecutors with multiple felony counts. He should spend the rest of his life clicking through Viagra ads and offers to split a Nigerian widow's inheritance by wiring his account number over the Web.

Jack Kevorkian is returning to civilian life after his eight-year prison sentence for participating in assisted suicides. He is returning to society a little late to assist people like Don Imus and Michael Irvin in their already orchestrated career suicides.

Video footage of kidnapped reporter Alan Johnston surfacing gave new hope to those who worried about the his safety. Alex Rodriguez was first in line to volunteer himself as trade bait after his past week topping the tabloids, so hopefully something works out for a courageous man who put his life on the line to report the truth.

Slate today covers the ascendancy of wine and the rapid decline of beer sales. The clip made by Milwaukee's Best that features a few doofuses blowing up a bottle of wine with a Beast cannon is hilarious. Influential wine critic Robert Parker and his oak-loving palate adorning U.S. Airways tray copy is one of many signs that ramming mass produced Milwaukee and St. Louis swill down our gullets isn't the most effective way to market your product.

In conclusion, the CBS clip covering Viagra-laden oysters might be the funniest clip I've seen in some time. Possibly the only thing funnier that that would be the left-channel/right channel mix-up of Justin Timberlake and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. The only thing that could top those two would be Savage delivering his signature elbow drop right to the middle of Timberlake's smarmy face.

The Burgundy Room (and other things)

Pre-Easter dinner with the parents (I had school work to do on Sunday) took place at one of Dublin, Ohio's top end wine bars. Believe it or not, the small town has a plethora of restaurants that includes two wine bars because of the Memorial Golf Tournament that takes place their every year. The town has both the Wine Shoppe Bistro (which I did not visit this time, although their olive, cheese and wine selections are always divine) and the Burgundy Room (which I did visit).

The Burgundy Room has a location in Columbus' Short North, which is a trendy area with no shortage of yuppies and a rather vibrant late-night, weekend bar crowd, as well as a location in Dublin. The menu and wine list at both locations are similar if not identical.

The restaurant features American and Mediterranean-style tapas that can be matched with wines. The waiter James (or Jimmy, depending on whom you asked) was rather knowledgeable about the food and beverage, receptive to vegetarian inquiries and engaging to speak with during the course of the meal.

My vegetarian appetizer was vegetable spring rolls with a sweet and sour/ soy dipping sauce and soba noodles. The entree was portobella ravioli in alfredo sauce.

The cocktails and matched wines were tremendous. The most pleasurable wine was the Orin Swift the Prisoner, a California blend of zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, petit sirah and charbono. It featured ripe berry fruit with striking undercurrents of tobacco, pepper and plum, providing a perfect match to the earthy richness of the ravioli.

The pictures are below in the Picasa link.

Burgundy Room, Mischa and 40 West

There are also random assorted pictures of sweet little Mischa dog posing for the camera and a few shots of some mayhem at 40 West Lincoln, resident Otterbein party house. If you're in town, stop by and tell them I sent you.